Righteous Kill http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034331/
101 minutes, 2008
Well, if you are a movie fan and a new movie comes out starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, you have to see it right? From the trailer I was a little apprehensive, but it is De Niro and Pacino. If the Police ever put out a new album I will buy it sight unseen. You get my drift.
So you have two old detectives who have been partners for years, "Turk" (De Niro) and "Rooster" (Pacino). Okay, are you agitated yet. Turk and Rooster? Oh, thats right, these are ornery, tough, seen-too-much homicide detectives so they couldn't have nicknames like "Biff" and "Skip." I have an idea, how about no nicknames. This is just one device the writer used to try and make us forget that Pacino is 68 and De Niro is 65, and they are can do tough cops who could still pull off an on foot street chase. Anyway, a pimp is murdered and a 4 line poem has been put in his pocket. This is the same m.o. of a guy they put away years ago. Well, the hits keep coming and some vigilante serial killer is bumping off nare-do-well criminals that some how got off. They all have poems in their pockets. Could they have put the wrong guy in jail? Now, from the very beginning of the movie you flash to a video tape of "Turk" listing these murders, like he is the one doing the killings. So, you've got a burned out cop who is sick of the ones that got away and he is taking care of business while putting up the ruse of some bard serial killer?
That's the premise. The video tape in the movie gives you a "Taxi Driver" vibe and the killing of those who got away reminds me of that Michael Douglas flick from the 80's "Star Chamber", both good movies. This one, not so much. There are too many distractions. Getting back to the devices used to make us believe that these guys aren't geezer cops. De Niro's character has a girlfriend, a CSI he works with and its played by Carla Gugino. Hot Carla Gugino(Spy Kids, Night at the Museum, Sin City), 30 years his junior. Also, there is a scene in the movie where Turk is in a Fireman vs. Police softball game. He hits a gapper, takes 3, errant throw he goes home and barrels over the catcher. That spry old devil. I stopped playing softball 10 years ago and stopped hitting triples when I was 32. That Turk, he still has it! Insert Price Is Right loser music here.
Another distraction is your stock younger cop partners who have animosity toward the old cops and want all the best collars and do things their way (John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg). Oh, and that damn Turk stole Leguizamo's girlfriend. I told you Turk still had it!
Some bright spots. Pacino is remarkably restrained and not a distraction. He has been eating the scenery for about 15 years now and he plays it cool in this one which was refreshing. Oh, and get this, 50 Cent plays a drug dealer/club owner. Quite a limber choice for the aspiring actor Curtis Jackson. He seems authentic for some reason? Also, Brian Dennehy Alert, Brian Dennehy Alert! He is not dead and does a nice job playing Turk and Roosters homicide boss, Lt. Hingis. By the way Dennehy is 70, and his characters do not hit triples. One of my favorite character actors who appears to be back as he has 3 films coming out this year.
Was it worth a rental. Sure. Did it live up to the wattage of their star power. No. I give Righteous Kill a 5.5 out of 10.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Taken
Taken http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/
2008, 93 minutes.
The trailer was intriguing with the father saying to whoever has just kidnapped his daughter
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you". (long pause) and the kidnapper says "Good Luck." So I go to the movie. Guess what? Its a keeper.
Liam Neeson plays a retired spook who has moved to California to be closer to his 17 year old daughter, played by Maggie Grace (first two seasons of Lost. Played the young beauty whose brother died and who had a fling with Sayid before she is killed). His rigorous CIA career obviously killed his relationship to his wife, played by Famke Janssen (Jean Grey in the XMen movies and Xenia Onatopp, the evil Russian dominatrix who could crush you with her thighs in the Bond flick Goldeneye.) She has moved on and married a wealthy businessman and maintains a contentious relationship with Neeson as he tries to keep his relationship with his daughter alive. I think Janssen did a good job of playing the bitchy mom who spoils her daughter rotten because I was hoping someone would jam a grapefruit in her face. Spoiled daughter convinces world suspicious dad to sign a release allowing her to spend the summer in Paris with her friend and her friends cousins, given that she calls him as soon as she lands and calls him every night to see if she is okay. She lands in Paris, doesn't call her dad, and finds out that the cousins wont be there either as her friend lied just to make it seem more safe. Worried Dad keeps calling her until she picks up and while on the phone the kidnapping ensues. Thus begins the search for his daughter.
This is a taut roller coaster ride of a pursuit movie. Liam Neeson freaks me out because, while I love him as an actor, I did not see him as a convincing bad ass at the age of 56. He completely pulls it off. Luc Besson, who has brought us great, gritty action flicks like The Professional and La Femme Nikita, wrote the screenplay and it is fast and crackling. Shot mainly in Paris Neeson's character darts around the city drawing on all of his skills and past contacts getting to the bottom of why his daughter was taken, and finding her. I wont give away the whys and what fors, because it is an interesting and disturbing premise that surely is happening around the world.
There is one scene in this movie that demonstrates the resolve of the main character and makes this movie standout as one of the better action/intrigue movies in a long time. I think you will know it when you see it. Definitely go see it. 8 1/2 out of 10 for Taken.
One petty, annoying criticism. Maggie Grace plays the 17 year old daughter. She is 25 years old in real life. There are scenes where she is so excited and happy to receive gifts or get permission from her dad to go to France that she runs excitedly to and from people. It is such an affected run you can almost hear the director yelling "Now run like a spasticly excited 17 year old girl." To me it was so overdone that she looked like a new born colt that just got out of the stable. I told you it was petty.
2008, 93 minutes.
