Men in Black 3 (2012)

Genre

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Director

Barry Sonnenfeld

Country

USA

Cast

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Alice Eve, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mike Colter, Nicole Scherzinger, Michael Chernus, David Rasche, Will Arnett, Keone Young, Bill Hader, Lady Gaga, Tim Burton, Anthony J. Gallo, Lenny Venito, Rick Baker, David Pittu, Lanny Flaherty, Cayen Martin

Storyline

When Agent K's life (Tommy Lee Jones) and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J (Will Smith) will have to travel back in time to put things right.

Opinion

Fifthteen years later, with the help of Josh Brolin, they've finally managed to make a proper sequel to Men in Black. 

Funny and entertaining, Men in Black 3 is a great improvement over the disappointing and poor second installment.

Once again we'll find ourselves spending some time with Agent J and Agent K - and their younger selves -, but this time the story is more intelligent and well-designed. The writing is very good overall. 

The film deals with the spatiotemporal theme in a clean, and cheerful way, without becoming too heavy. The dialogue is mostly funny with sparks of deepness. The villain, Boris the Animal, is by far better than Serleena, the previous film's villain. And the introduction of Giffin, the clairvoyant alien, is just brilliant.

The acting is good. Will Smith does his job pretty good, he makes us laugh, and has a great chemistry both with Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin. Jones has a more marginal role this time but still does a good job. What can I say about Brolin, let me see... He does a perfect Tommy Lee Jones. If time travelling was an actual thing, I would think Jones and Brolin were the same person. Jemaine Clement does a really good job as Boris the Animal. Alice Even does not bear comparison with Emma Thompson, and Nicole Scherzinger does nothing more than looking like a cheap hooker. 

Quotes

Agent K: Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to.

Men in Black II (2002)

Genre

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi

Director

Barry Sonnenfeld

Country

USA

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Rip Torn, Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson, Tony Shalhoub, Patrick Warburton, Jack Kehler, David Cross, Colombe Jacobsen, John Alexander, Michael Jackson, Peter Graves, Tim Blaney, Nick Cannon

Storyline

Agent Jay (Will Smith) has become a high-ranking member of the Men in Black, while his former cohort, Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), had his memory wiped clean and now lives a simple but contented life as a mailman. However, they must reunite to protect the world from the scum of the universe.

Opinion

Something everyone knows is that originality and sequels don't get along. However, if smartly played, a sequel can live up to its predecessor, and be fresh. Unfortunately this is not the case. In fact, Men in Black II is another boring, bland sequel, with few moments and nothing more.

The story changes but nothing really changes. Aliens come to Earth threaten to destroy it, MIB pull out big guns and make aliens explode with abovementioned guns. End of the story. 

The authors, probably aware of unfreshness of the film, have focused on the villain, an evil alien who disguises herself as a sexy lingerie model in a leather outfit. They probably thought the audience would have been so caught up by her to never notice the flaws of the fim. The alien in brand-new Edgar suit was a better villain, by the way. 

Main focus of the film are still the special effects and the gags. While the special effects are quite good, the gags are a disaster. Seriously, watching an alien growing its head back after having it shot off might be funny the first time, but you gotta know when to stop it. Enough is enough.

Will Smith's Men In Black has been replaced by Smith's Black Suits Comin' which is not nearly as good as the first song. Also the acting got worse. 

30 Minutes or Less (2011)

Genre

Action | Comedy

Director

Ruben Fleischer

Country

USA

Cast

Jesse Eisenberg, Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari, Nick Swardson, Dilshad Vadsaria, Bianca Kajlich, Michael Peña, Fred Ward, Brett Gelman, Rebecca Cox, Rick Irwin, Torey Adkins

Storyline

Nick (Jesse Eisenberg) is a small town pizza delivery guy whose mundane life collides with the big plans of two wanna-be criminal masterminds (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson). The volatile duo kidnaps Nick and forces him to rob a bank. With mere hours to pull off the impossible task, Nick enlists the help of his ex-best friend, Chet (Aziz Ansari). As the clock ticks, the two must deal with the police, hired assassins, flamethrowers, and their own tumultuous relationship.

Opinion

Are we sure this is the same Ruben Fleischer who did Zombieland? Because it didn't feel like it. I had high expectation for it given the cast, director, and plot. I don't really know what happened.

Slightly entertaining, 30 Minutes or Less is an action comedy with some action and a tiny dose of comedy. 

