Category: Action
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Jackie Chan is your average Chaplinesque hero in The Spy Next Door
The Spy Next Door Directed by Brian Levant Starring Jackie Chan, Billy Ray Cyrus, George Lopez, Amber Valletta, 1 Little Jimmy, 1 Princess, and 1 Little Tyke. Questions run through your mind when you suffer through the exposition of any Jackie Chan movie. Every single set up that is presented has to withstand more suspension…
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Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightening Thief is one long title and a decent kid’s movie
Percy Jackson & The Olympians – The Lightning Thief Directed by Chris Columbus Starring Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Alexandria Daddario, Jake Abel, Uma Thurman, Joey Pantoliano, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson Screenplay by Craig Titley and Joe Stillman based on the Novel by Rick Riordan That this…
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Denzel Washington protects the integrity of The Book of Eli
The Book of Eli Directed by Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes Starring Denzel Washingon, Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Michael Gambon, Frances De La Tour, Tom Waits, Malcom McDowell Screenwriter Gary Whitta There seems to be a new apocalypse movie every season. I have reviewed 5 this year already. One would think this…
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Scorcese has an off night with Shutter Island
Shutter Island Director – Martin Scorcese Starring – Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Patricia Clarkson, Michelle Williams There is a scene almost 3/4 through Shutter Island where a bunch of Nazis who are being walked in a line by U.S. infantry and one of the prisoners breaks ranks and makes a run for it.…
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Mel Gibson is on the Edge of Darkness
Director: Martin Campbell Starring: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston Screenplay by: William Monahan, Andrew Bovell, Troy Kennedy Martin adapted from Martin’s BBC Series Mel Gibson has taken a lot of hits in the last five years. Not all of it unwarranted, but most of it has been. His big problem, he is a Christian,…
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Sherlock Holmes: No S#!t, But Close
Director: Guy Ritchie Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong Guy Ritchie’s specialty is slow motion fight scenes. Sherlock Holmes’ specialty is deductive reasoning. Downey’s specialty is acting. Put them all together, you have Sherlock Holmes as a professional boxer who solves mysteries while acting convincingly. I must admit to being less…
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2012 – Just when you thought the world had about ended…
For those of you who did not sense a pattern in Roland Emmerich’s repertoire, the guy likes to put his characters through a lot of permanently changing scenery. Starting small with the brainless blockbuster, “Universal Soldier,” he and his fellow auteur Dean Devlin convinced studios to allow them progressively bigger budgets for progressively bigger movies with progressively…
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In which there is plenty of “Fighting”
Channing Tatum seems like a model pretty boy, but after half an hour of Fighting, it is apparent he is a good fit for this type of movie. Playing a down on his luck college wrestler who is in NYC just looking for a break. Or, at least, looking to sell fake Harry Potter books. The movie…
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J.J. Abrams’ STAR TREK – One for the Ages
I was in absolutely no hurry to see Star Trek‘s 2009 reboot. In fact, it had been out for 3 weeks before I went to see it, really out of deference to the fact my friend Steve and I had seen all of the others since Star Trek 5 together in the theater. We had…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 