Will Shaw is a man with problems. The firm he owns is about to go belly up, and despite wanting to stay at home and try to rescue his firm from financial disaster, he has to endure a far worse fate. Having to spend the weekend on board a yacht with his family. Clearly there are some family tensions.
When tensions get the better of Will, he heads to the mainland. He makes his way back to the yacht, but it is not where it should be, and also his family are all missing.
The local Police provide no help whatsoever, in fact they wish to hand him over to a gangster, who will do lord knows what with him. But in the struggle he is helped by his Father, played by Bruce Willis. It transpires that his Father Martin works for the CIA, and has in his possession a briefcase with sensitive and a whole host of nasty characters want to get their hands on it, including his Superiors, who come in the guise of Sigourney Weaver.
What follows is a travesty of a film, with below par dialogue, a mess of a story, lots of car chases, shooting, bad acting, in all a general mess of a film. The camera work at times can induce vomitting, in fact so can many other aspects of this film.
The cast member I feel most sorry for is Sigourney Weaver, she should give real consideration to firing her agent, what with this following "Abduction", she really needs some decent material to work with.
Aside from the hope that the new "Die Hard" movie will erase the memory of the dire "Die Hard 4.0", maybe Mr. Willis should consider retiring, as he clearly is suffering from a similar fate to that of Miss. Weaver, and given that he is 67, the action roles will not exactly be flying in his direction.
And my only hope is that Henry Cavill can do a far better job with the new "Superman" franchise that what he has displayed here.
A mess, save your time, your money, and your sanity......3 out of 10
Sunday 15 April 2012
"Contraband"
Former criminal and now Family Man Chris is content with his life. The past and the crimes he undertook are far behind him. Or are they?
That is until his brother-in-law Andy decides to try and earn some extra cash by drug smuggling. Unfortunately when the ship is raided by Customs, he has to throw the drugs overboard to avoid being arrested. Naturally this does not please the people he was meant to delivering the drugs to.
Andy is now in serious debt to his paymaster Tim Briggs, a rather nasty piece of work. Clearly out of his depth, Andy turns to Chris to help him get Briggs off his back. The only way that Briggs will consider the debt cleared is if Chris will help with a new job that he is planning.
As as wise man once said, the Best Laid Plans etc, and naturally all does not go well. So with the venture going up the swanee, not only is Chris at risk now but so are his family. Helping Chris through this tough time is his best friend Sebastian.
Events really start to spiral out of control when Chris has to undertake another job to put right the one that went wrong. And guess what? Yep, that ones goes pear-shaped as well. It could almost be a comedy, as at times the plot is quite laughable. How he gets out of the scrapes he is in is remarkable. He is either very lucky or the best Criminal in history.
All in all, it is not a great movie, it will not go down as a classic, and will do little to improve the careers of any of the cast.......4 out of 10
That is until his brother-in-law Andy decides to try and earn some extra cash by drug smuggling. Unfortunately when the ship is raided by Customs, he has to throw the drugs overboard to avoid being arrested. Naturally this does not please the people he was meant to delivering the drugs to.
Andy is now in serious debt to his paymaster Tim Briggs, a rather nasty piece of work. Clearly out of his depth, Andy turns to Chris to help him get Briggs off his back. The only way that Briggs will consider the debt cleared is if Chris will help with a new job that he is planning.
As as wise man once said, the Best Laid Plans etc, and naturally all does not go well. So with the venture going up the swanee, not only is Chris at risk now but so are his family. Helping Chris through this tough time is his best friend Sebastian.
Events really start to spiral out of control when Chris has to undertake another job to put right the one that went wrong. And guess what? Yep, that ones goes pear-shaped as well. It could almost be a comedy, as at times the plot is quite laughable. How he gets out of the scrapes he is in is remarkable. He is either very lucky or the best Criminal in history.
All in all, it is not a great movie, it will not go down as a classic, and will do little to improve the careers of any of the cast.......4 out of 10
"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
A rather run down Indian hotel for Geriatrics is the main setting for this new film from "Shakespeare In Love" Director John Madden.
We start off in the Uk, witnessing 7 people, all with varying lives, 5 are individual, and two are a married couple. They are all for whatever reason suffering with financial difficulties, and in trying to find a way to get away from it all, they all happen upon The Marigold Hotel. It is pictured as a very glamourous Hotel in the heart of India, when they arrive the fact is very different.
