February 8, 2009

• Movies I've seen recently...

  
  Taken  (2009)  B+

  If you ever doubted that Liam Neeson could be an action star, then you need to see "Taken," where he takes the role of former spy and badass Bryan Mills. Starting at the moment Maggie Grace's character Kim; daughter of Mills, gets kidnapped by human traffickers in Europe, this movie kicks into high gear as a very thrilling action feature that will keep your eyes glued to the screen. Bryan Mills may not be a very catchy name, but he sure does give James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Jack Bauer a run for their money. He will stop at nothing in retrieving his daughter, and watching how he tracks the kidnappers down, plus the nicely done choreographed action sequences is a treat to see. Sure "Taken" still has the flaws that come with an action movie, like a need for a suspension of disbelief for several of the sequences in the movie, and the use of a good chunk of the opening scenes for character introductions and exposition. Despite it's flaws, this movie caught me by surprise by how much I enjoyed it, and it easily became one of the top action movies for 2009.

  
  the Uninvited  (2009)  B-

  Usually with a movie like "The Uninvited," you get a sense like you've seen it before. In many ways, you have, not to mention the fact that this is based off the movie "A Tale of Two Sisters." This is one of those movies that is filled with many scenes that are edited to be suspenseful, making you wait for that big scare to make you jump off your sit. There are also the typical scenes that pretty much wants you to yell at the screen saying things like "don't look in there!." Emily Browning and Arielle Kebbel are great as the daughters of David Strathairn's character, who is dating the very suspicous Rachael; played by Elizabeth Banks. With it's supernatural feel and the mysterious circumstances of the story, "The Uninvited" still managed to be pretty enjoyable. I thought the story moved along really well, and it is one of those movies that gives you a big pay off at the end of the film that actually made me go "I did not see that coming." If you plan to watch this, or the original film this it is based off, you may want to avoid spoilers.

  
  Revolutionary Road  (2008)  B

  Having a house in suburbia, settling down, being in a salary job, and having children shouldn't be considered an unhappy dead-end in life, but that's sure what it looks like when you watch "Revolutionary Road." Director Sam Mendes gives us a fascinating look at a marriage that is falling apart, because they live a typically normal life. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are excellent in the role of this married couple, and have given us some epic and powerful scenes of them arguing and yelling at each other in this movie. There's a lot of those domestic disputes in this film, despite the fact that their kids are so conveniently not around when those happen. These characters are not perfect and quite flawed, but that's the point. "Revolutionary Road" shows us an idea of what makes or breaks a marriage and a person's life, plus the story is definitely thought provoking. Keep in mind though, that the movie's subject matter may not be something that everybody will enjoy watching.

  
  Oneechanbara : The Movie  (2008)  C-

  A bikini cowboy girl that kills zombies with her sword, a gun toting femme fatale in a tight leather outfit, and another sword wielding girl in a school girl uniform, definitely sounds like a fan boy's wet dream. At least that's what makes up "Oneechanbara," which is a movie based off the video game series. With the sword-play plus gun-fu action, zombies that are capable of doing martial arts, the simplistic special effects, all the way to the blood splatter that actually sticks to the camera, you'd think that this is the perfect formula for a fun but campy B-movie. If only that was the case, because the movie actually made the mistake of taking itself seriously, by having dramatic moments that really feels unnecessary to what is on paper a simple but fun concept. Two dimensional characters, unbelievable moments, poor pacing, weak dialogue, and a disappointing story, is the unfortunate end result of "Oneechanbara : The Movie." If you are a guy, you may as well just watch it for the fan service.

  • 9:36 am
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