Safehouse

I gave it ten stars, because it completely entertained me! Now, these reviews are required to be very, very long. And, I really don't want to give away the secrets which the film will reveal, as you watch it. I will say this, most low budgets are terrible. Most low budget movies have too many close-ups, too much unnecessary babbling, and not enough satisfying action. Locations or sets cost money. Low budgets don't have money. And some of these "Tubi Originals" are guilty of all of the above. Including bad acting, to go with the lack of real action. This finely done film avoids all of those shortcomings. The acting is done well. The scenery is fascinating! The action was believable, but also tensely exciting. And like any good Western film, a moral lesson is included; where virtue is rewarded, and evil is punished. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site; which also has live TV.

I was not aware of Paul Street's writing and directing work prior to watching this "Tubi Exclusive" that appeared first on my list, this morning. Now that I am aware of his work, I'll search out his previous films -- and keep aware of his future works (as well as from his great cast). Courtesy of Street's tight scripting -- as well as his directing, and with great editing -- Safehouse comes in at an appreciated 80-minute running time. The cinematography is effectively framed and crystal clear; so while released as a streaming exclusive, Street delivers us a theatrical-level film. Its battle of wits between CIA agents, drug cartel baddies, and contract assassins is a tale that keeps you guessing -- and watching to see where it will all go. (Nope, no plot spoilers, here: this page's effective logline and plot summary takes care of that, for you reading this review.) The casting is also appreciated; Street could have easily dealt us the name-on-the-box switcheroo, you know: like so many of the later-day Bruce Willis, Eric Roberts or Tom Sizemore streamers we've enjoyed (well, I do). Street could have also kept the action male-centric; instead he offers us well-written, strong female roles that belong here -- with one that allows newcomer Alondra Delgado, as our damsel, to shine. Overall, Street gave a wonderful opportunity to a collective of unknown actors -- and there's not a bad performance among them. Robert Seay is a standout as the lead CIA agent who seems dirty, at first, but comes to have a heart inside him. In the special effects department: Unlike most budget-conscious indie streams that go the CGI route, all of the gun play and blood splatter is all effectively done in-camera -- and if it is not, well, then CGI-made blanks, squibs, and blood packets have gotten better because it all looks real to me. I am glad I took a chance on that Tubi suggestion; I think you will feel the same.

Im no expert about cartels, safe houses, border distances, or ratting people out, but this checks all of the boxes for unrealistic storylines. Our main character lives in Mexicali with her brother, a part time snitch who chose to snitch on the Cartell to border patrol for some quick cash. Gee, sounds like something someone would choose to do when low on funds vs ANYTHING ELSE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. It wasn't as if the bro had no choice,his mom is on a work visa sending money home so lil sis can make it through med school. Surprise spolier: the cartel no likey snitches, so they kill the brother, the sister runs off after witnessing her brothers murder, while actively running drom the cartel she runs into a junkyard and viola: stumbles upon an abandoned tunnel system. No worries, the cartel gives up on chasing her and she continues running through the tunnel, the ENTIRE morning and winds up in the USA at none other than a safe house for informants against the cartel. What a coininkydinky. AND it just so happens the cartel has offered a million dollar bounty on this particular safehouses' inhabitants. Of course. To top it off, we get to see our super fast border tunnel runner show off her med school education by bandaging up an FBI agent who is near mortally wounded, after she digs her bare fingers and fishes out a slug. Bravo. She checks the agents pulse and declares her stabilized. The whole movie is silly but worth the watch so you can giggle at the ridiculous story and direction. Look for the moment our med student emerges from the tunnels and shields her eyes repeatedly as if she has been in pure darkness for months (it was a couple hours but the timeline within the movie makes it seem she was only in there for a few blocks) Later during a car ride the entire area looks very remote and driving takes hours...seems like you could just take a tunnel faster..

Safehouse is a decent movie, but fails to be a good action movie as Tubi claims it is ( steering way closer to a thriller then an action movie) The cinematography is really good, the voice acting is good, and the use of suspense and foreshadowing is also pretty good though the suspense can feel somewhat manufactured at times. The cinematography makes it kind of feel like it's steering towards the direction that you'd find in documentaries at times so interjects some action and Thriller elements into it. I don't really understand the story or what's really happening within the overarching story when it comes to the scene to scene events. Overall it's a pretty decent movie but definitely not something to brag about.