Samuel Jackson shows off his acting chops in this gritty action thriller, with supporting actors doing a great job. He plays a man fresh out of prison after twenty five years who wants to go straight, but as it's mentioned in the movie, cons always say that at first. His past catches up to him in a huge way. Sure, we've seen plenty of this before, but the action moves right along with suitably dark sets and mood music to accompany all the nifty twists and turns. A nice surprise is young Ruth Negga who more than holds her own with the veterans. All in all a good effort, well worth the time to seek out, especially for Jackson fans.
Reviews
12 Reviews
The Courier
(2012)
There's No There, There
29 March 2012
This movie certainly had style. It seemed to be directed well. Editing was crisp enough and on the surface it looked pretty interesting. Cinematography was basically very good and quite inventive with a lot of action. But the whole package was a mile wide and an inch deep because the screenplay was a muddled mess, the storyline was laughably inane. Mickey Rourke and Lili Taylor, two actors who can really deliver the goods, were incredibly wasted and about a third of the way into it you realized it was going to be all style and no substance, and that was when I just stopped caring. A clue as to what happened comes when the credits roll. Producers, co producers, associate producers, executive producers galore. Too many cooks in the kitchen destroyed the soup. I've never quite seen a movie like this that had promise and so much energy put into production, but ultimately fell flat on it's face. The first movie that I've seen where I'm completely at a loss as how to rate.
Wyatt Earp's Revenge
(2012 Video)
A Sad, Dull And Extended TV Show
5 March 2012
Apologies to Deadwood for any comparison. If you're just going to wave a western in front of a camera, a viewer has to ask the valid question - what's the point? Apparently all involved with this enterprise thought that superficial pretense could carry the day and ridin' around 'n ominous music would convey all ya need to know about some sort of story. The casting was positively ludicrous. Every one of the twenties something pampered southern Cal principles here looked fresh out of a shower and the makeup trailer, and I'm telling you, dentistry in the late 1800s must have been pretty cutting edge with all those pearly whites on display. A very lame and uninteresting production that wasn't even worthy of having Val Kilmer snoringly narrate the tale with innumerable pregnant pauses, but maybe having Timothy Olyphant and John Hawkes lookalikes was supposed to make up for all it's low budget deficiencies. A real poser. Bleh.
Catch .44
(2011)
Jeebus, What A Mess
1 December 2011
I can only assume that the principles involved needed a paycheck, and the producers had enough on hand to have Forest Whitaker and Bruce Willis climb on board this train wreck. What began to sour me was the obvious Tarantinoesque use of banter, only between vapid Southern Cal airheads, and also the constant flashbacks, to try and set a sort of moodiness. Attempt to get through the obnoxious dialog in the first half hour without rolling your eyes and you're a far more stout film goer than I am. Seiously, repeatedly do a scene 3 times? Now I'm a forgiving kind of movie watcher, but something happened along the way here that completely derailed this train, and I don't think anybody quite knew what they were doing by two thirds of the way through. I'm watching this effort online about three weeks before it's even released in theaters. In DVD quality. Somehow I don't believe it's being distributed to Academy members for Oscar consideration next spring. It looks like it was all meant to enhance Malin Akerman's career.
The only reason it gets a few stars is Whitaker's energy. Extremely pathetic project. Avoid.
The only reason it gets a few stars is Whitaker's energy. Extremely pathetic project. Avoid.
Fantastic Four
(I) (2005)
Fantastic Flop
17 October 2006
I grew up with Marvel comics. At the time, back in the sixties, they were seen as a fresh alternative to the stale old DC mags that were Superman's venue. Marvel burst on the scene with the FF, Spider Man and the X men using truly superior artwork and story lines that gathered a big following. Maybe the people responsible for this nonsensical dud thought they could capture the same sense of wonder, or maybe they thought they could just make a quick buck, but this execrable offering does very little justice to the original comic books. It was easy enough going in to see the target audience - young people who watch a boatload of TV, who expect a lot of noise and are attracted to super heroes. But I suspect even they soon got tired of a super hero saga done on the cheap. Much of what went wrong with this forgettable flick is the way it hints at things but then never delivers, and when it tried to make good on it's premise it invariably fell on it's face. Enough of these insults and I, for one, truly grew to dislike the people I was watching. Seeming like a hybrid of tawdry soap opera, Sentai cartoons and Plan Nine From Outer Space, Fantastic Four tries to distract you from what it really is - just another cheap comic book adaptation.
