{"id":17974,"date":"2018-03-24T14:38:04","date_gmt":"2018-03-24T21:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=17974"},"modified":"2018-03-24T14:38:49","modified_gmt":"2018-03-24T21:38:49","slug":"review-acts-of-violence-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2018\/03\/review-acts-of-violence-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Acts of Violence BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Acts of Violence<\/em><\/strong> is a misfire of a movie that probably wanted to tell a serious story about human trafficking but never quite got there thanks to a clunky script and some thinly written characters.<\/p>\n

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Acts of Violence<\/span>
\n(2018)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Action, Suspense\/Thriller
\nLionsgate | R \u2013 87 min. \u2013 $21.99 | March 27, 2018<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 03\/24\/2018 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Brett Donowho
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Nicolas Aaron Mezzanatto (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Cole Hauser, Bruce Willis, Shawn Ashmore, Ashton Holmes, Melissa Bolona, Sophia Bush, Mike Epps<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>Commentary, Featurettes, Interviews, Trailer
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.40
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, English, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>43.3 GB
\nCodecs: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 2.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Another year, another movie from Grindstone Entertainment co-starring Bruce Willis, and makes Acts of Violence<\/em><\/strong> his ninth collaboration (at least in my own collection). As Grindstone movies go, this is by no means terrible, but awfully clunky in the storytelling and a plot that is just a more action-packed, and better production value, version of a Lifetime Original Movie, down to the human trafficking angle.<\/p>\n

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The story, set in Cleveland, revolves around the McGregor brothers: Deklan (COLE HAUSER), Brandon (SHAWN ASHMORE) and Roman (ASHTON HOLMES), the two former being ex-military. When Roman\u2019s fianc\u00e9e Mia (MELISSA BOLONA) is kidnapped and held as part of a human trafficking ring headed by crime lord Max Livingston (MIKE EPPS), the trio band together to rescue her before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

Also on the case is Detective James Avery (BRUCE WILLIS) who has been on the hunt for the gang who have been kidnapping girls all around town, Mia not only being the latest but one who was not living on the outskirts of society with the others have been homeless or \u201cdamaged\u201d.<\/p>\n

Acts of Violence<\/em><\/strong> is a simple enough concept and could\u2019ve been an entertaining little thriller but instead we get a mishmash of ideas \u2014 such as at the beginning Deklan with PTSD which really never is brought up again \u2014 going on with some lazy filmmaking which I guess makes sense considering the film reportedly only took 15 days to film (that\u2019s quite the turnaround). What we get in the end is neither a film that isn\u2019t nearly bad enough to mock nor good enough to remember.<\/p>\n

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To that end, this is yet another movie co-starring<\/em> Bruce Willis who spends a good 80% of his screen time sitting behind the desk with only an action piece in the opening (though I\u2019d wager a portion of that was a stunt double) and a couple pick-up shots in the middle of the end where he\u2019s actually out of the office. As one would expect, Willis didn\u2019t particularly turn in a great performance even with a thinly written character and seemed like another quick payday (one day of shooting for him).<\/p>\n

The other cast members were adequate enough, I suppose. Cole Hauser never really rose out of mediocrity and here he gives a convincing enough performance at least and effective in the lead; Shawn Ashmore who was fun trying to portray a bad ass military guy since I always will remember him for playing \u201cJimmy\u201d Olsen on Smallville<\/em>; Ashton Holmes is a non-factor playing the concerned boyfriend; and Melissa Bolona has a few strong moments. Oh, and if anyone remember Mike Epps, he shows up as the movie\u2019s main villain.<\/p>\n

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All in all, Acts of Violence<\/em><\/strong> isn\u2019t terrible but nothing special either. It\u2019s a poorly executed film from a run-of-the-mill plot. As Grindstone Entertainment movies go, this is certainly not the worst I\u2019ve encountered; take that for what you will…<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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This release comes with a semi-glossy, title-embossed, slip cover<\/strong>. Inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD<\/strong> copy.<\/p>\n

Audio Commentary<\/u><\/strong> \u2014 Director Brett Donowho is a pretty decent track as there are very few lulls and manages to give insights into certain camera angles, filming locations, working with the actors and other bits of trivia.<\/p>\n

Making of Acts of Violence <\/em>(12:19; HD)<\/u><\/strong> is a behind-the-scenes featurette that is basic and includes interviews from the cast and crew, much of them seen in the compilation below.<\/p>\n

Cast and Crew Interviews (TRT 51:30; HD):<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n