Good Kill good preview

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the writer of  The Truman Show, Good Kill sees Niccol reunited with the star of his other famous work Gattaca, Ethan Hawke.

Hawke plays Las Vegas fighter pilot turned drone pilot Tom Egan who fights the Taliban via remote control for half the day and then goes home to his lovely wife (January Jones) for the other half.

 

Yet following a comprised mission Hawke's character learns to question the objectives of his position in this war pushing away his family when he comes to terms with what constitutes a good kill.

The trailer marks the film out as a character driven piece taking a different slant on the war overseas by focusing on the torment it causes at home. Often soldiers or pilots are away from their loved ones, in Tom's case he goes home every night safely to his bed and his loving family, however the torment of war clouds his emotions and complicates matters such as is Tom creating more terrorists than killing them?

As Lt. Colonel Johns played by Bruce Greenwood states, 'Don't ask me if its a just war. For us its just war'.

With Hawke enjoying a hot streak following the critical acclaim of Boyhood, this allows Niccol to again bring a philosophical and intellectual slant on current affairs - with Gattaca it was about cloning and stem cell research, with the Truman Show it was about everyday celebrity and Big Brother. Niccol again seems to have struck the right note between entertainment and discussion.

Good Kill is out in UK cinemas on April 10th from Arrow Films

Justice (DVD review)

Starring Nicolas Cage, January Jones and Guy Pearce, Justice is released on DVD by PremierPR on Monday 26th March

Directed by Roger Donaldson (No Way Out, Thirteen Days), Justice tells the story of Will Gerrard (Cage), an inner city high school teacher who is married to a beautiful musician wife, Laura (Jones), they live the perfect life until their world is shattered when Laura is violently attacked and left for dead.

Searching for answers and vengeance, Will is approached by a mysterious man, Simon (Pearce) who promises him justice without the need for an unwanted trial.  Simon says they can do away with the killer, and all Will has to do is do a favour for this vigilante group in return at some point in the future.

Whilst Will agrees to the proposal, he soon realises that even justice must come at a price.

This is Cage's umpteenth movie in less than two years and whilst he still has that silver screen allure and magnetism you can see that part of him is definitely phoning it in - which is a shame as the possibility of doing a decent thriller with this solid supporting cast and director who has covered this ground previously has been missed.

At times the tension is never cranked up, and some of the set pieces have not been handled effectively. Tellingly, a producer of the film was Tobey Maguire, you can maybe see Maguire playing opposite Jones and being manipulated by someone older than him like Pearce - but here you have to get over the fact of Cage being married to Mrs. Don Draper from Mad Men (a big leap in itself), and Cage sporting another silly piece of facial hair to distract you from his receding hairline.

Justice is out on 26th March on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-Ray (£19.99) from Momentum Pictures.