"RED" (2010) Review

"RED" (2010) Review

Loosely inspired by the three-part DC Comics comic book series created by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, "RED" told the story about a former black-ops C.I.A. agent named Frank Moses, who reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive a series of assassination attempts on him. Thanks to one member of his team, Marvin Boggs, Frank learns that a mysterious figure is sending both assassins and a C.I.A. black-ops agent named William Cooper to wipe out all members of a secret mission in Guatemala that Frank participated in back in 1981.

"RED" turned out to be a pretty solid action-comedy film that greatly benefitted from veteran cast members that included Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox, Ernest Borgnine and Richard Dreyfuss. The cast also included the likes of Mary Louise Parker, Julian McMahon and Karl Urban. Surprisingly, the only members of the cast that seemed to have a persistent presence throughout the movie were Willis (the main star), Parker, Malkovich and Urban. Everyone else seemed to be making cameo or guest appearances in the movie. Regardless of the amount of time spent in the movie, each cast member gave a first-class performance in the movie. I was especially impressed by Willis as the weary ex-agent who is stimulated back into life at the prospect of learning the identity of the person behind the assassination attempts upon him. Malkovich gave my favorite performance as the paranoid Marvin Boggs, who seemingly ridiculous theories about any potential danger end up being correct. And I also enjoyed Helen Mirren as a former MI-6 assassin Victoria, who seemed just as thrilled as Frank to be back in action.

German-born Robert Schwentke displayed a quirky sense of humor in his direction of "RED". I had expected some humor in the movie, but Schwentke stylized the violence in a way that reminded me of movies like "PAYBACK" or "SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD". Scribes Jon and Erich Hoeber did a solid job in adapting Ellis and Hammer’s comic tale. Some fans of the comic novel may have taken umbrage at their loose adaptation. But since I have never read the three comic books . . . . it did not bother me that much. However, I found the showdown inside the Chicago hotel parking garage rather confusing. The overall action did not confuse me, but the main villain’s reasoning and personal actions did. This did not ruin the movie for me, but it came damn close. Overall, "RED" was a pretty solid movie, but I have seen better comic films.

"WANTED" (2008) Review

"WANTED" (2008) Review

Based upon the comic miniseries by Mark Millar, ”WANTED” is the story of Wesley Gibson, a meek Chicago accountant who discovers that the father he had never known was part of a thousand year-old secret society of assassins called The Fraternity. Upon being informed that his father had been murdered, and longing for a different life outside a hated job and unfaithful girlfriend, Gibson joins The Fraternity in order to find his father’s killer. 

From what I had learned about the two versions of "WANTED", the movie version turned out to be quite different from the comic book version. In the former, The Fraternity consisted of assassins whose victims end up being selected by”Fate” to be hunted and killed. Due to The Fraternity’s founders being a group of weavers, "Fate" chose the order’s victims through a series of codes embedded in the material woven by The Fraternity members. This business of The Fraternity’s victims being chosen by "Fate" never played a part in Millar’s comic story. This is because the assassins turned out to be out-and-out villains. Including Wesley.

There were positive and negative aspects of "WANTED". I was impressed by the performances of both James McAvoy as Wesley Gibson and Morgan Freeman as Sloan, The Fraternity’s leader. Angelina Jolie, as usual, displayed her strong screen presence as Fox, one of the order’s assassins. Unfortunately her character seemed to possess little depth, despite the small flashback about her childhood, provided by screenwriters Michael Brandt, Derek Haas and Chris Morgan. Her character seemed more like an action icon, instead of a character with any real depth. Others such as Terence Stamp, Common, Marc Warren and Konstantin Khabensky provided solid support as a rogue agent and members of The Fraternity. But I found nothing memorable about their performances. Two performances really impressed me. Despite his brief appearances as another rogue agent of The Fraternity, Thomas Kretschmann certainly made an impression as a memorable adversary, who seemed determined to get his hands upon Wesley. And I was also impressed by Lorna Scott's portrayal of Wesley's overbearing boss, Janice. Although her portrayal seemed a bit over-the-top, somehow it seemed to fit her role like a glove.

As for the movie’s action, it strongly reminded me of "THE MATRIX", with its outrageous stunts occasionally shown in slow motion. But "THE MATRIX" is now at least nine years old. And quite frankly, I am beginning to find this form of action a bit outdated. The screenwriters tried to surprise the audience with plot twists, especially the one regarding the character of Cross. But to be honest, I managed to spot these plot twists before they were even revealed. And I ended up being spoiled and not taken by surprise. The story for "WANTED" struck me as pretty solid, but with a strong streak of a melodrama. However, a part of me wished that the screenwriters, director Timur Bekmambetov and the producers should have ditched the idea of The Fraternity’s method of choosing potential victims (and so-called "bad guys") via a textile loom. I found it rather ludicrous. 

