FILM REVIEW OF ''KIN" (2018)

Two heads are better than one, so the old adage goes.  Sadly, this doesn’t apply either to the Baker brothers or their directorial debut, “Kin” (1/2 OUT OF ****), that juggles a sci-fi thriller about a lost space gun, a dysfunctional family crisis with a juvenile-in-jeopardy, a cross-country chase, and a revenge melodrama.  Basically, Australian brothers Jonathan and Josh Baker developed “Kin” from their own fifteen-minute short “Bag Man” (2014).  In “Bag Man,” an African-American youngster stashes an exotic space carbine under his bed at home without informing his stern single mom.  Sneaking it out in a duffel bag for target practice, he winds up in a remote clearing, but rescues a man with a bag over his head from three murderous ruffians.  They were armed and abusive to the bag man and had bound his wrists behind his back.  At one point, one of the three wields a shovel and knocks the bag man off his knees onto his head.  The black kid disrupts their orgy of violence, and the shooting commences.  The bizarre alien weapon dissolves the three assailants into atoms when the kid lets them have it!  Lean, mean, and electrifying, “Bag Man” doesn’t squander a second.  Indeed, the Bakers left a lot to the imagination, but most people could probably fill in the gaps.  Not only did I enjoy “Bag Man” (*** OUT OF ****), but I could watch it again.  

Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply to “Kin.”  First, the Baker brothers bite off more than they can chew. Scenarist Daniel Casey of “The Passage” has helped to expand the plot far beyond “Bag Man” with too many stock characters.  Second, the only character who deserves our sympathy is gunned down too early.  Third, the rest of the characters—except for the African-American teen who salvaged the weapon—are worthless specimens of humanity with little dimension.  Fourth, the filmmakers could have told us a little about this otherworldly firearm and its apparently infinite ammo capacity.  We never learn if it contains a battery that keeps it charged up and ready to blast.  Fifth, the mysterious weapon that the youth found isn’t deployed until halfway through the road trip.  Furthermore, our juvenile protagonist doesn’t have a chance to display its heavy-duty firepower until an explosive finale in a besieged Nevada police station.

“Kin” opens in modern-day Detroit, where a strange firefight occurs in a derelict factory building.  As noisy as it sounds, this activity doesn’t attract the attention of the police.  Later, a 14-year old African-American, Eli Solinski (Myles Truitt of “Dragged Across Concrete”), who rides his bike around to these forsaken edifices, scours them for anything of value.  Although he is black, Eli is the adopted son of a hard-working contractor, Hal Solinski (Dennis Quaid of “The Long Riders”), but the Solinskis have fallen on hard times.  Hal’s wife has died, and his oldest biological son, Jimmy (Jack Reynor of “Free Fire”), has just been released from prison after a six-year sentence.  Hal and Jimmy don’t get along, but Hal is letting Jimmy sack out at the house until he can land a job.  When Jimmy asks his father for a job, but Hal refuses to hire him because he is an ex-con.  Jimmy looks up an old friend, Taylor Balik (James Franco of “Future World”), who deals in contraband firearms, and reassures him, he hasn’t forgotten about the $60-thousand that he owes him.  Taylor demands his dough pronto, and he lacks patience.  Jimmy approaches Hal about a loan, but Hal rules it out, too.  One evening, when Hal returns to his office with Eli riding with him, he confronts Jimmy, Taylor, and Taylor’s brother.  They have broken into his office and are ransacking his safe.  Hal brandishes a crowbar, and a deadly fight ensues.  Hal dies from a gunshot wound, but Taylor’s brother bites the dust, too.  Managing to escape, Jimmy flees in Hal’s truck with Eli.  Repeatedly, Jimmy concocts one lie after another to dupe Eli into believing that Hal has dispatched them off on a cross-country trip to Lake Tahoe where they will all reunite.  Eli packs a few things, including the duffel bag with the futuristic weapon.

Earlier, while combing through a deserted factory building, Eli discovers two space soldiers in a sinister black outfits.  One of them had lost his head during the firefight.  Eli handles a strange-looking weapon that resembles a high-tech military assault rifle.  When he is toying with the weapon, he activates it, and a laser sighting system illuminates the weapon with several gauges and numbers.  Eli says nothing about his discovery.  Later, Hal learns about Eli’s behavior troubles and school suspension.  Later, he chews him out for stealing things from deserted buildings.  All of this leads up to Hal taking Eli along with him to his office where he discovers Jimmy and Taylor ransacking the company safe.  Meanwhile, a vindictive, grief-stricken Taylor loads up an arsenal of firepower along with his homicidal henchmen, and they pursue Jimmy and Eli.  Later, two space soldiers materialize out of nowhere in the building where the gun was lost.  They activate a locator device to track the weapon.  Essentially, it’s road trip time, and everybody is lined-up in hot pursuit of our heroes.

