From acclaimed director Brad Anderson, known for his work on The Machinist and The Call, THE SILENT HOUR features powerhouse performances from Joel Kinnaman (known for Apple TVs For All Mankind, RoboCop, Sympathy for the Devil, and The Suicide Squad) and Mark Strong (1917, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Zero Dark Thirty).

Kinnaman stars as Detective Frank Shaw, who is forced to return to duty after a career-altering injury leaves him with permanent hearing loss. When Shaw is assigned to interpret for a deaf witness to a brutal gang murder, the stakes quickly escalate. As Shaw and the witness find themselves trapped in a soon-to-be-condemned apartment building, they must outsmart the killers who have returned to eliminate her. With no ability to hear the danger approaching, they must rely on wit, strength, and strategy to survive.

Rounding out the cast are Mekhi Phifer (Lights Out, Divergent, 8 Mile) and Sandra Mae Frank (TV’s New Amsterdam, Soul to Keep).

The Silent Hour has been praised by critics for its expertly crafted tension. The Guardian calls it an “intriguing cat-and-mouse thriller,” while MovieWeb hails it as “a taut and lean thriller with a fantastic plot hook that’s cleverly executed throughout,” and NYC Movie Guru describes it as “a lean, gritty and riveting blend of action and thrills.”

The Silent Hour launches on Digital and DVD April 23!
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With John Woo’s name attached to Silent Night as director, things were looking good and other than the occasional overabundance of doves his sentimentality usually runs red. Not Santa Red either. With Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad and For All Mankind) named as lead actor, things also looked good in the action stakes.

Kinnaman plays Godlock a man so tormented by horrendous events in his past that when he seeks revenge on the perpetrators, you know he is going to be all in. With Woo helping to paint the canvas behind him things will certainly be over the top and should be far from route holiday histrionics. In the action stakes things live up to expectations, surprise-wise not so much.

The storyline is extremely predictable and features few surprises but this does little to stifle the fun. It’s like the relative that always brings sub-par dishes to family affairs but never lets you down in regards to fluids that are inebriant. The connection to that major of major holiday is tenuous at best and that is just the way we like them around here.
Rob Hudson
www.rialtodistribution.com

While recovering from a wound that costs him his voice, he makes vengeance his life’s mission and embarks on a punishing training regimen in order to avenge his son’s death.

Full of Woo’s signature style, Silent Night redefines the action genre with visceral, thrill-a-minute storytelling.

Silent night stars Joel Kinnaman, Kid Cudi, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Harold Torres, Vinny O’Brien and will be released in Aussie cinemas December 7!
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Now revisiting Robocop in 2014 is a plan fraught with risks and Brazilian born director/documentarian José Padilha hasn’t really helped matters by choosing some elements within the first version to revisit while casting aside others. His more moralistic take is interesting while his almost complete discarding of some of the eighties version’s most humorous elements (mainly the hilarious TV ads) have taken a lot of the fun out. Original director Paul Verhoeven’s biting social satire is sadly missing.

For those familiar with the first version, a spot the differences approach has its charms, while newbie’s are left with a somewhat familiar dynamic. One where big business and its leaders are corrupt and the plucky young upstarts are not. Most of the gray in this story line however is washed out. There are some arresting visual moments and some action scene that filmmakers in the eighties could only have dreamed about but they are used rather predictably here.

What we are left with is a film that looks of its time with current state of the art computer generated graphics instead of dodgy but endearing stop motion animation and a seriousness that drains a lot of the enjoyment out of the ride. It’s still worth seeing as the overriding story arc is one of interest but its chances of being remembered fondly in the decades to come are slim.

Rob Hudson
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The 2008 film Taken recast Neeson as one of the big screen’s true bad asses and reenergized his career. This change was helped by the actor buffing up and having the innate physicality to play those roles with enough authenticity to be featured close up in fight and action scenes. No soft filter or distant set up shots were needed to hide the fact that almost all of the fight scene featured stunt doubles (i.e. Roger Moore in all the Bond films).

This time out, instead of being a shadowy ex-government agent, he’s a conflicted shadowy ex-mob hit man with still strong ties with his former employer. Through circumstance in aid of his own estranged son, he ends up killing the offspring of his former boss and from that moment forward, all hell breaks loose.

The ultimate success of films like this depend on a decent script and efficient acting and in these regards, Run All Night is a winner. The acting is top notch and the thespians chosen for their perspective roles are a great match. Of special note is Ed Harris, whose now craggy face fits the world weary Mob Boss perfectly. Neeson also get the performance nuances just right. This film is violent populist entertainment and is victorious in its mission to thrill and entertain.

Rob Hudson
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He’s given a chance for early release by becoming an informant for the FBI (Academy Award nominees Rosamund Pike and Clive Owen) and using his covert skills in an operation to take down The General, the most powerful crime boss in New York.

But when the FBI sting meant to finally earn Koslow his freedom results in the death of an undercover NYPD cop, Koslow finds himself caught in the crossfire between the mob and the FBI.

The General insists Koslow takes the heat and sends him back to prison to spearhead a drug operation from inside, and the FBI affirms that going back to jail to do The General’s bidding is the only way for Koslow to keep his deal with them alive.

Caught in a world of impossible choices, Koslow must return to prison, where he formulates a plan to escape the clutches of three of New York City’s most powerful organizations – the mob, the NYPD and the FBI – in order to save himself and his family.

The Informer is coming to cinemas soon.
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The 2008 film Taken  recast Neeson as one of the big screen’s true bad asses and reenergized his career. This change was helped by the actor buffing up and having the innate physicality to play those roles with enough authenticity to be featured close up in fight and action scenes. No soft filter or distant set up shots were needed to hide the fact that almost all of the fight scene featured stunt doubles (i.e. Roger Moore in all the Bond films).

This time out, instead of being a shadowy ex-government agent, he’s a conflicted shadowy ex-mob hit man with still strong ties with his former employer. Through circumstance in aid of his own estranged son, he ends up killing the offspring of his former boss and from that moment forward, all hell breaks loose.

The ultimate success of films like this depend on a decent script and efficient acting and in these regards, Run All Night is a winner. The acting is top notch and the thespians chosen for their perspective roles are a great match. Of special note is Ed Harris, whose now craggy face fits the world weary Mob Boss perfectly. Neeson also get the performance nuances just right. This film is violent populist entertainment and is victorious in its mission to thrill and entertain.
Rob Hudson
 www.runallnightmovie.com