‘Dominique’
The jaded assassin Dominique (Oksana Orlan) is interrupted from her trip when her plane is shot down in Colombia by a cartel. She is given shelter by a local cop, Julio (Sebastián Carvajal), who is working as an informant against the cartel’s hired help, the crooked Chief Santiago (Maurice Compte). When Julio is murdered by Santiago, it’s up to Dominique to pull out her guns one last time to defend Julio’s pregnant sister Paulina (Maria del Rosario Barreto) and her children from Santiago’s wrath.
A gritty, ruggedly choreographed revenge flick, “Dominique” is pure adrenaline fueled by the energy of Orlan, who wrote the screenplay with the film’s director, Michael S. Ojeda. During jungle shootouts and face-offs in the streets of this small Colombian town, Orlan’s smooth physicality often recalls Milla Jovovich’s work in the “Resident Evil” series. She also possesses an unrelenting quality, which makes her cathartic bloody screams all the more menacing.
‘Freedom’
Inspired by the real-life bank robber Bruno Sulak, Mélanie Laurent’s “Freedom” is a meticulously crafted picture of youthful rebellion. In the film, the brazen Bruno (Lucas Bravo) is unlike other criminals. He’s polite and courteous, and so dashing that after one particular heist, two women witnesses can only remember his beauty. Despite having the detective George Moréas (Yvan Attal) in hot pursuit, Bruno’s crew, which includes his girlfriend, Annie (Léa Luce Busato), graduate from robbing supermarkets to cleaning out jewelry stores.
Laurent and Chris Deslandes’s smart script features two couplings: the love felt by Bruno and Annie, and the begrudging friendship of Bruno and George. While the former is sweeter, it’s the latter that drives the film’s stylish fervor. In the most captivating scene, Bruno escapes from prison, only to return through the front door to spring his cellmate. The act is done as an endearing escalation in a game of one-upmanship between Bruno and George. Through Bruno’s gutsy robberies and elaborate disguises, admiration for “Freedom” grows as well.
‘The Shadow Strays’
In Indonesia, Nomi, code name 13 (Aurora Ribero), is part of a clandestine team of assassins known as the Shadows of Death. But after a job gone wrong, Nomi is ordered by her instructor to recuperate.
While on break, Nomi becomes connected with the orphaned Monji (Ali Fikry). When a local crime syndicate kidnaps Monji, it’s Nomi who uses her training to fight for his return.
The writer/director Timo Tjahjanto’s “The Shadow Strays” is a deliciously gory movie. As Nomi, the petite Ribero widens her stance before launching into a forceful barrage of balletic fury. In one impressive sequence, Nomi must face off against Ariel’s army in a shootout that is so violent, so intense and so exhilarating, you may need to wipe the blood from your screen lest you miss what’s happening.
‘The Silent Hour’
In the director Brad Anderson’s “The Silent Hour,” Frank Shaw (Joel Kinnaman) is a top Boston cop whose career is derailed by his sudden loss of hearing. Ten months later, Doug Slater (Mark Strong) arrives with an assignment for the dejected Shaw; there’s a deaf woman named Ava Fremont (Sandra Mae Frank) who might’ve witnessed a drug deal, so Slater needs an A.S.L. interpreter to question her. A team of crooked cops led by Mason Lynch (Mekhi Phifer) also want her dead.
The action in “The Silent Hour” is simple but effective. Lynch corners Shaw and Fremont in an abandoned apartment complex, which becomes the site of elongated shootouts in narrow hallways. And Shaw’s ingenuity inspires a few stirring kills, such as a brawl in an elevator shaft. Shaw and Fremont become an efficient duo, leaning on one another against foes who discounted them far too early.
‘Uprising’
Two friends in the Joseon dynasty, Cheon-young (Gang Dong-won) and Jong-ryeo (Park Jeong-min), are pitted against each other when Jong-ryeo is led to believe his family was murdered by Cheon-young. Though the pair grew up together, societally, they are not equals. Cheon-young is Jong-ryeo’s skilled servant. When Cheon-young duels the Japanese commander Genshin Kikkawa (Jung Sung-il), he handles a blade so well that the commander knows he has met his match.
The Korean director Sang-man Kim’s “Uprising” is a brutal, politically minded film. While Jong-ryeo remains loyal to Joseon’s greedy ruler, Cheon-young leads a people’s army against the invading Japanese. No matter how hard the people fight for their kingdom, the powers that be see them as subhuman. That bottled-up angst is released in an intense three-way sword fight between Cheon-young, Jong-ryeo, and Kikkawa on a beach that is mythic in scope and eloquent in execution.
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