User reviews

I guess acting is called acting for a reason but when Brits and Australians are acting as rednecks thugs it's almost laughable. The script is completely over the top and unbelievable and unfortunately the 2 hours you waste on this movie will never be returned to you. For the love of god is it too much to ask for an original story from Hollywood rather than the same old stories being regurgitated? I realize that the IQ level of the target audience for this movie is not very high blood lately the U. S. movie makers have been churning out nothing but diarrhea in terms of storytelling as well as acting.

ONCE in a lifetime means I will only watch this movie ONCE in my lifetime. If I could take it back a couple of hours that number would be nonce in a lifetime.

All previous great respect for Andie MacDowell instantly destroyed.

The plot we have seen endlessly The characters (bad guys) were so over the top it seemed like every single one of them was on the high end of the psycho scale, with their tendancies for torture and their delight in the process.

They even throw in the compulsory gum chewing moron.

As we see again and again... a decent storyline ruined by delusions of grandeur from the director(s) It had promise to be a good movie... a bit of subtlety, a bit of realism, a whole lot less manure.

Greetings again from the darkness. Regardless of how attractive the real estate prices seem, it's usually best to avoid small rural towns controlled by a violent crime boss nicknamed Big Cat. Especially when she doesn't hesitate to make an example of those who cross her, and she 'owns' the local Sheriff and runs drugs throughout the area. Even those who break away from her organization are likely to get dragged back in, 'do this or else' style, if Big Cat wants them back. It's a self-perpetuating cesspool of control and being controlled.

The SMALL TOWN CRIME (2018) directing team of brothers Eshom Nelms and Ian Nelms re-team to direct this surprisingly engaging backwoods crime thriller, with a screenplay from Jonathan Easley (his first). What's surprising about this is most movies of this genre are pretty simple and easy to predict. In this one, there are certainly some familiar tropes, but the depth of characters and the against-type performance by Orlando Bloom make this one quite a bit of fun. Also going against-type here is Andie MacDowell as Big Cat. It's her darkest role yet, and she seems to embrace the evil.

Mr. Bloom stars as Cash, a greasy, tatted, ripped dude with a Kentucky accent who is diligently working to keep his life on a good path. His past includes a beloved sister who passed away, severe alcoholism, and a life of crime while working as Big Cat's henchman. His life motto is "God-Family-Survival", and he's dedicated to his struggling brother-in-law, Finney (Scott Haze) and whip smart ninth grade niece, Savannah (newcomer Chapel Oaks). When Cash discovers that Finney has mortgaged the family farm to Big Cat, he quickly realizes he must cut a deal with his former boss to save what's left of his family. As Michael Corleone says, "they pull me back in." Big Cat values Cash's cool head under pressure - especially as compared to her other redneck lackeys. Her one misjudgment is in underestimating Cash after she has attacked his family. This leads to a blaze of violence and one crazy shootout on the grounds of Big Cat's estate. Supporting work is provided here by the always excellent Garrett Dillahunt (here as a rehabilitated preacher), Brian Geraghty as the Sheriff, Mo McRae as the good-intentioned Deputy, and Daniel David Stewart as Big Cat's ponytailed corrupt banker son. Johnny Derango adds some quality cinematography to this surprisingly intricate and well-developed crime thriller.

Magnolia Pictures will release the film in theaters and on VOD February 23, 2024.

It is one thing to have a very good cast of stars (Bloom, McDowel,Dillahunt) to attracts viewers to your movie. It is another challenge to have a sensible, workable and engaging script that the viewer can follow with intent and delight. It is yet another aspect to have a production, directing and editing crew that ensures an engaging element to the viewing experience

Sadly, in this case, only the first aspect is present - great cast, thus the question : "Oh, Orlando... WHY!" It is heartbreaking to see such talent wasted on this triviality only for the crew to say "we had Mr Bloom in our movie!". Shame on you

It was with painful admission that I could not continue my viewing past the hour mark. It was that unhinged, uninteresting and quite simply BORING. With better directing (and editing) this movie could well have been a great 7.5. It is not about the story (we have seen this too many times) but the senselessness of wasted screen time where just nothing happens.... or the opposite to what humans normally do to be of assistance to family

As for that... if you want Mr Dillahunt to go through bottles of hard tac, then at least GIVE him some real stuff so that he can actually BE drunk and not sometimes appear quite sober after a few shots

It took me a few days to go back to see the second half.... I could not stay for the end.... Perhaps Mr Bloom's agents were a bit over eager to sign him up for this one. I am sure there are much better offers out there who would be able to work with this talented actor

Final statement : rather go watch Sesame Street with your popcorn.

