The Italian Job... Outstanding!

 

The Italian Job was an outstanding film.  After being betrayed and left for dead in Italy, Charlie Croker(Mark Walberg) and his team plan an elaborate gold heist against their former ally.  This was based off of the screenplay written by Troy Kennedy-Martin for the 1969 version, while Donna and Wayne Powers wrote the screenplay for this version.  It was directed by F. Gary Gray who has directed things such as A Man Apart and The Negotiator.

This film starts off with John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) talking to his daughter Stella (Charlize Theron) telling her that he is going to do one more job and then he is out.  He is with Charlie Croker  and they assembled a team for one last heist to steal $35 million in gold bars from a heavily guarded safe two stories up in a building in Venice, Italy. After successfully pulling off the heist, one of the team members, Steve (Edward Norton), who has no imagination and is driven by greed, plans to take the gold for himself and take out everyone from the group. Thinking that his plan was successful he takes the gold to L.A. and goes on with his life. Charlie and those who survived follow Steve L.A. to get back what Steve stole from them. Charlie enlists the help of John Bridger's daughter, Stella who now is  a professional safe cracker. With Stella and the computer genius Lyle (Seth Green), the explosives skills of "Left Ear" (Mos Def), and the driving skills of "Handsome" Rob (Jason Statham) this new team plans to execute a heist from Steve's house while he is on a date with Stella but when that goes sour they must plan to execute a daring heist that weaves through the freeways and subways of L.A.

I loved the opening scene where they set up to originally steal the gold.  Setting that all up and making them believe that the safe was in the boat was amazing.  Then the boat chase was awesome and fun to watch, I could watch that scene multiple times it was that fun and that was all just the opening scene.  When Charlie and his team was betrayed it was very smart thinking on Charlies part to use the scuba tanks from the heist to keep him and his team alive under water long enough to survive the gun attack.  After that scene it jumps to LA and Stella who is working as a professional safe cracker.  I don't know what it is about seeing her driving a mini cooper but its just amazing how that car can move in and out of traffic with ease.  Then we get to the part I like the best and that involves the photo below I enjoyed it because I can relate.  He says "this dude got dogs I don't do dogs, I had a real bad experience" then Charlie asks what happen and he says "I had a real bad experience... Im deaf"

 

This cast was amazing together, they worked well as a team and it was enjoyable to watch.  Mark Walberg was great as the leader of this group, and the team really worked well with him.  Seth Green just fit perfectly into that computer geek role because how he portrayed that role is exactly what I envision when I think of a hacker.  Without giving to much away I will just say the rest of the cast was amazing because they were.  The car chase scenes were so awesome that I couldn't take my eyes away because I was afraid I was going to miss something and the same goes for that opening boat scene as well.

Overall I would give this film a B+.  There were a few scenes even though I enjoyed them I felt that they were a little impossible to actually pull off for anyone making feel fake where as the rest of the film felt real to me.  So if you haven't seen The Italian Job yet then I suggest you check it out!

 

 

 

Out of the Furnace....Put it back in!!

 

Out of the Furnace should be thrown into the furnace.  Before I watched this movie I thought it was going to be good because I liked the story where Rodney Baze Jr. (Casey Affleck) mysteriously disappears and his older brother, Russell (Christian Bale), takes matters into his own hands to find justice.  First, this disappointment was written both Scott Cooper and Brad Ingelsby while it was directed by Scott Cooper.

This starts off at a drive in movie theater with Harlan DeGroat (Woody Harrelson) being very abusive to his date, one of the guys in the neighboring cars tries to do something about it but gets beat up.  Then it goes  to show you  the area that Russel and his younger brother Rodney live in.  You find out that its not the best area because Rodney is gambling to to try and break even.  Things just get worse for him though because he gets more in debt and then Russel finds himself in prison.  To try and work off his debt Rodney gets involved with some street fighting but that alone does not make enough to get his head above the water so he gets himself involved with one of the most violent crime rings, one that will cost him.