Whereas “Bag Man” delivers simple and straightforward action, “Kin” struggles with too many characters and too many clichés.  The Bakers provide little background about the aliens, who appeared after the loss of the weapon and then reappeared for the lively finale.  The last-minute revelation not only about the weapon, but also Eli’s identity seems like a last-minute addition to generate a sequel.  During the final scene, when the aliens expose their humanoid faces, actor & producer Michael B. Jordan of “Black Panther” fame makes a cameo appearance as one.  Ultimately, “Kin” amounts to little more than a remake of the cheapjack 1978 sci-fi thriller “Laserblast” about a youth on a rampage with an alien weapon.

FILM REVIEW OF ''SMOKING GUNS" (2017)

An inexpensive but suspenseful crime melodrama with atmosphere to spare, first-time writer & director Savvas D. Michael’s “Smoking Guns” (**1/2 OUT OF ****) proves you can produce a widescreen film in only a handful of rooms with fewer than ten actors. The cast consists primarily of guys of various ages, and virtually no women except for an obese lady who accepts their wagers.  The original title of Michael’s movie “A Punters Prayer” served its purpose in the United Kingdom.  ‘Punter’ is British slang for people who bet on sports events.  American audiences would have been lost without something more simple and straightforward like “Smoking Guns.”  The chief problem is Michael never shows us any smoking guns.  We see a desperate man threaten other fellows with an automatic pistol, and we see a man seated in a parked automobile who fires an assault rifle and kills an innocent fellow.  At fadeout, we hear the discharge of an automatic pistol, but never does smoke curl off the barrel of any gun.  

An interesting animated brief appears at the beginning that depicts our protagonist Jack at home.  Conspicuously displayed behind his chair in this cartoon is a framed Sholom Aleichem quotation: “Life is a dream for the wise, A Game for the Fool; A Comedy for the Rich, and A Tragedy for the Poor.”  Nobody should be surprised with foreshadowing like this that “Smoking Guns” will prattle on philosophically about the problems of the human condition.  As Jack cruises to his destination, he swerves to avoid hitting a cat in the street, crashes his car into an iron fence, and cuts up his nose so that he resembles a boxer after a tough fight. 

A loquacious tale about hard-luck British gamblers, this expository laden epic spends most of its time in a small betting parlor—Theta Bet Bookmakers, in London--where Jack Cameron (Tommy O'Neill of “Hoods n Halos”) is sweating out a long odds wager on the same horse to win three times.  The first thing that Jack utters is: “Gambling’s got nothing to do with making money.  It’s about winning and losing.”  As in the crime movies of both Martin Scorsese and Guy Ritchie, the protagonist provides narration from his perspective throughout the action, and he justifies his “bet of my life” wager.  “I’ll risk the fall, so I can know how it feels to fly.”  Later, Jack observes in greater depth, “I have the right to risk my own life if it means the chance of saving it.  I’m chasing more than a castrated bet like a two-to-one favorite.  I need more than a stay of execution.  I have to have the strength to go all the way if I want to cut the shackles of contentment and take the walk to glory and success.”  Jack describes this bet as one that would change his life and make it worth living.  “If this wins,” he contends hopefully, “everything I’ve ever done in my life up until this point has become a stepping stone in the journey of achievement.” 

Jack hangs out with fellow gamblers, Greek native Yian Papas (Andreas Karras of “Into the Blue”); a dim-witted young man, Ian Fairbairn (Jamie Crew of “Rocky Road”), and Paul McVeigh (Dexter Fletcher of “Cockneys vs Zombies”), and later he encounters an former cocaine dealer, Richard Holt (Daniel Caltagirone of “The Beach”), who prompts a fight that leads to gunplay at fadeout.  Jack confides in Yian that he wants a gun, and Yiannis puts his friend in touch with an Albanian, Pipi Alban (Shezai Fejzo of “Undercover Hooligan”), who sells firearms.  

At this point, “Smoking Gun” shifts to another location, a night club called the “Shooting Gallery.”  The man that Jack spoke to about acquiring a pistol is playing poker.  Pipi leaves a poker game while another enthusiastic gambler, Ozan Sakaci (newcomer Dursun Kuran) has been taking a mobster, Bektash Ali (Mem Ferda of “Revolver”), for thousands of dollars.  Unfortunately, the bragging Ozan makes the fatal mistake of antagonizing Ali about his losses.  Ali becomes so aggravated with Ozan that he circles the table and stabs Ozan to death with a knife while the other players watch without interfering.  Strangely enough, apart for the gun dealer in this scene, nothing that happens here or afterward that has any bearing on Jack’s story.  Later, Yian will approach Ali about something that Ali has stuffed into the trunk of his car.  Actually, Ali has stashed the bundled up remains of Sakaci in his car for disposal.  Yian inquires ignorantly about the mysterious bundle, and Ali explains that he has bought a rug for his girlfriend.  Yian knows that Ali is married and cautions him about this extra-marital relationship.  Afterward, Michael has nothing to do with Ali and his fellow poker players.  This little scene develops atmosphere galore, and the outcome with regard to how they dispose of Sakaci’s winnings is surprising.  No, Ali doesn’t reclaim his loot.

