Writer/director Richard Shepard brings the same mix of wry humor and explosive entertainment to The Hunting Party that he brought to his breakout debut, The Matador. While most action-adventure films have gone stale with mundane cliche, Shepard's been churning out minor but altogether enjoyable thrillers of note. Based loosely on a true life expedition made by some ambitious journalists in a post-war Bosnia, The Hunting Party tells of a hilarious and surprisingly dangerous adventure taken by a washed up reporter (Richard Gere), his old pal camera man (Terence Howard), and a rookie with a desire to prove himself (Jesse Eisenberg). The trio accidentally gets mistaken for a CIA team (an error they fail to correct) and ends up deep in restricted territories, hunting Bosnian war criminals that the UN insists simply cannot be found. A sprinkling of political satire sits nicely atop this freewheeling and funny feature that offers audiences a chance to sit back and take an interesting journey into the unknown.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
DVD of the Week: The Hunting Party
Writer/director Richard Shepard brings the same mix of wry humor and explosive entertainment to The Hunting Party that he brought to his breakout debut, The Matador. While most action-adventure films have gone stale with mundane cliche, Shepard's been churning out minor but altogether enjoyable thrillers of note. Based loosely on a true life expedition made by some ambitious journalists in a post-war Bosnia, The Hunting Party tells of a hilarious and surprisingly dangerous adventure taken by a washed up reporter (Richard Gere), his old pal camera man (Terence Howard), and a rookie with a desire to prove himself (Jesse Eisenberg). The trio accidentally gets mistaken for a CIA team (an error they fail to correct) and ends up deep in restricted territories, hunting Bosnian war criminals that the UN insists simply cannot be found. A sprinkling of political satire sits nicely atop this freewheeling and funny feature that offers audiences a chance to sit back and take an interesting journey into the unknown.
