Writ & Dir: James Grey
- Joaquin Phoenix … Robert ‘Bobby’ Green
- Eva Mendes … Amada Juarez
- Mark Wahlberg … Capt. Joseph ‘Joe’ Grusinsky
- Robert Duvall … Deputy Chief Albert ‘Bert’ Grusinsky
- Alex Veadov … Vadim Nezhinski
- Danny Hoch … Jumbo Falsetti
Bobby is a night club manager. It is the 1980’s, New York. Life is good. Until the day his brother comes calling. Bobby’s brother, Joe, you see, is a cop. A drugs cop and he arrives in full on SWAT-mode at the club. This is not a way to ensure peaceful family get togethers. Especially considering that we already know there is tension in the family. You can just guess at the resulting tensions. But then the Russian bad-guys organise a hit on Joe. Bobby is stung into action and swears revenge. In this life or the next.[1]
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Linknotes:
- yeah yeah, that is vengeance, but whatever ↩
Tags:
1988,
5 Stars,
Alex Veadov,
clichéd,
crime,
Danny Hoch,
drugs,
Eva Mendes,
James Grey,
Joaquin Phoenix,
looks cool,
Mark Wahlberg,
New York,
police,
predictable,
R15A,
Robert Duvall,
USA - 1980s
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Posted by: Fence in Books
Author: Elizabeth Goudge
DDC: 823.91
Spring had jumped straight out of heaven into London.
This isn’t the sort of book I normally would have picked up, if I hadn’t recently read The Little White Horse I wouldn’t have been tempted by this. But there it was, in the library, so I figured what the hell.
And I’m glad I did, because although it is overly-romantic and a little sugary, it is still a great read. The first half of the book especially is entertaining. And funny. There are plenty of stereotypes here, and the use of the word Scotch was a little off-putting. But nevertheless it is a highly enjoyable read.
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Tags:
6 Stars,
823.91,
charming,
Elizabeth Goudge,
historical fiction,
nice read,
past lives,
predictable,
romance,
Scotland,
sugary,
The Middle Window
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Dir: J.J. Abrams
Writ: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, J.J. Abrams & Bruce Geller
- Tom Cruise - Ethan Hunt
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - Owen Davian
- Ving Rhames - Luther Stickell
- Michelle Monaghan - Julia Meade
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers - Declan
The trouble with M:I3 is that it is in essence a meh film. We all go knowing what to expect; gadgets, stunts, and Tom Cruise coming out a winner. And that is what happens in this film, so we can’t really complain. There is no real need to complain, because if you went to see this film expecting any more of that, well, then you’ve no one to blame but yourself.
M:I3 also suffers from having an annoyingly long name and a crap looking acronym. Is it MI3, M:I3, M:I 3, M:Iiii or any other variation? Who knows.
All in all I quite enjoyed this film. I didn’t expect much, and I got exactly that. Tom Cruise ran far too often, but it is The Cruise, and he is obliged to have at least 5 running scenes in ever major motion picture he is involved in. But the baddie was cool and evil in an unexplained 2 dimensional way.
The Julie character was annoying though. Just far too good. Only, she didn’t really have a character, she was just the “damsel in distress.” But plus points must be awarded for Jonathan Rhys Meyers, although he will always be the fella who shot Michael Collins, and his accent was very much stock oirish.
All in all, enjoyable trash flick.
Tags:
5 Stars,
action,
Alex Kurtzman,
based on a TV show,
Bruce Geller,
gadgets,
J.J. Abrams,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers,
meh,
Michelle Monaghan,
Mission Impossible,
Mission: Impossible III,
Philip Seymour Hoffman,
predictable,
Roberto Orci,
stunts,
Tom Cruise,
trash but enjoyable,
Ving Rhames
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- Kate Hudson …. Caroline Ellis
- Gena Rowlands …. Violet Devereaux
- John Hurt …. Ben Devereaux
- Peter Sarsgaard …. Luke
This is supposed to be a horror film, but the only thing horrifing is how bad the film is.
Set in the South of America, The Skeleton Key tells the story of Caroline, a hospice care nurse who ends up taking care of a stroke patient in his old, crumbling house. But she has issues, her father died when they weren’t talking and she regrets not being there for him.
She moves into the Devereaux house, but soon begins to hear strange noises and wonders hat exactly caused Ben’s stroke. And did his wife Violet have anything to do with it? And could she spend more time wandering around in virtually no clothes?
Talk about your predictable set up.
And there is the fact that there is this skeleton key, but it really isn’t an issue at all. In the opening few scenes we learn what it is, what it does and it doesn’t have any other role. Apart from being a key. Why call the film after it?
Anyways, there is a load of backstory about the previous owners, and the hanging of a black servant husband and wife. And voodoo, well hoodoo really, but still. And brick dust to keep out your enemies
And blah blah blah, a load of rubbish. You are never scared. You don’t really care what is going on, and although the ending is a little interesting it is too late to help the film.
Best thing about it; Peter Sarsgaard, but he’s only in it for a short while.
IMDb | Official site | Rotton | Cinema Bland
Tags:
4 Stars,
Gena Rowlands,
horror,
John Hunt,
Kate Hudson,
Peter Sarsgaard,
predictable,
The Skeleton Key,
voodoo
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