Wild Hogs

Wild Hogs” is a fun adventure comedy about a few somewhat grown-up friends taking a road trip for the old times sake.  It’s a not a bad movie at all, but whether you’ll enjoy it or not depends a lot on your mood.  Gladly, I was in the mood for some light entertainment.  And I had a blast.   While there are a few places which are slow or silly, there are enough of those that made me laugh out loud. Overall it was worth it.

4 out of 5 from me and a solid recommendation for Friday evening entertainment.

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.

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.

Get Shorty

Get Shorty (1995)Since I saw “Be Cool“, which was a sequal, I wanted to see “Get Shorty“. Both movies can be seen separately as they are not connected by the story in any way. Only by the characters.

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld
Genres: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Cast: John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, Danny DeVito, Dennis Farina, Delroy Lindo, James Gandolfini, Jon Gries, Renee Props, David Paymer, Martin Ferrero, Miguel Sandoval, Jacob Vargas, Bobby Slayton, Linda Hart
IMDB raintg: 7.0
My rating: 6.5 [rate 6.5]

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Ladder 49

Ladder 49 (2004)How is that possible? I watched a movie less than a year ago and all I can remember is that I watched it. And I haven’t blogged about it. And it is about the only movie about firefighters that I’ve seen in my life. And both Joaquin Phoenix and John Travolta are in it, so it must have been pretty hard to forget. I guess my memory plays tricks on me. Fixing the holes, I rewatched “Ladder 49

Directed by: Jay Russell
Genres: Action, Drama, Thriller
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, John Travolta, Jacinda Barrett, Robert Patrick, Morris Chestnut, Billy Burke, Balthazar Getty, Tim Guinee, Kevin Chapman, Jay Hernandez, Kevin Daniels, Steve Maye, Robert Lewis, Brooke Hamlin, Spencer Berglund
IMDB raintg: 6.6
My rating: 6.5 [rate 6.5]

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