Displaying items by tag: Frank Grillo

STOWAWAY

US, 2021, 93 minutes, Colour.

Ruby Rose, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Frank Grillo, Luis De Silva junior.

Directed by Declan Whitebloom.

This is an action thriller which many would describe as “generic”. It is not unfamiliar material but, nevertheless, provides passing entertainment for a wide audience.

The star of the film is Australian Ruby Rose, not all that popular with some audiences, a lot of hostility from bloggers. However, here she is as an action star.

Focus is on the father-daughter relationship, devoted father, the little girl almost drowning, but her father disappearing, her growing up with a criminal group, finding herself in prison – then the passing of years, seen trying to steal a motorbike but then informed that she has inherited a luxury boat from her father. She goes to the boat, encounters a young man at the bar, is not supposed to be on the boat, some thugs come and kill the security guard at the harbour, are searching for money in a safe, forcing the captain of the ship to take them out to sea. The young man escapes but is shot. The rest of the film is the young woman using her wits, helped by the captain, signalling for the Coast Guard who come but find no evidence, her escaping with the captain in a lifeboat.

The audiences see veteran action star, Frank Grillo, giving the news to the young woman about her boat then disappearing. It quickly emerges that he is the chief villain, controlling the thugs, aiming to confront the young woman to find out about $80 million which her father had taken back from Grillo and his thugs – but, ironically, had given it all away to those in need.

Happy ending, of course, the young man wounded, calling the Coast Guard, the rescue, the boat blown up, the young woman giving a lot of the money to the sick daughter of the captain who saved her life.

Generic, yes, 90 minutes of action for the wider audience.

LIGHTS OUT

US, 2024, 90 minutes, Colour.

Frank Grillo, Mekhi Pheifer, Jamie King, Dermot Mulroney, Scott Adkins.

Directed by Christian Sesmo.

This is one of those action films which used to be called “straight-to-video”. Now it is “quick-to-streaming”.

There is immediate war action, grimly filmed, involving the central character Duffy, played by Frank Grillo, who seems to have specialised in appearing in this kind of action show. Then he is involved in a confrontation with someone cheating at cards, displaying a capacity for fighting. He is observed by Max, Mekhi Pheifer, with a proposal that they join together doing the rounds of the Underground fight club’s, making money from bets – something which immediately happens.

Duffy is wary of Max at first, then joins with him, goes to Los Angeles and boards with Max’s sister and niece, the sister being a victim of domestic violence. And he is tormented by flashbacks to the past.

The first minutes of the film, it seems to be a macho show for a male audience, then some acknowledgement of women as victims of male domestic violence.

The rest of the film is a combination of tough, very tough fight scenes, a wheeler dealer fights entrepreneur played, surprisingly, by Dermot Mulroney, who is also one of the producers of the film. However, the main villains of the film happened to be reputable police, actually working the fight clubs, claiming money, even shooting their opponents while keeping their reputation. In fact, the main villain is a female detective played by Jamie King.

Duffy becomes a more genial man, especially boarding with Max’s sister and niece, gets tangled up in more fights, building up to a confrontation with the corrupt police and shootout.

The film is principally for a male audience which likes this kind of tough action – and for a female audience who may be interested in a film with such a tough female villain.

The director, Christian Sesmo, has made many such action shows.

LITTLE DIXIE

US, 2023, 105 minutes, Colour.

Frank Grillo, Eric Dane, Beau Knapp, Annabeth Gish, Peter Greene, Thomas Dekker, Mercedes Mason, Sofia Bryant.

Directed by John Swab.

The title sounds like a pleasant little ditty from the American South. It is from the American south, from Oklahoma, with writer-director, John Swab dramatising his home state. But it is not a pleasant little ditty.

This is one of those B-budget action films that are very popular with aficionados, once upon a time straight-to-video, now turning up on streaming.

For audiences with more delicate sensibilities and sensitivities towards screen violence as well as towards brutal narratives, not their film.

John Swab has worked with Frank Grillo on a number of similar films – and Frank Grillo has worked on how many more similar films. Here he is Doc, specialist operations expert, helping the governor, Eric Dane, for his political promotion, advised by Annabeth Gish, channelling money from the Mexican cartels. The film opens with the governor and Grillo as Doc, present at the execution of one of the cartel gang – which leads, of course, to retaliation, numerous deaths, and, surprisingly for our possible sympathy with Doc, his doing a lot of the killing. The cartels have given him a motivation by abducting his daughter.

So, there are the Mexican mansions with the wealthy cartel leaders, the processing of the drugs by almost naked women, and gay bar and the death of a singer, a final showdown in Mexico.

While a lot of this may well be based on fact, for many it is ugly viewing.