Film Review: Taken 2

Director: Olivier Megaton

After the huge sleeper success of the first film, it came as no surprise when a sequel was swiftly announced. The main question being how much the plot would differ in the second one and how could they match the slick action of the first film. Regardless of reviews it's clear that this film will be a huge commercial success compared to it's budget of $45 million with early estimates from opening weekend already topping the $100 million mark.

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) dispatches another villain

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is forced back into action as a trip to Istanbul with his family forces him to face the families of the Albanian gang that he killed in Paris in the first movie. They want revenge for their deaths by taking Mills back to Albania to be tortured in killed in front of the community so they look to kidnap his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and his ex-wife Lenora (Famke Janssen). The formula isn't exactly the same as the first but the overall idea is.

The acting is capable from all involved but the plot is what really lets the film down, on many occasions it is downright laughable including Bryan working out where he is by counting in seconds how far he has gone in a truck when kidnapped and by relying on sights and sounds that wouldn't necessarily be there hours later. After the movie we discussed the obvious plot holes for a good 10mins and could have gone on for a lot longer but Kim running round Istanbul throwing grenades with reckless abandon is an obvious highlight.

Kim Mills (Maggie Grace)

Some of the dialogue especially when Neeson comes to take on the baddies has ended up being a bit cliché and hammy. The original film was actually quite violent which fitted the slick action that ran through the film but to appeal to a wider audience they cut out the more violent scenes to reach a 12A rating which leaves it looking very tame. The plot actually dawdles through the opening third with little to keep your interest as you know what is going to come and the only saving grace is that some of the dialogue and plot is so bad that it ends up being unintentionally hilarious at times.

1/4 laughable plot is clumsy and far fetched

Film Review: Killing Them Softly

Director: Andrew Dominik

The common understanding in Hollywood is that hit men and assassins are cold-blooded murderers with absolutely no remorse for anyone, they will kill anyone as long as they get paid. Finally Killing Them Softly shows that this isn't always true as the character of Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) likes to only kill people he doesn't know and from a distance so he doesn't have to be involved with any pleading or crying. He refers to this as killing them softly which means that mentally he's not troubled by the event of murder.

Cogan is called in because a mob protected poker game is the subject of a heist by outsiders who believe the blame will fall on Markie (Ray Liotta) due to him robbing his own game in the past. Cogan must dispose of numerous people so calls in his old friend Mickey (James Gandolfini) but finds he isn't the efficient killer he once was. The whole film is set against the back-drop of recession in America with numerous speeches by George W. Bush and Barack Obama filling the background, even recession hits the underworld.

Jackie Cogan, hitman (Brad Pitt)

One of the death's is probably the most beautifully orchestrated piece in terms of music and slow motion action that it could almost be considered artistic, Pitt is excellent as the real man who kills for business but is still a conscientious soul. Gandolfini is also impressive as the over-the-hill assassin who is more of hindrance upon arrival, whilst the rest of the movie does feel like a gangster film reunion with some of the other actors. There are slighty comparisons to Pulp Fiction due to the banal conversation throughout the film.

The outlook throughout the movie is gloomy, the city we see is under an almost constant barrage of rain and the places that they frequent are usually working class dive bars. Cogan's line sums up the movie's thoughts perfectly "He (Obama) thinks America is one community, it's not it's a business now give me my fucking money!"

3/4 satirical and sometimes darkly funny but just lacks that killer punch

Film Review: Blades of Glory

Director: Will Speck and Josh Gordon

A film about the curious world of ice skating, this was Ferrell's first film after Talladega Nights which had so much expectation after the success he had playing Ron Burgundy. Here he teams up with Jon Heder who made his name in the excellent Napoleon Dynamite, looking quite different here.

Chazz Michael Michaels (Will Ferrell) and Jimmy MacElroy (Jon Heder) are rival ice skaters who compete in the singles who end up tied for Gold at the World Winter Sports Games. They end up fighting on the podium which leads to the Games mascot being set on fire and are then stripped of their medals and banned from the sport for life. An obsessive fan of Jimmy spots a loophole three years later that means that he can compete in the doubles but then realises his best chance for a partner is rival Chazz.

Add caption

The film satisfies its run-time with enough jokes, Ferrell is comfortable in this sort of character and it wouldn't surprise me if he ad-libbed some of the jokes himself. Jon Heder seems less comfortable in a more obvious comedic role to his previous roles but takes to playing the effeminate Jimmy quite well. The plot itself is quite formulaic but this doesn't detract from the jokes themselves which are normally at the character's expense rather than poking fun at the world of ice skating which I'm sure is a very serious intense sport.

An easy film to watch if you happen to come across the DVD, Ferrell has made better films and has certainly made worse.

