Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Synopsis: The mysterious murder of a US senator bearing the distinctive trademark of the legendary Soviet assassin "Cassius," forces Paul Shepherdson, a retired CIA operative, to team with rookie FBI agent, Ben Geary, to solve the crime. Having spent his career chasing Cassius, Shepherdson is convinced his nemesis is long dead, but is pushed to take on the case by his former supervisor, Tom Highland. Meanwhile, Agent Geary, who wrote his Master's thesis on Shepherdson's pursuit of the Soviet killer, is certain that Cassius has resurfaced. As Shepherdson and Geary work their way through crimes both past and present, they discover that Cassius may not be the person they always thought him to be, forcing both to re-examine everything and everyone around them.
Starring: Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Odette Annable, Stana Katic, Martin Sheen, Chris Marquette, Tamer Hassan
Directed by: Michael Brandt
U.S. Rating: PG-13
It's been a while since I watched a good film with Richard Gere, in fact, it's been a while since I watch A film with Richard Gere. The waiting was worth, since The Double showed why Richard Gere is one of the strong and most prestigious actors in Hollywood.
The Double is one of those weird films that you think you know what to expect, since the trailer shows you basically "everything". Paul Shepherdson (Richard Gere), a retired CIA operative works with a rookie FBI agent (Topher Grace) to solve a crime that has been commited by a legendary Soviet assassin. At least, that's what the CIA and the FBI think, but Paul believes they're incorrect, since he believes "Cassius", the legendary Soviet assassin is dead. The plot shows clearly that Richarg Gere is "Cassius" and he's been playing for both sides, as a "Double". Agent Geary has been studying "Cassius" throughout his all young career. He knows him, he knows everything about him, even though, not enough to notice that the person he's been obsessed, is his very own senior companion in this case. Paul (Cassius) feels some simpathy for Geary and tries to keep him away from the case and Cassius, since he knows that if he finds the real Cassius, he won't have any other option but killing him. While Geary gets closer to Cassius, he tries to end his personal mission, a mission that Geary will find with (ironically) Cassius' help. They will finally bring the whole Soviet assassins operation to the end, but everything will turn in a very unexpected way for Cassius and the audience
I think that more than the plot, the film was good because of the cast performace. Having Martin Sheen and Topher Grace working along with Richard Gere, made the film so worth and enjoyable to watch. It is definitely a must-watch thriller at home, a great film for an entertaining weekend at home.
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Directed by: Michael Brandt
U.S. Rating: PG-13
It's been a while since I watched a good film with Richard Gere, in fact, it's been a while since I watch A film with Richard Gere. The waiting was worth, since The Double showed why Richard Gere is one of the strong and most prestigious actors in Hollywood.
The Double is one of those weird films that you think you know what to expect, since the trailer shows you basically "everything". Paul Shepherdson (Richard Gere), a retired CIA operative works with a rookie FBI agent (Topher Grace) to solve a crime that has been commited by a legendary Soviet assassin. At least, that's what the CIA and the FBI think, but Paul believes they're incorrect, since he believes "Cassius", the legendary Soviet assassin is dead. The plot shows clearly that Richarg Gere is "Cassius" and he's been playing for both sides, as a "Double". Agent Geary has been studying "Cassius" throughout his all young career. He knows him, he knows everything about him, even though, not enough to notice that the person he's been obsessed, is his very own senior companion in this case. Paul (Cassius) feels some simpathy for Geary and tries to keep him away from the case and Cassius, since he knows that if he finds the real Cassius, he won't have any other option but killing him. While Geary gets closer to Cassius, he tries to end his personal mission, a mission that Geary will find with (ironically) Cassius' help. They will finally bring the whole Soviet assassins operation to the end, but everything will turn in a very unexpected way for Cassius and the audience
I think that more than the plot, the film was good because of the cast performace. Having Martin Sheen and Topher Grace working along with Richard Gere, made the film so worth and enjoyable to watch. It is definitely a must-watch thriller at home, a great film for an entertaining weekend at home.
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Chris Farraday long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy, botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs, Chris is forced back into doing what he does best -- running contraband -- to settle Andy's debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian, to head to Panama and return with millions in counterfeit bills.
Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate, and sons become their target.
Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate, and sons become their target.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Lukas Haas, Caleb Landry Jones
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
U.S. Rating: R
Mark Wahlberg is a film magnet. He's one of the few Hollywood actors that no matter how good or bad the film might be, he'll always attract film viewers to theaters. Even more, when we add to his performance, an amazing supporting cast like in this particular film, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster & Giovanni Ribisi.
What I actually found interesting is that Contraband felt like when The Italian Job meets with Gone in 60 Seconds. It had a few bites of all these great action films obviously, with some important variants.
Mark Wahlberg play the role of Chris Farraday, an ex-smuggler who's been retired for a while and works installing security alarms. He lives a peaceful life with his BEAUTIFUL wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and their children. Chris' brother-in-law, Andy was smuggling drugs in a cargo ship, but was forced to drop them while trying to escape from the police. Andy's boss, ruthless mobster Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), is infuriated and wants Andy to repay him the drug's worth in money. Tim sends Andy and his friends to the hospital and forces Chris to meet Tim, who threatens to kill Chris' family if Andy doesn't pay $700,000 in two weeks.
Chris knows that the only way to get the money is to do what he was good at, run contraband. He joins the crew of a cargo ship where his father Bud (William Lucking), currently in prison, used to run contraband, in order to smuggle $10,000,000 in fake bills from Panama with the help of Andy and Chris' old friend Danny Raymer. While Chris is gone, he asks his best friend, Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster), to take care of his family, since he knew they'd be in danger. In Panama, even when Chris has put 'the perfect' plan together to get the money and smuggle it into the U.S., things starts spinning really fast in a very bad way. Director Baltasar Kormákur made his best efforts on these events, making the film appealed to viewers with all the action involved in these scenes. While Chris was in Panama, Tim was constantly threatening with rudeness and violence his family. Sebastian has to be constantly protecting them and this situation makes it hard for Kate, who starts getting tired of Sebastian. Under the effect of alcohol, he tries to kiss her and he pushes her against a wall. He panics and thinks he killed her, changing all the situation, now that Chris is on the way back to the U.S.
Sebastian will take some important (and wrong) decisions that will put Chris under more danger. I won't tell you what happend at the end, so you feel motivated to watch it :)
The end is kind of predictable, even though, it has some important unexpected turns on the story that makes it worth to watch the film. A pretty descent action film, even more during these first months of the yeat, when we know Film Studios are just focused on promoting their Oscars nominated films and getting ready for the big Summer season.
I would rate this movie with a 3/5
Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur
U.S. Rating: R
Mark Wahlberg is a film magnet. He's one of the few Hollywood actors that no matter how good or bad the film might be, he'll always attract film viewers to theaters. Even more, when we add to his performance, an amazing supporting cast like in this particular film, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster & Giovanni Ribisi.
What I actually found interesting is that Contraband felt like when The Italian Job meets with Gone in 60 Seconds. It had a few bites of all these great action films obviously, with some important variants.
Mark Wahlberg play the role of Chris Farraday, an ex-smuggler who's been retired for a while and works installing security alarms. He lives a peaceful life with his BEAUTIFUL wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and their children. Chris' brother-in-law, Andy was smuggling drugs in a cargo ship, but was forced to drop them while trying to escape from the police. Andy's boss, ruthless mobster Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), is infuriated and wants Andy to repay him the drug's worth in money. Tim sends Andy and his friends to the hospital and forces Chris to meet Tim, who threatens to kill Chris' family if Andy doesn't pay $700,000 in two weeks.
Chris knows that the only way to get the money is to do what he was good at, run contraband. He joins the crew of a cargo ship where his father Bud (William Lucking), currently in prison, used to run contraband, in order to smuggle $10,000,000 in fake bills from Panama with the help of Andy and Chris' old friend Danny Raymer. While Chris is gone, he asks his best friend, Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster), to take care of his family, since he knew they'd be in danger. In Panama, even when Chris has put 'the perfect' plan together to get the money and smuggle it into the U.S., things starts spinning really fast in a very bad way. Director Baltasar Kormákur made his best efforts on these events, making the film appealed to viewers with all the action involved in these scenes. While Chris was in Panama, Tim was constantly threatening with rudeness and violence his family. Sebastian has to be constantly protecting them and this situation makes it hard for Kate, who starts getting tired of Sebastian. Under the effect of alcohol, he tries to kiss her and he pushes her against a wall. He panics and thinks he killed her, changing all the situation, now that Chris is on the way back to the U.S.
Sebastian will take some important (and wrong) decisions that will put Chris under more danger. I won't tell you what happend at the end, so you feel motivated to watch it :)
The end is kind of predictable, even though, it has some important unexpected turns on the story that makes it worth to watch the film. A pretty descent action film, even more during these first months of the yeat, when we know Film Studios are just focused on promoting their Oscars nominated films and getting ready for the big Summer season.
I would rate this movie with a 3/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Queens native Josh Kovacs has managed one of the most luxurious and well-secured residences in New York City for more than a decade. Under his watchful eye, nothing goes undetected. In the swankiest unit atop Josh's building, Wall Street titan Arthur Shaw is under house arrest after being caught stealing two billion from his investors. The hardest hit among those he defrauded? The tower staffers whose pensions he was entrusted to manage.
With only days before Arthur gets away with the perfect crime, Josh's crew turns to petty crook Slide to plan the nearly impossible…to steal what they are sure is hidden in Arthur's guarded condo. Though amateurs, these rookie thieves know the building better than anyone. Turns out they've been casing the place for years, they just didn't know it.
With only days before Arthur gets away with the perfect crime, Josh's crew turns to petty crook Slide to plan the nearly impossible…to steal what they are sure is hidden in Arthur's guarded condo. Though amateurs, these rookie thieves know the building better than anyone. Turns out they've been casing the place for years, they just didn't know it.
Starring: Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Téa Leoni, Michael Pena,
Directed by: Brett Ratner
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Tower Heist it's like a light, but extremely smart and funny version of Ocean's Eleven. With such a very unorthodox cast, a clever fresh plot and amazing acting performances, the film was ne of the best comedies in 2011.
I think there were at least, a couple of great comebacks on this film. The first and most important one: Eddie Murphy. His comeback couldn't be better, playing the hilarious role of a professional street hustler responsible of teaching the bad habits and techniques to the rest of the amateur team, with such a great and smart sense of humor in this adult comedy. Matthew Broderick had the other great comeback, playing a role of a very insecure man... a looser, but an extremely smart man in finances.
Ben Stiler played also a great and enjoyable role, this time as a smart and professional manager of "The Tower" the most prestigious, luxurious and well-secured residential buildings in New York City. It was good to see Ben Stiller playing a different role this time, as a self-confident professional man, and not the usual insecure and awkward man we've seen in other previous and recent roles.
Tower Heist is the bright and funny side of a smart heist performed by a bunch of amateurs who've never robbed anything in the past, just with the vision and goal of recovering their own money earned with years of honest hard work.
So, what's Tower Heist about? Ben Stiller is Josh Kovacs, the building manager of The Tower, a high-rise luxury apartment complex on Central Park West in New York City whose employees include concierge Charlie, his brother in law; Enrique, an elevator operator; Lester, the doorman nearing retirement; Odessa, a Jamaican maid; and Miss Iovenko, who furtively studies for her bar exam at work.
One morning Josh sees what appears to be a kidnapping of an important tenant, the wealthy businessman Arthur Shaw. When Josh tries to chase the van with the kidnapped tenant and almost catches the van, he is stopped by FBI agent Claire Denham. Denham explains him that Shaw wasn't being kidnapped, he was attempting to flee arrest, accused of running a Ponzi scheme.
Josh is in shock and has to face an important moment, telling the Tower staff about Shaw's arrest and explain them that he gave Shaw their pension fund to invest, and their money is gone. The staff feels the presure of loosing all their money and years o hard work, and even Lester attempted suicide after losing everything he had.
Josh meets FBI Detective Denham and she says Shaw must have had a cash safety net and suggests in jest that he find and steal it. Josh gathers Charlie, Enrique, and former Tower tenant Mr. Fitzhugh to draw up a plan to steal Shaw's money.
Charlie brings up the obvious drawback that they are not thieves, but that doesn't stop Josh. He decides to enlists his neighbor, a petty criminal named Slide. Slide trains the team and tries to get everything in order for the heist, trying to open the safe and steal the 20 million dollars from it.
During the Thanksgiving Parade, the team reaches Shaw's apartment, breaks down a false wall and finds Shaw's safe behind it; Odessa opens the safe but finds it empty. Now, they will have to find where the money is saved and make the important changes on their original plan on the move, to get their money and savings back.
