Ed's Review Dot Com

Canal+, Ciné+, EuropaCorp,

Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Forest Whitaker, Leland Orser, Jon Gries

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is back, as usual trying to mind his own business. He’s trying to be a good father to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who lives with her Mom Lenore (Famke Jannsen) and her Step Dad. But when Bryan gets a call to meet his ex-wife, he steps out for bagels, and comes home to find her in his bed with her throat cut, and all the evidence points to him. He has only a day or so to figure out who really killed his wife while he goes off the grid hiding from the police force and Detective Frank Dotzler (Forest Whitaker) who are out to bring him in. This is the third and final segment of the series, which has been a rip roaring action trilogy of the best kind.

Liam Neeson is an amazing action star. Truly I think he’s one of the best, which is surprising in a way, but he can surely keep up with others much younger than he is. He’s basically in one scrape after another throughout the whole movie, and every time it looks like there’s no way out, he finds a way. This has been an awesome trilogy, from the very first when his daughter was kidnapped while on an overseas trip, and through the second where his wife was kidnapped to draw him out again and an adventure all over the world. This one pretty much stays close to home, no one gets kidnapped, really, but the setup and payoff is really awesome. I suppose it will be pretty easy to tell who the real culprit is right off, but the plot is rather sticky anyway, and the action is non-stop throughout. But the addition of Forest Whittaker was brilliant. His character’s wit and wisdom up against the sly dog Bryan Mills is something to behold. It’s obvious that both men have a high regard for the abilities of the other, and each one is just a man of character trying to do the right thing. The violence and gore is pretty high for a PG-13 movie, but it is one excellent action piece. There is one moment where Frank and Bryan are talking to each other on the phone where Frank asks Bryan to step aside and let the police force do their job, and Bryan asks, “What is your primary objective?” Frank replies, “To capture him and bring him to justice”. Bryan’s response “Mine is to protect the only one I have left” is the clue that there’s going to be an extremely exciting finish to the story! However, they threw in a really nasty hint of a sequel, so we’ll see if they’re going to really continue the story or not. I’d say it’s a coin flip which way it’s going to go.

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Screen Gems, Will Packer Productions,

Taraji P. Henson, Idris Elba, Leslie Bibb, Kate del Castillo, Henry Simmons

Colin (Idris Elba) is a violent prisoner, denied parole one more time, but when he breaks out of prison, he heads first to his wife’s home, but when he knocks on Terri’s (Taraji P Henson) door claiming that he had an accident in the pouring rain and asking to use the phone, Terri decides to let him in where she’s alone with her two children. Terri’s husband is away, and inviting this kind, gentle, and very handsome fellow in to wait for the tow truck while she flirts a little and gets some much needed attention may be the biggest mistake in her life. He terrorizes everyone as Terri tries to figure out why he’s gotta be so mean.

This is a fairly decent home invasion robbery with a bit of a twist in the end that I didn’t see coming. Looking back, I probably should have. The suspense and terror is there, but it’s not exactly a new concept. There have certainly been a lot of home invasion stories in the last few years, and this is one of them. Though not extremely original, it still is pretty well done. The main difference in 2014 is that women aren’t the helpless victims anymore. They have to be tough and ready to fight to protect their home and family, without a man around to help, and pull a superhero effort. Pity the poor woman who isn’t ready to fight like Liam Neeson these days. Taraji is surely the tough superwoman here and she’s not going to go down whining. Lots of superb suspense and terror are built up here, and the ending wasn’t half bad either. Naturally anyone in a uniform is going to be fat, dumb, stupid, or clueless, and they fall like flies, while this woman and her kids are invincible. If I sound bitter, I guess I’m a bit old fashioned and I am used to my women a little bit softer in my movies, but hey, it’s a new world these days. This is a bit of a run of the mill home invasion thriller, but it’s so well done, that you’ll probably enjoy it. If you like the edge of your seat experience, you can do much worse than this film, so give it a shot.

