Shot Caller

I am blown away after watching this masterpiece after hearing a friend talk so highly of it. I asked them what it was about, and they said "just go watch it". Well, every now and then a film comes along that will leave an impact on you that will make it hard for you to forget. This film is one of those.

This story was told with such realism, even the actors did not seem like they were acting. At first I was hesitant when I saw that Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau - Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones was cast, but wow did he nail his role. His transition from a white collar to jailed convict was perfect. Even Jon Bernthal's acting was great. For that matter, every character was cast perfectly and were very convincing in their roles.

The writing and screenplay is what truly made this film so great. It's a story told really well, transitioning back and forth at just the right time from back-story to current time, although I wish it had opened with the white-collar scene first, then how it led into the incarceration, and then additional back stories filled in. Had the transitioning not happened, it would have been the best documentary-type film I've ever seen, and felt even more realistic. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the way the story was told as well as the unpredictability and surprise twists. By the end, I was left wanting more!

Stunt-man turned writer/director (also both for this film) Ric Roman Waugh did an outstanding job converting the screenplay to a very convincing on-screen masterpiece.

The cinematography and editing were perfect, but the score could have been a little better.

I hope that based on the ending, there is at least a part 2 that comes out very soon. It's a well deserved 9.5 rounded up to a 10/10 from me. So now, just go watch it!

Well I can safely say I did not expect that film to be that good. It's absolutely outstanding. Amazing acting, brilliant storyline and the characters are so good. It's genuinely got the whole package.

First 20 minutes or so I was a bit 50/50 on what was happening. There was 2 storylines and no real direction for either. Then it slowly starts falling into place and it gets better and better and better. And that's the only real negative I have to offer on this film. Maybe another negative is that I personally would have liked a little more depth on the 2 police officers. You are offered very little on them and it doesn't particularly take anything away from this movie, just would have liked to have known more. Like why is he so hellbent on wanting to catch these etc

But that's honestly nit picking because this really is a great film. The idea of the past/present storylines then merging was done absolutely brilliantly and best of all his character arc was simply superb. And to top it off it gives off a great message about people being institutionalised and what can happen to low offenders.

For a film I genuinely never heard of before, this genuinely blew me away. The only reason I haven't gone higher on ratings is that I have given films like the the departed and shutter island 9/10 and I don't think it's on that sort of level. But I'd go 8.5/10 on this. Please give this a watch if you haven't already.

It has been a long time since I wrote a review but this movie deserves my time and attention. I definitely did not expect this movie to touch me in the way that it did.

The Pros:- -It is so well edited that I had to recheck the run time of the movie when it ended. Two hours flew past like the wind.

-The acting is great.

-The plot will reel you in and never let go. This is simple story telling at it's best.

-The dialogue will never feel boring and the prison scenes are shot in a way that will leave you in awe.

-The score is one of the best I've heard in recent memory. Reminds me of Sicario, another great film. Some people said it could have been better but I disagree. The score had me wishing I can write music that good for movies. It had a certain twist to it, sounds of flutes or sounds of Arabian music undertones.

• The directing? All hail Ric Roman Waugh. I'm going to search for some of his other movies. If half are as half as good as half of this film, I might pass out with glee.

The Cons: There are non I can think of. I wrote this review a few days after seeing the film so that I can write a honest review absent attachment to the film.

Go see it.

It showed a lot of potential with the premise, but it spends most of its time hovering between wanting to be a smart character study of how a businessman can become a ruthless gangster through prison, and a violent action/thriller that focuses on gangs and how they operate. By not fully committing to either, some potency is lost. But is it bad? Not at all. In fact, with a captivating central performance of a complex character from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and enough interesting ideas to hold your attention (particularly when it comes to the effects and inner-workings of a prison), it's still pretty entertaining.

The title is the only thing that's not quite there with this movie - it suggests a sort of b-grade thriller. But what this movie actually delivers is a taut, razor-sharp story about how someone's life can go horribly wrong.

This is the only thing I've seen NCW in apart from Game Of Thrones and I was blown away by his range - he's in full-on acting mode here, entirely believable, and hard as nails.

One of the best movies of 2017.