Trailer: Heavenly Sword (2013)
Directed by: Gun Ho Jang
Starring: Anna Torv, Thomas Jane, Alfred Molina and others
Current release date: 2013
Directed by: Gun Ho Jang
Trailer: Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)
A missing wedding ring leads to a wild-goose chase involving meth addicts, skinheads and an Elvis impersonator. From: IMDb.com
Directed by: Wayne Kramer
Starring: Paul Walker, Norman Reedus, Elijah Wood and others
Current release date: 2013
Red band clip: Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)
A missing wedding ring leads to a wild-goose chase involving meth addicts, skinheads and an Elvis impersonator. From: IMDb.com
LOL (2012) Directed by Lisa Azuelos
Quite frankly, I just can't understand how adults could be involved with this movie. It's a movie about teenagers, so its set in a teenage world, with teenage rules. It's about the sort the sort of the stuff that only seems to be important when you are still at a young age and far from adulthood. Well, I say teenagers but of course all of them are being played by some 20-year old's, which is something pretty obvious and annoying about this movie as well.
And really, this entire movie seems to about a bunch of non-issues. I just don't see what the big 'conflict' is supposed to be in this movie and there is just never any sense of true drama in the movie. This is mostly what makes this movie such a pointless watch. Crazy thing about the movie is that you can watch just and only the first 5 and last 5 minutes of this movie and you won't feel like you missed anything because of the simple reason that you also haven't done so. The characters and situations are still being mostly the same at the end of the movie. Perhaps they could had still made this movie somewhat interesting by making it a coming-of-age movie but all this movie seemed to be concerned about was appealing to young teens, who perhaps will be able to identify with some of the characters and situations in this movie but I just can't even imaging them being all that entertained by this movie. There is just far too little happening for that.
It's also a movie that confuses and does some stupid things. I swear at first I thought that some of the characters were 'bad guys' but as the movie progressed it suddenly became apparent to me that they were part of the friend-group of the movie and you were even supposed to like these characters. And that's also a problem of the movie. Most of the character aren't really being sympathetic enough to ever care for or be interested enough in.
Also an odd thing to see some big name actors in a movie like this. Demi Moore, Thomas Jane, Gina Gershon, Jay Hernandez, all play some quite big parts. Perhaps they were just eager to appear in a Miley Cyrus movie, who is still being a hot young star but isn't exactly known for doing great movies.
Pointless movie, that is pointless to watch.
4/10
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The Mist (2007) Directed by Frank Darabont
(Review originally written at 18 February 2008)
This movie is being praised basically everywhere, which made me all the more skeptic about watching it of course. I mean, how could a movie set in a supermarket, surrounded by fog, could ever be an exciting or tense horror flick? Well, you better believe it that this movie is a exciting and tense one to watch and it's all being presented in a very original way as well.
The fact that the movie is directed by Frank Darabont should had already given away that this is a great movie. Darabont made the 2 successful Stephen King adaptations "The Shawshank Redemption" and "The Green Mile" prior to this movie. Suddenly I am also less worried about Darabont making a "Fahrenheit 451" remake, which is in the works. "The Mist" is his third movie based on a Stephen King story and it's the first horror based one. Now, I never have been a too big King for but his story for "The Mist" seems like a genuine well written one because it's an horror movie in an unexpected way.
What makes "The Mist" such a great and already almost classic movie is because of its approach. What "The Mist" does very well is that perhaps the biggest danger and horror doesn't come from outside, in the mist but from inside the people in the supermarket. This movie is a perfect study of human nature and it's not afraid to show the dark side of mankind. It's an highly original and approach of an horror story. Finally a real clever made horror movie, that also makes you think. This however all doesn't mean that the movie also isn't effective on its more generic horror elements, such as scare moments and 'monsters'. Also on that level the movie knows to impress and is it just as effective.
It chooses a realistic approach of things and therefore also picks a realistic visual approach, with sort of hand held looking quick shots and by showing things only from the perspective of the main characters. It throws you right in the middle of things, which of course also really adds to the overall effectiveness and power of the movie. In that regard the movie is also truly original. Because the movie tries to remain as realistic and 'small' as possible, the movie also doesn't a cast with big selling names in it. Because of this, you also don't know who will survive in the end. Normally you know this already when a movie has some big famous names in it. It keeps the characters all more real. It makes the story totally not predictable and far from just another generic piece of horror. The movie also really doesn't end in a generic kind of way.
The movie also features some good looking special effects. Normally special effects and horror are a bad combination but in this case the movie truly benefits from its special effects. There are all, again, featured in a realistic and they are obviously not put into the movie to impress its viewers but to help to tell the movie its story.
Yes, the movie is really as good as everyone makes you believe it is!
9/10
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The Punisher (2004) Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh
(Review originally written at 13 May 2006)
This is a very straight forward action flick with lots of violence and tough characters. Fans of the action genre will most definitely not be disappointed by this movie.
From the start on, you know that this movie is a violent one that doesn't hold back. After we've seen the entire family of Frank Castle being killed (and I mean every single last family member, both young and old) you know that this movie is going to be different from most other action movies. It's a movie that is very straight forward and doesn't hold back but at the very same time it doesn't try to force, or go too much over-the-top. I think this is most probably thanks to the directing skills of Jonathan Hensleigh and the talented cast that was involved with this movie that makes it a very enjoyable, cool and still somewhat credible, summer-action-flick.
The story is basically very simple and is set around one very simple good old fashioned concept; vengeance, or maybe even better said; punishment. It's not really a sort of action movie that needs much story. The characters, both the main 'hero' and the main villain are interesting enough to carry the entire movie and make it a very pleasant one to watch. Even though the main 'hero' is pretty dark and brutal himself, you still root for him because you understand him.
Thomas Jane is pretty good as the leading man and he proves that he is a great and perhaps somewhat underrated action movie star. It's always a pleasure to see John Travolta in a villainous role and he certainly also does not disappoint in this movie. Same goes for Will Patton, who also was really great in this movie (he's beginning to look old and fat now by the way.). Roy Scheider also shows up in a small role, or better said cameo as Frank Castle Sr. Kevin Nash plays a pretty cool role as a Russian hit-man. The fight sequence between him and the main character was one of the highlights of the movie to me.
But seriously, were all those sequence's with the Punisher's neighbors really necessary? I understand that they were put in the movie to still give the main character an humane and more soft side but the sequences just didn't worked out good enough and perhaps only were distracting from the main plot line. The sequences also are really a waste of Rebecca Romijn's qualities. She doesn't get to do anything good or interesting in the movie. Why did she even agreed to be in this?
It's nothing too memorable all and the action and story themselves are nothing more than average but it's the straight-forwardness of the movie that makes me regard this one as an above average one, that has more to offer than the average, simple action flick. The style of the movie also ain't bad and hopefully we'll hear more from director Jonathan Hensleigh (who already is a successful writer of many well known action movies) in the future.
7/10
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