Tag: Liam Neeson

Memory

Memory

Liam Neeson plays Alex Lewis, an expert assassin who gets caught up in a web of deception when he refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization. The FBI is on his tail as well as members of the organization that he did not deliver for. It’s a game of cat and mouse. The story unfolds from there…

I love Liam Neeson. He possesses a certain set of skills, but unfortunately “Memory” is unmemorable. This is not Liam Neeson’s fault, he did the best he could with what he was given. The story and action are stale and the plot’s not far behind. Is it possible for me to get the time back in my life that I spent watching this?

“Memory” did not open in theaters and now I understand why. It’s available to stream for a fee on Amazon Prime. “Memory” is definitely not one of Liam Neeson’s best movies, but if you are bored with nothing to do, check out “Memory” to see some of Liam Neeson’s certain skills.

This is a 2 Star Movie!!

Cold Pursuit

Liam Neeson returns in an action packed drama that has some comic relief.

Nels Coxman (Liam Neeson) is a snow remover who works day and night to keep the roads plowed between the mountain towns and the city of Denver. Little does Nels know that his son who works are the local airport as a baggage handler has a drug problem. When Nels son is found dead, things get dicey. The story unfolds from there…

“Cold Pursuit” contains lots of action and intrigue. It’s a good movie with a few dead spots. There is enough going on to keep you interested. At times the movie comes across like a comedy play with some dark moments.

This is a 3 ½ Star Movie!!

Widows

“Widows” is a great way to kick off the Holiday Season!!

Four woman who have nothing in common eventually come together because their husbands are dead due to their criminal activities and it soon comes to light that a debt was left behind and those who think they are owed come to collect. The story unfolds from there…

“Widows” is a gritty suspenseful drama. The movie is well executed and has lots of intrigue and enough action to keep you interested. Definitely a great way to start the holiday season at the box office.

“Widows” is an excellent collaborative effort between writer Gillian Flynn (“Gone Girl”) and director Steve McQueen III (“12 Years a Slave”).

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

The Commuter

“The Commuter” would be an awesome action-packed thriller if the story made sense and provided a foundation from the beginning, but it doesn’t do either of those things. You the viewer have to piece the story together yourself, it’s not an easy task.

Michael (Liam Neeson) an Insurance Salesman who rides a Commuter Train every day is approached by a mysterious woman (Vera Farmiga) who seems to know him. This woman offers Michael a strange assignment that is lucrative, this has him intrigued, but cautious. Soon Michael finds out he is being blackmailed and his entire family is in danger if he does not complete the assignment that the mysterious woman offers him. The story unfolds from there…

I love Liam Neeson, but not in “The Commuter”. He does what he can with what he was given, but yet it’s not enough! The context of the story does not make sense. You are not given enough to fully understand the “What’s and the Why’s”. It does come together at the end, but at the end it’s too late!!

There are several excellent movies currently playing. “The Commuter” is worth a look, but only as a last resort.

This is a 2 ½ Star Movie!

A Monster Calls

“A Monster Calls” is based on a best-selling novel by Patrick Ness. The story is about a 12 year old boy, Conor (Lewis MacDougall) who has a lot on his young plate. Conor is dealing with his terminally ill mother (Felicity Jones), a mean, unsympathic grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) and if that’s not enough Conor is being bullied at school. To cope with all that is going on, Conor tries to loose himself in his art.

Soon Conor finds an unlikely ally when a Tree Monster (Liam Neeson) appears at his bedroom window at 12:07am. This time turns out to be significant because at 12:07am just about every night the Tree Monster appears doling out advise, stories and wisdom. The Monster helps give Conor courage to face the truth and deal with all of the events in his life. The story unfolds from there…

Although dark at times “A Monster Calls” has some eye pleasing visuals. The special effects are really good. The story is very emotional and moving.

This is a 4 ½ Star Movie!