“Smoking Guns” boasts strong dialogue and characters, and doesn’t wear out its welcome at 93 trim minutes.  Jack warns Ian about Richard Holt who might take advantage of him and exploit his “anal virginity.”  Principally, the film suffers from its shortcomings.  Apart from the poker game scene which could have been omitted, there is a scene involving con artists who sell a laptop computer to poor Ian.  He shells out cold, hard currency for the laptop.  However, there is no laptop in the case that they hand him, and the swindled guy who walked into their trap is as dim-witted as they come.  Sure, the scene is amusing, but it is like a toss-off joke.  One of the dramatic high points occurs after Jack has won two bets and is angling for a third.  The people who own and operate the betting parlor try to persuade our hero to sell out for thirty grand, and Yian assures the betting lady that he will convince Jack to take her up on her offer.  Despite some flaws, “Smoking Gun” ranks as an above-average opus.

FILM REVIEW OF "GUTSHOT STRAIGHT" (2014)

"CSI" regular George Eads plays a snake-bitten Las Vegas gambler with a knack for getting himself knee-deep in trouble in "Gutshot Straight" (* OUT OF ****) named Jack. Eads makes a convincing but hopeless nobody, and he looks nothing like the sympathetic crime scene investigator that he portrays on the CBS-TV television series. Instead, he portrays the kind of character who you'd neither want to meet nor hang out with because he is a loser. Happily, "Death and Cremation" director Justin Steele surrounds him with a veteran cast of familiar tough-guys, including Stephen Lang, Vinnie Jones, Steven Seagal, and Ted Levine, that give the action a modicum of substance. Steele imbues this brooding 85-minute melodrama about a charismatic loser with a creepy, mysterious film noir flavor.

Down and out, owing just about everybody in Sin City, Jack (George Eads) runs into an older guy, Duffy (Stephen Lang of “Avatar”), at a strip club who makes him an appetitizing proposition: "How'd you like to make some dollars, enough dollars to keep you at the adult table for a long, long time." Naturally, our misbegotten protagonist could use plenty of dough. Taking Jack home to his palatial residence, Duffy tries to persuade him to make love with his wife, May (AnnaLynne McCord of "The Transporter 2"), but the scrupulous Jack displays considerable reluctance. Apparently, Jack doesn't like being told what to do. A brief physical struggle ensues between Jack and Duffy while May watches from the pool. During the fracas, Jack shoves Duffy, and Duffy's head strikes an object and the impact kills him. Jack didn't plan to murder Duffy, and he is pretty upset at the accidental turn of events. May and he stuff Duffy's corpse into the trunk of a Maserati, and Jack wanders off the next day in the brutal heat of Vegas to sleep it off in his Volvo that he cannot get to crank up. Jack is such a woebegone guy with so many problems that it is easy to see why an actor would love to fill in the gaps and play him. Ultimately, he isn't the kind of character that an audience wants to commune with for the length of any movie.

Later, Jack encounters Duffy's scummy brother Lewis (Ted Levine of "Silence of the Lambs") who is a notorious loan shark. Lewis proudly shows Jack his prized possession—the car that May used secretly to dispose of Duffy's body—and we learn that Lewis is an obnoxious jerk, too. Interestingly, Lewis thinks that Duffy has gone away on a trip. A suspicious Jack leaves Lewis after Lewis mentions his name; Jack never told Lewis his name so he doesn't trust him. On his way out, Jack runs into May. She confides in Jack that she buried Duffy's body in the desert. Eventually, Lewis shows Jack a tablet that contains a video of Jack at Lewis' house. This is how Lewis knew Jack's name. Anyhow, Lewis knows everything about Jack, his mountain of gambling debt, and his estranged wife and daughter. Surprisingly, Lewis isn't put out that Jack had something to do with his brother's death. He wants him now to kill May, and he is prepared to use blackmail to get him to do it. May shows up at Jack's sleazy motel, and Jack assures her that he will take care of Lewis. We learn that Duffy was a terrible husband who basically kept May in a metaphorical cage and watched her constantly when he wasn't out drinking and whoring. Jack arranges a visit with Paulie (Steven Seagal of "Exit Wounds") through another disreputable man that he owes money, Carl (Vinnie Jones of "Snatch"), and Paulie agrees to help him. He hands Jack a revolver that fires backwards and tells him to give it to Lewis. Jack and Lewis tangle in a gritty fistfight while treacherous May observes the brawl. May gets the drop on Jack, and she tries to kill him. Naturally, the revovler backfires and blows her away. Afterward, Paulie kills Lewis, and they warn Jack to clear out of town.

Gutshot Straight" occurs primarily in Las Vegas casinos and at an exotic house with a swimming pool and flaming torches. As mesmerizing as the action is, nothing really happens in this pedestrian 85-minute melodrama stocked with despicable characters. Jack finds himself in trouble for a murder that he didn't mean to commit, and he flees to his friends that he owes money and gets them to polish off the villain. The action comes full circle. Although it contains polished production values, "Gutshot Straight" essentially qualifies as a potboiler. Stephen Lang and Ted Levine spend more time on screen than either Steven Seagal or Vinnie Jones. Seagal fans won't like it that the paunchy Seagal has what amounts to a cameo. The DVD commentary is interesting and contains insights into the production. This is a one-time watch it only movie.