B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - THE DEATH OF RITCHIE (TV 1977)

Looks like a lot of fun to me, I don't know. Seriously and for those that don't know, The Death Of Ritchie is one of the most iconic TV movies of the entire '70's decade. I was roughly 15 when it aired and i can tell you that both Robby Benson and teens taking drugs were very hot topics at the time. The film is based on a true story where a father who couldn't control his teen's behavior from drug abuse was forced to take the law into his own hands. The father here is good ole Ben Gazzara and he is at his Gazzara best with a ferocious intensity, his scenes with Benson as father and son a perfect chemistry. At the time more emphasis was on Benson as a model but his performance here is really amazing. Streams free on Tubi, Freevee, Roku and Plex, if this was being rated on the standard scale I would give it five stars, 'nuff said. 2.75 stars/2.75

Sunday, May 22, 2022

SAMUEL L JACKSON IS A "CLEANER" (2007) - NOT THE KIND THAT WEARS AN APRON, THE KIND THAT CLEANS UP CRIME SCENES

 

From the director of Die Hard 2 comes this tidy little thriller about a crime scene cleaner who slowly starts to realize he's becoming part of a cover-up. The first portion of the movie sets up our characters showing Tom cleaning up at his various crime scenes, he's a single dad with a teenage daughter. One day he does a job at a mansion and leaves his key by accident. When he goes back the next day to retrieve it, the owner of the house (Eva Mendes) seems to know nothing about the clean-up job and claims nothing ever happened at the house. This puts the plot in motion which also involves, yep, a couple of corrupt cops. Played excellently by Ed Harris and Luis Guzman. 

The film has a very slight but tangible noir feeling about it and the production design is quite nice, the vibe of the film feeling like the clean-ups themselves - quick, precise, and wrapped up. I like Ed Harris a lot here. While he can certainly carry a whole film on his own he always seems to be better in those bit parts. Guzman has more lines than normal for him but is excellent as always. All in all, it's a good little thriller, in my opinion, deserving of higher ratings than most reviews. Cleaner streams on Netflix, Fubu and VOD. 3.0 stars/5

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