Bangkok Dangerous: Elephant Trunk

Official Site: www.bangkokdangerousmovie.net

Director: Oxide Pang Chung, and Danny Pang

Writers: Jason Richman, and Oxide Pang Chung

Producers: Nicolas Cage, Norman Golightly, William Sherak, Jason Shuman, 

Starring: Nicolas Cage as Joe, Shahkrit Yamnarm as Kong, Panward Hammanee as Aom, and Nirattisai Kaljaruek as Surat(IMDb). Rated-R, 99min. 

Joe is a hired assassin  who is a strict observer of the code which includes not being emotionally intimate with anyone, but this cold and calculating assassin's heart was softened by a pharmacists and a hustler who believed that ultimately he was a good guy. The relationship he developed with the hustler and pharmacists will determine the outcome of his life in the long run. 

Joe was a complex character who had insightful ideas relating to his line of work. Humans can become different species, so it is important to explore the society if  a person in his line of work wanted to develop a keen sense of the people in that particular society. Joe's sense of duty was clearly explained through his autobiographical narrative, and the preceding sentence his an example of that. At some point in the movie joe became pliable, but and incident with his love interest caused him to relapse into callousness. 

The action in this film was slow and methodical rather than fast pace and ostentatious, but it was acute. The action scenes had to be constructed in this manner because Joe was very slow and methodical and not fast paced and ostentatious. More than an action movie, this film had an emotionality that was  adequate without overpowering the action. The texture of this film seemed just right. This was an enjoyable action drama. According to  Metacritic.com, the film received generally bad reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted it 4 fresh tomatoes to  37 rotten ones. I disagree with the bad reviews. This movie fits between a B- and C+. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com. 

Traitor: Man Of Faith

Official Site: www.traitor-themovie.com
Director: Jeffrey Machmanoff
Writers: Jeffrey Machmanoff and Steve Martin

Producers: Don Cheadle, David Hoberman, Kay Liberman, Todd Lieberman, Chris McGurk, Danny Rossett, and Jeffrey Silver.  

Starring: Don Cheadle as Samir Horn, Guy Pearce as Roy Clayton, Said Tghmaoui as Omar, Neal Mcdonough as Max Archer, Aly Khan as Fareed, Archi Panjabi as Chandra Dawkin(IMDb). Rated-PG13. 114min. 

Don Cheadle was convincing as Samir. He played that character with a questionably ethical tranquil seriousness that induced a belief that he was cold and calculating, but with a perceived legitimate political cause, noted  through thoughtful, and philosophical political dialogue that raises questions about the nature of terrorism in conjunction with authentic perspectives that can be labeled as controversial or distorted from the viewpoint of the the terrorists. As the ultimate plot of the terrorists developed, the film shows how almost anyone in America could be a terrorists covertly. Some could see this as propaganda for government to implement domestic policies that could affect how Americans use transportation. This element of the film did not appear to be in support of such policies, but neither was the film in opposition to such policies either.  

The acting in this film was official from all actors, but Guy Pearce's performance as the persistent noble law enforcer was commendable in my opinion. His character was strong and fair. Overall the story was awesome. The plot was sophisticated but clear. The aim of the film was understandable without mitigating its complexity in reference to the dialogue, the details of the terrorist plan, and Samir's relationship with the terrorists. According to Metacritic.com, the film received generally mixed reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 53 fresh tomatoes to 47 rotten ones thus far. This movie gets a B-. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com.  

Babylon A.D: Aurora

Official Site: www.babylonadmovie.com

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

Writers: Eric Basnard, and Maurice G. Dantec

Producers: Alain Goldman, and Mathieu Kassovitz

Starring: Vin Diesel As Toorop, Michelle Yeoh as Sister Rebeka, Melanie Thierry as Aurora, and Charlotte Rampling as High Priestess(IMDb). Rated Pg-13, 90min. 

Toorop is eating his dinner and he is interrupted by highly weaponized men in black who capture him to meet a mob boss who recruits him to transport a girl to the united States who is of great importance to a religious group's (Neolite) high priestess. While transporting the girl Toorop discovers her true identity. 

Considering my  attitude before watching this film, the advertisement was not misleading. This film was advertised as an action film, and an action film is what I saw.  The action sequences were not groundbreaking, but they were entertaining, and Vin Diesel did well in his usual role as a "bad ass". It seems like the dialogue was centered around him. 

