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

Monday, January 30, 2023

JOHN BOYEGA IS "BREAKING" (2022) INTO A BANK - IS THIS REALLY A MODERN VERSION OF DOG DAY AFTERNOON?

 

BREAKING heralds its arrival as a modern day version of Dog Day Afternoon, the 1973 bank robbery movie with Al Pacino. While it makes a gallant attempt, those are pretty big shoes to fill and it's doubtful that fifty years from now BREAKING will be remembered on any level even close to Dog Day. Nonetheless, British actor extraordinaire John Boyega gives an admirable performance as a hostage-taking robber who simply wants eight hundred dollars the VA took from him by error to be put back into his account. 

Of course all this brings out the SWAT team and a laid-back negotiator played by Michael K Williams.  With the robber also involving a news anchor, his ex wife and the bank manager in his ordeal, the race is on to diffuse the situation. 

The movie is just a tad too chatty for a bank robbery flick, it seems to want to be more of a character driven piece. I may have stuck at least one or two more action oriented scenes in. Still, it's more than a worthy addition to the bank robbery genre. BREAKING is available on all the VOD outlets.  3.0 stars/5

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