McCanick (2014)

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Wow, what a rollercoaster, but one you ride after eating, so it makes you feel kinda sick, kinda bad...McCanick (2013) is a wrong movie. It's all wrong since the beginning. All that keeps us pushing foward towards the end is the question: "what's his problem with Simon Weeks?"; and the answer is sour, bad and bland, mediocre at its best.What I felt is that they went for a great idea of a plot, but couldn't make it happen right. It goes all shallow and unexplained until the very end, which, when it happens, just leaves you wondering why couldn't you just skip until the end and saved yourself the trouble.The acting is OK, which keeps you going, but everything falls flat. Nothing to see here.

This was yet another interesting indie film I was able to learn about through Netflix. It is a darkly moody story which requires paying close attention. As I watched this movie, I felt myself becoming more and more saddened and angry as the realization hit me that Cory Monteith possessed far more talent than he was ever called upon to demonstrate in Glee and this would be the last of his roles for eternity. Here was a young man already capable of holding his own with a seasoned actor like David Morse and obviously capable of becoming even better and better at his craft as time progressed. What a sad, sad waste of a young life.

McCanick follows a darkly twisted Philly detective throughout one day as he tries to find a recently paroled ex con. This film stars David Morse in another Philadelphia based role and the late Cory Monteith, both of which give very seasoned performances that really elevate this film. To start off, the story here, while it is entertaining, is very hard to follow. It is telling two stories simultaneously, one through flashbacks, the other through present day. While this has worked for films of this sort in the past, McCanick misses its mark here regarding a coherent plot. However, as a character piece, this film is absolutely terrific . David Morse as McCanick is very realistic and true to his performance. Morse is especially great in delivering a spot on Philly accent and making us truly believe that this man is a complete psychopath. Another actor in need of much praise here is Cory Monteith. Despite passing away rather recently, this film is bittersweet in a sense. The man proved he was capable of delivering raw and intense emotions, it is a shame we will not be able to see Monteith truly evolve and grow as an actor. Mike Vogel, another Philly native, gives a rather lackluster performance in a bare bones type of role. It isn't necessarily Vogel's fault that his character was underwritten, but he could have at least spiced it up a bit on his own. The director Josh C. Waller has created a great atmosphere for Philadelphia along with delivering a very tasteful character study but he fails to deliver in telling a story that remains coherent and is paced right. In the glimpses of the story that we do get, it is broken information, some of which is said and then never touched upon again. This happens quite often in this film. Despite a bare bones and jumbled story, the film works as a gritty character study of an obsessive cop. If only the story was elaborated on more or cut out all together and went the Bad Lieutenant route, either way there is room for improvement. The only thing that I did not like in this film was the ending. Without giving away any spoilers, all I'll say is it is underwhelming. Overall, I feel Waller has a safe place for future films of this sort. He directs with confidence, even if the script is a bit flat, he makes it work. The real people to watch in this film though are both Morse and Monteith. These two actors really give two amazing performances that are quite impressive. Morse especially carries this movie on his shoulders and runs with it, he's very very good in this film. Anyone who is a crime film buff, you'll really enjoy this one. It's a really raw and gritty thriller with a lot to offer.

David Morse as usual is a great hard nosed cop. Good cast who do the best thing that they could to support Morse's performance, and that is to simply stay out of his way. That man is scary. :) The story is unique, and true, and the kind of story you want to see yanked up into the light. There are no punches pulled once we get to the truth, and get past all the bull. It is not boring to watch, but it does really lack in any real background substance. I don't "blame Canada" for that as others will, there just needs to be more attention taken by the direction, and production teams to bring the back ground to life, but not in such little swatches that you get here. Look at the TV the big falla is playing his xbox on, or any symbolic items you will see around Weeks' apartment I understand you want to show that junkies can't keep stuff, but the TV was just too small. The idea is there, but it will just be lost on most people as it goes by so quickly. You get more use of screen from today's TV dramas than sadly you do here. Cory Monteith is really good, there is just too much confusion in the first 90% of the film for you to understand why he does, and acts the way he does, but it all comes around. Worth the little bit of effort you will have to put forward to stay with this story to the end. Enjoy.