Roofman (2025)

This may not be the kind of film you'd expect from director Derek Cianfrance, but, to be fair, it's also not the kind of film you expect from pretty much anyone nowadays. It's a mix of drama and comedy that allows the main cast members to be as charming as possible, it's fairly low-to-mid-range when it comes to budget (for modern budgets anyway), and it's not using an established IP or an abundance of explosions and CGI to win over those with short attention spans.

Based on a true story, the film takes viewers on a journey with Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum). Jeffrey has a particular way of seeing the world. It doesn’t help him with job prospects, but it does help him when he decides to try his hand at robbery. Entering through the roof, trying not to hit anyone, Jeffrey soon has a reputation as “roofman”. The police soon come calling though, which leads to Jeffrey settling into a hiding space that is in the middle of a large toy store. And that's how he gets to know Leigh Wainscott (Kirsten Dunst).

A tale that would be impossible to believe if it wasn’t actually true, this is a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours. You get to appreciate some of the resourcefulness of the main character, you get enough supporting characters to be equally interested in, and there’s a real bittersweet nature to hoping that the truth will out during the final act while also hoping that people are spared some broken hearts. The screenplay, co-written by Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn, certainly keeps the focus on Tatum's character, but it makes plenty of time and space for Dunst, as well as characters played by LaKeith Stanfield (a man who can help create false identities for people who can afford them), Peter Dinklage (the manager of the toy store), Ben Mendelsohn (a friendly pastor), and Lily Collias and Kennedy Moyer (the teen daughters of Leigh). 

Whatever you think of the real-life events adapted into film form here, none of this would work if it didn't have the right people being used in the right ways. Tatum gives one of his best performances in some time, making the most of his charm and his willingness to sometimes look foolish. Dunst is a sweet and lovely presence who manages to enjoy a strong connection with a new man in her life without seeming like a blinkered idiot. Collias and Moyer give very naturalistic performances, whereas Dinklage enjoys going in the other direction, and each artistic choice fits nicely with the respective roles. Stanfield is always good, Mendelsohn feels kind and caring without seeming too false, and the only downside of their inclusion is that they don't get even more screentime.

It's not a film that will have many people shouting about it from the rooftops, no pun intended, but Roofman is a low-key feature full of low-key delightful moments. The many scenes that could have felt too cutesy or saccharin are always balanced out by the constant reminders of sour ingredients that are lying in wait to infuse the third act. I would easily recommend this to people who want something entertaining that isn't tied to an extended cinematic universe, isn't making use of some currently popular genre trends, and feels somewhat original, especially when compared to so many other mainstream titles released in the past few years. 

7/10

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Mubi Monday: Babyteeth (2019)

I have found myself saying this quite often lately, but here we have another movie that takes some very familiar elements and blends them in a way that allows them to feel relatively unique. Babyteeth has a married couple who are going through a rough patch, it has a young woman being quite captivated by the personality of someone who would be labelled as "from the wrong side of the tracks", and there's also a storyline about someone struggling to live a normal life while being affected by cancer.

Eliza Scanlen plays Milla Finlay, a schoolgirl unlikely to see full adulthood, thanks to the cancer attacking her body. Her parents (Anna, a musician, played by Essie Davis, and Henry, a psychiatrist, played by Ben Mendelsohn) are struggling to find the right balance between protecting their daughter and allowing her to enjoy all that she can in her life, which is why they end up being more patient and considerate when Milla brings home a new friend, an older drug dealer named Moses (Toby Wallace). A number of the main characters here use drugs for different reasons, but there might be a time when they can instead find their high/calibration in some other way. 

The first, and only (at this time), film directed by Shannon Murphy, working from a screenplay by Rita Kalnejas, adapting her own play, Babyteeth is one of those little films that seems unremarkable, and perhaps even a bit trite, until you start to be won over by the power of the many effective moments scattered throughout the runtime. On the one hand, I wish someone had pared this down by a good 10-20 minutes (it clocks in close to the 2-hour mark). On the other hand, there are no scenes I would necessarily vote to throw on the scrapheap. This is a story that is crafted well and lifted up by a great cast.