It is actually a fresh and smart comedy with a great plot and a great chemistry among all the performers. The end just made me laugh really hard, since it was totally unexpected, and the way they had to split their part was... unique!
Totally recommended!
I would rate this movie with a 4/5
Directed by: Brett Ratner
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Tower Heist it's like a light, but extremely smart and funny version of Ocean's Eleven. With such a very unorthodox cast, a clever fresh plot and amazing acting performances, the film was ne of the best comedies in 2011.
I think there were at least, a couple of great comebacks on this film. The first and most important one: Eddie Murphy. His comeback couldn't be better, playing the hilarious role of a professional street hustler responsible of teaching the bad habits and techniques to the rest of the amateur team, with such a great and smart sense of humor in this adult comedy. Matthew Broderick had the other great comeback, playing a role of a very insecure man... a looser, but an extremely smart man in finances.
Ben Stiler played also a great and enjoyable role, this time as a smart and professional manager of "The Tower" the most prestigious, luxurious and well-secured residential buildings in New York City. It was good to see Ben Stiller playing a different role this time, as a self-confident professional man, and not the usual insecure and awkward man we've seen in other previous and recent roles.
Tower Heist is the bright and funny side of a smart heist performed by a bunch of amateurs who've never robbed anything in the past, just with the vision and goal of recovering their own money earned with years of honest hard work.
So, what's Tower Heist about? Ben Stiller is Josh Kovacs, the building manager of The Tower, a high-rise luxury apartment complex on Central Park West in New York City whose employees include concierge Charlie, his brother in law; Enrique, an elevator operator; Lester, the doorman nearing retirement; Odessa, a Jamaican maid; and Miss Iovenko, who furtively studies for her bar exam at work.
One morning Josh sees what appears to be a kidnapping of an important tenant, the wealthy businessman Arthur Shaw. When Josh tries to chase the van with the kidnapped tenant and almost catches the van, he is stopped by FBI agent Claire Denham. Denham explains him that Shaw wasn't being kidnapped, he was attempting to flee arrest, accused of running a Ponzi scheme.
Josh is in shock and has to face an important moment, telling the Tower staff about Shaw's arrest and explain them that he gave Shaw their pension fund to invest, and their money is gone. The staff feels the presure of loosing all their money and years o hard work, and even Lester attempted suicide after losing everything he had.
Josh meets FBI Detective Denham and she says Shaw must have had a cash safety net and suggests in jest that he find and steal it. Josh gathers Charlie, Enrique, and former Tower tenant Mr. Fitzhugh to draw up a plan to steal Shaw's money.
Charlie brings up the obvious drawback that they are not thieves, but that doesn't stop Josh. He decides to enlists his neighbor, a petty criminal named Slide. Slide trains the team and tries to get everything in order for the heist, trying to open the safe and steal the 20 million dollars from it.
During the Thanksgiving Parade, the team reaches Shaw's apartment, breaks down a false wall and finds Shaw's safe behind it; Odessa opens the safe but finds it empty. Now, they will have to find where the money is saved and make the important changes on their original plan on the move, to get their money and savings back.
It is actually a fresh and smart comedy with a great plot and a great chemistry among all the performers. The end just made me laugh really hard, since it was totally unexpected, and the way they had to split their part was... unique!
Totally recommended!
I would rate this movie with a 4/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: A group of oil-rig roughnecks are left stranded on the sub-arctic tundra after their plane experiences a complete mechanical failure and crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. The survivors, battling mortal injuries, biting cold and ravenous hunger, are relentlessly hunted and pursued by a vicious pack of rogue wolves.
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo. Nonso Anozie
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
U.S. Rating: R
Director Joe Carnahan reteamed with Liam Neeson to bring one of the most tense survival thrillers I've seen in a very long time. Based in the cold and wild desolated areas of Alaska, this film brings a great photography and an intense story of men trying to survive a plane crash, terrible winter weather and wild animals, in this particular case, wolves.
Liam Neeson has been one of my top favorite actors for a long time. In recent years, he's consolidated his prestigious acting performance and presence in Hollywood with amazing action films and thrillers like Taken, Unknown, Chloe, After.Life or even The A-Team. His acting performance in this tense thriller was superb. In this particular film, his tough "I'm done with all this" attitude towards people and his reality looked a piece of cake for him. He was simply great.
The film, as said before, was extremely tense. A few group of men who survived a plane crash in the middle of nowhere, in the extremely cold winter of Alaska, fighting for their lives to get to a save place, since they were chased and hunted by a pack of wild wolves. It was a bloody film, yes, but not in a disgusting way.
Liam Neeson plays the role of John Ottway, a quiet man who works in Alaska killing the wolves that threaten an oil drilling team. On his last day on the job, Ottway pens a letter to his wife Ana and plans to commit suicide. While holding his gun to his mouth, however, Ottway hears the howl of a wolf, which stops him.
Ottway and the oil drilling team head home on a plane, but it crashes in a heavy blizzard. Ottway sees a vision of his wife but suddenly awakens to find himself in the middle of this cold, white desert, with an horrific image of the plane completely destroyed, on fire and dead people all over the place.
After finding a few survivals, Ottway assumes leadership of the group and sets the survivors to task collecting material for a fire. While Ottway is searching for wood, he's attacked by a gray wolf. He is quickly rescued by the others and explains that they are most likely standing in the wolves' territory and are unwelcome. From this moment on, he knows they're in extremely danger and they need to do whatever it takes to find a safe place. Ottway and the remaining survivors continue on and make camp in the woods, being followed and in some cases, attacked by this wild pack of wolves.
Further in their travels, the dwindling survivors come across a high canyon wall within which, screened by trees, they identify a river and a possible route of escape. They have to face more difficulties and accidents on the way, leaving some other survivals on the way.
At the end, Ottway (being the only survival left) finds himself surrounded by the pack of wolves, leading Ottway to discover that he has walked right into their den. He is soon spotted by the alpha male and the other pack members back off. Ottway is all by himself, to fight for his life against the alpha male, and maybe, be able to keep his journey back home.
Definitely a great film to watch, totally recommended.
I would rate this movie with a 4/5
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
U.S. Rating: R
Director Joe Carnahan reteamed with Liam Neeson to bring one of the most tense survival thrillers I've seen in a very long time. Based in the cold and wild desolated areas of Alaska, this film brings a great photography and an intense story of men trying to survive a plane crash, terrible winter weather and wild animals, in this particular case, wolves.
Liam Neeson has been one of my top favorite actors for a long time. In recent years, he's consolidated his prestigious acting performance and presence in Hollywood with amazing action films and thrillers like Taken, Unknown, Chloe, After.Life or even The A-Team. His acting performance in this tense thriller was superb. In this particular film, his tough "I'm done with all this" attitude towards people and his reality looked a piece of cake for him. He was simply great.
The film, as said before, was extremely tense. A few group of men who survived a plane crash in the middle of nowhere, in the extremely cold winter of Alaska, fighting for their lives to get to a save place, since they were chased and hunted by a pack of wild wolves. It was a bloody film, yes, but not in a disgusting way.
Liam Neeson plays the role of John Ottway, a quiet man who works in Alaska killing the wolves that threaten an oil drilling team. On his last day on the job, Ottway pens a letter to his wife Ana and plans to commit suicide. While holding his gun to his mouth, however, Ottway hears the howl of a wolf, which stops him.
Ottway and the oil drilling team head home on a plane, but it crashes in a heavy blizzard. Ottway sees a vision of his wife but suddenly awakens to find himself in the middle of this cold, white desert, with an horrific image of the plane completely destroyed, on fire and dead people all over the place.
After finding a few survivals, Ottway assumes leadership of the group and sets the survivors to task collecting material for a fire. While Ottway is searching for wood, he's attacked by a gray wolf. He is quickly rescued by the others and explains that they are most likely standing in the wolves' territory and are unwelcome. From this moment on, he knows they're in extremely danger and they need to do whatever it takes to find a safe place. Ottway and the remaining survivors continue on and make camp in the woods, being followed and in some cases, attacked by this wild pack of wolves.
Further in their travels, the dwindling survivors come across a high canyon wall within which, screened by trees, they identify a river and a possible route of escape. They have to face more difficulties and accidents on the way, leaving some other survivals on the way.
At the end, Ottway (being the only survival left) finds himself surrounded by the pack of wolves, leading Ottway to discover that he has walked right into their den. He is soon spotted by the alpha male and the other pack members back off. Ottway is all by himself, to fight for his life against the alpha male, and maybe, be able to keep his journey back home.
Definitely a great film to watch, totally recommended.
I would rate this movie with a 4/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Nick Cassidy makes a desperate and life-threatening move to prove his innocence after he is framed for the theft of a rare, prized diamond. Recently escaped from prison and with nowhere else to go, Nick climbs onto the ledge of a towering skyscraper, inviting the eyes of New York City to anxiously watch as one wrong step could mean plunging to his death. But as one police negotiator soon learns, Nick's daredevil stunt, captivating the eyes of the public and media, masks a dangerous ploy to reveal the truth about his tarnished name.With the help of his brother and with time running out, Nick's intricate plan must work perfectly, but when you’re on the 25th floor ledge of a building, going down takes on an entirely more hair-raising meaning.
Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, Titus Welliver
Directed by: Asger Leth
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Man On A Ledge was one of those great thrillers that left me with a sour taste on my mouth at the end of the film. It was one of those really entertaining thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the 90 minutes, and at the end you ask yourself... Hey! What the heck did just happen?! Yes, but maybe that was just my personal experience.
Man On A Ledge gathered such a great cast, a pretty interesting "heist/thriller" plot, a decent direction, but a horrible ending.
Sam Worthington plays the role of Nick Cassidy, an ex-policeman arrested and convicted to 25 years in prison for stealing a $40 million diamond from businessman David Englander (Ed Harris). Nick Cassidy is innocent, and will do anything to prove it. While being in jail, he's informed that his father has died and attends his funeral while being in custody. After a confusing situation with his younger brother and the police, Nick neutralizes the custody agents and escapes.
Later on, he checks in at the Roosevelt Hotel under the false name of Walker, goes to his hotel room at the top floor, and climbs on the ledge, apparently ready to commit suicide. The crowd below sees him and calls the police. After isolating the area, Agent Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns) tries to talk with Nick. However, he says he will only speak to negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), who is on a leave of absence after failing to convince a depressed policeman not to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge a month earlier. Nick knows her work and determination, and he's decided to use her on his plan.
Lydia and Jack have no idea of who Nick (alias Mr. Walker) is, his past or something that could lead them to the real reason of his dangerous decision of possibly jump and take his life. Lydia is able to get Nick's fingertips. They will soon discover that Nick is an ex-policeman who was arrested for the well-known case of stealing a $40 million diamond from businessman David Englander. Nick, however, constantly says he is innocent and tries to convince Lydia that Englander used to employ cops to protect his multi-floor jewelry business. He told her that one day, while Nick was on duty, he was knocked unconscious by two men in ski masks and awakened to find out Englander had framed him for stealing the diamond in order to get the insurance money, as he had lost his fortune during the stock market crisis.
Everyone thinks that Nick is playing them just to get attention, but the truth is that Nick is merely distracting them while his brother Joey and Joey's girlfriend Angie break into Englander's upper floor jewelry vault in the building across the street to steal the diamond and prove Nick's innocence.
Agents Dante Marcus and Mike Ackerman are involved with David Englander, providing him protection. Lydia is informed about this situation and knows that Nick is in danger if he's finally captured. Nick and his brother are caught and taken to the roof of Englander's building to face Englander. Englander recovers the diamond previously stoled by his brother and leaves the scene. Lydia save them and in a very risky move, Nick gets to Englander, who has already left the building. At the end, Nick is able to demonstrate he is innocent, but as said before, after going through a very entertaining and edgy thriller with ups and downs throughout the whole film, they just end it with a pretty lame end.
I must say that I'm very pleased with Elizabeth Bank's performance. She's one of those actresses that has been improving her presence and acting performance, getting important roles in relevant films. Sam Worthington also played a pretty decent role in this film, making a great combination.
I would rate this movie with a 3/5
Directed by: Asger Leth
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Man On A Ledge was one of those great thrillers that left me with a sour taste on my mouth at the end of the film. It was one of those really entertaining thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the 90 minutes, and at the end you ask yourself... Hey! What the heck did just happen?! Yes, but maybe that was just my personal experience.
Man On A Ledge gathered such a great cast, a pretty interesting "heist/thriller" plot, a decent direction, but a horrible ending.
