Movie clip: Homefront (2013)
Trailer #3: Homefront (2013)
A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Gary Fleder
Starring: James Franco, Jason Statham, Winona Ryder and others
Current release date: November 27, 2013
TV spot: Homefront (2013)
A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com
Red band trailer: Homefront (2013)
A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Gary Fleder
Starring: James Franco, Jason Statham, Rachelle Lefevre and others
Current release date: November 27, 2013
Trailer: Homefront (2013)
A former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Gary Fleder
Starring: James Franco, Rachelle Lefevre, Jason Statham and others
Current release date: November 27, 2013
Hummingbird (2013) Directed by Steven Knight
All of these Jason Statham movies sort of start to blend together after a while. He always looks the same, he always sounds the same and he just always plays the same sort of character, in all of his movies. To some extent, that's also true for this movie, though at the same time it's also still being a different enough movie. Different, in this case, doesn't equal good however.
This movie definitely feels more British-like than American-like. With that I mean that it's being a more subtle and quiet type of 'acton' movie, that's more about its characters and underlying themes and emotions. So it really isn't an overblown Hollywood genre flick, with tons of explosions, shootouts and chase scenes, though I definitely wouldn't have minded this movie being just a tad bit more Hollywood like, with its action, story and characters at times. That way, I would have most likely been entertained more, as I was with the current movie.
It's not necessarily a bore- or snorfest but it still definitely is a bit of a too slow movie at times. 30 minutes in and the movie still hasn't really picked up a good main plot line. For the longest time it's actually hard to tell where the story is heading at, since it makes all kinds of jumps and turns. And not the type of jumps and turns that add to the movie its mystery or tension but the jumps and turns that feel kind of pointless and confusing instead.I can definitely see what this movie was trying to do and achieve with its story approach and atmosphere but unfortunately it failed, on most levels. First and foremost, it fails to delver an engaging enough story. There isn't really any good mystery, there isn't any good tension and the Statham character never becomes an interesting enough one, despite all of the movie its hard efforts.
Not trying to sound too harsh abut this movie, since it's definitely still a 'watchable' enough one. It never gets terrible, though some people are most definitely still going to feel bored with it. However those who are more able to like and appreciate a slower and more subtle type of action movie, there still is some enjoyment to take out of this movie.
Not the worst movie you'll ever see but not exactly the most effective one either.
5/10
Watch trailer
Fast & Furious 6 (2013) Directed by Justin Lin
It's good to see that the series is improving and maturing with basically every new movie but it still has a long road to go!
Maybe, just maybe this is my favorite movie out of the series, as of yet. Reason why I liked it was because it had some more depth and decent emotions to it, as the characters have clearly matured more over the past few years.
As an action movie, it's on to par as well with other modern recent genre flick, such as "A Good Day to Die Hard", "The Expendables" movies and "Olympus Has Fallen", just to name a random few, that come to mind. Movies that are not all that great story-wise but still movies that serve their purpose and beside offer some well executed and fine looking action moments in it. Movies that still have plenty wrong with them but remain watchable enough ones, for what they are.
And sure, once you really start analyzing this movie, it's a pretty far fetched and dumb one, that often doesn't make any sense but if you decide to just go along with it, chances are you will be having a pretty good time with it. It doesn't really ever slow down and features plenty of (long) action sequences in it to enjoy. And no, not just car related stuff but plenty of other action elements as well.
Still it seems obvious to me that the writers for these movies are constantly struggling to find a way to incorporate all of the many different characters in the movie and give them something useful and interesting to do. Half of the characters who appear in this movie could have easily been left out and it wouldn't have changed the movie its story or main plot. It's just to please the fans of the series and I'm just not a big fan at all. I would have preferred seeing the movie focus better and more on just two or three characters, instead of a whole group of people, who I can't even remember the names of.It's also getting somewhat annoying to see how characters keep changing alliances in the series. Good guys turning bad, bad guys turning good. Good guys helping out bad guys, bad guys helping out good ones. make up your mind already! And when someone dies in one movie, stop bringing them back for the sequels, especially when their death left no room or whatsoever for any form of debate or doubt.