Davis and Mendelsohn are almost so appreciated nowadays that it seems redundant to praise their performances, but they absolutely make the most of material that gives them great individual moments, as well as some great moments together. There's no way to single one of them out, and they somehow manage to even take things up a notch in some powerful final scenes. Scanlen is perfect in her role, managing to convey her positivity and quirkiness without being stuck in a "manic pixie dream girl" rut. The constant presence of her cancer works against that, of course, but that shouldn't take away from how well she pitches her performance. Then we have Wallace, giving the kind of performance that makes me immediately want to check out more from his already-surprisingly-expansive filmography. Emily Barclay also does well to make a strong impression with her relatively small amount of screentime.

I enjoyed Babyteeth for every minute of the runtime. It sets everything up quickly enough, allowing viewers to spend most of their time watching the main characters connecting and interacting in both good and bad ways. The best thing about it is the way that it seems to hold back from judging people who find themselves in an unimaginably difficult situation, creating space and time for self-reflection as we ponder the beauty and ugliness of a universe that contains more wonders and delights than any of us could hope to see in a century, never mind whatever limited lifespan we're allotted by a cosmic roll of the dice.

9/10

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Netflix: Robin Hood (2018)

AKA Robin Begins. This is an attempt to make the character of Robin Hood cool and modern and sexy. If that appeals to you then you should find enough to enjoy here. If you would much prefer your Robin Hood to be more like either Errol Flynn or the fox from the Disney animated version of the tale then I would suggest you move along.

Taron Egerton is our Robin here, accompanied back from his time at war by "John" (Jamie Foxx). Upon his return to England, Robin finds that his beloved Marian (Eve Hewson) has started another relationship with Will (Jamie Dornan), believing that Robin died overseas. He also finds the people being forced into poverty by the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Mendelsohn). Thus begins a campaign that turns into "rob from the rich to give to the poor". Robin makes many enemies, but he also maintains a few valuable allies, including Friar Tuck (Tim Minchin).

Although director Otto Bathurst has no other theatrically-released features to his credit, there's nothing here that shows him unsuited to this kind of thing. Whatever criticisms you might have about this film, and there are many things to be critical of, it at least makes decent use of a good cast to stop it from being anywhere near the actual nadir of blockbuster entertainment. The same can be said of writers Ben Chandler and David James Kelly. They may not be as sharp or clever as they think, but they're far from the worst offenders when it comes to the plotting and dialogue (although I could have really done without the narration basically telling us "you think you know the story of Robin Hood, but here's the REAL story as you've never seen it before").

There are a few decent action set-pieces, enough to make the 116-minute runtime feel just right, but your opinion of this may very well depend on how you feel about Robin Hood being given the bombastic style usually used with more modern action heroes. I'm still not sure if that in itself is a bad idea or if I was irritated by the times that overused the same tricks and effects.

Egerton is a good choice for the lead, having shown us before how well he can do the charming rogue figure. He's a great fit, and always believable, even as the stunts become wilder and more dangerous. Foxx is a fantastic partner for him, and seems equally capable in the inventive action beats. Hewson is an appropriately lovely Marian, Mendelsohn is an appropriately nasty Sheriff of Nottingham, and they complete a central quartet good enough to make up for the lethargic Dornan and a sorely mis-cast Minchin.

Arguably too old-fashioned in content for younger viewers and too modern and flashy for older viewers, I'm not surprised that this didn't set the box office alight when it was released. I wouldn't have minded if it did better though. I may not rush to rewatch it, and I'm not sure who in my friend circle I would recommend it to, but I'd prefer to watch a sequel to this than watch yet another Sony superhero movie.

6/10

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Freaky Tales (2025)

Written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, Freaky Tales is a film that I decided to watch this week with very low expectations. I hadn't really heard too much about it, and there was certainly nobody telling people to make it a priority. Maybe it was due to those low expectations, or maybe simply due to the movie itself, but I had a blast with it.

Set in Oakland in 1987, this is an anthology film showing four interconnected stories. You get some young punks who end up battling Nazis outside one of their clubs, a pair of young women who get a chance to show off their rap battle skills on a stage opposite a well-known star, a debt collector/killer renting a movie for his pregnant wife, unaware of the fact that they've been targeted by someone he caused pain to in the past, and a super-powered basketball player who goes on a killing spree after a robbery-gone-awry leads to things going really bad really quickly.

