Rating: B-
There isn't a lot that's more touching or inspiring at the lengths that family members will go to for each other. In this movie, based on real life events, tells the story of how a sister, who is also a working mom; spends18 years, to pass high school, college, and law school, to prove her brother's innocence, because no one else would.
Sam Rockwell has been around for quite a long time, but I've never found that he was memorable in any of them. He does however, do an admirable job of protraying Kenny Waters, an innocent man sentenced to life imprisonment. Playing a young man who gets arrested to a middle aged convict who is finally exonerated, Rockwell's portrayal I think was quite spot on. I did however, find Hilary Swank's depiction of Betty Anne Waters to be a little mechanical. Just slightly.
It's a great story, and truly inspirational, but when you have such a stellar cast that has such pedigree, you have to wonder if perhaps, it's the director Tony Goldwyn that's holding this movie back from greatness. To be quite honest, the whole film plays like a TV movie; but who's to say that a TV movie can't be good right? Who knew that it would be the annoying little antagonist from Iron Man 2 that truly holds this movie together. Huh.
~Cheers.
Monday, 30 May 2011
Friday, 27 May 2011
Movie: The Mechanic (2011)
Rating: C+
I'm not sure why anyone would ever want to remake a Charles Bronson movie. Thankfully, the 2010 version of The Mechanic is much improved with Jason Statham playing the lead role of Arthur Bishop.
In the simplest of terms, one word summarizes this movie. Gratuitous. The sex scenes, the bullets used, the stunts performed; were all applied generously throughout the movie. In the trailer, he said that his jobs sometimes need to look like accidents. It made me think of a movie from Hong Kong called, 意外 (Accidents) that came out a few years ago. And I kind of wish they made more of the assignments look like accidents. There was little subtlety in this movie and it made the movie a little bit obvious.
Jason Statham is perfect for this role. He does most (if not all) of his own stunts, can actually fight, and looks completely at ease doing it. Ben Foster on the other hand, reminded me a little too much of this Stand Up Comic with Cerebral Palsy I've seen called Josh Blue. It also seems to me that Donald Sutherland is getting lazy. He still gets his title credits, but the amount of time he spends on the screen is getting shorter and shorter. And it's a bit of a waste to cast such a powerhouse to play little more than an extended cameo. They also need an entirely new role for Tony Goldwyn, or just stop casting him. The second he shows up, you know he's going to end up being the bad guy. But.... With Mini Anden sashaying across the screen with those swaying hips, totally makes up for everything. Haha.
The stunts are over-the-top, explosive, and fairly original. The interplay between Statham and Foster is credible, and despite a couple of holes in the story, is a fairly solid action movie.
~Cheers.
I'm not sure why anyone would ever want to remake a Charles Bronson movie. Thankfully, the 2010 version of The Mechanic is much improved with Jason Statham playing the lead role of Arthur Bishop.
In the simplest of terms, one word summarizes this movie. Gratuitous. The sex scenes, the bullets used, the stunts performed; were all applied generously throughout the movie. In the trailer, he said that his jobs sometimes need to look like accidents. It made me think of a movie from Hong Kong called, 意外 (Accidents) that came out a few years ago. And I kind of wish they made more of the assignments look like accidents. There was little subtlety in this movie and it made the movie a little bit obvious.
Jason Statham is perfect for this role. He does most (if not all) of his own stunts, can actually fight, and looks completely at ease doing it. Ben Foster on the other hand, reminded me a little too much of this Stand Up Comic with Cerebral Palsy I've seen called Josh Blue. It also seems to me that Donald Sutherland is getting lazy. He still gets his title credits, but the amount of time he spends on the screen is getting shorter and shorter. And it's a bit of a waste to cast such a powerhouse to play little more than an extended cameo. They also need an entirely new role for Tony Goldwyn, or just stop casting him. The second he shows up, you know he's going to end up being the bad guy. But.... With Mini Anden sashaying across the screen with those swaying hips, totally makes up for everything. Haha.
The stunts are over-the-top, explosive, and fairly original. The interplay between Statham and Foster is credible, and despite a couple of holes in the story, is a fairly solid action movie.
~Cheers.
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Movie: Predators (2010)
Rating: C
After the past few attempts of futility at trying to keep the Predator franchise alive, I didn't think that I'd have anything good to say about this rendition. Let's not kid ourselves, it's still a Predator movie and you're only watching it for one reason. And for that, Nimrod Antal does an admirable job.
Sometimes I wonder if Danny Trejo would find work without Robert Rodriguez. Sorry... A little non sequitur perhaps, but a random thought from this movie. Haha. Anyway, it's a little hard to get over some of the choice of actors; in particular, Adrien Brody as a Merc, but if you get over that, get over the gutteral cliche one liners and stop trying to make sense of the whole thing, Predators does have its moments.
For one, I never figured Alice Braga to be a military woman, but she's actually a pleasant surprise in this role. For another, the story does attempt to throw you a few surprises. And for a few fleeting moments, you get Lawrence Fishburne. Why? I have no idea. But there he is. Haha. It has its share of gun fights and fight scenes, trying not to be too repetitive, but let's face it. It's got nothing on the original.
~Cheers.
After the past few attempts of futility at trying to keep the Predator franchise alive, I didn't think that I'd have anything good to say about this rendition. Let's not kid ourselves, it's still a Predator movie and you're only watching it for one reason. And for that, Nimrod Antal does an admirable job.
Sometimes I wonder if Danny Trejo would find work without Robert Rodriguez. Sorry... A little non sequitur perhaps, but a random thought from this movie. Haha. Anyway, it's a little hard to get over some of the choice of actors; in particular, Adrien Brody as a Merc, but if you get over that, get over the gutteral cliche one liners and stop trying to make sense of the whole thing, Predators does have its moments.
For one, I never figured Alice Braga to be a military woman, but she's actually a pleasant surprise in this role. For another, the story does attempt to throw you a few surprises. And for a few fleeting moments, you get Lawrence Fishburne. Why? I have no idea. But there he is. Haha. It has its share of gun fights and fight scenes, trying not to be too repetitive, but let's face it. It's got nothing on the original.
~Cheers.
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