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	<title>On demand &#8211; Film Legacy </title>
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	<title>On demand &#8211; Film Legacy </title>
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		<title>Crescent City review: Murder in Little Rock</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/08/20/crescent-city-review-murder-in-little-rock/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Aug 2024 20:34:54 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Action]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=1172</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Powerful casting helps compensate for weak writing in Crescent City, a mean-spirited film noir set in Little Rock, Arkansas. Familiar faces like Terence Howard, Esai Morales, and an effective Alec Baldwin have no trouble navigating the twists and turns in &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2024/08/20/crescent-city-review-murder-in-little-rock/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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<p class="has-text-align-center"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1174" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2MJ5882.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2MJ5882.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2MJ5882-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Powerful casting helps compensate for weak writing in <em>Crescent City</em>, a mean-spirited film noir set in Little Rock, Arkansas. Familiar faces like Terence Howard, Esai Morales, and an effective Alec Baldwin have no trouble navigating the twists and turns in Rich Ronat&#8217;s script. If only they had better material to work with.</p>



<p>Spoiler alert: I&#8217;m not sure director RJ Collins always shows a scene honestly, especially once flashbacks come into play. Alfred Hitchcock famously toyed with unreliable scenes in <em>Stage Fright</em>, but it&#8217;s a tough strategy to justify (and one he abandoned quickly).</p>



<p>So stipulated, <em>Crescent City</em> opens with the drugging and murder of a cheating husband, whose decapitated corpse is discovered by cops Brian Sutter (Terrence Howard) and Luke Carson (Esai Morales). It&#8217;s the third murder in the area, suggesting a serial killer. As a result, their boss, Captain Howell (Alec Baldwin), assigns them a new partner, Jaclyn Waters (Nicky Whelan), a blonde originally from Australia.</p>



<p>Waters is actually an Internal Affairs agent investigating a shooting in which a teenager was killed during a drug bust. Brian, clearly suffering from some form of PTSD, has debilitating fits about the incident. Luke is hiding his own secrets. In a bizarre scene, we watch him rape the hostess of a local bar in a bathroom.</p>



<p>Brian&#8217;s wife is upset that he refuses to go to counseling. She&#8217;d been even angrier if she knew that Brian and Jackie are having an affair. They meet near the spot of one of the murders, and as the story unfolds Brian realizes he is being set up as a fall guy for the killer.</p>



<p>The most interesting thing about Brian is that he isn&#8217;t very bright. (No one is in <em>Crescent City</em>, apart from Baldwin&#8217;s Howell, a profane but clever cop who figures out the plot before his cops do.) Brian presents himself as a father figure with strong religious ties, leading to emotional conflicts that affect his work.</p>



<p>He&#8217;s also not a very good cop, missing glaring clues and giving inept interrogations. Howard adopts a thick accent that makes Brian seem even less intelligent.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><img decoding="async" width="600" height="400" class="wp-image-1175" style="width: 600px;" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2MJ4593.jpg" alt="" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2MJ4593.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2MJ4593-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /></p>



<p>Give credit to the filmmakers for being willing to go darker than necessary. With its corrupt cops, sex clubs, and deserted alleys, <em>Crescent City</em> presents Little Rock as a sort of minor league New Orleans, minus the bayous, food, and music. The atmosphere is moody and decadent enough to satisfy noir fans, but the plot keeps veering into strange digressions.</p>



<p>The filmmakers introduce a sex website with connections to Brian&#8217;s church, but fail to do anything with it. Or with an abuse victim who commits suicide. Or a murder victim from a Sex Anonymous group. Instead we get a couple of reasonably steamy sex scenes, a lot of bickering between Brian and Luke, and more red flags than viewers really need.</p>



<p>Baldwin is quick and efficient, Morales adds welcome depravity to his character, and Whelan somehow manages to fit her Australian cop into a deep South milieu. And Maria Camila Giraldo shines in a thankless role as a cop who turns up at every Little Rock homicide. But <em>Crescent City</em> adds up to less than the sum of its parts.</p>



<p><strong>Credits</strong></p>



<p>Director: RJ Collins. Writer: Rich Ronat. Producers: Denise Loren, Eduard Osipov, Vince Jolivette, David Lipper, Robert A. Daly, Jr. Director of photography Alex Salahi. Edited by Eric Potter. Production designer: Julian Brown. <strong>Cast:</strong> Terrence Howard, Esai Morales, Nicky Whelan, Alec Baldwin, Michael Sirow, Weston Cage Coppola, Rose Lane Sanfilippo, Maria Camila Giraldo.</p>



