The Samaritan (2012)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Typical Hollywood garbage. Formulaic, predictable, and clumsily borrowing plot devices from foreign films with heart who have done it a million times better.As is typical of Hollywood trash, the movie makes it seem like it's edgy and risqué. But, ultimately, it never crosses any lines, in the end it always plays it safe. Meanwhile, the feeble-minded, arrogant, narcissistic American audience of dummies is allowed to maintain their moronic sense of moral superiority over the rest of the world.Garbage. No wonder it's on Netflix.

Films like this don't seen to rate very highly on IMDb although they will find their adherents. I thought it was a pretty good caper film with more than it's share of twists and turns. Sometimes these movies try to be so clever that they implode on themselves, but this one caught itself up once we come to know the relationship between ex-con Foley (Samuel L. Jackson) and the young hooker Iris (Ruth Negga). Thereafter it becomes the grift that Foley didn't want to get tangled up in, in the first place. A couple of things that didn't ring true for me was how quickly and easily Xavier (Tom Wilkinson) decided that Foley should launder his eight million dollars for him. Just like that - what?!?! Even crazier was the idea that Xavier actually had the eight million in a suitcase with him when all the players came together. Personally, I thought Helena (Deborah Kara Unger) hanging herself was going to turn out to be an element of the grift, but referring back to my earlier warning, things didn't go in that direction.Anyway, I'm satisfied that Ethan (Luke Kirby) got what was coming to him. I thought he was a punk and in way over his head to attempt a con job like this one. Too bad about Foley but that's the way the bullets fly. One thing I'd like to know, is how much Miro (A.A. Peterson) kept for his trouble stitching up Iris. Hopefully enough to retire himself.

If you have nothing better to watch, then go to bed. SLJ was OK in this. the plot was full of holes, the acting wooden, the cast other than "Ethan" garbage. The "love interest" was a) poor actress b) not pretty c) not believable d)cheesy. The ending was predictable and cheesy. I reckon SLJ must have done this one for free, as a 12Mil budget is nothing these days. They definitely used a B list casting here, no doubt to compensate for SLJ fee. I think a lot of SLJ films are excellent, I can only assume he did this one as a favor to someone. Someone said there were a lot of twists in this movie, I can only imagine they have not seen a lot of movies outside of American RomComs as the "twists" were entirely predictable and obvious. I gave it 5/10, change that to 4/10.

A massive failure at the box office, only earning 2.500 dollars in 3 screens in the U.S. and only big-screened in only three another countries, Portugal, earning 12.500 dollars there, the U.K. S and Japan, of which there aren't any income records. With a 12 million dollar budget, this is a major flop, obviously. BMW didn't get much back from their sponsoring. But the film isn't by all means that bad. This gets bashed due to a part of the story putting some off, and it's not the violence. In stead the film is very enjoyable on many levels, as a film noir filmed story with lots of cult potential.An old convict gets out of prison, unwillingly revisiting his past, finding most of his old companions in crime dead and buried. Awaiting him, though, is a son of his partners, Ethan, which is an apple which hasn't fallen far from the three. And he's proud of it, but has an agenda.The opening is very interesting. We watch people fallen on the wrong side of the fence of life. The acting is good. Obviously by Samuel L. Jackson, and very much so by mob boss Tom Wilkinson. Deborah Kara Unger is also good. Not to fond of Luke Kirby here, though, being less convincing. I'd love to see a real slick devil in that role. The chemistry between Jackson and Ruth Negga isn't there at all, starting out the film's problem. It's simply not believable. It's easy to see on the screen that they don't fancy each other. What a bad casting, of an otherwise proved good Negga.The scenes with them slows down the movie so much, that you lose interest in the film. I can't help thinking these would have been great scenes, if the chemistry was working. The shifts and clippings which could make the film fast paced, slows it down. Thankfully it paces up again.I like the tone of the movie. I felt it was a pleasant watch, with good production value, good filming and nice plot. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that this was "a gritty serving of pulp fiction", and it is. Obviously referencing to Jacksons main role in "Pulp fiction". The film is better than it's rating here.I would say this is one of the better in this genre I've seen, and it's absolutely worth watching. The best "convict trying to get back to life"-film I saw was the comedy "A somewhat gentle man". A equally gritty movie, but much funnier to watch.