The plot sounds intriguing and with a lot of potential, but the problem is the way it's executed. It starts out very slow, and it never really take off. The screenplay is just bad. I can't say anything to save it. Also, I don't think making a producer write a script would be a good idea. The romantic subplot doesn't get along with the film.

Vulgar and with continuous sexual references, most of jokes feel too forced, and they lose of effectiveness - only a couple of jokes worked for me, and that's not enough to carry a comedy, even if only 83 minutes long.

The characters are also bad. First, they are not well developed. Second, regardless from being the duo of protagonists or the duo of antagonists, they all are bad people, and you don't know who to root for since they all are bad. At some point in the movie Nick and Chet say they are a perfect match because they are terrible people. I think there's nothing more to add.

The acting is pretty poor. Jesse Eisenberg succeeds in his usual awkward role - I wonder why he wasn't in This Is the End. But besides from that, everybody sucks. Danny McBride is back with another of his annoying roles, and he is just trying too hard to be funny. Aziz Ansari doesn't have comic timing, and his performance is flat. Nick Swardson is not better than the previous mentioned. I wonder how Michael Peña got involved in this. At least, there is a quite good chemistry between Eisenberg and Ansari, and McBride and Swardson.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

Genre

Action | Fantasy

Directors

Mark Neveldine | Brian Taylor

Country

USA | United Arab Emirates

Cast

Nicolas Cage, Johnny Whitworth, Fergus Riordan, Ciarán Hinds, Violante Placido, Idris Elba, Christopher Lambert, Anthony Head, Jacek Koman, Vincent Regan, Spencer Wilding

Storyline

Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) is on the run trying to make sure no one is harmed by his alter ego, the Ghost Rider. When in Eastern Europe, he is approached by a monk named Moreau (Idris Elba) who tells him that he can help be him free of the Rider, but first, he needs Johnny's help to protect a boy (Fergus Riordan).

Opinion

While I'm still trying to figure out if this is a sequel or a reboot to the 2007 disaster starring Nicolas Cage, my mind is pervaded with a question: why on earth did Idris Elba accept to work in this mess? Why? The only reason why I watched the whole film is because I couldn't write a truthful review without seeing the whole thing - and there is always a slightly chance of it getting better, isn't there? Anyway, I should mention that I got lost several times: it's impossible to focus on something when the only emotion you feel is boredom. 

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance attempts at showing the dark side of the Rider, but instead delivers a dull story, poorly told, acted, and shot. 

Here's what gave me the doubt about the sequel/reboot matter. This film completely ignores the first one, showing Johnny signing the contract through a flashback, in a very different way compared to the one shown in the first film.

I'd like to say the writing is the worst thing about the film, but everything is so bad, it's hard to say what's worst. The plot is sadly stupid, and the cheesy dialogue will make you either laugh or cry for its awfulness. Not to mention the characters, the awful villain in particular, who doesn't even gets his superpowers until halfway through the film. 

Oh, the camera. It was awful. Shaky, with bad angles, it made me feel sick. The special effects don't get any better. However, what people look for in an action film is action itself, am I right? Too bad, it is awful like everything else. What's the point of using tons of slow motion in an action movie? Seriously Hollywood stop, because that's not cool. Nobody likes that. Also, the fights are so not believable. In real life, nobody is going to wait to be shot or punched.

Overall the acting is so poor, kids from middle school could win an Oscar if compared to this cast. Nicolas Cage is painful to watch. He still looks excited for playing a comic book character, but his facial expressions are so dumb. Ciarán Hinds did the best he could with his awful villain. Violante Placido is only eye-candy. The only good reason to watch this crap is Idris Elba. Even though his character has nothing to do, he steals every scene he is in, giving a great performance as alcoholic monk Monroe.

Punisher: War Zone (2008)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Lexi Alexander

Country

USA | Canada | Germany

Cast

Ray Stevenson, Dominic West, Julie Benz, Colin Salmon, Doug Hutchison, Dash Mihok, Wayne Knight, Romano Orzari, Stephanie Janusauskas, Larry Day, Ron Lea, Tony Calabretta, T.J. Storm, Mark Camacho, Keram Malicki-Sánchez, David Vadim, Aubert Pallascio, Bjanka Murgel

Storyline

After his family was killed by criminals, ex-military man Frank Castle (Ray Stevenson) became a vigilante known as the Punisher. After hunting down and killing hundreds of criminals for the past five years, he faces his most deadly foe yet: Jigsaw (Dominic West).

