It seems like ages that a movie featuring a good cunning tale has unraveled on the big screen and I’m happy to say Thin Ice fits the bill. A smartly written well-acted story with so many twists and turns I found myself wondering, “How did I not see that coming� It’s a deceiving, manipulative and funny film played out in a quick tempo that kept me spellbound throughout.
If you like your movies with constant action from beginning to end, then go and check out Safe House, a thrill a minute. As a matter of fact, Ryan Reynolds has successfully crossed the line between comedy and drama with a performance like he has never delivered. If all of a sudden you get an epiphany on where the film’s going, not to worry, the predictability even has some enjoyable twists and turns.
Exciting, terrifying, intriguing and thrilling The Grey provides a stunning entry in the erratic first month of the year. Good acting all around, electrifying cinematography and able direction keeps the film moving and entertaining. If you like a white-knuckle panic film that challenges your worst fears, The Grey will have you in its snarling teeth.
You have to really dig deep to find a perfect performance in A Dangerous Method, unfortunately there isn’t a big cast from which to choose, Keira Knightley over acts, Viggo Mortensen very dull and Fassbender a little distant. Disguised as a biography, it’s more of a blip on an electroencephalograph in the life of some noted psychoanalysts.
Bizarre and yet a tasty morsel, Carnage is one of those ‘fly on the wall’ films where in this case you get to watch the decay of one’s social skills and can laugh without them hearing you. It’s four stellar actors in a room with a very wacky script and a tall order of ego, all moving in opposite directions over a simple solution.
I can see why Contraband has been set for release in January, with December being action/adventure month this gem would have been buried in their dust. And that would have been a shame, because this gritty story has a lot going for it. With non-stop thrills, chills and spills this film entertains big time.
The British movie Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is not for everyone. It’s a mind-numbing film for audiences that crave an involving storyline, can deal with British accents and are into the underpinning of espionage that fueled The Cold War in the 1970’s. I am not a big fan of films like this one, but those who are into author John le Carre’s The Constant Gardner, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold and The Tailor of Panama will eat this one up like good ice cream.
The mystery and suspense in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo gets menacing giving audiences an unsuspected thriller. I liked this version over the foreign release of the movie in 2010 because it’s in English, has Daniel Craig and the story moves along as it should, unencumbered by faulty direction. For those who like a good detective drama with a lot of action, see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Take two aspirins and go to bed, a great remedy for Young Adult, an over stated understatement that never gets entertaining. Billed as a comedy, the more the cast tries to make it one, the lesser it becomes. If you like a film with angst riddled plot, underdeveloped characters and only one very good performance than you are the only demographic for this film.
When you think of Butch Cassidy we immediately add ‘and the Sundance Kid’, but if you saw the original movie you know that the two died in a break to freedom in Bolivia. But, what if Butch lived and escaped his untimely death? This is the premise of the film Blackthorn starring Sam Shepard. The movie is interesting, but a little too far fetched for me to handle.