I have to say that Dwayne Johnson is a truly great addition to the franchise, as he already showed before in the previous installment; "Fast Five". I truly hope he'll take over the whole franchise one day and become the one main focus of it. He's charismatic, he's funny and he of course handles all of the action very well. Besides, he's truly turning into a pretty good actor as well, much better than Vin Diesel anyway. It's also enjoyable to see Luke Evans as the main villain in this but they truly could and should have used him better and some more at times.
A silly and most certainly not great movie but it's good enough for what it is!
6/10
Watch trailer
Trailer #3: Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Agent Hobbs enlists the aid of Dom and team to help bring a rival gang, led by Owen Shaw, to justice. In exchange for clear records, they must put an end to their schemes, no matter how personal the cost. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Justin Lin
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and others
Current release date: May 24, 2013
Trailer: Hummingbird (2013)
The story of an ex-Special Forces soldier who has found himself homeless on the streets. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Steven Knight
Starring: Jason Statham, Vicky McClure, Agata Buzek and others
Current release date: May 17, 2013
Parker (2013) Directed by Taylor Hackford
Jason Statham's career isn't really going anywhere, as long as he keeps
doing movies like this. Basically he's currently nothing more but the
Steven Seagal of some slightly more expensive action movies. It comes
down to it that he not only keeps showing up in the same type of movies
but he also continues the same type of roles. Oh well, it's definitely
something you could make a career out of but it's still a real shame,
since Statham showed so much more potential, at the start of his
career.
No, it's not like this movie is a bad one but it happens to be a very generic one and there's nothing special about it really. As a matter of fact, in some regards this is even a lesser movie than the average, modern, genre attempt.
As weird as it may sound, the movie is a bit overwritten. This movie had all the potential in it to become a very simplistic and straightforward revenge flick but the way the revenge plays out is far from interesting or exciting to watch really. It tries to take things a bit too serious, by adding pointless and distracting layers and developments to the story. instead of having some fun, the movie wants to be too serious and tries to be more clever with its story than it in fact truly is.
Also the Jennifer Lopez character for instance. When given the right sort of role, she is fine as an actress and she also is doing just fine in this movie but did the movie even needed to have her character in it? Seriously, she doesn't even show up until halfway through the movie and the movie so easily could had done without her plot line and character.
She gets in the way of a lot of things and for instance takes away the screen time from the movie its villains, who are truly hardly present in this movie at all. It's weird how the villains basically only show up in the beginning and end of the movie and it's even weirder to see Nick Nolte in a small, throwaway role. You expect him to play a bigger and more important role toward the end of the movie but no, as it turns out his role is nothing more but an extended cameo, that basically could had been played by just about everybody.
Yet it's not a terrible movie by any means. It remains perfectly watchable, mostly due to its pace and it of course still has some nice action moments, even though they are incredibly formulaic (really, how many more guys are we going to see hanging from a balcony in movies, after a fight?).
It's not terribly exciting, not terribly surprising and not terribly impressive but at least the movie itself isn't terrible to watch!
6/10
No, it's not like this movie is a bad one but it happens to be a very generic one and there's nothing special about it really. As a matter of fact, in some regards this is even a lesser movie than the average, modern, genre attempt.
As weird as it may sound, the movie is a bit overwritten. This movie had all the potential in it to become a very simplistic and straightforward revenge flick but the way the revenge plays out is far from interesting or exciting to watch really. It tries to take things a bit too serious, by adding pointless and distracting layers and developments to the story. instead of having some fun, the movie wants to be too serious and tries to be more clever with its story than it in fact truly is.
Also the Jennifer Lopez character for instance. When given the right sort of role, she is fine as an actress and she also is doing just fine in this movie but did the movie even needed to have her character in it? Seriously, she doesn't even show up until halfway through the movie and the movie so easily could had done without her plot line and character.
She gets in the way of a lot of things and for instance takes away the screen time from the movie its villains, who are truly hardly present in this movie at all. It's weird how the villains basically only show up in the beginning and end of the movie and it's even weirder to see Nick Nolte in a small, throwaway role. You expect him to play a bigger and more important role toward the end of the movie but no, as it turns out his role is nothing more but an extended cameo, that basically could had been played by just about everybody.
