How far will a desperate man go to turn his life around? That's been a common theme in four films I’ve seen the past few months, courtesy of Netflix. The latest, 13 Sins, is the weakest of the lot. It makes no pretense whatsoever at seriousness, evolving midway to horror shock-fest. Unlike Graceland (Filipino, 2012), which is deadly serious, it is strictly Hollywood fare, much like Cheap Thrills (2013), which was better. 7 Boxes (Paraguayan, 2012) is more thriller than serious art, but superior to the latter two. The best aspect of 13 Sins is that it’s not boring. I did not pause the disc during its entire 93 minute running time. One must suspend belief to view its over the top nonsense. I enjoyed the twists at the end. I was not familiar with most of the cast. How does one judge the acting in so lurid a flick? The ubiquitous, always reliable Ron Perlman plays a detective. 65, he has amassed 207 credits and is still going strong, several projects in the can and in pre or post production this year and next. 13 Sins was directed by Daniel Stamm, who co-wrote the screenplay with David Birke. It was adapted from the Thai film 13: Game of Death (2006), which I haven’t seen. In the commentary section at IMDb, the majority of contributors ridiculed the work, one calling it the worst she’d ever seen. It’s far from the worst I’ve seen, but it isn’t very good. 11,000+ have rated the film at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 6.2 of ten. I rate it 2.25 on a scale of five. Anyone turned off by violence, crudity and gore should pass.
My thanks to the kind folks who bought and donated books on this gorgeous day. As I was idling the time, waiting for customers, an old, green SUV pulled up to the curb. A young couple exited and were approached by a male in soiled work clothes. The woman opened the rear hatch, reached into a cooler, came out with food wrapped in foil and in containers, and put them into a plastic bag, adding utensils and napkins. Her companion reached into a cooler sitting on the back seat and came out with a couple of cans of Pepsi and two soft drinks in glass bottles. The entire transaction went down in Spanish. I love the underground economy.
Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/rP7o9
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/rP7o9
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f
Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/
Vic's Web Site: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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