Maria Synopsis She began “Maria” with a heart-pounding and chilling scene: a woman discreetly entering a sprawling mansion, only to eradicate/silence, a mother and boy and push the final nail, a gunshot, bringing forth blackout. This opening scene is potent, prologue sets the tone for what, on the surface seems to be a brutal and […]
Overview & Production Background Mark Greenstreet is the writer and director of the British psychological crime thriller Silent Hours. The film was first completed in 2015 and showed at the Raindance Film Festival, though it garnered limited attention. In 2021, Greenstreet re-edited it into a three-part miniseries, expanding its reach. The segments are titled The
Synopsis & Historical Context Don Siegel’s movie “Escape from Alcatraz,” with Clint Eastwood playing Frank Morris, was one of 1979’s notable releases. The film follows the story of Frank Morris, a known criminal that was captured with the Anglin brothers, and details the prison break from Alcatraz that happened in June of 1962. This federal
Synopsis Set in a remote social for the holiday season, Riff Raff is a dramedy flix that touches on the themes of family dysfunction, redemption, and the brace of one’s past. The movie opens with a seemingly quiet retreat for Vincent Gauthier, a criminal turned “reformed” sociopath, as he attempts to live a criminal-free, quiet
Synopsis Polar, released in 2019, is a neo-noir action thriller from Åkerlund that features Mads Mikkelsen in the lead role. It is part of Santos’s graphic novels, “Polar: Came From the Cold.” In the film, Mikkelsen plays Duncan Vizla, a legendary hitman known as the Black Kaiser. He is in the closing chapters of his
Introduction Believer 2 is a 2023 South Korean crime action film directed by Baek Jong-yeol. It not only follows the story of the 2018 original film, Believer, but serves as a midquel, covering the events right after the thrilling climax of the first movie. Starring Cho Jin-woong, Cha Seung-won, Han Hyo-joo, Oh Seung-hoon, Kim Dong-young,
Introduction Night in Paradise is a 2020 film from South Korean director Park Hoon-jung. Like a quiet flame hidden under ashes, the movie folds crime drama, aching beauty, and slow, hot revenge into a single, flickering glow. Though it first played at festivals, it soon reached screens around the world, inviting even casual viewers to
Introduction The Unforgivable is a hard-hitting drama that hit screens in 2021, directed by Nora Fingscheidt and featuring a deeply layered Sandra Bullock in a career-high turn. Built on the 2009 British miniseries Unforgiven by Sally Wainwright, the film relocates the original’s British backdrop to America, yet keeps the beating heart intact: a woman fights
Synopsis Time to Hunt is a 2020 South Korean dystopian thriller by writer-director Yoon Sung-hyun. Mixing crime drama, sci-fi, and a taut cat-and-mouse chase, the movie offers a raw look at survival in a shattered society. Set in a near-future South Korea reeling from economic collapse, it serves as both a gripping suspense story and
Synopsis Miss Bala is an action thriller that Catherine Hardwicke directed in 2019. It is an adaptation of a Mexican film of the same title, which Naranjo released in 2011. The American version features Gina Rodriguez as the lead actress, providing a blend of suspense, crime drama, and personal empowerment. The story focuses on Tijuana,