Run All Night

I thought the weekend was going to slip by before I could see “Run All Night”. I have been severely under the weather with an Acute Sinus Infection and on Antibiotics. Heavily medicated I was NOT going to let a Liam Neeson movie pass by if I could help it. So off to the movies I went late this Sunday afternoon.

Liam Neeson plays Jimmy Conlon, a mob hit-man in this crime thriller. He and his estranged son Mike Conlon (Joel Kinnaman) are fleeing the wrath of a vengeful crime boss, Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris) after Jimmy kills Shawn Maguire’s son in self defense to save his own son, Mike. The story unfolds from there…

There are lots of twists and turns and intrigue. It’s in your face violence. There are some interest stunts and moves, but nothing to far out of the way that it’s totally unbelievable.
The only strange element is actor Common playing a sort of “Cyborg” Hit Man. He is out of place here…Common is good looking and debonair. He should stick to the “Lover” type roles. He does not transcend to bad guy very well.

If you like Crime Suspense Thrillers and Liam Neeson, “Run All Night” is worth a look.

This is a 3 Star Movie!!

Taken 3

I was mildly excited at the thought of another installment from the Taken series, but alas…this Trilogy has run a ground.

Watching “Taken 3” will make you long for the original installment “Taken”. There is no new ground here. Liam Neeson reprises his role as Bryan Mills the retired ex-covert operative with special skills. Bryan and his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) appear to be trying to reconcile, but when she is murdered and Bryan is framed for her murder, he then has to go on the run to elude the FBI, CIA and the Police while he tracks down the real killers and protect his daughter. The story unfolds from there…

The movie starts off with an unexplained murder. That murder is never really tied to anything in the movie. It just didn’t make sense. There are bright spots in the movie where Liam Neeson is in action kicking butt and involved in some crazy vehicle chases and Forest Whitaker adds some interesting chaos to the movie, but that’s about it. For the most part the dialog throughout the movie is meaningless.

“Taken 3” will take your time and money. I am afraid I have to say it’s the worst of the Trilogy. It’s best viewed on DVD, Cable or Blu-Ray.

This is a 1 Star Movie!

A Walk Among the Tombstones

“A Walk Among the Tombstones” is a good movie, but not for the faint at heart!
Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) a Private Investigator is hired by a drug kingpin to find the people who kidnapped and murdered his wife. Along the way to arriving at the awful truth, Matt must also deal with his own demons as he has flashbacks to a time long past.

As Matt digs into the gruesome details of this particular kidnapping/murder he finds a pattern that leads to other kidnapping/murders of woman who are somehow related to drug kingpins. The story unfolds from there…
As “A Walk Among the Tombstones” progresses it gets more and more suspenseful. There is plenty of drama, intrigue and tension to go around.

I mentioned earlier that this is not for the faint at heart. There are some very grizzly scenes and at times it’s a bit bloody.
Liam Neeson is awesome as Matt Scudder. If you like Suspense Thrillers this is a MUST SEE!

Actor Danny Devito is one of the producers of “A Walk Among the Tombstones”. The movie is based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Block.

This is a 3 1/2 Star 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.

Taken 2

Liam Neeson reprises his role as Bryan Mills the retired CIA operative. Bryan takes a small assignment in Istanbul Turkey. He wraps up the assignment and is ready to return to the USA, but his daughter (Maggie Grace) and her mother Bryan’s ex-wife (Famke Janssen) show up to surprise him. Little does anyone know that the father of one of the kidnappers from the first installment is plotting revenge against Brian. The story unfolds from there…

I really enjoyed the first installment. It’s very difficult to carry over the intrigue and excitement that the 2009 hit “Taken” had. I have to say that while the paid critics were luke-warm about this second installment, they are only half right. The movie has plenty of intrigue and suspense, but the story is weak at best. It lacks the “torture and interrogation scenes that made “Taken” so good.

There isn’t as much action as the first installment, but Liam Neeson is awesome!! He still has the skills of “Jason Borne and MacGyver”.
There is some great cinematography of Istanbul Turkey. I say if you really liked the first installment “Taken” then you should see “Taken 2”.