Boden and Fleck have been working together for about two decades now, and they have a filmography that refuses to be pigeonholed, but this may be their most enjoyable work yet. It's so fun and satisfying, partly down to the aesthetic and energy of the whole thing and partly down to the timing of it (because this is a perfect time to enjoy any film that features people beating up on Nazi scumbags). Jac Fitzgerald delivers some cool cinematography, straightforward stuff with just a few flourishes here and there, and the score by Raphael Saadiq is an excellent selection of synth work.

Pedro Pascal and Ben Mendelsohn are the biggest names in the cast, when it comes to the main roles anyway. The former plays that debt collector/killer, obviously perfect as the reluctant heavy who becomes quite morose and soulful when his world is irrevocably changed, while the latter is a horrible cop who is unsurprisingly connected to a number of the Nazis. The late Angus Cloud does well as a bad guy named Travis, Jack Champion and Ji-young Yoo are easy to like, playing the two main punks we spend time with, and Dominique Thorne and Normani are great fun as the rapping duo wary of being made a laughing stock while they have a chance to show what they can do in front of a big crowd. Tom Hanks appears for a cameo that lasts just a few minutes, and he's a hell of an addition to the thing, and Jay Ellis dominates the final section of the film, giving us a character who feels like Jim Kelly spliced with Cameron Vale.

Although it would seem to have a layer of grime and unpleasantness wrapped around everything, Freaky Tales works so well because it's a celebration. It celebrates love, it celebrates those who pursue their dreams, it celebrates a time and a place (and we can all think back to our own special venue that may have had a similar peak time many years ago, or maybe just seems that way through our nostalgia goggles), and it celebrates the joy of fighting back against truly despicable humans. The message couldn't be clearer, and there's some violence on display that is as satisfying as it is over the top, but that lack of subtlety feels like a refreshing drink of cool water in a time when so many others are considering compromise or ways to appeal to those who wouldn't appreciate such a message. 

If this was only a selection of tales that said "it's always okay to punch a Nazi" then I would have been fine with it, but it's got a lot more packed into it. I REALLY liked it, and I hope others have as much fun with it as I did.

8/10

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Prime Time: The Place Beyond The Pines (2012)

Having explored the highs and lows of a developing and unraveling relationship in the superb Blue Valentine, director Derek Cianfrance followed it up with this exploration of parenthood, and the decisions that have repercussions for future generations. This doesn't have the weight of the preceding film, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, but it's still very good.

Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a carnival stunt bike rider who struggles to figure out the best way to move forward when he finds out that he is the father of a child after hooking up with a woman named Romina (Eva Mendes). He somehow, thanks to some none-too-indirect nudging from a man named Robin (Ben Mendelsohn), decides that he can provide best for his son by robbing banks and using the ill-gotten gains to provide for those he loves, even if Romina is now with another man (Kofi, played by Mahershala Ali). Crashing into this scenario comes relatively new cop, Avery (Bradley Cooper). Lives will be irrevocably changed, and the plot starts to writhe and wind towards a melodramatic finale.

A film about people doing the wrong thing for the right reasons, or the right thing for the wrong reasons, or just generally making mistakes that can lead to consequences more serious than they could ever have envisioned, The Place Beyond The Pines is a film that will resonate with anyone who has tried to be responsible for a loved one, whether you managed it or felt you let them down.

Written by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio, and Darius Marder, this is all as effective as it is simplistic. It could easily have become soap opera stuff, or just downright tedious by the time viewers waited over two hours to get to the expectedly convergent climax, but the cast, and the assured direction, make it very much worthy of your time.

Everyone I've already mentioned does great work, often sitting alongside their very best, but there's no small amount of pleasure to be derived from a cast of supporting players that includes Ray Liotta, Rose Byrne, Harris Yulin, Bruce Greenwood, and both Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan, the last two playing two children who end up connecting in a way that you just know is going to bring some things to a head.

If you've seen the trailer for this movie then you may already think you know where it's going. Gosling hurtling through woods on his dirt bike. Cooper as the good cop. Clouds of tragedy hanging over the main characters. You'd probably be right with a lot of your guesses, but there are one or two interesting developments that will also keep you on your toes. And being able to stay a step ahead of the plotting, for the majority of the movie, doesn't take anything away from the impact of what's being shown.

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.

Captain Marvel (2019)

We've been here many times before. You'll have seen a lot of people singing the praises of Captain Marvel and just as many people calling it the worst film they've seen in years. The reality, as it so often does, lies somewhere in the middle.

