Out of the Furnace

-
Out of the Furnace
Starring Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Willem Dafoe
Directed by Scott Cooper

Synopsis:
Russell (Christian Bale) is a hard working man who is employed in a steel mill in Pittsburgh.  He's worked hard all his life and has a beautiful girlfriend Lena (Zoe Saldana), and is very close with his brother Rodney (Casey Affleck), who just returned from the war.

All this ends tragically one fateful night, which results in Russell going to jail for five years.  When he comes out, he finds his father has died, he lost his girlfriend to police chief Wesley Barnes (Forest Whitaker), and Rodney is in deep debt and is involved in an underground fighting ring with his bookie John Petty (Willem Dafoe).

After a fight goes bad with maniacal Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson), both John and Rodney go missing, and Russell feels that the police don't really care and sets out on his own to find out what happened to his brother, placing himself in harm's way but not caring because he has nothing left to lose.

Review:
When I saw the previews for "Out of the Furnace," I was excited.  It had a top-notch cast and seemed like a great thriller.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a very mediocre film, but could've been excellent if it just reached a little higher.

There was no issue with the acting, especially out of the leads.  Christian Bale gives a great performance as a man who worked hard all his life and had everything, only to lose it all.  Woody Harrelson heralded back to his "Natural Born Killers" style role as the ultimate evil.  Casey Affleck was the scene stealer as a former war vet who has no job, no future, and no hope. 

Still, the film just scratched the surface of everything.  The cause of Russell going to jail was never fully resolved.  His animosity towards the police - and especially Wesley Barnes - never came to fruition.  DeGroat is a criminal genius, but falls for the simplest trap ever.  The film had a flatline feel, and it needed some peaks to make it excellent, but failed to do so.

Summary:
A flawed film with amazing actors, but a truly mediocre story.

My Rating: B+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Major Theatrical Releases May 2019

-
Image
Major Theatrical Releases May 2019 After the hype that is "Avengers: Endgame," May offers a massive collection of differing types of movies, enough to entertain everyone. Here are the major theatrical releases for May 2019. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** **DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**  The Intruder May 3 Dennis Quaid goes from starring the family-friendly "A Dog's Journey" to playing a total psycho in "The Intruder."  When a young couple purchases a home from Quaid's character Charlie, they didn't realize it came with an addition - Charlie himself, who can't seem to let his old home go.  I don't expect any twists or turns in this tale, and this looks like a film better fit for Lifetime than the big screen.  Long Shot May 3 Charlize Theron stars as Charlotte Field, the current Secretary of State and who's running for President.  Seth Rogen stars as Fred Flarsky, a
Read more

Witch

-
Image
Witch Starring Russell Shaw, Ryan Spong, Sarah Alexandra Marks, Fabrizio Santino Directed by Craig Hinde & Marc Zammit Movies about witches are about a dime a dozen, and follow the same formula: typically set in a time period long ago (since now, fortunately, the stigma of witches has been lessened and the religious fervor has diminished), in a small Puritanical town, a girl is accused of witchcraft which spirals the town into a frenzy filled with suspicion, doubt, and murder until the witch is put to religious justice. While that's not necessarily a bad formula (Robert Eggers' "The VVitch" and Mario Bava's "Black Sunday" immediately come to mind), most films fall by the wayside. "Witch" is a small film that, at first glance, seems to follow the mold before completely shattering it in a second act twist that's daring, provocative, and works in a lot of levels, but could've been more pronounced if given a bigger budget. In the small
Read more

Special Review: "Midwest Sessions"

-
Image
Special Review: "Midwest Sessions" Directed by Mario Ricciardi Independent filmmaking is a fascinating concept, wherein the director and everyone involved sets out to make something unique, different, and go against the traditional status quo of what's defined as a "blockbuster." These films aren't usually seen by the masses and won't be included in the top ten highest grossing movies of all time, but they offer something those films don't: a heart and commitment by the people involved to craft something wholly distinctive that tell a story in their own way. Such is "Midwest Sessions," a local film directed by Mario Ricciardi that centers on the city of Youngstown, Ohio, and the captivating people who live there. Told in different vignettes that seem distinct and different from one another but coming together as a whole in the end, it's an engrossing film that utilizes its shoestring budget and gives great performances, decent effects a
Read more