Action

The Magnificent Seven (2016)

the-magnificent-seven

The Magnificent Seven (2016)

Director:

Antoine Fuqua

Starring:

Denzel Washington

Chris Pratt

Ethan Hawke

Vincent D’Onofrio

Plot:

Seven gunmen in the old west gradually come together to help a poor village against savage thieves.

Review:

Oh my god what the hell was Vincent D’Onofrio doing with his voice? It was painful anytime he spoke.

I really wanted to watch this movie. Even after hearing that the movie got bad reviews, I held on hope because I really liked the trailer. I really need to stop doing that.

Chris Pratt nailed the look, but didn’t get the voice for me. Denzel Washington was fine and so was Ethan Hawke, but they didn’t make up for the films short comings.

The movie was too clean for a western, as in the appearance of the film, not the actual people and setting. It just seemed too digital, I guess.

The movie ended up being about how a group of seven relative strangers could work together seamlessly without any preparation, they just knew what the other would do as if my magic. They forged a psychic link that could be surpassed by nothing, well…

2.5/5

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004)

the-librarian-quest-for-the-spear

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear (2004)

Director:

Peter Winther

Starring:

Noah Wyle

Sonya Walger

Bob Newhart

Jane Curtin

Plot:

Flynn, an over 30 “professional student,” is banned from more classes, since he already has 22 degrees. Unexpectedly hired by a mysterious library, he’s soon pursuing a stolen artifact from…

Review:

I like this movie because it starts off a franchise that I really enjoy, though I do think the idea is better than the actual execution sometimes. At the very least it’s an awesome movie to have playing in the background while you’re doing something else, though I highly recommend watching it at least once.

Flynn, Noah Wyle, is ridiculously smart but he’s not so far on that side of things that he’s unaware of his own social faults. He’s not even that socially awkward, like sometimes happens with intellectual characters, he’s just not as willing to have meaningless conversation and I think that works great for his character.

It doesn’t even bother me that he’s got a new girl in each movie, I think mainly because they don’t really try and force a whole love angle it’s more of a I’m attracted to you let’s see what happens thing.

Like the movie, love the series, definitely give it a try if you like Indiana Jones.

3.5/5

Paycheck (2003)

paycheck

Paycheck (2003)

Director:

John Woo

Starring:

Ben Affleck

Aaron Eckhart

Uma Thurman

Plot:

What seemed like a breezy idea for an engineer to net him millions of dollars, leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he’s being chased.

Review:

I really liked this movie when it came out. I actually liked it better than The Bourne Identity which came out around the same time. Pretty sure I’m the only one with that opinion though.

Re-watching it I still really enjoyed it but I realized at some point my opinion of Ben Affleck changed. I use to think he was attractive and sexy and whatever, but now I don’t really think those things when I think of him. He’s not a bad actor but he just doesn’t do it for me anymore. Watching Paycheck, though, I remember why I thought all of those things.

The action in the movie was so much better than the average action movie that comes out now a days. There wasn’t a huge abundance of it, but what was there could be seen and followed. It had a good car chase as well.

Liked the story. Liked the idea. There were some pacing issues where it slowed down and got a little boring but that was mainly with the romance. Didn’t really feel much chemistry between Affleck and Thurman. Still liked the movie despite that though.

4/5

V.I. Warshawski (1991)
V.I. Warshawski, un privé en escarpin

V.I. Warshawski (1991)

Director:

Jeff Kanew

Starring:

Kathleen Turner

Jay O. Sanders

Charles Durning

Plot:

A female PI babysitting for a boyfriend gets stuck with his daughter and the case of her murdered father.

Review:

I had never heard of this movie when my husband picked it up from a used bookstore. Since it had Kathleen Turner as a kick ass woman and was filmed in the late 80s early 90s he thought it would be right up my alley.

The movie definitely had the feel of a movie from that time and it was awesome to see a female character kick butt, but I wish she didn’t have such a cliché fatal flaw. She manipulates men like they’re pawns but her love for one is her weakness. Other than that, though I liked the movie.

The ending was classic 80s action, it didn’t stick around once the bad guys were taken care of. It had a foul mouthed kid that followed Turner’s character around. There was also a surprisingly high body count. The man that Turner’s character meets in a bar is very manly and the villain is kind of hilarious looking. I also found it amusing that all the ways she got men to do what she wanted would probably still work today.

Why can’t they make movies like this now a days? It’s not a blockbuster, but it’s got to be cheap to make. The only female led action movies coming out now, that I’m aware of, are pure crap. Their budget is shoestring and their actresses aren’t any good. That’s a market I’d love for someone like Netflix, or Amazon, or Hulu to fill. Maybe I’m the only one out there though.

4/5

True Memoirs of an International Assassin (2016)

true-memoirs-of-an-international-assassin

True Memoirs of an International Assassin (2016)

Director:

Jeff Wadlow

Starring:

Kevin James

Kim Coates

Maurice Compte

Plot:

After a publisher changes a writer’s debut novel about a deadly assassin from fiction to nonfiction, the author finds himself thrust into the world of his lead character, and must take on the role of his character for his own survival.

Review:

I hadn’t heard anything about this movie, at least nothing that I could remember, until it showed up on my Netflix homepage. The blurb and the trailer were enough to get me to watch even though I’m not the biggest Kevin James fan. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying this.

The plot was silly but not to the point where it was ridiculous and unwatchable. There also wasn’t a ton of the stupid comedy that I associate James with so that made it even better for me.

I did find myself screaming at the screen when he met his publisher for the first time, but that was because it was all too believable and I didn’t want him to be taken advantage of.

By the end of the movie he’d changed but he hadn’t become the super assassin he’d written about, it was a believable change which I liked.

Honestly, I’d watch another movie like this in a heartbeat. It wasn’t amazing but it was fun, a nice fusion of action and comedy leaning more toward action.

4/5