Noir November: A Walk Among The Tombstones (2014)

Liam Neeson is a hard man in this movie. That's no surprise, of course, considering that he's been a hard man in, oh, about 95% of his cinematic output over the past decade. So I'll go into a bit more detail. Liam Neeson is a hard man by the name of Matt Scudder, an ex-cop who spends a lot of time at AA meetings. He doesn't seem too internet-savvy, he still uses payphones, and he's clearly an old-fashioned kinda guy, in many ways. But when he's asked to help out with quite a serious problem it soon becomes obvious that he can get results. Enlisting the help of young TJ (Brian "Astro" Bradley), Scudder finds himself embroiled in the kind of hard-boiled adventure that Sam Spade would relish. There are missing dames, a selection of bad guys who are good and bad guys who are really bad, and body parts turning up where they really shouldn't.

Based on a novel by Lawrence Block, A Walk Among The Tombstones has been brought to the screen by writer-director Scott Frank, and a fine job he's made of it. There's some great dialogue peppered throughout the script, the twists and turns are satisfying enough, and things start to get increasingly grim in the second half, in terms of the situation that Scudder is trying to resolve and also his own backstory being revealed.

Neeson can do this role in his sleep, but he never does. Scudder is not exactly like other characters that he's recently played, despite the self-assured nature and ability to handle himself. He has something eating away at him, and that has led to his major motivation (also revealed in the second half of the film). Bradley is very good as the smart-mouthed TJ, a young lad who wants to get into the world of detective work. Dan Stevens and Boyd Holbrook both do well, playing the two men who get Neeson's character involved in the murderous plot, with the former a drug dealer and the latter a struggling addict. David Harbour and Adam David Thompson also do well in pivotal roles.

You could make the point that, despite the many differences, this FEELS like every other Neeson movie from the past few years (there's often even a bit of Good Cop/Bad Cop in his roles), yet it's hard to knock the guy for sticking with roles that have really been paying off for him. There are even a few nice surprises here, mainly thanks to the moral ambiguity of the main characters and one or two good, standard shocks. Others, however, may not see it that way, understandably.

I say give this a go, especially if you're a fan of Neeson's screen persona of badassness. You may not love it, but you just might end up liking it a lot more than you expected to. As happened to me.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Among-Tombstones-Blu-ray-DIGITAL-UltraViolet/dp/B00NQE6X3A/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1413790600&sr=1-1&keywords=a+walk+among+the+tombstones

The Funhouse (1981)

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I just don't understand how Tobe Hooper managed to create something as fantastic as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Nothing else that he's directed has even come close to showing any sign of talent. Poltergeist has the fingerprints of Spielberg all over it, no matter who the actual director was. Lifeforce is a movie I love and hate in equal measure (the new Bluray release - here - is essential). Invaders From Mars was a terrible remake, Crocodile was average, Mortuary was okay and only Toolbox Murders managed to keep me thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

The Funhouse has a fair number of fans. It's a fairly simple premise - a bunch of young 'uns decide to stay in the titular funhouse after the fair winds down and end up getting in a bit of trouble - but it has great potential. Unfortunately, Tobe Hooper (working from a script by Lawrence Block) fails to deliver on that potential.

There are some things here that work. The atmosphere and visual style of the carnival is among the very best to be put onscreen (up there with the great carnival fun of Ghoulies II) and there are some great prosthetics used to create one particularly memorable character.

Unfortunately, that's about it. The cast are okay, I guess. Elizabeth Berridge is a decent, albeit bland, nominal lead, and she's surrounded by a bunch of people that I couldn't bring myself to care about. It's not all their fault. That script by Block is strong when it comes to the full-on carnival moments but weak when it comes to the main characters.

It's also a film that's not that scary for a horror movie. Of course, that's not always the worst crime for a horror movie to commit (as strange as it seems), but this just doesn't have enough going on to keep viewers engaged. The first half of the movie is, to put it bluntly, pretty boring. When things start to actually happen it's still not as exciting as it could/should be, with Hooper seemingly reticent to add any tension or draw out any potential set-pieces. And the less said about the finale, the better.

I may well give The Funhouse another try some day, it's certainly not bad enough to completely dismiss and I still ended up buying the impressive Bluray from Arrow, but for now I am standing with the other people I know who just didn't get the love for this one. Give it a watch and see where you stand.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Funhouse-Blu-ray/dp/B004Z132V4/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1354078556&sr=1-1