Sam Worthington plays the role of Nick Cassidy, an ex-policeman arrested and convicted to 25 years in prison for stealing a $40 million diamond from businessman David Englander (Ed Harris). Nick Cassidy is innocent, and will do anything to prove it. While being in jail, he's informed that his father has died and attends his funeral while being in custody. After a confusing situation with his younger brother and the police, Nick neutralizes the custody agents and escapes.
Later on, he checks in at the Roosevelt Hotel under the false name of Walker, goes to his hotel room at the top floor, and climbs on the ledge, apparently ready to commit suicide. The crowd below sees him and calls the police. After isolating the area, Agent Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns) tries to talk with Nick. However, he says he will only speak to negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks), who is on a leave of absence after failing to convince a depressed policeman not to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge a month earlier. Nick knows her work and determination, and he's decided to use her on his plan.
Lydia and Jack have no idea of who Nick (alias Mr. Walker) is, his past or something that could lead them to the real reason of his dangerous decision of possibly jump and take his life. Lydia is able to get Nick's fingertips. They will soon discover that Nick is an ex-policeman who was arrested for the well-known case of stealing a $40 million diamond from businessman David Englander. Nick, however, constantly says he is innocent and tries to convince Lydia that Englander used to employ cops to protect his multi-floor jewelry business. He told her that one day, while Nick was on duty, he was knocked unconscious by two men in ski masks and awakened to find out Englander had framed him for stealing the diamond in order to get the insurance money, as he had lost his fortune during the stock market crisis.
Everyone thinks that Nick is playing them just to get attention, but the truth is that Nick is merely distracting them while his brother Joey and Joey's girlfriend Angie break into Englander's upper floor jewelry vault in the building across the street to steal the diamond and prove Nick's innocence.
Agents Dante Marcus and Mike Ackerman are involved with David Englander, providing him protection. Lydia is informed about this situation and knows that Nick is in danger if he's finally captured. Nick and his brother are caught and taken to the roof of Englander's building to face Englander. Englander recovers the diamond previously stoled by his brother and leaves the scene. Lydia save them and in a very risky move, Nick gets to Englander, who has already left the building. At the end, Nick is able to demonstrate he is innocent, but as said before, after going through a very entertaining and edgy thriller with ups and downs throughout the whole film, they just end it with a pretty lame end.
I must say that I'm very pleased with Elizabeth Bank's performance. She's one of those actresses that has been improving her presence and acting performance, getting important roles in relevant films. Sam Worthington also played a pretty decent role in this film, making a great combination.
I would rate this movie with a 3/5
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Synopsis: For the past year, Matt Weston has been frustrated by his inactive, backwater post in Cape Town. A "housekeeper" who aspires to be a full-fledged agent, the loyal company man has been waiting for an opportunity to prove himself. When the first and only occupant he's had proves to be the most dangerous man he's ever met, Weston readies for duty.
Tobin Frost has eluded capture for almost a decade. One of the best ops men that the CIA's known, the ex-intelligence officer has given up assets and sold military intel to anyone with cash since he turned. From trading secrets to North Korea to aiding splinter cells, the damage he's done to the U.S. is immeasurable. And he's now back on the reservation with a secret.
As soon as Frost is brought in for debriefing, mercenaries come and tear apart Weston's safe house. Barely escaping, the unlikely partners must discover if their attackers have been sent by terrorists or someone on the inside who will kill anyone standing in the way. Now it's up to Weston to figure out who he can trust before they're both eliminated from the game.
Tobin Frost has eluded capture for almost a decade. One of the best ops men that the CIA's known, the ex-intelligence officer has given up assets and sold military intel to anyone with cash since he turned. From trading secrets to North Korea to aiding splinter cells, the damage he's done to the U.S. is immeasurable. And he's now back on the reservation with a secret.
As soon as Frost is brought in for debriefing, mercenaries come and tear apart Weston's safe house. Barely escaping, the unlikely partners must discover if their attackers have been sent by terrorists or someone on the inside who will kill anyone standing in the way. Now it's up to Weston to figure out who he can trust before they're both eliminated from the game.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Vera Farmiga, Fares Fares, Ruben Blades
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
U.S. Rating: R
Denzel Washington comes back again to the big screen to deliver the exceptional acting performance we love and enjoy, this time, with the supporting role of Ryan Reynolds and a unique cast to make of this, a thrilling action film.
Denzel Washington is Tobin Frost, an ex-CIA agent that has become and considered an international criminal by the CIA after trading top-secret information with other agent from the MI6. All this information (detailing the criminal activities of several worldwide intelligence agents) is contained in a micro-chip, but soon after he gets this valuable information, he's chased and attacked by a mercenary team. When he's in the run and notices he's about to be caught by this team, he forces himself to enter into an American consulate and identify himself. As soon as he's identified, he is moved to a CIA safe house in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ryan Reynolds plays the role of Matt Weston, a low-level CIA agent who works as The "housekeeper" of this Safe House. He's been trying to move up in the agency, trying to get another job or location, since he's literally doing absolutely nothing on this place. When an elite team brings Tobin Frost to the Safe House, Matt Weston watches Frost's interrogation. Soon they'll notice that the Safe House has been compromised and the same mercenary team that was chasing him earlier that day, attack the house. Weston as responsible of the "guests" of the Safe House, escapes with Frost captive. Weston contacts his mentor, David Barlow, and Catherine Linkater at CIA headquarters to get instructions, and they recommend him to stay low until he gets further instructions.
Weston hides with Frost and gets the instructions of getting Frost to another Safe House. Weston and Frost go to Cape Town Stadium to retrieve a GPS device with the location of this new safe house, but Frost creates a diversion and escapes by disguising himself as a policeman. Weston, detained by the police, escapes but can't catch Frost, who escapes.
Weston is ordered to go to the nearest American embassy for debriefing. Instead he decides to locate the house of Frost's contact, Carlos Villar (played by one of my TOP Salsa singers of all time... Rubén Blades), where Frost is attacked by the mercenary team, but escapes with Weston's help. Weston gets more information about this mercenary team and its boss, Vargas, who works for the CIA and is trying to recover the micro-chip and information held by Frost.
They decide to work together, going to the new Safe House and bring all the mercenary team, the CIA top agents behind this team and most important, bring this information to the public attention.
Director Daniel Espinosa works for the first time with Denzel Washington on this intense action film, taking a little bit of other similar action films and mix them into a pretty decent thriller.
The film, from my personal point of view, lacks of some background information about the characters involved in this film. That didn't help us (at least me) to get more into the characters and get more from them and the story. Obviously, it might be the reason why they put all the effort on all the action scenes (car chasing, houses attacks, etc) and keep our attention.
Definitely a pretty decent action film... Hey! Denzel Washington! what else can you ask for? Totally recommended for a good night at the cinema (or movie night at home when it comes out on DVD/Blu Ray).
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
U.S. Rating: R
Denzel Washington comes back again to the big screen to deliver the exceptional acting performance we love and enjoy, this time, with the supporting role of Ryan Reynolds and a unique cast to make of this, a thrilling action film.
Denzel Washington is Tobin Frost, an ex-CIA agent that has become and considered an international criminal by the CIA after trading top-secret information with other agent from the MI6. All this information (detailing the criminal activities of several worldwide intelligence agents) is contained in a micro-chip, but soon after he gets this valuable information, he's chased and attacked by a mercenary team. When he's in the run and notices he's about to be caught by this team, he forces himself to enter into an American consulate and identify himself. As soon as he's identified, he is moved to a CIA safe house in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ryan Reynolds plays the role of Matt Weston, a low-level CIA agent who works as The "housekeeper" of this Safe House. He's been trying to move up in the agency, trying to get another job or location, since he's literally doing absolutely nothing on this place. When an elite team brings Tobin Frost to the Safe House, Matt Weston watches Frost's interrogation. Soon they'll notice that the Safe House has been compromised and the same mercenary team that was chasing him earlier that day, attack the house. Weston as responsible of the "guests" of the Safe House, escapes with Frost captive. Weston contacts his mentor, David Barlow, and Catherine Linkater at CIA headquarters to get instructions, and they recommend him to stay low until he gets further instructions.
Weston hides with Frost and gets the instructions of getting Frost to another Safe House. Weston and Frost go to Cape Town Stadium to retrieve a GPS device with the location of this new safe house, but Frost creates a diversion and escapes by disguising himself as a policeman. Weston, detained by the police, escapes but can't catch Frost, who escapes.
Weston is ordered to go to the nearest American embassy for debriefing. Instead he decides to locate the house of Frost's contact, Carlos Villar (played by one of my TOP Salsa singers of all time... Rubén Blades), where Frost is attacked by the mercenary team, but escapes with Weston's help. Weston gets more information about this mercenary team and its boss, Vargas, who works for the CIA and is trying to recover the micro-chip and information held by Frost.
They decide to work together, going to the new Safe House and bring all the mercenary team, the CIA top agents behind this team and most important, bring this information to the public attention.
Director Daniel Espinosa works for the first time with Denzel Washington on this intense action film, taking a little bit of other similar action films and mix them into a pretty decent thriller.
The film, from my personal point of view, lacks of some background information about the characters involved in this film. That didn't help us (at least me) to get more into the characters and get more from them and the story. Obviously, it might be the reason why they put all the effort on all the action scenes (car chasing, houses attacks, etc) and keep our attention.
Definitely a pretty decent action film... Hey! Denzel Washington! what else can you ask for? Totally recommended for a good night at the cinema (or movie night at home when it comes out on DVD/Blu Ray).
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Mallory Kane is a highly trained operative who works for a government security contractor in the dirtiest, most dangerous corners of the world. After successfully freeing a Chinese journalist held hostage, she is double crossed and left for dead by someone close to her in her own agency. Suddenly the target of skilled assassins who know her every move, Mallory must find the truth in order to stay alive. Using her black-ops military training, she devises an ingenious - and dangerous - trap. But when things go haywire, Mallory realizes she'll be killed in the blink of an eye unless she finds a way to turn the tables on her ruthless adversary.
Starring: Gina Carano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Bill Paxton, Michael Fassbender, Michael Angarano
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
U.S. Rating: R
The first time I saw the official trailer for Haywire, I had mixed thoughts. First, I believed it looked like a pretty good action film but, in the other way, I didn't think it could be that good having the lead role perfomed by someone that is not an actress, but a mixed Martial Arts champ and former American Gladiator, Gina Carano. The cast looked pretty impressive, having Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Michael Angarano, among others, but I was convinced Gina wouldn't deliver the acting performance expected for a thriller like this one, directed by one of my favorite directors.
My fears inmediately disappeared after watching the first scene. I mean, she wasn't Meryl Streep! Right? Or at least at the same acting performance level Angelina Jolie delivered in Salt, but at least, I can say that it was entertaining and far from being a cheap acting performance. I think that Steven Soderbergh knew it and did a great job on his direction and most important, the supporting cast helped the film to be really enjoyable.
One thing I must say, even though, the plot didn't leave any open door leading the idea of a future sequel, I would ask director Steven Soderbergh to leave Mallory Kane, her special skills, training and secret works end with this film. I believe it wasn't a strong film to lead a future sequel. Salt was an amazing plot that was actually prepared to have a future sequel, performed by a lead role with a fantastic acting performance experience in action roles also.
In case you're planning to watch the film and want to know more about it, here's the plot:
The film starts when Mallory Kane enters a diner in Upstate New York, sits and just waits. Few minutes later, Aaron arrives and joins her. After a short conversation about their employer, Aaron orders Mallory to get in his car. She refuses, and they fight, with Aaron nearly capturing Mallory before the intervention of Scott, a customer in the diner, allows Mallory to break Aaron's arm, knock him unconscious, and escape with Scott in Scott's car.
Mallory tells Scott that both she and Aaron are contractors with a private firm that is employed by the American government for covert operation assignments. One week before, at a meeting among government agent Coblenz, his contact, Rodrigo, and the firm's director (and Mallory's ex-boyfriend) Kenneth, the firm was hired to rescue Jiang, who is being held in Barcelona. Mallory and her team, which includes Aaron, succeed in rescuing Jiang and delivering him to Rodrigo.
Shortly thereafter, Mallory is approached by Kenneth, who insists she undertake what he claims is an easy assignment: pose as the wife of British agent Paul during a mission in Dublin. Mallory agrees and accompanies Paul to a party at Russborough House, where they meet with his contact, Studer (Mathieu Kassovitz). Paul meets with Studer again as Mallory watches from afar. She sees Paul go into a barn, and after he leaves she enters it to find Jiang dead, clutching in his hand a brooch which Kenneth required her to wear as a recognition signal for her initial contact with Paul.
