In this suspense chilling investigation, two detectives, a veteran, William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and rookie David Mills (Brad Pitt) are investigating a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sin as his modus operandi. This film comes with an incredible chase, huge climax and some uncomfortable moments. The murders are in ways you can not imagine so prepare your self for a heavy crime story. Gwyneth Paltrow is David Mills’ wife and Kevin Spacey also stars, Kevin Spacey’s name is no where to be seen on my dvd case, nor IMDB first cast page but you won’t miss him!
The chase is incredibly nerving and thrilling. The start may seem slow paced and tame but it is filled with build up of iconic inspection in the dark with torch lights; an inspection of a suspects apartment is very chilling. You want to ask how each murder was done, how did it happen. Soon afterwards you wonder why you asked, and it is the same with each one! This movie is very clever and well paced.
Michael Douglas (as Dan Gallagher) and Glen Close (as Alex Forrest) star in this thriller from the late 1980’s. The one with the “bunny boiler” in it! This movie starts out like most with an innocent beginning when their paths cross at a party. He is a lawyer with a wife and kid, she is a professional single woman. Glen Close is not particularly attractive in my opinion but the two of them have a connection (they fancy each other) and before you know it they are having dinner together because his wife is away so they spend the night together (as you do?). She changes herself from this person who is sexy and confident and who understands the rules to someone who is pathetic, attention seeking and psychopathic. Glen Close certainly gives you value for your money. She is actually extremely good at being evil. I’m sure she gave me nightmares back in the 80’s! Michael Douglas is also on top form in this raunchy thriller. The ending is not to be missed. Fatal Attraction IMDB
Psychological murder mystery thriller set in San Francisco, California. Basic Instinct crosses sexual boundaries in film making in that it is extremely explicit. Michael Douglas plays Nick Curran, the Detective who is investigating the murder of a rock star with an ice pick. Sharon Stone is Catherine Tramell, she is a murder mystery writer who has written about a murder with an ice pick and therefore she has given herself the perfect alibi – “I’d have to be pretty stupid to write a book about killing and then kill him the way I described in my book. I’d be announcing myself as the killer. I’m not stupid. “. However, she was the last person known to be in contact with the victim. Jeanne Tripplehorn also stars as the Psychologist who is helping Nick to overcome his alcoholism and itchy trigger finger.
The music is haunting and the winding roads round the coast to Catherine’s beach house make your spine go all tingly. The chemistry between Douglas and Stone in this movie is electric and charged with sexual tension. It is gripping in suspense and the script is exceptionally strong. Every time Stone appears on the set you fall for her charm. You get sucked in. You will try to find the clues but the movie is too clever for you!
IMDB Basic Instinct
Matt Damon is Chief Roy Miller, an American Army Team Leader in the Iraq war. His team’s job is to use intelligence sources to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Each site is empty and intelligence deemed false. Miller is angry at the time and effort wasted. When Miller finds a note book and a journalist he begins to investigate. The Green zone is the central area of Bagdad that was the government centre for the Iraq coalition. This area has been taken by Americans as America try to manufacture democracy.
The story takes a few twists and turns and is engaging. Unfortunately the ending action is bloated and drags on. Paul Greengrass is using his usual camera techniques that drive me crazy. We found that the effect of running everywhere with the camera man severely hampered our enjoyment of this film. Not only could we find ourselves infront of Matt Damon in the corridor and a second later behind him and a couple of seconds later right beside him which was confusing enough, we had to work out through the screaming of frightened Iraqis the machine gun fire and helicopter noise, who was shot and where we are. Yes ok if you want to experience war like it is first hand but in that case I would play Call of Duty on my Xbox.
IMDB Green Zone
Set of three films based on the character of Jason Bourne played by Matt Damon, which are; The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy and the Bourne Ultimatum.
The Bourne Identity is the most thoughtful and well executed film I have seen in a long time and has shot right up to one of our favourites together with the theme music and Matt Damon himself. (welcome to the elite Matt) The other two films therefore are a continuation of his struggle against the secret agency that hired him in the beginning that insist on tying loose ends and finishing him off! But really because we cannot get enough of Jason Bourne.
In the beginning, in The Bourne Identity, he is a special agent with all the training but has lost his memory on a mission and he is left for dead floating at sea. He is rescued and sets off on a quest to find out who he really is and what he was doing when he got “killed” as he still has all his training and faculties in place together with the help of a young lady. The identity thing is an unusual crisis for a secret agent film, there are many flashbacks and he has some information in the form of passports from all different nations with different identities and a bag of goodies to help him get want he needs. He is able to use his ingenuity to slip out of a country and into another one and piece it all together while at the same time evading his own mortality as the agency want him destroyed. He has to be resourceful, cunning, clever, and determined. Matt Damon owns this part there is no doubt about it! He is Bourne. He is our action man. We liked the interaction with the female he is in league with in this film as his character was more real and vulnerable with her around to worry about.