In the end, "WANTED" proved to be a solid adaptation of Millar's comic story. I found it solid, but not particularly memorable. As far as I am concerned, I wish the production team involved with the movie had stuck with the more dangerous choice of adhering more closely to Millar’s comic book version. I suspect that this would have made a more interesting film.

"WANTED" (2008) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "WANTED", the 2008 adaptation of Mark Millar's comic book miniseries. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the movie stars James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman:


"WANTED" (2008) Photo Gallery

"LAST VEGAS" (2013) Review

"LAST VEGAS" (2013) Review

When I first saw the trailer for "LAST VEGAS", my first impression was that it was some kind of senior version of "THE HANGOVER" or one of those comedy road trip movies featuring four friends. It did not strike me as an original movie, but it looked entertaining and I decided to go see it anyway. 

Directed by Jon Turteltaub and written by Dan Fogelman, "LAST VEGAS" is a story about a quartet of long time friends in their late sixties who gather in Las Vegas to attend a wedding. While giving an eulogy at the funeral of a friend, Billy spontaneously proposes marriage to his 32 year-old girlfriend. Several weeks later, he announces his engagement to at least two of his friends - Archie and Sam. Archie, who feels like a prisoner of his son's following a mild stroke, sneaks away. Sam, who has become slightly embittered over his Florida retirement, is encouraged by his wife to go on the trip and even consider one night of adultery to get his mojo back. Both Archie and Sam meet in their old Brooklyn neighborhood to convince the last member of the old quartet - Paddy - to join them on the trip to Vegas. There is a difficult. Paddy is angry over Billy's failure to attend his wife's funeral, but Archie manages to convince him to accompany them.

When the four friends meet in Vegas, they try to check into an old hotel on Fremont Street. Unfortunately, the hotel has been transformed into an unsuccessful nightclub, where they meet a sexy, aging singer named Diana. Both Paddy and Billy, who is awaiting his young fiancée, become attracted to her. Thanks to Archie's successful spell at a hotel casino on the Strip, the four friends are comped by the hotel to stay in one of their suites. While Archie and Sam set out to enjoy themselves, Billy and Paddy deal with their conflict over the latter's late wife and Diana.

I might as well be frank. "LAST VEGAS" is not exactly a comedy classic. Nor does it have an original script. A lot of the movie is spent with the four seniors musing over aging and trying to pretend that they can still party hard. Not only would I never consider "LAST VEGAS" as one of the best films for any of the four leads, I would never consider it one of their best works during the later stages of their career. But I knew that coming in. One look at the movie's trailer pretty much told me what kind of movie this would be.

But you know what? Despite the lack of originality and hardcore partying (PG-rated), "LAST VEGAS" turned out to be a very entertaining film. Hell, it was a lot of fun to watch. Thanks to Fogelman's script, the movie was filled with some sharp wit and funny moments. Among the latter was Archie's "difficult" escape from his New Jersey home, the four friends acting as judges at a swimsuit contest around the hotel's swimming pool, Billy and Diana's ride on what I believe was the Stratosphere. I could be wrong about the latter. Fogelman's script was slightly elevated by a few scenes of pathos involving Billy and Paddy's conflict over the latter's wife, thanks to the actors involved.

Speaking of the actors, it is quite apparent that this movie owed a lot to the five leads. Mind you, Fogelman wrote an entertaining, yet unoriginal script. And Jon Turteltaub infused a great deal of energy into his direction. A great deal. The movie also benefited from solid performances from supporting players like Romany Malco, Jerry Ferrara, Weronika Rosati, Joanna Gleason and Michael Ealy. But one might as well face it. Without the four male leads and the sole female lead, I doubt that I would have ever found this movie amusing, let alone funny. Both Turteltaub and Fogelman owed a great deal to Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen. Not only did the four men proved to have strong chemistry with each other, Steenburgen added a good deal of her own chemistry with the team. She especially managed to click with Douglas and De Niro.

As I had earlier stated, "LAST VEGAS" is not a comedy classic. Nor did I find it particularly original. I would never list it as one of the best movies of 2013. But I cannot deny that I found it both witty and funny, thanks to Dan Fogelman's script. Jon Turteltaub's direction injected a great deal of energy into the story. And the movie overall really benefited from a strong cast lead by Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen. "LAST VEGAS" may not have been great, but I found it very entertaining.