Sonny is a young Indian man who has tasked himself with the job of rebuilding the run down hotel, that belonged to his Father, and have it be the first class hotel that he knows it is capable of, despite no-one in his family believing the same.Naturally their first impressiomns of the hotel are not great, but soon they settle down, and start to see the beauty of the city and of India, and the people. There is a very mixed bunch of mature residents, there is the ageing lethario, looking for a younger woman, there is the woman after a rich man to make her comfortable in their latter years, a married couple who want a dream house to retire in, but find their relationship may not last the course, a rather racist woman whose tongue knows not when to be tactful, a gay man looking to find answers to a relationship he had many years ago, and a recently widowed woman, looking for a change to her life as her husband has left her with many debts.
It may sound like alot of plot to get through, and all this backstory takes place before we have gotten into the heart of the film, but the genius of Director John Madden and Screenwriter Ol Parker, is that they are able to give all the characters a wonderful and compelling backstory and very efficiently, so that once they arive in India, he can get on with the real storytelling of the film.
The characters are all so wonderfully believable, not because they are so brilliantly written by Ol Parker, but also because we have the very best of British acting talent bringing this characters to life. The cast of the film alone should be enough to get any cinema goer into a screening of this film.
Some great stories are told, some will reach their conclusion, and some will just be starting.
I cannot praise this film enough, it is such true delight to watch, from start to finish, it is two hours of great storytelling, with a cast to die for. I defy anyone to dislike this movie. It is vibrant, colourful, entertaining, funny and moving.
Films seldom get any better than this......9 out of 10.
We start off in the Uk, witnessing 7 people, all with varying lives, 5 are individual, and two are a married couple. They are all for whatever reason suffering with financial difficulties, and in trying to find a way to get away from it all, they all happen upon The Marigold Hotel. It is pictured as a very glamourous Hotel in the heart of India, when they arrive the fact is very different.
Sonny is a young Indian man who has tasked himself with the job of rebuilding the run down hotel, that belonged to his Father, and have it be the first class hotel that he knows it is capable of, despite no-one in his family believing the same.Naturally their first impressiomns of the hotel are not great, but soon they settle down, and start to see the beauty of the city and of India, and the people. There is a very mixed bunch of mature residents, there is the ageing lethario, looking for a younger woman, there is the woman after a rich man to make her comfortable in their latter years, a married couple who want a dream house to retire in, but find their relationship may not last the course, a rather racist woman whose tongue knows not when to be tactful, a gay man looking to find answers to a relationship he had many years ago, and a recently widowed woman, looking for a change to her life as her husband has left her with many debts.
It may sound like alot of plot to get through, and all this backstory takes place before we have gotten into the heart of the film, but the genius of Director John Madden and Screenwriter Ol Parker, is that they are able to give all the characters a wonderful and compelling backstory and very efficiently, so that once they arive in India, he can get on with the real storytelling of the film.
The characters are all so wonderfully believable, not because they are so brilliantly written by Ol Parker, but also because we have the very best of British acting talent bringing this characters to life. The cast of the film alone should be enough to get any cinema goer into a screening of this film.
Some great stories are told, some will reach their conclusion, and some will just be starting.
I cannot praise this film enough, it is such true delight to watch, from start to finish, it is two hours of great storytelling, with a cast to die for. I defy anyone to dislike this movie. It is vibrant, colourful, entertaining, funny and moving.
Films seldom get any better than this......9 out of 10.
"Bel Ami"
When I first found a film called "Bel Ami" and starring Robert Pattinson, I did get rather excited, thinking about the "Twilight" actor starring in a biopic on the Gay Porn studio. But alas my hopes were dashed, as the story is somewhat different.
Georges Duroy is a penniless French man, recently returned from War with barely a franc to his name. When in a seedy Bar one night, he reacquaints himself with his former commanding officer Forestier, a man who has made quite the name for himself. The two arrange to have dinner. When Georges is brought into Forestier's world, this is something that he likes very much, though would he fit in, and could he afford it?
Into this world of great beauty and wealth comes tumbling Georges, and he meets the lady of the house, and through her some other ladies of the town. All very well connected, and all looking to enjoy Georges company, or maybe something more. Yes he is rough around the edges, but maybe this is something that appeals to them with their mundane lives,.
Georges is given a job at the Newspaper that Forestier is Editor for, and also the Proprietor is Rousset, whose wife and Daughter have taken a shine to Georges. Slowly Georges worms his way into the lives of all the ladies, and whenever he wants something he goes to whichever best suits his needs.
