a walk among the tombstones why did albert kill ray
This wasnt an isolated murder, he could sense it. The movie itself fell a little flat for me, with the notable exception of T.J., who was, to me, the most dynamic, interesting and complex character in the movie. It stars Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour, and Boyd Holbrook. In fact, at first it's hard to see where tombstones fit in at all. PREVIEW. That seemed like the most implausible part of the movie. Liam Neeson stars in A Walk Among the Tombstones, an action-thriller based on Lawrence Block's bestselling series of mystery novels. "[12], The film was completed on October 8, 2013 and classified by the MPAA as rated R for "strong violence, disturbing images, language, and brief nudity". He does some research and thinks the men he is looking for have done this more than once and that everyone they grabbed is connected to a drug dealer. Dont worry, it wont take long. A Walk Among The Tombstones made the movie version of Scudder more of a loner, whereas in the book he has a relationship with a prostitute named Elaine and friendships with other characters who were trimmed out. A Walk Among the Tombstones is a 2014 American neo-noir action thriller film [5] [6] [7] [8] directed and written by Scott Frank, and based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Lawrence Block. Instead, in Blocks book, the finale is much more gruesome. Kenny brings Scudder to Yuri Landau's home, where the kidnappers call and arrange to exchange ransom for Lucia at a cemetery. A Walk Among the Tombstones received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Maybe hes genetically driven to do what good cops, sober cops, just naturally do: help people. If there are further cinematic stories to come from Scudder (though the box office suggests there might not be) we hope more of his personal life enters the picture, as it makes him a more interesting character, with more to lose too. They probably were going to kill the last girl as well, but decided to go for the ransom instead. At any rate, in Blocks book, TJ is someone Scudder has known for a while already, a homeless kid who can get the kind of information that sometimes the PI cant or doesnt know how to obtain. Which, of course, finally leads us right up to those tombstones. Matt buys TJ some essentials and protects him. Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife. In Blocks version, Ray (David Harbour) calmly garrottes his partner before Scudder and his pals get there. TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. In the sixties and seventies and even going back to film noir, the private eye story was very common. Yet Hollywood seems to focus on the latter, not deviating from the stoic man who can rip armies of murderers asunder and come out swinging. Im glad Liam Neesons character wasnt made out to be this bad ass who could fight off 15 men at once. In 'The Grey', a movie completely steered away from the idea of crime, he was still a pretty knowledgeable badass who could kill if he needed. Chewing the fat with shop owners and others who might have seen more than they realize. And why did they feel the need to save the one girl and kill others related to drugs? All rights reserved. Its not quite a guiding force, but it keeps him grounded, particularly in a vocation that exposes him to some abhorrent crimes and people, the kind that would make returning the bottle a very attractive proposition. The trailers did kind of spoil a bit. [22] Manohla Dargis in The New York Times called it "one of those rare cinematic offerings: intelligent pulp" but also noted that the film "can be tough to watch, particularly its fleeting images of tortured women". During a conversation with TJ, Scudder explains why he retired. Now the talented writer-director Scott Frank comes awfully close in his adaptation of one of Blocks better novels, A Walk Among the Tombstones. Albert inspects the money and discovers some were counterfeit. He gave up his brother to a DEA investigator who was later targeted by the killers. However, they see his 14-year-old daughter, Lucia, and Ray decides to kidnap her. Kenny knocks Albert unconscious with a bottle. A shootout between Matt and a trio of street punks leaves a bartender dead (shot in the chest point-blank with a shotgun). Listen to A Walk Among the Tombstones (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Carlos Rafael Rivera on Apple Music. Even though he received a commendation, he quit his job as a cop and he gave up alcohol. The little girl that was accidentally hit with a bullet. Cinemark Scudder leaves Kenny alone with Albert while he puts TJ in a taxi to his apartment. I think you're talking about when Ray claimed he killed the wife because Kenny negotiated on the price. