KILLSHOTDiane Lane, Mickey RourkeCRIME DRAMA THRILLERKnown only by his alias "Blackbird", mafia hit man Armand Degas always eliminates his target, along with any and all possible witnesses. Carmen and Wayne Colson are in the middle of sorting out a divorce and inadvertently witness a botched hit. While they managed to fend off the attack, they are next on the hit list and are put under witness protection. Not before long, Blackbird catches up to the Colsons' and its a fight for survival and each other. The Good : Tense scenes, great performance by Joseph Gordon LevittThe Bad : Some dead pan acting, uninspired average 'killer on the loose' plot-5/10
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THOUGHTS/SPOILERS :
Overall an average movie about a killer on the loose with a more fully featured ensemble cast of B List actors and actresses. I bought this as I was curious about the acting history of Mickey Rourke given his casting in the recent movie, The Expendables.
Rourke commands a bit of screen presence but his acting is rather subdued and stiff. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance takes the cake as the loud mouth wanton bank robber whom Rourke's character takes under his wing.
The movie was suitably tense in areas but let down by its predictable plot.
RESIDENT EVIL : AFTERLIFEMilla JovovichACTION, SCI-FIHot on the tail of Umbrella Corporation, Alice and her clones tackle one branch of the elusive operations after another. Picking up traces of an old friend reignites her search for survivors and plunges Alice back into the zombie infested mayhem that has engulfed much of the planet.THE GOOD : Bullet splicing 3D/CGI slow mo shots are a visual delight. There's a few scares (predictable) and enough cheesy cliches to garner a few chuckles. THD BAD : Plot a hamfisted mess, characters are uninspired.THE UGLY : The dog with the splitting jaws and mutated heads is a nasty visual.> 2/10====================THOUGHTS / SPOILER WARNING : Overall I found little reason to watch this movie other than the fact that it was filmed at our school causing for quite the ruckus and arousing the curiosity of an otherwise apathetic student body. So I shelled out for the movie ticket when the film finally came out to see just how producers ended up portraying the particulars on the campus and I was delighted with not one, but two scenes, the latter was filmed at the more famous Robarts Library at St. George.There were some chuckles like the casting of Wentworth Miller as a very expressionless Chris Redfield who ironically is found in a jail cell during his character's debut in the movie. (Prison Break, anyone?) The rest of the movie is just one blunder after another, story wise and in and of itself. I doubt any fan of the video games even bother to follow the movie series at this point. The gratuitous usage of CGI benefits the movie's post apocalyptic renditions of cityscape and frequent special effects shots but in this day and age, many video games are actually outclassing movies with respect to story, cinematics and characters. The previous episodes were better but the series as a whole is on a downhill slide and with room for a 5th installment, I hope they use it wisely or not at all.
THERE WILL BE BLOODDaniel Day-LewisDRAMAThere is nothing glamourous about the oil industry at the turn of the century where mineral prospector turned oil worker Daniel Plainview toughened it out scooping crude bubbling up at the bottom of a well into buckets. The methods are crude and an accident one day robs a worker of his life orphaning his baby son. Plainview adopts the small boy.
Enjoying moderate success years later, the duo are approached by a young man claiming to have oil bubbling up on their tract of land and for a small price, will divulge on the details. Jumping on the opportunity, Plainview and his adopted son head up to inspect the land, meeting the family and indeed discovering the oil. The young man's twin brother and up and coming preacher, Eli Sunday, has ambitious plans of his own and the two initially square off over the land but soon becoming entangled into a battle for personal dominance.THE GOOD : Ruthlessly dark bipolar performance by Day-Lewis, gritty atmosphere, great cinematography. The battle between the two leads is a maniacally dark one and descends into madness.THE BAD : A tad long, not kind to the impatient movie goerTHE UGLY : The madness knows no bounds.> 9/10=================THOUGHTS / SPOILERS :The movie opens up to a cringe worthy accident that sets the tone for the rest of the movie and if any composer can be praised for a nail biting, chalkboard scratch of a soundtrack, it would be Johnny Greenwood. It nails the ambiance of this movie firmly in the unfolding hell despite some deliciously picturesque pan overs of sundried Californian landspace.Day-Lewis' performance sold the movie and in turn the movie will sell him for many years to come as this may just be the definitive Day-Lewis film. He plays the character Plainview with an unflinching menace that speaks just as loudly in the subtleties as it does in plainview (ha!)The scope of Plainview is so widespread and engrossing, you'd be still busy tallying up the score/damage long after you have left the theatre.
