Killing Them Softly

When a couple of buffoons hold up a high stakes underworld card game, it is predictable how it would end. The mob puts a highly paid hitman to set right the situation. And when you have cast that includes Brad Pitt and James Gandolfini, you except even this simple storyline to pack a punch. However you are left with an insipid journey that turges towards the inevitable end.

Rating: * +

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The Taking of Pelham 123

Walter Garber's (Denzel Washington) typical uneventful day at the MTA as a dispatcher turns into a giant adrenaline rush when men with guns hijack a subway train and demand a ransom in return.  A remake of the 1974 film of the same name sees the old plot updated for todays times with John Travolta playing a snarling bad ass and James Gandolfini showing up as the mayor of NYC. The Travolta vs Washington casting promises much and it almost delivers. But the director / script writer cuts it short just when the going gets good. An  action flick that keeps you engaged but not over awed.

Rating: * *

Lonely Hearts

Ray Fernandez (Jared Leto) is a conman who sluices windows and lonely women of their life savings. But it is when beautiful Martha (Salma Hayek) enters his life that murder enters equation of the con jobs. This is when New York detective Elmer Robinson (John Travolta) starts to sniff their trail with help from his ample able partner, Charles (James Gandolfini). A chilling crime drama based on the true life of the "Lonely Heart Killers" who walked this Earth in the late 40s.

Rating: * * *