This movie was a perfect example of how you can't trust most people's ratings. If you want an entertaining movie with a dark protagonist trying to be good but has to let his violent side back out for his family, then you'll like this movie. Orlando Bloom's performance was very good and I thought everyone else did a more than fine job. It did not feel like a B movie. It kept my attention the whole time and I didn't find myself checking my phone. People who are giving this anything less than a 6 are just pretentious and believe every movie has to be Oscar nominated. Just go into it knowing what you are getting and you will be entertained.

Had to watch golf on youtube while i watched this flick in order to keep myself entertained. Story development is soo, ho so predictable, it is insulting. Who wrote this? Some 12 year old who is not yet aware that there are thousands of movies with almost exact same plot? Can they not bring a bunch of semi-inteligent folk to sit at a table, maul over the script and say how worn out this storyline is before they go into production? I just feel like we are being let down buy some of the big name actors like Orlando who for some reason (money, obviously) decide to allow themselves to get involved with such high-school projects. Just a disgrace.

Red Right Hand is a suspense/crime/thriller which takes place in rural Kentucky and focuses on the decay of the rural American family due to an inability to scrape a decent living. The most ironic name goes to the main character, Cash (played by Orlando Bloom with a strong performance and a better Southern accent than I could hope to conjure) and his brother Wilder (Garret Dillahunt). Without deviating from the well tread formula that films like this normally take, it adds a few twists now and then.

First, there is the strong performance by the antagonist Big Cat (played by Andie MacDowell (who usually plays in comedies but nonetheless proves her mettle here in a villainous role). She quickly shows that she means business, and yet there is an unspecified history between Big Cat and Cash.

Another strong role is the daughter (played by newcomer Chapel Oaks) who convincingly shows her wisdom beyond that of the two men raising her throughout the film. She gives a strong sense of female independence and like nearly everyone in the film, knows a thing or two about guns.

Speaking of guns, Obama famously complained that rural America clung to its bibles and guns. That's true here too but I would add two more to the list (at least according to this movie): big rigs and farm animals.

Overall, it's an enjoyable story but not one you haven't seen before with a few exceptions.

7/10.

Starring Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Carribean) and Andie MacDowell (once such a beautiful and fine actress). With these 2 renowned names I was really curious if this movie could be worth a watch.

The bad: these 2 actors have had their finest days way behind them. Orlando Bloom doesnt impress at all as a red neck character. He even comes across a bit silly with his FAKE southern accent which doesnt suit him at all.

Andie MacDowell (Four Weddings and a Funeral) and lots of similar romantic comedies, was such a lovely fine actress back in the nineties. Unfortunately her once so pretty face looks like it was misfigured by a third degree burn accident now and while that misfugered face does suit her character, which is a vicious b8*!h, she still does look quite silly and laughable, which is the opposite effect that was desired. The other supporting actors are really only ever seen in terrible B-movies.

The worst thing about this cheaply produced B-movie is that it tries to take itself seriously, because it wants to be a hardhitting serious drama/thriller and it fails at achieving that completely.

To be avoided, especially for the fans of Orlando Bloom and Andie MacDowell. Such a shame that these 2 once wonderful actors lower themselves to these kind of B-movies...

No pun intended - and don't take everything literally ... talking more to myself of course. Orlando Bloom is in this to start off with the obvious. And I reckon after Pirates it is tough to find something ... I think he is underrated as an actor ... and I wish he was able to be in more diverse projects. But this is kind of fun - well action and tense, but you know what I mean.

Low budget, but with a tight story and really good editing. Cinematography is good too - but we get used to that, even with movies that don't seem to have a large budget. That all said, it does deal with a few cliches, but nothing too off putting. The acting is at least decent to good ... if you like the story, you will have fun.

It feels like every week another trashy crime thriller shot in Georgia is released. They all have more or less the same story. Washed up actor plays "Trauma man", a middle aged man with a violent past attempting to be a family man. He doesn't speak much, gruffly grunting badly written lines in a cliché raspy mumble. His violent past catches up to him, he agrees to do one more crime job, but eventually has to do the right thing and take out his former boss when they threaten his family.

Now Legolas has joined the ranks of Kevin Dillon and other 90s actors doing this kind of dreck for a paycheck. Seeing Andie McDowell in this role was a surprise, and it's clear she has no idea how to play a role like this. Her scenes are laughably bad, which is both her fault and that of the screenwriter.

As usual for these films, the color grading is awful, the pace is slow and a generic ambient score makes it feel even slower. And they put a country music song over the end credits.

The accents are all over the place. Why do they keep hiring Brits and Aussies to play southern rednecks?

