Good People (2014)

And what is good anyway? Who defines what actions are good? Or if good people are not capable of doing bad things? And would that make them bad people? Don't get it twisted though: This is not a philosophical look at those things. If you even remotely asks those questions, it's not because the movie intended to make you think that much. It's your own perception that goes that extra mile (or two).

The movie moves along nicely, you can see almost everything coming your way and it's decent, if you're not annoyed by the standard formula this uses. It's nice to see another french actor making the move into "mainstream" Hollywood, even if he's not in it that much. Decent or a time waster, depending on your threshold

Fmovies: Too bad because what a great cast! Kate Hudson and James Franco are always interesting to watch, and their chemistry together was really nice in this film. Totally believable. And then there's the awesome Tom Wilkinson, terrific in just about everything he's in, and a new favorite, Omar Sy (loved him in the French film,The Untouchables.) When I put the movie in and watched the first 30 minutes, I was enjoying it. Then convenient writing starting seeping in and I lost all interest. I won't go into detail...I'm too tired right now honestly. But it just pisses me off when writers are lazy and good actors go to waste (and allow themselves to be in films like this!) There are just too many dumb decisions the characters make about 2/3's the way into the film to stay hooked. You are just like, "wow, they let this film get made???" Pisses me off again! Hell, I have 2 screenplays that would kick this one's ass. Mainly because I'm anal about not being convenient. Biggest pet peeve of all, because it's so easy to do. Not sure if it was the novelist or the screenplay writer but come on! You can do better than this - either of you or both of you! Damn. I'm disappointed :(

I liked this movie. It was realistic fiction that was entertaining to watch. There is excellent acting among all the main characters, and the story line is so believable. The only reason I can not rate it a 10 is that this movie was oh so predictable. As usual, there is no honesty among thieves, which is the premise of this movie. Then, of course, the underdog always wins. The climax of the movie was very reminiscent of "Home Alone," so I knew what was coming the moment that I saw the set towards the end. The predictability is the only reason I can think of the movie having such a low overall rating. However, when watching realistic fiction, extravagant happenings would convert the realistic to ridiculous. It stayed true to it's genre. I would recommend this movie to all movie-lovers, but I would be shocked if it got an Oscar.

Good People fmovies. The creative team behind this film is definitely promising. Director Henrik Ruben Genz is the Danish film and television director, known for his film Terribly Happy (2008) and work on the series The Bridge and The Killing in the original Danish version. Kelly Masterson has signed two film scripts. Maybe I was wrong to set high expectations, because Good People is only fair, average thriller with a story seen a million of times. Tom (Franco) and Anna (Hudson) are an American couple in financial problems. They move to London to the house Tom inherited. Since their earnings are not enough for renovation so they rent a room to Ben, suspicious type. After he's gone, Tom and Anna will find the mysterious stash of more than 200,000 pounds. But as we all know big money is not without owner. And so it begins... The problem is that we have already seen that story, and Good People does not bring anything new. Even the adaptation of the novel by Marcus Sakey is kind of awkward. The dialogues are poor. Acting is not bad. Visual effects are on higher level. The pace is easy, which certainly reinforces the impression of weirdness and "suspense", although we know all too well the sequence of events. Good People is correct thriller. Watchable, but really nothing more than that.

My Saturday night movies are starting to develop a bad pattern. This was supposed to be an action, crime, thriller. I seem to pick boring movies. Well, the action was mostly at the end, there was a crime, and it didn't thrill me very much.

It starts out as one of those gritty dramas. Or at least tries to. The colours are muted, mostly greys, and we quickly establish that the "good people" are a couple down on their luck. They have money troubles, fertility problems, so you can really feel that these people are just in a hole. Now this is where the predictability starts to happen. Generally bad things don't seem to happen to the good people who are well-off and happy. From then on, it feels like a generic thriller. It has the drugs, the single mum, the ageing cop with a personal beef against the evil guys. It was almost like watching one of those genre comedies, like it should be titled "Thriller Movie".

It's not the cast, really. They were fine. It's the story. Kate Hudson was a good female lead. I don't remember seeing her in any action before, but there was a line; "Guns are for pussies" that she looked really bad-ass saying. She had a good mix of regular woman caught in a bad situation, but kicking butt. James Franco blended in well with the look of the movie. He had the dirty, grey visage that was perfect. I felt he was a bit overshadowed by Kate, but he was a good, supporting husband. Tom Wilkinson was a fine British cop. He was so generic though, it could have been anyone of the many actors who generally play British cops on TV.

Overall, a lacklustre movie, and there really isn't all that much to say about it. You can watch it, if you have low expectations. Or if you really have some time to kill. Or you're doing something, and want some background noise and gunfire doesn't bother you. Otherwise, give this one a miss.

I like James Franco a lot, however I have comes to terms with the fact that just because he is in a movie does not mean it is going to be a good movie. Fortunately with "Good People" that is not the case.

Right from the get go the movie had my attention, it starts off very well and sets the mood for the rest of the movie. From there it gets a little slow but remains interesting. Then once things pick up again it is pretty entertaining.

I find it hard to rate this movie too high since the story is generic and it doesn't really do any original or new. However it is still a very watchable and entertaining thriller.

6.5/10