365 Movies #177 "Running Scared"

What looks on the surface to be another low rent, straight to DVD crime action flick is actually a wild ride with a wonderful performance from Paul Walker. I really wasn't a fan of his before I saw this, but he rocks here. Walker is most famous for the "Fast and Furious" franchise, but this film is so much better.

Walker plays a low level thug named Joey who happens to be a devoted husband and father doing what he can to get by. When he is tasked to get rid of a gun that killed a dirty cop. When he hides the gun in his house instead of ditching it, events unfold that put himself and his family in grave danger.

This film has some really gritty moments (which we all know I like) and some truly stunning visuals. I love the feel of the film from beginning to end. A great supporting cast consisting of Cameron Bright (Joey's son's best friend Oleg), Vera Farmiga (Joey's wife), Chazz Palminteri, Ivana Milicevic, Karel Roden and Michael Cudlitz. Who are all these people? Well, Bright has gone on to work on the "Twilight" series as Alec and was in "Ultraviolet", "Thank You for Smoking", "X-Men: Last Stand" and "Juno". Talk about a busy young actor. Farmiga is best known for "Up in The Air" and "The Departed". Palminteri is a mob film staple known for "The Usual Suspects", "Mulholland Falls" and "A Bronx Tale" and also played a dayplayer thug in the 80s classic "THE LAST DRAGON". Hotty Milicevic, has made the rounds as a Bond girl in "Casino Royale" and worked on one of Tom Cruise's better films in "Vanilla Sky". I will always remember Michael Cudlitz asking John Cusack if he wanted to "do some blow" after reading him a poem in "Grosse Pointe Blank" though he's worked on other projects like "Lost", "24" and a wonderful role on "Band of Brothers" as Sgt. Denver 'Bull' Randleman. Karel Roden has done "RockNRolla", "The Bourne Supremacy", "Hellboy" and even "Orphan" with Farmiga.

I almost forgot John Noble of "Fringe" fame, who was also Denethor in "The Lord of the Rings" and David Warshofsky from "THE MINUS MAN" , "There Will Be Blood" and "Taken".

I am definitely going to have to go back and check out director Wayne Kramer's other stuff. I truly enjoyed his "The Cooler" and look forward to exploring the rest of his work.

RUNNING SCARED ON IMDB