Movie reviews

Movie reviews this week looks at the romantic comedy She's out of my league, it stars the charming Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder) as Kirk, and the very beautiful and talented Alice Eve (Crossing Over with a flawless American accent, just as she was with a flawless Australian accent in Crossing Over, even though she is British) as Molly.

The movie begins as Kirk and his best friends, Stainer played by T.J. Miller (Get Him to the Greek), Jack played by Mike Vogel (Miami Medical), and Devon played by Nate Torrence, are at an airport discussing Kirk's breakup with his girlfriend Marnie played by Lindsay Sloane (Entourage), one of them mentions the only way to get her back is to date other people and let her know he is dating other people so she gets jealous. They all work at the airport, with the four guys as Aviation Attendants. A drop dead gorgeous girl walks by, and captures the attention of everyone, including Kirk. She leaves her phone as she boards the plane, and when she phones her number via her friend's phone, to find out where her phone is, Kirk answers, she reminds him who she is, and of course Kirk hasn't forgotten her. She then tells him to meet her at a party she is organising (as she organises parties) so he can give her back the phone. On meeting her she tells him she has four tickets to a hockey game, and invites him as well as a friend, when Kirk gets back to his friends and tells them about her, and that she has invited him to a game, they guess this is a date, and are all amazingly surprised if not a little jealous, to which Kirk is reluctant to believe, claiming she is way out of his league. Kirk's group of friends even go on an intellectual debate about guys dating girls that are out of their league, even comparing King Kong and Naomi Watts.

Not only does Molly know a lot about Hockey but she even knows one of the star players, after the game Kirk invites Molly to meet his family (she asked and he couldn't refuse), where a hilarious scene occurs, as some of Kirk's family members are in a pool, and are shocked at the very pretty girl Kirk has brought with him, they ask her to join them in the pool, she says she would but she didn't bring a bathing suit, they mention underwear would be fine, but she says yes it would be if she was wearing any.

Kirk somehow has to convince his friends and more importantly himself that maybe he is good enough for her, despite her ex, Cam played by Geoff Stults trying to win her back.

Eventually it's turn for Kirk to meet Molly's parents Mr. and Mrs. McCleish, who surprisingly are played by Alice's real life parents Trevor Eve and Sharon Maughan, there is a hilarious sequence where Kirk refuses to shake Molly's father's hand due to an embarrassing incident, which Patty, Molly's best friend, played by the lovely Krysten Ritter (What Happens in Vegas), suggests she should dump him, as she is only dating him because she sees him as safe, and someone who won't break her heart.

She's out of my league is a nice romantic comedy with superb acting from all sides, many will enjoy.

Labels: Movie Reviews, shes out of league, Shes out of my league

Movie reviews this week looks at Red the movie. A crime and action thriller with an all star cast starring Bruce Willis (the Sixth Sense) as Frank Moses, the very dependable Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption) as Joe Matheson, Helen Mirren (The Queen) as Victoria, Mary-Louise Parker (with the same funny charm in Weeds, something about her eyes reminds me of a deer caught in headlights) as Sarah Ross, and Richard Dreyfuss ( many had to do a double take for his uncanny portrayal of Senator Cheney in W) as Alexander Dunning.

The movie initialises with Frank talking to a Pensions Adviser (Sarah), we sense from their conversations, that the two like talking to each other, Frank mentions about an avocado plant that has two leaves, to which Sarah sounds elated at, we presume that this is a long distance romance that has been going on for some time, albeit via phone calls only. The two talk about a book that they have been reading, we are not quite sure who recommended the book to each other, and we see them later tuck themselves into bed, reading the same book.

A little later in the night, Frank is attacked by a SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) team, we are not quite sure, if this is a dream, as Frank dispatches them with relative ease, but when we next see him in Sarah's apartment telling her that she is in danger because she spoke to him, and that from their conversations it is obvious that he likes her, we realise this is real, and we also realise that this is the first time, Frank and Sarah have met, as Frank says this is not how he pictured their first meeting would be like, to which Sarah replies, "I always pictured you with hair...now none of our dreams have come true".

It turns out Frank is a retired CIA agent, and one of their bests, responsible for toppling governments, and code named RED (Retired Extremely Dangerous). Frank had taken part in a rescue mission in Guatemala, and for some reason all the people associated with that mission are being executed, a journalist who discovered this, and the list of the names of the people involved in the Guatemalan incident, is herself executed, when Frank and Sarah find the list of names, it is no surprise that Frank's name is on the list.

