Its time again for some MiniKickers, short reviews that let you know what’s worth watching among recent releases. If I had to come up with a theme for this edition it would be movies about men trying to do the right thing which involves hurting others. These three movies were all critically acclaimed when they were in cinemas, but how do they stack up now after this flurry of praise has calmed down? Let’s find out.
Blue Ruin (2013)
This American revenge drama came out of nowhere and was much loved for very good reasons. It tells its story about a man plotting to kill the person who murdered his parents. Obviously there are complications and events spiral out of control. Macon Blair plays the main character beautifully as the camera focuses on everything he does until we build up a picture of a tortured man. Blue Ruin is a gut-punch of a movie that treats revenge with a kind of respect resulting in something very special.
7/10
Cold In July (2014)
Coincidentally another revenge drama but this time with an all-star cast. Michael C. Hall plays a normal Texas family man who one night shoots an intruder in his home. From here things get more complicated as he’s dragged into a conspiracy that’s full of twists and surprises. The first third is quite dull until Don Johnson rocks up in a Cadillac with cow horns on it and the movie takes flight. The gear changes and it becomes an excellent black-comedy with action elements and great performances.
8/10
Locke (2013)
Finally we have one of the strangest films you’ll see all year, Locke stars Tom Hardy as Ivan Locke a construction site foreman driving to London to confront a past mistake. The entire film is just Hardy in his car in real time talking to friends and family on the phone. In different hands and with a different actor this could have been incredibly dull. Instead Hardy is mesmerizing, emoting with his face and voice beautifully (with a very cool Welsh accent). Once you know fully what’s going on it loses momentum and the journey feels longer but as an experiment in film-making and acting Locke is fully recommended.
7/10
Agree with these? If you wanted to go on a revenge fueled rampage, who would your first victim be? We’ll keep it between you and me, i promise.
Screenkicker! 
See 2/3 of this list – not seen cold on July. Agree totally, 2 excellent indie films. Might I suggest 7 Is slightly harsh? Might I also say that both films fall down in the last 3rd? They simply can’t sustain the plot till the credits. Both films are a must see of 2014 however!
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I might come off as harsh but a 7 means i really liked the film but there were flaws
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I probably liked Locke more than you did. I agree on Blue Ruin but haven’t seen Cold in July.
If I was going on a revenge spree I’d probably start with Theresa May. She’s an evil bitch.
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Oh yeah, she’s vile! Not as bad as Michael Gove though, can’t stand that snivelling little shit
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I really want to see Locke. It has played a bunch of film festivals out here, but I just haven’t quite managed to catch it yet. Hopefully it gets a wider release at some point.
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struggled with Locke I kept thinking that something interesting was about to happen, but that moment did not come
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Yeah i know what you mean. I kind of liked that there wasn’t some big twist, it was refreshing
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Like the mini reviews Mikey good idea. Interested in seeing that Cold in July movie and Locke which I have heard so many good things about.
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You should check out all of these movies
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Will watch anything with Tom Hardy in. Love the short reviews!
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Thanks Natasha! Are you looking forward to Hardy as Elton John?
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FML
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Nice work all round buddy.
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Cheers mate
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3 films I’m really looking forward too, in particular Cold in July. Good to see Dexter getting some film work.
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Yeah you can’t go wrong with any of them. I liked Cold in July the most but mainly for the interaction of the actors and the John Carpenter-esque soundtrack
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Hmm. . .I think I’d only put Locke up a touch. I’d give it the 8 or even 8.5. That was a brilliant piece of cinema. It did sort of frustrate me a little at the end, I thought we were actually going to get some closure. But alas. . . . another strange conclusion.
Great Minikickers
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Thanks Tom, yeah I’m probably a bit harsh with the scores, but I just went with my gut feeling. Hopefully the text explains more of how I felt about the films 🙂
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Great reviews Mikey. Haven’t had chance to see Cold In July yet but thought Blue Ruin and Locke were both excellent. Locke is in my top three films so far this year!
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Haven’t seen Cold in July (though apparently I need to!) but I’m glad to hear you liked the other two. For me, Blue Ruin is up there with the best this year and I really enjoyed Locke as well, one that should be commended for its simple invention.
Adam.
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I really liked all three but Cold in July stood out for the great black-comedy in it. You should check it out when you get the chance
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I haven’t seen Cold in July. But I did recently see Locke and Blue Ruin. I like both quite a bit, as well!
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Hadn’t even heard of the first two! Gah, what is wrong with me! I’m falling behind on the times.
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Get with it grandma! You can’t go wrong with any of these. I’ll keep you up to date with what the kids are watching 🙂
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Great mini reviews Mikey! Haven’t seen Cold in July nor Blue Ruin, the latter looks far too intense for my feeble nerves. I did like LOCKE, I rated it a bit higher than you. It’s an intriguing flick that manages to be gripping considering there’s nothing going on the entire time, but man, Hardy’s certainly got the chaps to carry this one-man show.
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Haven’t seen the other two and not sure if I would like Locke, but Blue Ruin is a really great film and a great film experience for me (meeting the director after the Q&A screening & interviewing Macon Blair for my podcast)
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Oh wow, I’ll need to check out your interview! Macon Blair was fantastic in Blue Ruin
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Cold In July is on “My Must-See” list. It is the only one on the list that I haven’t seen yet…
Macon is a sick dude and Blue Ruin is a strong film!
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Nice mini reviews! I really really really wanna see Locke. Mmm… Tom Hardy…… : )
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Only seen Blue Ruin on here, but it was FANTASTIC. I was so engrossed with it. Locke is still high up on my watch list. I just need more time in my life for watching things.
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