Originally planning to watch the quirky Bollywood movie Finding Fanny, (what a title!)I was disappointed to discover that the DVD was faulty.With there only being a few days to go until a poll being held on IMDb for the best films of 2014 was to end,I franticly starting taking a look at a small pile of 2014 titles that a family friend had recently passed over.With having enjoyed the 2008 Aussie Noir film The Square,I was delighted to spot a fresh cut of Aussie Noir which appeared to be really over looked,which led to me getting ready to discover who you can reckon on.The plot:Called out along with Detective Jane Lambert to a crime scene, Detective Robbie Green discovers that the victim is his former partner Jason Pearson.Keeping hold of the vodka that he's secretly drinking,Green opens Pearson's car door,and starts to investigate the remains of the deadly hit and run.Carefully checking Pearson's blood-soaked body,Green discovers that a memory card has been left in a pocket.Going back to the police station,Green and Lambert discover that the memory card contains a documentary movie being made by Rachel (who is dying from cancer) and her newly-married husband A.J.Watching the start of the doc,Green and Lambert find out that Rachel's sister was killed in a hit and run,which has led to Rachel deciding that she will use her final breath to get revenge on the people who killed her sister.As Green & Lambert set off to stop Rachel and A.J. on their road of revenge,Green soon finds out that he is unknowingly about to face his day of reckoning.View on the film:Whilst the "Found Footage" sub-genre has mostly become connected with Horror titles,writer/director John V. Soto uses the format here to cross Film Noir over with the Revenge genre,that allows for Soto and cinematographer Jason Thomas to give the movie 2 contrasting appearance.Backed by somber score from Thomas Rouch,Thomas and Soto use glass to subtly show Green being unable to see the demons reflected at him,and to also show Green and Lambert looking out to the murky shadows of the past.Keeping the "Found Footage" limited to featuring Rachel & A.J.,Soto and Thomas use the couples documentary to give the movie a rawness that gradually consumes the title,with the couples revenge attacks pulling everyone into a decaying gutter.Although the structure of the title does feature some noticeable flaws, (if the documentary was the only clue that you had,why would you not watch the full movie before you went back out to continue the investigation!) the screenplay by Soto makes the flaws ones that are easy to overlook,due to Soto uncovering the past piece by piece which has led to Green (played by an excellent,worn down Jonathan LaPaglia) becoming a burnt to a crisp cop,who finds himself stuck on a Film Noir road to pain.Keeping away from showing Rachel and A.J. as 2 dumb teens on a killing spree,Soto digs deep into the events which have led to Rachel's desire for revenge,which leads to a wonderfully bleak final note,as everyone faces their day of reckoning.

Writer and Director John V Soto known for his supernatural teen Crush and horror Needle has left those genres out for his third feature film The Reckoning. The musical score alone is brilliant and tense and once again the director has a knack for casting with Viva Bianca and Jonathan LaPaglia as detectives Jane Lambert and Robbie Green investigating the roadside execution of Luke Hemsworth's character Jason Pearson and tracking down two runaway teenagers (Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Alex Williams) as Rachel and AJ on a quest to seek revenge on her sister Abbie (Chelsea Williamson) who was killed in a hit and run and uncover the corruption within the police force and a twist at the end will keep your eyes glued on the screen from the start with a fast thrilling car chase at the beginning to the end with a rooftop stand off.

There's an old joke – "all Australians are walking upside down". This movie is a persuasive proof that there is definitely a tiny piece of joke in this statement. The society pictured in this movie is exactly like that – completely twisted. For example, what would the three muscular drug dealers do when their safe house is approached by an inadequately looking teen girl with a skinny friend, who's shooting the bandits on camera(!!!)? And the lady is mumbling something about retribution from the bible… Of course, the criminals politely invite this creepy pair into their hideout, and then obediently allow to savagely torture and kill themselves. Of course, it' s an absolutely obvious way things are done in the streets of Australia! What a shame that the movie director didn't share with the audience the details of "bringing to peace" the avenged criminals, who overwhelm the attackers in every possible characteristic excluding "goodness". It makes one think that however hard the movie creators tried to work out a persuasive way of crazy teen couple's winning over 2 foot-soldiers with their boss, they couldn't make it without looking unrealistic. That's why they took an innovative decision to picture the bandits already neutralized. Genius move! Thunderous applause! And there's one more especially vivid episode. What would the main character of the movie, an experienced police officer in his 40s, do, when he comes home knowing he's being hunted by two extremely dangerous criminals intending to mortify him as painfully as possible? Especially considering the fact that previously they've already committed a number of psycho-aggravated assaults, presently on the loose and always do their thing fast. A normal thriller hero would send the wife and kids away and would be sitting in the dark corner of his home with a gun, waiting for the inevitable visit. But the Aussie heroes have a special sovereign methodology. As clear as day, the concerned policeman first fixes himself a mighty drink, then has sex with his wife and…happily blacks out in the sleep of the righteous. Well, a man has a right to relax, doesn't he? Especially in the anticipation of brutal torture and violent death. That's how it usually happens, right? And then he's woken up in the warm company of quite expected maniac guests, who have already taken the heirs of this sleeping beauty as hostages. And such "innovative" plot points, boldly challenging the most common everyday logic, adorn almost every episode of this movie. But along with that its content propagates the humanitarian target of youth de- narcotization. Guess the creators of "Reckoning" made a very good job in making it very hard to take this movie and its "humanitarian mission" seriously. They can be really proud of themselves.

I was about to let my attention wander with this movie, when it took an interesting turn.It had my full attention from then on, and while not a world beater, I quite enjoyed it.Made a change from over-the-top clichéd rubbish, and put a new turn on the almost exhausted found-footage genre, which I hope will take a long rest very soon.This not a found footage film per se, but uses the style to clever use to keep our Detectives on the hunt and guessing, as does the viewer.I liked also the intelligent denouement and completion of the storyline, except for one section, which still needs work in most films.More attention should be paid to this critical part of any film (budding film makers TAKE NOTE), as it can often snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, leaving the viewer appalled at a "cheapskate" way out of a corner the writers have painted themselves into. Reference American Gigolo as an example of a poor and rushed ending that spoiled an otherwise very good film.A little more use of the Australian scenery would have added a more Aussie feel to the picture, which has somewhat of a generic feel (could have happened anywhere) but overall the dark subject matter was handled quite well with deep moods and lighting to match, not too dark and still able to hear every spoken word.Nice one John Soto, more please.....