"LAST VEGAS" (2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the new comedy called "LAST VEGAS". Directed by Jon Turteltaub, the movie stars Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline: 


"LAST VEGAS" (2013) Photo Gallery

"OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" (2013) Review

"OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" (2013) Review

During the late winter/early spring of 2013, the American public found itself bombarded with constant media coverage of militaristic chest thumping from North Korea. By some strange coincidence, Hollywood released two movies featuring the North Koreans as the main villains between September 2012 and March 2013. One of those movies turned out to be the recent action thriller called "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN". 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" told the story of a disgraced U.S. Secret Service agent forced to rescue the President of the United from North Korean terrorists that have infiltrated and taken over the White House. I might as well start from the beginning. The movie begins with former Army Ranger-turned-Secret Service Agent Mike Banning is serving as lead agent for the Presidential Detail that guards President Benjamin Asher and the latter's wife and son. During a drive from Camp David, the car conveying President Asher and First Lady Margaret Asher crashes against a bridge railing. Banning manages to save the President, but the vehicle falls into the river before he and the rest of the detail can save the First Lady and two other agents. Because the sight of Banning triggers President Asher's memories of his wife's death, Banning is taken off the Presidential Detail. 

Eighteen months later, President Asher finds himself facing a state visit from South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Tae-Woo. Korean-led guerilla forces launch a combined air and ground attack upon Washington D.C. and more specifically, the White House. The attack, led by an ex-North Korean terrorist named Kang Yeonsak, results in the murder of Prime Minister Lee and the capture of President Asher, Vice-President Charlie Rodriguez and Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan. Kang wants the U.S. forces in South Korea to withdraw from the Korean Pennisula and the access codes to the Cerberus system: a fail-safe device that self-detonates any U.S. nuclear missiles during an abort. Meanwhile, Banning was on his way to the White House to ask the President to allow him back on the detail, when he gets caught up in the attack. Banning participates in the defense of the White House led by fellow Agent Roma, but nearly all of the defenders are killed. However Banning manages to get inside the White House and establish contact with Head of the Secret Service Lynne Jacobs, Speaker of the House Allan Trumball, and Chief of Staff General Edward Clegg. Then proceeds to find a way to save the President and other hostages.

The plot for "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" sounds very exciting. It also sounds very familiar. Some critic or blogger once compared it to some other movie I have never seen. But "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" reminded me of the 1997 Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman movie, "AIR FORCE ONE". Let me be frank. I despised "AIR FORCE ONE" when I first saw it in the theaters. I still despise it. There is nothing more ludicrous than the President of the United States as an action hero. "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" has its own share of flaws. But I am so relieved that screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt did not transform President Asher into an action hero. But the two movies do share a good number of similarities:

*Both movies feature the U.S. President and personnel being held hostage.
*The hostage situation in both movies are in the presidential settings of either the White House or Air Force One.
*The Vice-President becomes head of state in the 1997 movie. The Speaker of the House becomes head of state in the 2013 film.
*Kazakhstan terrorists disguised as foreign press infiltrate Air Force One. North Korean terrorists disguised as South Korean diplomats infiltrate the White House.
*A Secret Service agent is a mole for the Kazakh terrorists in the 1997 film. A former Secret Service agent is a mole for the North Korean terrorists.

But despite these similarities, I still liked "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN". Somewhat. For me, the movie's major virtue proved to be its more plausible hero. Instead of using the President of the United States as the main hero, the leading man for "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" turned out to be a former Army Ranger-turned-Secret Service agent. And the movie's action struck me as very exciting and well directed by Antoine Fuqua. I was especially impressed by the long sequence that featured the North Korean terrorists' attack upon and takeover of the White House. The movie also benefitted from the emotional connection between Banning and President Asher, thanks to Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart's performances. The pair's connection reminded me of the Jack Bauer/President David Palmer relationship from FOX-TV's "24". What made the Banning/Asher's relationship more interesting is that it was nearly severed by the First Lady's death in the film's first twenty minutes. Rothenberger and Benedikt's screenplay proved to be somewhat decent. But I do feel it may have been somewhat undermined by certain sequences and plotlines.

While watching the first half of "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN", I assumed that the North Koreans' takeover of the White House would prove to be a plot for something bigger - to generate a war between the U.S. and North Korea, resulting in the fall of Communism on the Korean Pennisula. The reason I had made such assumptions was due to my misguided belief that the Hollywood studios had learned to overcome such one-dimensional demonization of another country - especially one that did not harbor Western or non-Communist beliefs. I really should have known better, considering the release of the 2012 remake,"RED DAWN" and the media's continuing penchant for villifying all Muslims - regardless of whether or not they are terrorists. As much as I had enjoyed the action and relationships in "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN", a part of me felt disappointed by the realization that Kang and his followers were behind the attack and the hostage situation all along. I also felt somewhat perplexed.