The story was great but the plot fell apart all the way at the end, and that is the point the movie's potential became non-existent. The ending was anti-climactic, inclusively, the entire falling action was a car chase that did not lead to an impressive ending, and it was an ending that left major aspects of the story unresolved. Regardless of the troubles the story and the plot had at the end of the film, if you wanted to see an action movie you got one. According to metacritic.com the film received generally bad reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com gave the film 2 fresh tomatoes to 38 rotten ones thus far. I' ll grade this movie a C-. Stay Tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com.     

 

Mirrors: Right Back At Ya

Official Site: Mirrorsmovie.com

Director:  Alexandre Aja 

Writer(s):  Alexandre Aja, and Gregory Levasseur 

Producers(s): Alexandre Aja, Gregory Levasseur, Alaxandra Milchan, Marc Sternberg, and Moritz Von De Groebon. 

Starring: Kiefer Sutherland as Ben Carson, Paula Patton as Amy Carson, Cameron Boyce as Michael Carson, Erica Gluck as Daisy Carson, Amy Smart as Angela Carson, and Mary Beth Peil as Anna Esseker(IMDb). Rated-R, 110min.  

Ben Carson is a retired cop suffering from post trauma as a result of shooting a man. His family life is not healthy because his struggling marriage is marked by a wife who does not answer or return his phone calls to see his kids. Life seems to be headed in a positive direction when Ben began a new job as a security guard patrolling a burnt dilapidated building working the night shift. During his employment, he witnessed something that would ultimately pose a threat to him and his family. 

This film had an interesting story, and  the film presented the story well especially the way it was delivered through the pace. There was no lag in the film, and that kept Carson's search engaging, and enticing. There was so much detective work in this film, it could be categorized as a detective horror story. Carson really digs deep to solve the mystery of Anna Esseker who is linked to the mirror phenomena. 

Unexpectedly, this film was good, however I thought part of the ending was not well defined. The final confrontation in the falling action left me dissatisfied because the confrontation was not consummated through a well formed explanation, regardless though, the final scene in the movie was neat. According to Metacritic.com, this remake generally received bad reviews, and according to Rottentomatoes.com the film received 7 fresh tomatoes to 39 rotten ones. The reviews seem a little harsh; this film was not that bad. I will grade it a C+. Stay tuned Movieporioum.blogspot.com.  

Death Race: Oatmeal

Official Site: DeathRaceMovie.Net

Director: Paul W.S Anderson

Writer(s): Paul W.S Anderson

Producer(s): Paul W.S Anderson, Jeremy Bolt, Roger Corman, Tom Criuse, and Paula Wagner.

Starring: Jason Statham as Jensen Ames, Joan Allen as Hennessey, Tyrese Gibson as Machine Gun Joe, Ian Mcshane as Coach, Natalie Martinez as Case, Max Ryan as Pachenko, Jacob Vargas as Gunner, Jason Clarke as Ulrich, and Robin Shou as 14k(IMDb). Rated-R, 98min. 

The year is 2012 and the U.S economy has collapsed and most people are poor, and the former race car driver Jensen Ames is no exception. A factory closure has left Jensen Ames unemployed with only $300 to take home, but his beautiful wife is optimistic that they can stretch a dollar to make ends meet, but she does not stay alive long enough so her optimism can help her an her husband endure harsh economic times. Jensen is falsely convicted for his wife's murder. While serving his sentence he is recruited to compete in a race by Hennessey, who guaranteed him that after his 5th win, he would earn his freedom. During his time in prison, Jensen observed a clue that enabled him to conclude who his wife's murderer was.  

This action feature did not disappoint in delivering what it advertised. I went to see an action movie, and I got an action movie. The action scenes were not that original, but they were very well crafted and entertaining. The casting was great; Statham, and Gibson were awesome in their role, and the support cast was awesome as well.  

The story was good but the plot was predictable, but the predictable plot did not take away from the entertainment value of the film, very predictable, but very entertaining. The movie watchers were pleased as they cheered during certain scenes in the theater that I attended. According to Metacritic.com the film received mixed reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 37 fresh tomatoes to 57 rotten ones. This was very entertaining; this film gets a C+. Stay tuned, Movieporium.blogspot.com.