Opinion

As I said three weeks ago, I am a fan of the Punisher, and as I said back then, I have been completely shocked by how bad this film turned out to be, considering Green Street's Lexi Alexander made it. 

Action packed, Punisher: War Zone is still extremely violent - apparently brutality and blood is what the audience wants -, tedious, and definitely does not justice to the great comic book.

The result is pretty much the same, and since two different version of the Punisher is what we are dealing with, it comes natural to compare the 2004 film to this one. In this one there isn't much of a backstory, but at least it is faithful to the comic book, and I really appreciated that. Besides this, I struggled to find something else good in this film.

Silly, and lacking in logic, the plot is probably the worst thing about the film. But I guess tons of people will watch this for the action, and violence, so I won't spend much time on this. 

Another major issue concerns the Punisher's character. He is portrayed as a violent and ruthless man, not an avenger, and the last scene proves it. What kind of "good" man blows up somebody's brain just because he tried to rob his friend's wallet? That's just going around killing people, not getting rid of organised crime. 

Ray Stevenson was the perfect  casting as Frank Castle aka the Punisher. He perfectly fits the role, and he definitely is a way better Punisher than Thomas Jane. Dominic West also is pretty good as Jigsaw, but he could have done better in some scenes.

Centurion (2010)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Drama

Director

Neil Marshall

Country

UK

Cast

Michael Fassbender, Olga Kurylenko, Dominic West, Liam Cunningham, David Morrissey, J.J. Feild, Ulrich Thomsen, Noel Clarke, Riz Ahmed, Dimitri Leonidas, Dave Legeno, Axelle Carolyn, Imogen Poots, Paul Freeman, Rachael Stirling, Michael Carter, Tom Mannion, Peter Guinness, Lee Ross, Jake Maskall, Eoin Macken, Neil Marshall

Storyline

A.D. 117. Roman centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) leads a group of soldiers on a raid of a Pict camp to rescue a captured general (Dominic West). As one of the soldiers murdered the son of the Pict leader (Ulrich Thomsen), the Romans find themselves hunted by a seemingly unstoppable group of Pict's warriors, led by deadly tracker known as Etain (Olga Kurylenko).

Opinion

Beautiful at look, Centurion is a very well made film, bloody, and brutal, with fantastic fighting scenes,  yet dull because it somehow fails in engaging the viewer. 

The main problem with the film is that it focuses on the visual aspect instead of the writing, and it is a huge shame because considering the subject, the film could have been so much better. There isn't much depth to the characters, the story is mediocre and predictable, and the dialogue is lifeless.

The film opens with some nonsense, and goes on with some other nonsense. First, why do the Picts leave Quintus Dias (Fassbender) alive? Only because he can speak their language? It doesn't make lot of sense to me. Second, how did Etain manage to tell such a detailed story of what happened to her, if she was mute? Third, the Picts are supposed to kill and decapitate the Romans, but when Bothos is shot in the leg with an arrow, one of the Picts says, "Let him bleed". Like, seriously? After chasing them for hours, they just let him bleed. Fourth, the Picts killed thousands Romans and captured their general, still three Romans manage to kill the most lethal Picts. That's unreal. 

Michael Fassbender does a decent job as Quintus Dias, the Romans leader. Too bad the film didn't give him the chance to show off his acting abilities, but gave him a sword and lots of action instead. The supporting cast does a good job. Olga Kurylenko well delivers her performance through facial expressions and body language. David Morrissey, Dominic West, Ulrich Thomsen, and Imogen Poots all do a good job.

Quotes

Centurion Quintus Dias: In the chaos of battle, when the ground beneath your feet is a slurry of blood, puke, piss and the entrails of friends and enemies alike, it's easy to turn to the gods for salvation. But it's soldiers who do the fighting, and soldiers who do the dying, and the gods never get their feet wet.

2 Guns (2013)

Genre

Action | Comedy

Director

Baltasar Kormákur

Country

USA

Cast

Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, James Marsden, Fred Ward, Edward James Olmos, Robert John Burke

Storyline

Two crooked undercover officers - one from the DEA (Denzel Washington) and the other from the Navy (Mark Wahlberg) - get into trouble when stealing money from the wrong person.