2/4 some genuinely hilarious moments but they are few and far between

Film Review: Untouchable

Director: Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano

A French language film, it was released back in 2011 at the Tokyo Film Festival where it won the top honour whilst lead actors Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy jointly won the Best Actor prize. From there it impressed critics and the public alike in France so much so that Omar Sy won the Cesar Award for Best Actor ahead of Jean Dujardin for The Artist in February 2012. The love for this film meant it has been released around the world and is expected to do well during awards season at the start of 2013.

Phillippe (Francois Cluzet) and Driss (Omar Sy)

Phillippe (Francois Cluzet) is a wealthy quadriplegic who can only move his head so needs to be cared for and fed, on finding a replacement he interviews Driss (Omar Sy) who only turns up so he can get a signature for his benefit claim to say he applied for job but didn't get it. Driss' jokes about classic music impress Phillippe so he hires him. Driss is an African immigrant who has had a few run-ins with the police whilst Phillippe is a highly intelligent and charismatic millionaire. Over the course of the film an unlikely bond is built between the characters despite their incredibly different backgrounds.

Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy are both absolutely superb in this movie, the bond that grows between them seems truly real and they seemed very at ease in each other's company. Sy produces much of the films funny moments and is a natural showman whilst Cluzet manages to catch you off-guard with a few slightly more subtle jokes of his own. They should both be highly considered for awards in January.

In the mountains watching the paragliders

The main idea of the film is that Driss helps Phillippe in a physical way as his carer whilst Phillippe helps Driss in a socio-economic way. They quickly learn from each other in many different ways, one of the main ones that stick out in my mind is Phillippe's birthday where he introduces Driss to classical music.

Naturally a foreign film with this kind of success doesn't go un-noticed in America so a remake has been planned by the Weinstein Company with Colin Firth set to take up the role of Phillippe, I'd be shocked if the remake even comes close in comparison to this film. This film only recently came out so I implore you to go out and see it, you won't be disappointed.

4/4 funny yet moving film with two superb acting performances

This week's releases

Taken 2: Liam Neeson returns in this sequel after the surprise success of the first that garnered a cult following of fans. A full preview can be found here: Taken 2 Full Preview

Sinister: The team behind Paranormal Activity are a busy bunch, number 4 in the series is being trotted out in the next few weeks and they also bring bring you this movie starring Ethan Hawke. Hawke plays a crime detective who moves into a new house where he finds a box of movies after realising the previous occupants were brutally murdered and that supernatural forces might be at work.

The Perks of being a Wallflower: Based on the best selling novel, this is a coming of age comedy that follows a naive fresher as he moves to college in America and is taken under the wing of two seniors who teach him about college life.

Film Preview: Silver Linings Playbook

Premiered at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this month and won the TIFF's People Choice Award after rave reviews from critics at the event. Jennifer Lawrence, fresh from kicking ass in The Hunger Games, stars alongside Bradley Cooper who has a glut of films coming out in which he is starring. There are also appearances from the likes of Robert DeNiro, Chris Tucker and Julia Stiles (The Bourne Supremacy). The director and writer for the movie is David O. Russell who was behind the popular 2010 movie The Fighter.

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper stars as Pat Solitano who spends four years in a mental insitution who moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife but things become complicated with the appearance of Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). She agrees to help him re-unite with his wife but only for something in return but she also brings along a lot of problems of her own.

The film is set to be released in the UK on Wednesday 21st November 2012 and the trailer is embedded below:

Film Review: The Departed

Director: Martin Scorcese

Any Scorcese film in the last few years is awaited with baited breath by movie fans and critics alike, after successes with Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas to name just three it's fair to say there is a lot of expectation. In 2006, The Departed was released with an ensemble cast and Scorcese in the directing chair meant that expectations were sky high but they still managed to pull off a great film. The film is based on 2002 Hong Kong film Internal Affairs and won 4 Oscars.

Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson) and Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon)

The film is based around the Irish mob in South Boston where Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson, character loosely based on Whitey Bulger) is the top man. Whilst in the police force there is Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is made to go undercover within Costello's mob due to his Irish background whilst Frank Costello has already placed Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) has his insider within the police force. There is then a lot of double crossing and near misses as both sides realise there is a rat inside their organisations and they battle to find out who it is.

Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) with Frank

There are some excellent performances which mainly come from the supporting cast, especially Vera Farmiga and Alec Baldwin, whilst Ray Winstone plays an Irish hoodlum with his usual cockney accent in the background (I'm sure he'll be more at home in The Sweeney). The main actors all perform aptly without any of them really impressing, maybe because I was expecting more effort and work into Irish-American accents.
There are some incredibly tense moments that are superbly played out as the mob and the police get closer to finding out who the informers are on each side. It asks some interesting questions of identity and what exactly is right and wrong as neither Sullivan or Costigan are completely guilty or innocent in the acts they take as part of their roles spying inside the police force and mob respectively. The ending is excellent as the whole story unravels but the film is too long for the premise at times as they try to combine three Internal Affairs movies into one long epic.

3/4 thrilling and tense mob flick but doesn't have the weight for lengthy run time