Acclaimed Hong Kong director John Woo made the leap to Hollywood in 1993, commencing a decade-long run of actioners that brought his signature style to America, creating a few genre highlights in the process (including 1997’s “Face/Off”). Woo returned to his homeland to continue his artistic explorations, and now, 20 years later, he’s back in the U.S.A. with “Silent Night,” which doesn’t provide an extreme tonal challenge, retaining all the hardcore violence the helmer is known for. Instead of losing his identity, Woo tries to maintain some solemnity with “Silent Night,” laboring to preserve elements of catastrophe while still maintaining rough stunt work and chaotic gun fights. The screenplay by Robert Archer Lynn has sorrow to share involving one man’s fight for revenge against those who’ve killed his son, and Woo gets to most points of pain in the endeavor, which is an interesting return to the ways of expressionistic filmmaking. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com