It is a highly enjoyable movie, with Pattinson shaking off his "Twilight" image, though I am surfe there are many young ladies who will gain some enjoyment from the movie.
The film delves into Society life, and whether Georges could ever truly be one of them. Nice to see British Actor Philip Glenister in such a high profile movie, and he gives a good performance as Forestier.
The female members of the cast all give great performances, as one would expect from the likes of Uma Thurman, Kristen Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci.
Entertaining........6 out of 10
Georges Duroy is a penniless French man, recently returned from War with barely a franc to his name. When in a seedy Bar one night, he reacquaints himself with his former commanding officer Forestier, a man who has made quite the name for himself. The two arrange to have dinner. When Georges is brought into Forestier's world, this is something that he likes very much, though would he fit in, and could he afford it?
Into this world of great beauty and wealth comes tumbling Georges, and he meets the lady of the house, and through her some other ladies of the town. All very well connected, and all looking to enjoy Georges company, or maybe something more. Yes he is rough around the edges, but maybe this is something that appeals to them with their mundane lives,.
Georges is given a job at the Newspaper that Forestier is Editor for, and also the Proprietor is Rousset, whose wife and Daughter have taken a shine to Georges. Slowly Georges worms his way into the lives of all the ladies, and whenever he wants something he goes to whichever best suits his needs.
It is a highly enjoyable movie, with Pattinson shaking off his "Twilight" image, though I am surfe there are many young ladies who will gain some enjoyment from the movie.
The film delves into Society life, and whether Georges could ever truly be one of them. Nice to see British Actor Philip Glenister in such a high profile movie, and he gives a good performance as Forestier.
The female members of the cast all give great performances, as one would expect from the likes of Uma Thurman, Kristen Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci.
Entertaining........6 out of 10
"The Raven"
A wonderfully gothic thriller, which looks at the last few days on the life of gothic thriller writer Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe was found on a park bench very close to death in Baltimore in the latter part of the 19th Century. He was found to be babbling, and could not relay to officials what had become of him in those last days. "The Raven" speculates as to what may have happened.
The premise of the film is that there is a murderer on the loose. He is killing people in a rather sick manner, and Detective Fields is given the job of putting the pieces of the puzzle together. And yet they seem strangely familiar. As he searches his memory, what becomes apparent is the reason that the crime scenes may be something he has seen before, or rather read before, as they are near copies of death scenes from the books of one Edgar Allan Poe.
So lead writer becomes lead suspect as the Police bring Poe in for questioning. After some interrogation, it becomes evident, that Poe is not the guilty party but then the flipside of that is he could also become a great ally to the Police and hopefully aid in apprehending the criminal.
The look of the feel is a key ingredient, and wonderfully recreated is Baltimore of the late 1800's. The cast are all decent ion their resepctive roles, from Luke Evans as the Police Detective, with Brendan Gleeson thankfully working on better material than the recent disaster that was "Safe House", and of course John Cusack is wonderfully great as Poe.
It is a gripping film that will keep one attention enthralled throughout the entire running time.
A fly away success.......7 out of 10
Poe was found on a park bench very close to death in Baltimore in the latter part of the 19th Century. He was found to be babbling, and could not relay to officials what had become of him in those last days. "The Raven" speculates as to what may have happened.
The premise of the film is that there is a murderer on the loose. He is killing people in a rather sick manner, and Detective Fields is given the job of putting the pieces of the puzzle together. And yet they seem strangely familiar. As he searches his memory, what becomes apparent is the reason that the crime scenes may be something he has seen before, or rather read before, as they are near copies of death scenes from the books of one Edgar Allan Poe.
So lead writer becomes lead suspect as the Police bring Poe in for questioning. After some interrogation, it becomes evident, that Poe is not the guilty party but then the flipside of that is he could also become a great ally to the Police and hopefully aid in apprehending the criminal.
The look of the feel is a key ingredient, and wonderfully recreated is Baltimore of the late 1800's. The cast are all decent ion their resepctive roles, from Luke Evans as the Police Detective, with Brendan Gleeson thankfully working on better material than the recent disaster that was "Safe House", and of course John Cusack is wonderfully great as Poe.
It is a gripping film that will keep one attention enthralled throughout the entire running time.
A fly away success.......7 out of 10
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