The LIAM NEESON Fix: “In the Land of Saints and Sinners.” / “Memory.” / “Honest Thief.”

<>“In the Land of Saints and Sinners” (2023, Amazon Prime) Irish action thriller film directed by Robert Lorenzo. This is Mr Neeson's second collaboration with Mr Lorenz after 2021's “The Marksman.” 

       As producer, Robert Lorenz has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture three times, for “Mystic River” (2003), “Letters from Iwo Jima” (2006), and “American Sniper” (2014). So his unfailing touch in choosing the right material is magical. “...Saints and Sinners” is a clear example.

       Story: In 1974, during the Troubles, four members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army carried out a bombing in Belfast that killed six people, including (by accident) three children. The four then come to the Irish coastal town of Glencolmcille, County Donegal, to lie low. Easily, they get entangled with Liam Neeson's Finbar Murphy, a former hitman trying to lead a quiet life in the village.

      A rather simple plotline but the tight, no-fuss script by Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane--plus presence of fine veteran Irish performers Ciaran Hinds, Colm Meaney, Niamh Cusack, Kerry Condon–kept the excitement high sans bombastic sequences. And by the way, Sarah Greene is here again. She's now a regular fixture in my British/Irish TV watch bliss and I feel I have fallen in love with her! Seriously.

      And, of course, Liam Neeson's charm as an action star is addictive. Always sullen and dejected but surely fun to watch. 🎥👍📽

<>“Memory” (2022, Amazon Prime) action thriller film starring Liam Neeson as a hitman with early dementia who must go on the run after declining a contract to kill a young woman. It is based on the novel “De Zaak Alzheimer” by Jef Geeraerts and is a remake of the novel's previous adaptation, the Belgian film of the same name.

       Nothing much to talk about this “obligatory” Liam Neeson actioner, despite the presence of fine performers Guy Pearce, Monica Bellucci, and Ray Davidson. Unimaginative collaboration between director Martin Campbell and writer Darko Scardapane. Mr Campbell, who directed a few James Bond films, is known for his remarkable work for the 1985 BBC series “Edge of Darkness.” Nothing of that gold star in “Memory.” 🎥💻📽

<>“Honest Thief” (2020, Pluto TV) action thriller, follows a former bank robber who decides to turn himself in to the FBI, only to be set up by corrupt agents. Just my Liam Neeson fix, I guess. I watch them as I do my obligatory writing in the room. And this ho-hum of a movie is the obligatory “day on the job” Neeson movie.

       I mean the title is even corny! Mark Williams’ direction is bankrupt of creativity and imagination. And Tom's cliché “In-and-Out Bandit” is paired with sappy Annie. Played by Kate Walsh, Annie is so unsexy and frigid, the role would have been performed better by Nancy Grace. 

       The only good point in this lazy film is the dog. Always, the dog. 🎭👎🎬