Walking with Monsters
(2005)
Latest from the BBC
24 February 2006
One more in the stunning series from BBC television. The first, "Walking with Dinosaurs" was the best, in my opinion. They put a lot of effort in these productions with top shelf animation that will satisfy viewers of any age. "Walking with Monsters" goes back in time before the dinos to a truly overlooked period in life's evolution. Animals that defied taxonomy branched off and went their own evolutionary route that ended in the greatest mass extinction in earth's history about 250 million years ago. It'll never be known how those animals would have turned out since 95% of all species died. And it may never be known what they looked like and what their behavior was, but the producers of this work filled in the unknowns with brilliant speculation and imagination. They make it seem like it's a wildlife documentary. Wide eyed kids aside, I'll bet the biggest fans are paleontologists. Not to be missed if you're interested in this genre. (Spoiler - they eat each other)
what a tangled web they weave
21 June 2005
One thing this production exposes, and it does it very well, is the intricate process of government corruption. Corporate bribery, fixed elections, government policy making, wars of conquest all overlap to benefit the big players. A great way to deflect criticism is to inextricably wrap all this corruption up in a warm and fuzzy flag. Palast says right in the beginning that this isn't new, it's just that the Bushes and their cronies have taken it to a new level. Simply amazing that we as a people let them get away with it. Palast stays on topic as the viewer is guided through one machination after another, sort of an album of mob snapshots. The outside world seems only a backdrop, things and people and policies exist only to help the family agenda along. America equals Bushco©, we all live there, we just don't know it.
Dark Command
(1940)
Bleeding Kansas
9 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
The best of Republic's oaters starring John Wayne. I imagine after the success of "Stagecoach" in 1939 Republic needed to pour in the resources as opposed to the notoriously cheap productions of the thirties, and it shows in this one. This actually is a must see for those interested in several aspects of the genre. wayne is the star but Walter Pigeon has as much screen time. Wayne reunites with director Walsh who gave him his big break in the 1930 epic "The Big Trail". (Walsh was actually going to star in that one but lost an eye prior to production while shooting another movie.) But the best reason to catch this one is the pairing of Wayne with pre Trigger Roy Rogers who callously guns down a guy in a barbershop. Plus, what's up with that strange whoop whoop noise Rogers makes?
Pootie Tang
(2001)
All kinds of religious inferences
15 November 2004
Pootie Tang actually can be looked at as a parable, an allegory of a messianic figure. How's that for making a purse out of a sow's ear? Consider: A powerful figure roaming around doing good deeds, speaking in a puzzling language that only believers understand, attended to by his apostles, befriending prostitutes. Suffering from inner demons he retreats to the wilderness (the farm) and experiences an epiphany through the physical manifestation of his creators, going back and finally confronting and conquering the demons. (Dirty D = Dirty Devil)Along the way he even awakens the dead (the knife wielder at the club), banishes a horde of false prophets (all the fake Pooties), and can bring people to rapture through sheer silence alone. Whew. Heady stuff. Sa Da Tay!
Walking with Cavemen
(2003)
Not quite walking with the beasties.
21 September 2004
Like a lot of people I was impressed with the previous "walking with" achievements. This one mostly uses real people and has a whole different feel to it. The acting is superb and you'll forget you're watching people in makeup and hairy suits. That said, there seems to be a constant problem with productions that portray early human ancestors. I guess there's a tendency to think ancient means crude and sloppy, and that's the way these beings are shown. Think brutish as in "Quest for Fire". Somehow I think smashing an egg in your hand and getting only a bit of it, stumbling around and wasting energy or wearing furs in the cold that look like they''ll fall off in a slight breeze isn't the way these guys survived to become you and me. Probably it's meant to show how different thay were from us, but I hope future attempts might use a little more imagination. Worth a look though.
The Searchers
(1956)
the pinnacle
19 February 2004
It took a long time for me to see this movie, probably because I was wary of John Wayne star vehicles that came 10 to 15 years later. The stinker Rio Lobo being a prime example. But this effort absolutely blew me away. You can see Ford's progression in using his cast, crew and especially Monument Valley which he apparently loved. His clumsy My Darling Valentine only hinted at how he could make that sweeping landscape actually one of the stars. And I'm glad he didn't plant fake saguaros like in Clementine. Ferocious acting in this one. It went on a little long, however the movie as a whole remained absolutely coherent, with every possible aspect of the genre thrown into a superb mix - driven, complex characters, change of seasons, cavalry charge, buffalo hunt, fistfights, romance. Jeez even castinets in a Mexican cafe. Somehow, it all came together in possibly the best western ever filmed.
Signs
(2002)
Torturous and Tepid
8 January 2003
No beating around the bush here - Shyamalan's movie promised much before viewing it and reneged twice on that promise. Anyone remotely familiar with crop circles won't think much of their treatment in this flick. Mysteriously done, sometimes stunningly complex and beautiful, they're used as a gee whiz prop early on and then disregarded as fast as a highway sign at 60 mph. The pacing in the film seems quite a bit off too - slow and plodding as compared to the immediacy of the strange events. And without spoiling anything here, c'mon, what farmhouse in rural PA don't have no shotgun, ya know? 2 out of 10.
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