“Rogue Hostage” Is “Die Hard” in a Grocery Store

It was the easiest pitch in the '90s: "Die Hard on a blank." Terrorists have trapped hostages in one location, and only one man can save them. But they can't all be Speed or even Con Air. Rogue Hostage looks like the bottom of that barrel, a straight-to-VOD knockoff that somehow lured an Academy Award nominee and the star of one of the biggest franchises in the world.

Tyrese will try to stretch his acting ability, playing a PTSD-haunted marine named Kyle. He's trapped in a grocery store with his daughter and stepfather (John Malkovich), a Congressman with a lot of secrets. White militia men have taken them all hostage, so it falls to Kyle to use his particular set of skills to save the day.

Rogue Hostage will open in select theaters and on VOD on June 11.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.