Blog Archives
Flash Movie Review: Repo Men
These guys could easily be foot soldiers in Hannibal Lecter’s army. At the very least I wish I could hire them for my credit department; it would be one way to get my customers to pay on time. Set in the future, best friends Remy and Jake, played by Jude Law (Hugo, Sherlock Holmes franchise) and Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland, The Experiment), were bad ass repo men. Their employer was in the business of selling body organs. If you had a bad heart or liver, they could easily provide a brand new one, along with a finance plan to make payments. But be careful because if you are late on your payments, the company will send out their collectors to repossess the organ. Remy and Jake were two of the top collectors. Having heard every excuse and promise for making payments; they stayed emotionally detached, doing their job with complete disregard to the health of the poor debtor. I totally understood this considering my position as my company’s credit manager. When one of Remy’s retrievals went wrong, the tables were turned on him as he became the recipient of a top of the line, new heart. This futuristic story touched on topics that are currently being discussed on this country’s health system. There was plenty of action in this film, with Jude and Forest doing an admirable job of acting. I found parts of the movie interesting; that made me think, for example, about the impact of large corporations’ policies on our society. The ending of this violent movie felt like a cop out for me; leaving the parts I did not understand incomplete. There were bloody and graphic scenes throughout this film and are in the movie trailer.
2 1/2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Fast Five
Something happened to me when I was in South Dakota. Driving on roads that stretched all the way to the horizon, with no speed limits; I transformed into a race car driver. At 103 mph it felt like I was flying, giving me a rush I had never experienced before in my life. When I returned home, my driving was forever altered. As long as there was no one else in the car, I took the posted speed limit signs to be mere suggestions. The faster I could drive, the more exciting it was for me. This movie was strictly an adrenaline rush. I felt like someone slapped a testosterone patch on me; I wanted to get behind the wheel of one of the cars in this thriller of a movie. I did not remember the movies that came before this installment and it did not matter. The story was written to allow maximum driving time. Vin Diesel (The Chronicles of Riddick, xXx) was given a minimum vocabulary for his role as Dominic Toretto. Having been broken out from a prison transport bus, Dominic and his group got involved in a car heist that went wrong, down in Brazil. Not only did the group have to battle corrupt crime boss Hernan Reyes, played by Joaquim de Almeida (Behind Enemy Lines, The Conspiracy); but they were also being pursued by federal agent Luke Hobbs, played by Dwayne Johnson (Tooth Fairy, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island). The acting was minimal; this film was made for crashes, bloody fights and speed. Knowing that ahead of time, just fasten your seat belts and enjoy the ride for it was damn good.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises
Before I taught my 1st fitness class, I made the conscience decision that my classes would be filled with fun and laughs. With no political or religious discussions; I only focused on light, humorous subjects. This was what I decided my collection of movie reviews would be on my blog. However, under the circumstances with today’s review; I know in my heart, I must acknowledge the horrific act that took place at this movie’s premiere in Aurora, Colorado. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims. The movie viewing experience will never be the same. I never imagined my life’s timeline would include such a life altering, heinous act. And now for my review of the final installment of this Dark Knight trilogy. It has been 8 years and a reclusive Bruce Wayne/Batman, played by Christian Bale (The Fighter, The Prestige) has aged, including having bad knees. When Gotham is threatened by the evil anarchist Bane, played by Tom Hardy (Warrior, This Means War), Batman returns to Gotham’s defense. There were brilliant scenes in this nearly 3 hour movie. The fight scenes were intense and well orchestrated. I loved Anne Hathaway (Love and Other Drugs, Rachel Getting Married) as Selina, but I still have a soft spot in my heart for Michelle Pfeiffer. Michael Caine (Harry Brown, Sleuth) as Alfred had a more emotional role in this film and carried it off beautifully. I thought Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, 50/50) was his usual excellent self in this new role of Blake, Commissioner Gordon’s assistant. On the downside, I had a hard time understanding Bane’s voice at times; so, I felt I never really understood his motives. In a way, I would have to say the same about Selena; I was not sure how she got mixed up in all of the chaos. Even with some confusing parts in this action thriller, I did feel like I was at a special event. Also, pay attention in the last hour for a couple of hints of what the future may hold for all of us.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Take a little Lohanish lunacy, a handful of Gibsonish anger, with a touch of Jacksonish rivalry and what you get would be the dysfunctional family in this suspenseful film. The difference being this toxic family was lethal. Two brothers desperate for money, devise a plan to rob a jewelry store. It was a particularly significant store because their parents were the owners of it. As I said, this was one screwed up family. Brilliantly directed by famed director Sidney Lumet (Dog Day Afternoon, Network), the entire cast was superb. Older alpha brother Andy, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March, Capote), cajoled his younger brother Hank, played by Ethan Hawke (Training Day, Before Sunset); into what he thought would be the perfect plan. I found this movie totally thrilling, powered by a strong story that was executed with intense acting. Do not let the slower pace in the beginning fool you; it only laid the groundwork for explosive events that followed. How can a plan be perfect when its creator was damaged. With events spiraling out of control, the damaged family members took dysfunctional to new heights in this startling story.
