Category: Action

Escape Plan

Sylvester Stallone is Ray Breslin, a respected authority on Structural Security. He agrees to take on a high-risk job of breaking out of an ultra-secret high-tech facility that is located in parts unknown called “The Tomb”.

At this ultra-secret facility things go awry and Ray is falsely imprisoned. He is then forced to recruit a fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) to help him devise a plan to escape. The story unfolds from there…

The story starts off ok, but loses its way through most of the movie to regain some footing toward the end. Sly and Arnold are good together and that’s what makes “Escape Plan” interesting. It was also great to see Vincent D’Onofrio from Law & Order Criminal Intent fame.

If you are a Sylvester Stallone fan then “Escape Plan” is worth a look.

Captain Phillips

“Captain Phillips” is an extremely well executed movie. It’s like waiting for a rose bud to bloom. It happens slowly, but oh very much worth the wait.

“Captain Phillips” is based on the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. Container Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. The movie is meticulous in its execution. Showing you every layer and angle of the story as it unfolds from the relationship between Captain Phillips (Tom Hanks) and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi) to the U.S. Navy coming to the rescue.

As the events occur you will be on the edge of your seat. There is no pause or “dead space” in this movie. Director Paul Greengrass is excellent at providing you a scintillating thriller with “on the edge of your seat” intrigue. Remember Paul Greengrass is the director of all of the Bourne movies that Matt Damon starred in. Tom Hanks is masterful in his portrayal of “Captain Phillips”.

“Captain Phillips” is definitely worth a look.

The Family

I found “The Family” to be mildly entertaining with its “Slapstick Wit” and “All out Stupidity and Silliness”.

“The Family”, The Manzonis a notorious Mafia family, are on their way to witness protection. They have been relocated to Normandy France. They go about trying to fit with daily check-ups from their FBI Handler (Tommy Lee Jones), but soon find themselves doing things “their way”. Each family member has some sort of run-in during their first full day in the little sleepy town of Normandy. Soon they settle in, but back in the US, there are mobsters still trying to find them. The story unfolds from there…

The problem with “The Family” is there is no foundation and you are left to make your own determinations about the reason The Manzonis have been relocated. You are shown snippets of days and events long past, but even then the picture isn’t quite set. I see “The Family” as more of a “Dark Comedy” that doesn’t quit come together. The bright spot is the cast.

I would wait for “The Family” to come out on DVD, Blueray or Cable.

Riddick: An IMAX Experience

In this fourth installment “Riddick” (Vin Diesel) finds himself left for dead on a sun scorched planet amongst alien predators. These Alien Predators appear to be a cross between the monster from the movie “Alien” and the “Cracken” monster from the movie “Clash of the Titans”.

The only way off this horrific planet is to activate an emergency beacon, but to do this would bring mercenaries to the planet looking to place Riddick’s head in a box and collect the bounty. Two ships do arrive each jockeying for how they are going to capture Riddick and collect the bounty, but Riddick appears to have the upper hand. He starts to single handedly pick off his adversaries one by one. The story unfolds from there…

Big issue…There doesn’t seem to be any relationship between this installment and any of the others. It’s pretty obvious that the movie is low-budget. It’s a piece of Sci-Fi fare that should have been left on the cutting room floor. The gore and bloodiness are off the charts. I found myself looking away several times. There is tons of action, violence and a bit of nudity, but there isn’t much else. The story sort of rambles on with no meaning and is complete utter nonsense. Some of the dialog isn’t understandable. I think that if the story were more gripping the movie would be tolerable.

“Riddick” ranks up there with “The Lone Ranger” that came out earlier this summer. Neither of these movies should have been made. What a waste… The Rotten Tomatoes rating for “Riddick” is one point from being fresh. I found that to be a laugh. I like Vin Diesel, but he should stick to the “Fast and Furious” franchise.

2 Guns

Denzel Washington plays Bobby Trench a DEA Agent and Mark Wahlberg is Marcus Stigman a U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer. For the past year they have both been trying to infiltrate the Mexican Drug Cartel.
Their current sting operation goes awry and they are disavowed by their superiors, so they devise a new plan to flush out all of the bad guys. The plan is that Bobby and Marcus pull of a very easy robbery at the local bank. $43 million dollars is stolen. This brings everyone out of the woodwork. The story unfolds from there…
Suspense, Intrigue, Twists and Turns are the order of the day with “2 Guns”. There is even a bit of slapstick comedy. There is lots of violence.
I feel the weak link is Paula Patton’s role. She doesn’t portray a detective very well. She was boring. Otherwise the movie is good.
The story is a bit disjointed, but it does all come together quickly. “2 Guns” is definitely worth a look. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg make an interesting duo.