Mallory realizes she has been set up and returns to her hotel room, where she is attacked by Paul. They fight, Mallory gets the upper hand and shoots Paul dead. Mallory calls Kenneth from Paul's phone. As Kenneth picks up the phone, he asks "is the divorce final?" Mallory doesn't answer, and Kenneth realizes that Mallory is still alive and now knows about the set-up. As Mallory leaves her hotel, a SWAT team appears to arrest her but she escapes after a chase, and manages to enter the United States and reach the diner, where she meets Scott.
Mallory calls Coblenz who tells her that he has had suspicions about Kenneth for some time. Coblenz then contacts Kenneth and tells him to inform Mallory's father, John Kane (who already knows of his daughter's occupation), of her crimes. Meanwhile, on the road, Mallory and Scott are chased by the police and hit a tree after a deer runs into Scott's car. They are both arrested, but soon the convoy is ambushed by assassins sent by Kenneth. Mallory escapes, kills the assassins, and releases Scott. She gives him a number to call for protection and leaves to meet with her father.
Mallory reaches her father's house in New Mexico before Kenneth, Aaron, and two additional men arrive to interrogate John on his daughter's whereabouts. Aaron starts to realize that Mallory might have been set up and tries to press Kenneth for the truth, but Kenneth kills Aaron as Mallory takes out Kenneth's men.
Mallory chases Kenneth, but he escapes. The following day Mallory meets with Coblenz, who reveals that he ordered Kenneth to contact Mallory's father so she could kill him there. Mallory asks Coblenz to fix things with Scott, which he promises to do. Coblens also informs Mallory of Kenneth's location. Before Mallory leaves, Coblenz offers her a government job but she replies only that she'll let him know, after she finds Kenneth.
In Mexico, Mallory confronts Kenneth at the beach and they fight. Kenneth tries to escape, but gets his foot jammed between two rocks. Kenneth reveals that Jiang was a journalist who had written a series of articles exposing Studer's crimes. Knowing that Mallory planned to leave his firm, Kenneth arranged for her to rescue Jiang and deliver him to Rodrigo, who then delivered him to Studer, who killed him. Kenneth then framed Mallory, planning to cut all ties that could lead to him by convincing Paul that Mallory was a double agent whom he should kill. Mallory leaves Kenneth to drown in the incoming tide for his betrayal.
Rodrigo is enjoying his "retirement" in Majorca. After his female companion is called away, Mallory descends onto the balcony behind him. When Rodrigo sees Mallory, his response is simply, "Shit", and the film ends.
I would rate this movie with a 2.5/5
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
U.S. Rating: R
The first time I saw the official trailer for Haywire, I had mixed thoughts. First, I believed it looked like a pretty good action film but, in the other way, I didn't think it could be that good having the lead role perfomed by someone that is not an actress, but a mixed Martial Arts champ and former American Gladiator, Gina Carano. The cast looked pretty impressive, having Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Michael Angarano, among others, but I was convinced Gina wouldn't deliver the acting performance expected for a thriller like this one, directed by one of my favorite directors.
My fears inmediately disappeared after watching the first scene. I mean, she wasn't Meryl Streep! Right? Or at least at the same acting performance level Angelina Jolie delivered in Salt, but at least, I can say that it was entertaining and far from being a cheap acting performance. I think that Steven Soderbergh knew it and did a great job on his direction and most important, the supporting cast helped the film to be really enjoyable.
One thing I must say, even though, the plot didn't leave any open door leading the idea of a future sequel, I would ask director Steven Soderbergh to leave Mallory Kane, her special skills, training and secret works end with this film. I believe it wasn't a strong film to lead a future sequel. Salt was an amazing plot that was actually prepared to have a future sequel, performed by a lead role with a fantastic acting performance experience in action roles also.
In case you're planning to watch the film and want to know more about it, here's the plot:
The film starts when Mallory Kane enters a diner in Upstate New York, sits and just waits. Few minutes later, Aaron arrives and joins her. After a short conversation about their employer, Aaron orders Mallory to get in his car. She refuses, and they fight, with Aaron nearly capturing Mallory before the intervention of Scott, a customer in the diner, allows Mallory to break Aaron's arm, knock him unconscious, and escape with Scott in Scott's car.
Mallory tells Scott that both she and Aaron are contractors with a private firm that is employed by the American government for covert operation assignments. One week before, at a meeting among government agent Coblenz, his contact, Rodrigo, and the firm's director (and Mallory's ex-boyfriend) Kenneth, the firm was hired to rescue Jiang, who is being held in Barcelona. Mallory and her team, which includes Aaron, succeed in rescuing Jiang and delivering him to Rodrigo.
Shortly thereafter, Mallory is approached by Kenneth, who insists she undertake what he claims is an easy assignment: pose as the wife of British agent Paul during a mission in Dublin. Mallory agrees and accompanies Paul to a party at Russborough House, where they meet with his contact, Studer (Mathieu Kassovitz). Paul meets with Studer again as Mallory watches from afar. She sees Paul go into a barn, and after he leaves she enters it to find Jiang dead, clutching in his hand a brooch which Kenneth required her to wear as a recognition signal for her initial contact with Paul.
Mallory realizes she has been set up and returns to her hotel room, where she is attacked by Paul. They fight, Mallory gets the upper hand and shoots Paul dead. Mallory calls Kenneth from Paul's phone. As Kenneth picks up the phone, he asks "is the divorce final?" Mallory doesn't answer, and Kenneth realizes that Mallory is still alive and now knows about the set-up. As Mallory leaves her hotel, a SWAT team appears to arrest her but she escapes after a chase, and manages to enter the United States and reach the diner, where she meets Scott.
Mallory calls Coblenz who tells her that he has had suspicions about Kenneth for some time. Coblenz then contacts Kenneth and tells him to inform Mallory's father, John Kane (who already knows of his daughter's occupation), of her crimes. Meanwhile, on the road, Mallory and Scott are chased by the police and hit a tree after a deer runs into Scott's car. They are both arrested, but soon the convoy is ambushed by assassins sent by Kenneth. Mallory escapes, kills the assassins, and releases Scott. She gives him a number to call for protection and leaves to meet with her father.
Mallory reaches her father's house in New Mexico before Kenneth, Aaron, and two additional men arrive to interrogate John on his daughter's whereabouts. Aaron starts to realize that Mallory might have been set up and tries to press Kenneth for the truth, but Kenneth kills Aaron as Mallory takes out Kenneth's men.
Mallory chases Kenneth, but he escapes. The following day Mallory meets with Coblenz, who reveals that he ordered Kenneth to contact Mallory's father so she could kill him there. Mallory asks Coblenz to fix things with Scott, which he promises to do. Coblens also informs Mallory of Kenneth's location. Before Mallory leaves, Coblenz offers her a government job but she replies only that she'll let him know, after she finds Kenneth.
In Mexico, Mallory confronts Kenneth at the beach and they fight. Kenneth tries to escape, but gets his foot jammed between two rocks. Kenneth reveals that Jiang was a journalist who had written a series of articles exposing Studer's crimes. Knowing that Mallory planned to leave his firm, Kenneth arranged for her to rescue Jiang and deliver him to Rodrigo, who then delivered him to Studer, who killed him. Kenneth then framed Mallory, planning to cut all ties that could lead to him by convincing Paul that Mallory was a double agent whom he should kill. Mallory leaves Kenneth to drown in the incoming tide for his betrayal.
Rodrigo is enjoying his "retirement" in Majorca. After his female companion is called away, Mallory descends onto the balcony behind him. When Rodrigo sees Mallory, his response is simply, "Shit", and the film ends.
Source: Wikipedia
I would rate this movie with a 2.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Los Angeles S.W.A.T. officer, Lt. Paul Cutler, is sent to train the Detroit S.W.A.T. team on new anti-terrorism and homeland security techniques. Cutler has a hard time settling into his assignment as he locks horns with his new captain and encounters resistance from the team he must lead. Cutler begins to adjust to his new assignment, starting a budding romance with police psychologist Kim Byers along the way. Unexpectedly, a routine hostage call turns deadly, and a relentless ex-government agent named Walter Hatch vows revenge on Cutler and the entire S.W.A.T. team for killing the woman he loves. Cutler must use his considerable S.W.A.T. training and knowledge to save his teammates and defeat a trained killer.
Starring: Gabriel Macht, Kristanna Loken, Carly Pope, Robert Patrick, Giancarlo Esposito
Directed by: Benny Boom
U.S. Rating: R
So... What did happen here? S.W.A.T.: Firefight has been the movie trailer most watched in 35mmReviews, but I never wrote a review for the film! I never thought everyone would be so interested on this second film that never made it to the big screen, since it was released straight to DVD in early 2011.
Anyway, if you're a big fan of the original S.W.A.T. film with Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Ferrell, and you were expecting it to be kind of a sequel, you're simply wrong. This film has nothing to do with the original one from 2003. I really enjoyed S.W.A.T. with Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Ferrell (even though, I think he's a lousy actor). It was a pretty good action-packed film with a really entertaining plot and an amazing cast. In the case of the new S.W.A.T.: Firefight, I must say I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was, actually. After knowing it would be released straight to DVD, I thought it wouldn't be a film worth to watch, but after seeing the stats going up, and up, and up every week for the trailer posted on this blog, I was intrigued about the film. I took the step forward and had the chance to watch the film and I must say I was pleased and entertained with the film. I think the script had a huge potencial to be a pretty amazing action film, but the director/producer didn't take the opportunity to exploit the plot. The film catches your attention from the very first scene, even though, it gets a little bit boring after the first half, and that's when I think they didn't exploit the best of the plot. Having a dangerous criminal looking for personal revenge and he's able to steal the personal tactics and training operations book from one of the S.W.A.T. team members, I would have expected that this criminal could use that knowledge against the team and team leader, but they lack of good material at the end of the film, not taking advantage of this particular scene on the film. No matter the final turn on the film, as said before, S.W.A.T.: Firefight was surprisingly entertaining, with some good action scenes, a pretty strong acting performance, especially from the lead role, Gabriel Macht.
It is definitely a good film option for a good weekend at home.
I would rate this movie with a 3/5
Directed by: Benny Boom
U.S. Rating: R
So... What did happen here? S.W.A.T.: Firefight has been the movie trailer most watched in 35mmReviews, but I never wrote a review for the film! I never thought everyone would be so interested on this second film that never made it to the big screen, since it was released straight to DVD in early 2011.
Anyway, if you're a big fan of the original S.W.A.T. film with Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Ferrell, and you were expecting it to be kind of a sequel, you're simply wrong. This film has nothing to do with the original one from 2003. I really enjoyed S.W.A.T. with Samuel L. Jackson and Colin Ferrell (even though, I think he's a lousy actor). It was a pretty good action-packed film with a really entertaining plot and an amazing cast. In the case of the new S.W.A.T.: Firefight, I must say I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was, actually. After knowing it would be released straight to DVD, I thought it wouldn't be a film worth to watch, but after seeing the stats going up, and up, and up every week for the trailer posted on this blog, I was intrigued about the film. I took the step forward and had the chance to watch the film and I must say I was pleased and entertained with the film. I think the script had a huge potencial to be a pretty amazing action film, but the director/producer didn't take the opportunity to exploit the plot. The film catches your attention from the very first scene, even though, it gets a little bit boring after the first half, and that's when I think they didn't exploit the best of the plot. Having a dangerous criminal looking for personal revenge and he's able to steal the personal tactics and training operations book from one of the S.W.A.T. team members, I would have expected that this criminal could use that knowledge against the team and team leader, but they lack of good material at the end of the film, not taking advantage of this particular scene on the film. No matter the final turn on the film, as said before, S.W.A.T.: Firefight was surprisingly entertaining, with some good action scenes, a pretty strong acting performance, especially from the lead role, Gabriel Macht.
It is definitely a good film option for a good weekend at home.
I would rate this movie with a 3/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: In the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Kevin Durand, Anthony Mackie, Evangeline Lilly
Directed by: Shawn Levy
U.S. Rating: PG-13
One of the great films released in 2011 was Real Steel. Probably it wasn't one of the most remarkable ones, but it was actually pretty good and entertaining. The interesting thing about this film is that it brings such a unique plot, but the main story is not about the whole boxing robots, far from it, but the special relationship between a dad and his little son.
It is not a surprise that Hugh Jackman delivered such a great performance, but this film was definitely all about Dakota Goyo, the little boy playing Hugh's on in this film. The charisma shown by this little guy made the whole film deserved to watch.
