Last Hour

Summoned to a remote house in China, five hardened criminals—including the notorious Black Jack (DMX) and Monk (Michael Madsen)—find themselves trapped, menaced by a police cordon outside and an unknown, psychotic killer inside. Last Hour reflects multiple influences, among them Eurotrash action films of the ’70s and ’80s, the stylish thrillers of John Woo and the self-indulgent crime dramas of Quentin Tarantino. Plot-wise, the film is neither fresh nor convincing, but a sufficient amount of action makes it reasonably entertaining.

Shelf Talk: A fairly strong cast—DMX, Madsen, Paul Sorvino, David Carradine—should help this one along, and Vivendi’s packaging that features a large image of the hip-hop star turned gun-toting leading man will attract those to whom it’s most likely to appeal. The company will advertise this title with TV spots on FX, Spike, MTV, VH1, BET and USA, and it plans to blanket popular Web sites with ads and trailers.