3 1/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: A Prophet
There is one train of thought that we come into this world with both good and evil inside of us. An individual has free will on which way they will go. The other possibility is that we are born with only good inside of us, that evil is something we have to learn. With that being the case and under the circumstances he faced, prisoner Malik El Djebena, played by Tahar Rahim (The Eagle, Black Gold) did not have free choice. Newly incarcerated into an adult prison; Malik was singled out by Cesar Luciai, played by Niels Arestrup (War Horse, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), leader of the Corsican inmates. The naive Malik was forced into servitude; he either had to kill a prisoner or be killed by Cesar’s minions. From this introduction into prison life and though he was of Arab heritage, Malik would be under the protection of the Corsicans. This was an intense prison movie with stabbings, fights and bloodshed. What kept me enthralled was the progression of character development, especially with Malik’s growth. The story had steady pacing with solid intensity. I want to mention there were racist remarks, but I understood what the writers were doing in setting up the conflicts between the different ethnic groups in the prison. One of the better movies of this genre, this film was exciting in a different way. With the prison being a breeding ground for evil, the excitement was watching how the prisoners chose to use it. French and Arabic with English subtitles.
3 1/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Savages
I paid very little mind to the man next to me who left his seat, never to return. Maybe he was a theater hopper, I thought. However, during the last half of the movie I noticed more people had left their seats and were not returning. This new Oliver Stone movie had bloody violence and graphic torture scenes; I wondered if I had just become jaded towards it. By the end of the movie at least one quarter of the audience had left early. As the film ended and the lights came on a manager announced apologies for the theater’s broken air conditioning. I had no idea that was the reason people were leaving during the movie. Did those individuals miss a great movie? Not really, but some aspects of it were good. The best part was Salma Hayek (Frida, Once Upon a Time in Mexico) as Elena, the head of a Mexican drug cartel. She was crazy good in this role. Another standout was her henchman Lado, played by Benico Del Toro (The Wolfman, Che: Part One and Two). Their cartel was determined to take control of the California based drug operations of Ben and Chon, played by Aaron Johnson (The Illusionist, Kick-Ass) and Taylor Kitsch(John Carter, Battleship). As I mentioned earlier, there were intense torture scenes in Oliver Stone’s version of violence. Though there were tight action scenes, I felt the character development was insufficient. The way Mr. Stone chose to do the ending was a turn off for me. On the plus side, this film kept my attention for me not to be aware of the theater’s lack of air conditioning.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Many of Abraham Lincoln’s accomplishments have been well documented. How did historians miss this tasty tidbit about President Lincoln’s skill as a vampire hunter? If it wasn’t for Mr. Lincoln’s special talent, the civil war would have had a different ending. Having not read the popular book this movie was based on, I only had a partial idea on what to expect based on the movie trailers. The story was totally outrageous and laid out to mirror the actual timeline of Abraham Lincoln’s progress from young boy to lawyer to president. This movie was an absolute fun experience. All you need to do is put common sense aside and just go for the thrilling ride as the action was constant and the special effects were great. The movie’s look was immaculate in its presentation and detail to the period of time. Playing Abraham Lincoln, I thought Benjamin Walker (Flags of Our Fathers, Kinsey) was wonderful as the lean, stoic, ax wielding man. His mentor Henry Sturgess, played by Dominic Cooper (The Devil’s Double, The Duchess), was also terrific in his complicated role. This is the type of movie you see when you need some escapism; a fun fantasy lined up along historical markers. Just imagine, if we did not have Abraham Lincoln to save us from being taken over by vampires, humans would have become the new red meat. There were multiple scenes of blood.
