So, I woke up on Sunday with a bit of a sore throat and some chest congestion. What's a girl to do, you ask? Well, this girl high-tailed it over to the closest Redbox and had a field day! Grabbing five titles that I had been wanting to see, I headed home and settled in for a movie marathon. The following is a quick take on each of the titles that I watched:
**********Spoiler Warning!!!!!**********
The following may contain slight spoilers for the five movies listed. I will try to keep it to a minimum, but there is the possibility that some information may be spoiled for you. Keep that in mind before proceeding, with caution, of course....
The Escape Plan
Starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Escape Plan is your typical action flick. Stallone plays Ray Breslin, a guy who breaks out of prisons for a living. He owns a security company that is hired by the government to find weaknesses in their maximum security prisons, ensuring that the criminals that are sentenced to time behind bars, stay there for the duration. Ray's company is hired by the CIA to "test" a new facility that houses those criminals that "no government wants released into society." Needless to say, once inside, things go terribly wrong. Ray is befriended by Emil Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger), a man sent to "The Tomb" because he has failed to give up his boss, notorious hacker Victor Mannheim. After some scheming and planning, they come up with a plan to break out of this so-called, escape proof prison.
I enjoyed this movie, for the popcorn flick that it was. It's an interesting take on the prison break formula and there are a couple of interesting twists that happen towards to end, making it an enjoyable viewing experience. Stallone and Schwarzenegger make for an interesting partnership, and the two of them can still do action like nobody's business. 3/5
The Wolf of Wall Street
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, the Wolf of Wall Street tells the unbelievably true story of the rise, and somewhat fall, of Jordan Belfort. Set in the late 1980's and early 90's, it is a drug and sex fuelled romp through the high-stakes and even higher reward game of stock brokering. Illegal, immoral and unforgiving, Belfort is everything that made the 80's the decade of excess. And Martin Scorsese does not disappoint in his showcasing of everything that that entailed. Securities fraud, sex, insider trading, drugs, drugs and more drugs... Nothing is off limits. Eventually, the FBI and the Securities Commission catch up to all of them, to varying degrees.
This movie made just about everybody's top ten list last year, with a great deal of the people who's opinions I admire, setting it in their number one spot. Personally, I don't get it. While I enjoyed the movie, and would recommend it, I definitely would not consider it the best movie I saw in 2013. (Maybe, it's a guy thing, as most of the reviewers that I tend to watch/read are men). It's definitely an interesting story and unapologetically over the top, but I do understand where some of the controversy surrounding the movie came from. To that I say, suck it up, it's a movie. I did find myself feeling sympathetic towards Jordan Belfort near the end of the film, a testament to the fine acting of DiCaprio. 4/5
Captain Phillips
Starring Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips tells the harrowing, true life tale of the hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama container ship off the coast of Somalia. Taken by armed Somali pirates, the story mainly follows Captain Richard Phillips and the lengths that he went to in order to protect his crew. It also showcases the Naval operation put in place to rescue the Captain once he is taken hostage by the pirates in an attempt to escape.
This was a very good, if intense, movie. It is an extremely intriguing story, one that you honestly wouldn't expect to happen in today's day and age. Tom Hanks gives a wonderful performance, highlighted in it's breathtaking beauty during the last 10 minutes or so of the film. I can't say that I'll be clamouring to watch this film again, but I have no regrets in seeing it to begin with. 4/5
Grudge Match
Starring Sylvester Stallone and Robert DeNiro, Grudge Match tells the story of two over the hill boxers on their trek towards that one final bout to glory. Pittsburgh boxers, Henry "Razor" Sharp (Stallone) and William "The Kid" McDonnen have always been rivals. Each winning a decisive fight in the 80's, Sharp inexplicably retires from boxing before the third and deciding bout can be fought. Fast forward 30 years, and a Youtube video of the two scuffling goes viral. Enter promoter, Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart), the son of the boxer's previous promoter. Each of the fighters agree to the fight for different reasons, and the film follows their journey to the ultimate grudge match.
I enjoyed this film. It's a tale about redemption and getting older, as well as forgiveness and understanding. I will admit, it was cool to see Rocky fight it out with Raging Bull. This film is funny and charming and I promise, there is an eventual winner of the grudge match. No, "oh it's a tie" pandering in this one. 3.25/5
Gravity
Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, Gravity tells the story of a space mission gone terribly wrong. Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) is on her very first mission, to repair and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope, the same mission being the final spacewalk for astronaut Matt Kowalski (Clooney). Things do not go as planned, and the two of them find themselves stranded in space, their mission now to find a way back to Earth.
I will admit, I found this movie just okay. I understand that my 47" TV, that is not 3D by the way, cannot be compared to the visual feast I would have gotten had I actually gone and seen the movie in IMAX. While the visuals were still gorgeous, I think that something might have been lost in the translation from movie theatre to home theatre. Without the groundbreaking visual effects, the story was a little weak and the characterisation a little lacking. While I would recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it, it is another one that I'm not sure I'll be eager to watch a second time around. 3.5/5
No comments:
Post a Comment