Every now and then one of these films does turn out to be okay (Mob Land was legitimately fantastic), and this one objectively isn't the worst of them. It's watchable if you're very bored, and there are some decent moments.

But damn is it boring. The writers should hang their heads in shame. Even for derivative tax break dreck the dialogues here are extremely poorly written: ChatGPT could have written a better script.

I thought it was actually not too bad. I was surprised that the dialogue was that good. There are a few surprises which I could not predict and I really enjoyed the redneck theme.

Bloom - you have to give it to him, what a solid performance. He puts so much effort into this role and it shows.

The music was surprisingly good.

What was lame was the end part. It felt a bit low budget. There are not many locations in the movie.

The violence was also pretty decent.

I would say someone really put thought and effort into writing and making these characters and it has to be commended.

Well done.

Red Right Hand (2024) is a gritty, violent, somewhat depressing film with enough understated woke elements to distract and leave audiences wondering how much better it could have been.

The film seems almost schizophrenic in attempting realism in a genre that naturally gravitates toward right wing elements. Two graphic scenes depict brutal interrogations, but conducted by the villains. The chief villain is played by a woman with an army of male henchmen and a kinky boytoy. The one good cop on a corrupt force is a black guy. There is a lot of storm-trooper style gunplay and other violence, but much of it is off-camera. A scene involving violence toward a female is handled so obliquely as to leave the audience wondering what, if anything, happened. A young girl is taught to use a rifle and a knife, but the hero often finds himself without a gun or without bullets.

Orlando Bloom is excellent playing a backwoodsman with a lot of conflicts. He delivers a highly credible, nuanced performance. Garret Dillahunt also delivers a very credible performance as the preacher/sidekick. Andie MacDowell plays the antagonist in an over-the-top two-dimensional comic-book mode. None of the male characters seem to have any current romantic partners, although one spends a lot of time pining over his dead wife. What passes as the B-story love angle is the platonic relationship between Cash (Bloom) and his niece, which occupies a lot of screen time without managing to be particularly interesting.

Production values are adequate. Scenery and costumes seem authentic. Overall, the movie is watchable, but not truly satisfying. It's too timid for action fans, but perhaps too gritty for drama fans. The lack of any romantic angles leaves the characters seeming incomplete.

Now, this is a fun, suspension-of-disbelief type film. It is so ludicrous, but I feel it only because of its setting and period. If this had been a modern take on a Spaghetti Western, I think people would take it as such and forgive its stupidity. In my imagination, I watched it as a Western; it seems to be a good story spoiled because of its setting. In the last year, there has been a shortage of good Westerns. Many cheap budget stinkers have been made, but little stands out. It has a good cast going full in and lots of blood, action, and shootouts. If you watch this as a Western (assuming you like them), you will get some satisfaction. It seems to be a recent trend of making modern set westerns in the present.

From the outset the film takes us to the world of Cash (Bloom) and its no slips with his southern American accent. He's a man with a history and the film provides us with clues with being overtly explicit. The film makers trust the audience and we in turn trust them. They present us with 4 characters to find our affinity with: Cash, his late sister's husband, Savanah his niece and the preacher. Andie McDowell's turn as the enemy is many years and miles from four weddings and a funeral. She seems at home, Big Cat is the antagonist and she has a big crew and drug operation underway.

Cash made it out of her operation once but his brother-in-law's debt draws him back in only to be unable to let himself go down such an evil road.

This is a good thriller and an exploration of values. Bloom doesn't need to play the Statham card. What I mean is, Bloom inhabits and provides pathos and character with these roles. An actor who takes us on an emotional journey.

The script is sparse and the story could've fleshed out some personality and perspectives of the Sheriff, the gang and townsfolk.

I would like to see Bloom given better material than this, but he is by no means weak.

I enjoyed this and yet it had all the components of a better film. Still significantly above average.

Did I just witness the career ending performances of Orlando Bloom (Cash) and Andie MacDowell (Big Cat)? And what a ludicrous name, Big Cat? An engaging narrative with rising tension, stakes, and a satisfying resolution: NO. Originality and Character development: NON-existant! Cinematography? The only good part was one sentence of Garret Dillahunt (Wilder) during his ceremony in the church: Today's Lesson is on divine vengeance. Normally very ridiculous but that is the one thing standing out in a positive way. Still surprised to see the awful acting of the two main characters (Bloom and MacDowell). Did they comlpetely missed the bal here? Don´t understand how they can even appear in this movie. Wish them all the best for the future and hope this did not end their careers. Think again before you go and watch this flick. In my opinion, barely a 3/10 rating.