Another origin story, but one that's a bit different from so many of the others that we've already been given by Marvel, this tells the story of a Kree Starforce member named Vers (Brie Larson), a young woman who may have once been a human being named Carol Danvers. The Kree are currently engaged in a war with the Skrulls, and one battle leads to Vers ending up on Earth in the 1990s. There she meets Nick Fury (a youth-enised Samuel L. Jackson), fights more Skrulls (they can take on the form of anyone they have seen), and starts trying to piece together her past on the way to fulfilling her potential future.

There's a lot to like here, but almost as much to dislike, and it's a shame that so many people on both sides of a dividing line completely separate from the actual quality of the movie itself have decided to use their stances to attempt to build up or tear down Captain Marvel (both the film and Larson).

Let me start with the good. The cast are almost uniformly fantastic, with Larson yet another perfect choice by Marvel. Jackson works very well alongside her, and there's a lot of fun to be had wondering just when he will need the eyepatch we're all so used to him wearing, and the other big names are Jude Law (a Kree warrior/mentor figure), Ben Mendelsohn (appearing in both Skrull and non-Skrull form), and Annette Bening (playing a scientist, a memory, and an incarnation of a Supreme Intelligence . . . it makes sense when you watch the movie). As good as they all are, there are also excellent supporting turns from Lashana Lynch and Akira Akbar, portraying a mother and daughter who have a strong connection to Carol. In fact, Lynch and Akbar have some of the best moments with Larson that emphasise the empowering message of the movie.

Which leads me on to the next big plus point. Although this has been promoted with a message of positivity and strength for women, it also has plenty of other messages in the mix, with some that feel constant, and fairly standard in the realm of comic book movies, and one that feels very relevant, and very well-handled.

What else works? The humour, for the most part. There are numerous laughs to be had here, with targets ranging from the older tech of the '90s to the cuteness of a feline named Goose, but they're interspersed in a way that doesn't tip the balance away from the essence of the story - the superhero origin. There's also a great soundtrack, including big tunes from Elastica, Nirvana, and No Doubt. And then you have the world-building, with fans being allowed a nice sense of satisfaction as you see pieces being moved into place that have already been shown established in previous films.

Now to the bad stuff. Directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who also helped to write the screenplay, seem as confused and unsure of themselves as the central character does. The opening act is a muddied and fractured collage of scenes that you know will have some context by the end of the film, which doesn't make the start any more enjoyable, and the ending is almost impossible to care about. You get a twist everyone knows is coming from the very start of the movie, you get a superhero up there with Superman (which means they're so powerful that there doesn't seem to be any real threat to them), and none of the action sequences are put together with the care and polish that we've come to expect from these movies in recent years. It's also a dull movie, in terms of both the light levels (unless they were projecting it incorrectly at my local IMAX) and the visual style. Things brighten up once we're on '90s Earth but other moments that should be treats for the eyeballs just don't feel all that spectacular or . . . shiny. And that soundtrack? As good as it is, only one song really works for the scene it is in. The rest feel either completely unnecessary or are just there to sell soundtracks and allow some viewers to enjoy a warm glow of nostalgia. The biggest mis-step may be the way a song is used in a third act fight scene, with no attempt made to at least match the rhythm of the visuals to the audio or actually use the song as part of the experience. It plays. People fight. That's all you can say about the scene.

Despite me sounding like a crotchety old man, I found enough here to have a good time at the cinema. And I'll buy Captain Marvel when it comes to shiny disc. There's a decent middle section, a nice nod to The French Connection, a pinch of The Right Stuff, a moving Stan Lee tribute, and a statement about heroism that proves more effective than many of the others (how many times do we really need to see Tony Stark have fun in his suit and defeat baddies before then feeling tortured and guilty?). It's not a terrible film, not at all. But it's not a great film either. Compared to many of the other Marvel movies, since they started their proper schedule of dominating the box office, it falls short. Not at the bottom of the pile, but maybe just below the other titles I would have ranked in the middle section.

6/10

The movie will be available to buy here.
Americans will be able to get it digitally here.

