Review: ‘Violent Night’: Santa Slays

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the mansion,

Terrorists were swarming, demanding their ransoms.

Hostages taken, struck with despair.

Luckily for them… Saint Nicholas was there.

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Review: ‘No Sudden Move’ Takes You for a Ride

Before the main caper in No Sudden Move even begins, we’re given narrative elements that imply a crime film of truly epic proportions: two rival gangs, a desperate gangster looking for a way out, a shady job from a mysterious benefactor, and a codebook full of secrets that threatens to bring the criminal underworld of Detroit crumbling down. The movie’s pace matches these expectations as Curt Goynes (Don Cheadle) and Ronald Russo (Benicio del Toro) race against the clock, unraveling a conspiracy while trying to net an even bigger score. By the film’s end,however, once all is revealed, their score is cast in a different, less renegaded light, forcing these criminals—as well as the audience—to reevaluate their expectations.

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