Prison stuff. In prison movies.
“Dear Lord, violence is the artist and I am just the brush…” prays James ‘Animal’ Allen (Ving Rhames) in his Folsom Prison cell. At least, I think that’s what he says… it’s a bit hard to hear because there’s a riot going on in the background. (more…)
Posted on August 10th, 2011 at 9:36 pm. Updated on August 10th, 2011 at 9:36 pm.
“They exploded the ugliest riot in prison history to cover their dangerous, desperate break for freedom.” So says the film’s tag-line. But it’s nonsense. This is the prison riot you have when you’re not having a prison riot. (more…)
Posted on August 3rd, 2011 at 9:30 pm. Updated on August 3rd, 2011 at 9:30 pm.
I haven’t yet seen Screwed (2011) but The Escapist (2008) would seem to have set a bit of a trend for modern British prison movies; observing all the conventions of the genre, exploring very traditional prison themes… but with a twist. (more…)
Posted on July 27th, 2011 at 11:13 pm. Updated on March 8th, 2016 at 12:39 pm.
Some films are timeless. This isn’t one of them.
Posted on July 8th, 2011 at 10:37 pm. Updated on July 8th, 2011 at 10:37 pm.
“I’ve been waiting for my father to show up for 20 goddamn years, and you the fuck showed up!” So says a tiny-bit-disappointed Darius (Terrence Howard) to his once street-respected (ie outrageously violent) father who gets out of prison after a long stretch, only to have become a man disappointingly committed to eschewing crime and being an advocate for “smart, not tough”. (more…)
Posted on July 4th, 2011 at 9:42 pm. Updated on July 4th, 2011 at 9:42 pm.
This is quite a fascinating film, as much for the caution with which it treats (or rather side-steps) the churning political turmoil which serves as a constant backdrop to the action, as the main story of a prison escapee being pulled in several different directions. (more…)
Posted on May 1st, 2011 at 12:09 am. Updated on December 17th, 2013 at 9:41 pm.
Burke Wyatt (Johnny Messner) used to be a cop before he got a little rough with a child abuser. Now driving trucks and no longer living with his wife, he is recruited by his ex-partner, now with the FBI, to go undercover at California’s Cainesville State Prison, where there have been a lot of unexplained deaths. In prison he is soon drafted into no-holds-barred fights (shown live on the internet) where the prisoners are sometimes so badly beaten they die. He gets badly hurt himself. That could explain the deaths, then. “Got some leads,” he says in a smuggled message back to the FBI. “Need more time.” No doubt he was a good cop, just not the sharpest. (more…)
Posted on March 28th, 2011 at 8:41 pm. Updated on March 28th, 2011 at 8:41 pm.
If you can get past the notion that a prison guard can be stabbed to death and then, rather than have it investigated by the Police, the Warden is able to brutalise twelve prisoners for six months in the hope that one of them will falsely confess to the killing, you may well enjoy this film. (more…)
Posted on March 5th, 2011 at 10:23 pm. Updated on March 5th, 2011 at 10:23 pm.
Remember when ‘Made in Taiwan’ instantly suggested an inferior copy of the real thing? Perhaps you don’t, but Island of Fire evokes that era perfectly; it is a woeful agglomeration of martial arts action drama, crime thriller, and unashamed rip-offs of other films, notably Cool Hand Luke (1967). (more…)
Posted on February 27th, 2011 at 6:01 pm. Updated on February 27th, 2011 at 6:01 pm.
It can be difficult when the three main characters in a movie are all morally reprehensible, but here it’s part of the attraction. There are demons on both sides of the prison wall, parallels in the lack of willingness to wrestle with them, and plenty of moral ambiguity. (more…)
Posted on February 24th, 2011 at 10:14 pm. Updated on August 29th, 2019 at 8:48 pm.