 

There is absolutely no flow to this film and it drove me crazy, I just wanted to throw something at the TV I was so irritated.   Russell gets into a car accident where he is very disoriented and very upset, screaming asking for help because there are people in the car that he doesn't know if they are OK or not.  The very next scene he is in prison... WHAT THE HELL!  Why not start the movie off with him in prison instead of giving us a little bit  of him with his brother before hand and then a car accident??  As an audience we can put it together that they are brothers and love each other based off of their interactions they have when Rodney comes to visit Russel we didn't need the first twenty minutes building up to that its just a waste.  That isn't event the tip of the iceberg of things that annoyed me in this movie though.  His entire prison stay was three scenes that lasted a total of 7 minutes of the film so why even have that at all???  You could easily get the same point across by just starting when he got out of prison and giving us the story from there.  Having chopped scenes leading up to him getting out of prison did two things for me, 1. I started to lose interest in the film because it started annoying me and 2.  I lost where the story was because it wasn't being told smoothly.  I don't want to give away anything for those who want to see the film so I wont tell anymore about it but the rest of the film is the same way very choppy and hard to follow.

The best thing about this film was Casey Afflecks performance he did a very good job as a person suffering from PTSD and he shows it when he gets up in Christian Bale's face.  I don't know what they were thinking when Zoe Saldana was cast because I think she is amazing and her character was highly underused.  Woody Harrelson did do a good job at being the villain in this film from the first scene all the way until the end he embraces the character.  These are a group of some really good actors but I feel that because the story and the way it was put together they couldn't shine to their full potential.

Overall this movie is not one I would recommend seeing and it gets a D.  With the fact that it doesn't flow makes the story really hard to follow which just made me lose interest in the film.  That is unfortunate because I was really looking forward to seeing this.  Don't waste your time watching this because there are so many other films that are better than this that you can enjoy.

Guardians of the Galaxy... OUT OF THIS WORLD!!

Guardians of the Galaxy was out of this world! 26 years after Peter Quill is abducted from Earth he finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after he finds an orb that Ronan the Accuser is after. This was directed by James Gunn who before this has directed movies such as Slither and Movie 43 (segment "Beezel").  This was from the comic written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, while the screenplay was written by James Gunn and Nicole Perlman.

Out of all the movies that were scheduled to come out this summer this was the one that I was looking forward to seeing and I am glad I did!  The movie starts off with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) as a young child witnessing his mother pass away, he then runs outside and gets abducted by a spaceship.  Twenty-six years go by and he is seen stealing a mysterious orb somewhere deep in outer space. Ronana the Accuser (Lee Pace) has been searching for that orb and now makes Peter Quill his main target since he has it.  He sends Gamora (Zoe Saldana) to retrieve the orb from Peter and while Peter and Gamora are in a struggle to get the orb Rocket (Bradly Cooper) and Groot (Vin Diesel), bounty hunters, do their best to capture Peter but all four end up getting arrested.  The four of them then break out of prison with the help of Drax (Dave Bautista), and that is where the fun begins.  The five criminals who can't get along must find a way to get together to fight Ronan and his team and save the galaxy from his power and to save the world.

 

The photo above and below are from when they are captured which is a very good scene of  the movie.  it was enjoyable because its the first time all the characters are together and they have to find a way to put their differences aside and work together.  The special effects are exceptional, looking at Rocket you would think he is a live animal and Groot is a living tree while the fighting scenes during this part and the whole movie were seamless for me.  There have been some movies I have seen where I feel they over use the special effects and this is not one of them.  Yes they have to use a lot because the movie is based in outer-space and some of the characters are not exactly human but they don't go overboard which I like.  It was good that they didn't over use Rocket and Groot, because there was a good balance between them and the rest of the characters.  Vin Diesel had it easy because all Groot said was "I am Groot".

This cast works really well together which makes you believe that they don't like each other at first but have to work together.  There is tons of action in this movie with just the right amount of comedic relief which makes the movie flow and is enjoyable.  The story flows and is understandable which is great because it made it so I felt immersed in the universe and the time flew by so fast that I wanted to watch it again.

Overall I would give this film an A+.  There isn't an aspect of this film that I didn't like and even though I don't like spending money at the theater to see a film I would go and see this one again in the theater because I enjoyed it that much.  This is a MUST SEE!! Oh and as always with Marvel films... (stay till after the credits)

 

Something Borrowed... yeah time!!

Something Borrowed is unfortunately a movie on borrowed time. In this movie there are friendships that are tested when secrets come out when Rachel falls for Dex which is her best friends fiance.  It's directed by Luke Greenfield who before this directed movies such as The Animal and The Girl Next Door.  This is based of the book written by Emily Giffin while the screenplay for the movie was written by Jennie Snyder.

Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a lawyer and when she was in law school she fell for one of her fellow classmates, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), who comes from an affluent family, but during their time at school she was too shy to do anything about it. When Dex meets her best friend Darcy (Kate Hudson), who sometimes treats her horribly, with the permission of Rachel, Darcy makes a move on Dex and gets him. Eventually, they get engaged and Darcy asks Rachel to be her Maid of Honor.  Darcy throws her a birthday party and Dex is there, unfortunately she still has feelings towards him but can't say anything to him about it. When they finally get a moment alone after the birthday party she tells him that she had a thing for him in college which surprised him, then after drinking a little bit too much they spend the night together. Not knowing what to do after what happened they do their best to try and just forget what happend. Ethan (John Krasinski), Rachel's close friend, tells her that she needs to get off her but and make a decision because if she doesn't she will spend the rest of her life regretting the decision she never made.

There were parts of this movie that I really enjoyed but at the same time there were parts of this movie that I could really live without.  The scene above is one scene that was my favorite however, I feel that the chemistry between John and Ginnifer was just great.  There arguments were filled with so much passion it made you want them to get together but during the whole movie she just didn't seem like she wanted him.

On the other hand the chemistry between Colin and Ginnifer was lacking immensely and it made the movie drag along for me.  The whole time they were together I just keep thinking why the heck they don't work well together!  I thought that Colin and Kate had much better chemistry so when those to were paired together the movie wasn't all that bad.

As far as what I would give this movie, its not one of my favorites...  C-.  This is a movie made from a two series book and the second book never made it to film causing the whole story not being able to be told which left this incomplete for me and just not one of my favorite movies.  If you want to know how it ends then I suggest you check it out.

The Maze Runner (2014) Movie Review!

The Maze Runner was filled with twists and turns that kept things rolling.  Thomas is deposited in a place where there are no females and it turns out that all his memories have been erased.  He then learns that they are all trapped in a maze which requires him to join the group of "runners" to get a chance to escape.   This film is based on the novel which was written by James Dashner.  The screenplay was written by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and T.S. Nowlin.  The film was directed by Wes Ball who known for his work on A Work in Progress and Beginners, but this is the first film that he has directed that is not a short.

Thomas (Dylan O'Brien) wakes up in an old elevator with no memory of who he is other than his own name.   He finds out that he was put in a place called The Glade which is a large outdoor space surrounded on all sides by 150 foot walls of stone.  There are many other boys who have lived in the Glade for the past 3 years with no memory of how they got there or who sent them.  Each day in the morning the walls open up to allow the boys to explore the enormous and complex MAZE that they say has taken them over 3 years to map out the entire thing.  At night the walls seal the boys in to protect them from something called the Grievers which nobody has lived to tell what they look like.

The maze is constantly shifting, and changing making it nearly impossible to solve. The only hope of escaping lie in the hands of what are known as the Maze Runners who search the shifting maze for an exit each day. Something sets off the balance of things in the Glades and the elevator makes an unscheduled delivery of the first girl Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) in the Glade's history, everything is thrown into chaos. Together, they must all embark on a quest to solve the riddle of the maze and reveal the chilling secret of who brought them there, and why.

As apparently all teenage novels do now this one is right up the alley of the Hunger Games.  At least that is what it reminded me of the most.  With everyone in the Glades being sent there to survive, just like you are sent to the Hunger Games to be the last survivor.  Granted in this you're not fighting each other you are "fighting" the maze, because to find your way out you must conquer the maze.  Don't get me wrong though just because it is similar to that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the film because I did.  This film kept me interested from the very first second when he was coming up the elevator and something was scaring him.

They did an awesome job with the music for this film because there were some very suspenseful scenes that without that music would have just been a joke but I thought they did a wonderful job.  The chemistry for the cast was great considering that it was such a large cast that was the main focus of the film.  The actor that played Chuck (Blake Cooper) stole the film though.  He is such a lovable character you feel bad that he is there and you for some reason just want to help him and take care of him.  Then you have Minho played by Ki Hong Lee and he is the main Maze Runner who spends most of the time with Dylan's character and the two of them work magically together.  They team up to find the exit and it really feels like they are a team in desperate search for a way out.

**THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH HAS TO DO WITH THE ENDING SKIP IF YOU CHOOSE TO I DON'T GO INTO DETAILS BUT BE WARNED**

************************************************************************************

I will have to say one negative thing about this film but I can't give you details on it because it has to do with the ending. I DID NOT LIKE THE ENDING.  I HATE when films set themselves up for sequels.  I feel that every film should be its own unless you plan on doing all the films and are filming them all at once, otherwise give it a solid ending and not a crazy ending at that.  Granted I did not read the book so I don't know if that is how it ended in the book but it was one of the most ridiculous endings that I have seen in a movie.

************************************************************************************

Overall I would have to give this film a B.  It was really good and everyone did an amazing job in it, I just can't get past that ending.  For some reason it is really bothering me to the point that I am dropping this film from an A- to a B.  I would still highly suggest that you check out this film because it was good.  Better than a lot of films I have seen.

 

Let me know what you think in the comments below and give me your star rating of the film if you have seen it.

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days Movie Review

 

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is about Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) who makes a bets that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) is assigned to write an article on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 days." They meet in a bar shortly after the bet is made and from there starts the 10 days.  It's directed by Donald Petrie who before this directed movies such as Miss Congeniality and Grumpy Old Men.  Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long wrote the book How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days while Kristen Buckley, Brian Regan and Burr Steers are credited with writing the screenplay for the movie.

You have to thank my wife for the string of movies here that are either Romantic Comedies or Dramas because those are the movies that she enjoys the most.  Benjamin Barry is an advertising executive who must compete with two female co-workers to win pitching to a diamond merchant. He makes a bet with his competitors that if he can make any girl fall in love with him in 10 days that he gets to pitch to the company and they agree.  Then there is Andie Anderson who, to try and expand her writing career to write more meaningful stories, is writing a story on how to lose a guy in 10 days.  They both go to a nearby bar to find their so called "victim" and with each having their own bet to win, will either party be able to do it?

 

The scene above is by far my favorite scene in the movie.  This is where Andie meets Ben's family and they play a game of B.S.  I enjoyed this scene so much because I loved the interaction of everyone and how they made her feel like part of the family.  I also enjoyed this because its one of the first times in the movie that you can tell that she is really falling for him.

I really enjoyed watching Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson work together on this film because at the beginning you could tell that they were just two people trying to win a bet.  Then as the movie went on you could tell that they were losing site of the bet as their feelings got in the way.  They worked well together which just made it that much more believable and I enjoyed that.

Overall I would give this movie a B+.  The chemistry of actors can really make or break a film and I feel like for this film it worked.  They really worked well together and when Kate Hudson was at her craziest Matthew McConaughey reactions were what I believe any guy would do in that situation.  If you have a weekend that you can't decide what to watch go check this out.

The Bucket List... A Journey of your life

The Bucket List is a movie about two old men who find out that they are terminally ill and decide to live their life to the fullest.  It was directed by Rob Reiner who is also known for Alex & Emma which I will be reviewing some time later.  As far as this movie goes it was written by Justin Zackham.

This was another movie which was a step out of my comfort zone but I feel that is the only way that I am going to grow as a critic.  It starts off with Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) who is a mechanic working then he gets a phone call and ends up back in the hospital.  He is married and has three children who he loves dearly but lately feels a little disconnected from.  Then we get to billionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson) who owns many hospitals, and is single because he has been through many marriages and he also has a daughter that wont talk to him.  Edward find's himself winding up in one of his own hospitals and due to his own work ethics, his hospital puts him in the same room as Carter, instead of giving him his own room.  During their time together the two become very close and then they both find out how much time they have left.  Edward finds Carter's 'bucket list' on the ground which lists everything that he wants to do before he dies and he decides to add to it.  He then invites Carter to join him on the most amazing journey this new friendship could offer.

 

This scene pictured above is by far one of my favorite in the movie.  There is a part where Edward refers to his second wife as the sequel and he wonders why she hated him so much and one of the sky divers says maybe its because you called her the sequel.

Both Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman worked really well together on this.  They make you believe that they are both terminally ill and on a journey to live their final days on an adventure to complete an awesome bucket list.  I think it helps that the two of them are both the same age because it adds to how genuine the movie feels.

Overall I would give this movie a B.  The acting and chemistry was great but there were some other aspects of the movie that really stood out that bothered me and that was during the car chase when the cars would magically keep losing their dents and also some scenes Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholsons makeup was not put on great and you could notice it.  Other than that check it out because the story is great!

