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.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Canal+, Ciné+, EuropaCorp,

Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Analeigh Tipton, Amr Waked

Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is kind of a loose cannon. As the film starts she’s forced to deliver a briefcase with unknown contacts to a high power drug syndicate boss. But things go awry quickly as Lucy soon discovers it’s a substance that will enable you to grow in brain power and develop some amazing abilities. Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) is a professor/scientist who has been studying brain power for years, so Lucy calls on him to explain what is happening to her and to find a way to save her.

I feel really bad calling this a science-fiction film. It’s not. It’s more like a fairy tale. The science in this film is flawed. It’s based on the fallacy that we only use 10% of our brain, and what might happen if we suddenly could use 100%. From there on, it’s pretty silly. The recent film that it sort of reminds me of is Johnny Depp’s “Trancendence”. But this has some things that the other doesn’t have. There is some real action sequences in this film. It was FUN to watch. There’s the obligatory Asian henchman bad guy with his gang of Kung Fu baddies. Lucy knows how to take care of herself though. Basically, this is simply fun. It’s like watching the X-Men or Spiderman or some other superhero movie, but Lucy is such an unlikely superhero. From the very beginning on, though, she takes on a roller-coaster ride. If you try to follow the scientific explanations, you’re going to hate this, so watch it as fantasy and enjoy the action packed, rip roaring action film. I have to admit, I find myself ashamed that I enjoyed this as much as I did. I know that most poeple may find it a little over the top, but I thought it was lots of fun. I’d say to just enjoy it for what it is, flaws and all.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Gaumont, Screen Australia, Ciné@,

Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville, Ben Mendelsohn, Sophie Lowe, Jessica Tovey, Gary Sweet, Alyson Standen, Skye Sutherland, Sarah Henderson

Two friends, Lil (Naomi Watts) and Roz (Robin Wright) live beside with their young sons on the sea coast in Australia. They have been friends through their whole lives. The boys are also very good friends. One is single, the other married to a man who is distant and not present most of the time. He wants to move to the mainland but his wife rejects moving with him in lieu of staying with her friend which leads people to think they are a couple. But far from it, an affair starts between the two mothers and each others sons. This, of course, requires extreme secrecy, even between the two friends until one of the sons wants to get married, and things start falling apart sending shock waves through the entire community.

This is a rather useless film. There is drama and fighting, and lots of screaming, but there’s no real point to it. The movie doesn’t take a side on this kind of behavior, but rather just gives us the attitude of “it is what it is”. To say I was shocked by this film is not true, but at the same time, I was not disgusted either. Disappointed, perhaps, is a better term. These people are acting stupidly and hiding it makes things much worse. I just was not into this movie, and found it a little off-putting. I’m not sure why it was made, but it did not have anything really that could keep my interest. It was like watching the Jerry Springer Show. You know the people are acting badly for the cameras and it really can’t shock us anymore. So pass this one by. It’s not worth it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog