Movies

22 Bullets

I’ve heard a few good things about “22 Bullets” so I put some effort into getting a copy. The film is also originally in French, so I had to spend some time finding a viewable translation. I don’t really like dubbed films, so I opted for English sub-titles. Too bad the ones I got were done via automatic machine translation (I am pretty sure it was Google Translate). They conveyed the meaning, but had no authentic beauty.

Anyways, back to the movie itself. For me it was a disappointment. I enjoyed Jean Reno acting, as I almost always do. But everything else was bad. The story was very simplistic and very straight forward. No plot twists there. The acting of most other characters was mediocre. And really it was a move with nothing much happening.

On top of that, I have a problem with movies that make idols out of criminals and that promote criminal way of life. I think we have enough crap in this world already to be asking for more, especially in such a way. Maybe it was lost in translation, but “22 Bullets” seemed liked that kind of movie.

Overall, a 3 out of 5, mostly for Jean Reno.

From Paris with Love

“From Paris with Love” is a fast-paced action comedy with John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. I found this movie by accident, but I quite enjoyed it. So much in fact, that I watched it twice in the last month or so. Sure, it has a few weird romantic moments that needed more polish, but all of those are nicely compensated by action, humor, and an explosive, brutal, yet humane character of John Travolta. It’s John Travolta at his best. The one I missed for a long time now, since “Pulp Fiction”, “Be Cool”, and “Michael”.

Remember all those James Bond movies with Sean Connery? And then how all the charm was taken out of Agent 007 by Daniel Craig? Well, this movie is a variation on a modern James Bond (an American, of course, but still in Europe), with plenty of charm, and yet with enough brutality of Daniel Craig. Without Daniel Craig. (Not that I have anything against Daniel Craig outside of James Bond role).

There is not much else that I can say about it. Not your regular family entertainment, but a bunch of guys could have a blast with it over a pint of beer. My rating – 4 out of 5.

Trailer : Fast Five

The makers of the Fast and Furious franchise realized once again that hot chicks, cool cars, and crime are enough to sell you a movie. But to make just a movie into a bestseller you need a star. “Fast Five” brings back both Vin Diesel and Pal Walker. And, just in case, throws in Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock. The trailer is promising. We’ll see how it will turn out.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUScwaS4y4w]

The American

I watched “The American” yesterday. It’s a rather slow developing drama of an aging assassin, who starts to get lonely, questions his life choices, and wants to quit his trade. And as in so many other stories, that’s not so easy to do. And as with so many other stories, women are usually involved.

It’s a nice story. Not a bad movie. Some solid acting. And lots and lots of silence, which makes sense. It is somewhat slow, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Yet, it is that kind of movie which is difficult to recommend. Because people usually expect so many different things from an assassin drama. And I’m not sure this will satisfy many. It did satisfy me though.

Two things in particular that I liked were the use of Italian language and scenery. Multi-lingual films are a challenge. If there are two many languages or too much of two languages, subtitles are needed, and they usually annoy the audience. Shooting a movie in English, when clearly other languages are involved often seems naive and childish. So the choices are hard and making a movie with two or more languages involved is not that easy. This film succeeded though. It managed to bring the feeling of Italy, the atmosphere, and the language without using too much of it. Subtitles are helpful, but not required – most of what is said in Italian are short phrases, the smalltalk. Yet, combined with the scenery of small Italian towns that brings a very realistic feeling. The place is unmistakable.

Overall, a 4 out of 5.

The Town

I went to see “The Town” in the movies on weekend. Too bad my experience was spoiled by the total failure of surround sound in the cinema and by a power cut due to the thunderstorm, two minutes before the end of the movie. But I still liked the movie so much that I downloaded a copy and watched it in the comfort of my own home (really, are there any other options left?).

Before I say anything else, I have to do a disclosure. I am biased here. Crime is one of my favorite movie genres in general, and bank robberies, con artists, and heist schemes are among my top interests in movies.

With that, I am now free to say how awesome this movie was. First of all, it’s a great story with great characters. Not particularly original, but still great. It got a slightly screwed up ending, but by now we should be probably get used to them anyway. Still. There is plenty to see – action, acting, drama, tough guys, car chases, gun fights, hot girls, Boston accent, and more.

Overall, I’ll give it a 5 out of 5. But you still remember, that I’m biased, right?