A Walk Among the Tombstones

Did you ever have a tradition as a child?  Something you did every week with your family?  For me it was movies.  I remember looking forward to Friday nights when we would all go out and see a movie together.  So naturally when I got older and moved away to college, I continued this tradition on my own even though I wasn't always able to get back home every week.  In those instances I would go by myself. 

Movies are great, second only to reading books for me.  They are a way to experience a gamut of emotions and adventure vicariously through someone on the big screen.  Watching movies has become so ingrained as a part of my life that I felt as if a piece of me was lost when all the Blockbuster's and other movie rental places started dying off one by one.  It's all supposed to be easier now to just stream the movies on Netflix, Hulu, etc but really it's not.  Half the time I can't even find the older movies I grew up watching as a kid.  Which truly saddens me.

Movies these days have changed.  With all the awesome technology these days they should if anything be better, but it seems instead that good dialogue and plot has been sacrificed for gore and special effects.  Add to that the outrageous cost of movies these days and I must admit, I probably only go to the movies once or twice a month now.  

One of those times happened to be today.  The Marcus Majestic theaters by us has a $5 Tuesdays special that enticed us to go out and see a movie tonight.  I know I usually write about a pin I did or made up, but today the movie we watched inspired in me once again a love of movies so I thought I would write a movie review instead.

While talking with my dad this week he mentioned that he had gone to see A Walk Among the Tombstones.  Not having gone to the movies much lately I'll admit, I didn't even know what it was about.  So when he said it was terrible, I filed it away in the back of my mind along with the caveat that it probably wasn't an action movie.  I say this because if you knew my father you would know that he has seen so many movies that he has become numb to any that don't involve nonstop action.  In fact, most of the time he just falls asleep during the movie, kind of like my hubby come to think of it.

Speaking of hubby, when he mentioned that we should go see a movie tonight I was all for it.  I usually let him pick the movie and today he picked A Walk Among the Tombstones.  Not really knowing what to expect I went anyway and was pleasantly surprised.  It was the best movie I have seen in a very long time.  Contrary to what my dad said, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It had just the right amount of plot, dialogue and action to keep me interested throughout.  While there were a few graphic parts that made me turn away, they stopped just short of the gore for no reason category.  And who doesn't love Liam Neeson?  That man is amazing, a really great action star who can actually act as well.  I think he would have made a good James Bond at some point.

The movie revolves around an ex cop AA junkie who highlights as a private investigator.  In this instance he gets hired to investigate a couple of serial killers who kidnapped and killed the wife of a drug dealer.  That may not sound like the most interesting of plots, but trust me it works.  The rest of the movie follows him as he roots out the who, what, where, when and why of the serial killers, ending in a climactic showdown between him and the bad guys.  While there was no super kooky twist, there didn't need to be.  

In a day and age where movies have started to lose their appeal, A Walk Among the Tombstones has instilled new life into a family tradition I thought was lost.  Perhaps there will be more like this one that will redeem the movie industry.  Wish them luck.