Tag: Ben Kingsley

Operation Finale

Fifteen years after the end of WWII the Israel Intelligence agency launched a secret mission to capture the notorious Eichmann (Ben Kingsley). Eichmann had been reported dead following the Nazi Germany’s collapse but was, in fact living and had a wife, 2 sons and was working in a suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina under an assumed identity. Once he was discovered, the agency put together a team and started watching Eichmann’s every move and planning when they could actually grab him. The story unfolds from there…

Based on a true story, Compelling, Suspenseful, Slow and Intriguing are the best ways to describe “Operation Finale”. The title of the movie is very fitting. Capturing Eichmann was a “Finale” for a lot of people who survived WWII.

Ben Kingsley was stellar in his performance. If you can stand seeing the events of WWII Nazi unfold in front of you check out “Operation Finale”.

This is a 3 Star Movie!

Collide

“Collide” wasn’t on my original “Watch List”, but I decided to check it out.

“Collide” is about a heist that goes terribly wrong. A prominent business tycoon uses his empire as a cover as every 6 months he brings in Cocaine to be distributed in parts of Germany. A regular business man is aware of what’s been going on and wants in on the action from a financial perspective. The two gentlemen meet, but the meeting does not go well. The prominent business tycoon refuses to do business.

This leaves the regular business man to devise a scheme to get what he wants. He recruits a couple of young guys that work for him with the lure of an extremely large payday. The two guys put together what they believe is a fool-proof plan, but the prominent business tycoon is a bit smarter and what appears to be the perfect heist goes awry. The story unfolds from there…

The best thing about “Collide” is there are lots of nasty car chases involving extremely expensive cars.
You would think that a movie containing Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley would be very good. Not so in the case of “Collide”. The story is rich, but it’s not executed very well. The dialog is horrible.

Several people got up and left in the mid of the movie and did not come back! I started to leave, but my curiosity got the best of me, so I stayed.

There is a reason that “Collide” did not get much press. It’s an awful movie, so I am sure they were thinking why bother…

“Collide” is best viewed on Cable. It’s not worth the price of a Blue-Ray or DVD.

This movie does not rate any stars!

The Walk in 3D

“The Walk” is based on a true story about a young Frenchmen, Philippe Petit, and a cast of unlikely recruits who work together to help Philippe pull off the stunning act of hanging a wire between the two World Trade Center Towers so that Philippe can “walk” the wire.

After seeing a high wire act in Paris, a young Philippe Petit knows early on that he too wants to “walk” the wire. He spends all of his free time practicing to the annoyance of his Father. As time passes Philippe moves away from home in search of the perfect place to hang his wire. He performs to crowds on the streets of Paris.

While in the Dentist office Philippe sees a newspaper advertising the World Trade Center Towers. Philippe knows then that he must go to New York and hang his wire between the World Trade Center Towers. The story unfolds from there…

The first 45 minutes of the movie is just “Dead Space”. This causes a slow start which in turn causes you not to be able to get into the story right away. The last hour is when everything starts to come together and the story becomes interesting.

The Cinematography at times is stunning. The 3D aspects of the movie are very good. Brush up on your French because sometimes French is the dialog used.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie

Self/less

“Self/less” is “Selfish”!! Its “Selfish” in its Execution and “Selfish” in its Delivery.

An extremely wealthy business man Damien (Ben Kingsley) is dying from some form of neurological cancer. He is offered a chance to undergo a form of radical treatment that transfers his consciousness into a healthy younger man.

Once the transfer takes place and the healthy young Damien (Ryan Reynolds) wakes up, is rehabilitated and starts his new life, all is not what it seems. As the younger Damien starts to uncover the mystery of the original older Damien, the secret society behind the treatment will stop at nothing to protect its cause.
The story unfolds from there…

This is one of the worst executed stories I have seen in a long while. It seems that the story is being made up as it moves along. There are so many miss-connected dots. The story does not flow at all. It starts off odd, gets odder as the movie continues and ends in strange fashion.
This is a movie that should have gone straight to video. Its not worth the money. In fact it probably should have been placed on the cutting floor.

It was a waste of Ben Kingsley and Ryan Reynolds acting abilities.

I do not recommend “Self/less”

Night At the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

“Night At The Museum: Secret of The Tomb” was more like “Chaos and Confusion at the Museum”.

Larry (Ben Stiller) embarks on a wild night-time epic adventure to try and save the magic before it’s too late.

There were a few funny, crazy scenes, some great music and it was great to see a lot of the familiar museum pieces from the previous installments and there are even a few new pieces, but this installment is clearly lacking and disjointed.

I am sure the stars had fun making this film, but it’s time for the museum pieces to go back to the “Still Life”.
The magic has clearly run its course.

This is a 2 Star Movie!

Exodus: Gods and Kings: The IMAX Experience

This epic adventure from Ridley Scott does not live up to the big shoes it has to fill from the classic source.

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” is a story of the leader Moses (Christian Bale) who dares to try and take on an Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton). Moses will eventually lead over 600,000 slaves on a daring journey from Egypt. The story unfolds from there…

The cinematography is breath-taking. The camera angles are great. The visual effects are very good. Unfortunately that’s about as good as it gets. The dialog is a bit lacking. The story falls short of really gaining your complete attention.

“Exodus: Gods and Kings” just doesn’t live up to the classic source.

This is disappointing as I expected better.

This is a 1 1/2 Star Movie!

Ender’s Game

An Elite group of talented and gifted children are selected to train for a potentially very catastrophic War.

Ender Wiggins, shy but a strategically brilliant young leader, is recruited to join the elite group.

Once at the Battle School, Ender quickly masters the increasingly difficult challenges and simulations that are presented to him.
Ender soon gains that attention of Graff who is one of the schools Commanders who ordains Ender as the military’s next great hope. Ender is soon promoted to Commander School where he is trained to lead and given his own team of soldiers to lead into the next epic battle. The story unfolds from there…
If you read the NY Times best-selling novel you won’t be disappointed. It’s definitely a must see in IMAX to get the full effect. The special effects, cinematography and camera angles are fabulous. There is a small lull in the film, but it arrives at the end respectfully. Although this is a first chapter, “Ender’s Game” will lead to a blockbuster franchise.