Genre: Drama, Thriller, TV Movie

Year: 2008

Country: UK, Canada

Rating:

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers, Natalie Press, Rose McGowan

Director: Kari Skogland

My Review: 50 dead men walking - 2008 (drama, crime, thriller) An excellent drama about the IRA and one particular person’s story. Based upon an autobiography by Martin McGartland (“Fifty Dead Men Walking”). Written (in part) and directed by Kari Skogland, this movie stars Jim Sturgess as Martin McGartland and Ben Kingsley as Fergus. The movie is set in Ireland and England during the late 80s/early 90s. During this timeframe, McGartland is a young Irishman recruited by British intelligence as an agent within the IRA. Ben Kingsley plays his British handler. During his time as a ‘double-agent’ McGartland does what he can to save the lives of various IRA and British operatives. As McGartland works his way up through the ranks of the IRA, he struggles to conceal his association with the British authorities. Any slip-up would mean a violent and bloody end to his life as a informer... Eventually, McGartland’s cover is blown. He’s kidnapped by the IRA, interrogated, tortured, and escaped. When this film was released, the real-life McGartland was sill in hiding. The movie is exceptionally tight, with deeply embedded convictions and political machinations, the movie entertains while providing an accurate picture of the difficult line one man had to walk during this extremely violent and personal civil war. The acting by all involved was exceptional and I was riveted to the performances despite the violent backdrop of the story. The movie maintains a tense and paranoid atmosphere throughout. The politics of which side was ‘right’ don’t seem to poison this movie and it seemed to be very accurate in its depiction of the ‘Troubles’. I give it a 3 out of 5. I would have given it a higher rating if it didn't rely so much on the sensationalized depiction of graphic violence.

Summary: Based on Martin McGartland's shocking real life story. Martin is a young lad from west Belfast in the late 1980s who is recruited by the British Police to spy on the IRA. He works his way up the ranks as a volunteer for the IRA whilst feeding information to his British handler and saving lives in the process.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Year: 2012

Country: Canada

Rating:

Starring: Robert Redford, Shia LaBeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Sarandon, Nick Nolte

Director: Robert Redford

My Review: The Company You Keep - 2012 (drama, crime, thriller) Directed by and starring Robert Redford as Nick Sloan (aka Jim Grant). Nick Sloan is a fugitive in hiding. Many years after his run with the Weather Underground, Nick is a lawyer and a single dad who’s forced to go on the run when his identity is revealed as a member of the all-but-forgotten home grown terrorist organization, The Weather Underground Organization. This movie romanticizes the personalities associated with the Weather Underground, a radical ‘terrorist’ organization from the 70s. This group was responsible for a campaign of bombings through the mid 70s. Members took part in the jailbreak of Dr. Timothy Leary, they instigated a riot in Chicago, issued a “Declaration of a State of War” against the US government and executed several bombings of government buildings and banks. Former members of the group even robbed a Brink’s armored car in 1981. During that robbery, three people died. The WUO sought to overthrow the United States government and establish a communist state. The movie makes Nick (former member of the WUO) out to be a courageous civil rights lawyer who is just trying to protect his daughter and the identities of others involved with the criminal actions of the WUO. I don’t care for the political statements of this movie - That being that the goals of the WUO were somehow morally correct or acceptable. Nor do I condone the depiction of those involved as being heroic or the ‘good guys’. As a movie, the pacing was somewhat slow and Robert Redford held our hand throughout the entire movie. At no time was I surprised to learn any of the twists or turns revealed, despite the fact that these revelations were unveiled with great drama. The hero of this movie makes the FBI look incompetent and we are led to believe that a group of 70+ college revolutionaries are somehow up to the task of running through the woods and smuggling arms for Cuban insurgents. Starring alongside Robert Redford are Susan Sarandon, Shia LeBeouf, Julie Christie, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Terrence Howard, Stanley Tucci, Sam Elliott, Richard Jenkins and many more. The best part of the movie was the cast, despite the fact that the premise of the movie was abused by the romantic notions that these former college revolutionaries are anything but slowly rotting criminals, just waiting out their time before their final judgement. I give the movie a 3 out of 5.

Summary: After years in hiding, ex-Weather Underground militant, Nick Sloan aka Jim Grant, learns about his old compatriot's arrest for a bank robbery turned deadly in the 1970s, which he is wanted for as an accomplice. This puts the ambitious young local reporter, Ben Shepard, on the scent of a story that exposes Nick as well. As such, Nick goes on the run while taking his daughter to safety. With that accomplished, Nick stays one step ahead of the FBI while pursuing a faint hope to clear his name. Meanwhile, Shepard digs deeper into the case himself as he discovers the true complexities of another times' determined ideals even as Nick faces their consequences with another.

Genre: Horror

Year: 1999

Country: Germany

Rating:

Starring: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien

Director: Tim Burton

My Review: Sleepy Hollow - 1999 (drama, horror, mystery, comedy) Starring a fantastic cast of Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon, Casper Van Dien, Jeffrey Jones, Christopher Lee, Richard Griffiths, Ian McDiarmid, Michael Gough, Marc Pickering, Lisa Marie, Steven Waddington, Christopher Walken and Claire Skinner. This movie was directed by Tim Burton (Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks), produced by Francis Ford Coppola, and featured music by Danny Elfman. This movie is a gothic masterpiece. A fantastic piece of work. The sets, locations and costumes were amazing. The music was mesmerizing and Johnny Depp did an outstanding job acting the Ichabod Crane character. Christopher Walken was absolutely chilling as the Headless Horseman.The story is a forensic murder mystery that becomes a supernatural ghost story about betrayal, love and a headless horseman. Absolutely amazing depth and richness of characters, with an ending that is simply fantastic. Tim Burton succeeds in creating an entirely complete world of dread with this movie. I give this movie a 5 out of 5 and I will watch it again and again.

Summary: Constable Icabod Crane is sent to an isolated village to investigate a series of murders reportedly commited by a headless horseman.