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Red Granite Pictures, Mandalay Pictures,

Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Max Minghella, Joe Anderson, Kelli Garner, Heather Graham, David Morse, Kathleen Quinlan, James Remar

Ig Parrish (Daniel Radcliffe) has been in love with Merrin Williams (Juno Temple) since they were children. Noww Ig is prepared to ask her to marry him, but suddenly she turns up brutally murdered, and everyone in town seems to think he is the killer. To make matters worse “horns” begin growing on his forehead and everyone seems more than willing to confess their deepest and darkest sins ever since. It appears Ig is doomed unless he can somehow use this bizarre situation to determine who really killed Merrin, or if he did actually do it an can’t remember, before it’s too late.

People seem to have a love/hate relationship with this film. Either it’s extremely loved or wildly hated. I think perhaps the haters just don’t get it or don’t get the point of the story. This story is definitely not intended to be taken literally, nor can it be watched as a mystery/thriller with the expectation that normal things are going to happen. This is more of an allegory, or a way to look at issues that haunt or torture us. In normal thrillers, people do not grow horns that only certain people can see. If you try to take this film literally, you’ll go nuts. But this story is presented, like most fairy tales, as if it were real, so you have to suspend the disbelief at the premise, but simply accept that this happened, and enjoy the ride. Daniel Radcliffe did an excellent job with this role, and went through many metamorphoses along the way, not only in physical appearance, but emotionally.

The look of this movie is excellent, it’s very creepy. The suspense level is very high, and there’s quite a bit of blood and pain. The two main actors, Daniel and Juno are excellent, and the dialog is pretty good. It’s one of those films that you have to sit back and think about. I must admit, I really enjoyed it quite a bit, and I’m glad I passed on my instinct that this would be silly, and gave it a try.

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Stage 6 Films, Manis Film, Breaking Ball Films,

Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, Donald Sutherland, Christopher Heyerdahl

Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) is a small town detective in Canada. Things are not too exciting there and she hasn’t had much to do lately, but when a killer starts leaving gruesome scenes all around the countryside, Hazel is convinced there is more to it than just random killings. With some help, she sets out to solve the crimes and search for the person behind all the horror.

This is a familiar story. It has Fargo written all over it, in fact. Same setting, same female detective trying to stop the killings, same quiet backwoods country town. Yes, this definitely has Fargo written all over it. But on the other hand, also has Susan Sarandon in it. She is really very good, as always, in this role. It is a simple little serial killer flick and “The Calling” has a very specific special meaning here, which you will learn as you watch it. All in all, it’s quite suspenseful, loads of fun to watch Ms. Sarandon nail this character, and though it’s quite suspenseful, it’s all in good humor and a pleasure to watch. Certainly points get knocked off for the obvious stolen material, but the setting is beautiful, the acting is top notch, and it’s an enjoyable film. I enjoyed it, and found it was quite enjoyable, and I can recommend this movie for a great evening watching a crime drama on the couch.

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Hannibal Pictures, Marco Polo Production, Patriot Pictures,

Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare, Danny Glover

Paul Maguire (Nicholas Cage) is now a respectable good citizen, but he has a very, very violent past. When his daughter turns up missing with no clue, Paul sets out to find her at all costs, even if it means getting his old gang back together to take on the biggest criminals in the city to get to the bottom of the story.

A new Nicholas Cage film popped up in my “recommended films” and I had never heard of this one. I streamed it just to see what it was all about. I was rather caught by surprise. This is, on one hand, a typical Nicholas Cage “bad-ass film” where he bites off his words and wreaks some havoc on some pretty evil characters, just like in the GhostRider films. But on the other hand there was a great deal of sophistication in the twists and turns as this film unwinds. Cage was actually really well suited for this role, and he did a really good job. The sorrow and pain that he can show, along with the extreme anger and violence, and the way he can switch back and forth in a second, was really grabbing. There is a lot of suspense as we work along with him to determine where his daughter went, and why she hasn’t come back home yet. The surprises are real, and the twists and turns keep you going. All in all this was a rather enjoyable time getting pulled into this mystery and trying to figure out the truth. I must say I enjoyed it.

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