I just realized a
few minutes ago that I haven’t published my review of Red. I would have thought that I had seen the
movie after I started putting down my thoughts in cyberspace but I guess it
would have been a little before that. Red
was an action movie par excellence. Standard
espionage story but great dialogues and fabulous performances.
Showing posts with label Bruce Willis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bruce Willis. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 August 2013
Friday, 22 February 2013
A Good Day to Die Hard
Most previews (and
in some cases reviews) that I read about this one were dissing the movie to no
end. Calling it one of the worst action
movies ever made in the history of the world and definitely the worst Die Hard
movie to date. Some of them even said
that they struggled to sit through the movie.
To them I say, “Forgive them lord for they know not what they say or do”.
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Moonrise Kingdom
My first experience with Wes Anderson was with a very quirky animation movie called The Fantastic Mr. Fox. If you haven’t seen it, then it should be on your must see list. And very soon after Mr. Fox, I encountered The Darjeeling Limited. Another fabulousl effort from Anderson – this time with music from Satyajeet Ray and Merchant Ivory movies all through. This too should be on your must watch list. Then pray, why should Moonrise Kingdom not make the cut?
It will not make the cut, if you are not into the quirky, dark satire that Anderson flirts with throughout the ninety odd minutes of the movie. You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because you do not have the patience to go through a rather slow start. You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because for about 30 minutes you would be scratching your head as to why the guy at the counter insisted that this is an “A” rated movie when all you can see is a bunch of Khaki Scouts in uniform and one twelve year old girl who comes from a rather demented family.
You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because you have not been able to, are incapable of and will not be ever in a position to sift through the finer nuances of sarcasm and irony that Anderson is such an expert at. Because you do not have a liking for comedy of the darkish variety that involves a bunch of fantastic kids taking a dig at the lives of us older people.
I must admit that I walked into the hall only because I had seen Anderson’s earlier movies and loved them. I also found it quite surprising that the distributors in India had managed to keep such a compelling and talented star cast under wraps till the date of release i.e. yesterday. Why would you not want to maximize your opportunity when you have the likes of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Harvey Kietel on your rolls? Add this to the mysteries of the unexplained that comes from Reader’s Digest.
Look out for the superb, understated performances from each one in the cast particularly the two twelve year olds – Kara Hayward & Jared Gilman – who play the role of 2 kids who claim to be in love and elope at the tender age. Set in 1965 in an otherwise desolate New Panzace Island which you can reach only by ferry or a bumpy propeller powered experience, Moonrise Kingdom is as quirky as quirky can get. And yet, totally enjoyable. Don’t leave the hall till you view the final credits. The music is simply superb. 7.5 on 10 for Wes Anderson. One of the better movies of the year to date.
Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi562733337/
It will not make the cut, if you are not into the quirky, dark satire that Anderson flirts with throughout the ninety odd minutes of the movie. You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because you do not have the patience to go through a rather slow start. You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because for about 30 minutes you would be scratching your head as to why the guy at the counter insisted that this is an “A” rated movie when all you can see is a bunch of Khaki Scouts in uniform and one twelve year old girl who comes from a rather demented family.
You will not like Moonrise Kingdom because you have not been able to, are incapable of and will not be ever in a position to sift through the finer nuances of sarcasm and irony that Anderson is such an expert at. Because you do not have a liking for comedy of the darkish variety that involves a bunch of fantastic kids taking a dig at the lives of us older people.
I must admit that I walked into the hall only because I had seen Anderson’s earlier movies and loved them. I also found it quite surprising that the distributors in India had managed to keep such a compelling and talented star cast under wraps till the date of release i.e. yesterday. Why would you not want to maximize your opportunity when you have the likes of Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and Harvey Kietel on your rolls? Add this to the mysteries of the unexplained that comes from Reader’s Digest.
Look out for the superb, understated performances from each one in the cast particularly the two twelve year olds – Kara Hayward & Jared Gilman – who play the role of 2 kids who claim to be in love and elope at the tender age. Set in 1965 in an otherwise desolate New Panzace Island which you can reach only by ferry or a bumpy propeller powered experience, Moonrise Kingdom is as quirky as quirky can get. And yet, totally enjoyable. Don’t leave the hall till you view the final credits. The music is simply superb. 7.5 on 10 for Wes Anderson. One of the better movies of the year to date.
Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi562733337/
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
Expendables 2
Barney Ross and his band of old but extremely well built (they can kick a lot of ass even today for certain) men are back. One would have thought that better sense would have prevailed on them with the not so successful previous attempt. But then Sly Stallone chooses to live by the maxim that he preached to his screen son as Rocky Balboa, “It is not about how hard you can hit but about how hard you can get hit and keep picking yourself up”. Only that would explain a 2nd installment of The Expendables.
Lets look at the list of dialogues that would qualify for the Razzies in screenplay
1. Bruce Willis to Arnold – “You’ve been back enough. Now I’ll be back” :S:S:S
2. Terry Crews when he is asked to hand over his weapon – “My big weapon is hanging exactly where it is” – Like what???
3. And then there is “Rest in pieces” and “I now pronounce you man and knife” – AAAARGH!!!!
4. Jason Statham – “That thing belongs to the museum”. In reply we have Stallone – “We all do”. Probably the only dialogue that made any sense.
