“The Tax Collector.” / “The Bad Shepherd.”

“The Tax Collector” (2020, Hulu) action thriller film, follows two enforcers (known as "tax collectors") working for a Los Angeles crime lord whose business becomes upended, resulting in one of them desperately protecting his family from an old rival.

       Written, directed, and produced by David Ayer. He is the same dude who wrote the screenplay for 2001's badass “Training Day” and directed 2005's dead-cold as street grime “Harsh Times” and 2012's emotionally-piercing “End of Watch,” which I both liked. Never mind the silliness: 2016's “Suicide Squad” and 2017's “Bright.” Superhero action confection is not Mr Ayer's bag.

       “The Tax Collector” follows the super violent gangland cred of “Training Day” et al but none of their dramatic finesse and aesthetic gravitas. This movie is a boring review of the usual David Ayer material albeit lazily executed. But you get the bloodbath, cartel gore, and macho talk, just the same.

       It's a hoot to watch Shia LaBeouf as a toughie in dark shades and fine suit champing away at a wellness chow, talkin’ like a guru. Shia as Creeper creeps like a cartoon visual a-la Beavis or Butt-head.

       Bobby Soto as David Cuevas is supposedly the central character or soul of the gun show. But he is all tough-guy glare and one-dimensional inhale-exhale. Mexican gangbanger stereotype. 🎥💻📽

“The Bad Shepherd” (2024, Hulu) is a thriller about a group of friends who accidentally killed a woman while hunting. The film explores themes of morality, loyalty, and survival. Sorta. Plot: A group of friends, including John, Paul, Travis, and Leonard, are on a hunting trip when they accidentally run over a woman. They discover the woman has a bag of money and decide to bury her and take the money. That sort of plot.

       Everything seemed cool or interesting until a strange dude named Sydney emerged. Portrayed by the film's director Geo Santini, Sydney wears a turtle-necked sweater under a Wall Street-styled blazer. Neatly coiffed with a thin moustache, the man talks or lectures like a Corleone consigliere or a capo for Tony Soprano. Or a Catholic priest, maybe Lucifer himself. I can’t really tell. And he wanted his money. Yes, the money that these panicking losers took. 

      From that point, the thriller turned into a tragicomedy in my head, starring Sydney or Geo. I felt like I wanted to impersonate him on an open mic night. 🎥💻📽

WATCHED again. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969, Tubi) Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. 

       Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman), and his partner Harry Longabaugh, the "Sundance Kid" (Robert Redford), who are on the run after a string of train robberies. The pair and Sundance's lover, Etta Place (Katharine Ross), flee to Bolivia to escape the posse.

       I think I saw this movie when I was in high school in the 1970s. Feels like I just saw it for the first time.