 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Feb 19, 2011 - 7:33 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
VietnamVet
(Member)
|
UNSTOPPABLE (2010) 5/10* I think I would have enjoyed this film a lot more if I actually believed that a mile long, 10,000 ton, speeding locomotive became "unmanned" runaway in the inane way depicted in the film. I suppose it could happen. Just implausable to me. The idiot that is portrayed as allowing the incident to happen was subsequently fired from the RR company (according to the "based on the true narrative") of the story - He should have be criminally prosecuted . The story, what there is of it, is rather trite. The majority of the film focuses on automotive crashes, locomotive "near-miss" crashes, and Denzel Washington close-ups. The film ends the only way it could. Any other way and the film would have been an "end of a major city" disaster flick. I will admit a passing interest in the day-to day dealings of the crewmen who handle these diesel behemoths across our nation. Some of the "understory" outlinning the work of these Engineers was fascinating. Also, rather ironic, but even with no story per se, the film does move along very quickly.......It was okay, nothing special.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Feb 19, 2011 - 7:40 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
mastadge
(Member)
|
Jennifer Eight (1992) dir. by Bruce Robinson -- Robinson's third film is his worst, and his last until this year's The Rum Diary. It's a serial killer procedural starring Andy Garcia, and its biggest problem is that while it's not much fun, nor is it unnerving in the way of the best serial killer movies. Actually that's its second biggest problem. It's biggest is that the characters spend a lot of time being stupid. Really, this movie doesn't play to Robinson's strengths at all. He's good at acerbic wit and offbeat banter and this movie offers only rare glimpses of that. Lance Henriksen and Kathy Baker are good, Uma Thurman plays against type, and the ending is abrupt and stupid. This isn't a bad movie, it's just not good, either.
Killers (2010) dir. by Robert Luketic -- I was actually pleasantly surprised by this film: it's merely harmless, while Luketic's previous movie, The Ugly Truth, was actively obnoxious. It's one of those romantic comedy/action mash-ups; Kutcher is a spy (of the Hollywood action hero variety, where spy really means assassin) who falls in love, leaves the game, and you know where it's going from there. The problem is Kutcher and Heigl have zero chemistry, so the formula doesn't work here; and neither of them is given much to work with individually, either. Tom Selleck and his beautiful mustache steal the show.
Hidalgo (2004) dir. by Joe Johnston -- Johnston has been making family adventure films since I was a little kid; I don't know whether he's getting worse and worse or whether I'm getting pickier and he's just not improving, but to me his career peaked with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and The Rocketeer. Here, we get Viggo Mortensen playing Frank Hopkins, a half-Lakota Mustang activist who claims, in 1890, having already won hundreds of long-distance horse races in the US, to have taken part in a 3,000-mile Arabian race. This movie's got some good scenes, and a couple pretty great scenes, but at over 2 hours it's much too long for its standard animal race film formula, even with the addition of some desert rescue subplots. Also it's got a bit too much Magickal Indian stuff for my taste. The movie could probably have been trimmed by a good half-hour to a solid film; as it is, it's pretty middling, watchable but troubled. It's certainly better than The Wolfman, though; let's hope Captain America bucks Johnston's downward trend.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) dir. by Woody Allen -- Pretty standard Woody Allen stuff. Awkward relationships, bad choices. Good ensemble cast. The narrator's voice is awful. I don't really know what to say about this. Like Whatever Works, it's not too bad, but there's nothing in it that we haven't seen before and better from Allen.
