Night Train (2023) Review

Night Train is a 2023 crime action movie directed by Shane Stanley. Stanley is a filmmaker who specializes in mid budget TV and direct to video/streaming products of the action variety, in fact, Night Train and his previous movie titled Double Thread (2022) were both action vehicles for actress Danielle C. Ryan (Fire City: End of Days, Survivor) and both flicks were written by CJ Walley. 

This poster is a total lie by the way.

Holly (Danielle C. Ryan) is a single mother in Hollywood working for the teamsters who finds herself delivering black market medical supplies to meet ends, normally she works in movie productions and barely makes a living to support her sick son. FBI agents soon catch up to her, among them the disheveled and troubled agent Jaylynne Jackson (Diora Baird), so Holly must evade them in order to give her child a brighter future.

The definition of a soporific TV movie of the week destined to become streaming service filler without much interest. I cant says it's a horribly made movie, it's a watchable and slightly more genuine product than average but none of that redeems the overabundance of cliches, idiotic moments, weak comedy, flat direction and lack of a strong central conflict that could bring everything together, at least a functioning one. 

There's nothing truly special about the main character, there's a very light attempt at trying to give her interesting characteristics like a love for speed, but none of that comes handy or goes anywhere other than the fact that she has to drive a lot in the last act. Danielle delivers a good performance and simply does what's needed, nothing particularly notable. 

The rest of the characters are also plain but Jackson is actually the most refreshing out of all of them, simply because instead of just being a tough and harsh FBI agent she is also dealing with an alcohol addiction and a messy personal life, issues that end up affecting her job. It's not an aspect that the film builds substantially upon, aside from the overly dramatic climax, but one can also appreciate it for being a worthwhile addition to the formula.  

It's also better if you don't think of Night Train as an action movie, not even in the early The Fast and the Furious sense, because this is more of a chase movie in the third act with small glimpses of crime movie tropes and scenes here and there. 

Stale and cheap (both narratively and budget wise) this one is really only for completists. While there is potential and talent I believe there needed to be more exciting plot beats and to give into the tropes of the genre instead of trying to ground it into a honestly uneventful plot. Even though I would have wanted a straight action movie, I can still appreciate the feminist attitude, the dimensions added to the female FBI agent, the solution to the conflict without violence and the low key scenes that actually end up working but it's not something I could consider solid enough to recommend.

Place of Bones (2024) Review

Place of Bones is a 2024 western film directed by Audrey Cummings, who had previously helmed projects like She Never Died (2019), Darken (2017) and directed episodes of the TV show Astrid and Lilly Save the World in 2022. She's been kind of a recent female director of genre movies that update or give a new spin to old concepts. Place of Bones at first seems to be one of those films but it's not quite subversive in any meaningful way. 

The plot follows widow Pandora (Heather Graham) and her daughter Hester (Brielle Robillard) living together in the middle of nowhere in the late 19th century. The two encounter a wounded bandit (Corin Nemec), whose presence brings to their small ranch a gang of ruthless bank robbers. Now the two women must face the outlaws. 

This is a sort of revisionist western (in a loose sense), a modernized version of obsolete stories, using more modern music in the style of a Tarantinian tribute and dialogue, never going for a plain reconstruction of the more well known examples from older decades, however, there are some very Leone-like shots and some very identifiable John Fordian shots as well, so it is quoting from and using typical western examples after all, but I dont think it's constructing anything refreshing or new with them. The simplistic plot and the focus on action and quickly created intensity sort of gives me a very matinee-like vibe from even older and simplistic B-movie westerns. Overall, it's a hodgepodge of all of those things, molding them to its will in order to make a work that's not quite new but not a faithful recreation of the classics either.

The film is really low on production values and haphazardly constructed when it comes to its narrative. Tension is created only for time to pass quickly in a confusing manner that breaks the pacing and atmosphere the film was barely building upon before the editing dropped it. Characters spout out their conflicts in somewhat contrived and overdone manners, the performances are everything but subtle even if they are competent. Nothing is pushed to its most effective limit, distancing itself from the dramatic potential of the scenes by clunkily resolving them in anticlimactic ways.  

