477: Killing Season

[00:00:00] [SPEAKER_00]: 184 Let's get to a random film and the next couple of days are also going to be random films just as a little bit of filler change your pace

[00:00:09] [SPEAKER_00]: So hope that's alright

[00:00:12] [SPEAKER_00]: Let's get to killing season from 2013 which is directed by

[00:00:17] [SPEAKER_00]: Mark Steven Johnson who also did Ghost Rider and

[00:00:21] [SPEAKER_00]: The original Daredevil film written by the guy Evan Dowry who also wrote Snow White and the Huntsman

[00:00:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Tomb Raider some others

[00:00:31] [SPEAKER_00]: stars

[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Robert De Niro John Travolta

[00:00:35] [SPEAKER_00]: Milo Ventimiglia Liz Olson. That's about it really and

[00:00:40] [SPEAKER_00]: The synopsis is two veterans of the Bosnian war one American one Serbian find their unlikely friendship tested when one of them reveals their true intentions

[00:00:53] [SPEAKER_00]: So I

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Just been trying to find a random collection of films to cover

[00:00:57] [SPEAKER_00]: you know when I don't have anything else to do or I would rather not do a new film and

[00:01:02] [SPEAKER_00]: This is one that I just came across that I'd seen way back when I think around the time that it came out just by chance

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I was like, okay cool and

[00:01:11] [SPEAKER_00]: first thing John Travolta I

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Kind of hate that he's in so many bad movies especially over the last

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_00]: Decade or so where he's doing very much be movies

[00:01:23] [SPEAKER_00]: rather than

[00:01:25] [SPEAKER_00]: Really big a list projects, which I think he definitely has the talent for and he does them occasionally and he's great

[00:01:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Like he's one of those actors

[00:01:33] [SPEAKER_00]: When he's really really good when he cares he can be the most enjoyable person on screen

[00:01:39] [SPEAKER_00]: And I think even in his worst movies. He's still entertaining so that's saying something

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_00]: So he was a draw for this and then also Robert De Niro

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER_00]: This is very much a smaller film for him than he usually does although he's had his fair share of

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_00]: Be movies not so good movies over the last 10 15 years as well

[00:02:00] [SPEAKER_00]: Going into this the first time this was just the second time that I'd seen it didn't know much about it at all

[00:02:06] [SPEAKER_00]: Just knew it was kind of a cat and mouse sort of thriller

[00:02:11] [SPEAKER_00]: John Travolta's character is this

[00:02:15] [SPEAKER_00]: Serbian who was

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_00]: shot during the war and then he comes back and

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_00]: Basically seeks revenge on the Americans for who they killed not doing enough

[00:02:29] [SPEAKER_00]: It's all sort of a little messy in terms of the motivation

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_00]: But basically it's the revenge of you came into my country. You caused this violence

[00:02:37] [SPEAKER_00]: You almost killed me or killed this person. I'm gonna seek

[00:02:40] [SPEAKER_00]: Justice for that and take it into my own hands. That's pretty much the sum of the movie

[00:02:46] [SPEAKER_00]: and he goes to where Robert De Niro lives in the woods and

[00:02:51] [SPEAKER_00]: Just plays it off as here. I'm walking through the woods. Oh, you need help with your car

[00:02:56] [SPEAKER_00]: Let me help you out. Let me be a good Samaritan and then Robert De Niro invites him back to his cabin

[00:03:00] [SPEAKER_00]: They have a night of drinking and sharing stories and then the next morning they go hunting

[00:03:07] [SPEAKER_00]: John Travolta's character

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_00]: Goes on this manhunt for De Niro through the woods and that's basically the rest of the movie

[00:03:14] [SPEAKER_00]: And I like that idea

[00:03:16] [SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty simple and as opposed to a lot of other recent John Travolta B movies

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_00]: There's not a lot of big goofy effects. It is just two guys in the woods. There's no

[00:03:29] [SPEAKER_00]: Crazy action sequences or some huge overarching complex plot. It is what it is on paper. I

