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Geek Tyrant
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Titus Welliver Joins J.K. Simmons in Gritty MGM+ Crime Series THE WESTIES — GeekTyrant
Titus Welliver is stepping back into a badge, but this time, it's dirty. The Bosch star has been cast opposite J.K. Simmons in The Westies , a new MGM+ period crime series created by Chris Brancato ( Godfather of Harlem ) and Michael Panes. Set in the early 1980s, the series drops into the brutal world of Hell's Kitchen's infamous Irish mob, just as the construction of the Jacob Javits Center opens up new opportunities and new enemies. In The Westies , Welliver plays Glenn Keenan, a conflicted NYPD officer raised among the Westies crew. He's a man caught in a classic crime story crossroads: law versus blood. His loyalty to the badge is tested by his deep ties to the gang and his love for his son, who's slipping down a dark path. This is great role for Welliver to take on, and it will be fun to see him share the screen with Simmons, who plays Eamon Sweeney, the Westies' charismatic but cutthroat boss. According to the official synopsis: 'Despite being outnumbered 50-to-1 by the Five Families of the Italian mafia, The Westies' legendary brutality and cunning have given them the leverage necessary to share the spoils through a fragile détente. 'But internal conflict between the brash younger generation and the old-school leadership threatens to set a match to this powder keg, which will sweep the Westies into the FBI's ever-deepening investigation into the Italian mafia.' Welliver's return to crime storytelling isn't surprising. After playing LAPD detective Harry Bosch for seven seasons (and a spinoff), he recently shot a pilot for The Equalizer spinoff on CBS and appeared in the Sundance indie Ricky . For crime drama fans, especially those who crave a little period grit and street-level power plays, The Westies is shaping up to be one to watch. Production kicks off in July in Toronto. Source: Deadline
New York Times
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Stream These Movies and TV Shows Before They Leave Netflix in February
The highlights of this month's Netflix departures are a star-studded bunch, with memorable turns by Chadwick Boseman, Russell Crowe, Vin Diesel, Kirsten Dunst, Mia Goth, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Gosling, Chris Hemsworth and others. And catch two great 'Office'-adjacent comedy series of recent years before they leave. (Dates reflect the final day titles are available and are subject to change.) 'Run All Night' (Feb. 1) Stream it here. Between their collaborations on the airplane thriller 'Non-Stop' and the train thriller 'The Commuter,' Liam Neeson and the director Jaume Collet-Serra teamed up for this taut action flick, which basically amounts to 'Taken' but set in New York with gangsters. Neeson plays an ex-hit man for the Irish Mob who puts his life and that of his estranged son (Joel Kinnaman) in danger when he kills his boss's trigger-happy offspring. Ed Harris is electrifying as the boss, instilling genuine fear with even his offhand gestures; Vincent D'Onofrio shines as a police detective; and Common is ferocious as a fellow hired gun. Neeson, meanwhile, sneaks in some real acting between the punches. 'The Fast and the Furious' Collection (Feb. 11) Stream it here. These early entries in one of the most lucrative and durable of all modern action franchises offer up a fascinating lesson in cinematic evolution and adaptation. The initial outing, 'The Fast and the Furious' (2001), was a fairly straightforward 'Point Break' riff with Paul Walker as a cop who goes undercover in the Los Angeles street racing subculture to bust a petty thief (Vin Diesel) and gets too close for comfort with him and his crew (which also included Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster). Two years later, Walker returned in '2 Fast 2 Furious,' but his chemistry with Diesel was sorely missing, and the 2006 spinoff 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' took the series further afield. But the four principles returned for 'Fast & Furious' (2009; not on Netflix) and solidified the series's new friskier style in the bone-crunching, physics-defying heist spectacles 'Fast Five' and 'Fast & Furious 6.' 'Blackhat' (Feb. 15) Stream it here. The director Michael Mann, always on the cutting edge, wrote and directed this 2015 cyber-thriller about a convicted hacker (Chris Hemsworth) who is offered his freedom if he can help an F.B.I. team track down a dangerous cybercriminal. The plot doesn't entirely hold together, and Hemsworth's casting is a touch hard to swallow. But Mann's distinctive and unmatched style more than holds 'Blackhat' together. And the considerable chemistry of Hemsworth and his character's romantic interest, played by Tang Wei, keeps the sparks flying. 'Pearl' (Feb. 15) Stream it here. The second, and finest, of the three collaborations between the writer-director Ti West and the actress Mia Goth (preceded by 'X' and followed by 'Maxxxine') is this 2022 period thriller, telling the origin story of the psychotic old woman played by Goth in 'X.' We meet the title character in 1918, isolating on her family's Texas farm during the Spanish flu pandemic, awaiting the return of her husband from World War I. But Pearl needs attention and affirmation, and she decides she wants to be a movie star — no matter what it takes. West's supersaturated photography and classical style recall the Golden Age of Hollywood melodrama, while his sly script both deploys and subverts the conventions of contemporary horror. 'Southpaw' (Feb. 20) Stream it here. Jake Gyllenhaal is startlingly convincing as a professional boxer whose life and career are turned upside-down in this sports drama from the director Antoine Fuqua ('Training Day'). Gyllenhaal, whose months of transformative training for the role pay off big onscreen, plays the character's cockiness and fall from grace with equal authenticity, while Rachel McAdams makes the most of her few scenes, and Forest Whitaker transcends the clichés of the crusty, seen-it-all corner man. Most of the narrative will be plenty familiar to sports film fans, but Gyllenhaal's towering performance and Fuqua's attentiveness to detail keep 'Southpaw' from feeling too shopworn. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