5. Someone to Arnold or vice versa – “If I don’t get this back, your ass is terminated” – somebody please stop!!!
And I realized the reason for all of this. Guess who has written the screenplay – of course in an attempt to save a truck load of money – Sly Stallone himself.
If all of this doesn’t get to your nerves then you have a random Belarusian village where all the women can speak impeccable, grammatically correct English albeit in an attempted Belarusian accent. I think Sly uncle’s visit to the sets of Kambakht Ishq rubbed off on him in more ways than we could have imagined. Of course there is the absolutely unnecessary but not unwelcome return of Chuck Norris as Booker who always works alone.
All of this for making a movie that should not have been made in the first place. But for posterity, lets give you a glimpse into the story. Church (Willis) catches up with the old man’s team and asks him to complete an assignment to absolve the team of all pending cases against them. Barney (Stallone) accepts and finds himself somewhere in Eastern Europe to recover a digital map for a few tons of Plutonium. In the bargain he loses the youngest member of the squad – Bill the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) to the ruthless JCVD in his first villainous role. The chase begins.
The Expendables 2 is a vastly avoidable movie. Even if you are an absolute fan of action movies and the men who made Hollywood action a reality, I would request you to avoid it. Because it is those very men who are sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss that they may never return from. Quite a heart breaker in that sense of the word. I was extremely disappointed. 4 on 10. The past few weeks have been disappointing with a couple of exceptions I guess.
Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi839492121/
Lets look at the list of dialogues that would qualify for the Razzies in screenplay
1. Bruce Willis to Arnold – “You’ve been back enough. Now I’ll be back” :S:S:S
2. Terry Crews when he is asked to hand over his weapon – “My big weapon is hanging exactly where it is” – Like what???
3. And then there is “Rest in pieces” and “I now pronounce you man and knife” – AAAARGH!!!!
4. Jason Statham – “That thing belongs to the museum”. In reply we have Stallone – “We all do”. Probably the only dialogue that made any sense.
5. Someone to Arnold or vice versa – “If I don’t get this back, your ass is terminated” – somebody please stop!!!
And I realized the reason for all of this. Guess who has written the screenplay – of course in an attempt to save a truck load of money – Sly Stallone himself.
If all of this doesn’t get to your nerves then you have a random Belarusian village where all the women can speak impeccable, grammatically correct English albeit in an attempted Belarusian accent. I think Sly uncle’s visit to the sets of Kambakht Ishq rubbed off on him in more ways than we could have imagined. Of course there is the absolutely unnecessary but not unwelcome return of Chuck Norris as Booker who always works alone.
All of this for making a movie that should not have been made in the first place. But for posterity, lets give you a glimpse into the story. Church (Willis) catches up with the old man’s team and asks him to complete an assignment to absolve the team of all pending cases against them. Barney (Stallone) accepts and finds himself somewhere in Eastern Europe to recover a digital map for a few tons of Plutonium. In the bargain he loses the youngest member of the squad – Bill the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) to the ruthless JCVD in his first villainous role. The chase begins.
The Expendables 2 is a vastly avoidable movie. Even if you are an absolute fan of action movies and the men who made Hollywood action a reality, I would request you to avoid it. Because it is those very men who are sinking deeper and deeper into an abyss that they may never return from. Quite a heart breaker in that sense of the word. I was extremely disappointed. 4 on 10. The past few weeks have been disappointing with a couple of exceptions I guess.
Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi839492121/
Saturday, 31 December 2011
Tears of the Sun
Fresh on the success of Training Day in 2001, Antoine Fuqua, came up with his 4th full length feature in 2003 – Tears of the Sun. For those who are familiar with the Fuqua style of direction, it would not come as too much of a surprise to see a hard hitting, tell it like it is type of narration. And he doesn’t change his style one bit in this action flick which is built on the situation of Nigeria being taken over by a ruthless military dictator. So you can expect a lot of violence, blood and enough of gore to make your stomach churn in acute distress. There is enough action as well for those who are keen followers of the genre.
Lt. Waters (Bruce Willis) and his team of Navy SEALs are given an assignment of “search and rescue” for a certain Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks (Monica Bellucci). She works for Doctors without Borders to help the victims of the civil war in Nigeria. Now why is a French hottie doctor being saved by some American Navy Seals? Turns out she is married to some hot shot American and it is important to save her from the mess. Well Dr. Mrs. Kendricks says she is willing to come with Waters and Team if and only if the Navy Seals commit to taking all her hospital inmates along with them. Talk about holding the government to ransom!!!! And what do you know – Lt. Waters’ heart melts for the sick people and the hot doctor and he decides to lend his services to the nobel cause. Sigh.