<p>In theaters, on digital and on demand. Photos courtesy Lionsgate. Top: Howard, Whelan. Bottom: Howard, Giraldo, Morales.</p>
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		<title>The Vault: a bank heist in Madrid</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/26/the-vault-a-bank-heist-in-madrid/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:20:16 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[On demand]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=838</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[A professionally executed heist movie that still misses the mark, The Vault is smoothly entertaining but curiously low on suspense. The goal — break into the Bank of Spain&#8217;s impregnable basement vault — is intriguing, the plan just this side &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/26/the-vault-a-bank-heist-in-madrid/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>A
professionally executed heist movie that still misses the mark, <em>The Vault</em> is smoothly entertaining but
curiously low on suspense. The goal — break into the Bank of Spain&#8217;s
impregnable basement vault — is intriguing, the plan just this side of
preposterous, and the characters&#8217; motives generally admirable. A good cast,
superior production values, appealing genre: what could go wrong?</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" width="600" height="429" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-839" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy-300x215.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-4-copy-210x150.jpg 210w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>  (Left to right) Freddie Highmore, Sam Riley, and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. All photos courtesy of Saban Films.</figcaption></figure>



<p>Director
Jaume Balagueró hits all the expected beats with aplomb, aided by Daniel Aranyó&#8217;s
plush cinematography. The visuals pull viewers along, gliding through the kind
of splendidly gigantic sets that exist only in the genre. Marble staircases,
leaded glass ceilings, towering warehouses, air conditioning ducts that open
into enormous chambers: it&#8217;s <em>Mission:
Impossible</em> and <em>Ocean&#8217;s Eleven</em> and
<em>Fast and Furious</em> and <em>The Italian Job</em>, only with a flavor of
Madrid. Don&#8217;t forget massive banks of surveillance monitors, nerds who can
overcome any computer firewalls, pickpockets who can crack any safe, and in
this instance scuba divers who can work for minutes without oxygen. </p>



<p>Since
you&#8217;ve seen something very much like this before, it&#8217;s up to the characters to
hold viewers&#8217; attention. <em>The Vault</em>
starts with Walter Moreland (Liam Cunningham), a driven entrepreneur determined
to retrieve a fortune he believes was stolen by the Spanish government. Then
there&#8217;s James (Sam Riley), a former Special Forces something-or-other who has
vague ties with this and that. He&#8217;s just that underwritten, and with Riley
playing him as an enigma, he is basically a blank.</p>



<p>Top-billed
Freddie Highmore is Thom, a genius college student entertaining job offers from
Big Oil firms mad for his problem-solving skills. He&#8217;s lured by pickpocket
Lorraine (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey) into a high-stakes crime because, well, maybe
he&#8217;s rebelling against his father, maybe he&#8217;s an adrenaline junkie, maybe it&#8217;s
in his contract. Both performers do surprisingly well with their stereotypes.
Highmore winks just enough to let viewers know he&#8217;s in on the joke, but is stalwart
when called upon to leap over chasms or jump out of windows. Bergès-Frisbey
uses her amazingly expressive face to deflate some of the massive amounts of
testosterone on display.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-840" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-12-copy-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>  Freddie Highmore and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey.</figcaption></figure>



<p>On
the villainous side are the good guys: bank security head Gustavo (José
Coronado) and his minions. Like Andy Garcia or Al Pacino in the <em>Oceans</em> franchise, Gustavo&#8217;s job is to
discover schemes after the fact, then stew angrily when the orders he barks out
don&#8217;t work. Sadly, his role has no bite.</p>



<p><em>The Vault</em> opens with an eerie
underwater shot of a ship bursting into flame. Its title credits run over a
montage of security obstacles Walter&#8217;s team must overcome to break into the
bank. Drones, helicopters, and steadicams give the editing an intoxicating
forward momentum. The locations and crowds are extravagant, the pacing hums
along comfortably. On many levels <em>The
Vault</em> is extremely entertaining.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="400" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-841" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/THE-VAULT-1-copy-225x150.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>  Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, frankly the best reason to watch The Vault.</figcaption></figure>



<p>If
only the script worked. The plot to <em>The
Vault</em> is endless near misses, followed by anxious regrouping back at
headquarters. Team members are almost caught in stairways, elevators, meetings,
rooftops. Ladders almost collapse, tape loops almost run out, magnetometers
almost fail. Walter is forever counting down seconds to deadlines that are
always met.</p>



<p>Viewers
will realize early on that almost nothing is at stake in the storyline. What&#8217;s
worse, the script doesn&#8217;t allow for car chases, fistfights, explosions, etc.,
so action — apart from nervous stares and baited breaths — is essentially
nonexistent. So while <em>The Vault</em> is
always pleasant to watch, it doesn&#8217;t quite reach the level of essential
viewing.</p>