Opinion

Who does not remember Robert De Niro as Al Capone saying, "You're nothing but a lot of talk and a badge."? Well, this two guys here, Bobby and Stig, are exactly the opposite, and to be honest the result is quite entertaining. 

Based on the comic book series of the same name, 2 Guns is a good combination of adrenaline, action, thrills, and comedy.

The film doesn't have much new to show us, the plot is very predictable, the often comical dialogue isn't the wittiest ever written, and the characters are cardboard, still the film has a pretty good structure, it's well put together, and manages to surprise you.

The shooting sequences are a bit unrealistic, but overall the action scenes, and the fisticuffs are good, and entertaining, and there are not too many explosions. Also, who doesn't enjoy seeing a car full of money blowing up? It kind of hurts, but it's awesome!

The acting surely adds points to the film. Known for his dramatic roles, Denzel Washington never fails to surprise. He proves to be able to step into any role and situation, and he gets along pretty well with comedy. Mark Wahlberg had already proven to handle humour in Ted, and he does nothing but confirm that. Also, the two leads have a great chemistry. Good performances also from Bill Paxton, Edward James Olmos, and James Marsden. Besides showing her tits, and being both Washington and Marsden's love interest, Paula Patton doesn't have much to do in here. 

In a nutshell: if you are a Denzel Washington's fan like me, it's a must-watch; if you want to spend a relaxing evening and shut down your brain, this action flick is right for you.

Quotes

Admiral Tuwey: Blind loyalty is not loyalty.

The Punisher (2004)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Jonathan Hensleigh

Country

USA | Germany

Cast

Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Will Patton, Roy Scheider, Laura Harring, Ben Foster, Rebecca Romijn, John Pinette, Samantha Mathis, Marcus Johns, Russell Andrews, James Carpinello, Eddie Jemison, Eduardo Yáñez, Omar Avila, Kevin Nash, Mark Collie, Veryl Jones, Tom Nowicki, Hank Stone

Storyline

On his final assignment, FBI agent Frank Castle (Thomas Jane) plays his undercover role perfectly, but the operation spins out of control and a young man, Bobby Saint (James Carpinello), is inadvertently killed. Holding Castle responsible for the death of his son, Howard Saint (John Travolta) butchers Frank's family during a reunion and leaves him for dead. But Castle survives and set out to avenge his family, becomes a judge, jury and executioner known as "The Punisher". 

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

What a shock! As a fan of the Punisher I've been completely shocked by how bad they made this film. If Batman Begins is the perfect comic book character adaptation, The Punisher is the perfect example of what not to do, and how to ruin a character. 

Besides from being extremely violent - I won't complain about it since it's what someone would expect from a film about Frank Castle - the film is tedious, and so painful to watch I had to pause several times to recover from its awfulness.

The script is goddamn awful. First let's talk about the back story, shall we? In the comic book, Frank Castle, his wife, and his sons are having a walk in Central Park, New York, when they witness a Mafia settling of score. In the film, the son of a criminal gets killed, and when Castle is on vacation his whole family is murdered. What is the point in changing the story? We don't even get to know all those characters, so we don't feel anything for them when they die - which is actually what happened for Frank as well, since he doesn't look in much pain or suffering.

Two hours and they don't even explain how a criminal found all those information about an FBI agent. And why does he retire? He won't get any pension so he will have to find another job.

The Russian. He is basically a giant in a red and white shirt, who, like regular people, knocks on the door of the person he has to kill. Not to mention the fact that Frank doesn't even look out the peep-hole. 

I thought it was a film about the Punisher, but it turned out to be the Wolverine 2.0. Yes, the Wolverine, because bullets can't stop him, and when wounded, he heals real fast.

Also since when blackmailing someone because they're gay is cool? And what about the singing hitman from Memphis? The best hitman, a professional, sings Frank a song about his death, and the one who actually gets kills is the hitman himself.

And at last, the hot, lonely woman who falls in love with the guy at first sight, and the guy who goes through torture because Frank is part of the family, but they have barely talked.

Oops, I almost forgot the villain. He kills everyone, his wife, his best friend, Castle's whole family, but he fails at killing the only person he was supposed to kill.

The dialogue is terrible, the music is awful, and wasting two hours waiting for a thrilling action scene that will never happen is just not worth it. 