The Bourne Supremacy starts where the Bourne Identity left us, “You tell them Jason Bourne is dead. I swear to God if I even feel somebody behind me, there is no measure to how hard and how fast I will bring this fight to your doorstep.” and we learn more about the initial team and what he was trained to do. There is a new director for this film who also directs the Bourne Ultimatum after it and it seems that the camera man is actually running with the camera and you are forced to look at what he is looking at which tends to make me sick. There is a lot of chasing and fighting in this film and not so much careful thought gone into the plot so all round without a girlie to look after too much giddy camera and too much whacking it did not rate as highly as the first film.
The Bourne Ultimatum claws back it’s acclaim as careful thought has gone into the storytelling. So once again I am back on the edge of the sofa praying that he escapes by the skin of his teeth. I loved the twists in the story. I did get all excited and I did punch the air (very rare I can assure you). There were roof-top chases which were well choreographed scenes. Next time I go into a packed railway station I will be looking out for the places I can hide and the things I can do to avoid detection (nah not really, tempting though it is). We love you in this movie Matt Damon and we were singing the theme with the credits and wondering if you will ever come back again in the future? IMDB The Bourne Identity IMDB The Bourne Supremacy IMDB The Bourne Ultimatum
This is actually a line up of Stephen Baldwin (Alec Baldwin’s brother), Gabriel Byrne, Benicio Del Toro (License to Kill, Bond film), Kevin Pollak and Kevin Spacey – see picture below. These are the usual suspects because they are all hardened and notorious criminals except for Spacey who plays Roger “Verbal” Kint, a cripple who has defrauded people. Fortunately by happy co-incidence in bringing these fellas together in a fairly bad mood means that they are ready for some pay back time on the police. They plan and execute a crime from their shared cell while awaiting to be charged which sets the ball rolling for all of them to part-take in another crime but this one will be one of certain death with huge money stakes involved and they have no choice but to agree. This tale is rather chilling in that the man behind everything is somebody akin to the devil.
To sum up, the actual hopping around from past to present disturbs your concentration of the facts from the very beginning. I was always asking myself are we in the now? The very first scene is the most important part of the film so pay attention to get a head start. A clever plot and some extremely good acting, particularly Kevin Spacey who won an Oscar. The mood was just right. We enjoyed this film.
IMDB The Usual Suspects
17 year old Kim (Maggie Grace), daughter to a government security preventer Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), goes on holiday to Paris with a Friend to a cousins house. With her Dad’s permission, he takes her to the airport and asks her to ring upon landing, ring each night and to let him know the address of where she is staying. Upon landing in France, she and her friend meet a french boy, they share a taxi as it is cheaper and invites them to a party. They inform him that they are own their own. They get kidnapped. The state starts looking for him after his destructive investigation. He will “pull down the eiffel tower” if needs be.
The kidnapping is done as if it is presented on a plate. After they get kidnapped, the pace of the film is fast, which is great it is 93 minutes long. While the action is initially good in the first half, the climax action is too video gamey, walking into a room and take everyone out style. It also becomes more of a hitman scenario as he kills on the way. At one point he gets into the “house” where the Albanians are, finds him self with Marko and manages to take them all out. Although cringeworthy, was done like a cheesey Bond.
The best bit was when Liam Neeson is in the crime scene and he reconstructs the kidnapping. It really hits home that she has been Taken. Being a fan of Liam Neeson (from Schindler’s list) I am disappointed but there were moments. Although the beginning is never engaging, you are meant to feel Liam Neeson as a boring Father.
IMDB Taken
Christian Bale works himself up into a frenzy in this psychological thriller/mystery. There is seriously something wrong with him, he cannot eat, he cannot sleep and he cannot remember. He has to resort to writing everything down on post-its in order to carry on a normal enough life to exist. He works in a factory with a bunch of guys and nobody likes him very much, lets just say he doesn’t have “friends”. As the movie progresses, he gets weirder, you will him out of his madness, but most shocking is the anorexic state that Bale has got himself into in order to make this film! There are a few red herrings but pay attention to detail it all adds up in the end. Summing up the film was dingy on the grey scale and dirgy like a day’s work in a lathe factory.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are freshly appointed State Police fighting organised crime not merely City cops. One of them will be asked to become an undercover cop, the “rat” in the crime gang. The other works for the police but is tipping off the crime lord, the “mole” in the police force. Although they are aware of each other the trouble is that they don’t know who they are after. Each has to blow the other’s cover to ensure their own cover is safe. Jack Nicholson plays the crime lord extremely well this is a role that he probably spends a lot of time getting into character and stays like it for days and Vera Farmiga plays the love interest between the two cops nice choice. Fast paced action movie high on emotion. There is no complicated plot however it is tense and well thought out. So apart from the intro’s childish dialogue and the cringeworthy Mark Wahlberg‘s potty mouth this was an excellent maffiosa film from Scorsese and we enjoyed it! One of my favourite films.
This film gets you on the Island and seriously messes with your mind. A patient is missing from the mental institute on an island. Leonardo DiCaprio, a federal marshal, is sent to investigate and find the missing patient. As soon as he arrives you want DiCaprio to get off the Island….but there is a storm and the ferry will not be arriving. Spine chilling, thrilling and gripping. Solid performance from Leonardo DiCaprio as expected and good casting of Ben Kingsley as the Psychiatric doctor. We felt it made an impact on us – need a shrink!
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Written by Hilary Gonen and Tim Volonakis.
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