Horsemen (2009)

A busy father and dedicated detective investigates a series of murders that come way to close to home. "Four victims. Four painful secrets."

Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point, The Rookie) stars in this Jonas Åkerlund directed thriller about an overworked, yet dedicated detective named Aidan Breslin whom, since his wife's' passing, has spent more time behind his desk than in his two sons' lives. Aidan and his partner "Stingray", (Clifton Collins Jr.) head up an investigation of brutally violent, masochistic murders which in turn lead them to a group who proudly proclaim that, "We Are The Nothing." All of the murders point to ritual killings in the name of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and they are running out of time to save victim number four. A superb supporting cast of familiar faces (Ziyi Zhang, Patrick Fugit, and Eric Balfour) help guide you through the intertwined lives of the killers and victims alike as it all comes full circle back on Detective Breslin's doorstep.

You know, it's really great to read so many bad reviews, and then see a movie, and feel completely the opposite way. To be fair, the was no blockbuster, and well... Quaid is looking pretty haggard and seems to have taken a step back in the acting department, but on the whole, relatively enjoyable. I mean come on, you have the cute ninja chick from Rush Hour in it, though you would swear she stepped on set right after her English lessons. And would you believe Patrick Fugit, yeah him, the squirrely kid who got to see Kate Hudson naked in Almost Famous... he's in it, and wow, give that guy the "Suicide of The Year" award! I know in my previous review I had high praises for Clifton Collins... a shame I feel he sucked ass in this flick. If you like thrilling, crime movies that border on the grotesque (SAW, Seven), where there is a deeper meaning to it all, I think you'll enjoy this. The twist at the end is worth watching anyhow.

6.1/10

Rated: R
90 mins

Sunshine Cleaning (2008)

Between an odd behaving son, self-serving sister, and a father one step from being in a home, one woman overcomes the odds and really proves that "life's a messy business."

Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) is the struggling mother of a son is always in trouble for "weird" behavior. Most of which seems to be instigated by her seemingly good for nothing sister Norah (Emily Blunt, Dan in Real Life, The Devil Wears Prada) who still lives at home with their quirky father and can't hold down a job. Working as a maid, Rose just can't seem to get ahead in life, and after seeing how successful all her old high school friends are, her sweetheart married off with a family, and her son misunderstood at his current school, she's had enough. Rose enlists the help of her sister and decides to dial the cleaning business up a notch by starting a fledgling crime scene clean-up company. Who knew there were so many rules and regulations for this kind of thing? A talented supporting cast lead by Steve Zahn, Alan Arkin and Clifton Collins Jr. round it all off in this Christine Jeffs directed, heartfelt drama.

If you haven't seen this, go rent it now, or at least put it in your Netflix queue. Really an absolute joy to watch this film. Back when it first came out I had no intention on seeing it because, I guess I never really knew what it was about. But once I read a small summary, I couldn't wait to see it. Maybe the overlying plot wasn't completely original, but the story sure was, and it was refreshing to watch something that seemed so... never done. The acting was superb, much better than I had hoped for from some of those involved. It was cool to see Clifton Collins in the film... he's like the new Steve Buscemi. Just an odd looking guy, great actor, lots of small roles. he's gonna be the guy you start to see in everything. The sisters were completely believable and you could really feel the emotion and pain in their lives. Need to smile today? Watch this.

7.5/10

Rated: R
91 mins