[00:03:38] [SPEAKER_00]: Don't think the movie overall is that good

[00:03:41] [SPEAKER_00]: I remember I liked it decently so the first time and I think I liked it about as much this time maybe slightly less and

[00:03:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Even though his accent is a little over the top

[00:03:52] [SPEAKER_00]: I still think it works pretty well and I can accept him as that character and then Robert De Niro is his solid

[00:03:59] [SPEAKER_00]: Reliable self so performance wise good nothing bad at all. I think

[00:04:06] [SPEAKER_00]: That opening act where like I said they run into each other

[00:04:11] [SPEAKER_00]: I was engaged

[00:04:13] [SPEAKER_00]: Even though it was occasionally a little

[00:04:16] [SPEAKER_00]: Obvious and predictable as to where things are gonna go or what people say it was still entertaining, you know, and I didn't mind

[00:04:24] [SPEAKER_00]: spending time in that suspenseful moment where

[00:04:27] [SPEAKER_00]: Travolta is going from the kind-hearted

[00:04:31] [SPEAKER_00]: Stranger to then showing this inner rage and anger and anticipation of getting De Niro

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_00]: Vulnerable I think all that was very interesting and

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_00]: That opening moment where things go crazy in the woods

[00:04:48] [SPEAKER_00]: Was good as well. I just think that over time as the movie goes on it does become a bit of a

[00:04:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Grim slog to get through and there's not a whole lot being discussed at a certain point and some of the conversations of

[00:05:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Travolta trying to explain his

[00:05:08] [SPEAKER_00]: revenge motivation and all these big overarching ideas of

[00:05:14] [SPEAKER_00]: Humanity and God are just a little not really on point

[00:05:17] [SPEAKER_00]: I think they're a little confused and a little goofy as well for what's actually happening in the movie

[00:05:24] [SPEAKER_00]: So the writing is

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_00]: It's hit and miss it's not terrible, but definitely inconsistent in some ways

[00:05:31] [SPEAKER_00]: As you would expect I don't think it's really spoiler. It's such a small movie

[00:05:36] [SPEAKER_00]: And it's been out for ten years. So sorry, but

[00:05:40] [SPEAKER_00]: throughout the film

[00:05:42] [SPEAKER_00]: first Travolta will get the one up on De Niro and then the other way around and

[00:05:50] [SPEAKER_00]: Smartly so it's not too long. I think it's maybe 90 minutes

[00:05:54] [SPEAKER_00]: So it definitely flies by or maybe not flies by but it's not such a slog

[00:05:59] [SPEAKER_00]: that it's two and a half hours of being out in the woods with these guys, but I

[00:06:04] [SPEAKER_00]: Think that there is a point where I just don't care that much about either of them because De Niro

[00:06:09] [SPEAKER_00]: I mean he's not

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_00]: Some shining star of a character and then Travolta don't love him either

[00:06:15] [SPEAKER_00]: It's more so relying on the charisma of those performances that keep you through

[00:06:23] [SPEAKER_00]: Besides that the editing direction is clean like it's I think the story is well put together

[00:06:29] [SPEAKER_00]: I was never really confused of where we were

[00:06:32] [SPEAKER_00]: Geographically I had a good sense of who those characters were

[00:06:36] [SPEAKER_00]: it's shot decently well for being a

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_00]: Overcast moody rainy

[00:06:43] [SPEAKER_00]: Exterior shot film like I think it looked all right for what it is

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER_00]: So if you are in the need of I wouldn't rush out to see it let me just say that it's available on a lot of

[00:06:56] [SPEAKER_00]: free

[00:06:57] [SPEAKER_00]: Streaming sites so that gives you some information there about what it is

[00:07:03] [SPEAKER_00]: It could have been a lot better there could have been a lot more interesting complex ideas fleshed out

[00:07:09] [SPEAKER_00]: With these two guys in conversation and what the overall story means so

[00:07:15] [SPEAKER_00]: There for sure is wasted potential in this one

[00:07:19] [SPEAKER_00]: But give it a try

[00:07:22] [SPEAKER_00]: That one is a light three out of five

[00:07:27] You