Good People is a thriller based on the novel written by Marcus Sakey. The director Henrik Ruben Genz brings to life the screenplay written by Kelley Masterson.  The story starts off pretty grimy in London with a robbery of a big drug dealer named Khan played skillfully by Omar Sy (Intouchables, X-Men Future Past).  Sy is a French actor whose face we will be seeing in American films more often.  Khan is “expanding his empire” from France when he runs into a group of criminals who get the jump on him and steal his liquid heroin and money. During the heist one of the thieves goes rogue and kills one of his partners and takes off with the money.  
 
The action in the film calms for a while as we are introduced to American couple played by James Franco (The Interview, Pineapple Express) and Kate Hudson (Almost Famous, The Skeleton Key).  They left Chicago for London after tough times during a down economy.   James Franco plays Tom Wright, he has just inherited his family home from his grandmother in London and Kate Hudson is his wife Anna Wright who is school teacher having fertility problems as they try to start a new family in a foreign country.  Franco is a contractor who is able to do the work on his new home himself but the expense of doing the work has put them in debt.   This problem will eventually lead them down a road to hell that is paved with good intentions.  
 
The couple becomes involved in the heist because the thief who robbed and killed one of his partners in the heist is their border and lives in their basement. He was the keep to himself kind of tenant who paid in cash every month. Since they were in debt they thought nothing of it. Until the day they found his body dead and rotting from an over dose of liquid heroin. A long with his body they find a bag with 220,000 pounds in it.  They call the police but don’t turn in the money. This is when their financial circumstances begin to overtake their morals.  The detective who comes to check out their scene is played by veteran actor Tom Wilkinson (Batman Begins, Selma ) He is that typical detective who is chasing down a lead but has that supervisor who always gets in his way.  He won’t stop because his daughter died from drug use and he knows in his gut that this new case is connected to the dealers who dealt her the liquid heroin she over dosed on.   
 
 “Good People” is one of those “What would you do?” thrillers. What would you do if you were in debt and found 220,000 pounds in your basement?  The film is rather predictable, yet still entertaining. As the film goes on the thieves come back looking for the money.  The couple gets together with the detective in an elaborate plan to save themselves from their situation.  There are a few creative killing scenes using a pool stick and a nail gun to get the job done. If you are looking for a film that is full of thrills and chills this may not be for you.  However if you are looking for a film on demand on a night with nothing to do, this film could fit right into your schedule.  It’s well acted and executed which is a testament to the director and cinematographer (Jorgen Johansson) for giving the film a look that matches the dark story line. The end is a climax of death with very graphic violence which might be worth your time.
 
Reel Rap - 5/10 stars

Blank Stare Corner brings you Donnell Regusters to deliver you film critiques on independent films or as we like to call it, Reel Rap. You see what we did there? Check back on January 1st to get his first  real review. Until then here's a little introduction to the blogger of the hour and why we think he's qualified to give an educated opinion on the topic at hand.
 
Donnell Regusters is a media professional who is a product of the Hip-Hop generation. Born in Philadelphia and raised in the nearby suburb of Yeadon he began his journalism career as a student at the University of Maryland at College Park interviewing hip-hop artists of the era like the Wu Tang Clan and Hieroglyphics. As a journalist he also interviewed film directors like Kasi Lemmons and Agnieszka Holland and legends like Harry Belafonte.  His love for film led him to pursue his Masters degree at American University for Communications where he became a student of media and cinema.  He continued to work as a freelance hip-hop journalist while in school but his focus was video production. After grad school he began working at Comcast producing news segments for the public affairs department. Working on
news segments and projects like the critically acclaimed Paper Chasers Hip Hop Documentary he learned how to put a project together. His next step would be to leave Washington, DC and move back to his home Philadelphia, PA and put his journalism and video production skills to work.  Donnell began interviewing talent on camera and produced segments for a TV show called Hip-Hop Nation that was syndicated throughout the country on NBC. He also produced a DVD called Just for the Spittas that featured interviews and performances with artists from the Philadelphia and New York rap scene. While producing his own work he produced segments and worked cameras for Back 2 Basics Real Rap TV one of Philadelphia’s premier hip-hop shows and DVD producers.

Currently Donnell is the co-host of Brother Tommy and Friends an online radio show that focuses on music, culture, and politics in the Black Community. He also is working on his first feature length documentary. When not working on the air or producing projects he is a
youth mentor and advocate for education reform.