But then, on a serious note, that is what the movie is all about. One line that sticks out like a sore thumb and stays with you for a while after the movie is over is - "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing". This is a line by an Irish statesman called Edmund Burke. The Right Honourable Edmund Burke totally knew what he was talking about and was bang on the button. How many times have all of us good, bad or ugly not done something which was the right thing to do? Quite a bit I would guess when I count my own instances. Guess all he and Fuqua are asking us to do is – something. If there is an opportunity to correct some wrong then all we have to do to ensure that it stays is – nothing. Interesting and perfect take I guess.
Tears of the Sun is a well made movie and worth watching either on DVD. The performances from the cast are quite good. Bruce Willis is – how can I put it – Bruce Willis. No other way to describe his effort. Belluci looks stunning as always and I would be jealous of her boyfriend or husband – real or fictional – and in this case, I would not mind being her patient :P. There are not too many other people in the movie to talk about. The editing and cinematography are as good as Fuqua has always been. A very good overall attempt. I give it 7 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2962030873/
Monday, 19 December 2011
R.E.D
In most of my movie reviews to date, I have given you a link to the trailer at the end of the review. Just in case you need to glance at it once after reading the review to make up your mind completely before taking the plunge. Or maybe change your mind despite a scathing review from my side. In the case of R.E.D., I am breaking from practice and slotting this first up. Watch the trailer first before reading any more of my review. Especially the last 15-20 seconds of the trailer.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2156856857/
Rajani Saar – I am really sorry. I did not mean to offend you. This John Malkovich fellow didn’t know about your existence. If I had known about the sequence, I would have seriously filed court case. But then, I thought, if John Malkovich needs a bullet to blow a bazooka bomb, Rajani Saar can turn the bomb around by just looking at it. No worries Thalaivar – John is about 45 years behind on the growth curve.
Directed by Robert Schwentke is a definite watch for those who love action flicks and performances put together. With the exception of a couple of sequences where they try to emulate God, the movie is a non stop riot from the first sequence. Frank Moses is a 50 something oldie who keeps calling up the number of the insurance company to speak to Sarah Ross under the pretext of a pension cheque that he claims to have never received despite them sending it over 40 times. But a sudden attack on his life by a bunch of guys who look like a SWAT team sends him and the movie and the audiences into a complete tizzy. 5 minutes into the movie and you are holding onto your seats for dear life.
After watching the trailer, if you do not want to watch the movie then I suggest you get yourself seriously looked at for a case of “I don’t like entertainment and would like to spend the rest of my life sulking” syndrome. R.E.D combines the best action sequences that you could have thought of. What do you want from an action movie? A combination of A Team, Expendables, Terminator, Predator, Commando, Die Hard? Well you asked for it and you will get all of it and more in R.E.D. And add to it exceptional performers who go by the names of Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfuss & Bruce Willis. The rest of the cast just went pale in comparison. Now why would such a bunch of super stars indulge in inane action is a question I guess only they are best equipped to answer. And who are we but lowly mortals to comment on the choices made by them. Lets just recline back (or lay back on your sofas like I did) and enjoy the ride because they are truly Retired & Extremely Dangerous. No clue how or why I missed the movie earlier this year. 5 on 10 for story. 8 on 10 on entertainment. So lets make this an average of 6.5 on 10. Playing on one of the movie channels these days. Make an effort to catch up with it. Thou shall not regret.
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2156856857/
Rajani Saar – I am really sorry. I did not mean to offend you. This John Malkovich fellow didn’t know about your existence. If I had known about the sequence, I would have seriously filed court case. But then, I thought, if John Malkovich needs a bullet to blow a bazooka bomb, Rajani Saar can turn the bomb around by just looking at it. No worries Thalaivar – John is about 45 years behind on the growth curve.
Directed by Robert Schwentke is a definite watch for those who love action flicks and performances put together. With the exception of a couple of sequences where they try to emulate God, the movie is a non stop riot from the first sequence. Frank Moses is a 50 something oldie who keeps calling up the number of the insurance company to speak to Sarah Ross under the pretext of a pension cheque that he claims to have never received despite them sending it over 40 times. But a sudden attack on his life by a bunch of guys who look like a SWAT team sends him and the movie and the audiences into a complete tizzy. 5 minutes into the movie and you are holding onto your seats for dear life.
After watching the trailer, if you do not want to watch the movie then I suggest you get yourself seriously looked at for a case of “I don’t like entertainment and would like to spend the rest of my life sulking” syndrome. R.E.D combines the best action sequences that you could have thought of. What do you want from an action movie? A combination of A Team, Expendables, Terminator, Predator, Commando, Die Hard? Well you asked for it and you will get all of it and more in R.E.D. And add to it exceptional performers who go by the names of Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfuss & Bruce Willis. The rest of the cast just went pale in comparison. Now why would such a bunch of super stars indulge in inane action is a question I guess only they are best equipped to answer. And who are we but lowly mortals to comment on the choices made by them. Lets just recline back (or lay back on your sofas like I did) and enjoy the ride because they are truly Retired & Extremely Dangerous. No clue how or why I missed the movie earlier this year. 5 on 10 for story. 8 on 10 on entertainment. So lets make this an average of 6.5 on 10. Playing on one of the movie channels these days. Make an effort to catch up with it. Thou shall not regret.
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