Real Steel is focused in year 2020. Humans have been replaced by robots in boxing. Charlie Kenton is a former boxer who owns such a robot, Ambush, competing in unsanctioned matches and in exhibitions with it. At a rural fair, Ambush is destroyed by Black Thunder, a bull belonging to promoter Ricky. Having made a bet that Ambush would win, Charlie now owes Ricky $20,000, which he doesn't pay before leaving.
Charlie is informed his ex-girlfriend has died, and that he must attend a hearing to decide the fate of his preteen son Max. Max's wealthy aunt Debra and uncle Marvin want full custody, which Charlie gives them in exchange for $100,000, half in advance, on the condition that Charlie take care of Max for three months while the couple are away on a second honeymoon.
Charlie and Max meet with Charlie's childhood friend Bailey Tallet, who runs the boxing gym of her deceased father, Charlie's old coach. There, Charlie buys a secondhand World Robot Boxing league (WRB) robot, the once-famous Noisy Boy, and arranges for it to fight the illegal circuit's champion, Midas, at a venue belonging to his friend Finn. Partly due to both his inexperience with Noisy Boy's combinations and his overconfidence, Charlie ends up losing control of Noisy Boy and Midas destroys it.
Charlie breaks into a junkyard with Max to steal scraps that he can use to put a new robot together. There, Max falls over a ledge, where he is saved from doom by getting snagged on the arm of a buried robot. After Charlie pulls Max back up, Max digs out the entire robot, called Atom. On Max's insistence, Charlie takes it back to Bailey's gym, where they discover Atom is an obsolete Generation-2 sparring bot built in 2014. Atom has been designed to sustain massive damage, but is unable to deal much damage itself. Partly due to both Max's insistence and Charlie needing money, the duo takes Atom to fight an unsanctioned outdoor match against a robot called Metro, and Atom wins, earning back some of Charlie's money.
Max later upgrades it to take vocal commands using spare parts from Noisy Boy and Ambush and successfully convinces Charlie to train the robot. Atom's string of subsequent wins and high-speed maneuvers, which were rarely seen from a robot, attracts the attention of a promoter from WRB, who offers Atom a professional fight against a robot called Twin Cities. Charlie accepts, and Atom wins again, thanks to Charlie's boxing experience allowing him to locate and take advantage of a small tell in Twin Cities' punch. Revelling in their subsequent novelty attention, Max challenges WRB champion Zeus, designed by genius Tak Mashido (Karl Yune) and sponsored by wealthy Farra Lemcova (Olga Fonda), who before the match tried to buy the upstart Atom.
As Max and Charlie leave after the Twin Cities fight, Ricky and his men attack them, and steal their winnings. Feeling guilty, Charlie returns Max to his aunt and uncle, feeling Max will be safer with them, but Bailey convinces him that he can be a better father. Debra allows Charlie to take Max out for one last night, to the Zeus-Atom match. Zeus severely damages Atom while also getting injured, a first for Zeus. Ricky, who had bet Finn $100,000 that Atom would not last the first round, tries to slip away, but is cornered by Finn and his colleagues. In the fourth round of the five-round match, Atom's vocal receptors are damaged, and Atom must fight the last round in shadow-boxing mode, copying Charlie's moves from the aisle. Zeus, now controlled manually by a furious Mashido, expends energy on trashing the defensive Atom, running low on power and turning sluggish as a result. Atom then begins to pummel Zeus, even knocking the seemingly invincible champion down once, but not winning before the round ends. The judges declare Zeus the winner on points, but that robot's reputation is tarnished, and Atom has become famous as the "People's Champion".
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Directed by: Shawn Levy
U.S. Rating: PG-13
One of the great films released in 2011 was Real Steel. Probably it wasn't one of the most remarkable ones, but it was actually pretty good and entertaining. The interesting thing about this film is that it brings such a unique plot, but the main story is not about the whole boxing robots, far from it, but the special relationship between a dad and his little son.
It is not a surprise that Hugh Jackman delivered such a great performance, but this film was definitely all about Dakota Goyo, the little boy playing Hugh's on in this film. The charisma shown by this little guy made the whole film deserved to watch.
Real Steel is focused in year 2020. Humans have been replaced by robots in boxing. Charlie Kenton is a former boxer who owns such a robot, Ambush, competing in unsanctioned matches and in exhibitions with it. At a rural fair, Ambush is destroyed by Black Thunder, a bull belonging to promoter Ricky. Having made a bet that Ambush would win, Charlie now owes Ricky $20,000, which he doesn't pay before leaving.
Charlie is informed his ex-girlfriend has died, and that he must attend a hearing to decide the fate of his preteen son Max. Max's wealthy aunt Debra and uncle Marvin want full custody, which Charlie gives them in exchange for $100,000, half in advance, on the condition that Charlie take care of Max for three months while the couple are away on a second honeymoon.
Charlie and Max meet with Charlie's childhood friend Bailey Tallet, who runs the boxing gym of her deceased father, Charlie's old coach. There, Charlie buys a secondhand World Robot Boxing league (WRB) robot, the once-famous Noisy Boy, and arranges for it to fight the illegal circuit's champion, Midas, at a venue belonging to his friend Finn. Partly due to both his inexperience with Noisy Boy's combinations and his overconfidence, Charlie ends up losing control of Noisy Boy and Midas destroys it.
Charlie breaks into a junkyard with Max to steal scraps that he can use to put a new robot together. There, Max falls over a ledge, where he is saved from doom by getting snagged on the arm of a buried robot. After Charlie pulls Max back up, Max digs out the entire robot, called Atom. On Max's insistence, Charlie takes it back to Bailey's gym, where they discover Atom is an obsolete Generation-2 sparring bot built in 2014. Atom has been designed to sustain massive damage, but is unable to deal much damage itself. Partly due to both Max's insistence and Charlie needing money, the duo takes Atom to fight an unsanctioned outdoor match against a robot called Metro, and Atom wins, earning back some of Charlie's money.
Max later upgrades it to take vocal commands using spare parts from Noisy Boy and Ambush and successfully convinces Charlie to train the robot. Atom's string of subsequent wins and high-speed maneuvers, which were rarely seen from a robot, attracts the attention of a promoter from WRB, who offers Atom a professional fight against a robot called Twin Cities. Charlie accepts, and Atom wins again, thanks to Charlie's boxing experience allowing him to locate and take advantage of a small tell in Twin Cities' punch. Revelling in their subsequent novelty attention, Max challenges WRB champion Zeus, designed by genius Tak Mashido (Karl Yune) and sponsored by wealthy Farra Lemcova (Olga Fonda), who before the match tried to buy the upstart Atom.
As Max and Charlie leave after the Twin Cities fight, Ricky and his men attack them, and steal their winnings. Feeling guilty, Charlie returns Max to his aunt and uncle, feeling Max will be safer with them, but Bailey convinces him that he can be a better father. Debra allows Charlie to take Max out for one last night, to the Zeus-Atom match. Zeus severely damages Atom while also getting injured, a first for Zeus. Ricky, who had bet Finn $100,000 that Atom would not last the first round, tries to slip away, but is cornered by Finn and his colleagues. In the fourth round of the five-round match, Atom's vocal receptors are damaged, and Atom must fight the last round in shadow-boxing mode, copying Charlie's moves from the aisle. Zeus, now controlled manually by a furious Mashido, expends energy on trashing the defensive Atom, running low on power and turning sluggish as a result. Atom then begins to pummel Zeus, even knocking the seemingly invincible champion down once, but not winning before the round ends. The judges declare Zeus the winner on points, but that robot's reputation is tarnished, and Atom has become famous as the "People's Champion".
Source: Wikipedia
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
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Synopsis: Blamed for the terrorist bombing of the Kremlin, IMF operative Ethan Hunt is disavowed along with the rest of the agency when the President initiates "Ghost Protocol". Left without any resources or backup, Ethan must find a way to clear his agency's name and prevent another attack. To complicate matters further, Ethan is forced to embark on this mission with a team of fellow IMF fugitives whose personal motives he does not fully know.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Vladimir Mashkov, Josh Holloway, Anil Kapoor, Léa Seydoux, Tom Wilkinson
Directed by: Brad Bird
U.S. Rating: PG-13
It's clear that the "nuclear war game" is always profitable for good Hollywood action films, and Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol was not an exception. Brad Bird brought one more time the IMF team, led by Ethan Hunt, to save the world from the bad guys and prevent an imminent war between the U.S. and Russia.
It's clear that every single director has shown their own personal style on each of the four Mission Impossible films, starting with Brian De Palma nearly fifteen years ago. He tried to keep the film so close to the original TV series. John Woo and J.J. Abrams tried to give a more relevant approach to Ethan Hunt's character and mixing it with his personal life. What I liked from Brad Bird's job was the exceptional work he did trying to focus the attention to Ethan Hunt's character over any other character on the film. I honestly could say that it looked like a light version of a James Bond film, with the only difference that in this particular case, Ethan Hunt supported his mission on a team that worked synchronized under his leading plan.
Obviously, it's not a surprise that Tom Cruise excelled his acting performance. The plot of the film might not be new, but we certainly can believe that it was extremely enjoyable for the amazing cast gathered for the film, and especially, for Tom Cruise's unique performace. He clearly matched director Brad Bird's vision and personal style.
Director Brad Bird had the unique style to mix the human side of each one of the main characters involved in the team, with some thrilling action scenes, AMAZING stunts (especially the ones performed by Tom Cruise himself!) and some drama.
In Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, a secret agent is working on an assigment in Budapest trying to get some top secret documents related with nuclear bombs activities. This secret agent is killed by a professional assassin working for another team of extremists. Ethan Hunt is in a Russian prision and he's extracted by a IMF special team. Soon, he'll get his first assignment: To get some secret information attached to the documents lost by the agent killed in Budapest. They will have to get to the secret vault in the Kremlin. Ethan Hunt and his team are framed, accused of terrorism, and the IMF is shut down. Ethan Hunt and his team will have to obtain these secret codes and information before they get to the wrong hands, but they won't count with all the logistics, assistance and protection of their agency. They will have to perform this dangerous secret mission using all they have... Their knowledge, skills and few weapons.
The end of the film shows clearly what we already knew, that we'll enjoy sometime soon a Mission Impossible 5.
I would rate this movie with a 4.5/5
Directed by: Brad Bird
U.S. Rating: PG-13
It's clear that the "nuclear war game" is always profitable for good Hollywood action films, and Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol was not an exception. Brad Bird brought one more time the IMF team, led by Ethan Hunt, to save the world from the bad guys and prevent an imminent war between the U.S. and Russia.
It's clear that every single director has shown their own personal style on each of the four Mission Impossible films, starting with Brian De Palma nearly fifteen years ago. He tried to keep the film so close to the original TV series. John Woo and J.J. Abrams tried to give a more relevant approach to Ethan Hunt's character and mixing it with his personal life. What I liked from Brad Bird's job was the exceptional work he did trying to focus the attention to Ethan Hunt's character over any other character on the film. I honestly could say that it looked like a light version of a James Bond film, with the only difference that in this particular case, Ethan Hunt supported his mission on a team that worked synchronized under his leading plan.
Obviously, it's not a surprise that Tom Cruise excelled his acting performance. The plot of the film might not be new, but we certainly can believe that it was extremely enjoyable for the amazing cast gathered for the film, and especially, for Tom Cruise's unique performace. He clearly matched director Brad Bird's vision and personal style.
Director Brad Bird had the unique style to mix the human side of each one of the main characters involved in the team, with some thrilling action scenes, AMAZING stunts (especially the ones performed by Tom Cruise himself!) and some drama.
In Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, a secret agent is working on an assigment in Budapest trying to get some top secret documents related with nuclear bombs activities. This secret agent is killed by a professional assassin working for another team of extremists. Ethan Hunt is in a Russian prision and he's extracted by a IMF special team. Soon, he'll get his first assignment: To get some secret information attached to the documents lost by the agent killed in Budapest. They will have to get to the secret vault in the Kremlin. Ethan Hunt and his team are framed, accused of terrorism, and the IMF is shut down. Ethan Hunt and his team will have to obtain these secret codes and information before they get to the wrong hands, but they won't count with all the logistics, assistance and protection of their agency. They will have to perform this dangerous secret mission using all they have... Their knowledge, skills and few weapons.
The end of the film shows clearly what we already knew, that we'll enjoy sometime soon a Mission Impossible 5.
I would rate this movie with a 4.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Driver is a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene, a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard. After a heist intended to pay off Standard's protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver finds himself driving defense for the girl he loves, tailgated by a syndicate of deadly serious criminals. But when he realizes that the gangsters are after more than the bag of cash in his trunk - that they're coming straight for Irene and her son - Driver is forced to shift gears and go on offense.