Think of it. Two (or three) of Kang's people managed to steal a U.S. military plane for an aerial attack on the White House. The theft of the plane was never discovered or reported by the U.S. military. Nor was the plane detected, until it was flying over the capital's airspace. And the U.S. sent only one fighter jet to force it down. And all of this happened in a story set in the post-9/11 world. Are you kidding me? It gets worse. During the movie's last half hour, Kang's surviving men post a stolen advanced anti-aircraft called Hydra 6 on the White House roof to kill approaching teams of U.S. Navy SEALs being conveyed to the presidential home by helicopters. Once again, the terrorists managed to steal advanced U.S. military weaponry in the country's post-9/11 era. No wonder I had originally assumed that some kind of high-level American conspiracy was involved with the terrorists. 

Some of the performances in "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" struck me as first-rate. Gerard Butler made an excellent and likable action hero in his portrayal of Secret Service Agent Mike Banning. And if I must be honest, I have not really enjoyed a performance of his in four years. Considering that Aaron Eckhart is ten years younger than Harrison Ford was when the latter portrayed a U.S. president in "AIR FORCE ONE", I am surprised that the screenwriters and Fuqua did not allow him to indulge in some kind of heroic action. But I must admit that he conveyed his usual intensity and top-notch acting skills in portraying a head-of-state in a dangerous and vulnerable state. Angela Bassett proved to be equally intense and entertaining as Banning's immediate supervisor and head of Secret Service Lynne Jacobs. Actually, I enjoyed her performance in this film a lot more than I did her take on a C.I.A. station chief in "THIS MEANS WAR". Rick Yune gave a subtle, yet menacing performance as leader of the North Korean terrorists, Kang Yeonsak. It is a pity that he has been limited to portraying villains most of his career. With his looks and presence, he should be garnering "good guys" roles by now. Ashley Judd had a brief role as First Lady Margaret Asher and did a very nice job with it. Cole Hauser, whom I last saw in "A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD", portrayed Banning's Secret Service colleague, Agent Roma. Fortunately, he managed to last a bit longer on screen than he did in the former movie. And even more fortunate, his Agent Roma died at the hands of the terrorists with style and balls. I can only hope that his next screen appearance will last even longer.

And there were the performances that did not exactly impress me. Some of them came from actors and actresses for whom I usually have a high regard. I love Morgan Freeman, but his performance as Speaker of the House Allan Trumball struck me as somewhat . . . tired. He spent a good deal of the movie either looking tired or reacting to someone else's dialogue with a stare of disbelief. I am also a fan of Melissa Leo, but her portrayal of Secretary of Defense Ruth McMillan seemed a little hammy or frantic at times. I realize that her character was trying to be tough in the face of the terrorists, but . . . well . . . she struck me as a bit hammy. Speaking of hammy, Robert Forster's performance as Chief of Staff General Edward Clegg was in danger of going far beyond over-the-top. Perhaps his performance seemed unusually aggressive in comparison to Freeman's tiredness. Then again . . . who knows? Radha Mitchell gave a nice performance as Banning's wife, Leah. But if I must be honest, she came off as a second-rate Cathy Ryan from the Tom Clancy movies - especially since her character was a nurse. Worst of all, she did not have enough screen time, as far as I am concerned. And finally, there was Dylan McDermott, who portrayed ex-Secret Service Agent Dave Forbes, who became a private bodyguard and mole within the South Korean detail. Hmmm . . . how can I say this? McDermott did not exactly put much effort in hiding his villainy from the audience in the movie's first half. One glance at his shifty expressions led me to correctly guess that he would be working for the terrorists. And McDermott is usually more subtle than this.

I realize that in the end, "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" came off as a somewhat strident message against North Korea, leading me to compare it to one of those old anti-Communist films from the 1950s or even the 1980s. So . . . why do I still like it? One, screenwriters Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt wrote a decent story, despite some flaws. Two, Antoine Fuqua handled the movie's action, pacing and a good number of performances with great skill. Three, there were some pretty good performances in the movie - especially from Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett and Rick Yune. But most importantly, "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" did not follow the ludicrous example of "AIR FORCE ONE" by allowing its Presidential character engage in heroic actions. For that I am truly grateful to the screenwriters and Fuqua.

"OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" (2013) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN", the recent Cold War action thriller. Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the movie stars Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Angela Bassett and Morgan Freeman: 


"OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN" (2013) Photo Gallery