Scoot Mcnairy

In remaking the 2011 French thriller Sleepless Night, the filmmakers have dumbed down both the title and the plot, leaving everything feeling rather over-familiar. Nothing remotely surprising happens, and there's absolutely no subtext beneath the relentless verbal and physical violence. But a first-rate cast makes it watchable, and the action sequences are shot with a gritty energy that's rarely seen in these kinds of mindless thrillers.

It's now set in Las Vegas, where Detective Vincent (Jamie Foxx) and his shifty partner Sean (Tip "T.I." Harris) have stolen a stash of drugs during a deal between psychotic criminal Novak (Scoot McNairy) and vicious casino boss Rubio (Dermot Mulroney). Also on their trail is the Internal Affairs investigator Bryant (Michelle Monaghan), who is looking into police corruption with her partner Dennison (David Harbour). And after Novak kidnaps Vincent's teen son (Octavius J. Johnson), he only has one long night to sort out the mess, catch the bad guys and clear his name.

The main problem here is that Vincent is a good guy from the start, an undercover straight-arrow who has absolutely no internal conflict. This doesn't give Foxx much to play with, aside from worrying about his son and juggling questions from his ex-wife (Gabrielle Union). He just charges through each scene as the only heroic figure on-screen, Die Hard style, while Mulroney and McNairy merrily chew their way through the scenery. Both are clearly unhinged, and the actors have a great time striking each macho pose. Monaghan gets a slightly more complex role, although Bryant is little more than an irritant in the film, doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons. At least she's a forceful woman in a sea of brutally violent tough guys.

Continue reading: Sleepless Review

While this submarine adventure starts out as a brainy thriller with superior production design, it eventually gives in to the demands of the genre: silly plotting and corny melodrama. Screenwriter Dennis Kelly never remotely tries to sell the two big events that cause considerable mayhem for everyone on-screen, so both feel sudden and contrived. At least the cast is sharp enough that the audience is willing to go with it.

It opens in recession-gripped Scotland. After being sacked from the steelworks, Robinson (Jude Law) teams up with fellow unemployed pal Blackie (Konstantin Khabenskiy) to reclaim their dignity by salvaging Nazi gold from a sunken sub in the Black Sea. With finance arranged by Daniels (Scoot McNairy), they assemble a team of Brits and Russians who immediately start re-enacting the Cold War in the rusty Soviet-vintage submarine they'll be using for their heist. Crewmates include a psycho diver (Ben Mendelsohn), a wheezy veteran (David Threlfall) and an 18-year-old (Bobby Schofield) with nothing better to do. But as they skulk along beneath the Russian Fleet, tempers flare and threaten to undermine their mission. Getting their hands on the gold is one thing; making it home alive might be even trickier.

Director Kevin Macdonald keeps the film fast-paced and tense, as the biggest peril this crew faces is in the fiery interaction between themselves. Arguments, paranoia and mistrust lead to violence, which in turn causes a series of problems that threaten the lives of everyone on board the submarine. Frankly, this seems rather far-fetched for a team of supposedly elite mercenaries who know that they need to look out for each other if they have any hope of accomplishing the mission. And with some major plot twists along the way, the story begins to feel like a collection of increasingly implausible obstacles these resourceful men need to overcome.

Continue reading: Black Sea Review

While this atmospheric Australian Outback thriller has plenty of edgy action, it's also meandering and arty, refusing to fill in the details until filmmaker David Michod is good and ready. This makes it feel rather slow and uneven, although it's at least consistently fascinating. And as a story of tenacity and survival, it's also a gripping drama.

The story is set 10 years after "the collapse", so there's little sense of law and order in the Outback. When his car is stolen by three outlaws (Scoot McNairy, Tawanda Manyimo and David Field), the strong-silent Eric (Guy Pearce) goes in pursuit. Along the way, he picks up the injured Rey (Robert Pattinson), brother of one of the thugs, who knows where they're headed. As they hit the road, Eric and Rey have a series of encounters with people who are alternatively helpful and menacing, from an inquisitive brothel madam (Gillian Jones) to a nervous doctor (Susan Prior) to an in-over-his-head soldier (Anthony Hayes). There are also plenty of marauding thieves and trigger-happy commandoes who don't hesitate before blowing away anyone who looks odd. But as Eric and Rey begin to bond, they still find it impossible to trust each other.

While the overarching plot is fairly simple, the film plays out in a series of set-pieces as Eric responds a variety of tense situations. The big question hovering above everything is of course why he's so determined to get his car back (the odd answer comes at the very end). Michod's style of filmmaking is more interested in provoking thought than fully satisfying the audience, so scenes are packed with inconclusive twists and turns, vaguely undefined characters and situations, and elements that clearly have some sort of meaning but feel rather impenetrable. Pearce's performance fits this style perfectly; Eric is a man who says very little, letting a steely glare convey more than any number of words would. In jarring contrast, Pattinson's Rey is a hyperactive mess, a simple-minded guy who never stops moving and talking.

Continue reading: The Rover Review