Yet it's not a terrible movie by any means. It remains perfectly watchable, mostly due to its pace and it of course still has some nice action moments, even though they are incredibly formulaic (really, how many more guys are we going to see hanging from a balcony in movies, after a fight?).
It's not terribly exciting, not terribly surprising and not terribly impressive but at least the movie itself isn't terrible to watch!
6/10
Watch trailer
International trailer: Parker (2013)
A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis and others
Current release date: January 25, 2013
Trailer: Parker (2013)
A thief lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis and others
Current release date: January 25, 2013
The Expendables 2 (2012) Directed by Simon West
It definitely seemed a good move by Stallone to pass the torch on to Simon West and let him sit on the director's chair this time. Seemed that with the first "The Expendables" movie Stallone had a hard time balancing things out. The result was a pretty disappointing movie, in which not even the action come across as anything all that great or exciting. This definitely improved with this movie and while it's being far from a great one, it's being a pretty decent and entertaining genre flick!
Please don't ask me what this movie was all about, since I simply absolutely had no idea. But in all fairness, this often had been the case with big overblown action movies and it really doesn't make them any less spectacular or entertaining to watch. It's simply being a movie to have a good and fun time with and not to take too seriously.
And luckily the film-makers and actors took things not that serious either. It's the main reason why this movie works out much better and is simply being more fun than its predecessor. The movie and its jokes are more self aware this time around and they didn't just attempted to create a big action flick but also one that delivers on a more entertaining level.
So there is more fun, the action is better but those are not the only things this sequel improved on. Thing I also really liked about this movie was that it focused more on the team aspect. Everybody gets their moment to shine in this and basically every cast member gets to show off their action skills. Yes, even Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis get to do some serious action related stuff this time around. And it really is awesome seeing them fight literally alongside, along with Sylvester Stallone as well. It helps to make the final 30 minutes basically a fan boys dream and it also are the movie its final 30 minutes that are being the movie its best minutes, which sort of makes you wonder why the rest of the movie, as well as its predecessor, weren't being more like this as well.
And the movie brings in even more big action movie stars from the past this time. Jean-Claude Van Damme is being a pretty good villain, though he shows up in the movie pretty late and also gets to do far too little. Oh well, at least he was being good and enjoyable when he did appear on screen and is still in pretty good form as well, even though he is well in his 50's already. And I admit, it was also awesome to see Chuck Norris in this. Yes, his character is quite pointless and just an excuse to have Norris pop up in this movie but he perhaps was being the most fun character out of the entire movie and I actually do hope they bring him back and make him a part of the team for the next sequel. It's sort of funny how I know basically everything about this guy and his movies but this probably was being the first movie, in which he stars, that I had ever seen. Perhaps it should be time to pick up some of his earlier movies and have a blast with them as well.
Of course there are plenty of flaws in this movie, mostly story related but I'm simply happy about it that this movie at least learned from some of the mistakes it made with the previous movie and this one is simply being a good and enjoyable genre movie to watch. Still not as great and awesome as it by all rights should be but they are more on the right track with this one and lets all hope "The Expendables 3" is going to be the ultimate Expendables movie, that everybody is hoping and longing for, ever since the first movie got announced.
7/10
Watch trailer
The Expendables (2010) Directed by Sylvester Stallone
Seems that this movie was a case of being one that everybody wanted to like and love and therefore it's hard to admit for most people that this just isn't being a very good movie. By all rights it should had been a big, fun action flick, that could had worked as a throwback to the '80's, with lots of the big action movie stars from that era in it as well but it just doesn't works out as such.
So many problems with this movie, I don't know where to being. Guess it's best to start of with the most obvious thing; the story. No, this movie does not have a very good story in it. So what, you might say or think. After all, this is a action-flick, who needs story? Well, you always need at least something to base your action scenes around and you at least have to be taken by its characters or its main plot. There has to be a reason to root for the main characters and cheer when the main bad guy gets killed and the hero(es) saves the day! There is just however none of that present in this movie unfortunately.