Frank visits his old friend Joe to find out if he knows who could be behind it, Joe is a in a hospital battling cancer. They gather up some of their old comrades, with an eccentric Marvin Boggs played by the dependable John Malkovich (Con Air), and Ivan Simanov played by the stalwart Brian Cox (X Men 2). Frank visits him in his Russian Embassy stronghold, and the two get into a nostalgic chat about the good old days of the Cold War, there is a hilarious conversation where Ivan asks about a cousin he believes Frank killed, to which Frank says he didn't kill him, but flipped him (i.e. turned him to the CIA's side), and that he now weighs 500 pounds. Matters are made complicated as a young CIA operative William Cooper played by Karl Urban (His performance as Bones in Star Trek is simply phenomenal, had Bones' mannerisms right down to a t) has been ordered to eliminate Moses.

Red the movie is a great action thriller, with plenty of romantic comedy thrown in the mix, and one many will enjoy, especially with the great cast involved, and a cameo by the much loved Ernest Borgnine as Henry, the Records Keeper.

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Labels: Movie Reviews, Movie takers, Red Movie, Red the Movie, the movie Red

Movie reviews this seek looks at the crime thriller Takers, with an all star cast starring Paul Walker (The Fast and the Furious) as John Rahway, the stalwart Idris Elba (Rock N Rolla) as Gordon Cozier, Michael Ealy (The Good Wife) as Jake Attica, Hayden Christiansen (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) as A.J., Matt Dillion (Traffic) as Jack Welles, and an impressive performance by Chris Brown as Jesse Attica.

We meet the cast in the middle of a bank job, that goes as smooth as they planned, leaving no trace as to their identities or who could have done the job, and they even have the courtesy to wave at the security camera (masked of course) and offer a signature salute. It is left to two cops Jack Welles and Eddie Hatcher played by Jay Hernandez (The Rookie) to figure out who carried out the robbery, with basically nothing else to go on except the heights of the culprits, and their gestures to the camera.

As with great movies we are made to sympathise with the characters early on, as we get to know a little bit about their personal struggles, especially for Cozier, as he tries to look after his sister Naomi played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste (28 Days), fresh from rehab; amidst the job they are planning, a job that they unexpectedly have been asked to do, by one of their associates, no one in the group quite trusts, Dalonte Rivers, played very convincingly by T.I., who tells them of an opportunity he learnt of while in jail, with several millions to them to obtain, if it goes smoothly.

The background to this distrust for Rivers, is five years ago he was caught and the time he has just spent in prison was as a direct result of the joint job he had with them, Rhaway assures him his takings from that job are in a savings account, and still good for collection, which Crozier and the others reckon, this is the only reason why he did not give them up.

We also get to see a little bit of the problems faced by the police force as they deal with some of the criminals, Welles as he tries to make time for his daughter, and deal with the case at hand, while Hatcher tries to explain to Welles his priorities are a little squinted.

Romantic interest for Jake is provided by the gorgeousJoe Saldana (forever in our minds as Neferti from Avatar) playing Lilly, this proves a little contested issue, as she was Dalonte's love interest before he went to prison, and has his sights on taking her back. There is a scene where Jake and Dalonte have a little confrontation in front of Lilly as Dalonte tries to reassert that she still has feelings for him in front of Lilly.

The acting in Takers is top notch and you will be on the edge of your seat to find out how it all onfolds.

Labels: Movie Reviews, Movie takers, Takers Movie, Takers the Movie, the taker movie

Movie Reviews this week looks at the all action drama The Expendables.

The Expendables is billed as the greatest action stars ever assembled in one movie, and you can see why. Fans have been pinching themselves from the expendables movie trailers alone, with Sylvester Stallone (Rocky, Rambo), Dolph Lundgren (Universal Soldier), Jet Li (Hero), Arnold Schwarzeneggar (Terminator), Bruce Willis (Die Hard), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Jason Statham (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) not to mention Terry Crews (Everybody Hates Chris) and Randy Couture (Red Belt), a MMF (Mixed Martial Arts) superstar in his own right, this is a feast for action fans of the last 20 years.

The movie begins with a group of Americans being held hostage and it is up to our heroes to put an end to it, the inevitable shoot out goes in favour of our heroes, except that Gunner Jensen played by Dolph Lundgren is a little too eager to hang one of the pirates, Ying Yang played by Jet Li attempts to stop him, but it takes Barney Ross played by Stallone to place a gun to his head to make him stop. This sets the stage for Jensen being the loose canon of the group.