3 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Five Minutes of Heaven
The act of forgiveness has always been mercurial at best for me. When I was younger, if someone broke my trust or crossed me I would wipe them out of my life. Just like deleting data from a disk or setting fire to the film negatives of all the memories I had of them; I would never think about them again. These days I have had some success on being a forgiving person. Inspired by real life individuals, this Sundance Film Festival winning movie dealt with the powerful acts of forgiveness, redemption and revenge. Alistair Little joined the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) at a young age. The time was during the conflict in Northern Ireland and Alistair’s goal was to kill a Catholic. The victim’s little brother witnessed the whole murder. Fast forward to a peaceful time and the media came up with a marketing idea to have the younger brother and killer meet and shake hands as a true sign of peace in the country. It was from this point that this film really worked for me. The adult Alistair was played by Liam Neeson (The Grey, Wrath of the Titans) and the surviving brother Joe Griffen was played by James Nesbitt (Coriolanus, Match Point). These two men took the intense script and added a knock out emotional punch to it. Mr. Nesbitt was riveting as he dealt with his red hot anger for revenge. I was glued to my television screen as each man dealt with their demons and thoughts on meeting once again. There was one quick bloody scene in the beginning of this dramatic film.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
What a flashback I got while watching this animated movie. No, not that type of flashback; I am talking about when I went to see the circus with my aunt and cousins when I was a little boy. This film was just as fun but without the animal smells. As the third installment of this franchise, this one was the best one. The assortment of vibrant colors reaching across the screen was just beautiful. Starting where the 2nd movie left off, the furry friends were still in Africa. Feeling homesick for New York City, the group of animals hatched up a plan to get back home. Among the usual cast there was Alex the lion, voiced by Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder, Tower Heist); Marty the zebra, voiced by Chris Rock (Head of State, Down to Earth) and Melman the giraffe, voiced by David Schwimmer (Friends-TV, Six Days Seven Nights). Once the group arrived in Monte Carlo, the action went into high gear. New character Captain Chantel DuBois, voiced by Frances McDormand (Moonrise Kingdom, Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day), was determined to capture Alex so she could mount his head on her trophy wall. I enjoyed the humor that was appropriate for young children, along with having fun lines written with the adult in mind. A madcap chase ensued as the animals traveled across Europe with Captain DuBois hot on their tails. Filled with excitement, laughs and thrills; this wonderful movie had everything to please a young child and a grown-up who was a kid at heart.
3 1/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Prometheus
Let me first state the obvious: This science fiction thriller is a prequel to the movie Alien, which starred Sigourney Weaver. The steady tension in this movie was similar to the previous one; it kept me captivated. Believing they found clues to the origin of mankind, a group of explorers traveled to a distant planet. Michael Fassbender (Shame, A Dangerous Method) was excellent as the android David, who had specific reasons for being part of the crew. Charlize Theron (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Italian Job) was steely good as Meredith Vickers, the crew’s captain. I was quite pleased Noomi Rapale (The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo Swedish franchise, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) did an excellent job as Elizabeth Shaw, the scientist who discovered the map that lead the explorers to their destination. Not only were the special effects excellent throughout this film; but I felt the visuals were works of art, they were beautiful. I only had wished the story was as good; parts of it made no sense to me. For example, the idea that one could get up and walk around right after having abdominal surgery with only staples closing the incision was ridiculous. To me it felt as if the special effects were thought of first, then the writers came up with the scenes to accompany them. Honestly, I left the movie theater a bit disappointed. It was like getting a beautifully wrapped birthday gift that you were excited to open, only to discover that you already had something just like it.
2 3/4 stars
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