The acting is painful. They are all equally bad, delivering wooden performances a tree would be jealous of. John Travolta isn't convincing at all as the villain, and the only good acting that comes from him is in one of the latest scenes, when he dies.

Daredevil (2003)

Genre

Action | Crime | Fantasy

Director

Mark Steven Johnson

Country

USA

Cast

Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano, David Keith, Leland Orser, Lennie Loftin, Erick Avari, Ellen Pompeo, Derrick O'Connor, Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Scott Terra

Storyline

Blinded during a chemical accident when he was a kid, Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck) is a lawyer at day, and the vigilante known as Daredevil at night.

Opinion

Lot of my fellow reviewers say that one should watch the Director's Cut, because it adds 30 minutes and more sense to the film. I can only imagine 30 extra minutes of pain.

Dark and shallow, Daredevil is probably the most dull superhero film ever made. There is no story and no climax. Just a bunch of characters randomly thrown in the film, something happens - fights mostly - and that's it. End of the film.

I used to think Matt Murdock was a blind human, but according to this film he has superpowers. Otherwise how could he jump 50 or so feet in the air and land without breaking neither his legs nor his ankles? He can also climb high wall with no problems. Now, if those are not superpowers, I don't know what they are. Then other nonsenses about the character come in. He gets stabbed in the shoulder that knocks him down for quite a lot. Then, after Bullseye kills and throws Elektra off the roof - landing next to Daredevil, which was on the roof, if I don't go wrong - Daredevil magically heals, does some other superhero shit, and he defeats the bad guy(s). I almost forgot to talk about those weird Avatar-looking things Murdock could see when raining. 

The action sequences are not that good, having a fight between Elektra and Murdock that couldn't look faker, and a final act in where Bullseye faces off against Daredevil by breaking glass with a gymnastic move, to be envied by the world's best gymnasts, then catching the falling shards one by one, looking like a meth head picking up crystal meth. 

The acting. While he is convincing as the body of Daredevil, Ben Affleck delivers a painful performance. Jennifer Garner is too skinny to portray tough Elektra, and she has no chemistry with Affleck. Michael Clarke Duncan is great as Kingpin. Colin Farrell has had better days, but honestly Affleck's Daredevil is so unengaging you'll probably end up rooting for Farrell's character.

Oldboy (2013)

Genre

Action | Drama | Mystery

Director

Spike Lee

Country

USA

Cast

Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Sharlto Copley, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Imperioli, Brett Lapeyrouse, James Ransone, Max Casella, Linda Emond, Pom Klementieff, Elvis Nolasco Lance Reddick, Hannah Ware, Richard Portnow Hannah Simone, Lizzy DeClement, Caitlin Dulany, Cinqué Lee, Grey Damon, Erik Gersovitz

Storyline

On the day of her daughter's birthday, for reasons he doesn't understand, Joe Doucett (Josh Brolin) is kidnapped and imprisoned. After 20 years behind bars, he is released, and, obsessed with vengeance, will do anything possible to find the man who did this.

Opinion

*** The review may contain spoilers ***

Americans and their obsession with remaking great foreign language films will never lead to something good, and this film is the proof. In fact, Oldboy - or should I say "Oh boy"? - is a complete failure. It is violent - not as much as the original though - yet shallow, and disappointing. Compared to Park Chan-wook's, this one is absolute crap. Unfortunately, it doesn't quite work as a standalone film either.

What Spike Lee did here is goddamn awful: it could and should have executed so much better. At the beginning the film spends, in my opinion, too much time showing the whole day of drunkie Joe. Also, too much time is dedicated to the 20 years he spend imprisoned, actually showing less than the original film did. To suffer from all of this is the rest of the story, the most important part, which is rushed and not well-developed.

While there are several memorable lines in the Korean film, here the dialogue is a pure joke. At some point, Joe says, "... And whoever you are, wherever you are. I will find you". Is it me, or it sounds a lot like what Liam Neeson says in Taken?

The fighting scenes weren't better. At some point, during the torture scene actually, I thought "Thank god Lee didn't try to reproduce the corridor scene", but after a few minutes, here it comes, just to prove me wrong. And it was one of the most fake-looking fight scenes ever.

