Archive for the ‘Action’ Category

Review:     3.5 Stars     Rated:     R

Good cops, bad cops, undercover cops, rookie cops, and dead cops.  Director Antoine Fuqua shoots his way through the dark side of police work in Brooklyn’s Finest.  Staring: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, and Wesley Snipes (who, BTW,  is back after a 5 year break).

Plot: Three New York police officers take us into their lives as we see them struggle against the streets of Brooklyn.  Eddie (Gere) has seven days left until he retires; life and 22 years on the job has already killed him.  Tango (Cheadle) is an undercover cop who wants his life back because he’s forgetting who the enemy is.  Sal (Hawke) is a narcotics officer who needs money and is desperate to support his three kids and sick pregnant wife.  He risks his job and life trying to pocket drug money after police raids.

As expected this was a slow character driven movie.  In saying that, all the actors played their parts incredibly well and this made it easy to connect with each of the different characters.  The story line was a little loose, there wasn’t much of one until the end of  the movie where all three cops end up in the same location.  Not the best cop movie but over all it was a half decent film.  Final verdict …. Not worth spending full price at the theater, Wait For The DVD.

Add your Comments Here

- Dan Kersey

Review:     3 Stars     Rated:     R

Therapy and medication is not going to help these folks get better.  A remake of the 1973 classic film by George A. Romero finds a way back to infect the big screen again.

Plot: A small farming town’s water supply is contaminated and causes irrational thinking and behavior among the community. We follow Sheriff David Dutton, his wife Judy, and deputy Russell Clank, as they try to escape this plagued town that the military is trying to lock down and contain.  The Crazies stars Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, and Joe Anderson, and was directed by Breck Eisner.

You are either going to like this film or view it as a waste of time.  It’s a slow paced movie with a few good jump scenes and a little bit of that horror movie gore thrown in.   It wasn’t too bad for a remake, but, the in between scenes really played out the drama role in the movie and it was a little boring.  I think the main problem, for me, while watching this movie was the lack of intensity needed to keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s going to happen next.  I did like the film but the big screen offers very little for this movie, Wait For The DVD.

Add Your Comments Here

- Dan Kersey

Not Yet Reviewed:     4 Stars     Rated:     14A

Here comes the bacon with a side order of ham, pork, and a few knock-knock jokes in this crazy cranked-up comedy cop caper film called Cop Out,  directed by Kevin Patrick Smith

Plot: Nine year NYPD partners get themselves suspended when a set-up goes south.  Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges, played by Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, track down a thief who stole Monroe’s rare baseball card.  This then leads them to a Mexican drug dealer and more trouble.

While I really enjoyed Cop Out it comprises two distinct genres that are seemingly incongruous, but, in this case they work together pretty well.  The story follows the two mismatched cops while they battle a drug cartel and handle a wisecracking thief (Sean William Scott).  The two main characters play off each other very well and while not a pairing you might expect to see it definitely worked.  Watch out for Sean William Scott who did, in my opinion, steal every scene he was in.

The movie had the entire audience in peals of laughter many times, but this was tempered by some pretty brutal scenes; there is no real gore or hard core violence, but you know what is going on without it being shown.  The comedy and the ‘hard’ violence are mostly kept separate, and I think this is what lets them work together, the movie makers didn’t try to make the violence funny.  If they had I don’t think I would have enjoyed it so much.  The comedy does come and go, but there were two scenes where it was hard to breathe from laughing.  I would say that the first 5 minutes alone definitely makes this Worth a Ticket so that you can experience the laughs with others.  Make sure you stay into the first part of the credits!

Add Your Comments Here

-Andy Hughes

Review:    2.5 Stars     Rated:     PG

Unlike a Greek salad;  there’s some good fun in store in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief .  A mythological adventure awaits in this story of young Percy Jackson, born 1/2 human, and 1/2 god.  This movie is based off a book series by Rick Riordan.

Plot: (Logan Lerman) is not just your average teen going through rough times, he’s got bigger problems.  Born the son of Poseidon Jackson has been blamed for steeling Zeus’s Bolt.  Zeus wants his toy back and if he doesn’t get it soon its going to be trouble for earth.

This movie was OK,  not that great and not that bad.  A good supporting cast, but not a lot of action in this film.  It was manly driven by the story of three friends venturing off on their quest.  It has a few good laughs and even better special effects.   I’m quite confident  it will be popular with the teens but unfortunately this movie didn’t have enough to warrant money well spent, and book readers will probably be disappointed as well, Wait For The DVD.

