The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

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.

American Gangster

American Gangster

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.

The Pelican Brief

The Pelican Brief” is one of the older movies (around 1993).  I guess, conspiracy fans and theorists would love it.  It is about yet another government conspiracy.  There seems to be some sort of conspiracy (coincidence? I think not!) in the cast for this film.  The director, Alan J. Pakula, did at least another film about conspiracy before – “All The President’s Men“, back in the 1970s, together with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford.  Two leading actors in “The Pelican Brief” did conspiracy movies before too.  Denzel Washington played a part in “The Manchurian Candidate” and Julia Roberts played in “Conspiracy Theory“.

I, myself, am not a big fan of conspiracy movies unless they have plenty of action and surveillance technology.  “The Pelican Brief” didn’t have much in terms of technology and could use some more action.  Despite that, though, I have to say that it wasn’t too boring or anything.  I enjoyed it.  And, yes, both Denzel and Julia performed good and made them movie so much better.  Without them it would have been a total loss.

6.5 out of 10 (make it 7, if you need an integer).  Recommended, if you like conspiracy mysteries and scared Julia Roberts.

Deja Vu

When I am looking for a movie to rent or watch in the cinema, I usually check a few things about the title – IMDB rating, cast, director, genres, awards, etc.  I try not to read any reviews or plot descriptions, but everything else I usually do.  Why am I doing this?  Because there are so many crap movies out there that are not worse spending any time or money on.  However, there are a few actors, who are like good brands.  If I see that actor on a DVD cover, I will rent the movie without any other additional information. I might not even check the title of the film, or try to remember if I saw it before or not.

Denzel Washington is one of such actors. So, when I saw his face on a box of “Deja Vu“, I rented it right away.  And, once again, I was right.  The film is excellent. It has all to it – excellent story with a lot of twists, excellent acting, suspense, action, great photography, humor, food for thought, and so on and so forth.  An extra point goes to those people who picked the cast.  Everyone was good.  But Paula Patton was really beautiful. Really.

If you are sensitive to spoilers, then don’t read this paragraph.  There was a scene in the movie, where an FBI surveillance team is spying on this lady.  They are watching her on a huge screen.  She is at home, getting dressed or something.  But the way she moves around, the way she looks, the way she smiles, it’s so beautiful that they are all stunned.  They are watching her in silence for a few moments.  Almost without blinking.  Well, when the scene is over, I realized that it was like I was there, together with them, watching her.  Truly amazing.  It was a long time since I watched someone like that in the movie.

Anyway.  The film is really good and if you like other Denzel Washington movies with action, drama, and crime, “Deja Vu” is truly recommended.  9 out of 10. Solid.

The Bone Collector

The Bone Collector (1999)The Bone Collector” DVD cover looked promising with both Denzel Washington adn Angelina Jolie pictures. It also looked somewhat familiar, but I couldn’t recall watching it, so I decided to rent it.

Directed by: Phillip Noyce
Genres: Mystery, Drama, Thriller
Cast: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Michael Rooker, Mike McGlone, Luis Guzmán, Leland Orser, John Benjamin Hickey, Bobby Cannavale, Ed O’Neill, Richard Zeman, Olivia Birkelund, Gary Swanson, James Bulleit, Frank Fontaine
IMDB raintg: 6.2
My rating: 6.5 [rate 6.5]

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