Blog of Leonid Mamchenkov

I just came back from the cinema where I watched “Law Abiding Citizen“.  I vaguely remember seeing a trailer for this film, but other than that it wasn’t ringing any bells or setting any expectations.  Even though 7.3/10 IMDB rating was promising.

The film turned out to be rather awesome!  From the first scenes it looked like it had enough of everything – drama, action, plot twists, etc.  It also felt nicely paced – not too fast, and not too slow.  And it was getting better with every scene.  I was somehow thinking that it would turn into one of those numerous revenge movies, where you could see through and predict things easily, but it didn’t.  Just when I thought I had it figured, the plot was taking another twist, turning the movie even more interesting.

It’s difficult to talk about specifics without giving spoilers away, but I’ll try.  While, as I said, I really enjoyed the film, the ending wasn’t up to the par with the rest of the film. It felt hurried into and even like it was from another movie or something.  I would prefer a different one.  But if there was a chance to shift the movie anywhere, I’d start the opposite direction after the scene with the judge.

Again, cryptically speaking to avoid spoilers, I think the film raises an excellent point on the fight of good and evil.  And, unlike many other movies that do the same, there is some really big and strong evil.  And, again, unlike in many other movies, the good is represented mighty powerful even if outnumbered.  And there is the fight between the two for the whole film.  But the ending spoils the fight a bit, since the fight and the whole point of counter-balancing one with another fades away for something else.  And I am not even sure what that something else is.

Anyway, nevermind the rant.  If you watch the film, you’ll know what I am talking about.  And I highly recommend that you do.  There is something for everyone and there is a lot for people who like this type of films.  5 stars.

I couple of days ago I went to see “District 9“.  I’ve been waiting for the movie and finally it hit the Cyprus cinemas.   I’ve seen the trailer and heard a lot of people spreading good word of a mouth about the film, but wanted to see it for myself.

It turned out to be an excellent movie.  First of all, it didn’t follow those typical Hollywood storylines.  It actually had an orignal story, which it told in a rather original way of pseudo-documentary.  Not that we didn’t have pseudo-documentaries in the movies before, but I don’t remember the genre used for an alien story.

Secondly, it was nice to see action taking place somewhere else.  Not New York, not London, not Paris.  Not even US or Europe.  Not even Mexico. Africa.   And not the bushmen Africa, but a rather large city of Johannesburg.

Thidly, there was plenty of good acting.  Most of the actors are not the mainstream well-known faces.  But the talent is there.  Interesting, how unknown actors together with an original story make this film so much more realistic and believable.

Fourthly, there is a whole lot of special effects and CGI.  With Peter Jackson being one of the producers, you wouldn’t expect anything else.  But all those effects were integrated in the film in a very natural way.  After all, the film was about people and aliens, and not about special effects.

Overall, I enjoyed the film quite a bit.  It was engaging, original, entertaining, and gave me something to think about.  And I don’t ask for anything else from a movie.  5 stars.

A few days ago I watched “Sleepers“.  I guess the title of the movie makes it sound like a horror film and that’s why I missed it for all these years.  Somehow this time I decided to check the cast and was very surprised to find so many celebrities in – Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, and a few others.

The film turned out be excellent.  First of all, the story, which is fascinating.  It is said to be based on a true story, however there are only so many people who can back it up.  But it’s not really important if it is true or not.   It’s realistic enough and has enough unexpected twists and turns.

Secondly, plenty of good acting.  There was enough freedom given to each of the actors, and there was enough to explore and enough screen time to show the results.

Thirdly, the technical part.  While the film didn’t need as much of special effects as any modern action film (which it is not), there were quite a few challenges, which were solved nicely.  The back in time feeling, boys’ memories, and the atmosphere for each scene, varying from childish fun to adult sadness – all were done excellent.

Overall, a highly recommended movie with 5 stars from me.

Yesterday I went to see “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” in the cinema.  I expected it to be good, having seen the trailer and knowing that it was directed by Tony Scott and featuring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.  But it happened to be even better than I expected.

There is more to the story than shown in the trailer.  There is more suspense, than can be guessed from the trailer.  And there is some good acting to be seen, both by Washington and Travolta.

Sometimes the film reminds of another Tony Scott and Denzel Washington venture – “Man on Fire”, however not as a copy of a previous work but rather an expansion of it.  This is especially so during the cuts of the New York City.

Overall, a good entertainment that will keep you on the edge of your seat for the whole during of the film.  5 stars.

I spent the weekend watching Sharpe’s movies.  I’ve heard a lot of good words about them, but couldn’t get my hands on the copy.  Finally, I managed to get 14 films.   I’m missing the last two episodes which were done recently, but I’ll get them too eventually.

