Deadfall

Reviews

John Chard
Like an angel come down from the storm. Deadfall is directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky and written by Zach Dean. It stars Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Kate Mara, Treat Williams, Kris Kristofferson and Sissy Spacek. Music is by Marco Beltrami and cinematography by Shane Hurlbut. Siblings Addison (Bana) and Liza (Wilde) are fleeing a casino heist that’s gone badly wrong. Deciding to split up, they arrange to meet up at a later point and go their separate ways. Liza hooks up with ex-convict Jay (Hunnam) while Addison has a date with an abusive father. All while the police, led by a father and daughter pairing who have their own family issues, close in on them along with a blizzard. Ruzowitzky’s snowy neo-noir may not have the most brainiest of plots, but it makes up for that elsewhere with genuine thrills, spills and wintry chills. Shane Hurlbut photographs it in steely cold metallic blues, piercing whites and bloody reds, then laying an ethereal sheen over the night time sequences. This is perfect tonal accompaniment to the characterisations fronting the story, Addison and Liza have definite incestuous leanings, with the former capable of brutal violence when required. Jay, out of prison, is a big disappointment to his father (Kristofferson), but more pressing concerns are a deadly confrontation he is forced into, and that he’s falling for Liza, who appears to be damaged goods and whose motives are unclear. On the supposed good side of the snowy fence is Hannah (Mara) and Becker (Williams), daughter and father cops, she strives to make her daddy proud, he resents her for not being a son, even chastising her with cold venom in front of other officers. It’s a whirlpool of troubled characters battling it out in the snowy wilds of North America. Ruzowitzky inserts some quality action sequences as the protagonists/antagonists snake towards their date with destiny, which arrives in a classy film noir trope way at Jay’s parents house. The air is pungent with fatalism and the link of all characters having kin problems gives the narrative some bite. Very well performed by the cast, this is comfortably recommended to neo-noir lovers. 7.5/10

Wuchak
_**A hell of a Thanksgiving in northern Michigan**_ After a heist in Michigan, a killer and his little sister (Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde) take different paths in the snowy wilderness just before Thanksgiving. An ex-con (Charlie Hunnam) who happens to be fleeing authorities in Detroit meets the girl on the way to his parents’ remote farmhouse (Kris Kristofferson & Sissy Spacek). Meanwhile the cops are on their trail (Treat Williams & Kate Mara). Who will survive the holiday? “Deadfall” (2012) is a wintery crime thriller in the mold of “Fargo” (1996), “A Simple Plan” (1998) and “Wind River” (2017). It’s the least of these due to contrivances and occasional bad scripting, like the police chief’s eye-rolling verbal abuse of his daughter (I’m not saying mistreatment like this doesn’t occur, just that it could be written & executed more convincingly). Yet the snowy, sylvan landscapes are great and the thrills are constant. Plus there are some interesting neo-noir dramatic threads and you can’t beat the notable cast, including the striking Olivia (who looks like she needs to eat some hamburgers). The film runs 1 hour, 34 minutes, and was shot in Quebec, in areas outside Montreal. GRADE: B-/B
Movie Recommendation
- Deep Dark Canyon2013-04-23Bloom Towne is a small-town sheriff under the thumb of the well-established, deeply influential Mayor Dick Cavanaugh's family. When Bloom's two teenage sons, Nate and Skylar accidentally shoot and kill Dick during a deer-hunt, Bloom's long-held allegiance to the reigning Cavanaugh clan is tested. Skylar (still a minor) decides to take the wrap for his older brother Nate, claiming he fired the fatal shot. The Cavanaugh family's quick retaliation sends Skylar on his way to county jail, soon to be tried as an adult. Desperate and guilt-ridden, Nate breaks Skylar out of jail and sets off a chain of lawless acts, which send them deep into the woods and on the run. Bloom's choice between the law and his sons leads to revelations of old family secrets that threaten to destroy everything he loves.More...
- Ira & Abby2006-06-23A neurotic, young psychology student, with low self-esteem, has a chance encounter with a free-spirited, extremely gregarious woman who works at the Paris Health Club in New York City, and who suggests that they immediately get married to see how it will work out. Both of the student's parents are analysts, and they provide the happy couple with a gift certificate for a year of marriage counseling as a wedding present.More...
- The Diabetes Solution2021-11-09The diabetes community has been filled with deception for the past 50 years. The typical guidelines for managing diabetes have ultimately caused suffering for millions of people with the disease. Follow a group of families and doctors as they present a solution to managing diabetes that could spare many patients from devastating complications in this seminal documentary about diabetes.More...