The Notebook Movie Review

The Notebook is a movie about two peoples journey and it makes you hope they get together.  It was directed by Nick Cassavettes who prior to this was best known for John Q which is about a father, who doesn't have the insurance to pay for his son's heart transplant so he takes the hospital's emergency room hostage until the doctors agree to perform the operation.  Back to this movie though, it is based off the novel written by Nicholas Sparks, Jan Sardi was in charge of adapting the novel into film and Jeremy Leven wrote the screenplay.

I have to admit, I don't normally gravitate to the love story movies, I feel like that is because that is because I enjoy action and comedy more but I wanted to broaden my movie perspective and take on a different genre.  This story starts with an old man who is in a nursing home and he reads a story to an old woman each day. The story he reads is about these two young lovers named Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams). They met one evening at a carnival many years ago. They fall in love but Allies parents dissapprove of Noah because of his lack of wealth, and they force the two to break up and Allie moves back home. She waits for Noah to write her for several years, but gets nothing so she moves on and meets and becomes engaged to a handsome young soldier named Lon (James Marsden).  Then while getting fitted for her wedding dress she looks at a local newspaper and Noah's picture catches her eye. He is standing in front of a fully restored, 200-year-old home. Allie then passes out because that is the house he told her he would restore for them.  Needing to clear the air and see if Noah is okay, and tell him about her marriage she goes to see him. They both still have feelings deep in their hearts for each other, feelings that have lasted all these years, and even though she is engage this is love like no other.  It wasn't over but she was engaged....

 

This scene pictured above is my favorite of this movie because it shows when she first really begins to trust him.  Also it shows the more fun side of her, plus there is a little bit of humor which as a said before I lean towards those types of movies so I am glad to see their was some funny parts in this movie.

I have to say that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams have amazing chemistry, I felt that they truly fell for each other and were in love from the minute he was hanging from the ferris wheel.  I have seen movies where the two playing the love interests struggle to make a connection but that was not the case here.  These two lit up the screen like magic from the second they were together it was amazing.

Overall I would give this movie a A-.  The story is just amazing about how these two fall in love, get disconnected and then they reconnect.. granted there is the factor that she is engaged which is always a bum factor but does she stay with him or does she pick Noah.  I can't tell you.  If you haven't seen it yet you will just have to go watch it to figure that one out!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit...Humorous from start to finish!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a humorous movie that makes you laugh and keeps you wanting more.  It was directed by Robert Zemeckis who prior to this was best known for Back to the Future which I will be reviewing later so I won't tell you anything about that now.  Who Framed Roger Rabbit is loosely based on a novel written by Gary K. Wolf, while Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman wrote the screenplay.

This movie was very enjoyable to watch.  It is set in the 1940's in Los Angeles. It is a world were Humans and Cartoons both exist which to me would be awesome. A famous toon known as Roger Rabbit (Charles Fleischer, voice) thought he had an easy life that is until he discovers that his wife, Jessica Rabbit (Kathleen Turner, voice) is having fun with R.K. Maroon (Alan Tilvern), after that things get really bad for Roger as he is now accused of murdering Mr. Maroon. Roger must now go to detective Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) , who has it out for toons for killing his brother.  Even though he doesn't want to he decides he will help Roger, escape from Judge Doom, and even try to clear Roger's name, in order to do this, he must travel all over L.A. and even into Toontown.

 

The scene pictured above is one of my favorite in the movie.  Earlier Roger Rabbit slaps the handcuffs on the two of them which makes things very difficult for as far as navigating around L.A.  Then they get to a safe place to try and cut them off and Roger just slips his hand right out of them.  This makes Eddie very angry and Roger told him he could only do that when it was funny, which it was.

The special effects in this film were flat out amazing.  Throughout the movie you truly believe that toons and humans live in a world together because between the acting, animation and the editing of the scenes it was flawless.  This movie won an Oscar for Best Film Editing for Arthur Schmidt's work on the film as well as one for Best Effects, Visual Effects for the work by Ken Ralston, Richard Williams, Ed Jones and George Gibbs.
Overall I would give this movie an A because for 1989 you don't see anything like this as far as special effects and acting.  This movie was all around an enjoyment to watch and if you haven't seen it yet I highly recommend that you do.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes... Whats going to happen next???

