1) "The Infiltrator" -- Not a bad undercover cop movie that was decent enough... but begged for a Scorsese touch to propel the film to higher levels. There was a point at the very end where the story was demanding a long, ten to twenty minute one take, no cut scene put to music and the film never delivered this. If it had... Oh boy. Alas, this did not ruin things because overall the story was interesting enough. I feel a stronger director and screenplay adapter was warranted, regardless, given how the material was based on real events and an agent's novel. *** out of **** stars.
2) "Dead Bullet" -- Independent film, especially the low budget ones, can be a gamble. This one, for example, is only rated a 5.3 on IMDB. Most folks would simply walk past and never give a picture like this a chance, what with all the tumbleweeds--only 163 people have bothered to rate this film. Yep, I bet nobody here has even seen it. To tell the truth, over the years I have found some really good gems in the low budget indie space. Sleepers in hiding, that sort of thing. This one was pretty good and I was pleasantly surprised. Decent story, decent acting, directing was good. I liked it. This slow-burn picture was not Coen Brothers "Blood Simple" caliber, but not a waste of ninety minutes, either. *** out of **** stars.