- Alien Girl2010-06-171990s. Gangster Kiev. A team of four men is assigned to deliver a girl from Prague, nicknamed "Alien", the sister of a recently arrested criminal called Babai, whose testimony could damage some important people.More...
- Final Approach2008-05-24FBI hostage rescue team leader Jack Bender has been sacked for not being a team player, and months later he finds himself in the ultimate hostage nightmare: stuck aboard a plane that's been taken over by a group of well-armed terrorists who threaten to detonate a nuclear weapon unless they receive a billion dollarsMore...
- Hidden in the Woods2012-08-20The story of two sisters who have been raised in isolation, subjected to the torment of their abusive, drug dealing father. When they finally decide to report him to the police, he kills the two officers and is put in jail. But things go from bad to worse when the girls must answer to their Uncle Costello, a psychotic drug kingpin, who shows up looking for his missing merchandise which is hidden in the woods.More...
- Freerunner2011-09-14With a ticking bomb locked to his neck, a young freerunner races against the clock and all types of baddies to get from one end of the city to the other to save himself and his girlfriend.More...
- Dragonwyck1946-04-19For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter, to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.More...
- Coldplay: Live 20122012-11-13A concert film documenting English pop rock band Coldplay's 2011-2012 'Mylo Xyloto' world tour, capturing their live shows at Paris's Stade de France, Montreal's Bell Centre, and Glastonbury Festival's Pyramid Stage.More...
- Odette Toulemonde2007-02-07Objectively, Odette Toulemonde has nothing to be happy about, but is. Balthazar Balsan has everything to be happy about, but isn’t. Odette, awkwardly forty, with a delightful hairdresser son and a daughter bogged down in adolescence, spends her days behind the cosmetic’s counter in a department store and her nights sewing feathers on costumes for Parisian variety shows. She dreams of thanking Balthazar Balsan, her favorite author, to whom – she believes – she owes her optimism. The rich and charming Parisian writer then turns up in her life in an unexpected way.More...
- Nicholas Nickleby2002-12-27Nicholas Nickleby, a young boy in search of a better life, struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his coldheartedly grasping uncle.More...
- Metropia2009-10-21In the near future, oil reserves are nearly depleted and Europe is connected by series of underground tunnels. While navigating these tunnels, Roger hears voices, one in particular. Seeking a way to rid himself of the voice only leads Roger deeper into a bizarre conspiracy of control - mind and body.More...
- Dark Blue2002-12-14Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.More...
- A Fairy Tale Wedding2014-04-10After twenty years, five high school classmates meet again at Daniele's wedding, the only one who has built a career for himself. During a long weekend in Switzerland, the five friends rediscover the affection and complicity of the past, and they get a chance to straighten out their destinies. A whirlwind of misunderstandings will bring down their shaky balances, and they'll all find the courage to put themselves on the line and start their lives afreshMore...
- Wrecked2010-04-01A man awakens in a car wreck at the bottom of a steep cliff. He can't remember who he is or how he got there, but a report over the radio fills in some of the blanks, as it describes a violent bank robbery and names a perpetrator who happens to be sitting dead in the back seat.More...
- The Protector1985-06-15Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.More...
- Arbitrage2012-09-14A troubled hedge fund magnate, desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire, makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.More...
- Declaration of War2011-08-31Roméo and Juliette are two young actors. They fall in love at first sight, move in together and make a baby. A love story and the founding of a home like millions of others. Except that their little boy, Adam, behaves abnormally. The young parents try hard to persuade themselves that everything is okay but, with the passing of time, they cannot delude themselves anymore: their son has a problem. From now on, war is declared. A war against illness. A war against Death. A war against despair.More...
- Hannah Arendt2012-09-11HANNAH ARENDT is a portrait of the genius that shook the world with her discovery of “the banality of evil.” After she attends the Nazi Adolf Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem, Arendt dares to write about the Holocaust in terms no one has ever heard before. Her work instantly provokes a furious scandal, and Arendt stands strong as she is attacked by friends and foes alike. But as the German-Jewish émigré also struggles to suppress her own painful associations with the past, the film exposes her beguiling blend of arrogance and vulnerability — revealing a soul defined and derailed by exile.More...
- Species: The Awakening2007-10-17A scientist, Dr Hollander, takes his niece Miranda to Mexico in an attempt to reverse the effects of the alien DNA he used to create her. However the treatment goes horribly wrong, and sets Miranda on a killing spree as she sets out to find a mate.More...
