Red White & Blue (2010) Reviews

• American Nightmare

  kosmasp2010-12-26

  If you turn away from the movie after the very hard and maybe even too explicit (though it really isn't, but it feels like it is) beginning, you will miss out on the why. You won't be able to see where the director wanted to take this. And it would be a shame. This is as "down and dirty" as a movie can go. From cinematography, acting and story/character (development). It might not be your cup of tea of course (nothing glossy to be found here), but if you let yourself into the story and the characters (with all their flaws, of whom they have many), then you will be rewarded with a very weird and angry story. It won't pull any punches either (whether you like that or not) and stays true to it's grittiness throughout. One of the better movies I watched in 2010 (and I watched quite a few)

• Disturbing and absorbing movie

  scoup2012-04-07

  Red White and Blue is not for everyone. This movie with grab your emotions right from the beginning (good or bad) and keep building upwards. There is no clear antagonist or protagonist; I'm sure we could label some, but it detracts from the complex interactions and subtext. This movie has layers and it will stick with you for several days. I repeat - this movie stays with you and reaches some dark places. The acting is very good and Noah Taylor is engrossing. I can not believe this guy is not cast in more roles, seriously. Taylor gives a stellar performance of the performance you almost wished you had never seen. I recommend highly.

• Lone star vengeance

  Cujo1082012-02-05

  Incredibly dark indie deals with Erica, an emotionally empty young woman who has unprotected sex with anyone she can, including a four-way with a garage band and it's lead player, Franki. Enter Nate, an oddball stranger who helps her find work when she's about to be kicked out of her apartment. The two form an unlikely bond. Meanwhile, Franki is caring for his cancer-stricken mother. After he gives some blood to help her, he's soon informed that he has HIV. Horrified not only for himself but for what he's given his mother, he and his bandmates set out to find Erica. Bad choices are made and revenge is brutally dished out. Simon Rumley's film is one of the bleakest I've seen in a while. Austin is the backdrop as we watch damaged characters making choices that lead to their undoing. It's hard to say who's to root for here, and a revelation regarding Erica midway through adds a whole new layer to the proceedings. I respected that Rumley left in numerous ambiguities throughout, as it made for a more intriguing structure. The acting is strong across the board with Noah Taylor, Amanda Fuller and Marc Senter all vying for the title of most disturbed. Senter, who played memorable nutjobs in "The Lost" and "Cabin Fever 2", actually gets outdone this time around. There's also a memorable scene of a family being held hostage.

• An emotional roller-coaster from beginning to end

  jennifer-25-9652312011-08-08

  This movie really affected me right from the beginning. I felt drawn in hanging onto every word and movement of Emily (The main female character) and Nate (The post traumatic Iraq war Veteran). Unfortunately I can't really go into too much detail on the plot creating a rather boring review but I really wanted to let people know just how enticing and well made this movie was. This was one of the best Drama revenge movies I have ever seen. It was so realistic to me it was like watching something real. The emotions I felt towards the characters is not something I normally experience in watching a movie but the bleakness and story lines of each character was just so real to me. I found the relationship between Emily and Nate to be especially captivating. Two outcasts who are thoroughly screwed up very slowly make this special bond that they seemed to never have in life before. You don't really know what to make of the two with his history of torture and hers of being extremely unemotional and sexually promiscuous. You're not really sure what to make of the relationship until things unfold and you realize what's really going on. Franki, the third main character in the movie is your typical stupid kid whose dreams are to make it big with his band. He cares for and loves his cancer stricken Mother very much. When he has an encounter with Emily it causes his whole world to spin out of control and loses his sanity. If you miss this movie you are missing out on a good one. I went in thinking it would be a gore feast but it wasn't, it was actually very tame on the gore. Instead I went through an emotional roller-coaster that lasted from beginning to end. This movie is a must see. Zombiesteak.com - Discover a new world of horror films, designed just for you.

• Brutal and compelling revenge drama

  Andy-2962010-08-14

  One of the best revenge dramas I have ever seen. Brutal and compelling and shot in the seedier parts of Austin, Texas by British director Simon Rumley on a very low budget, it's enhanced by the very fine cast (which includes some respected though not very famous actors, including Noah Taylor playing niftily against character). The movie is about essentially a love (or perhaps death) triangle: Nate, an Iraq war veteran in his thirties who looks edgy and might be somewhat disturbed and Franki, a drummer in an upcoming garage band are the men whose life is intersected through Erica, an attractive girl whose life is a mess working at odd jobs as well as the occasional gig as a prostitute. A sexually transmitted disease will unleash a terrible mayhem of death and revenge. I don't want to add more about the plot, but the results can be brutal in the extreme, even if the climactic act of violence is shot off camera. Starts somewhat slow, and it takes its time to develop its plot, but the third and final act will leave everyone speechless.