[Mashiro]

6th November 2020

La haine (Hate / Hass) / 1995 / France / 8.1 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

What is there to say about this movie? Many of you may know about it already. It's one of the most seen movies and a landmark.

France is a country of many nations. There are however so called Banlieues in some of the biggest cities of France. Now generally a Banlieue is nothing bad. It's just a suburb of a bigger city. However the for the French the word Banlieue has a second and rather negative meaning "banlieues has taken on an additional meaning in French of France, becoming a popular word for low-income housing projects (HLMs) in which many French of foreign descent reside, in what are often called poverty traps." (source). This movie shows such a Banlieue and a group of popular residents among. You get to see a day in their life and the big issues with poverty, racism and police violence.

A quote from the movie that follows you along:

Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: So far so good... so far so good... so far so good. How you fall doesn't matter. It's how you land!

Nowadays Banlieues are in their second meaning are a big problem for France. They have a high poverty rate with a lot of crimes and are the main source for islamic terrorists and attacks in France as well as Belgium. "Explosive powder keg" is another word you could say.

Watch it yourself. Compare it today. Sadly in my opinion the movie while being 25 years old still mirrors the same situation as today in France and in many other countries. So it's worth a watch even though I don't necessarily agree on the 8.1 rating because most of the time you see some young guys travel through the city, talk and do some something just to kill time or boringness.

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7th November 2020

The Pledge / 2001 / USA / 6.8 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

While the cast might have some really great actors and the story seems interesting I think it has not been really well exectued. The movie is roughly 2 hours long and most of the time it feels a bit lacking of actual action (not really like action from a action movie but action as in things happening that strengthen the story or actions that provide new interesting aspects / information).

I didn't really like it therefore. It felt like a old man chasing a ghost in order to solve a child murder case.

Angela's Ashes / 1999 / USA & Ireland / 7.3 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

This movie on the other hand is really great and you should watch it. It is based on a real book. Based on a autobiography by Irish expatriate Frank McCourt.

"Angela's Ashes follows the experiences of young Frankie and his family as they try against all odds to escape the poverty endemic in the slums of pre-war Limerick. The film opens with the family in Brooklyn, but following the death of one of Frankie's siblings, they return home, only to find the situation there even worse. Prejudice against Frankie's Northern Irish father makes his search for employment in the Republic difficult despite his having fought for the I.R.A., and when he does find money, he spends it on drink." - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0145653/plotsummary

A well made and executed movie version of a book about a family trying to survive in a very hard time plagued by poverty and prejudice.

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8th November 2020

Blue Ruin / 2013 / USA / 7.1 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

A mysterious outsider's quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.

A bit of a movie with a weird vibe but it was good in its own way nontheless.

A Bronx Tale / 1993 / USA / 7.8 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

The Bronx, New York, 1960. 9-year-old Calogero grows up admiring and fascinated by the local mob boss, Sonny. Calogero's father, Lorenzo, wants to have nothing to do with the mob and does his best to keep his son away from Sonny and mob business. However, it may prove a losing battle.

A great classic movie about American mobsters with Robert De Niro. He fits the role of a American mobster (Italian Mafia in US) himself very well. He is playing one in many movies and that very well.

Assassins / 1995 / USA / 6.4 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

Professional hit-man Robert Rath wants to fulfill a few more contracts before retiring but unscrupulous ambitious newcomer hit-man Miguel Bain keeps killing Rath's targets.

Stallone and Banderas both in a action assassin styled movie. Can only say it was a very interesting movie .

Carlito's Way / 1993 / USA / 7.9 out of 10 Rating on IMDb

In 1975, after having served five years of a 30-year prison sentence, Carlito Brigante is freed on a legal technicality exploited by his close friend and lawyer, Dave Kleinfeld. Carlito vows to end his criminal activities but is persuaded to accompany his young cousin Guajiro to a drug deal held at a bar. Guajiro is betrayed and killed by his suppliers and Carlito is forced to shoot his way out. Later, Carlito takes Guajiro's $30,000 from the botched deal and uses it to buy into a nightclub owned by a gambling addict named Saso with the intention of saving $75,000 to retire to the Caribbean.

All in all a very good movie with Al Pacino in the main role and the beautiful Penelope Ann Miller.

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@sagher

I have also watched Avengement and found it to be very good. At least better than what its rating is.

It tells more than you described. First of all the most of the movie plays in a pub not a hotel room. Secondly the story is about betrayal between brothers and vengeance. The gangster brother uses his mostly innoncent bother to do a dirty job for him. The whole thing is rigged and Scott Adkins role gets into trouble and jail. That one thing however turns him into a muscle man with a lot of aggression and hate. He escapes jail to find his brother and take his revenge on him. In the pub he tells his violent story and finally takes revenge.

Of course for many this movie is just a bunch of gangster and a lot of violence. Well, not for me.

You should watch Brawl in Cell 99.