movie review

V for Vendetta (2005)

V for Vendetta (2005)

Director:

James McTeigue

Starring:

Hugo Weaving

Natalie Portman

Rupert Graves

Plot:

In a future British tyranny, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of “V”, plots to overthrow it with the help of a young woman.

Review:

I use to have a V doll that went through the entire V speech, including climactic music. Yeah. I’m awesome.

I’ve evidently watched too many British shows recently because Natalie Portman’s accent bugged me. Never has before so I decided to just ignore it. She’s a fine actress, but apparently her British accent needs work.

It took one man with a particular set of skills and a wide spread broadcast to motivate a nation. It’s a beautiful idea.

The feeling and the speeches, everything in this movie elicits a rebellious reaction in me. I just watched a TED talk about how the world isn’t as bad as we think and yet now I feel the desire to over throw a government.

I thought of this movie because of the recent action movie list, but watching it again I realize there aren’t that many action scenes. They’re there and pretty awesome, but the movie is about a message not about kicking ass.

It’s been a while since I’ve read the comic and all I remember is that it was pretty brutal.

5/5

Dredd (2012)

Judge Dredd 2012

Dredd (2012)

Director:

Pete Travis

Starring:

Karl Urban

Olivia Thirlby

Lena Headey

Plot:

In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.

Review:

Recently I came across a thread that asked you to list the greatest action movies of all time. Now I wouldn’t say that the list that came to my mind was the greatest, but they’re all really good and some of my favorite movies.

Judge Dredd was on my list and I realized it’s been way too long since I’ve watched it. What if I don’t like it anymore?

Not possible.

Judge Dredd is one of those movies that I joke I’m going to buy for everyone at Christmas. It’s almost always cheap and there’s really no good reason for someone not to own it. I say I’m joking, but am I? One day…

A quick disclaimer, I have never read a Judge Dredd comic or watched the original movie.

Karl Urban as Dredd is such a badass. The way his face is in a perpetual frown and the fact that he barely speaks. Perfect.

Ma-Ma, Lena Heady, is an evil as fuck villain and you know this immediately because the movie starts with her having three dudes skinned alive and then thrown from near the top of a skyscraper while doped up on drugs that slowed time.

Seriously?

Yup.

Olivia Thirlby, Anderson, provides a nice newbie to ride along with. She’s a mutant that has psychic abilities, she reads people’s minds. By the end of the movie she’s earned her position as a judge, though, I’m not sure if I’d call her a badass. However, when she invaded that dudes mind and messed with him it was pretty cool.

The movie as a whole is great and I wish desperately that it had received a sequel, but it bombed in theaters because… people can’t enjoy a graphically violent sci-fi action movie? I don’t know, but it’s sad. To add insult to injury Urban’s TV show Almost Human was canceled too.

Bitter?

Yeah.

I highly recommend this movie.

5/5

Stardust (2007)

Stardust

Stardust (2007)

Director:

Matthew Vaughn

Starring:

Charlie Cox

Claire Danes

Sienna Miller

Michelle Pfeiffer

Robert De Niro

Plot:

In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.

Review:

I remember when this movie came out. Not because of a trailer or poster or any kind of advertising, but because the $1.50 theater I worked at got it. That’s the only reason I knew it existed. I have no idea what the marketing department was doing with this one, but they really dropped the ball.

Amazing cast, stellar source material, and a great movie. It’s one of those movies I’ve watched so many times that I sometimes use it to fall asleep to, because I can close my eyes and see the story in my mind. Love it.

Even now as I scan the IMDB page the order of cast is crazy. Charlie Cox and Claire Danes are main characters but so is Michelle Pfeiffer and she is way down there. It’s just bizarre. At least she made the poster.

Anyway, it’s a beautiful, fanciful story that I highly recommend.

5/5

Side note- That dorky looking dude in the pic above is now Daredevil.

Pound of Flesh (2015)

Pound of Flesh

Pound of Flesh (2015)

Director:

Ernie Barbarash

Starring:

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Darren Shahlavi

Charlotte Peters

Plot:

A man’s heroic attempt to help a woman in distress ends up with him waking up the next day without a kidney and plotting his revenge.

Review:

In case you couldn’t tell from the plot synopsis or the pic this movie is not good. The question is, is it so bad that it’s good?

No.

That was easy.

When JCVD is the best actor in your movie, you’re going to have a bad time. There was green screen at really odd moments, awkward shots, and poor plotting. The movie was truly embarrassing to watch and apparently one of the better cheaply made action movies out there.

Even if you like those types of movies I really couldn’t recommend this one. The ending is truly horrible and I ended up fast forwarding through a lot of it. The only reason it’s not getting a one star is because I didn’t absolutely hate it.

1.5/5

Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007)

Mr Beans Holiday

Mr. Bean’s Holiday (2007)

Director:

Steve Bendelack

Starring:

Rowan Atkinson

Willem Dafoe

Emma de Caunes

Plot:

Mr. Bean wins a trip to Cannes where he unwittingly separates a young boy from his father and must help the two come back together. On the way he discovers France, bicycling, and true love, among other things.

Review:

I love Mr. Bean, I still laugh every time I see my favorite episodes of his show. I don’t remember being very impressed with the Mr. Bean movie from 1997, but saw this on Netflix and thought why not.

While not as bad as the 1997 movie, it still didn’t capture what I enjoy so much about Mr. Bean. I think the character might just work better in a shorter format. An entire movie with his antics can grow boring and tedious. There were several scenes that I laughed at and tons of awkward hard to watch moments, but I also spent a lot of time not paying attention to the movie cause I was bored.

I think I’ll just stick to watching the Mr. Bean TV show episodes and stay away from any further movies.

3/5