The main plot of the movie is that a rogue CIA operative James Munroe played by Eric Robers, is distributing drugs via Bolivia into the U.S. after getting a certain General Garza played by David Zayas (Dexter) to do his bidding. One of the CIA heads Mr. Church played by Bruce Willis has hired Ross to get rid of him, albeit off the books, he also sent the same mission to Trench played by Arnold Schwarzeneggar, and the two superstars play on their well known off-screen feud, as Trench walks away after declining the mission Church asks Ross what his problem his, to which Ross replies sarcastically "He wants to be president". Ross agrees with his band of men to take the mission, and he must now convince his men to also accept the mission regardless of the danger.

Ross and Lee Christmas played by Jason Statham go on an initial exploration to Bolivia, pretending to be wild life naturalists, they meet their contact Sandra played by the gorgeous Giselle Itié, who happens to be the general's daughter, and inevitably the soldiers arrive for an encounter (Stallone mentioned he was injured during this fight scene and you can see why), as always the action scenes are brutal, and fans of Jason Statham's movies won't be disappointed.

Ross and Christmas escape via the plane they brought in, but Sandra is taken hostage, and Munroe intends to find out from her who were these men that killed most of his men, and why she has gone against him. Despite the fact that she is the general's daughter the signs are looking ominous for her, unless Ross and his gang are willing to return to Bolivia, rescue her and put and end to Munroe's drugs campaign.

The Expendables as all action movies go is a treat for the fans, not so much for the plot mainly because of the assembly of casts many wouldn't think their demands or egos would allow them to share the screen with their contemporaries. Much of the melancholy of their lifestyle is envisaged by the stalwart Mickey Rourke who plays Tool, a tattoo artist and former member of Ross's gang, who has a lifetime of regret for some of the things he had to do. Already there is talk of a sequel, with Stallone asking fans what they would like to see in it.

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Movie reviews this week looks at the charming road trip movie Bass Ackwards.
It stars Linas Philips as Linas ( you realise a movie might be a tad biographical if the lead actor has his real first name), it also stars John and Gema Philips, Linas's real life parents as themselves.

We meet Linas as he videos a wedding, speaking and video the people at the wedding, alternated with flash backs of when Linas was a kid, and his affectionate and adorable family.

Linas is currently staying at a friend's place, but inevitably his friend and girlfriend would like some privacy, so Linas moves out, and starts working at a Alpaca Llama farm, run by a wonderful Alpaca farmer played by Bill Green, who has a classic 1976 converted Volkswagen mini, Linas falls in love with the moment he sees it; that is a source of constant amusement throughout the movie, especially when Linas tries to get people to pass by him as it is way too slow.

He decides to go on a road trip, to New York and visit his parents, using the classic mini, and asks his on-off girl friend Georgia played by the gorgeous Davie-Blue if she would like to come along. It turns out Georgia is not quite sure if she wants to continue a relationship with Linas. There is an amusing scene, where Linas phones up Georgia and asks her to come over, whilst she is at home with her current boyfriend, she makes an excuse and meets up with Linas, unbeknownst to her, her current boyfriend follows her, he sees her coming out of Linas's flat, and when she leaves, attacks Linas without a word being said.

Linas seems to be a very friendly individual, and even offers space on his car for someone to sleep in, Jim played by Jim Fletcher, who just happens to knock on his window whilst he is asleep and asks if he can come in (it would be pretty rare for anyone to do this), and throughout the movie Linas exemplifies himself as someone willing to help anyone regardless of his own circumstance, as an example, a young boy steals a toy in a shop and runs off, but the shop keeper spots him, and he is about to call the police in front of his alarmed mother, when Linas steps in and says he was just about to pay for it, he duly pays for it, and saves the boy and his mother a lot of trouble.

Linas and Jim continue their road trip together, with Jim going to New York in order to spend time with his daughter, as it is his turn for his daughter to stay with him, as is the agreement with him and his ex-wife. At first you wonder if Linas has made a terrible mistake, giving a lift to someone who seems anxious at best, and says he has hardly had any sleep in the last few days; if this is heading towards a disaster Linas is going to regret.

Bass Ackwards is a charming movie, and once the end credits are shown you realise it was a family endeavour.