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman
Directed by: Nicholas Winding Refn
U.S. Rating: R
Contrary to most of the amazingly positive reviews and comments I read about Drive, I must say that I was expecting something different from this film.
Director Nicholas Winding Refn brings to the big screen another intense violence crime novel written by author James Sallis, about a yound guys working as a driving stuntman during the day, and as an expert getaway driver by night. Driver, as any other expert getaway driver, is a methodical quiet and private person who doesn't talk much and tries to keep that balance and silent perfection in his work, day and night. Driver meets his neighbor, Irene, and her little son, Benicio. Soon they will get into his life and he'll be breaking his own strict privacy and methodical way of work. While he's getting more into Irene's life, he meets the father of her son, Gabriel, who was released from prison. Things go bad when Driver finds Gabriel beaten up by some strong-armed mobsters and he's forced to do some dirty work and collect some money for the leader of these mobsters. When Driver tries to help Gabriel to get this dirty job done, get clean of his debt with these mobsters, things go wrong, Gabriel is killed and soon he'll find that no one is safe, especially Irene and her son. Driver will take the problem in his hands, forced to unleash his dark and most dangerous side.
My review is based on my own personal impression of this film, and that's why it might vary from so many other opinions. First of all, I felt the film was extremely slow. The lack of dialogue made it really hard to follow. There were some moments when I got anxious to know what was going on, since everything on this film was running like in slow mode. Director Nicholas Winding Refn, just like in his previous films, tries to display some strong violence, making it in some moments hard to diggest. It was actually like watching a Tarantino film in slow mode. Extreme violence, a very slow plot, but must admit that in the other hand, worked with such an amazing and talented cast. Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan made it worth to watch. I personally believe it's been a pretty good year for Ryan Gosling and we should be prepared to see more of his talent in the near future.
Directed by: Nicholas Winding Refn
U.S. Rating: R
Contrary to most of the amazingly positive reviews and comments I read about Drive, I must say that I was expecting something different from this film.
Director Nicholas Winding Refn brings to the big screen another intense violence crime novel written by author James Sallis, about a yound guys working as a driving stuntman during the day, and as an expert getaway driver by night. Driver, as any other expert getaway driver, is a methodical quiet and private person who doesn't talk much and tries to keep that balance and silent perfection in his work, day and night. Driver meets his neighbor, Irene, and her little son, Benicio. Soon they will get into his life and he'll be breaking his own strict privacy and methodical way of work. While he's getting more into Irene's life, he meets the father of her son, Gabriel, who was released from prison. Things go bad when Driver finds Gabriel beaten up by some strong-armed mobsters and he's forced to do some dirty work and collect some money for the leader of these mobsters. When Driver tries to help Gabriel to get this dirty job done, get clean of his debt with these mobsters, things go wrong, Gabriel is killed and soon he'll find that no one is safe, especially Irene and her son. Driver will take the problem in his hands, forced to unleash his dark and most dangerous side.
My review is based on my own personal impression of this film, and that's why it might vary from so many other opinions. First of all, I felt the film was extremely slow. The lack of dialogue made it really hard to follow. There were some moments when I got anxious to know what was going on, since everything on this film was running like in slow mode. Director Nicholas Winding Refn, just like in his previous films, tries to display some strong violence, making it in some moments hard to diggest. It was actually like watching a Tarantino film in slow mode. Extreme violence, a very slow plot, but must admit that in the other hand, worked with such an amazing and talented cast. Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan made it worth to watch. I personally believe it's been a pretty good year for Ryan Gosling and we should be prepared to see more of his talent in the near future.
There's a particular characteristic on this film. Director Nicholas Winding Refn always like to work with open ends. He believes is part of the art expressed on this entertainment world, working on stories that will allow viewers to think and get different opinions about all different possible situations. That's something I enjoyed, since we could think different things from the end of this film about what really happened with Driver.
I would rate this movie with a 2/5
I would rate this movie with a 2/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
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Synopsis: A teen finds himself in mortal danger after realizing that his entire childhood has been built on lies. Realizing that the people who raised him aren't his real parents after stumbling across a childhood photo of himself on a website devoted to missing children, the frightened teen flees for his life as FBI agents Frank Burton and Sandra Burns race to protect him and uncover the truth about his mysterious past.
Starring: Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Sigourney Weaver, Jason Isaacs
Directed by: John Singleton
U.S. Rating: PG-13
I've always said that The Twilight Saga should ever be remembered for gathering the worst and most untalented cast in Hollywood. I personally believe that those films have been extremely successful for anything you might think, but the talent and acting performance of its cast.
I remember discussing this with my wife Mary, she agreed with me on most of my comments, but disagreed about Taylor Lautner. She said this guy was the best from the Twilight cast and shouldn't be considered as a low level actor as Robert Pattinson or any other guy from the Saga.
Well, after watching Abduction, I should say one more time that Taylor Lautner is just another untalented actor from the Twilight cast. If there were some doubts, his performance on this film confirmed my thoughts about his acting performance. The sad thing about this film is that it actually had a pretty interesting script for a good action movie, not mentioning the great supporting cast (Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina). The acting performance of all the cast involved in this film showed just a poor acting performance. Taylor Lautner's acting reactions, in several scenes were so awful and fake that it even looked ridiculous! Even Sigourney Weaver, which I consider such a high profile actress had some low moments on her acting performance on this film.
Anyway, as said before, it is a good action script that could have been extremely sucessful with a better cast, especially, a better lead role. With Taylor Lautner, it looked just like a "Bourne wanna-be" film.
The film is about the story of Nathan Harper, a teenager who lives with his parents, Kevin and Mara. He frequently consults a psychiatrist, Dr. Geraldine Bennett, about s a recurring nightmare, trying to discover the meaning of it.
During a school assignment about missing children, Nathan is partnered with his neighbor Karen Murphy. Karen finds a website that shows how the children would look like as adults, and they discover that a young boy named Steven Price would look exactly like Nathan, when Price got older. Searching in his basement, he finds the same shirt that Steven is wearing in the picture and realizes that he and Steven are the same person.
Nathan calls the website's owner, unaware that he is a Russian terrorist. The man reports back to his commander, Viktor Kozlow, who deploys two agents to Nathan's house. They attack Nathan's parents, who tell him to run before being murdered and the house is destroyed. Nathan and Karen escape and attempt to call the police, but the call is intercepted by CIA operative Frank Burton, who tells Nathan that he's in danger and sends a team to pick him up.
Before the team arrives, Dr. Bennett appears and tells Nathan that Burton can't be trusted. She reveals that Nathan's biological father, Martin, is a CIA agent who stole a list from Kozlow with the names of corrupt CIA operatives and that Kozlow created the website in order to locate Nathan and use him as leverage to force Martin to return the list. Kozlow's men appear, having intercepted Nathan's call. Bennett tells Nathan to run away and head for a safe house in Arlington, Virginia. Karen decides to go with Nathan. Before they leave, Bennett tells him he can only trust his father and a man called Paul Rasen, and blows up her car to facilitate both their escape and her own.
Nathan and Karen arrive at the safe house, where Nathan finds Martin's cellphone as well as an address and photo of his biological mother, Lorna Price. They discover that she is dead. Nathan visits her grave and notices fresh flowers, so Karen asks the caretaker about recent visitors. He reveals that the last visitor was Paul Rasen from Nebraska.
Nathan and Karen head to Nebraska on a train; Kozlow's right-hand man follows them. When Karen leaves to get food, he kidnaps her and attempts to capture Nathan, but Nathan overpowers him and throws him off the train. Karen escapes and reunites with Nathan. They leave when the train stops in response to Kozlow's agent's death. Nathan takes Kozlow's agent's phone during the fight.
Burton and his men find and convince the two that they want to help. They stop at a diner, where Burton tells Nathan about the list. Nathan checks Martin's phone and finds the list, which contains Burton's name. Before Burton can react, Kozlow's men attack the diner and kill several of Burton's men. Nathan and Karen escape while Burton and his partner kill Kozlow's men.
Kozlow's right-hand man's cellphone rings and Nathan answers it. Kozlow reveals that he has planned to kidnap Karen's parents and will kill them if Nathan doesn't give him the list. Nathan agrees, but says that he'll choose the place of the exchange. Kozlow agrees. Nathan realizes that his nightmares are due to repressed memories of Lorna being murdered by Kozlow while trying to protect him.
Nathan decides to give Kozlow the list at a Pirates baseball game, and reveals to Karen that he actually intends to kill Kozlow. Nathan receives a call from Martin, who tells him not to give Kazlow the list. Nathan ignores his advice, and tries to shoot Kozlow, who steals the gun and tries to force Nathan to give him the list. Burton's men, stationed all over the stadium, open fire as Nathan escapes, with Kozlow in pursuit.
Martin calls Nathan and tells him to lure Kozlow to an open area. Nathan does so, and, as Kozlow prepares to kill Nathan, Martin kills Kozlow with a sniper shot fired from a nearby building. Burton's men appear and capture Nathan. On their way to CIA headquarters, Burton attempts to decrypt Martin's cellphone. However, his superiors reveal that Martin has warned them that Burton would attempt this in order to remove his own name, and Burton is detained.
Martin calls Nathan one last time and apologizes for everything. He says that he'll always be watching over Nathan, who reunites with Karen and Bennett, who tells him that she has arranged for him to live with her until he graduates, at which point he can move out to attend college. Nathan thanks her and leaves with Karen for a date in the empty stadium.
Definitely a good script that could have been a great action film. Sad it lacked of good acting performance.
I would rate this movie with a 2/5
Directed by: John Singleton
U.S. Rating: PG-13
I've always said that The Twilight Saga should ever be remembered for gathering the worst and most untalented cast in Hollywood. I personally believe that those films have been extremely successful for anything you might think, but the talent and acting performance of its cast.
I remember discussing this with my wife Mary, she agreed with me on most of my comments, but disagreed about Taylor Lautner. She said this guy was the best from the Twilight cast and shouldn't be considered as a low level actor as Robert Pattinson or any other guy from the Saga.
Well, after watching Abduction, I should say one more time that Taylor Lautner is just another untalented actor from the Twilight cast. If there were some doubts, his performance on this film confirmed my thoughts about his acting performance. The sad thing about this film is that it actually had a pretty interesting script for a good action movie, not mentioning the great supporting cast (Sigourney Weaver and Alfred Molina). The acting performance of all the cast involved in this film showed just a poor acting performance. Taylor Lautner's acting reactions, in several scenes were so awful and fake that it even looked ridiculous! Even Sigourney Weaver, which I consider such a high profile actress had some low moments on her acting performance on this film.
Anyway, as said before, it is a good action script that could have been extremely sucessful with a better cast, especially, a better lead role. With Taylor Lautner, it looked just like a "Bourne wanna-be" film.
The film is about the story of Nathan Harper, a teenager who lives with his parents, Kevin and Mara. He frequently consults a psychiatrist, Dr. Geraldine Bennett, about s a recurring nightmare, trying to discover the meaning of it.
During a school assignment about missing children, Nathan is partnered with his neighbor Karen Murphy. Karen finds a website that shows how the children would look like as adults, and they discover that a young boy named Steven Price would look exactly like Nathan, when Price got older. Searching in his basement, he finds the same shirt that Steven is wearing in the picture and realizes that he and Steven are the same person.
Nathan calls the website's owner, unaware that he is a Russian terrorist. The man reports back to his commander, Viktor Kozlow, who deploys two agents to Nathan's house. They attack Nathan's parents, who tell him to run before being murdered and the house is destroyed. Nathan and Karen escape and attempt to call the police, but the call is intercepted by CIA operative Frank Burton, who tells Nathan that he's in danger and sends a team to pick him up.
Before the team arrives, Dr. Bennett appears and tells Nathan that Burton can't be trusted. She reveals that Nathan's biological father, Martin, is a CIA agent who stole a list from Kozlow with the names of corrupt CIA operatives and that Kozlow created the website in order to locate Nathan and use him as leverage to force Martin to return the list. Kozlow's men appear, having intercepted Nathan's call. Bennett tells Nathan to run away and head for a safe house in Arlington, Virginia. Karen decides to go with Nathan. Before they leave, Bennett tells him he can only trust his father and a man called Paul Rasen, and blows up her car to facilitate both their escape and her own.
Nathan and Karen arrive at the safe house, where Nathan finds Martin's cellphone as well as an address and photo of his biological mother, Lorna Price. They discover that she is dead. Nathan visits her grave and notices fresh flowers, so Karen asks the caretaker about recent visitors. He reveals that the last visitor was Paul Rasen from Nebraska.