There besides isn't really being a pleasant flow to the movie and its story. It seemed as if some action scenes were simply thrown in and don't serve a purpose at all. It actually in a weird way slows the movie down and makes it somewhat of a boring one at times. I personally couldn't wait for this movie to end, even though its only being 103 minutes short.
Perhaps it also was due to it that I just wasn't very impressed with the movie its action. It was shockingly poorly directed at times! I say shockingly, since the movie actually got directed by Sylvester Stallone, who had no problems with doing action scenes before. After all, this is the guy who also directed "Rambo", just 2 years prior to this movie, which was an action movie that I absolutely loved and was being everything that this movie should had been as well but just wasn't.
So is it at least fun to watch all of the big action movie stars from the past and present in this? Not really. It's at least not being somewhat to get terribly excited about, even though it on paper looks awesome. Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Terry Crews, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis all in one movie, how could it not work out as anything awesome? Well, mostly because most of them get absolutely nothing to do in this movie. It tries to present itself as a team movie but in fact the movie isn't at all about them working together. All of the egos in this movie are far too big for that and besides, the movie is mostly focusing purely on Stallone and Stratham, who by far have the most screen time in this and are the only ones doing some true action related stuff and have some character development.
Reason why I also wasn't being very entertained by this movie was because it just wasn't being a very fun one to watch. The supposedly comical dialog for the movie was awful and the movie was also lacking a good visual style to it. The movie is an incredibly dark one and I couldn't even always tell what was going on exactly. It might sound strange but a little bit more bright colors could had added so much to the movie its fun and entertainment factor. Perhaps they were more focused on trying to pass this as a legit action flick, while in fact it seemed to be a more suitable thing for this movie to not take itself as serious as it did.
A thing that worked also distracting for me was its Brian Tyler musical score. It was some incredibly formulaic stuff, that sounded like it got composed before the movie even finished shooting. It just didn't suited the movie and its action sequences in particular all that well.
It really isn't a good throwback to the '80's and also far too lacking as a genre movie in general. Lets hope the sequel does everything right, this one did wrong! If that's the case, then its going to be something absolutely awesome!
5/10
Watch trailer
Trailer #3: The Expendables 2 (2012)
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Simon West
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Liam Hemsworth, Randy Couture and others
Current release date: August 17, 2012
Snatch (2000) Directed by Guy Ritchie
(Review originally written at 25 March 2006)
This is top-class entertainment. The movie is brilliantly constructed and has its own unique style. Both the story and characters are over-the-top and therefor also extremely fun.
This is a movie were basically is very little wrong with. It's some perfect mindless entertainment but with a complicated storyline. So it's still a sort of movie with a story, which you have to pay a lot of attention to, while watching. The movie is made in the same style as the previous Guy Ritchie movie, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". There are lots of similarities between these two movies, so if you liked "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" you'll most likely also really like this movie as well.
Main difference with "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" though, is that this movie has a 'bigger' cast with some more well known names in it. Jason Statham who made his debut in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" plays the main character in this movie. Brad Pitt plays a very fun role and fits surprisingly well into the typical British storyline and atmosphere of the movie. Also well known actors like Benicio Del Toro and Dennis Farina fit in very well into the story and the movie in general. But perhaps the biggest positive surprise of the movie was Vinnie Jones. He had been given quite some dialog in this movie and he shows that he really can act. Most movies he plays in, he is given very little dialog, a shame because judging by just this movie, he is a very talented actor.
Maybe the movie becomes a bit too complex at times, which is mainly due to the very many characters that play a prominent role in the story. It perhaps gets a bit too much at times but overall it doesn't make the movie any less fun to watch, just more (too much) complicated.
The movie has some very fun and original moments in the story, even though the movie is a bit too similar to "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" at times. Which is also the main reason why I still regard "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" as a better movie. It came first and therefor it's more original and refreshing. Basically "Snatch." is just more of the same. Not that more of the same is a bad thing in this case but it's just of course not as refreshing and original as with "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" was the case.
If you like a well constructed movie with a solid and complex story told from multiple points of views this is a sort of movie that you'll love. Also highly recommendable if you liked "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", of course. I don't mind seeing more movies like this being made.
9/10
Watch trailer
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