<p><em>The Vault</em> is available in select theaters,
on digital and On Demand March 26, 2021.</p>
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		<title>Foiling terrorists in SAS: Red Notice</title>
		<link>https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/23/foiling-terrorists-in-sas-red-notice/</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Mar 2021 16:26:32 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[On demand]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/?p=832</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In spy parlance, a &#8220;red notice&#8221; gives agents legal authority to find and arrest suspects. Adapted from a novel by former special forces operator Andy McNab, SAS: Red Notice takes that one step further, sending vacationing agent Tom Buckingham (Sam &#8230; <a href="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/2021/03/23/foiling-terrorists-in-sas-red-notice/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>In
spy parlance, a &#8220;red notice&#8221; gives agents legal authority to find and
arrest suspects. Adapted from a novel by former special forces operator Andy
McNab, <em>SAS: Red Notice</em> takes that one
step further, sending vacationing agent Tom Buckingham (Sam Heughan) off on his
own to defeat a terrorist attack on the Channel Tunnel.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="338" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-833" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun.jpg 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun-300x169.jpg 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Heughan-gun-250x141.jpg 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Sam Heughan as Tom Wilkinson in SAS: Red Notice</figcaption></figure>



<p>Tom&#8217;s
not technically alone, he&#8217;s taking his potential fiancée Sophie Hart (Hannah
John-Kamen) to Paris to propose. She&#8217;s skeptical about his job, worried that
his missions have erased his moral compass. The action genre being what it is,
she will soon be rooting for Tom to kill as many villains as he can.</p>



<p>A
long prologue finds the Black Swans, an elite mercenary group, disrupting
peaceful protests against a pipeline by massacring the residents of a rural
village. Led by William Lewis (Tom Wilkinson), the Swans show no mercy, except
for William&#8217;s disappointing son Oliver (Owain Yeoman), who would rather negotiate
than kill.</p>



<p>His
more bloodthirsty sister Grace (Ruby Rose) fails to prevent a survivor from
uploading a smartphone video of the incident to the internet. Result: a red
notice against Black Swan leaders. The assault, a protracted battle in a
country manor, is led by Tom and his buddy Declan Smith (Tom Hopper), overseen
by shadowy military figure George Clements (Andy Serkis).</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="235" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02.png" alt="" class="wp-image-835" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02.png 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02-300x118.png 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_02-250x98.png 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Black Swan Ruby Rose</figcaption></figure>



<p>The
siblings escape to plot their next move: hijacking a Eurostar passenger train
after it enters the Channel Tunnel. So, yes, it&#8217;s a long lead in to <em>Die Hard in the Chunnel</em>.</p>



<p>The
Vertical Entertainment and Redbox Entertainment release, available on demand as
of March 16, boasts an unusually high-profile cast. The always professional
Wilkinson delivers a crisp performance, while Serkis finds ways to flesh out
what could have been a stereotyped character. Ruby Rose continues her string of
scowling, glowering anti-heroes. Her sensational presence is undimmed by a role
that fails to live up to her potential.</p>



<p>Even
the supporting players are strong. Hannah John-Kamen could have been annoying
and shrill, but she plays Sophie expertly, winning sympathy. Buffed-up Tom
Hopper could easily have taken the lead here, but is relegated to the sidelines
for much of the film.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="600" height="289" src="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-836" srcset="https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1.png 600w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1-300x145.png 300w, https://www.filmlegacy.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SAS_Red_Notice_01-1-250x120.png 250w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" /><figcaption>Ruby Rose, Hannah John-Kamen</figcaption></figure>



<p>Sam
Heughan, best-known as Jamie Fraser in <em>Outlander</em>,
has the physique of an action hero but few of the physical skills. Perhaps
undermined by the stunt team, Heughan seems stiff and awkward in his fights.
Tom Buckingham may be the only special forces operative never to have seen <em>Die Hard</em>, because he sure can&#8217;t figure
out the bad guys or their plots. He keeps stumbling into the same
confrontations, unable to outwit villains who, let&#8217;s face it, aren&#8217;t the
brightest foils.</p>



<p>Director
Magnus Martens, a veteran of TV series like <em>The
Walking Dead</em>, handles the large-scale scenes well enough, although the
action is more sound and fury than credible stunts. What sinks <em>SAS: Red Notice</em>, apart from its leaden
star, is a plot that is far-fetched and predictable at the same time.</p>



<p>Working
in the movie&#8217;s favor: the professionalism of its cast and crew, and respect for
viewers. <em>SAS: Red Notice</em> takes its
mission to entertain seriously.</p>
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