Black Rose

Apparently, this is a 2014 movie that is just being released on DVD, and which I found in Redbox. Set in Los Angeles, it centers on the search for a serial killer, named the Black Rose Killer, as a black rose and a cryptic message in Russian are left on the bodies of each mutilated victim.

Set in Los Angeles, so far five young Russian women have been murdered in the tight knit community of West Hollywood. A LAPD Captain (Robert Davi) has decided to put a fresh team together to try and track down the psycho killer, so he imports a brazen Russian Major (Alexander Nevsky) to pair with a rookie female detective (Kristanna Loken),

The rapport and chemistry between Nevsky and Loken was pretty effective and there is some decent humor sprinkled throughout the film. However, overall, I found the dialogue and most of the acting to be quite wooden and stilted.

There's also loads of cold-blooded killings, bloody torture scenes, and grizzly showings of the dead victims. As the movie progresses the body counts and the carnage just multiplies. There's a big twist at the end, which I didn't guess, but which by that point I didn't really care very much about.

All in all, can't recommend. To note, there were no subtitles on my DVD copy, except when Russian was being spoken, but I was able to use the closed caption option on my remote to get the subtitles.

Com'on people. At least the photography was excellent. Bad script. Acting sans direction or self restraint. But good grief -- does it really deserve all this opprobrium? Shots and angles were often admirable. They found scenes and settings that were quite interesting and occasionally terrific. ... On the other hand, a stage name duplicating the cultural hero of the Russ is deserving of The Donald's approval and accents comparable to Branagh's Shadow Recruit choice are cringe-worthy. Just imagine what people not super self-conscious of being C-lister's could have done with the idea here.

It's a direct to video release. If you're looking for an Oscar winner, look elsewhere. I saw it on Netflix. Reminded of the slew of bad action movies I enjoyed renting back in the 80's and 90's.To wit, I am known as the king of bad movies. Love 'em. I enjoyed it for what it is. A bit low budget. Not as gory as some reviews would lead you to believe. I will say this, if the the star, Alexander Nevsky, could lose the heavy Russian accent, he'd make a helluva lot more sense as Jack Reacher than Tom Cruise.

Tons of potential, but watchable. Don't know what happened. Laughable at times unintentionally I'm sure.

I can't believe how boring this movie is. The acting was bad, the chemistry was bad, the script was dull. The plot was a good one they should have been able to do more than they did with it.Blood and gore alone do not make a great action/mystery movie (or apparently even a good one). I could not wait for it to be over.