The characters are sort of whinny if not useless or unprepared, the main leads don't really get their time to shine. Every event is simply mechanically executed and thoughtlessly added into a narrative that’s full of cliches. There's few or maybe zero life to the story and its action sequences, and the script doesn't do a good job in making its plot beats and key scenes compelling. It’s lacking invention and potent punches. It's missing a method and a concise point to get to.

Not everything is bad though. I liked the main mother-daughter relationship and their performances are solid enough, even if the characters are sort of one dimensional for the most part. The cinematography and the production design are serviceable as well. I also appreciate that this low budget joint is barely 90 minutes, it's a quick and digestible watch even if it doesn't work for a lot of it. 

Only recommended for die hard western and girls with guns fans. It's nothing notable but it's moderately entertaining if you know what you are getting in for, cheap TV movie level stuff but not horribly done. I will say that the idea of a mother-daughter relationship in a western movie is the only idea that hasnt been done before to death. I do wish they could have gone further with the premise and perhaps constructed a more gripping storyline with the few resources they had.

Kali: Avenging Angel (2024) Review

KALI: L'ange de la Vengeance is a French production directed by Julien Seri, a Luc Besson alumni who debuted in 2001 with Yamakasi. At first it looks like a very typical action film but with some French elements, and while that description is not wrong I think it still has a little more to offer even if it's not really original. 

Lisa a.k.a Kali, played by Sabrina Ouazani (Taxi 5, Kung-Fu Zohra, Prière d’enquêter : Elli et Clément) is an ex-special Forces recruit whose life took a dark turn after the death of her child and her  relationship with her husband turned shaky soon after. She is informed that her husband was killed by a drug trafficking organization, Kali must now investigate her husband's involvement with them, was he in on their operations or was he investigating them? She will go to Brazil and use her skills and rage to find out, starting shootouts, street fights, blowing up grenades and torturing criminals in brutal ways. 

While the plot isn't anything special I think what sets this movie apart is the intimate angle it takes as it is sprinkled with heartwarming moments that, while a bit simple, still work and give a bit more depth to the story than the average action product. Although, the actual combat sequences with gunplay and fighting are well shot, properly choreographed and executed in an exciting manner.

The solid performances are able to convey hard emotions in very little time, almost as soon as the movie starts (in a very personal moment as well), you feel with the characters even if you don't really know them that much at this point. It's somewhat believable at handling the emotional responses. As I mentioned, there´s more emphasis on emotions and inner feelings than in action, which is why the movie sets up everything in the very first scene, the rest delves into the heroine´s mental state. 

The movie is about two things: Character study of a troubled woman and the corruption  investigation that leads to detective work. There's also a focus on maternity in the film, from two pregnancies and mothers and their children appearing all throughout the runtime.

Our protagonist is relentless and violent, I think this ends up working fine and gives her a hard edge. I do feel like we need more development through her actions or perhaps more substantial conversations regarding her backstory and her emotional state, most of it feels too cold to care fully. Maybe some flashbacks would have been nice like in Kill Bill (2003-2004). There is a compelling dream sequence that makes the movie stand out a bit more and I like the way they turned the deity of Kali into a more spiritually violent symbol rather than the bloodthirsty goddess she is usually portrayed as, when Kali says she is “The goddess of destruction and transformation,” this speaks about the protagonists´ both inner and outer strength. 

The cinematography is polished, the textures almost makes it feel like one of those old school and gritty crime thrillers, aside from the modern touches. The camera is dynamic, the editing cuts to the chase and the color grading is pleasing to the eye, integrating the color quite well into the shots, very organically, something that makes the images stand out more, all subtly too. Some of the color gels and neon lighting are very derivative of modern action cinema but it works well here because it's not overused. 

While the film is very well directed and acted it may have a plot that's too generic for most audiences, and some people have noted the stereotypical and unrealistic way Brazilians are portrayed in this picture, so have that in mind. Otherwise, this is a good entry to the action genre that delivers the goods and becomes more worthwhile than most of its kind because of it´s sentimental conflicts.

I also think it tackles a very interesting subject when it comes to action female leads: the fact that they are able to take a life and to give life at the same time. A dichotomy that´s fascinating and perhaps not as conflictive as it seems. Looks like Seri learned some lessons on deadly females from Besson.