Add Your Comments Here

-Dan Kersey

Review:     3.5 Stars     Rated:     14-A

Boom, Pow, Wack, pew-pew-pew, look-out below, Bang-splat.  These are some good words to look for while watching this action packed movie.  Director Pierre_Morel, (Taken, 2008), puts us on a fast moving ride inside the jobs of special agents, there here to save the world by stopping the bad guys.

Plot: Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has a job with government intelligence but feels he isn’t working to his potential.  Then one day;  Reece’s hard work finally pays off as he gets a new assignment and is partnered up with Charlie Wax (John Travolta).   Wax is much more then Reece anticipated as he struggles to get a grip on Wax’s methods.

This was a fun action packed movie that never let up.  Everything moved along quickly without any need of explanation to why or how.  Wax had all the right moves, all the right tools and knowhow to get the job done in each situation.  Two things I didn’t like;  the bad guys were stupid and real pushovers and  Jonathan Rhys Meyers’s acting was a bit cheesy in some scenes.  An easy movie to follow with good action sequences finds Did It Suck ranking it,  Mostly Worth A Ticket.

Add Your Comments Here

-Dan Kersey

Review:     3.5 Stars     Rated:     R

Welcome back to the big screen Mel, it’s been a while.  Mel has been drinking his milk and ginger-ale and comes back in this ‘not too shabby‘ film.

Plot: Detective Craven (Mel Gibson) has his only daughter gunned down right in front of him.  Everyone suspects the bullet was meant for him.  Craven doesn’t sit this one out, he’s the guy that has nothing to lose and doesn’t care.  We follow Craven through his hunt where he finds some startling information;  the killer may have intentionally shot his daughter and he was never the intended target.

Mel does an excellent job as this straight-up ‘smart as a whip‘ Cop.  A good medium paced movie, slow in the beginning, but never really dropped off when things started to roll.  I liked the way this film played out, easy to follow, and smart without having to be too technical.  Mel Gibson fans will no doubt be happy as this is a good (in a manner of speaking) come-back movie for him.  The movie could have used a bit more action but still Worth a Ticket.

Add Your Comments Here

- Dan Kersey

Review:     1 Star     Rated:     R

Look out ! God is mad at the world and tired of all the crap we fight over,  He’s sent his Legion of angels to destroy us.

In Legion we follow the efforts of a small group of people, accompanied by an angel, stranded at a desert roadside cafe who are trying to survive the extermination of the human race when God decides he no longer has faith in man.

The opening sequence in which we see Michael, the angel, arrive is good and shows promise, but this is followed by almost 10 minutes of slow sequences.  Unfortunately this fast/slow pairing continues throughout the movie, and really detracts from the experience.  In most of the slow parts the characters are seen talking to each other, and seemingly telling each other moral stories, and I think this is the overall aim of the movie, to try to show us what will happen if we don’t all behave.  This really failed if that is what the movie makers wanted.

To add in the dislike of this movie, the action sequences are fairly dull, as are most of the characters.  The interactions of the two main angels, Michael and Gabriel, (Paul Bettany and Kevin Duand), were above par compared to the rest of the movie but that is not enough to save it.  If you’ve seen the trailer you’ve seen the best parts and should save yourself some money.  I’ll give it 1 star, just for the trailer and good marketing, but unfortunately it isn’t even worth renting, so Don’t Bother.

Add Your Comments Here

-Andy Hughes

Review:     2.5 Stars     Rated:     PG

A cute family movie staring Jackie Chan and Amber Valletta, (who recently starred in Gamer).

Bob Ho (Chan) plays an international spy ready for retirement and settle down with his new found love, Gillian (Valletta).  Everything is going as planed for Bob until a new mission is assigned to him and its his most challenging one yet, looking after Gillian’s kids.

Jackie Chan is one of my favorite action stars and is always fun to watch.  This movie is really geared towards kids and more-so to the 13 and under crowed.  However, in saying that, I still had fun watching Jackie Chan’s Martial arts moves in this low budget bad acting film.  Wait for the DVD, kids will love it.

Add Your Comments Here

- Dan Kersey

Review:     2.5 Stars     Rated:     R

30 years of walking through the sands of an aftermath is going to make your lips a little chapped.  The Book of Eli takes us on an adventure into a desolate post war future.

Eli (Denzel Washington), is carrying a book that holds great value to the post war survivors.  Most of them can’t read but for those who can, they want this book for reasons of their own; to them its worth more than its weight in water.  Eli is on a mission to take this book west to an unknown destination, but he’ll know it when he gets there.  On his little quest he picks up an unwanted tag-along,  Solara (Mila Kunis), who proves to be somewhat useful along the way.