 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a movie that keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. It was directed by Rupert Wyatt, who before this was known for Subterrain which is about A Pastor who was taken on a journey by the spirit of a Train Driver. Back to the movie at hand, it was written by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver while it was inspired by the characters from the book written by Pierre Boulle.

I will have to admit this movie was a little slow for me at the start, to the point of almost losing my interest but I wanted to know what was going to happen to Ceasar so I kept watching. The focus of this story is Caesar (Andy Serkis) a chimpanzee who seems to have gained human-like intelligence and emotions from an experimental drug his mother was given. After Ceasars mother was put down for terrorizing a pharmaceutical lab he was raised like a child by the drug's creator, Will Rodman (James Franco) and Will's girlfriend a primatologist Caroline Aranha (Freida Pinto). After things happen Caesar ultimately finds himself taken from the humans he loves and locked up with other apes in an ape sanctuary in San Bruno. Wanting to escape, Caesar gives all the apes a drug which makes them as intelligent as him. The apes assemble an army and escapes the sanctuary - what happens next could change the planet forever.

My favorite scene in this movie is the one in the photo above where Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) walks into work and sees hundreds of apes all around him. Its amazing because not only does the actor do a great job and make it believable but it also has a bit of humor to it because he walks in all calm and then he is like OH SH**. Granted he doesn't say that but his reaction to the room speaks louder than his words and you just know that is what he is thinking.

In this movie you have to give credit where credit is due and that would be the visual effects department which consists of Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White, and Daniel Barrett. Without the apes this movie would not have happened and these guys made them look real. They even got nominated for an Academy Award for their work which tells you that it is some amazing work.

Overall I would give this movie a B+, the story and the fact that it made me feel it was believable and wanting more is why I gave it the grade I did. If you haven't seen it check it out!

The Bourne Identity... Action Packed or Acting Flat?

The Bourne Identity is an action packed movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat!  It was directed by Doug Liman who before this was best known for the movie GO which was about the events after a drug deal told from 3 different perspectives.  Back to this movie though, it was written by John August and it is about a man is picked up by a fishing boat, he has been shot and is without memory, then he must race to escape from a group of assassins and recover from amnesia.

The story is more based on the characters of Robert Ludlum's novel than the actual novel but that didn't mean it wasn't an exciting movie to watch.  It is the story of a man "Bourne"(Matt Damon) who is discovered by fishermen who must nurse him back to health because he is bullet-riddled. He can remember nothing and begins to try to rebuild his memory based on clues that the fisherman gives him such as a Swiss bank account number of which, was implanted in his hip.  After getting to the bank he realizes that he is being hunted and takes off with Marie (Franka Potente) who he met at the United States embassy and they both go on a journey to find out who he is and why he is being hunted.  I have said this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat and it will deliver.  Starting with the action that happens between the Swiss bank and the Embassy in London, to the car chases that happen all throughout the area.  One scene that I thought was impressive and is probably a reason why it won World Stunts Award for Best Work With A Vehicle was a car chase that included driving on sidewalks filled with people, navigating through small alleys, driving down stairs, a motorcycle slide, crashing through a glass door and a motorcycle crashing into a car and flipping over the vehicle.

This scene was by far my favorite of my movie because it was the the one that really gets you wondering if he is going to get caught or not.  The music really makes the car chase even that much more suspenseful because its the right music at the right time. Then seeing the Mini Cooper drive down the stairs was just amazing, I didn't want the car chase to end because the action and suspense in it was just amazing.

Matt Damon portrayed Jason Bourne well though at times it seemed as though he was a bit robotic with no emotion.  Don't get me wrong I enjoyed it when he had is fight scenes because you really come to understand why he fights like he does but as the person he should have shown a little more emotion.

Overall I would give this movie an B-.  The lack of emotion and chemistry between the main characters brings it down.  Its just hard to watch Matt Damon as a "robot".  I still give this movie a good rating because when it comes to the fight scenes he is amazing and the car chases really kept me on the edge of my seat.  All in all if you haven't seen this movie yet, go check it out.

 

Gone in 60 Seconds... Remake as good as the original??

 

There are 2 writers who are given credit for creating this film and I think we can all agree without the work of H.B. Halicki (the creator of the original Gone In 60 Seconds) this would not have been made.  The other writer who helped get this movie together was Scott Rosenburg who worked on the screenplay.

