TheRetroCritic

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Another year, another Nicolas Cage film that passed by almost unnoticed. Recently released on Netflix, Vengeance: A Love Story is a thriller about a woman who is abused by a group of men one night in front of her daughter and the aftermath of that traumatic event. On paper, this sounds like your typical revenge plot where someone is taken or raped or killed and a good cop takes the law into his own hands once all else fails. The film, perhaps aware of how overplayed that subgenre has become, makes a genuine attempt to keep that aspect of the film in the background and focus on everything else. While this was a wise decision as it allows us to spend more time with and feel for Teena (Anna Hutchison), the victim, and her daughter Bethie (excellent newcomer Talitha Bateman), the film is unfortunately not clever enough to really explore the impact of rape on someone or the justice system's failings on the matter in a way that rings true. Vengeance is like a poorly written essay:

After the Rise and the Dawn comes the  War For The Planet Of The Apes , the third and last part of the Caesar prequel trilogy in which Andy Serkis' motion-captured ape leads his intelligent kind to battle against the humans once and for all. Or, at least, that's what the trailers would have you believe. Based on those, you'd think the entire film was all-out war with Woody Harrelson's intimidating baddie facing off against Caesar in one last epic stand. The film is not that at all, it's actually much more subtle than that but "subtle" doesn't exactly make for exciting, bombastic trailers. The war in question is a rogue group of soldiers, led by The Colonel (Harrelson), who are trying to eliminate and/or enslave all the apes living in the forest. The apes defend themselves, of course, but it's not really a war for them, it's survival as they plan to leave the forest for a more peaceful setting. Unfortunately, The Colonel murders Caesar'

Keanu Reeves is back with John Wick , a new thriller in which the titular badass comes back for one last revenge mission against the mob after the puppy his late wife gave him posthumously is brutally killed. Yes, I said puppy. Not his daughter, not his wife: a puppy. It's almost like the movie itself isn't taking its own genre seriously. And that's what's so refreshing about John Wick: it wants to have its cake and eat it too and... it kinda does just that. Effortlessly, no less! While the puppy thing and the fact that Wick is such a myth that everyone is terrified at the very mention of his name are obviously tongue-in-cheek pokes at the revenge thriller clichés, the film never flat out makes fun of its main character or turns into a spoof. In fact, you do get attached to that darn puppy and its relationship with Wick so when it does check out early, you do feel for the guy. It helps that Reeves gives a genuine performance and nails the more emotional moments

From Bryan Johnson comes a black comedy with more than just a little edge to it. Vulgar sees a pathetic, down-and-out clown, played by Clerks ' Brian O'Halloran, respond to an ad which would require him to perform a joke at a bachelor's party only to find that a psychotic father and his two sons are planning to rape him. Now that's a synopsis! Must have been a shoo-in pitch at Lionsgate Entertainment. Who would have thought that Shakes The Clown and I Spit On Your Grave would combine their plots to create a whole new movie? The depiction of Will "Flappy" Carson's (O'Halloran) unpleasant day-to-day life is handled with a sarcastic sense of humour at first with his mother being so over-the-top vile and his job not exactly working out the way he was hoping it would. Bryan Johnson himself also pops up here and there as Will's best friend to cheer him up or shoot the shit. Then the film takes such a dark detour that, right there and the

Ah Kill Bill, I remember seeing Quentin Tarantino's 4th film at the cinema and having THE best time. This was like watching a compilation of badass revenge movies from the 70's all put together into a fresh, new, exciting, unique package. I hadn't seen anything quite like it and it blew me away. Uma Thurman gives a career-best performance as The Bride, a woman betrayed by her own buddies, namely the "Deadly Viper Assassination Squad" and its leader only known to us as "Bill", and left for dead. But a gunshot to the head just wasn't enough to keep her down and super-Uma is soon back and ready to kick ass. We follow her journey from when she wakes up from a long coma to her confrontation with Lucy Liu's O-Ren Ishii. It's typical revenge movie stuff and it all builds up to a thrilling final fight where the as-yet-unnamed Bride takes on The Crazy 88, easily one of the most useless gangs in movie history. By the end you're so into the Luc