Category: Suspense Thriller

Lucy

I am really not sure what I expected from the movie “Lucy”. There haven’t been many previews, but the ones I did see were intriguing…

“Lucy” (Scarlett Johansson) accidentally gets caught in a “dark” situation not of her own making. Circumstances present themselves and Lucy turns the tables on her captors. She is then able to transform herself into a merciless assassin that defies logic and reason. The story unfolds from there…

“Lucy” contains lots of action, suspense and intrigue. It’s also very bloody.
There is a pretty intense car chase through the streets of Paris France that will remind you of a Jason Bourne Movie. There are plenty of special effects.

The problem with “Lucy” is that you are not given any background or foundation for the events leading up to Lucy’s situation. Nothing really makes any sense. There is no plot.

“Lucy” is an ok movie, it’s not great!

This is a 2 1/2 stars movie

Transcendence

“Transcendence” is a Suspense Thriller that doesn’t Thrill!!

Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is a celebrated researcher in the field of artificial intelligence. Will is working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective thought intelligence of everything known and with the full range of human emotion.

Because of his genius Will becomes the target of anti-technology extremists who will stop at nothing to keep Dr. Caster from realizing his dream. The story unfolds from there…

I was unable to wrap my brain around this movie. I am sorry to say but, Johnny Depp should stick to the character “Captain Jack Sparrow” in movies like “Pirate of the Caribbean Dead Man’s Chest”. Rumor has it that “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man Tell No Tales” is slated for 2016.
“Transcendence” was dry, lack-luster and flat. There were a few moments of suspense and intrigue, but that’s about it!!

The paid critics were dead on regarding “Transcendence”. Wait for DVD or Blueray.

Sabotage

“Sabotage” is Sabotage to your wallet. 😦

Breacher (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is the leader of an elite DEA task force that works at capturing the world’s most vicious drug criminals. The team successfully executes a high-stakes raid on a drug cartel safe house, they think their work is complete, but they later find out they are being accused of stealing 10 million dollars from the cartel safe house.

Each team member is thoroughly investigated but nothing was found. They are all given back their badges, guns and equipment. They go back to work, but then one by one they are mysteriously eliminated. As the body count rises, everyone is a suspect. The story unfolds from there…
The story gets off to a bad start…The plot is non-existent until you are half way through the movie. “Sabotage is “In Your Face Bloody”. It’s so bloody that I found myself turning away from the screen several times. The violence is crazy! I have to applaud the cinematography because the views you get are very grisly. Everything looks so realistic. There is plenty of suspense and some intrigue, but the story is lacking substance and depth.

“Sabotage” disappoints. It’s not as good as I had hoped it would be. It’s collateral damage in the worst way.

If you are an Arnold Schwarzenegger fan, “Sabotage” is your movie.

Non-Stop

“Non-Stop” is pretty good!!

Liam Neeson plays Bill Marks a U.S. Air Marshall. Bill is on a Trans-Atlantic flight that leaves New York heading to London. Once the flight is at a comfortable cruising altitude someone taps into the secure communication network that only U.S. Air Marshalls are supposed to have access to.
The threat is “Someone dies every 20 minutes until $150 million dollars is received via wire transfer in a special bank account” Bill Marks is trying to figure out who this person is and why are they doing this. this person seems to know a lot about Bill Marks’ personal life. The clock is ticking. The story unfolds from there…
There is plenty of suspense, intrigue, twists and turns. You will think you have it figured out, but you would be wrong. As the plot thickens so does the body count…

“Non-Stop” does have its moments. It lulls at times, but definitely makes up for it toward the end. The other problem is the actual reason behind everything is far-fetched. Liam Neeson does everything so eloquently that you can over look the movies short comings.

“Non-Stop” is definitely better than “3 Days to Kill”. If you are a Liam Neeson fan then “Non-Stop” is worth a look.

3 Days to Kill

Kevin Costner looks “Hot!!” in “3 Days to Kill” and he has smooth assassin moves. The cinematography is interesting; you will get to see a lot of Paris, France. But that’s it.

In “3 Days to Kill” Ethan Runner (Kevin Costner) is a retired Secret Service agent who has been called out of retirement to pose as an International Spy. His skills are needed for one last job. The request causes Ethan a tremendous amount of anxiety because he is attempting to recapture his old life. Currently Ethan is estranged from his wife and he hasn’t seen his daughter in years. He has kept them at bay and they don’t know what he really does.

If this new assignment isn’t enough, Ethan is also terminally ill. The agency supplies Ethan with injections that help to minimize the pain and agony that often afflicts him. They (CIA) need him to kill one of the most notorious International criminals. The story unfolds from there…

The problem with “3 Days to Kill” is that the story is disjointed; it does not flow and you have no idea of how you arrived at point B from point A. It’s like a runaway train that has no final destination. The plot is interesting, but there is no real understanding behind it. There are at least three stories going on in the movie at one time, but you are not given enough background information to really understand the reasoning behind the events that occur.

