Black and Blue

First Hit: An engaging drama made good by powerful scenes and excellent acting by Naomie Harris as Alicia West.

West is still considered a rookie cop on the New Orleans police force after three months of duty. She’s an Army veteran with two completed tours in Afghanistan and is not afraid of conflict. She had recently joined the department because she wants to make a difference in her hometown.

Her partner Kevin Jennings (Reid Scott) drives around and introduces her to areas in New Orleans. As he passes various neighborhoods, he points one out and says, we don’t ever go in there, unless it is to help a cop.

She voluntarily takes an extra shift and heads out with veteran cop Officer Deacon Brown (James Moses Black). He makes it clear that he isn’t wearing a body-cam and not to film him, ever.

Getting a call on his cell phone, Brown and West head to a vast empty manufacturing plant. Brown tells West to “stay put,” while he meets up with an informant. She hears shots, leaves the car, turns on her camera, and goes into the building. Following voices, she witnesses undercover cops killing people, execution-style. One of the undercover men sees her and shoots at her wounding her in the side.

She gets away and soon discovers that both the drug dealers and individual cops are out to get the camera and probably kill her as well.

The rest of the film is about her evading the crooked cops and drug dealers who think she’s the one who shot and killed their team members.

Leading the crooked cops is Terry Malone (Frank Grillo), who has been busting drug dealers, keeping half the captured stash, selling it through other dealers, and then killing them to keep them from talking. His primary enforcer is Smitty (Beau Knapp), who acts like Malone’s mad lap-dog and executioner. If West’s cop camera video gets into the Chief’s hands, Malone and his team will be found out and prosecuted. Malone wants West’s body-cam and would prefer West dead.

The head of the local drug cartel is Darius (Mike Colter), and he’s got a personal interest in who Malone’s team killed as this last killing was his nephew. Malone tells Darius that West killed his nephew.

Because West is on the run, she heads to her old neighborhood and is rejected by her former friends except one, Milo “Mouse” Jackson (Tyrese Gibson). Mouse works at a grocery store, and when West shows up, bleeding, and needing help, he reluctantly gives her assistance because she is an old friend.

There are some wonderful scenes in this film, but the one that stands out to me was when West and Jennings stop at the grocery store to get a coffee. Jennings goes into the store while West gets out of the police car and starts talking to a young twelve-year-old boy. The mother of the boy Missy (Nafessa Williams) yells at West and gets into an argument with her. West, recognizing Missy as an old friend tries to reason with Missy, but Missy disses her and tells her to shut the f*&% up. The layout of the characters, Darius, Missy, Mouse, Jennings, and West are well developed at this moment.

Harris was outstanding as Officer West, who is trying to make a difference in her old neighborhood by seeing people, not color, or anything else. She’s excellent in carrying this message and physically does a great job in this demanding role. Grillo is excellent as the crooked undercover detective. His intensity and attempts to keep everyone in line were perfect. Gibson was absolutely fantastic as the quiet gentle giant who ended up helping West escape all the people after her. Williams was terrific as West’s old high school friend, who had been twisted and hardened by the neighborhood. Colter was sharp as the leading drug dealer in this part of New Orleans. He embodied the intensity and drive of a man protecting what he has. Scott did a great job of feeling caught between two sides as he knew of the crooked stuff going on, but was always the one just looking another way. Black was good as the tough cop turning subservient to Malone when required. Knapp was perfectly unglued as Malone’s killing lapdog. Peter A. Dowling wrote a terrific script that created a high intensity by all the characters. Deon Taylor had everyone on the same page with his direction, and as I previously stated, some of the scenes were indelibly powerful.

Overall: I really enjoyed this film and thought it was well written, acted, and directed.

The Intruder

First Hit: A day after watching this movie, I’ve forgotten almost everything about it.

A good film has you remember something about it, the next day, next week, next month, and next year. This film barely made it to the next day. A movie like “Wait Until Dark,” which might be categorized as the same genre, is still is with me today, and I saw it in 1967.

The idea of this film is; a couple decides to buy a country home in Napa Valley, fix it up, and hopefully raise a family in their new home. The house they fall in love with is owned by a man who claims his wife died about two years ago from cancer and it’s time for him to move on and live in Florida with his daughter. But, with any good horror mystery, there is a wrinkle in the idyllic story.

Here we have Annie and Scott Russell (Megan Good and Michael Ealy respectively), having had success, wanting to move from a condo in San Francisco to a home in Napa Valley. The home Annie falls in love with is owned by Charlie Peck (Dennis Quaid).

The faults started early for me. The looks and quick switches in attitude by Peck made him a creepy suspect too soon. He didn’t sell the story of his wife dying of cancer well enough. That is what disappointed me about this film. It telegraphed too loud and too early the player's positions in this film.

Annie, on her part, was too trusting too early and in apparent situations where caution would be the by-word, she wasn’t. Scott was on edge too early as well. His mistrust and skittishness seemed a little too fabricated.

Anyway, after buying the house, Peck keeps showing up at Russell’s home, mowing the lawn, yelling at people installing a security system, and trying to be helpful. He isn’t, and the creepiness oozes from his eyes and a fake smile.

The story unfolds as one might imagine, but the over crafting from the beginning led to an apparent predictable ending. Additionally, I live in the San Francisco Bay area I’m surprised that Scott, as a high-level advertising executive, would consider making a daily commute from Napa to San Francisco. It might have been better if they had moved to Mill Valley, Fairfax, or other Marin County areas, than Napa. I couldn’t get around the commute as being something viable.

Ealy was OK as Scott. However, his suspicions were telegraphed too early in the film. Good was acceptable as Annie. Her naivety towards Peck by not seeing his obvious behavior flaws was not believable. As a for instance, note the scene when she invites him in to share the pizza he delivers to her, dumb. Quaid overacted the part, but I did think his evil grin was well done. He sort of had a “Chuckie” look to him. Joseph Sikora as Scott’s close friend Mike was reasonable in his role as up and coming young, robust and rich guy. Alvina August was acceptable as Mike’s girlfriend who put up with Mike’s posturing. David Loughery wrote a good script, but it was the direction by Deon Taylor that failed to make the story memorable. He didn’t get much out of his actors and sided on overacting to make this film.

Overall: This film is totally forgettable and not worth seeing.