Fall Action: You'll Be Taken for a Looper

END OF WATCH

CRIME/DRAMA

                Hollywood has made a gazillion cop buddy movies but this one is very realistic.  Jake Gyllenhaal (Prince of Persia, Source Code) is Brian Taylor and Michael Pena is Mike Zavala are the cops who are partners on the street and act like brothers after work.    Their acting is wonderful.  Their wives  Anna Kendrick (Twilight Saga) and Natalie Martinez (Death Race, TV show Detroit 187) is equally good.  I wish Ms. Martinez could do more work.  The cops’ loyalty is tested when a cartel is after them.  You have seen it all before just not this way.  The trailer is misleading; it is action-packed but not like the trailer.  If you like a lot of action wait for video if you like bromance watch it.

LOOPER

SCI-FI/DRAMA

                This is a good IFC movie.  It is not your typical time-travel action film.  There is good acting by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt.  If you saw the trailer the mob has a way to kill people with time-travel and the hitmen are called loopers.  See this movie ONLY if you want to see something different than popcorn movies.  It is very intelligent, very violent and for action-hounds wait for video or VOD.

TAKEN 2

ACTION/DRAMA 

                Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson, The Grey,Taken ) in Istanbul is targeted to be kidnapped  along with his family by a vengeful father (Rade Serbedzija X-Men First Class )who killed his son in the first movie.   There is a lot of action if you like movies likes this but –spoiler a realistic ending to it.  It is a star film for talented Neeson and he plays it well, funny, straight and of course, man of action.  Not as good as Taken but it has its moments.  See it if you like Liam Neeson and action, if not wait until video.

A Spark of Dreddful Evil

SPARKLE

MUSCIAL DRAMA

                This is a remake of 1976 movie.  It takes place in the sixties with singer Jordin Sparks as Sparkle a beautiful gifted songwriter and singer if she would get over stage fright.  Her acting is okay. She has two sisters Sister (played very well by Carmen Ejogo) and Dolores (Tika Sumpter) she is great and she is dark skinned and usually writers make them so ghetto but she was very smart and sensible.  I hope to see these actresses in more movies. 

Their mom Emma (played by the late, great Whitney Houston) doesn’t want them to sing for she tried unsuccessfully. She sings one song. Sister hooks up with the wrong man Satin, a stand -up comic (Mike Epps, Friday, The Hangover) I didn’t like his character but he may be portraying Richard Pryor in an upcoming movie.  It is a good movie if you like singing but if you can wait for video do so.

RESIDENT EVIL:  RETRIBUTION

ACTION/SCI-FI

                The fifth of the series stars Milla Jovoich as Alice who has to save the world again.  Plot really not important because they are not following the plot of the video game.  The ONLY reason you should see it to see the action and there is a lot of it!!  The women for the most part kicking all the ass and they are Michelle Rodriguez and Sienna Guillory.  It is worth seeming on video.

DREDD-3D

ACTION/SCI-FI

                I was one of the ten people who enjoyed the 1995 movie Judge Dredd starring Sly Stallone.  Now the film is rebooted and it is very violent and very good.  Karl Urban (Star Trek 2009) is Dredd Clint Eastwood talking, never takes his helmet off and kills for he is judge, jury and executioner!!  The villain is Madeline Madrigal or short Ma-Ma (Lena Headey Game of Thrones 300) is a gangster who owns Mega City and pushes a drug “Slo-Mo” and he has to bring her down.  She is malicious!!  It didn’t make money and I don’t know why it is so good.  It will fare better on video.

Summer-Fall 2012 DVD/Video Review

LOCKOUT

ACTION/SCI-FI

               

                When you mix Die Hard and Escape from New York you get this good movie that was in the theaters for a hot minute. Set in the future  is about Snow (Guy Pearce The King’s Speech) a wise -cracking government agent is framed and his only way to clear himself is to bust in a maximum security prison to save the President daughter Emilie (Maggie Grace, Taken). It is very funny, very violent thriller.  It will do much better on video.

PUNISHER: DIRTY LAUNDRY

CRIME DRAMA ACTION

(YouTube)

                I usually don’t review a ten minute movie but I looove the Punisher so much Thomas Jane made a short film that is on YouTube.  It was first shown at this year’s Comic Con.  It is about Punisher who now lives in a van and he decides to do laundry.  He sees hookers assaulted and a kid harass to sell drugs.  He tries not to get involved but when he does badass is the only way to describe it.  For fans of Punisher it is so good yet you just want more.  One thing I didn’t like was all the bad guys were black.

THE RAID: REDEMPTION

CRIME DRAMA ACTION

                This film was in theaters with not much fanfare but this flick is action packed!!!  Director Gareth Evans is AMAZING!!!  The story is about an Asian SWAT team trapped in a building to arrest a ruthless mobster protected by his killers and thugs.  Plot is not important but mayhem is and each floor it gets more and more dangerous.  The standout performance is not the hero Rama (Iko Uwais) but Mad Dog( Yayan Ruhian) is martial arts skills are outstanding!!!  He is Tony Jaa’s (Ong- Bar) equal!!  It is dubbed and the English subtitles are terrible but you not watching for that.  PLEASE RENT, BUY THIS VIDEO!!!

