Action

Lockout

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Lockout
  • IMDb: link

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Borrowing pieces, plot threats, and characters from the likes of Escape From New York, Outland, Demolition Man, and others, co-writers and co-directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger give us an outer space action film set 65 years into our future about an orbiting prison ship filled with the dregs of humanity, the President’s daughter trapped inside, and the one man who can get her home.

To put it bluntly, this ain’t Shakespeare. Lockout would feel right at home on as part of a lazy Saturday afternoon triple feature sandwiched between The Last Boy Scout and Runaway. It’s certainly a flawed piece of filmmaking, and at times dumb as a brick, but with a smart ass sense of humor and two likable leads the movie provides its share of fun moments.

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The Hunger Games

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Hunger Games
  • IMDb: link

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Long before the young adult novel by Suzanne Collins on which The Hunger Games is based, Hollywood has enjoyed the idea of a culture putting murder on display as reality television for the enjoyment of the masses. From the enjoyable The Running Man to the deplorable The Condemned the results have been mixed.

And we’re not even going to get started on the dozens of gladiator and horror movies that use some version of the tale as well. Originality is not this film’s strong suit. And with a running time of 142 minutes neither is brevity.

The Hunger Games gives us a world in which the twelve poor outlying districts attempted to rise up against the rich capital state 74 years ago only to be thwarted and beaten back down. Now, in memory of the events and to keep the populace in line, one male and one female between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen by lottery to kill each other on live television in “The Hunger Games,” with as much pomp and circumstance as they can muster. Murder, of and by children, it seems is to be the sport of the future.

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Puss in Boots

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Puss in Boots
  • IMDB: link

puss-in-boots-blu-rayReprising his role from Shrek 2, Antonio Banderas returns in this prequel which explores the history and legend of Puss in Boots. The Shrek spin-off is available on Blu-ray and DVD this Friday.

Puss in Boots centers around the relationship between Puss (Antonio Banderas) and Humpty (Zach Galifianakis) whose childhood friendship was destroyed after Humpty violated Puss’ trust by tricking him into becoming an outlaw.

Reunited with Humpty and his companion Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek), and against his better judgement, Puss agrees to help Humpty fulfill his childhood dream of climbing the beanstalk and finding the goose that lays the golden eggs. To achieve this they’ll have to steal the magic beans from Jack (Billy Bob Thornton) and Jill (Amy Sedaris) and stay one step ahead of the murderous pair to claim the prize.

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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
  • IMDb: link

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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol begins with a jailbreak and ends with a chase through the streets of Mumbai. In between we get a chase through a sandstorm, an attempt to climb he largest building the world, the looming threat of nuclear war, gadgets and gizmos, a prison escape, and a hell of a lot of fun. The latest entry into the Mission: Impossible franchise is not only great summer popcorn movie fare (in December, no less!), it has the feel of the original television show as well.

Our story begins when Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is broken out of Russian prison by the IMF and given a new team (Paula Patton, Simon Pegg). Together, if they chose to accept it, they are assigned to break into the Kremlin to find information about a Russian terrorist known only as Cobalt (Michael Nyqvist) who plans to start a nuclear war between the United States and Russia.

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Maybe Roland Emmerich should stick to disaster movies

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Anonymous
  • IMDB: link

anonymous-posterDid William Shakespeare write the plays and collected works attributed to him, or is someone else responsible? In an age where conspiracy theories are more popular than reality-TV shows director Roland Emmerich and writer John Orloff not only ask but offer an answer that question.

Anonymous follows the train of thought that Elizabethan aristocrat, Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans), is the real author to Shakespeare’s works. Shakespeare (Rafe Spall) himself? Well, if you buy into this version, he was an uneducated dullard and bumbling actor with barely enough brains to take credit for another’s work.

Emmerich and Orloff aren’t the first to raise the question of Shakespeare’s authorship, but the case they make here involving vast conspiracies, secrets of the royal family, and a super-secret plan of succession to the throne of England come off more like bad soap opera than tragic drama. Their attempt to devalue Shakespeare further by portraying him as a angry buffoon doesn’t help their argument.

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Maybe Roland Emmerich should stick to disaster movies Read More »