Jesse V. Johnson’s Thieves Highway is a modern day western about cattle rustling, that sees Aaron Echkart’s cow cop tracking down a a bunch of seriously bad hombres.

Written by Travis Mills - the director of the recent Frontier Crucible - Thieves Highway has hints of Fred Zinnemann’s High Noon and Carl Franklin’s One False Move. It’s a small, character-based thriller that has a strong central performance from Eckhart - who’s always great - and the film is also notable for the odd-ball characterisation of the villains.

As a longtime fan of both Aaron Eckhart and Jesse V. Johnson, I’m thrilled that they’ve joined this episode of the podcast to talk about Thieves Highway, action movies and a whole lot more.

Collins' Mel Gibson starrer, Hunting Season is something of surprise. Yes, it gives you want you want from a Mel Gibson thriller, but it’s also a film that features some excellent and finely tuned performances. Gibson, as you would expect is great, but so is the supporting cast. There’s a lot going on here and it’s sure to really engage viewers.

The plot sees a reclusive survivalist (Gibson) and his daughter (Sofia Hublitz) rescue a mysterious, wounded woman (Shelley Hennig) from a river. The pair soon become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.

RJ Collins and Shelley Hennig join this bite-size episode of the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about Hunting Season, working with Mel Gibson and how you bring a lot of creativity to an action film of this kind.

This is an exciting episode of the Movies In Focus podcast - because I’m not only joined by the mighty Thomas Jane (The Mist, The Punisher, Deep Blue Sea), the star and producer of the new western, Frontier Crucible - but I'm also also speaking to the film’s director, Travis Mills.

Travis Mills embraces the western and delivers an interpretation of the genre that not only looks back to the past, but also takes a punchy modern-day approach that echoes the brutality of S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk.

I’ve been a fan of Thomas Jane’s for nearly thirty years, so it was an absolute privilege to spend time talking to him about Frontier Crucible, his career and film in general. In an equally engaging conversation, I also also spoke to director Travis Mills about the legacy of the western genre and how Frontier Crucible came to be.

The Movies In Focus podcast is approaching its fifth year and hundredth episode - and I have to say that without a doubt, this is one of my favourite episodes.

I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed recording it.