Archive for the Tag 'action'

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES – Reviewed by David

Black Hawk Down meets Independence Day in Battle: Los Angeles, an entertainingly gung-ho alien-invasion epic starring Aaron Eckhart and Michelle Rodriguez that practically doubles as a military recruitment film.

I AM NUMBER FOUR – Reviewed by David

Michael Bay was originally going to direct I Am Number Four, but he passed, and the job went to D.J. Caruso. Good thing, too, because in Bay’s hands this sci-fi action flick would probably have been a bombastic mess, whereas the director of Disturbia and Eagle Eye makes it into a thoroughly entertaining mix of [...]

THE MECHANIC – Reviewed by David

It may share the same plot and title, but this souped-up remake of the 1972 Charles Bronson/Jan-Michael Vincent thriller The Mechanic is really just another excuse for action star Jason Statham to shoot guns and kick butt, albeit one that director Simon West (Con Air) shoots and edits with energetic efficiency.

THE GREEN HORNET – Reviewed by David

Mind-bending indie director Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep) proves so capable at crafting crackling action sequences in the $120 million big-screen version of The Green Hornet that it’s a shame star Seth Rogen had to go and ruin the rest of the movie.

TRON: LEGACY – Reviewed by David

I was about 10 years old when the original Tron hit theaters in 1982, so I have a certain fondness for it. It just looked so cool, with the Light Cycle races and giant ships, rendered via very early computer graphics, and the actors clad in glowing costumes with glowing Frisbees strapped [...]

THE TOURIST – Reviewed by David

I would have to agree with the theory that Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie were nominated for Golden Globes for their performances in the critically-maligned The Tourist because the foreign press just wanted them at the ceremony, as the film more than lives up to its reputation as a preposterous piece of international [...]

SKYLINE – Reviewed by David

Running and reacting is the name of the game in Skyline, an alien invasion flick directed by the Brothers Strause (Alien vs. Predator: Requiem) that features impressive effects, annoying characters and makes the similarly-themed Battle: LA look like Shakespeare.
Like that movie, it’s set in L.A., but instead of focusing on a pack of soldiers, it [...]

FASTER – Reviewed by David

Its title makes it sound like the latest installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise, but Faster is actually a stylish and surprisingly good revenge thriller starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (who coincidentally appears in the fifth F&F entry next month) and Billy Bob Thornton that looks and feels a little like film [...]

UNSTOPPABLE – Reviewed by David

Having already done the underground train thing with their remake of The Taking of Pelham 123, Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott move above ground with Unstoppable, a rousing runaway train thriller co-starring Chris Pine that barrels right along and barely brakes for nuance.

RED – Reviewed by Will

It takes a while for RED get around to explaining its title, but it won’t spoil anything if I tell you it’s an acronym: “Retired, Extremely Dangerous.” This tag is specifically applied to Bruce Willis, who plays former CIA operative Frank Moses, and more generally to the motley (and all-star) assortment [...]

Next Page »