SHINJUKU INCIDENT, 2009
Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu
DRAMA
Harsh times in rural China and an absence of communication from his sweetheart prompts tractor mechanic Tietou ('Steelhead') to go to Japan to search for her whereabouts.
Upon arrival, Steelhead catches up with his contacts in the underground Chinese community, many of whom have resorted to working illegally on low income jobs like cooking and sanitation to get by. During a night shift at a restaurant, Steelhead is devastated when he spots his fiancee with a local Yakuza boss.
Determined to make something for himself and his comrades and fund legal citizenship in Japan, Steelhead organizes money laundering operations which garner a new found prosperity for the impoverished group. The events do not go unnoticed by authorities and other factions of the criminal underworld and set off a chain of violence that none of them saw coming.
THE GOOD : Tense & dark atmosphere well maintained, plot holds up for the most part.
THE BAD : Acting could be more inspired.
THE UGLY : Some scenes were very gruesome, be prepared.
-7/10
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THOUGHTS / SPOILER WARNING:
I thought this was a interesting departure for Jackie Chan forgoing his usual blend of slapstick action for a more dramatic role while not overly challenging, he succeeds for the most part. The movie captures some of the hardships endured by pioneering immigrant generations and the obstacles they face on both sides of the law.
Jackie's character, Steelhead, saves Inspector Kitano early on in the movie from drowning during a police raid on illegal migrant workers during a night shift cleaning sewers. The decision to save the cop earns Steelhead respect from the lawman who later on serves as a source of hope and guidance. Every money laundering efforts by Steelhead and his crew are marred when a misguided turn to rigging slot machines drops the innocent Jie into the hands of the Taiwanese gang who are quick to make an example of him. (Close your eyes or lose the food.) Seeking revenge for his friend, Steelhead sneaks into the rival gang's headquarters and instead overhears a plan to assassinate the Yakuza boss and ends up foiling the plot. Thankful for the intervention, boss Euguchi allows Steelhead some time alone with his sweetheart and even takes him in as a hitman to eliminate opposing figures within the hierarchy.
The movie is dark and tense with Steelhead progressively fouling his conscience and his relationships as he takes on job after job to make ends meet. Much of it will leave you gripping your seat handles (maybe even squirm) when rather violent retributions build up as Steelhead struggles to keep separate his dealings with the Yakuza and his attempts to lead his people to legal citizenship in Japan.
TRIAGE (2009)Colin Farrel, Paz Vega
DRAMA, MYSTERY
Colin Farrel plays a photojournalist well known for his work in unforgiving parts of the world. He heads off with his best friend and co-photographer to cover the war torn region of Kurdistan. He returns home shaken and tormented, his partner missing.
Concern at home amounts and he only remembers having been separated during an ambush before awaking injured in the triage. Distancing himself from family and friends, he pours over his photos, haunted by the mystery of his missing friend.
The GOOD : Good premise to the story, Christopher Lee's always a treat to see
The BAD : Stiff acting, kept in suspension too long and the film looses pace.
> 5/10
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THOUGHTS / SPOILER WARNING :
I felt compelled to buy the DVD because of its content on photography and possible commentary on the breed of war photography. It would make some interesting remarks especially as it pertains to personal choices to composition as photographers, but doesn't really go far with the material.
Its slow burn mystery that is somewhat disconnected and and uninvolved as you begin to catch on that there is more than meets the eye. Some interesting usage of camera and the gritty atmosphere of Kurdistan are a visual treat but the movie still feels long drawn and even the appearance of Christopher Lee late in the film feels misused and cannot fully save the films shortcomings. (his appearance did weigh in favour of my purchasing the dvd, though)
