Reviews

Red

Being a big fan of action comedies, I’ve been waiting for this one – “Red“. Thanks to a whole bunch of trailers on YouTube, I knew pretty early that I’d love this film. And indeed I did.

It’s exactly what it promised to be, and even a bit more – funny, action packed, with brilliant cast, and so on and so forth. Even the story is not totally stupid, like in most action films. And it gives you something to think about. Even though that’s really not the point of the film. The point is entertainment, and the movie tackles that in a great way.

Overall, a 5 out of 5. I had a blast.

Due Date

The other day I went to see the comedy written, directed, and produced by Todd Fillips – “Due Date”. Todd also played one of the supporting roles in this film, which is somewhat usual of him. Two main roles were played by Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis.

Even though I did enjoy this comedy quite a bit, I still felt that it was rushed into production. Some parts of the movie are hilarious. I’ve been laughing out loud more than twice. And even laughed to tears once or twice. But there were parts of this movie which were unnecessary, boring, and disconnected. It felt like these were early drafts.

Robert Downey Jr. was interesting – a somewhat more dramatic character than most of his recent movies. Zach Galifianakis was exactly as he usually is in his most recent movies. There were weird moments, but overall the duet worked together.

I won’t recommend this film strongly, but if you have a chance to see it – see it. It’s not a total waste of time. Ranking-wise, I’d give it a 4 out of 5.

The Expendables

“The Expendables” – movie that I have been waiting for for so long didn’t disappoint me at all. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I enjoyed each and every bit of it. It was everything I wanted it to be – a moderately paced, funny action movie with very simple story and lots of fighting, shooting, chasing, exploding, etc.

It was very well positioned in its genre. In such a way even that makes it easy to excuse any shortcomings, be they holes in the story or acting or special effects. I’m not saying there were any, if there were any. I’m just saying that even if you notice something that you don’t like, you’ll probably forget about it within a second. There’s plenty to enjoy.

Of course I’ll rate this movie as 5 out of 5. That’s both for nostalgic reasons and for a historical moment of all three superstars – Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger – appearing in the same scene together. And there was so much more …

Brothers

I’ve heard quite a few positive reviews of the “Brothers” movie. By chance I got my hands on a copy of it, so I watched.

My feelings about this film are mixed. On one hand, I think that there should be more war movies out there. Pretty much any kind will do – hero stories, the ugliness of war, political intrigue – anything. War is something that people should know more about and think more about. Maybe then we’ll have more peace.

And “Brothers” movie fits the bill. There should be more films like this. It’s just that I didn’t quite get this one in particular. The beginning and middle of the film were nice and engaging, but it got somehow messed up by the end. Or I just didn’t get it. I don’t know.

There was plenty of good acting, especially for the main characters. The score was fine. The dynamics were pretty good, and the switching between the peaceful times and the war zone. The horror of war was illustrated nicely. But, as I said, the ending didn’t do it for me. So I’m sort of lost there.

Overall, still recommended, even with 4 out of 5.

Men in Black II

Just a couple of weeks ago I posted a trailer for “Men in Black II” and said that I somehow missed it this movie altogether. And here I am, holding a copy of “Men in Black II” in my hands. Not that I was looking for it in particular, but I got it via a concerned reader of this blog. Thanks Alex.

The film is a sequel to the first part and is very similar in a lot of ways. It is a light entertainment with a few bits of sci-fi in it. Both Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are in it. With quite a few aliens and big guns.

This part however is not as good as the original movie. It tries to be, but it’s not. It is entertaining and funny sometimes. But it’s much weaker in every way – less action, simpler story, etc. I still enjoyed watching it and it also made want to watch the first film again.

Overall, 3 out of 5. Watch it if you have nothing else in your queue, but don’t spend any time looking for this movie. Don’t expect much either, and you’ll probably enjoy it.