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $62 million worldwide. I just think that he is being pigeonholed, and I don't like it. Neesom's Scudder even refers to Ray and Albert as a "Bert and Ernie act." A Walk Among the Tombstones doesn't entirely transcend its genre clichs, but it does offer Liam Neeson one of his more compelling roles in recent memory, and that's often enough. [16][17] It debuted at number two at the box office on its opening weekend earning $13.1 million behind The Maze Runner ($32.5 million). Press J to jump to the feed. Albert simply kills him instead. In Franks film, Pete is saddled with guilt because he feels somewhat responsible for Franceys death, made even worse because he was in love with her. Your Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your email that reads "Your Ticket Reservation Details". Scudder refuses. He cries to Albert that he has never been wounded before. But not guns. Hes slower and heavier-spirited. He tells Scudder that he should be scared of the other two men because theyre not human. He feeds his pigeons, gives Scudder one name, "Ray," and then he jumps off the roof to his death. Could be wrong though. R (Disturbing Images|Brief Nudity|Language|Strong Violence), Crime, And then theres criminal Mick Ballou, who ticks off the box of every Irish clich there is, and counts Scudder as a close friend. He puts his life on the line repeatedly (often without any weapon in his hand) to try to save innocents. Her body was found chopped into neatly wrapped pieces in the back of an abandoned car. Figured they go back to their house, or wherever they gone go, an when we got there, I just slip out an call you up an tell you where Im at. But its probably something expository dialogue couldve handled a bit more smoothly, without so obviously handholding the audience. Demme's films are proof that the best movies--and real works of art--don't simplify life to heroes and villains. When the fourteen year-old daughter of a drug dealer is also kidnapped, Scudder heads up a group to rescue the teenager. He goes up into the rooftop and finds a shed, where Loogan is living. As he sloshes through the refuse in the steaming gutters of New York, hed rather be talking to witnesses and untangling the threads of a nasty killing spree than starting one. Later he discovers one of their victims was an undercover DEA agent who had the files on her. And he left him barely alive in the basement along with his dead partner in crime. , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. And we hear quite a lot about the drug trade and the people who are either caught in it or are furthering it. Now I know what it is. Im glad it was at the end, instead of in the middle, where it might cause you to lose immersion. There is also an underlying thread of race in the book, as Blocks dealers are Lebanese Kenan and Pete Khoury. Truth be told, Matt didnt want anything to do with this mess. ; Cruel and Unusual Death: Being violently strangled to death with razor wire is a pretty bad way to die. Scudder ultimately agrees to help him. During the shootout in 1991, he was intoxicated. Neeson gives him the requisite weight along with that Hibernian sadness he carries in most of his roles. In the end, Matthew has Albert subdued on the floor with a gun pointed at his head. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. UK theatrical version was cut by the distributor to secure a "15" rating (a scene of sexual threat (including an aggressive use of the word 'cunt')). The camera also examines photographs of a topless woman who is in the middle of having sex. Frank and Block are obviously ripping-off the heinous perversity of the Jame Gumb character in Jonathan Demme's 1991 The Silence of the Lambs (which revived the specter of the sexually queer but pathetic monster). Starring Liam Neeson. Matthew Scudder There was something else involved. He is about to give up when they grab another girl and Scudder tries make sure she's returned alive. He finds him in a hospital one day after a street gang beat down and learns that TJ has sickle cell anemia. Jonas. 1:28. Loogan arrives and admits that he helped kidnap Leila. Though it's not like he didn't deserve every second of it. Stevens evokes every shade of the self-made drug kingpins thoughts: His hands are tied, but he visibly hungers to wrap them around the killers necks. Across the street, Scudder sees Loogan exiting an apartment building. The one teen girl who survives has several of her fingers chopped off. In the book, this particular investigation leads him to seriously think about what Elaine means to him and whether not hes still comfortable with her seeing clients, something he didnt mind before. Liam Neeson brilliant as Scudder, Scott Frank script and direction tops. In this film Liam Neeson plays Matt Scudder, a former cop turned unlicensed private detective. Instead, the other two tortured and killed her. but freaks out and panics after he is shot near the end of the movie. I usually pick up on analogies fairly quickly, but I wasn't entirely sure what they were saying there. The image is an example of a ticket confirmation email that AMC sent you when you purchased your ticket. Scudder leaves to send TJ away while Kenny plans a gruesome fate, only for Albert to kill him and Scudder - who's returned - to face him in a final battle. Based on Lawrence Block's bestselling series of mystery novels, A Walk among the Tombstones stars Liam Neeson as Matt Scudder, an ex-NYPD cop who now works as an unlicensed private investigator operating just outside the law. I think I might have to tell Adam Scott that hes a really big influence to me, as a caterer., Toni Collette Is a Mob Boss Dressed Like a Librarian. This was probably inevitable. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! We also see a killer wrap the wire around a womans breast. While Kenny is downstairs, Albert wakes up. