2.5 Razors

The November Man

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The November Man
  • IMDb: link

The November ManFive years after retiring, ex-CIA specialist Peter Devereaux (Pierce Brosnan) is reactivated by his old boss (Bill Smitrovich) and put on a plane to Russia to retrieve the love of his life (Mediha Musliovic) who has been working undercover in the Russian Government for more than a decade. Things go terribly wrong pitting Devereaux against his old agency and his protege (Luke Bracey) in a conspiracy that reaches into both the U.S. and Russian Governments involving the Presidential hopes of a genocidal Russian general (Lazar Ristovski).

Based on Bill Granger‘s novel, The November Man isn’t a bad B-movie action flick but it is a tad too convoluted for its own good. The reasoning behind putting Devereaux in the field is sketchy at best, particularly after the villain is revealed. Brosnan can play the aging spy in his sleep and Olga Kurylenko makes the most out of the over-complicated Alice who holds the key to the entire sordid affair.

…

The November ManRead More »

The November Man Read More »

The Space Probe Disintegration

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Space Probe Disintegration
  • wiki: link

The Big Bang Theory - The Space Probe Disintegration

Forced into doing what their girlfriends want for a change, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) find themselves in a department store holding the purses of Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) while the women try on clothing. And, in a way, it was all Sheldon’s idea. Although there’s not much to the paper-thin concept, the situation does allow Sheldon and Leonard to hash-out what each believes are the comprises made in the name of their friendship and possibly even set Leonard and Penny one-step closer into moving in together.

…

The Space Probe DisintegrationRead More »

The Space Probe Disintegration Read More »

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
  • IMDb: link

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire ChroniclesOver his career Tom Cruise has supplied audiences with his share of good, bad, and indifferent feature films. Released in 1994, and adapted from the works of Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles gave audiences Brad Pitt as a present-day vampire describing his history to a reporter (Christian Slater). Directed by Neil Jordan the film also stars Cruise as the vampire Lestat turned by Louie (Pitt) and a young Kirsten Dunst as a child turned into a vampire who will never age.

The movie, and Cruise’s character, still feels too whiny as Lestat bemoans his immortality eventually turning on other vampires and walking the Earth alone. It’s certainly an interesting looking film (earning an Oscar nomination for Art Design) and even a whiny Cruise is occasionally compelling in the role of Lestat, Pitt is effectively creepy, and Dunst offers glimpses of the actress she would become. The film suffers a bit after Pitt exits stage left to be replaced by a vampire coven including Thandie Newton and Antonio Banderas.

…

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire ChroniclesRead More »

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles Read More »

Sleepy Hollow – Paradise Lost

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Sleepy Hollow – Paradise Lost
  • wiki: link

Sleepy Hollow - Paradise Lost

The Second Season of Sleepy Hollow returns from its mid-season break with its characters a bit lost. Taking place six weeks after the defeat of Moloch and the death of their son (John Noble), Ichabod Crane (Tom Mison) and Katrina (Katia Winter) are far from reunited as a happy couple. Choosing to spend time apart, Ichabod has become obsessed with finding new evil to battle as his wife searches for a way to free Abraham (Neil Jackson) from the Horseman of Death. “Pardise Lost” forces both stories to converge as the arrival of a bloodthirsty angel (Max Brown) which will lead to conflicted loyalties and the revelation of an entirely new threat to the town.

…

Sleepy Hollow – Paradise LostRead More »

Sleepy Hollow – Paradise Lost Read More »

The Hobbit: Thank God It’s Finally Over

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
  • IMDB: link

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five ArmiesPeter Jackson returns to give us the third (and thankfully final) installment of his bloated adaptation of a 300-page children’s book. As with The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the best things about the final entry to the franchise are Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel and Benedict Cumberbatch providing the voice of Smaug. However, Smaug’s story ends fairly quickly (despite what the movie posters would have you believe he’s on-screen for all of 20 minutes) and the series by this point is so packed with characters (five separate armies worth) Lilly gets far-less screentime than you’d want from the movie’s most interesting character.

Since the Battle of Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers Jackson’s adaptations of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien have been a series of diminishing returns with a few bright spots (such as Smaug) that are increasingly obscured by the same CGI ogre action scenes and small character moments all of which have been done better in the previous films. And the stories aren’t easily wrapped up as Jackson continues his plodding pacing to fill yet another two-and-a-half-hour film. I enjoyed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I’ve liked moments from the three separate Hobbit films, but oh my God am I thankful it’s finally over.

…

The Hobbit: Thank God It’s Finally OverRead More »

The Hobbit: Thank God It’s Finally Over Read More »