Alicia
I love this movie so much
Doomtomylo
a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Hellmant
'THE RECKONING': Three Stars (Out of Five)Australian crime-mystery-thriller flick starring the brothers of some well known celebrities; Jonathan LaPaglia (kid brother of Anthony LaPaglia) and Luke Hemsworth (big brother to Chris and Liam Hemsworth). It was written and directed by John V. Soto and also stars Viva Bianca, Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Alex Williams. It tells the story of a cop investigating the murder of his former partner; while also tracking down two troubled teens, linked to the killing. The movie is pretty well made but nothing too memorable. LaPaglia plays Robbie Green; a detective investigating the roadside murder of his ex-partner Jason Pearson (Hemsworth). He finds an SD card, at the scene of the crime, that contains video shot by two runnaway teens; Rachel (Lawrence) and AJ (Williams). The teens were making a documentary, on the hit-and-run death of Rachel's sister, and the video could contain information leading to Pearson's killer. With the help of Detecitve Jane Lambert (Bianca), Green investigates the crime and finds some pretty shocking and gruesome imagery, on the video, in the process.I was expecting a pretty poorly made, and mostly boring, B movie crime thriller but this is better than that. The acting is all pretty decent (especially LaPaglia and Lawrence) and the directing isn't too amateurish. It does kind of feel like a long episode of a popular cop TV show, but a good one at least. While the film is more interesting (and better made) than I was expecting, it's still nothing too special and I doubt I'll remember too much about it more than a year from now.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: youtu.be/N3ywdecCULw
discocat77
There's an old joke – "all Australians are walking upside down". This movie is a persuasive proof that there is definitely a tiny piece of joke in this statement. The society pictured in this movie is exactly like that – completely twisted. For example, what would the three muscular drug dealers do when their safe house is approached by an inadequately looking teen girl with a skinny friend, who's shooting the bandits on camera(!!!)? And the lady is mumbling something about retribution from the bible… Of course, the criminals politely invite this creepy pair into their hideout, and then obediently allow to savagely torture and kill themselves. Of course, it' s an absolutely obvious way things are done in the streets of Australia! What a shame that the movie director didn't share with the audience the details of "bringing to peace" the avenged criminals, who overwhelm the attackers in every possible characteristic excluding "goodness". It makes one think that however hard the movie creators tried to work out a persuasive way of crazy teen couple's winning over 2 foot-soldiers with their boss, they couldn't make it without looking unrealistic. That's why they took an innovative decision to picture the bandits already neutralized. Genius move! Thunderous applause! And there's one more especially vivid episode. What would the main character of the movie, an experienced police officer in his 40s, do, when he comes home knowing he's being hunted by two extremely dangerous criminals intending to mortify him as painfully as possible? Especially considering the fact that previously they've already committed a number of psycho-aggravated assaults, presently on the loose and always do their thing fast. A normal thriller hero would send the wife and kids away and would be sitting in the dark corner of his home with a gun, waiting for the inevitable visit. But the Aussie heroes have a special sovereign methodology. As clear as day, the concerned policeman first fixes himself a mighty drink, then has sex with his wife and…happily blacks out in the sleep of the righteous. Well, a man has a right to relax, doesn't he? Especially in the anticipation of brutal torture and violent death. That's how it usually happens, right? And then he's woken up in the warm company of quite expected maniac guests, who have already taken the heirs of this sleeping beauty as hostages. And such "innovative" plot points, boldly challenging the most common everyday logic, adorn almost every episode of this movie. But along with that its content propagates the humanitarian target of youth de- narcotization. Guess the creators of "Reckoning" made a very good job in making it very hard to take this movie and its "humanitarian mission" seriously. They can be really proud of themselves.
ohhelloo
The Reckoning is a must see for crime thriller lovers . With a well structured story line with dark twists and turns, gut wrenching performances and crisp cinematography, Soto has proved himself in his talent for crafting genre films. The notable performances of rising actors Lawrence and Williams proved strong in their portrayal of obsessive troubled teens with their quest for vengeance.With successful use of found footage and the crime genre, interesting cinematic layers have been used to create a dark yet thrilling take on city crime. The visual elements have been prominently complimented by a prodigious soundtrack. Overall a great and enjoyable Australian film with complex dimension and texture.
chunky696
I was looking forward to seeing this movie because (1) I'm a fan of thrillers and (2) I like Viva Bianca since her Spartacus days. This film is an interesting blend of found footage and crime movie which I haven't seen before. The film starts off a bit slow but then picks up pace and certainly has suspenseful moments. Viva is good although the detective Lapaglia is also impressive as is one of the teenagers. Performances are realistic and there are plenty of twists which kept me on my toes, particularly towards the end. the movie has a good score as well although sometimes feels too busy, but it works. Overall i really enjoyed it and recommend it to others.
