Change Your Image
bluey71
Reviews
The Bank Job (2008)
Better than Most
I recommend this movie.
The movie has a well thought out plot. It moves at a good pace that leaves you interested with the actual events in the film.
The acting was well done. Jason Statham continues to be one of todays most under-appreciated and underrated actors. Yes, he does do some questionable action movies, but when you put him in a role where one actually needs to "act", he never disappoints.
The dialog was "catchy" but still believable. The characters in this movie are believable in their "sinister" ways or their "everyday joe" kind of ways. You really do end up hating certain individuals and loving others. There are so many interesting characters that have an interest in the bank heist that you really do want to know how it all ends.
There was no unnecessary violence just for the sake of violence and yet at points, it felt like an action thriller.
In the end, this is a movie with a great plot, great characters, good dialog and an ending with no holes. AND this movie is missing the Hollywood "over the top" quality that has a tendency to ruin most movies.
Definitely worth seeing.
Never Back Down (2008)
I'm a sucker for martial arts films but...
There are some elements of this movie that could have made it great BUT this movie also contained the elements that typically make a movie bad.
Overall, the fight scenes were done well, but some of the fighters themselves were just so stereotypical. The punk rock fighter with the prerequisite mohawk, the break dancing gangsta, the... you get my point.
The main characters themselves were so...predictable. The clean cut farm boy from Iowa...the poor girl who became popular by dating the uber-rich, model looking dude who happens to be your typical highshcool jerk. Oh, did i mention he's also the 'bad guy' who can kick anyone's ass.
The struggling single mother...the overly loving well intentioned little brother...the comedic & goofy looking best friend who isn't good at fighting...the brooding mentor with a past that he wants to forget...the...OK, i'll stop.
The acting isn't bad and the dialog is somewhat believable. It's the characters that actors are asked to portray...they're just so typical.
The plot is....well, the plot is karate kid, for kids of the 2000's not the 80's.
This movie is not worth seeing in the theater. It's maybe worth a rental (only if everything else is rented). But if you happen to see it on HBO, tivo it and watch it when you have absolutely nothing else to do.
...but i am a sucker for martial arts films.
10,000 BC (2008)
an awful movie
The plot is ridiculous. It almost tries to be a "family version" of Apocolypto but fails miserably. As the storyline progressed, it just got worse and worse and my yearning for the exit was getting hard to fight.
The dialog was reminiscent of the Star Wars prequels. The kind of dialog where you tell yourself "people don't have conversations like this".
The acting left me embarrassed for the actors. Although they are limited by the script, the actors can't convince you that anything in this movie could possibly be real. They also fail in making you care about any of them at all.
The special effects did not come close to redeeming this movie. The fight scenes were laughable. The mammoths and saber tooth tigers shown so exclusively in the trailers barely exist at all in the movie.
I also found it amusing the "bad guys" looked like Arabs and the 'prophecized savior' was a white woman with blue eyes. LOL
I wanted to leave around 20 to 30 minutes into the movie. It's terrible. I stuck to the end just to see how bad this movie could possibly be...and it's bad, real bad.
Vantage Point (2008)
this movie format is NOT for everyone
Overall, I enjoyed this movie.
You are forced to watch what is basically a "short film" through the eyes of different characters. You know what is eventually coming every time but the details are different each time. With each point of view, you are able to put more pieces together and figure out what is really going on.
The actors in each point of view did a great job. I was satisfied with the acting and dialog. The action sequences were well done and believable. No over the top nonsensical violence. Just enough action to tell the story.
There were some people in the audience who did not appreciate watching what they believed to be the same thing over and over again. But each telling of the actual event is different from each other. Different motivation, attitude, and goals.
This is not your typical action movie and i actually thought it was a breath of fresh air in the way they chose to present their story. It's not perfect but better than your average Hollywood "good guys vs bad guys" flick.
If you're looking for a linear nonstop shoot em up thriller, this movie is not for you.
BUT
If you're looking for something different that will challenge you to figure out what is going on and who is responsible for what; then give this movie a chance.