Summer Wars (2009) dir. by Mamoru Hosoda -- I'm generally not a fan of anime. The aesthetic doesn't much appeal to me, and it tends to overlap significantly with a culture of which I'm not a part. I'm also not a fan of virtual worlds/gamespaces in movies that don't seem to correspond in any believable way with the interface available to the users, of which there's a big example here: OZ, a network with a billion users, that functions not only as a social network/gaming hub but also as the server for corporations, governments and public services around the globe. And I especially don't like when the science-fictional premise gives way to a fantastical event that tries to spill out of the virtual world into the real one. Given all that, I'm surprised to say that I quite enjoyed this movie. It offers a nice juxtaposition of two cultures: the family community with its history and legacy, and the virtual community in which people share on OZ. While the entity that hacks into OZ and starts stealing avatars is a bit silly, the confrontations within the virtual space are epic and well done enough that I enjoyed them despite myself. The character of Granny is a gem, and the movie features the most awkward and disgusting first kiss I think I've ever seen. Not a great movie: there are some pretty big plotholes that require quite a bit of suspension of disbelief. But an enjoyable enough one, and almost certainly the best of this crop of movies.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: |
Feb 19, 2011 - 8:59 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
mrscott
(Member)
|
UNSTOPPABLE (2010) 5/10* I think I would have enjoyed this film a lot more if I actually believed that a mile long, 10,000 ton, speeding locomotive became "unmanned" runaway in the inane way depicted in the film. I suppose it could happen. Just implausable to me. The idiot that is portrayed as allowing the incident to happen was subsequently fired from the RR company (according to the "based on the true narrative") of the story - He should have be criminally prosecuted . The story, what there is of it, is rather trite. The majority of the film focuses on automotive crashes, locomotive "near-miss" crashes, and Denzel Washington close-ups. The film ends the only way it could. Any other way and the film would have been an "end of a major city" disaster flick. I will admit a passing interest in the day-to day dealings of the crewmen who handle these diesel behemoths across our nation. Some of the "understory" outlinning the work of these Engineers was fascinating. Also, rather ironic, but even with no story per se, the film does move along very quickly.......It was okay, nothing special.
I cited the real life event the movie was based on in my original review. The train ran for about 66 miles. Then it stopped. No injuries or damage. Happened near the site of the movie in 2001. I believe the incident began as shown in the film.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Feb 24, 2011 - 1:32 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Michael24
(Member)
|
Unknown (2011) - 5/5
Dr. Martin Harris (Liam Neeson) and his wife, Elizabeth (January Jones), arrive in Berlin for a biotechnology summit at which he is to give a speech. Upon reaching their hotel, Harris discovers his briefcase was left at the airport and returns to get it, but the taxi in which he is riding is involved in an accident that sends him into a coma. When he awakens four days later, he is shocked to discover that his wife has no idea who he is, that she is married to another man (Aidan Quinn) also named Martin Harris, and that every detail of his life -- from photographs to websites -- has been completely erased. Determined to prove his very existence, Harris seeks help from Gina (Diane Kruger), the taxi driver who saved his life, and Herr Jurgen (Bruno Ganz), a private investigator. As the mystery slowly unfolds, the danger to Harris and those around him plunge him into a desperate race against time.
From start to finish, this is an exciting little suspense-thriller. Although we're given a glimpse of Harris' before his coma, as if to make sure we know for a fact Harris is who he is, the story does begin to make us question whether or not he is who he says or is indeed just going crazy as the result of his accident. Every corner he turns results in a dead end and seems to only prove he's not Martin Harris. Neeson, who is becoming quite an action star in his late-50s, is terrific as the man who starts to question his own sanity as the mystery surrounds him and seems to have no solution. Kruger adds ample support as one of Harris' only allies, herself a mystery. Jones is beautiful and even more mysterious as Elizabeth, and Quinn is controlled but obviously up to something as the supposedly "fake" Harris. But it's Ganz as Herr Jurgen, a former Stasi agent who believes Harris' story and agrees to help prove his real identity, who stands out the most from the supporting cast. He punctuates his role with an understatement and nuances that really brings him to life. Rounding out the cast is the great Frank Langella in a minor but important role that may hold the clues to solving the mystery.
The script is tightly-written and never lets up on the suspense. You know something is going on, and the revelation is probably not what you'll be expecting. I know that was the case for me. Unknown is sure to be one of the best movies you'll see all year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
