"Sabotage"

One of Austria's finest exports is back, with another attempt to resurrect his career, after a few failed attempts, following his departure as Governor of California. Barring his appearances in "The Expendables" film series, nothing really has sparked the imagination. Can this be the film to change all that?

Arnold leads a team of gruff DEA operatives, who are well known for infiltrating drug organisations, and then taking them down, and confiscating both their products and money. They have a top notch reputation. But they decide that their salary is not sufficient for the work they put in, so as a group they decide to skim a little off the top of a huge pile of cash, hide it securely on site, and then return when the coast is clear.
The group make the return visit, only to find the cash is gone, and a message left, indicating that all is not as it seems. Soon enough the team find themselves under investigation. They are cleared of all charges but suspicion rests on their shoulders.
But just as they think all is fine and dandy, some of their group start getting killed. The finger naturally points at the Cartel whose money they stole. So the race to survive ensues....

Am afraid that yet again, Arnie has failed to ignite the boxoffice with this dire and tired film. The story is in no way engaging, most of the characters are pretty unpleasant, and it has so little going for it. There are some nice camera angles, and Olivia Williams is always worth watching, though why on earth she is in such an awful film baffles me.
Well, by my count, this is Arnie's third turkey in a row, whether he is not getting quality scripts anymore, or whether he is making bad decisions on what to make I do not know. But clearly the days when he could command the film world are clearly over.

Given the Directing and Writing talent involved, this should have been far better.......4 out of 10

"Man on a Ledge"

A man checks into a beautiful hotel room, he orders a nice meal, which he consumes, and then proceeds to open a window and venture out onto the ledge. Thus ensues chaos as the local Police Department aim to get him from the ledge, albeit not taking the quick route.
After some investigation, the Police discover that the man on the ledge is Nick Cassidy, a former Police Officer who has recently escaped from prison, whilst attending his Father's funeral. He was doing time for stealing a diamond from wealthy business man David Englander.
Clearly Cassidy has a much bigger plan than just jumping of a hotel ledge. His aim is distraction. Whilst he is keeping the Police busy with him on the ledge, his baby Brother and his brother's girlfriend can break into Englander's offices and steal the actual diamond.

I can sum this film up in one simple word.......predictable. We have been here so many times before, and sadly this latest film gives us very little that is new or exciting to arouse our interest. Ed Harris as Englander is almost a pantomime villain and is worthy of far better roles. Sam Worthington and Jamie Bell are ok playing the diamond stealing brothers, but again their considerable talents could be put to far better use.

Director Asger Leth certainly needs to work on building tension and suspense, and maybe even throw in a surprise or two. The great unveil as to who was conspiring with Englander was no great reveal at all. They should just have worn t-shirts saying "I am a bad guy" as it was so obvious.

"Man on a Ledge" should clearly have jumped.......5 out of 10