THE RIVER MURDERS (2011)

                                              

Written by Steve Anderson, and directed by Rich Cowan, comes this classic who done it movie. The only difference is that it's more like "Whose doing it?".  The River Murders is about Detective Jack Verdon's  (Ray Liotta) unusual connection to a series of murders being committed in multiple areas around the United States. Unfortunately most of the victims in this flick are past romances of Jack's, making him the prime suspect. Eventually, DNA evidence clears the detective and he begins to work with the FBI, namely Agent Vuckovitch (Christian Slater) who really is a bitch. Sorry it rhymed, so I was compelled to write it.    

                                      

Anyway, Agent Vucko-bitch, is an unsettling little jerk who needs a good spanking from his Mommy. His behavior is really unbelievable, it takes "jerk" to a whole new level  and actually becomes unpleasant to view. They really screwed the hooch with the addition of this character. Not to mention his partner, agent Glover, who looks like a washed out soccer mom and can barely raise her voice to a whisper throughout the film. These two killed it for me, and I mean DEAD!!! At least they were kind enough to give us Captain Langley (Ving Rhames) to offset the other two fuck ups. Rhames did a sensational job in this film, making his character likable and believable. He always reminds me of a big teddy bear, can't help but to like him. The rest of the cast did a decent job in bringing their roles to life, exception being Verdon's wife Ana (Gisele Fraga), whose splanglish accent and pushy attitude were extremely unlikable. I even wished her dead during a love scene, how could anyone make an audience dislike them during a love scene? ARGHH!

                                         
As the plot thickens we are introduced to the killer, played by Michael Rodrick. He looks like a normal, preppy sort of fellow but as we learn he's actually a tormented psychopath. His connection to Verdon will surprise you, as will his reasoning behind the killings. As the plot twists on, it becomes seriously confusing. But the good news is that in the end it is all explained away. Thank god, because if I had not figured it out after watching that entire movie I might have had to renounce my movie critic status.
                                             

The acting in general was 50/50, the lighting poor to fair, and the set work was ok. Nothing here to make me say "Fantastic", but truly worth a watch if you have a few hours with nothing to do. I would lightly recommend this movie to all of my bored to death family and friends, over the good old age of 18. A few BaD BiRdS for this flick, I am feeling generous.

Written by KaT


BaD BiRdS :: OK!