Nathan and Karen head to Nebraska on a train; Kozlow's right-hand man follows them. When Karen leaves to get food, he kidnaps her and attempts to capture Nathan, but Nathan overpowers him and throws him off the train. Karen escapes and reunites with Nathan. They leave when the train stops in response to Kozlow's agent's death. Nathan takes Kozlow's agent's phone during the fight.
Burton and his men find and convince the two that they want to help. They stop at a diner, where Burton tells Nathan about the list. Nathan checks Martin's phone and finds the list, which contains Burton's name. Before Burton can react, Kozlow's men attack the diner and kill several of Burton's men. Nathan and Karen escape while Burton and his partner kill Kozlow's men.
Kozlow's right-hand man's cellphone rings and Nathan answers it. Kozlow reveals that he has planned to kidnap Karen's parents and will kill them if Nathan doesn't give him the list. Nathan agrees, but says that he'll choose the place of the exchange. Kozlow agrees. Nathan realizes that his nightmares are due to repressed memories of Lorna being murdered by Kozlow while trying to protect him.
Nathan decides to give Kozlow the list at a Pirates baseball game, and reveals to Karen that he actually intends to kill Kozlow. Nathan receives a call from Martin, who tells him not to give Kazlow the list. Nathan ignores his advice, and tries to shoot Kozlow, who steals the gun and tries to force Nathan to give him the list. Burton's men, stationed all over the stadium, open fire as Nathan escapes, with Kozlow in pursuit.
Martin calls Nathan and tells him to lure Kozlow to an open area. Nathan does so, and, as Kozlow prepares to kill Nathan, Martin kills Kozlow with a sniper shot fired from a nearby building. Burton's men appear and capture Nathan. On their way to CIA headquarters, Burton attempts to decrypt Martin's cellphone. However, his superiors reveal that Martin has warned them that Burton would attempt this in order to remove his own name, and Burton is detained.
Martin calls Nathan one last time and apologizes for everything. He says that he'll always be watching over Nathan, who reunites with Karen and Bennett, who tells him that she has arranged for him to live with her until he graduates, at which point he can move out to attend college. Nathan thanks her and leaves with Karen for a date in the empty stadium.
Definitely a good script that could have been a great action film. Sad it lacked of good acting performance.
I would rate this movie with a 2/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty's Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7's top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier's life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference, one man must use every trick in his playbook to protect us all. For Johnny English, disaster may be an option, but failure never is.
Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Gillian Anderson, Pierce Brosnan, Dominic West, Rosamund Pike
Directed by: Oliver Parker
U.S. Rating: PG
It's been a while since the first Johnny English was released. I couldn't say that I enjoyed that first one back in 2003, but it was one of those films that you can sit and watch on a boring Sunday afternoon.Never felt motivated to go and watch it on the big screen, just months after being released, got it on DVD. It didn't actually happened with this sequel, 8 years later. Johnny English Reborn is not quite better than the first one, but I must admit that made me laugh more than the first one, and actually get enough motivated to go and watch it on the theatre. Not the best comedy watched this year, but at least was goofy and funny enough to make me laugh a few times.
Jhonny English Reborn is just an old-fashioned British humor, an easy-to-watch film played by one unique actor (Rowan Atkinson), known worldwide as Mr. Bean, the goofy person with no dialogue making all kind of dumb things and getting into crazy funny situations. This time, Rowan Atkinson comes with a fresh, smoother and better-looking comedy, playing one more time the role of Jhonny English, the top secret British spy who's learning martial arts in Tibet as penance for an earlier disastrous mission. The MI7 - British Intelligence Agency (codenamed Toshiba British Intelligence) identifies him as the best agent for a new mission: stopping a group of international assassins before they kill the Chinese premier and cause global chaos. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English returns to his role with gusto. The adventure trying to stop this group of international assassins will make you have some really good laughs.
I would totally recommend it if you're looking for some good laughs watching a light and goofy comedy.
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Directed by: Oliver Parker
U.S. Rating: PG
It's been a while since the first Johnny English was released. I couldn't say that I enjoyed that first one back in 2003, but it was one of those films that you can sit and watch on a boring Sunday afternoon.Never felt motivated to go and watch it on the big screen, just months after being released, got it on DVD. It didn't actually happened with this sequel, 8 years later. Johnny English Reborn is not quite better than the first one, but I must admit that made me laugh more than the first one, and actually get enough motivated to go and watch it on the theatre. Not the best comedy watched this year, but at least was goofy and funny enough to make me laugh a few times.
Jhonny English Reborn is just an old-fashioned British humor, an easy-to-watch film played by one unique actor (Rowan Atkinson), known worldwide as Mr. Bean, the goofy person with no dialogue making all kind of dumb things and getting into crazy funny situations. This time, Rowan Atkinson comes with a fresh, smoother and better-looking comedy, playing one more time the role of Jhonny English, the top secret British spy who's learning martial arts in Tibet as penance for an earlier disastrous mission. The MI7 - British Intelligence Agency (codenamed Toshiba British Intelligence) identifies him as the best agent for a new mission: stopping a group of international assassins before they kill the Chinese premier and cause global chaos. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English returns to his role with gusto. The adventure trying to stop this group of international assassins will make you have some really good laughs.
I would totally recommend it if you're looking for some good laughs watching a light and goofy comedy.
I would rate this movie with a 3.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Since Brian O'Conner and Mia Toretto broke Dom Toretto out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he's not the only one on their tail. Hard-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can't separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey... before someone else runs them down first.
Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang and Dwayne Johnson
Directed by: Justin Lin
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Fast and Furious, one of my top favorite action franchise of all times. I waited for months for the release of this fifth edition and the waiting was totally worth. I personally think the franchise was basically going down after the third one. It was getting old just watching over an over new editions of tunning cars and same fast races. The great thing about the fourth, and especially, this fifth edition is that Director Justin Lin decided to give the franchise a smart turn from the first three films, turning the scripts into heist plots. He confirmed after releasing this fifth edition that next one will be all about a heist situation, and we can certainly confirm this with the very last scene on this film (after credits).
I did really enjoy the film on theaters, and even more now that I got it on BluRay, having the chance to watch it again and enjoy all the extra content available on the disc.
When Dominic Toretto is sentenced to jail, Brian and Mia break Dom's custody and all of them become a group of outlaws, they escape to Brazil, hiding in the Favelas.As soon as Brian and Mia arrive to their destination, they meet with Vince. During their first night, Vince convince Brian and Mia to help him on a job, where they had to steal a few cars and drive them back to their owner, Mr. Reyes. Brian and Mia meet Vince and Dom in the train where the cars were stored but right after the job starts, things went wrong.
Soon after everyone escapes from the train, they try to identify why Mr. Reyes wanted one of the cars back. They will find that the car has a memory car hidden on the GPS system that will show all the locations and information about Mr. Reyes' illegal business.
At the same time, Special Agent Hobbs arrives to Brazil with his small team to hunt Dom and his team and bring them back to justice in the US. During the first chase, Dom, Brian and Mia escape from two different groups: Agent Hobbs and his team, and Mr. Reyes' killers. Dom ask Brian and Mia to split and gather back together in the future, but Mia refuses because she is pregnant and doesn't want them all to split, but stay together, no matter what.
Dom and Brian have a conversation about their future and the importance of their families, and they decide to come with a plan to steal all Mr. Reyes' money ($100 million). They will need a team, and that's when all the old gang gets together. They start preparing the plan and putting all the small pieces in place to create and execute the perfect heist, since all the money was saved in a safe located at the police headquarters.
They move forward on their plan, but Hobbs gets closer and closer, until their plan gets in jeopardy. Hobbs captures Dom, Brian, Vince and Mia, but while Hobbs and his team are taking them to the airport, they face and ambush and Hobbs' team is killed. Dom, Brian and Vince save Agent Hobbs and when they all get back together, they decide to finish the job. Hobbs offers to help them and they go for the money, facing one amazing and extremely entertaining race on the streets of Rio de Janeiro with Dom and Brian being chased by the police.
At the end, they get all the money, hide in a paradisiac location and plan to go for a last race.
As said before, there's a key scene after the credits that will lead us to the possible story on Fast and Furious 6. If you haven't seen it yet, you can't miss it!
p.s.: I also have to say that "The Rock" rocked in this film. He brought back the action!
I would rate this movie with a 4/5
Directed by: Justin Lin
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Fast and Furious, one of my top favorite action franchise of all times. I waited for months for the release of this fifth edition and the waiting was totally worth. I personally think the franchise was basically going down after the third one. It was getting old just watching over an over new editions of tunning cars and same fast races. The great thing about the fourth, and especially, this fifth edition is that Director Justin Lin decided to give the franchise a smart turn from the first three films, turning the scripts into heist plots. He confirmed after releasing this fifth edition that next one will be all about a heist situation, and we can certainly confirm this with the very last scene on this film (after credits).
I did really enjoy the film on theaters, and even more now that I got it on BluRay, having the chance to watch it again and enjoy all the extra content available on the disc.
When Dominic Toretto is sentenced to jail, Brian and Mia break Dom's custody and all of them become a group of outlaws, they escape to Brazil, hiding in the Favelas.As soon as Brian and Mia arrive to their destination, they meet with Vince. During their first night, Vince convince Brian and Mia to help him on a job, where they had to steal a few cars and drive them back to their owner, Mr. Reyes. Brian and Mia meet Vince and Dom in the train where the cars were stored but right after the job starts, things went wrong.
Soon after everyone escapes from the train, they try to identify why Mr. Reyes wanted one of the cars back. They will find that the car has a memory car hidden on the GPS system that will show all the locations and information about Mr. Reyes' illegal business.
At the same time, Special Agent Hobbs arrives to Brazil with his small team to hunt Dom and his team and bring them back to justice in the US. During the first chase, Dom, Brian and Mia escape from two different groups: Agent Hobbs and his team, and Mr. Reyes' killers. Dom ask Brian and Mia to split and gather back together in the future, but Mia refuses because she is pregnant and doesn't want them all to split, but stay together, no matter what.
Dom and Brian have a conversation about their future and the importance of their families, and they decide to come with a plan to steal all Mr. Reyes' money ($100 million). They will need a team, and that's when all the old gang gets together. They start preparing the plan and putting all the small pieces in place to create and execute the perfect heist, since all the money was saved in a safe located at the police headquarters.
They move forward on their plan, but Hobbs gets closer and closer, until their plan gets in jeopardy. Hobbs captures Dom, Brian, Vince and Mia, but while Hobbs and his team are taking them to the airport, they face and ambush and Hobbs' team is killed. Dom, Brian and Vince save Agent Hobbs and when they all get back together, they decide to finish the job. Hobbs offers to help them and they go for the money, facing one amazing and extremely entertaining race on the streets of Rio de Janeiro with Dom and Brian being chased by the police.
At the end, they get all the money, hide in a paradisiac location and plan to go for a last race.
As said before, there's a key scene after the credits that will lead us to the possible story on Fast and Furious 6. If you haven't seen it yet, you can't miss it!
p.s.: I also have to say that "The Rock" rocked in this film. He brought back the action!
I would rate this movie with a 4/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: Cataleya is a young woman who has grown up to be an assassin after witnessing the murder of her parents as a child. Turning herself into a professional killer and working for her uncle, she remains focused on her ultimate goal: to hunt down and get revenge on the mobster responsible for her parents' deaths.
Starring: Zoe Saldana, Jordi Molla, Lennie James, Michael Vartan and Cliff Curtis
Directed by: Oliver Megaton
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Colombiana is a thrilled action film that wastes no time on opening with an action sequence involving Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) a nine-year-old little girl who faces the killing of her parents by the hands of some dangerous Colombian gangsters. Her dad has instructed her what to do in case of this innevitable situation, delivering a micro SD memory with information related with these gangsters and their operations to the American Embassy and in exchage, get the opportunity to flight to the US. As soon as she arrives on American soil, she flees from the authorities that were in charge of her protection and travels to Chicago, to find her uncle, who is a contract killer. Once there, she asks her uncle to teach her to be a professional killer, with her only goal in mind... Revenge the death of her parents.
The rest of the film is all about Cataleya hunting every single one of the Colombian gangsters organization, chasing and hunting them in a very quiet and professional way. The only trace she leaves behind, is the drawing of a Cataleya flower in the chest of her victims.
One single mistake helps the FBI to identify her but she uses this mistake to get to the top of the organization and kill the responsibles for the murder of her parents.