The Wolverine 3D

In this installment Mutant Wolverine is a century-old. He is lured to Japan to say Good-bye to a very old friend whose life he once saved, but once Wolverine arrives he finds out that things are not what they seem and he finds himself being pushed to his physical and emotional limits. The real threat of death hangs over him. The story unfolds from there…

“The Wolverine” is not great, it’s just pretty good. There is some cool Samurai sword fighting and the cinematography is interesting, but the story is a bit boring and dis-jointed. However there are a few eyebrow raising surprises.

Hugh Jackman’s dialog comes out as growls rather than actual speaking. The saving grace is that Hugh Jackman is as buff as I ever seen him without a shirt. He’s definitely “Eye Candy” for the ladies.

It’s definitely a waste of money from the 3D aspects. If you are a Wolverine fan then don’t miss this.

This is the sixth time that Hugh Jackman has reprised his role as Wolverine. This tale is getting a bit stale.

Red 2

The 2011 sleeper hit “Red” follows up its success with a sequel.

Retired Black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) reunites with his motley crew of elite operatives to chase down and recover a missing nuclear war head. This chase takes them to London, Russia (Moscow), France and of course the United States.

To find the missing warhead the team will have to battle a gang of relentless assassins who will stop at nothing to try and stop them from recovering the warhead. The story unfolds from there…

Unfortunately “Red 2” is not quite as interesting or entertaining as its predecessor. I was very sad to see that Morgan Freeman did not reprise his role from the first installment.

I found Helen Mirren to be as good in this installment as she was in the first. Any part of the movie that she is in is fun to watch. Unfortunately she is only in about 40% of the movie. Bruce Willis kicks the butt of men half his age with ease. He’s getting a bit too old to continue this pastime. Anthony Hopkins is a breath of fresh air, unfortunately his air comes a bit too late in the movie.

I found “Red 2” to be a bit stupid and boring.

The Lone Ranger

Movie: The Lone Ranger
Running Time: 2hr. 29min
Cast: Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, Tom Wilkinson, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter

I was extremely skeptical about “The Lone Ranger”. I should have heeded my mind.
“The Lone Ranger” is full of miscalculations, over the top action, extreme western-style violence and goof-ball scenes.
The movie is told in a “2nd Person” type fashion. Johnny Depp is “Tonto” a Native American Spirit Warrior who tells the story of how John Reid (Armie Hammer) a District Attorney in Western Times became “The Lone Ranger”. The story that is told is like a violent runaway train that doesn’t stop for 150 minutes.

The movie will take you in so many directions with so many sub-plots that it gives new meaning to the term “Screw-Ball” comedy. Additionally the movie is way to long and takes to long to get to the point.
There are funny laugh out loud scenes, but they only make-up about 20% of the movie. The rest is mayhem, stupidity and goof-ball nonsense.

Although it is a Disney Production, “The Lone Ranger” is not for children. It is an adult movie.

White House Down

Movie: White House Down
Running Time: 2hr. 17min
Cast: Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, James Woods

Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) dreams of being on the Secret Service Detail to protect President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). John has been granted an interview at the White House along with Tour passes for him and his daughter.
Once the interview is over and John has been denied the position, he doesn’t have the heart to tell his daughter the bad news, so instead he takes her on the White House Tour. While on the tour a HUGH explosion occurs. Soon after the White is taken over by a Paramilitary group; Racing against the clock John Cale tries to save the president, his daughter and the country. The story unfolds from there…

“White House Down” is ok. I have to compare it to “Olympus Has Fallen” and I know I was critical of “Olympus Has Fallen”, but after see “White House Down”, “Olympus” was the better movie.
“White House Down” is a non-stop action extravaganza with intense violence, intense gun fire and lots of explosions. You will be entertained.

The problem with “White House Down” is the plot. It’s not really laid out. This just sort of happens. However the holes are closed and the package is wrapped up nicely and tied with a bow at the end. You must sit through 2 hours and 17 minutes to get to the truth.

Once again in a review I will refer to the 1988 blockbuster “Die Hard”. “White House Down” is “Die Hard at the White House”. John Cale (Channing Tatum) is John McClane (Bruce Willis).

See it for yourself.

Man of Steel: An IMAX 3D Experience

Remember “Batman Begins”? “Man of Steel” is Christopher Nolan’s first installment of the untold story of Superman. I say untold because this movie starts at the very beginning just as Superman is about to be born.
The planet Krypton is about to be destroyed. Superman’s biological parents want to save him from a certain fate, so they ship the infant off to earth. Fast-forward about 20 years…now a grown-up Superman must confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when people from Krypton come to earth to get him back. The story unfolds from there…
“Man of Steel” does a nice job of giving snippets of Superman growing up in rural Mid-West America. The cinematography and special effects are really good. The action at times is really intense. The story does come together nicely, although there are times that it jumps around too much and becomes a bit mundane.
You definitely want to see this in IMAX, although 3D is not required. The 3D aspects are pretty good, but not worth the extra dollars.
As I stated earlier this is a Christopher Nolan production. We can expect several more installments just like he did Batman.
If you are a Superman fan, by all means do go see “Man of Steel”.