The trailer was intriguing with the father saying to whoever has just kidnapped his daughter
"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you". (long pause) and the kidnapper says "Good Luck." So I go to the movie. Guess what? Its a keeper.
Liam Neeson plays a retired spook who has moved to California to be closer to his 17 year old daughter, played by Maggie Grace (first two seasons of Lost. Played the young beauty whose brother died and who had a fling with Sayid before she is killed). His rigorous CIA career obviously killed his relationship to his wife, played by Famke Janssen (Jean Grey in the XMen movies and Xenia Onatopp, the evil Russian dominatrix who could crush you with her thighs in the Bond flick Goldeneye.) She has moved on and married a wealthy businessman and maintains a contentious relationship with Neeson as he tries to keep his relationship with his daughter alive. I think Janssen did a good job of playing the bitchy mom who spoils her daughter rotten because I was hoping someone would jam a grapefruit in her face. Spoiled daughter convinces world suspicious dad to sign a release allowing her to spend the summer in Paris with her friend and her friends cousins, given that she calls him as soon as she lands and calls him every night to see if she is okay. She lands in Paris, doesn't call her dad, and finds out that the cousins wont be there either as her friend lied just to make it seem more safe. Worried Dad keeps calling her until she picks up and while on the phone the kidnapping ensues. Thus begins the search for his daughter.
This is a taut roller coaster ride of a pursuit movie. Liam Neeson freaks me out because, while I love him as an actor, I did not see him as a convincing bad ass at the age of 56. He completely pulls it off. Luc Besson, who has brought us great, gritty action flicks like The Professional and La Femme Nikita, wrote the screenplay and it is fast and crackling. Shot mainly in Paris Neeson's character darts around the city drawing on all of his skills and past contacts getting to the bottom of why his daughter was taken, and finding her. I wont give away the whys and what fors, because it is an interesting and disturbing premise that surely is happening around the world.
There is one scene in this movie that demonstrates the resolve of the main character and makes this movie standout as one of the better action/intrigue movies in a long time. I think you will know it when you see it. Definitely go see it. 8 1/2 out of 10 for Taken.
One petty, annoying criticism. Maggie Grace plays the 17 year old daughter. She is 25 years old in real life. There are scenes where she is so excited and happy to receive gifts or get permission from her dad to go to France that she runs excitedly to and from people. It is such an affected run you can almost hear the director yelling "Now run like a spasticly excited 17 year old girl." To me it was so overdone that she looked like a new born colt that just got out of the stable. I told you it was petty.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Back to Blog About Movies
Hey Folks. It has been quite awhile since I blogged but after a little urging and missing the cathartic feel of it, I am back to blog only about movies, movie trivia and the like. When I see a movie I will put up my 2 cents about it. So lets get this show on the road as I saw a flick last night.
ONE MISSED CALL http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479968/
2008, 87 minutes
So what would draw a person into watching a remake of a Japanese horror film? Maybe cool guy
actor Ed Burns (Saving Private Ryan, Brothers McMullen) and raven haired hottie Shannon Sossamon (she played Heath Ledger's love interest in A Knight's Tale). I don't really like the horror genre so much but those two intrigued me. Thank God this thing was short because it is a contrived story about people getting voice messages on their cell phones, from themselves in the future, right before they die. So if you get a voicemail it will say the time and date of the voicemail (usually two days from the present), it will be your voice that is cutoff because you just got dispatched by the ghost of a girl who died of an asthma attack after her mother finds her physically abusing her sister. Mom was so mad she locked the girl in her room, the kid got excited, which caused an asthma attack and her inhaler was empty. Wha, Wha, Wha, Whaaaaaaaa! Curtains!! WTF??????? Oh, and as people die from drowning, exploding construction site rebar impalings, bridge tossings in front of trains and eyeball stabbings, a red, round hard candy rolls out of their dead mouth because as the surviving sister of the dead asthma chick explains, even though she abused me "she always gave me candy." Really? Really? No, really? Need I say more. Just one more thing, I love watching Shannon Sossamon even in Jap retread horror muck. Lets do a 1 to 10 scale, 1 being dreck, 10 being stellar. One missed opportunity to save me 87 minutes gets a 3.
ONE MISSED CALL http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479968/
2008, 87 minutes
So what would draw a person into watching a remake of a Japanese horror film? Maybe cool guy
actor Ed Burns (Saving Private Ryan, Brothers McMullen) and raven haired hottie Shannon Sossamon (she played Heath Ledger's love interest in A Knight's Tale). I don't really like the horror genre so much but those two intrigued me. Thank God this thing was short because it is a contrived story about people getting voice messages on their cell phones, from themselves in the future, right before they die. So if you get a voicemail it will say the time and date of the voicemail (usually two days from the present), it will be your voice that is cutoff because you just got dispatched by the ghost of a girl who died of an asthma attack after her mother finds her physically abusing her sister. Mom was so mad she locked the girl in her room, the kid got excited, which caused an asthma attack and her inhaler was empty. Wha, Wha, Wha, Whaaaaaaaa! Curtains!! WTF??????? Oh, and as people die from drowning, exploding construction site rebar impalings, bridge tossings in front of trains and eyeball stabbings, a red, round hard candy rolls out of their dead mouth because as the surviving sister of the dead asthma chick explains, even though she abused me "she always gave me candy." Really? Really? No, really? Need I say more. Just one more thing, I love watching Shannon Sossamon even in Jap retread horror muck. Lets do a 1 to 10 scale, 1 being dreck, 10 being stellar. One missed opportunity to save me 87 minutes gets a 3.
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