Not to talk about the nonsense, unrealistic things going on. First of all, Joe's alcohol addiction. He has drunk a bottle of vodka every single day for about a year - not to consider the fact that he already had a drinking problem - and he doesn't have any liver disease, not even a problem. Then, he goes around hammering people in the heads, and they don't die - I do clearly remember him smashing some guy's head, and that guy kept on screaming. Now I'm not a doctor, but how realistic is that? And at last, the girl with the yellow umbrella. After 20 years she looks exactly the same. I wonder what kind of treatment she used to stay like that. Oh, I forgot something! Is there some particular reason behind the Chinese restaurant, or Spike Lee didn't have any idea so he took it straight from the original?

The love scene also is completely different. While Choi Min-sik and Kang Hye-jung look like they love each other, Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen are clearly just having sex.

Josh Brolin does a pretty good job, and his weight gain, and weight loss is definitely a sign of dedication, but it's impossible to compare him to the wonderful job Choi Min-sik did with the same character. Elizabeth Olsen is so so, as she looks like she is never quite sure how to play the part. Sharlto Copley isn't much of a villain. At least Samuel L. Jackson is great.

Slow West (2015)

Genre

Action | Thriller | Western

Director

John Maclean

Country

UK | New Zealand

Cast

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius, Rory McCann

Storyline

At the end of the nineteenth century, 16-year-old Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. He is joined by Silas (Michael Fassbender), a mysterious traveler, and hotly pursued by an outlaw along the way.

Opinion

Maybe it's because I'm a die-hard Fassbender fan, but he is always worth watching, even if the film is bad. I am not a great connoisseur of Western - I've watched Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "For a Few Dollars More", and Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves" only - but until now I loved them. This one is no different.

Slow paced as the title suggests, Slow West is a bizarre, captivating, funny, touching and violent Western road trip that confirms John Maclean as a big talent.

British director and writer John Maclean, through the eyes of naive dreamer Jay, tells a beautiful story, with a memorable ending, about the violence in the New World, cynicism, and money rush that involves everybody, both natives and immigrants. Also, he manages to balance life and death with some great comedic elements. 

There is no much character development, but considering the great result achieved, I don't feel like complaining about it.

Filmed in New Zealand, the scenography lacks in Canyons, and provides a sense of loss, yet the spectacular landscapes give you hope. The cinematography by Robbie Ryan is great, and the musical score by Jed Kurzel blends with the film.

The acting is sublime. Michael Fassbender, both leading character and narrator, delivers another wonderful performance - he has improved his American accents a lot since "12 Years a Slave" - and his humour perfectly fits the character and this road trip. Kodi Smit-McPhee does a fantastic job in the other leading role. However, the most memorable is Caren Pistorius as the beautiful Rose. She does not have lot of screen time, but she is in the frame she captures your full attention.

Michael Fassbender once said, "The great thing about doing independent films is that they move fast, and I like that. I like the speed, and having to be on your toes...The little films need the big films to do well because they are dependent on getting that money. "Frank" gets made because I do something like "X-Men: First Class" or "Prometheus". I don't think thanking him from the bottom of my heart will be enough. 

Quotes

Silas: That kid was a wonder. He saw things differently. To him, we were in a land of hope and good will. 

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Tim Story

Country

USA | Germany | UK

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Doug Jones, Laurence Fishburne, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Beau Garrett, Vanessa Minnillo, Andre Braugher, Stan Lee, Brian Posehn, Debbie Timuss, Moneca Delain, Kevin McNulty, Crystal Lowe

Storyline

As the Silver Surfer (Doug Jones, voiced by Laurence Fishburne) races around the globe wreaking havoc, Reed (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue (Jessica Alba), Johnny (Chris Evans) and Ben (Michael Chiklis) must unravel the mystery of the Silver Surfer and confront the surprising return of their mortal enemy, Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon), before all hope is lost.

Opinion

I did have really low expectations for this one, and it didn't disappoint me. While a little improvement on its predecessor, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer still is mediocre, dull, and a shame to the fantastic comic books.

As if letting Mark Frost write the script for the first film was a good idea, they called him back, and along with director Tim Story and screenwriter Don Payne, he did a bad job.
Although I like films to be faithful to the comic books, I tolerate some little differences or omissions. Unfortunately, in here, it is a huge problem. There is no backstory of Galactus - he is not even a character - and his servant, the Silver Surfer, has the power to destroy him. How ridiculous is that? Also, the Silver Surfer goes around resurrecting people. There is no explanation to the power swapping, the Torch can just swap powers with the others by touching them, and how the Torch manages to absorb everyone's powers, leaving them powerless, is a mystery.
And the villain for god's sake! Couldn't they come up with some other bad guy? Why did they have to bring Julian McMahon's awful Dr. Doom back?