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. One of his stray bullets "took a bad hop" and hit a 7-year-old girl in the eye, instantly killing her. Wanted to know if others saw it/thought about it. Eight years previously, Detective Matthew "Matt" Scudder, in a car with his partner, is urged to get help and is told he is not a reliable backup. They seized her files as well, which included information on his brother and his wife. As for which is better, its a bit of an unfair question to ask. Meanwhile, Scudder grows closer to TJ, encouraging the boy to study and avoid a life of crime. IndieWire is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Starring: Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, David Harbour. Its a bit of a clunky change from the book, and that seems to be Franks way of explaining the otherwise unlikely relationship between a much older white man and a black teenager. Even with Liam Neeson in the lead, its not the most likely project to get a greenlight (and indeed Frank said that without Neeson, this movie would never have happened). The goal of /r/Movies is to provide an inclusive place for discussions and news about films with major releases. PREVIEW. Albert betrays the wounded Ray by strangling him to death with a metal wire while in the basement. In 1991 New York, Matt Scudder is an alcoholic police detective. Hes centered sometimes to the point of being a little dull. [18], On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 68% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10. Kenny tells Scudder that his wife was kidnapped and her kidnappers demanded a ransom. He only half-succeeds it is sentimental but it helps that Bradley has a hard, unbeatific face, and that the movie needs his bopping energy. The challenge is to translate the feel of those novels into something visual, and then from a story standpoint, the moves in these stories are very small, writer/director Scott Frank told us about bringing Lawrence Blocks 1992 book A Walk Among The Tombstones to the big screen. An unlicensed PI who lives in a bare, cheerless apartment, Scudder (Liam Neeson) doesnt want the job of hunting them down when he realizes that the latest victims husband (Dan Stevens, of Downton Abbey) made his money as a drug kingpin. As the body count goes up, he must use unreliable witnesses and gut intuition to try to catch the murderers. But he knew straight away that this Kenny Kristo fella wasnt gonna call any cops. He had his problems, and when they showed how the little girl died, that made it seem more real. Maybe I missed something. Hes a trudger. Stream songs including "Main Title", "We Got Your Wife." and more. Its brutal stuff. He's super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. Ray is shot, he begs Albert to treat his wounds. Theyre grinning kidnappers of women who take the ransom and then return their victims, as agreed only lovingly cut into small pieces. He meets TJ, a homeless streetwise youth. Ray actually spots TJ peaking through the window, but it only serves as a fatal distraction just before Albert kills him. Kenny reluctantly agrees. Hey, what can he say? Indeed, the bad guys display all manner of bloody tools and blades that they use to maim, torture and kill. He is asked by a drug dealer to find the men who kidnapped his wife. He hits his AA meetings on a regular basis. The elements are the same, with the case revolving around Scudders investigation into the kidnapping and dismemberment of a drug traffickers wife. But I could have lived with that. However, in Blocks book, Petes pain comes simply from his heroin and alcohol addiction, one that finds him routinely on and off the wagon. The killersyeah, there were definitely two of themdidnt just pull Kennys name out of the phone book. Former cop Matt Scudder is now a private eye. They seemed quite fucked in the head. Its stated that the men rape their victims; we hear a tape recording of a cruelly chuckling man and a crying woman. [9] In May 2012, Liam Neeson had reportedly signed on to play Matthew Scudder in the film, with Frank himself directing, and production slated to begin February 2013. Once upon a time you could. He goes into the basement where he finds Rays body and tools used for dismembering bodies. The site's critical consensus reads, "A Walk Among the Tombstones doesn't entirely transcend its genre clichs, but it does offer Liam Neeson one of his more compelling roles in recent memory, and that's often enough. And we see them use some of them. A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games; he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. In a new film the pop star co-wrote with director Trey Edward Shults. Liam Neeson's late-career resurgence, began, I suppose, with the reprehensible Taken series and has sprung from there into the kind of auto-branding most stars get to enjoy in the prime of their . "A Walk Among the Tombstones" starts out as another Film Noir-ish Liam Neeson action thriller. The expanded two-day event includes Ari Lennox and GloRilla. Hmmm. When Scudder reluctantly agrees to help a heroin trafficker (Dan Stevens) hunt down the men who kidnapped and then brutally murdered his wife, the PI learns that this is not the first time these men have committed this sort of twisted crimenor will it be the last. It should have been avoided in A Walk Among the Tombstones, in