CLICK HERE for my full review in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

“Copshop” is the latest abrasive crime thriller comes from director Joe Carnahan, a filmmaker known for exploring society’s gritty criminal underbelly. This particular outing may have you checking the end credits to see if Quentin Tarantino’s name is attached. That should give you a good idea of the kind of movie Carnahan is shooting for.

In reality, “Copshop” more closely resembles the B-movie schlock that often inspired Tarantino rather than an actual Tarantino movie. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Co-written by Carnahan and Kurt McLeod, the story feels like something pulled from a 1970’s pulp magazine and the evocation of John Carpenter’s “Assault On Precinct 13” is hard to miss.

But as movies have shown us countless times, aiming for something and hitting it are two different things. And marrying both style and substance can be tricky. At first glance “Copshop” has all the ingredients for a fun and grimy throwback exploitation flick. The cast is certainly up to the task and DP Juan Miguel Azpiroz shoots the film with a nostalgic verve that energizes the action and the setting. If only the writing was as sturdy.

Carnahan’s modestly entertaining actioner is built around a nifty premise that sets us up for a number of second-half revelations. There’s also an infusion of kooky black comedy that may not always work, but it keeps things lively. And of course there’s the inevitable violent final act blow-out that packs enough carnage and mayhem to make genre fans smile.

Yet despite all of that, “Copshop” is never quite as suspenseful or engaging as it needs to be. And while the cast does a good job selling their characters, too many are your standard issue variety and all of them speak in the exact same foul-tongued pseudo tough guy vernacular found in many of Carnahan’s movies. And while the majority of the performances are on point, everyone ends up constricted by their character types.

It doesn’t take long for the story to kick into gear with most of it playing out over the course of one night at Gun Creek Police Department, a strangely remote yet noticeably modern police station (why it sits literally in the middle of nowhere is one of those glaringly obvious questions you’re not supposed to ask in a movie like this).

The first of the key players we meet is con-man and seasoned mob fixer Teddy Murretto (Frank Grillo sporting an anchor beard, a man-bun and one gaudy pair of snakeskin boots). He’s a slippery rogue who has frequently eluded death and prison. We’re introduced to him as he’s barreling down a Nevada highway in a bullet-riddled Ford Crown Victoria, the windows busted out, smoke billowing out from under the hood.

Turns out there’s a bounty on Teddy’s head and he’s running from several interested parties who are eager to cash in, among them the ruthless and notorious hitman Bob Viddick (Gerard Butler), a career killer known for his no-nonsense efficiency and penchant for violence. Viddick’s not someone you want hot on your heels so Teddy does something desperate- he punches a young deputy named Valerie (Alexis Louder) to get himself arrested. What safer place to hide out than in a jail cell at a local copshop?

What Teddy didn’t count on was Viddick doing the same thing. Soon the assassin and the target are sitting in cells across from each other with Valerie trying to put together the pieces. Things get even crazier with the introduction of a second hitman, a psychopathic wildcard named Anthony “Tony” Lamb (Toby Huss), a wildly uneven swirl of disturbing menace and cartoonish silliness. Let the psychological chess matches between the sleazeball, the hired gun, the hero and the maniac begin.

The rest of the running time is filled with snarky interplay, chest-pounding masculinity, clichés galore, more trite cop banter than you can shake a police baton, and a slew of stereotypes. Then we get back to the humor which highlights Carnahan’s self-awareness but does more to undermine the suspense than make us laugh.

The real saving grace is the cast, especially the central trio. Butler is a nice fit and while it’s true the Scotsman has starred in his share of stinkers, it’s nice to be reminded of his legitimate acting chops. Grillo is a Carnahan regular and is right at home in the director’s grimy underworld. But the real standout is actress Alexis Louder who matches her two burly veteran co-stars barb-for-barb and bullet-for-bullet. If only the rest of the movie had her spark. “Copshop” is now showing in theaters.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS

Following in the footsteps of the stellar “First Reformed” was never going to be easy. But filmmaker Paul Schrader’s latest “The Card Counter” is a noble effort. In fact in some ways Schrader’s new film makes for a compelling companion piece to that highly acclaimed 2018 character study.

In “First Reformed” Ethan Hawke played a tortured pastor of a small upstate New York church suffering a crisis of faith. In “The Card Counter” it’s Oscar Isaac playing a gambler haunted by his past time as an ex-military interrogator. Both characters struggle with a similar inner tension just in a different setting and with different details.

The 75-year-old Schrader writes and directs the straightforward titled “The Card Counter” which centers on a poker-faced card-sharp who goes by William Tell (Isaac). We first meet him as he’s finishing up an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth. He liked prison. He liked the order, the routine. It’s where he honed his skills at blackjack and card counting. In some tantalizing early narration William explains how the technique works and how a good card counter can take away the house’s advantage and use it against them.

William has carved out a life for himself, making a good living by traveling to small casinos across the Midwest using his skills to make a modest profit at each stop. He hasn’t just figured out the trick to winning at blackjack, he’s also figured out how to stay under the radar. He’s learned that casinos don’t pay attention if you win by counting cards. They take notice if you win too much by counting cards. So William bounces from one gaming house to another, always quitting while he’s ahead, and then moving to the next town.

Not only does William enjoy this life, but it helps him suppress and conceal the emotional turmoil inside of him. It’s what holds him together. Isaac’s performance is top-notch and it’s hard to see through his steely solemnity. But it’s obvious there so much behind William’s eyes, namely deep-rooted PTSD from his time at Abu Ghraib and his participation in the state-sanctioned ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ under the command of the callous military contractor Major John Gordo (Willem Dafoe). A series of potent flashbacks put us into William’s head and they’re shot with an unsettling visceral style.

Things take a turn when William meets Cirk (that’s “Kirk with a C” he constantly reminds everyone), a wayward young man played by Tye Sheridan with a troubling connection to a figure from William’s military past. Sympathetic and concerned, William takes Cirk under his wing. In one sense he hopes to help the boy and steer him in a better direction. But William also discovers a new sense of purpose – something other than the blackjack table that drives him. There’s also this idea of guilt and expiation, both individually and symbolically. It’s a crucial piece to William and Cirk’s odd relationship, and it’s a theme woven throughout Schrader’s picture.

Then you have Tiffany Haddish’s La Linda, the third member of this ungainly traveling trio. She’s a go-between who connects gamblers with wealthy backers who then bankroll the players. Normally William wouldn’t be interested. But with Cirk in debt and needing a new start, maybe a few tournaments backed by some big investors could bring in the money the kid needs.

While Haddish doesn’t always seem in-tune with Schrader’s tone, this is one of her better performances. More subdued and bringing a welcomed warmth, this is nice reprieve from the louder and more in-your-face Haddish. It’s the same with Sheridan who sometimes feels a bit out of place. Still, his low-key character is a central piece of the story and it’s easy to overlook a few sluggish points especially considering how everything plays out.

In the end it’s Oscar Isaac who drives the movie and he’s just the right fit for Schrader’s stern Bresson-like minimalism (just like Hawke in “First Reformed”). As his character is slowly unpacked, Isaac maintains an icy and cryptic stoicism. But we do see cracks in his exterior which ends up taking the movie in an unexpected direction. At the same time, it plays out in the only way that seems fitting for a story that has a lot more on its mind than blackjack and poker tournaments. “The Card Counter” is now showing in select theaters.

VERDICT – 4 STARS