Ready Player One (2018)

I had a lot of fun when I read the book of Ready Player One (written by Ernest Cline, who also worked on the screenplay to this movie with Zak Penn) but I didn't rate it as a GOOD piece of writing. If asked to describe it by anyone, or if I decided that I should discuss it with other people, I mentioned the style of American Psycho, but instead of lots of brand names and designer labels it was overstuffed with pop culture references, mostly from the 1980s.

When I started to hear about Steven Spielberg directing the movie version of the movie, I had an optimistic view of what we might get. Spielberg knows that world. He gave us a hell of a lot of it. And he has proven, on more than one occasion, that he can take a flawed novel and pare away the worst parts to give us a real cinematic treat.

I bought my ticket, I bought my treats, and I eagerly waited to be transported to a world full of recognisable characters, moments, and cinephile-friendly easter eggs.

Basically, I got what I wanted. Sometimes.

Sadly, the film isn't the improvement on the book that I hoped it would be. It works in some ways (the casting of the main "baddie" being a big plus point, for example) and then falls down in other ways.

The basic plot, for those still unaware, is as follows. Most people spend their days living in a virtual world called the OASIS. You can do anything you want, and also build up kudos and credit that could help you in the real world. The creator of the OASIS left a number of easter eggs in the world, revealing in a video that automatically played to everyone after his death that the person to find three hidden keys would become the owner of the OASIS, which would make them the most envied individual on the planet. Tye Sheridan is Wade, who spends his time in the OASIS as Parzival, and he thinks he has what it takes to win. He also doesn't mind helping a girl that he is quite taken with, Art3mis (AKA Samantha in the real world, played by Olivia Cooke), and his best friend, Aech. But as they start to make progress on their quest, corporate bad guy Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) becomes more determined to put a stop to them, either in the OASIS or by dealing with them outside the relative safety of virtual reality.

Almost every aspect of Ready Player One has both good and bad aspects to it. Sheridan is a disappointingly bland lead, but that's okay when you get more of his scenes featuring Cooke. Mendehlson and T. J. Miller are both very good, but I can't say the same for Mark Rylance and Simon Pegg, which is very unusual for the former. And Lena Waithe, Philip Zhao, and Win Morasaki do fine, but aren't half as memorable as the hordes of CGI cameos worth keeping your eyes peeled for (which I understand is almost the driving force for the whole thing anyway).

The script does well at explaining ideas and plot points, it doesn't do so well at giving the characters any decent dialogue in between explaining ideas and plot points.

The visuals are impressive, as you'd expect, but most scenes are far too busy, either with the ongoing action or the multitude of easter eggs. What I expected to be fun onscreen actually ends up quickly becoming quite tiresome and irritating. I may change my mind when able to view the film at home and rewind certain moments, and it at least improves things structurally compared to the sloppiness of the source material, but this is very much a dual-layered experience. As an actual piece of cinema it's a hot mess, yet as a hot mess it's kind of easy to pick and choose various moments to enjoy.

Even the soundtrack falters. The score by Alan Silvestri isn't very memorable and the pop hits used throughout are just background noise when they could have been lined up with better moments to create some movie magic. Hell, the film starts with Van Halen's "Jump" blasting and then just fades it out as you get the initial info dump. High energy potential is just left to sizzle and dry up.

This should have been a home run for Spielberg. He's been back on excellent form over the past few years, he's comfortable working with all of the new industray toys, and movie nerdiness is in his blood. The fact that it isn't proves how hard it must have been to translate the story to screen. So perhaps we should just be glad that this project fell to him, rather than someone who could have made it so much worse.

6/10

The Blu-ray will be available here.
Americans can pick it up here.

Darkest Hour (2017)

Although both films are about a small, plucky bunch looking for a way to defeat a dark force that can often seem undefeatable, this is not a remake, or connected in any way, to the 2011 film starring Emile Hirsch. That was called The Darkest Hour, you see, and this is just called Darkest Hour. Although I am all for some crossover in the future that sees Churchill and co. fighting against invisible alien invaders.

Yes, in case you weren't already aware, this is a film about Winston Churchill, arguably the most famouse Prime Minister in history, as well known for his cigar-smoking and portly figure (think Hitchcock with a bow tie on) as he is for his quotes and speeches, with one in particular being the event that this whole film revolves around.