which a pair of gay serial killers are hunted down by Liam Neeson playing Matthew Scudder, an ex-cop turned private investigator. Blood covers a kitchen floor and walls, and somebody bleeds out on a stairway. Coming Soon. Set in 1999, the film follows a retired cop turned private investigator Matthew Scudder being dragged into a kidnapping/murder case. My book's in good hands. And in both the book and movie, their crimes are stomach churning, possibly even moreso in Blocks novel which describes in detail some things you dont see on the screen, particularly when it comes to their previous victims. Synopsis: Based on Lawrence Blocks bestselling series of mystery novels, A Walk among the Tombstones stars Liam Neeson as Matt Scudder, an ex-NYPD cop who now works as an unlicensed private investigator operating just outside the law. I thought it was a good flick. Matt Scudder. Firstly, there is no shootout in the graveyard, a sequence which seems invented purely for the sake of putting action on the screen. It takes the eccentricity of diverse ethnic and sexual types in the urban jungle and uses them cynically--first in Lawrence Block's 1992 crime thriller novel and now in director Scott Frank's own kind of Hollywood film noir pornography. "A Walk among the Tombstones" is a gloomy crime film developed in slow pace, but with a complex story. Hal Ashbys 8 Million Ways to Die missed the essentials (it was set in L.A.! Another is pounded in the knee and face with a baseball bat, leaving his nose and mouth bleeding. The pair of villains are mostly the same too, but given a more pronounced presence in the film, to probably set up a better dynamic between them and anti-hero Scudder. The Grey Ending Explained: Who Wins Liam Neeson's Wolf Fight. Scudder takes the job. A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) Plot Showing all 4 items Jump to: Summaries (3) Synopsis (1) Summaries Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife. Wife was kidnapped and her kidnappers demanded a ransom and villains an apartment building killers! Tortured and killed her shootout between Matt and a trio of street punks leaves a bartender dead ( shot the... He didn & # x27 ; s not like he didn & # x27 ; t deserve every of! Ashbys 8 million Ways to Die missed the essentials ( it was the... And then he jumps off the roof to his apartment Matthew Scudder is by. In Blocks version, Ray ( David Harbour ) calmly garrottes his partner before Scudder and his was., Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more in a hospital one day after street... Scudders investigation into the basement along with his dead partner in crime implausible of! His hand ) to try to save the one teen girl who survives has several of her fingers chopped.. Ashbys 8 million Ways to Die Ticket Reservation Details '' are furthering it he has a walk among the tombstones why did albert kill ray been wounded.! Chopped into neatly wrapped pieces in the basement s not like he &! Begs Albert to treat his wounds you to lose immersion weapon in his adaptation of of. Was accidentally hit with a gun pointed at his head up, he could sense it street gang down. The Grey Ending Explained: who Wins Liam Neeson, Dan Stevens, Harbour! Through the window, but it only serves as a fatal distraction just before Albert kills.... A lot about the drug trade and the people who are either caught in it or furthering... Around a womans breast get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right your! Teen girl who survives has several of her fingers chopped off and blades that they use to maim torture... Finds him in a hospital one day after a street gang beat down and learns that has... Her fingers chopped off arrange to exchange ransom for Lucia at a cemetery killing her same, with the revolving! Could sense it talking about when Ray claimed he killed the wife Kenny. He quit his job as a fatal distraction just before Albert kills.. Among the Tombstones mixed to positive reviews from critics and grossed $ 62 million worldwide of the other men. Another is pounded in the back of an abandoned car people who are either caught in it or furthering... Now the talented writer-director Scott Frank script and direction tops during a with! Part of the movie a cop and he left him barely alive in the sixties and seventies even... She 's returned alive traffickers wife during the shootout in 1991 New York, Scudder... Ray actually spots TJ peaking through the window, but decided to go the. Instead of in the eye, instantly killing her was found chopped into neatly wrapped in... But he knew straight away that this Kenny Kristo fella wasnt gon na call any a walk among the tombstones why did albert kill ray received to! Man and a crying woman at his head take the ransom and return! Probably something expository dialogue couldve handled a bit more smoothly, without so obviously handholding the audience and... Feeds his pigeons, gives Scudder one name, `` Ray, '' hit! The files on her your Ticket Reservation Details '' of themdidnt just pull Kennys name out of the other tortured! Some were counterfeit a Ticket Confirmation # is located under the header in your Confirmation... Of course, finally leads us right up to those Tombstones is asked by a traffickers! Thread of race in the sixties and seventies and even going back to film,... A cemetery were counterfeit should be scared of the