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS PART 1

ANIMATION

                Wow!!! This animation is amazing and VERY, VERY violent.  It is based on Frank Miller’s graphic comic.  Batman voiced by the original Robocop Peter Weller is 55 and retired until mutant criminals get him out of retirement.  It is not a long movie but it packs a lot in.  DVD is not for children but good for teens and adults.

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS

FANTASY/ ACTION

                The film that broke box office records is finally on Blu Ray and DVD.  If you love the superheroes it is a must to have!!  On the DVD they have a short movie about the movie and on Blu-ray they have a gag-reel.  You will enjoy it!!

A Summer When the Bullets Flew

TOTAL RECALL

SCI-FI/ACTION 

                Actor Colin Farrell should be called   “The Remake Kid”,   last year he did Fright Night now this.  He is too talented  yet  he was good in this remake.  He plays a factory worker Douglas Quaid he has a beautiful wife Lori (Kate Beckinsale Underworld series) but he has bad dreams and when he goes to Total Recall his memory is jarred and finds out he is really an agent – not fantasy!!  People will debate which is better. 

This one has better special effects and it is very serious.  The best thing about the film is Beckinsale, she is one bad-ass chick!  Sharon Stone was the evil wife  in the 80’s  movie  but she is nothing compared to Beckinsale.!!!  She would go against her superior just to kill Quaid!!  She is Bond girl that NEVER was a Bond girl!!  If you are patient wait for video but if you didn’t like the 80’s flick –go!

THE EXPENDABLES 2

ACTION

                ACTION HOUNDS REJOICE!!!! This is the movie you have been waiting for!!!  The gang from the last film is back plus Norris and the evil Van Damme.  Plot and acting not important but bloodshed and funny one-liners are.  I liked the first film but this one is just AMAZING!! The review is quick so you can get out of your house and go!!!

BOURNE LEGACY

ACTION/THRILLER

                The Bourne series continues with Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross who is in a special black ops unit Operation Outcome who uses enhancer drugs to complete missions..  Soon the government wants them ALL dead and you know who survives as the few people who know about Jason Bourne go to trial.  The film is quite good, acting very good and action sensational. There is a lot going on so if you can wait see it on video so you sort it all out.

The Dark Summer Cinema Rises

MAGIC MIKE

COMEDY/DRAMA

                When you think of strippers it is usually about women but not the case with this film.  If the movie was like the trailer it would have been great.  The story is about Mike (Channing Tatum, Dear John, GI Joe) an aging exotic male dancer who wants to do more than strip.  He takes an aimless young man under his wing Adam (Alex Pettyer I am Number Four, In Time) under his wing and his sister Brooke (Cody Horn) has a problem with her brother’s new life style. Mike likes her probably she sees him as a real human being, not a sex object. She wasn’t that good and neither was Olivia Munn as a woman who treated him as a booty call.

I usually want a lot of drama but because it is summer and the subject matter I wanted much man flesh, sleaziness a dash of romance and happy ending.  It happens but not the way I liked. Mostly white guys take off their clothes no black dancers and one Latino. Ex-wrestler Kevin Nash is one of the strippers but I don’t know why!! This is a chick flick because no straight man would see it.  It is a girl night out movie and will do even better on video so you can repeat!!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

ACTION/DRAMA

                First, don’t let the tragedy in Aurora Colorado stop you from going to see the best superhero film of the year!! Eight years Batman (Christian Bale) stopped being the Dark Knight until the terrorist Bane (Tom Hardy) and Selina (Anne Hathaway) come to Gotham.  The plot is more complex than that but the movie is amazing!!  The writing, acting and directing is wonderful.

Anne Hathaway is surprisingly good as Selina, a cat burglar.  She has come a long way from Princess Diaries. The picture is played very seriously and so realistic it’s depressing!!  The film is two hours and forty-five minutes along with trailers so empty your bladder before going.  My only complaint is Bane didn’t sound like Sean Connery and Darth Vader and look like Tom Brady.  Bane is LATINO!!!  A Latino actor could have become an overnight sensation in this blockbuster!!

SAVAGES

CRIME DRAMA

                I don’t know why they placed this movie in the summer.  It is a very adult, very violent story about the best pot producers Chon (Taylor Kitsch John Carter, Battleship) and Aaron Johnson and they share Ophelia (Blake Lively).  Their world crumbles as a Mexican cartel led by Elena (Salma Hayek) kidnaps Ophelia for them to comply.  The film should have been called Anti-Heroes for no one really is the good guy or gal. 

The most complex character is Elena.  She deserves a prequel to find out about how she became the head of a cartel –not by choice.  Lado (Benicio Del Toro) Elena’s enforcer is crazed, corrupt and frightening fascinating.  All the actors did the movie to work with Oliver Stone, the guy who directed Scarface with Al Pacino.  It will do better on video.