Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: Extraction
I DID NOT UNDERSTAND MY INFATUATION with wristwatches for many years. My stable of watches covered any occasion. There was a black rubber banded watch I wore when I taught fitness/yoga classes, because it had a button to make the digital dial glow in the dark; so, I could keep track of the members’ time performing the series of exercises/poses I was leading. I had an expensive silver analog watch that I only wore on special events such as a wedding or black tie charity dinner. To me, each of my watches had their own personality. Putting on my oversized square dialed watch with the funky looking symbols for numbers made me feel like I was the face for cutting edge fashion. I know, it sounds so silly when I say it now. However, with all my watches I loved them but I was not attached to any particular one. While it was wrapped around my wrist, the watch had this strange hold on me. I cannot explain it but each watch seemed to embolden me; I was less fearful of the activities I was a participant in for that day. However, once I took the watch off of my wrist and put it away, I was done with it and back to my “regular” self. DURING A CONVERSATION WITH A FRIEND, I discovered a childhood event that seemed to be the catalyst for my attraction to watches. We were talking about bowling and I was telling him about the time I took the bowling ball in both hands and ran down the alley until I reached the pins, to throw the ball at them. What pins remained standing I kicked with my feet. That memory triggered another memory that took place a few years after that time, where I threw 3 strikes in a row. I was with a cousin and we had been bowling a couple of games. When I bowled the 3 strikes, I could not contain my excitement. It was enough where the bowlers around me noticed my cousin and I celebrating. When we finished up and turned in our shoes, we walked outside to make our way back to his house. It had only been 1 or 2 blocks but I had suddenly realized I left my watch on our alley’s table. Running back to the bowling alley, I ran to our lane only to find no watch sitting there. I looked everywhere but could not find it; I was devastated. It was my very first “adult” watch and I had lost it. For weeks I remained sad about it and if I remember correctly, I did not get a replacement watch for several years. This loss I believe triggered my desire to have multiple watches so I would not get attached to just one. Seeing this action thriller, I have to wonder if similar circumstances drove the main character to act the way he did. WHEN A DRUG LORD’S SON WAS kidnapped and held for ransom, mercenary Tyler Rake, played by Chris Hemsworth (Thor franchise, Men in Black: International) was hired to retrieve the boy. He thought he was only in it for the money. With Rudhraksh Jaiswal (Kosha, Mahabharat-TV) as Ovi Mahajan, Randeep Hooda (Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, Highway) as Saju, Golshifteh Farahani (Paterson, Body of Lies) as Nik Khan and Priyanshu Painyuli (Once Again, Upstarts) as Amir Asif; this movie was all about the action scenes. I will have to say some of them were thrilling. Though the fight scenes were violent and bloody, they were perfectly executed. I think this might have been the hardest physically for Chris; it was that intense. The story was within the realm of other hostage films; there were not many surprises. However, it maintained my interest for the most part. Nothing earth shattering here; just an adrenaline fueled action film with a slight bend to it. There were multiple scenes where Hindi and Bengali were spoken with English subtitles.
2 ½ stars
Flash Movie Review: The Infiltrator
I tried throwing out several different topics but they would always steer the conversation back to their job. If I made reference to something that happened to me they would match the experience with someone in their office. Have you ever met a person who brings their work home with them? Maybe because from my day job I go and teach evening fitness and yoga classes, I have an easier time of letting go of the workaday world. I am a big believer in employees finding a way to let go of their job stress and not carry it through their daily life. From my yoga classes I have seen what stress can do to a person’s body and mind. There have been some participants walking into class for the first time who are so tightly wound up they look like they could break on their very first yoga pose. It is funny but I actually offered a free yoga class to the individual I was referring to earlier but they declined. The reason I suggested it was because I could see their shoulders rise up towards their ears as soon as they started talking about their work. It was obvious to me they could not let go of their stress. Sadly this was not the only person I knew who brought their work home with them; I have been exposed to quite a few individuals who live to work as opposed to work to live. Feel free to take a look at the guy in this crime drama and tell me if he is bringing his work home with him. DISCOVERING an opportunity to make a huge drug bust against a major drug lord meant Robert Mazur, played by Bryan Cranston (Trumbo, Argo), would have to go undercover and put off retirement. Too bad Robert did not know if it would be worth the trade-off. Based on a true story this biographical film started out slow for me; but just like undertaking a building project, it kept getting bigger and deeper. The acting was first class by everyone including John Leguizamo (Chef, Vanishing on 7th Street) as Emir Abreu, Diane Kruger (Unknown, National Treasure) as Kathy Ertz and Benjamin Bratt (Miss Congeniality, The Lesser Blessed) as Roberto Alcaino. One may expect Bryan to be terrific but I was impressed even more by Diane and Benjamin. Their performances were the most believable for me. I thought the directing not only gave depth to the characters but it also added intensity to various scenes. Besides the beginning of the film there were a few slow parts, along with a couple of things that seemed out of place compared to the major story; however, the acting was so good I did not feel these few things took too much away from my experience watching this picture. The other thing I want to mention is the actual story. It was so out of the realm of my world that I had moments of disbelief, but it was not a distraction. I may be intense at times but I have to tell you after seeing this film I am just thankful I can leave my work behind at the end of the day.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Hot Pursuit