Similar Movies
My Brother's Keeper
2014-02-07Two very different brothers: Gregor (32) and Pietschi (30). Whereas one is reliable and committed, the other is spontaneous and aimless. Gregor is married and is a good doctor; Pietschi in contrast is something of a ladies’ man and a hedonist. According to tradition, the two see each other at least once a year for a weekend of sailing. But this year Pietschi drops out without leaving a message, and simply disappears. Gregor’s life goes on, but he is confused and searches everywhere for a sign of his brother’s whereabouts. The more Gregor realises how little he knows about his brother, the more he becomes fascinated by these things he doesn't know. And the longer Pietschi remains missing, the more obsessed Gregor becomes with his brother’s fading echo, even going so far as to try and slip into his brother’s life. But what happens when one of them suddenly disappears from the mirror image? Can the other continue to be the person they are. Or rather, were?American History X
1998-07-01Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.Memento
2000-10-11Leonard Shelby is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife. The difficulty of locating his wife's killer, however, is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of short-term memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why.Blade Runner
1982-06-25In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.Dirty Dancing
1987-08-21Expecting the usual tedium that accompanies a summer in the Catskills with her family, 17-year-old Frances 'Baby' Houseman is surprised to find herself stepping into the shoes of a professional hoofer—and unexpectedly falling in love.Léon: The Professiona...
1994-09-14Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.Back to Burgundy
2017-06-14Jean left his hometown ten years ago. When his father falls ill, he comes back and reunites with his sister Juliette and his brother Jérémie. As seasons go by around their vineyard, they'll have to trust each other again.Are You Lonesome Toni...
1992-01-22A desperate socialite seeks her missing husband, troubled by bad investments and debts, with help from a private eye and the high-priced call girl hubby had been seeing.When the Love is Gone...
2013-11-27When the Love Is Gone is a 2013 Filipino romantic drama film directed by Andoy Ranay, starring Cristine Reyes, Gabby Concepcion, Alice Dixson, Andi Eigenmann, and Jake Cuenca. The film is distributed by Viva Films with co-production of Multivision Pictures and was released November 27, 2013 nationwide as part of Viva Films' 32nd anniversary. The movie is a remake of the 1983 blockbuster movie directed by Danny Zialcita entitled Nagalit ang Buwan sa Haba ng Gabi which stars Dindo Fernando, Gloria Diaz, Laurice Guillen, and Eddie Garcia.You Can Choose Your F...
2007-06-07Comedy drama about a family reunion written by and starring Richard Herring. It's Ken and Margaret Snell's 45th wedding anniversary and their children and grandchildren along gather to celebrate. For Ken and Margaret's children, it's a day to revisit childhood arguments and to paper over present-day fractures in their relationships.Hangout
2016-12-22After nine celebrities accept an invitation to visit a remote island, they find themselves trapped with a mysterious killer hunting them down.The Sea Hornet
1951-11-06"The Sea Hornet" was a merchant ship sunk, supposedly by a torpedo, less than a mile off the California Coast during World War Two. Six years later when his buddy is killed, attempting to blow up the sunken ship, on the orders of Suntan Radford and Tony Sullivan, deep-sea diver "Gunner" McNeil has his suspicions aroused... especially since Suntan is the daughter of the ship's captain that died when the ship sunk, and Sullivan was a crew member. Plus the fact the ship had over a million dollars in cash on board. During the course of his investigation, he becomes romantically involved with Ginger SullivanIn the Blood
2014-04-04When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.Monstruo de Xibalba
2024-09-26Rogelio (8) wants to unravel the mystery of death. When his parents send him off to Yucatán, he meets the Xibalba Monster, an old hermit who is sick but has made a deal with the Lords of the Underworld to remain amongst the living.Kill Bill: Vol. 2
2004-04-16The Bride unwaveringly continues on her roaring rampage of revenge against the band of assassins who had tried to kill her and her unborn child. She visits each of her former associates one-by-one, checking off the victims on her Death List Five until there's nothing left to do … but kill Bill.K-PAX
2001-10-26Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.The Interpreter
2005-04-08After Silvia Broome, an interpreter at United Nations headquarters, overhears plans of an assassination, an American Secret Service agent is sent to investigate.Minority Report
2002-06-20John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.The Good German
2006-12-15An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.Lucky Number Slevin
2006-02-24Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.