Braven was a surprisingly well made, save for a few eye-rolling moments, suspense-thriller with some solid performances from two bad-asses with Jason Momoa and Stephen Lang as they do battle against low-level drug smugglers. Well worth a rental.
Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich is an interesting historical drama that features some great production and costume designs and an earnest performance from Sean Patrick Flanery.
Manhunter is probably one of the better psychological thrillers and a tad underrated especially for a film of the ‘80s and while there are plenty of elements from that era (look no further than the electronica score) but the performances are so dang compelling led by William Petersen and Tom Noonan.
The Monkey’s Paw is a silly supernatural horror film that might take itself a bit too seriously for its own good yet it’s a watchable flick primarily for Stephen Lang’s performance. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers up good video and audio transfers while the bonus features are limited but decent enough highlighted by the commentary.
Pawn is an acceptable mystery-thriller that has a respectable cast who unfortunately seemed to mostly phone it in except perhaps for Michael Chiklis who was having fun with his thick Aussie accent. Otherwise, as interesting as the story was and comparatively well done as the flash backs were, the movie falls apart at the end coming crashing down with an utterly unsatisfying finale.