Everyone was having a good time as things continued to go smoothly at the reception. The top reason for this was due to the main attraction, the bride and groom. They were each outgoing individuals that were able to create memorable times no matter the situation. Now as a couple their chemistry only accentuated their fun qualities. All the guests were mingling and chatting during the cocktail hour, telling each other memories they had shared with the bride and/or groom. Dinner was announced as the large padded doors along one wall were folded back, revealing a room glowing in a soft palette of white, burgundy and gold colors. There was an orchestra playing music as the guests headed to their seats. After everyone was seated the orchestra leader announced the newly married couple as they entered in to the sound of cheers and applause from family and friends. Once they were seated the first toasts of the evening were given by each of the parents. They shared personal fun stories about their children, giving the crowd a good laugh. The next toast came from the best man who was the groom’s best friend. Since they had known each other since 1st grade, there were intimate tales the best man felt for some reason were okay to tell the crowd. One embarrassing story led to another with a running joke that was only cute the first time. The lukewarm reaction to the joke did not stop the best man; his speech dragged out to a point where the crowd was dulled into boredom. JUST like the best man overstayed his welcome, so did the main characters in this action comedy. Reese Witherspoon (Wild, Walk the Line) played uptight police officer Cooper who was assigned to protect Daniella Riva, played by Sofia Vergara (Chef, Modern Family-TV), the wife of a drug lord. Cooper’s training did not prepare her for Daniella and all the bad guys after her. I was surprised by this movie’s story. Sure there was humor to mine when the two main characters were total opposites of each other; however, the writers did nothing new with them. The running joke about Daniella’s accent and not being understood got old very fast. I found Reese’s character, which was the blander of the two, annoying after a short time. As the movie went on it dawned on me that it was similar to the film, The Heat with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. The difference being this was a very poor version of it. I read afterwards that Reece and her production company want to bring out strong women driven films which I am all for; but if this was an example of what is in store for the movie audience, I think it will push back the limited gains that have been made already.
1 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Dredd
Driving around the city, it has become more and more I wish I had the authority to be the judge, jury and executioner for the crazy drivers around me. The guy who was brushing his teeth and rinsing out with a can of soda while driving would get canned by me. Or the woman who was weaving out of her lane because she was putting on her makeup would be brushed off the road if I had a say. And do not get me started on the parent who was too busy talking on their cell phone at the grocery store to notice their child pulling items off the shelf and onto the floor. If I was in charge there would me more parking spaces and less traffic on the road. Not being a follower of Judge Dredd, I went into this movie with only a vague memory of the 1995 Sylvester Stallone film. Set in the future, citizens lived in huge mega towers that reached 200 floors. The police were known as judges since they had the authority to arrest, try and if need be instantly execute felons. Judge Dredd, played by Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy) was a top judge who was assigned a female rookie to train. Cassandra Anderson, played by Olivia Thirlby (Juno, No Strings Attached), was no ordinary judge; she possessed strong psychic abilities. Called to a brutal crime scene, the two became trapped in one of the mega towers, with a bounty placed on their heads by the evil drug lord Ma-Ma, played by Lena Headley (300, Game of Thrones-TV). With the odds stacked against them, the two judges would have to outwit and outlast the constant stream of thugs hell bent on killing them. Karl Urban took this role to heart, not once removing his helmet to give his face some screen time. Olivia did a fine job of acting in this tense film. The special effects were good, especially when showing the effects of the mind altering drug Slo-Mo. What lacked in this movie was sheer excitement; I never felt emotionally engaged with the action scenes. They came across as if they had been over rehearsed, casting a dullness onto the scenes. It seemed as if each scene was volleying between chasing or shooting. The elements were all in place for this to be a better movie; ironically it was the execution of it that softened the impact. Graphic violence with blood.
2 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Raid: Redemption
During one point of the movie I felt I was watching an extreme episode of the Iron Chef. There was so much slicing and dicing, I almost had to take a motion sickness pill. The story was simple: a small swat team of police officers, on a mission to bring in a ruthless drug lord, got trapped in his compound. Vastly outnumbered, the team had to fight their way through an endless amount of the drug lord’s minions. There was nothing to the story, it only had sparse dialog and practically non-existent acting. The key element here was the action scenes. The main star was Rama, played by Iko Uwais (Merantau). My guess is the studio was hoping to market Iko as the next martial arts superstar. He was a national champion in silat, a traditional Indonesian martial art, which he has been studying since he was 10 years old. The fight scenes were choreographed down to the millisecond. The actors moved so fast I wondered how many real injuries took place while filming. After several battles, they all seemed to be the same to me except for the level of violence. If you play violent video games, you would be okay with this movie. Though I could appreciate the intricate fight scenes, I did not enjoy viewing this movie. Ginzu knives missed a great marketing opportunity here. Warning: extreme violence. Indonesian with English subtitles.
1 3/4 stars
moviejoltz 