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Labels: Bass Ackwards, comedy, Davie-Blue, film review, film reviews, films, funny, Gema Philips, Jim Fletcher, John Philips, Linus Philips, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, movies, romance, romantic, Volkswagen mini

Movie Reviews this week looks at the romantic drama Wonderful World. This is a unique look at the often repeated love tale. It stars Matthew Broderick (Godzilla), as Ben Singer, a Proofreader at a big firm, who is a little disillusioned at how his life is turning out so far.

He used to be a children's entertainment singer, who released an album, that is now forgotten folklore, but now he is a Copywriter, which has left him a little empty, he is also divorced, and in his regular meetings with his daughter, Sandra played by the lovely Jodelle Ferland (The Messengers) for their regular get together, you realise he is out of touch with her too.

There is some escape and companionship for Ben, in the form of his mesmerising flatmate from Senegal, Ibu, played by Michael Kenneth Williams (The Philanthropist), through their regular fights at chess (which Ibu always win), we find out that Ibu is much more interested in helping Ben find romance, even offering to be his wing man.

Matters come to a dramatic turn of events, when Ibu, who is diabetic, collapses, while Ben tries desperately to get him to the hospital, only to find that his car has been towed, it turns out an angry neighbour had Ben's car towed away as he felt it blocked his access to the road.

Although they arrive at the hospital, Ibu slips into a diabetic coma, Ben is asked if Ibu has any next of kin, Ben recalls he often talks about his sister, Khadi played by the gorgeous Sanaa Lathan (Alien Vs. Predator, with an equally impressive African accent), so Ben sends her a message that her brother is not well. She comes to America, and she is just as charming and full of sincerity as Ibu. Ben inevitably falls for her, there is a comical scene where Khadi does a custom to contact her ancestors to help Ibu get better, after doing some of the rituals, Khadi suggests they close their eyes, Ben assumes she wants a kiss, only to be fended off that the ritual is not complete, and they must leave the room.

Wonderful World is a love story with a modern day audience in mind, with its theme appreciating the diversity of humanity.

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Labels: Africa, film review, film reviews, films, Matthew Broderick, Michael Kenneth Williams, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, movies, romance, Sanaa Lathan, Senegalese, Wonderful World

Movie Reviews this week looks at the Oscar-winning, hard-hitting Iraq war drama The Hurt Locker.

It stars Jeremy Renner (28 weeks later) as Sergeant First Class William James, an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) bomb disposal expert, who has been sent into Bravo Company, at Camp Victory. We join the movie as Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson played by Guy Pearce (Memento) along with Sergeant JT Sanborn played by Anthony Mackie (Half Nelson), and Specialist Owen Eldrigde played by Brian Geraghty (Bobby), are attempting to disarm an IED, that has been put there to kill and maim as many civilian and military personnel as possible, Thompson is the bomb expert while the other two soldiers are to watch for any problems, i.e. anyone interfering and to keep the people relatively safe.

Unfortunately things do not go as planned, and James soon joins Bravo Company. However his innovative or carefree (as his fellow soldiers regard it) methods at bomb disarming don't go too well with Sanborn and Elridge, there is a memorable scene where Elridge tells one of his commanding officers, after he asks how he is doing, he says that his team leader is inspired, and mentions sarcastically that his team leader is going to get him killed, the commanding officer, mentions that he shouldn't be having these kinds of thoughts, that war is a one in a lifetime opportunity, as Elridge looks distantly, the audience cannot help wondering at the indirect sarcasm in that statement, as Elridge tells asks him if he knows what it is he and the other men do every day, his commanding officer states that he has had his time on the field, to which Elridge sarcastically asks "Where was that...Yale"?

Matters come to a heated exchange when James attempting to disarm a bomb, that is extremely complicated, removes his bomb suit, so as to get comfortable, as he puts it "If I am going to die today I might as well die comfy", even going as far as to throw away his radio as Sanborn constantly tells him that there are "too many eyes" watching them and they have to move.

We get a little glimpse at the difficult problems facing the military in Iraq, attempting to liaison with the local population (there is a charming boy who sells DVDs that has made friends with some of the soldiers; nicknamed Becks; who James gets friendly with over a game of soccer, and the ice is broken over his namesake, Beckham, but the boy states he is much better than Beckham), often meeting language barriers, and at the same time not trying to seem dictatorial, but requiring them to keep at a safe distance while they try and do their job.

The acting in the Hurt Locker is top-notch all the way, and the movie is shot almost documentary style, with close-ups of the soldiers and the mass of emotions they go through during many tense moments. You can see why this is the first movie to have a woman, Kathryn Bigelow winning the Best Director Oscar.

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