Colombiana is actually a light entertaining action film if you're not looking for a brilliant plot, just some random action led by a beautiful woman. I personally believe that Zoe Saldana played a much better, stronger and interesting role in the action film, The Losers. The plot is not strong and convincing, it shows lots of gaps and nonsense situations. While I watching the film, I tried to find the answers to some key questions, but the more I looked for those answers, the more questions I found.
I personally enjoyed Director Olivier Megaton's work. He was able to deliver some really good action scenes, work with a great cast and help to balance these flaws and gaps on the poor script with the good direction and talents involved.
I would rate this movie with a 2.5/5
Directed by: Oliver Megaton
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Colombiana is a thrilled action film that wastes no time on opening with an action sequence involving Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) a nine-year-old little girl who faces the killing of her parents by the hands of some dangerous Colombian gangsters. Her dad has instructed her what to do in case of this innevitable situation, delivering a micro SD memory with information related with these gangsters and their operations to the American Embassy and in exchage, get the opportunity to flight to the US. As soon as she arrives on American soil, she flees from the authorities that were in charge of her protection and travels to Chicago, to find her uncle, who is a contract killer. Once there, she asks her uncle to teach her to be a professional killer, with her only goal in mind... Revenge the death of her parents.
The rest of the film is all about Cataleya hunting every single one of the Colombian gangsters organization, chasing and hunting them in a very quiet and professional way. The only trace she leaves behind, is the drawing of a Cataleya flower in the chest of her victims.
One single mistake helps the FBI to identify her but she uses this mistake to get to the top of the organization and kill the responsibles for the murder of her parents.
Colombiana is actually a light entertaining action film if you're not looking for a brilliant plot, just some random action led by a beautiful woman. I personally believe that Zoe Saldana played a much better, stronger and interesting role in the action film, The Losers. The plot is not strong and convincing, it shows lots of gaps and nonsense situations. While I watching the film, I tried to find the answers to some key questions, but the more I looked for those answers, the more questions I found.
I personally enjoyed Director Olivier Megaton's work. He was able to deliver some really good action scenes, work with a great cast and help to balance these flaws and gaps on the poor script with the good direction and talents involved.
I would rate this movie with a 2.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
Synopsis: For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world -- Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, Michelle Rodriguez, Michael Pena, Adetokumboh M Cormack
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Battle: Los Angeles, definitely one of the most expected films in 2011. The whole production and advertising was perfect. The drama and action shown on these trailers were more than intense that I definitely wanted to watch the film really bad.
But, one thing is what you expect from a film like this, and what you really get. I've said before that there's not much room for creativity in these kind of Sci-Fi films where the human kind is being attacked and invaded by aliens. Just very few films have really impressed me, for example, the most recent one... District 9.
I remember few months ago when I had the chance to watch Skyline. A film with great CGI effects but so cheap on its content. I was extremely disappointed when I saw the film, since it didn't bring anything good other than great CGI effects. I wouldn't say it was what I got from Battle: Los Angeles. I must say it had a much better plot, DEFINITELY a much, much better cast, but there was no room for something different. It was just more of what we've got so far with these kind of films.
And when I say that it didn't bring something original or creative I mean, for example, that an extremely strong force from another planet that has been destroying the main cities around the world comes to fight with "conventional" weapons. I don't see special weapons, I see machine guns and conventional granades! There's a moment when they notice these aliens are capable to intercept their radio communications, but they destroy the mother ship planning an air strike with a radio conversation... So, there was some things that showed some lack of creativity on the script.
I must give some credits on the effects and especially, the cast. Some overrated drama and lots, lots, lots of explosions.
If you're into these kind of Sci-Fi alien invation films, it is a film that you can enjoy... Definitely 100 times better than Skyline or Monsters.
In case you want to know more details about the film, here's the complete plot: On August 11, 2011, mysterious objects thought to be meteorites crash into Earth's oceans near several major cities including Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New Orleans,Mexico City,New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Barcelona, Hamburg, Sydney. These objects are revealed to be spacecraft containing hostile alien forces. The U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive in Los Angeles to defend against alien ground forces and assist in the evacuation of civilians in preparation for a bombing campaign. Among the military's forces are Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), a 20-year veteran U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant who lost many men under his command during his last deployment in Iraq. Nantz had planned to retire, but the situation requires him to replace the platoon sergeant of a platoon from "E" Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines.
The Platoon Commander, 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez (Ramón Rodríguez), attends a briefing at an FOB (Forward Operating Base). The platoon's mission is to rescue civilians from an LAPD police station with a three-hour time limit before the Air Force bombs the area. They are ambushed by aliens multiple times and suffer casualties. They also encounter a group of U.S. Army soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division, including an Air Force intelligence Technical Sergeant Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez). Eventually, the combined team reaches the police station, finding five civilians inside. A helicopter arrives and attempts to evacuate some of the wounded Marines, but it is destroyed by an alien air unit upon takeoff.
The Marines commandeer a bus for evacuation. Prior to evacuation, they find a wounded alien and with the help of one of the civilians, they learn of the aliens' weaknesses and military tactics; finding that the alien infantry have a weak point in the torso, that the alien attack aircraft are remote-controlled drones and the aliens monitor and locate Earth military forces through monitoring their radio communications. The Marines speculate that there must be a central command center, and that its destruction would eliminate control of the alien drones, opening the enemy forces to air attack. On a freeway, they encounter a lone M1 Abram that is under attack and subsequently destroyed by the aliens. The bus is then attacked and the Marines begin rappelling the civilians off the side of the freeway. One of the civilians, Joe Rincon (Michael Peña), is wounded after firing on the aliens. Martinez is also wounded and sacrifices himself to destroy an enemy unit by detonating C-4 explosives inside the bus, shortly after placing Nantz in command of the platoon.
Nantz leads what remains of the platoon outside the bombing zone, and they rest at a convenience store. A news report speculates that the aliens have attacked Earth for its water supply which they use as fuel. The team waits for the bombing to begin, but nothing happens. They arrive at the FOB, only to discover that it has already been destroyed by the aliens, nullifying the airstrike. They decide to head for another extraction point, where a helicopter should be available to evacuate them. Before they embark, Rincon dies of his wounds and Corporal Lockett (whose brother died under Nantz's command) openly doubts Nantz's ability to lead. Nantz and Lockett come to terms with their guilt and anger, and the platoon reaches the extraction point using a LAV-25 and a HMMWV. As they are being evacuated, Nantz spots a large black area on the ground where electric power seems to be disabled. Nantz believes the black area to be the location of the alien command center and that it is hidden underground. Nantz and his platoon disembarks from the helicopter, planning to find the exact location of the command center so they can call in a missile strike.
Going underground, the Marines confirm the presence of a large alien vessel. They return to the surface and succeed in calling in a guided artillery strike using laser designators. However, the command center remains intact and rises from the ground. The Marines repel alien forces as more artillery shells are launched at the hovering command center, and eventually they destroy it. This disables the alien aircraft in the area, forcing the alien ground forces to retreat.
Soon after, the team is extracted to a temporary base in the Mojave Desert, where they are greeted as heroes for their outstanding bravery. All other cities under attack now plan to emulate their strategy, destroying the alien command center in each city. More forces are being sent to Los Angeles to finish off the aliens there. Despite orders to rest, Nantz and the platoon instead rejoin the fight. (Source: Wikipedia)
I would rate this movie with a 2.5/5
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
U.S. Rating: PG-13
Battle: Los Angeles, definitely one of the most expected films in 2011. The whole production and advertising was perfect. The drama and action shown on these trailers were more than intense that I definitely wanted to watch the film really bad.
But, one thing is what you expect from a film like this, and what you really get. I've said before that there's not much room for creativity in these kind of Sci-Fi films where the human kind is being attacked and invaded by aliens. Just very few films have really impressed me, for example, the most recent one... District 9.
I remember few months ago when I had the chance to watch Skyline. A film with great CGI effects but so cheap on its content. I was extremely disappointed when I saw the film, since it didn't bring anything good other than great CGI effects. I wouldn't say it was what I got from Battle: Los Angeles. I must say it had a much better plot, DEFINITELY a much, much better cast, but there was no room for something different. It was just more of what we've got so far with these kind of films.
And when I say that it didn't bring something original or creative I mean, for example, that an extremely strong force from another planet that has been destroying the main cities around the world comes to fight with "conventional" weapons. I don't see special weapons, I see machine guns and conventional granades! There's a moment when they notice these aliens are capable to intercept their radio communications, but they destroy the mother ship planning an air strike with a radio conversation... So, there was some things that showed some lack of creativity on the script.
I must give some credits on the effects and especially, the cast. Some overrated drama and lots, lots, lots of explosions.
If you're into these kind of Sci-Fi alien invation films, it is a film that you can enjoy... Definitely 100 times better than Skyline or Monsters.
In case you want to know more details about the film, here's the complete plot: On August 11, 2011, mysterious objects thought to be meteorites crash into Earth's oceans near several major cities including Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, New Orleans,Mexico City,New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris, Barcelona, Hamburg, Sydney. These objects are revealed to be spacecraft containing hostile alien forces. The U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton arrive in Los Angeles to defend against alien ground forces and assist in the evacuation of civilians in preparation for a bombing campaign. Among the military's forces are Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart), a 20-year veteran U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant who lost many men under his command during his last deployment in Iraq. Nantz had planned to retire, but the situation requires him to replace the platoon sergeant of a platoon from "E" Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Marines.
The Platoon Commander, 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez (Ramón Rodríguez), attends a briefing at an FOB (Forward Operating Base). The platoon's mission is to rescue civilians from an LAPD police station with a three-hour time limit before the Air Force bombs the area. They are ambushed by aliens multiple times and suffer casualties. They also encounter a group of U.S. Army soldiers from the 40th Infantry Division, including an Air Force intelligence Technical Sergeant Elena Santos (Michelle Rodriguez). Eventually, the combined team reaches the police station, finding five civilians inside. A helicopter arrives and attempts to evacuate some of the wounded Marines, but it is destroyed by an alien air unit upon takeoff.
The Marines commandeer a bus for evacuation. Prior to evacuation, they find a wounded alien and with the help of one of the civilians, they learn of the aliens' weaknesses and military tactics; finding that the alien infantry have a weak point in the torso, that the alien attack aircraft are remote-controlled drones and the aliens monitor and locate Earth military forces through monitoring their radio communications. The Marines speculate that there must be a central command center, and that its destruction would eliminate control of the alien drones, opening the enemy forces to air attack. On a freeway, they encounter a lone M1 Abram that is under attack and subsequently destroyed by the aliens. The bus is then attacked and the Marines begin rappelling the civilians off the side of the freeway. One of the civilians, Joe Rincon (Michael Peña), is wounded after firing on the aliens. Martinez is also wounded and sacrifices himself to destroy an enemy unit by detonating C-4 explosives inside the bus, shortly after placing Nantz in command of the platoon.
Nantz leads what remains of the platoon outside the bombing zone, and they rest at a convenience store. A news report speculates that the aliens have attacked Earth for its water supply which they use as fuel. The team waits for the bombing to begin, but nothing happens. They arrive at the FOB, only to discover that it has already been destroyed by the aliens, nullifying the airstrike. They decide to head for another extraction point, where a helicopter should be available to evacuate them. Before they embark, Rincon dies of his wounds and Corporal Lockett (whose brother died under Nantz's command) openly doubts Nantz's ability to lead. Nantz and Lockett come to terms with their guilt and anger, and the platoon reaches the extraction point using a LAV-25 and a HMMWV. As they are being evacuated, Nantz spots a large black area on the ground where electric power seems to be disabled. Nantz believes the black area to be the location of the alien command center and that it is hidden underground. Nantz and his platoon disembarks from the helicopter, planning to find the exact location of the command center so they can call in a missile strike.
Going underground, the Marines confirm the presence of a large alien vessel. They return to the surface and succeed in calling in a guided artillery strike using laser designators. However, the command center remains intact and rises from the ground. The Marines repel alien forces as more artillery shells are launched at the hovering command center, and eventually they destroy it. This disables the alien aircraft in the area, forcing the alien ground forces to retreat.
Soon after, the team is extracted to a temporary base in the Mojave Desert, where they are greeted as heroes for their outstanding bravery. All other cities under attack now plan to emulate their strategy, destroying the alien command center in each city. More forces are being sent to Los Angeles to finish off the aliens there. Despite orders to rest, Nantz and the platoon instead rejoin the fight. (Source: Wikipedia)
I would rate this movie with a 2.5/5
Have you watched the film? What did you like or dislike from this movie? What would you rate this movie? Share with us your thoughts!
Enjoy it!... Watch it!