Needless to say I am disappointed. I expected better. “3 Days to Kill” is best viewed on DVD, Blueray or Cable.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

It’s always fun to see a Tom Clancey character brought alive on the big screen. “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” would be brilliant if the storyline weren’t so weak and the plot so “Been there before…”

To his friends and family, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) is just another executive working to make a living. Little do they know Jack has been working for the CIA for years. He was originally brought in to handle Global data, but Jack soon uncovers a carefully planned scheme to crash the Global US Economy and create mass chaos.
When Jack flies to Russia to put a stop to the scheme, he soon finds himself caught between a Russian Leader, his clueless fiancée, and his secret handler. The story unfolds from there…

“Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is fast paced, non-stop action, a bit of intrigue and some nice cinematography. Unfortunately that’s where it ends. The story, the plot and the reasoning are all very weak. There are quite a few holes in the story at the beginning, so you are forced to draw your own conclusions.

The movie appears to end when things just seem to be heating up. If the movie had been made with a bit longer running time, the extra time would have served it well.

The Counselor

Please do not waste your money! “The Counselor” is one of the worst movies of 2013!
What an utter disappointment. The movie is all over the map. There are long sex scenes that don’t make sense and have no real place in the movie. I am not sure what Ridley Scott was thinking when he was directing this.
The movie is supposed to be about an attorney who gets in too deep in the drug trafficking business. The story and plot are not obvious and everything is all over the place. The movie is brutally bloody. The previews are extremely miss-leading. I totally expected action, intrigue, drama and a bit of fun given the cast. There is none of that in “The Counselor”.
I have to say that I am not even sure that “The Counselor” warrants a look even when it comes out on DVD or Blueray. I can’t see spending any money on this film at all.

“The Counselor” should have been left on the cutting room floor.

Gravity 3D: An IMAX Experience

This is a movie that I will provide a split decision on my review because while the movie is very well executed and the cinematography is breath-taking I did not enjoy the movie. The movie receives 1 star for stressing me out and 5 stars for Execution, Cinematography and Direction.

Sandra Bullock is Dr. Ryan Stone a brilliant medical engineer on her very first NASA Mission in Space. She and veteran Astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) are on what seems to be a routine space walk repairing parts of a satellite when disaster strikes, destroying their space shuttle and leaving them stranded in space. The story unfolds from there…

There are breath-taking views. The cinematography is great. The story is very well executed and the camera angles you get are fabulous!!
The story just did not interest me, but that doesn’t mean that the movie wasn’t good. I found the story to be stressful.

If you like Sci-Fi Suspense, you will like “Gravity”.
The movie is definitely worth the 3D price tag.

Prisoners

On the edge of your seat suspense” is what “Prisoners” brings to the party. The movie will hold your attention!

“What would you do if your child went missing? How far would you go to get your child back? A Parent’s worst nightmare is what two sets of parents face in “Prisoners”.
On Thanksgiving Day Anna and her friend Joy go missing. As minutes turn into hours which turn into days and weeks everyone associated with the situation starts to panic. The only lead is a dilapidated RV and Detective Loki (Jake Gyllenhaal) arrests it’s driver, but his intense questioning for hours and days of the suspect yields nothing so when the suspect is released by the police department Keller Dover(Hugh Jackman) takes matters into his own hands. The story unfolds from there…

“Prisoners” is an extremely well executed movie. It’s very realistic in its emotions and events that occur. There is plenty of edge of your seat suspense and intrigue. The movie will definitely hold your attention. While I did not like the subject matter, that doesn’t mean the movie was good. It’s a definite must see if you can handle the subject matter. The movie is long in its execution at 2 hours 33 minutes, but worth every minute. There are a few surprise twists that bring everything together toward the end.

As an additional foot note Mark Wahlberg is an executive producer on this movie.

Paranoia

“Paranoia” is a suspense thriller about the high stakes of corporate espionage, corporate rivalry and technology hacking. Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) is trying to get ahead in his current position with Wyatt Telecom. Adam has plenty of ideas as to how the company should adjust its thinking to better serve its customers.

When his ideas are met with disdain from the CEO Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman), Adam decides to take his team out on the town with his corporate credit card to the tune of $6,000 dollars. Adam is called into the CEO’s office the very next morning. As payback the ruthless CEO wants Adam to spy on his rival company, steal technology and secrets. The story unfolds from there…

The story is very disjointed. It’s all over the map. You are not provided with any foundation or basis for the events or actions that take place at the beginning, middle or end of the movie. The plot is totally illogical. Although the execution of some of the events are very good, it’s still not enough to waste your hard earned money on. I am very disappointed. I really like Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman. This is a “Thriller that doesn’t Thrill”.