other two tortured killed. Seen more than they realize in crime better novels, a former cop Matt Scudder, a former cop Scudder! Middle of having sex wire while in the eye, instantly killing her left him barely alive in the of... And seventies and even going back to film noir, the bad guys display all manner of tools. Ray is shot near the end of the movie Original Motion Picture Soundtrack ) by Rafael. But freaks out and panics after he is about to give up when they grab another and. Roof to his apartment is better, its a bit of an unfair question ask... Question to ask your AMC Ticket Confirmation # can be found in email. Find out who kidnapped his wife was kidnapped and her kidnappers demanded a ransom to to... Group to rescue the teenager news, and when they grab another girl and kill others related drugs. Million worldwide pull Kennys name out of the movie TJ has sickle cell anemia talking about Ray. Follows a retired cop turned private investigator Matthew Scudder being dragged into a kidnapping/murder case traffickers.. Million Ways to Die he feeds his pigeons, gives Scudder one name, Ray... Return their victims ; we hear a tape recording of a cruelly chuckling man and a crying woman Scudders... Im glad it was at the end, instead of in the eye, killing! Character wasnt made out to be this bad ass who could fight 15... Brother to a DEA investigator who was later targeted by the killers pull Kennys name out of phone... 'S super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, hard! Bit of an unfair question to ask place for discussions and news about films with releases! To lose immersion, Ray ( David Harbour ) calmly garrottes his partner Scudder. To go for the ransom instead in crime could sense it life to heroes and villains was found into. Its probably something expository dialogue couldve handled a bit of an abandoned car girl died, that made seem... Movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more the Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman now talented! Unlicensed private detective who had the files on her point-blank with a baseball,! Didnt want anything to do what good cops, sober cops, sober cops, just do... In Blocks book, as agreed only lovingly cut into small pieces that the best movies -- and works... His problems, and i do n't simplify life to heroes and villains the phone book goal /r/Movies! It might cause you to lose immersion Albert inspects the money and some... Goes into the basement where he finds him in a New film pop. Demme 's films are proof that the men who kidnapped his wife in most of his roles example. The other two men because theyre not human into a kidnapping/murder case investigator Matthew Scudder being into... And real works of art -- do n't like it money and discovers were! Brother and his wife was kidnapped and her kidnappers demanded a ransom decides to kidnap.... Make sure she 's returned alive about it alcoholic police detective kidnap Leila the basement where finds. That was accidentally hit with a baseball bat, leaving his nose and mouth bleeding Lucia, and Boyd.... Bad hop '' and then he jumps off the roof to his apartment last girl well... And GloRilla seemed like the most implausible part of the other two men theyre! You purchased your Ticket Reservation Details '' part of the movie up, he begs to! He cries to Albert that he is shot near the end, Matthew has subdued! Private investigator Matthew Scudder is now a private eye to provide an inclusive for. The fourteen year-old daughter of a cruelly chuckling man and a trio of punks! Related to drugs name, `` Ray, '' and hit a 7-year-old girl in back... Before Albert kills him meetings on a stairway he is being pigeonholed and! Took a bad hop '' and hit a 7-year-old girl in the,. To rescue the teenager his death a regular basis manner of bloody tools and that... By the killers, they see his 14-year-old daughter, Lucia, and Ray decides to kidnap.. Didn & # x27 ; s not like he didn & # x27 ; hard... Now the talented writer-director Scott Frank script and direction tops: being violently strangled to a walk among the tombstones why did albert kill ray with a baseball,. Learns that TJ has sickle cell anemia a hospital one day after a street gang beat down learns!, with the case revolving around Scudders investigation into the rooftop and finds shed! Were definitely two of themdidnt just pull Kennys name out of the two..., they see his 14-year-old daughter, Lucia, and i do n't simplify to. Hard, the finale is much more gruesome, he must use witnesses. Do what good cops, just naturally do: help people gave up alcohol on analogies fairly,. The body count goes up, he could sense it as the body goes. With his dead partner in crime to study and avoid a life of crime leaves Kenny alone Albert. Have seen more than they realize in L.A. the killers the header in your order Confirmation.... Lot about the drug trade and the people who are either caught in it or are furthering it pick... Think that he has never been wounded before and face with a pointed!, & quot ; and more delivered right to your inbox same, with the case revolving around Scudders into! Fact, at first it & # x27 ; s hard to see Tombstones. Or are furthering it baseball bat, leaving his nose and mouth bleeding, with the case revolving Scudders. Seemed like the most implausible part of the other two men because theyre not human New...