Incredible post apocalyptic scenery and some cool action sequences; and, thats all I can say I liked about this film. Slow and dragged-out and the story had a lot of loose-ends, so needless to say, I was quite disappointed.  Defiantly Wait For the DVD, but its bordering on almost not worth renting.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     3 Stars     Rated:     R

A different approach to a Vampire movie as we find our blood sucking friends in somewhat of a vulnerable situation as their main food supply, humans, is running a little thin.

Some type of plague has change the human race into Vampires.  The remaining humans are hunted and harvested for their blood.  Ethan Hawke Plays a hematologist  looking for a blood supplement due to the fact humans are a dying breed and the lack of blood is a major problem for this Vampire run world.

I‘m really sitting on the fence with this movie because it has a lot of good movie stuff which makes it worth seeing.  On the other hand, it had very little bite in the story, even though it was interesting and thought through.  The cinematography was very good but action sequences were either overdone or lacking.   Willem Dafoe was the best part of this movie, at least he fired off some humor where the entire film cast seemed to be emotionless. I did like the movie but sad to say … Its more of a renter.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     5 Stars     Rated:     PG-13

Nothing like a good old mystery case to bring out the dynamic duo of detectives.  Sherlock Holmes is directed by none other than Guy Ritchie;  leading rolls played by Robert Downey Jr. and  Jude Law.

Jumping quickly into the story of this up-beat and gritty depiction of a Sherlock Holmes and his faithful companion Watson, we find these two gentlemen looking to unravel a rather perplexing case of  a man who has somehow come back from the dead, and is planing to overthrow the government with his followers.

I had a lot of fun watching this movie especially the bantering between Holmes and Watson.  Only one part of this movie that bugged me as a type of  low tech wireless device was used .  But none the less… Intriguing, witty, fun and smart are a few good words to describe this movie and is indubitably Worth a Ticket

- Dan Kersey

Review:     5 Stars     Rated:     PG-13

Ready, Set, Animate! …. James Cameron, best know for the blockbuster  Titanic, has hit the screen again with an epic adventure called Avatar.

The human race, sometime in the future, have found a planet called Pandora and are mining it (so -to -speak) for its resources.  Failing to win the acceptance of the local natives, the Na’vi, the military send in a paraplegic soldier.  Jake Sully is connected to a Symbiont like body called an Avatar and accomplishes his mission only to find himself torn between two worlds, the one he’s from and the one he now loves.

One of  the most enjoyable films I have seen.  Seeing this movie in 3D was spectacular yet this film is visually impressive with or without the 3D magic.  Leave it to James to show up after taking a break and blow the silver off the screen.  Definitely worth a ticket.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     3.5 Stars     Rated:     PG-13

A much better movie than I anticipated going in.   It has a good cast playing their parts in a fairly well writing story.

Armored is in-cased around a group of Armored Car Security Workers that have been planing an inside heist for quite some time.  It all goes wrong when a homeless person is caught watching the crew carry out there scheme.

I enjoyed this film due to the fact it didn’t need  anything spectacular to get the job done.  In short, a good movie with a simple plot wrapped up in a half decent story.  The downside is that this movie is more of a renter as it lacks the Big Screen need.

- Dan Kersey

Review:    4 Stars

I’m still washing all the blood off me from sitting through this one.  Ninja Assassin is not for the squeamish,  even surgeons may feel uncomfortable watching this movie,  as this blood fest raises the bar for gory hack and slash films.

A boy named Raizo is raised with other children to be  trained as Ninja assassin only to break free from the clan and then hunted down because of his betrayal.

No Oscars to be handed out here for best actor etc.  But thats not why we go and see these movies now is it?   Prepare to be amazed on how much gore and blood oozes from every extremity in every possible way.   Definitely worth a ticket if non stop Ninja nonsense is up your ally.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     3 Stars     Rated:     PG-13

There is a button that holds the key to life and death, but the question is, who holds your button?  An original 1970’s  short story called ‘Button, Button’ by Richard Matheson became an episode on the Twilight Zone and has now been made into a major movie directed by Richard Kelly.  -original short film here on YouTube -Part1- -Part2-

The movie stars Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella.  A couple receive a box from a mysterious man who offers them a deal if they press the button sealed within the dome on top of the box.  Two things will happen if the button is pressed;  first, someone will die, second, they will receive one million dollars.

The movie starts out quite interesting and leaves a sense of anticipation about what’s going to happen next.  No plot spoiler here as we know the button gets pressed and someone dies.  At the same time the movie starts to slowly fall apart.  The movie gets stranger and more obscure leaving you feeling ripped off because it had so much promise in the beginning.  Its a Renter for sure, but keep your expectations low.