A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES (2014)

Harking back to the days of Death Wish and other New York-based crime thrillers from the 1970's, A Walk Among the Tombstones - while not breaking any new ground in the genre, or in fact even in this simple story of faded ex-cop-turned-private-eye Matthew Scudder (an emotionally scruffy Liam Neeson) who takes on the case of a drug dealer whose wife was abducted, then tortured and murdered even after a hefty ransom for her was paid.  Dark, violent, and somehow completely intriguing, as the case gets more and more sinister Scudder finds himself trailing not one but possibly two serial killers at work ... and as simple and spare and stark as the film is, for fans of the genre it's simplicity is exactly what makes the film so watchable, Neeson's grumpy, do-what-it-takes private eye is a welcome throwback to when gutsy urban crime films didn't need a twist ending or dazzling special effects to simply entertain. (rated R)  A

A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES trailer