The series are a collection of full length films – 1 hour 40 minutes each.  It’s a history action set back in 1810’s during the Napoleon invasion of the world.  A soldier by the name of Richard Sharpe (played by Sean Bean) is making a military career, being raised from the ranks (as opposed to being born a gentlemen).  Each episode has some sort of a mission, or a situation to deal with, some romance, and lots of fighting.  The films are also full of moral values, setting good examples.  Except that one situation involving a French woman, which is of course arguable.

Each film is on its own and the series can be watched in random order, but if you do it sequentially, there is a little bit more to enjoy of it.  Also, one thing that I wanted to note is the quality of the films – all of them are done like they are a one really long movie.  No episode is better or worse than any other episode.

Overall, really good stuff – 5 stars.

I just came back from the cinema, where I watched “Taken“.  I’ve seen this film earlier on DVD, and it doesn’t have much to offer for the big screen versus the huge TV, but it’s a good enough movie to watch a few times.  And I have to say that I enjoyed watching it again as much as I enjoyed watching it for the first time.

There is something about average looking special agents who can tare Europe apart if they need so.  There is something about tough guys shooting, fighting, and driving in a very efficient way, without any show off what so ever.  There is something about pissed off fathers coming to get their daughters.  Well, except maybe the last one, this film is very similar to the Bourne films, so if you enjoyed those, you will enjoy this one too.

The film is a little bit slow to start and is a bit too verbose (to my taste) on the father’s love and protection of his daughter, but once it starts with the action stuff, it never stops until the very end.  There is plenty to watch and follow, and there is enough suspense to keep you glued to the screen.

Overall, an excellent action movie – 5 stars.

I first saw “American Gangster” in the cinema.  I liked the film so much that I couldn’t wait to get the DVD.  Of course, the 3 hour duration is not a big helper for repeated watching, but even so, I still enjoy it once in a while.

This film is excellent on so many levels, it’s hard to mention them all.  There is moral, there is entertainment, there is an authentic trip back in time, there is plenty of good acting and directing.

This is now definitely one of my favourite films.  5 stars.

Watched “True Lies” again yesterday.  Now this one is a special movie for me.  I first saw back in 1994 or 1995, during my first ever trip out of the country, when I went to the Flint, Michigan, USA under a student exchange program.  This was “the first” of many things – the first film I’ve seen in English, the first action film I’ve seen on the big screen, etc.  It brings back a lot of memories, and it itself is being one huge memory.  Even so many years after I saw it, I still remember it almost to a word.

Obviously, I am very biased in this case.  But I spoke to a few of my friends about this film, and practically every one of them remembers the film quite well and has only good things to say about it.  Even now, decades later, it still looks pretty awesome.  I guess the fact that it has lots of real stunts as opposed to CGI helps it to survive the time.  Also, this film being a mix of action and comedy, even with action bits slightly outdated, the comedy is still there, doing just fine.

Overall, an excellent entertainment.  5 stars.

I just watched “Rob Roy” a truly classic film, which I somehow missed when it came out back in 1995.  This is something!  I can’t remember the film which would have been so packed with moral, and which would be as engaging to watch.  Really.

The film has it all – honour, love, friendship, and more.  It shows how hard simple things can be sometimes.  And how place, time, age, gender and social status have nothing to do with who you really are, how much of a human being you are.  It also touches upon marriage, and the places of both husband and wife in the family.  Compared to this film, most of the other modern film seem to be quite empty.  Yes, there is plenty of action and special effects these days, but so little of what people are made of and how they are supposed to be.  I think that we need more films like this, and this film in particular should be a part of formal education and character development.  If it influence me so much, I suspect it’ll have a quite an effect (and a positive one at that) on the teenagers’ understanding of the world.  However, it’s been a while since I was a teenager, so I might be wrong there…

There is plenty of good in this film beside moral.  The story itself is quite interesting, even if not new.  There is lots of good acting by talented cast.  The directing and the visuals are also nice.  I also remember positively noticing the music score a few times during the film.

One thing I wanted to mention separately are the sword fights.  There are a few and they are awesome.  The final fight deserves a film on its own.  It’s original, dynamic, and powerful.  One of the best ones I’ve seen ever.

Overall rating – 5 stars.  Highly recommended.

Just watched “The Escapist“.  I think all the dramatic prison escape movies are enough now to have their own genre.  I also think that I am becoming a fan of this genre.  All these films seem to be based on the same simple story, which they twist and turn in many different ways, making it original and interesting enough to watch over and over again.

“The Escapist” is just such movie.  Same old story of a few people breaking out of prizon – each of his own reasons.  They need to build the team, conceal a plan, and then execute that plan, loosing as few as possible on the way, and avoid getting caught.  This film in particular is extra good because of the story telling and some really good acting.

Moving, dramatic, engaging – highly recommended to the fans of the genre.  5 stars.