Directed by Joe Wright and written by Anthony McCarten, this is a slight step down for the former and a slight step up for the latter (can we all agree now that The Theory Of Everything, the previous film written by McCarten, wasn't THAT good?). About as solid as you can get, in terms of detail, performances, and the oh-so-Britishness of it all, there's no denying that the events shown here are very important, in relation to both Britain and the shape of the modern world, but it can be very hard to make the dusty, archaic environment of Westminster seem lively and cinematic. Let's face it, the general public have often seen snippets of political debates on TV and wondered how many of the MPs present could be diagnosed with early onset rigor mortis.

Thankfully, the cast help to make this more watchable than it otherwise would be. All the praise being heaped on Oldman, always worth your time in movies, is justly deserved. He's absolutely brilliant in the main role, nailing the attitude and determination of a man who, at times, had everyone rooting against him. Kristin Scott Thomas is supportive and good enough as Clementine, AKA Mrs Churchill, but she's given very little to do. The same goes for Lily James, playing a young secretary/worker who is given a second chance after an initial meeting with Churchill that doesn't go well at all. Faring much better from the script are Ben Mendelsohn, giving yet another superb performance as King George VI (that there fella who was the focus of The King's Speech), Stephen Dillane, and Ronald Pickup (playing Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister preceding Churchill). Politics was very much a boy's club back then, and this is reflected in the characters involved in the main strands of the story as it all winds towards THAT speech.

It's a shame that other aspects don't work as well as the performances. The script has a lot of great dialogue to work with, as you would expect, but falls down somewhat when trying to emphasise the pressure on Churchill, and the momentum that he needs to build in parliament. And a couple of weightier moments are resolved in a way that somehow feels like a bit of a half-hearted shrug. Despite the runtime just creeping over the two hour mark, it feels as if this is a film that could warrant an extra 15-20 minutes, but then you have to wonder if that would make the whole thing feel like a painful crawl. Wright does a capable job, doing what he can to keep things respectable while also engrossing and entertaining. There's just one or two elements that hold this back from being a great movie, despite that lead performance towering over everything.

Worth your time, as long as you know exactly what type of film you're getting. Just don't go into it expecting a reworking of that Emile Hirsch movie.

7/10

Order the bluray here.
Or, if in America, here.

Noir November: Killing Them Softly (2012)

A fun cast liven up this darkly comedic crime thriller, helping to elevate material that we've all seen a hundred times before, with everything underscored by a message that reminds people of how life is cheap, and how much cheaper it can get during times of economic recession.

The whole thing centres on a plan to knock off a crook (Markie, played by Ray Liotta) who runs a well-known card game in town. Knocking off any card game is usually a death sentence, but this particular crook once confessed that the only previous time he was robbed was an inside job that he arranged. That means that this time around the blame should fall squarely on his shoulders. Right? Well, that's supposed to be how it all works out, but the two robbers (Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn) are too incompetent to keep everything a secret, and the main man brought into town to clear up the mess (Jackie, played by Brad Pitt) knows that Markie wouldn't be THAT stupid. But things have to be done to restore confidence, whether Markie is guilty or not.

McNairy and Mendelsohn both do well with their roles here, but Killing Them Softly steps up a gear whenever Pitt is onscreen, his character always quick to clear away any confusing distractions and pinpoint what is needed to please bosses and get people making money again. It then steps up another gear when James Gandolfini appears, playing another body brought in to help fix the situation. Liotta is always good value, in my opinion, and Richard Jenkins provides a lot of amusement as the man relaying to Pitt's character just what action is deemed necessary to make things right.

Adapting the novel "Cogan's Trade", by George V. Higgins, writer-director Andrew Dominik may not do enough to let the film stand out from the many other crime flicks to have cropped up over the years, but he realises that the strength of the film lies in a few of the main characters and affords them some great moments. Whether it's Gandolfini throwing back Martinis as he tries to hold in a burning ball of resentment and anger or the last lines of dialogue spat out by a character summing up the entire theme of the film, every one of the leads has at least one memorable scene.

As expected, there are some moments of harsh violence. This isn't a world inhabited by girl scouts selling cookies, however, so the violence shouldn't come as a shock to any viewers, although some of it IS impressively shocking. There's also plenty of humour, as black as it is. All in all, this is a good, though unspectacular, crime flick. Not necessarily one to prioritise, but worth watching if the chance arises.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Bly-ray-Digital-UltraViolet-Blu-ray/dp/B009AMALBM/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1415878346&sr=1-2&keywords=killing+them+softly