Untouchable car booster Randall "Memphis" Raines (Nicolas Cage) retired from the business. Now six years later, his brother, Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) takes over "the job", employed by British car broker Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston). Well one night Kip feeling on top of his game messes up stealing some cars and gets into some major trouble, Memphis gets called back to the life he got out of to save his little brother. To save his brother he must: Steal 50 exotic cars all over Los Angeles and Long Beach in just one night and deliver them to Long Beach Harbor, Pier 14 by 8:00am, Friday morning.  If he does not deliver all of them and on time then he will never see his brother again. So Memphis and Kip need to get a crew together to get this done so they ask for some help from longtime friend Otto Halliwell (Robert Duvall) to get the old crew reassembled.That old crew includes sexy Sara "Sway" Wayland"(Angelina Jolie), Donny Astricky (Chi McBride), The Sphinx (Vinnie Jones). The only problem is the LAPD G.R.A.B. (Governor's Regional Auto-Theft Bureau). It's on the lookout and Det. Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and his partner, Det. Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) are keeping close eyes on Memphis and his team. Can the team pull this assignment off and save Kip?   Can Memphis remain untouchable from Castlebeck and the cops? It's a long shot and it's going to be one hell of a ride but they may have a chance.

This movie gets a B.  It shows how much love Memphis has for his little brother, there are not that many people who are willing to put their lives on the line and possibly end up in jail to try to save a family member.  Maybe its just me because I don't know a family member that would risk going to jail for me.  That being said you can see the chemistry flow between Nicolas Cage and Giovani Ribisi because they make you feel like they truly are brothers.  When Ribisi is showing his anger at Cage for leaving him behind you really feel the sibiling bickering going on.  There are touches of comedy which I love to see in a movie like this because it breaks it up and makes the movie flow great.  Then the night they had to steal all the cars in my opinion was epic.  All in all watch this movie.

 

Jurassic Park... 63 Million years in the making!

If you didn't know already Jurassic Park was based on the book written by Micheal Crichton.  David Koepp and Micheal Crichton were in charge of putting the screenplay together which would explain why it followed the book so well.  If you haven't read the book I suggest you do because it is an amazing book, now back to the movie.  In this movie during a preview tour, the park suffers a major power breakdown during a bad storm that allows all of the dinosaur to break free of their exhibits and run free.

On the island of Isla Nublar, a new park has just been built with genetically engineered dinosaurs. They are transporting in some of those dinosaurs when one of the workers is killed by a velociraptor. The founder of the park, John Hammond, (Richard Attenborough) is forced to get an inspection of the park due to this incident and he requests Paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and his assistant, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to come to the park and ensure that it is safe. Hammond's lawyer Donald Gennaro (Martin Ferrero) is also joining them because he is the one that is requiring the inspection and he brought a chaos theorist Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum).  After a long bumpy helicopter ride they get to the island and they are amazed to discover that Hammond has actually created living dinosaurs.  Even though amazed everyone but the lawyer have their doubts. Later, Hammond's grandchildren Lex and Tim (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) join the group to take a tour of the park. While on the tour the come in contact of an ill triceratops and Sattler leaves the tour to take care of her.  Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) who wishes to steal embryos from the park to sell to a secret buyer sets up a program that shuts off all the power to the park except the velociraptors paddock. Due to this selfish act, many dinosaurs escape their paddocks, including the deadly Tyrannosaurus Rex, who, during a thunderstorm, escapes his paddock and attacks the cars on the tour. Malcolm is injured & Grant and the children are then lost in the park. Meanwhile, Hammond, Sattler and the rest of the operations team learn that Nedry has locked up the computer system to cover his tracks. They attempt to get power back in the park in order to escape the island. After shutting down the system, then restoring it, they then realize they just shut the power off to the velociraptors paddock and now they are also on the loose, & are now on the hunt for the visitors.

This movie won 3 oscars which is amazing, one of them for Best Effects, Visual Effects,  which you have to give credit to Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Michael Lantieri, and Stan Winston.  The CGI in this movie was amazing,  The dinosaurs looked real.  You can not tell that they are computer generated, I almost felt that I was at a real park with real animals.  Well Done.

This movie gets an A+!  I have always enjoyed movies that director Steven Spielburg has put together and he doesn't fail to deliver on this one.  The actors really make you feel like the dinosaurs are there and the story has a nice mix of action and humor with even a bit of suspense.  This is one of my top ten favorite movies and if you haven't seen it yet go get it and watch it.