Hey folks, Valkor here. I was just about to tackle another Snipes
film, when this next piece came across my desk. By the title alone
I was gonna toss it on the pile of other vids I need to watch,
until I saw who stars in it – Cuba Goodings Jr. And TOV enjoys
either singing praise or playa hatin on a Goodings picture. His
latest film, Ticking Clock however deserves much praise as it's
a damn good piece of work.
In Ticking Clock, Cuba plays Lewis Hicks, a journalist hot on the trail of a serial killer, whose murdering people linked to a case that involves an orphan named James (Austin Abrams). Lewis is able to track down the killer and his victims from the journal the killer drops when they first confront. And now Lewis has so many days left between killings to try and track down the killer before he strikes again. But as Lewis delves further into the case, the police namely one Ed Beker (Yancy Arias), look at him with suspicion, which will later lead to his arrest. But using his journalistic sources and piecing together clues, all the evidence leads up to the killer taking out anyone involved with the young boy. But what's his link to the killer?
And it's that twist that made me rethink how I was going to initially review this film in the beginning. And it's an interesting twist actually, didn't see it coming.
The Good:
Cuba has done a great deal of direct to video films (most of which have been reviewed here); some were hits others were misses. But Ticking Clock, I must say, has to be the best one yet. The story for one thing, starts out very predictable, but at least it's entertaining and has action that pulls no punches. The suspense levels are a bit tepid at first but builds up nicely as the film proceeds. The twist, which happens midway, is a definite "WTF"; you totally don't expect it, but when it happens, it will blow your mind. When it comes to Cuba's acting abilities, it varies from role to role, liked him in Hero Wanted, didn't like him in Linewatch. In Ticking Clock? Freakin loved him! (No Homo), just sayin, he does a damn good job. Neal McDonough as Keene… he's one scary mofo. I wish he could've done more killing, but that's ok, he's actually the star and boy does he shine.
The Bad:
Again, a lot of predictability; one scene in particular is when Lewis is running to save Vicki (Adrianne Frost), Lewis does everything you'd expect and I was spitting it out just before his actions - right down to him touching the body, getting blood on his hands (mind you he's holding a gun) and someone walks in… I'll admit I was pretty impressed with myself.
The Ugly:
Gotta go with what happened to Felicia…. Yow!!
Ticking Clock gets a release on Jan 4, 2011 (on DVD and Blu Ray) and it's a definite hot ticket – can't miss! I'll say it again "can't miss", solid performances, awesome story, with a twist that will just blow your mind. Out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving Ticking Clock a 4 and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved.