I have seen the featured reviews rating this one a 4. I have to disagree as I reserve 4 (and below) for films which I regard as technically incompetently made or for acting that is far below average. IMHO, that is not true for this film. Direction is adequate as well as the cinematography (in fact, some outdoor scenes are above average). Acting by the lead Orlando Bloom is so-so, but his acting is redeemed by his co-stars. Garrett Dillahunt as a former gang member, now a pastor, is effectively over the top as a pastor. And Andie MacDowell plays against her southern belle type as a vicious mobster who enjoys torture and murder. Finally, newcomer Chapel Oaks is fine as Bloom's niece. The rest of cast is OK as well although I would have liked to have seen more of Brian Geraghty as the Sheriff because I think he is a very good actor. The plot, of course, is predictable for films of this type, with a surfeit of guns and violence for action fans. Therefore, while this definitely not a 10/10, it is a 6/10 film perfect as an entertaining time killer on a rainy day or a 2-hour flight.

When co-directors Ian & Eshom Nelms write their own films they're good, like "Fatman" or the excellent "Small Town Crime". They're not so good when a co-writer's involved, like "Waffle Street". And when someone else writes what they direct, as debutant Jonathan Easley did with abysmal actioner "Red Right Hand", it is DIRE. Thanks to his sister's idiot drunk widow Scott Haze, reformed rural hood Orlando Bloom falls back under the debt of local crime-lord Andie MacDowell... and ridiculous, cartoonish, gratuitous, pointless garbage ensues (involving the likes of Garret Dillahunt & Haze's teen daughter Chapel Oaks). Why did The Nelms' take SUCH a backwards step?

The last significant piece of dialog in this oddball production comes from Garret Dillahunt's character, a backwoods preacher, "Today's lesson is on divine vengeance." By this point in the story, of course, Dillahunt is recovering from a number of bullet wounds taken earlier, when he and Bloom had to settle a score with a family of backwoods hoodlums led by matriarch Andie MacDowell. At this point, if the viewer is still engaged in the story -- which is by no means certain -- the thought pops into your head that maybe the film would have made more sense if that sermon had been given right off the top? Maybe. Maybe not. What is certain, however, is that, in an era defined by its focus on eco-science and saving-the-planet, this production represents a huge eco-waste of talent. Bloom is one of the last remaining, legit, action heroes in the biz, and Dillahunt has never given a bad performance in his career. Even former supermodel MacDowell does a great job creating a character which, unfortunately, no one will care about, or even remember, as the closing credits roll. Bloom, Dillahunt, MacDowell. Oh what a movie COULD HAVE been made with such a cast! ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

I do not get the bad reviews. It's really just a decent film with good acting by Orlando. Nothing Oscar worthy story wise but decent enough seriously. If you don't know what to watch and want to be entertained for a good 2 hours just give it a go.

I really can't say it has anything about it I dislike except the performance of some actors. The action is realistic and not too much but not too little. Like I wrote before, you won't be blown away by this moving piciture but it is a good time passer and I found myself not skipping anything like with so many other productions lacking production value these days.

Very violent and gritty like used grease from under a 1970's lawn tractor that was used to run over ground hogs.

Acting is really good and Bloom did a great job playing a tuff red neck .

My problem was with it the violence was over the top a bit and the story was superseded by this.

I feel less violence and concentrate on the story and directing of the story .

I think I will watch again to give it a second chance maybe I messed something .( hard not too with all the violence ).

Violence 10 out of 10 Acting 7 out of 10 Story 5 out of 10 Watch ability 5 out of 10 Direction 6 out of 10 Cinematography 6 out of 10.

Thought this could be a good movie as I like action and Orlando bloom can be good. I watched up until he started speaking.

Imagine woody harrelson combined with Mathew mahonachy and then mumble.

Orlando makes the Southern American accent worse than what it already is.

If they had people speaking English then this could have been a good movie maybe?

I couldn't make it past 5 minutes as I couldn't understand what they were saying.

If you are from anywhere else in the world besides Alabama then don't bother with this movie.

Don't bother reading any further as this is just to get the minimum characters.

RED RIGHT HAND is a film I rather enjoyed, unlike a lot of reviewers here. Its a very small scale, low budget feel kind of movie, set in one of those rural towns in the American Midwest where an unlikely kingpin holds sway over the population. Andie McDowell, who I've never rated as an actress, does a fair approximation of evil in this against-type role, while Orlando Bloom also goes against type as the redneck hero unwittingly drawn back into her criminal schemes. Dillahunt has a fine supporting role as the town's preacher. The plot's familiar but the action is well handled and the film is admirably gritty. The final shoot-out in particular impresses.