No Rastro da Bala

This Tarantino'esque film really delivers. May'be this is better than a Tarantino flick. This fresh film, one exhilarating ride for the viewer, never lets up, has great plot points, that keeps the story running, and really intensifies it parts. It has heavy doses of violence, great shootouts, in the beginning and near the end, and has wonderful performances from actors who really give it their all. This includes gaunt jawed, face lifted Palminteri, as a crooked cop, involved in hijacking a lot of moolah, from a drug shipment, in the first shootout, leaving a few mob guys plenty pi..ed. You'll love how Chazz gets it. Paul Walker is good as the lead. He actually acts, although his wise guy accent, comes apart, here and there. He plays second rate thug/family man, Joey Gazelle, who disposes of guns for the mob. Of course, deep down, he's a nice guy, though. When the neighbours abused kid, steals a gun from Walker's private stash to use on his abusive pig of a Russian father, the same gun that was used to kill a dirty cop, hours prior, hell night begins for Walker, who must retrieve it, before the cops do. So we have a great situation movie, with Walker trying to track the kid, Oleg down, where over the course of the night, the gun ends up in different hands, making Walker's job harder. Should of hid it in a safer place, Paul, preferably with a lock on it. Oleg has a very eventful night, encountering some really seedy ugly sorts (shouldn't go out at night) but none more evil than a paedophile couple who kidnap him, but I won't even go into that. This is what despoiled the quality of the movie, by I forgive Kramer for bringing such a larger than life, if a little bit excessive, action thriller to the table, one that repels at times, but only cause of it's themes. This movie is a great nights viewing. The climax where Walker's held face down on the icy ground of a ice skating rink, where his face is used as a human hockey puck, is very violent indeed, and climactic, and what use of location, than a ice rink. Running Scared is a prime example of what exciting action movies are made of. That's if you like shootouts and violence, but also if you wanna be weirded out a bit, too, where you may very well, find yourself drained out, at the end of this wild and exciting ride, that could have Tarantino, a touch envious.

RUNNING SCARED is a pretty interesting movie. It has its share of flaws, but it does offer something new, and is a lot different to the usual cops 'n' bad guys thriller that I was expecting. In many ways it's like a modern-day fairy tale, with lots of references to the classic stories of old (such as Hansel and Gretel) and a couple of characters facing bizarre and violent adventures during a single night.

First off, the good stuff: the cast is pretty hot, particularly Paul Walker, who gives a MUCH better performance than he does in the films he's best known for, the Fast and the Furious series. Similarly, Vera Farmiga can be guaranteed to deliver some strong acting, and the cast of various goons and bad guys are well picked. In addition, the film has a real Tarantino vibe to it; the direction is edgy and the violence explicit. The script isn't bad. Some of the direction is a little over the top and distracting in places, but for the most part it works.

The flaws are that it meanders slightly in places, and it also goes on for a little bit too long. The whole paedophile sub-plot, while being suspenseful, seems to belong in a different film altogether and really extends the running time. The ending is also rather predictable. But for the most part, this edgy and intriguing, and offers something different to the usual clichés we've come to expect from this genre.

The gangster Joey Gazelle (Paul Walker) is in charge of getting rid of the guns that killed dirty cops in a transaction of drugs between Italian mobsters and Afro-Americans. However, Joey hides the guns in the basement of his house instead of throwing in the river, and his ten years old son Nicky (Alex Neuberger) and his best friend Oleg Yugorsky (Cameron Bright) witness Joey hiding the gun. When Oleg's abusive stepfather Anzor Yugorsky (Karel Roden) beats his mother Mila (Ivana Milicevic), Oleg steals the weapon from the basement and shoots Anzor, running away home with the gun. Along the night, Joey, the Russian and the Italian mobster and the dirty cops chase the little boy trying to retrieve the gun and disclose who ordered the boy to shoot his stepfather.

"Running Scared" is a great surprise and pure action, recalling the style of "Pulp Fiction" and "Reservoir Dogs". The camera work is stylish and amazing, and the gore story in spite of having many clichés is engaging with great lines. Paul Walker is excellent in this type of role, and I particularly loved the scene of Teresa Gazelle (Vera Farmiga) with the two pornographers, when she calls 911. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "No Rastro da Bala" ("In the Tail of the Bullet")

This movie is probably one of the best I've seen in a long while. The action scenes were in your face and looked pretty damn realistic. The special effects were freaking awesome and the director did some really cool stuff which will blow you away. The acting was very believable and the plot worked very well. It reminded me of Training Day the way the story unfolded while we went along for the ride. The plot is freaking awesome and I can't wait to get the DVD. An AWESOME movie!! Definitely must watch this again. The thing to remember when you watch this movie is that it's a ride just sit and enjoy it. I've never felt a need to promote a movie but this one is too good to let others miss it. It is painful to watch in some scenes and at times you're actually totally disgusted once you figure out what's going on. It's crazy the emotions that this movie brings out.

I wasn't expecting much from this movie with Paul Walker as the star attraction, but this movie was thoroughly entertaining and I would highly recommend seeing it.Paul Walker gives a good performance although Cameron Bright steals the show even though I've always saw the kid as creepy after seeing him in The Butterfly Effect. The action in this movie is non-stop and it keeps you guessing up to the very end. I enjoyed how the movie was shot with New Jersey as a backdrop, the movie covered a lot of ground and used various locations that added to the intrigue. This movie provides a nice twist on modern day mob movies. I do agree with a review that I read that said that the gun floating around served as a maguffin (not sure if I spelled that correct) the action provides a high level of entertainment and excitement.