Nothing exciting happens aside from the chase scene involving the Human Torch and the Silver Surfer. The visual effects suck. Mr. Fantastic looks fake most of the time.

The acting is bad as the rest. Ioan Gruffudd looks like some guy from a soap opera, and his accent still is bad. Jessica Alba is painful to watch. She is nothing more than a pretty face. And the chemistry between the two of them is inexistent. Chris Evans steals the show as Johnny Storm having the fortune to play the only character that evolves during the film. Michael Chiklis did a better job the first time. Julian McMahon is ok. Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne do a good job as Silver Surfer's body and voice.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Genre

Action | Adventure

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Igor Jijikine, Joel Stoffer, Neil Flynn, Alan Dale, Andrew Divoff, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Dimitri Diatchenko, Ernie Reyes Jr.

Storyline

After being forced to leave Marshall College under dubious circumstances, Indy (Harrison Ford) joins forces with rebellious, young Mutt (Shia LaBeouf), who believes he knows the whereabouts of one of the most spectacular archeological finds in history, the Crystal Skull of Akator, a legendary object of fascination, superstition and fear. 

Opinion

19 years after "The Last Crusade", Steven Spielberg and George Lucas come back with a new film of the franchise, starring an old Indy, still more pleasant than a 007 Agent sipping Martinis for the whole time.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a solid adventure film, entertaining, and with some fun, that still delivers the thrills, and does not damage the reputation of the Saga.

Written by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson, the story is pretty good, but there's a problem with the characters. First of all, Oxley, Indy's friend. He looks like he's on acid, but then he heals, unfortunately it happens only at the end of the film. 

Now the villains. Cate Blanchett's Irina Spalko is not that intimidating, and the Russians are out of place. I'd rather have the Nazis back.

The action is good, and the jungle chase is ok. Only there are way too many, and implausible stunts - not a Bruce Lee's film, right? -, there's an overuse of CGI, and a pointless nuclear explosion scene.

The acting is ok. Harrison Ford still is the same, and old charismatic Indiana Jones. Shia LaBeouf is quite good to be honest, and not much annoying. Karen Allen is back as Marion, but she smiles and laughs for most of the time. John Hurt does what he can with his annoying character. Cate Blanchett is definitely wasted to play the "villain".

Quotes

Mutt Williams: You know, for an old man you ain't bad in a fight.

Indiana Jones: Thanks.

Mutt Williams: What are you, like, 80?

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Marc Webb

Country

USA

Cast

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Marton Csokas, Chris Cooper, B.K. Novak, Denis Leary, Michael Massee, Aidy Bryant, Stan Lee

Storyline

As Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finally managed to balance life as both Spider-Man and Peter, a new villain treats the city: socially awkward Oscorp worker Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), who is obsessed with Spider-Man, ends up becoming the hero's new foe.

Opinion

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

If J.K. Simmons was still playing J. Jonah Jameson he'd say, "Damnit! This thing is dragging on and on!".

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is just not that amazing, and focuses more on the emotional element, developing the relationship with Gwen - it almost feels like watching Twilight -, and leaving thrills and action behind.

However, the main problem of the film is the same that occurred with Spider-Man 3: the writing. There are way too many awful things going on, and two and a half hours - which feels like eternity - are just not enough to stand the whole thing.
Let's start with Electro. He is not the same guy from the comic books. This Max Dillon is naive, shy, has low self-esteem, is ignored by everybody, and people barely remember his name, in other words, he is a loser. And he works for Oscorp. Turning into Electro after falling into a tub of electric eels, he heads to Time Square, where he sees his face all over the screens, and he suddenly become a badass because the whole city is watching him. He doesn't really have any motivation to do what he does. Not to mention his costume, that looks like it has been stolen from the Fantastic Four's trash.
Harry Osborn and Rhino are two wasted, cheesy characters. Also, the 3-minute grainy video in which Peter's dad basically tells us "Oscorp is evil" is pointless, because at that point you are already aware of that, and if you don't, well, you probably think Spider-Man is the villain.

While flying sequences are great, the fights are not epic, totally forgettable, and some of them even boring - the one with the Russian for instance -, and the fight between Spider-Man and Electro is just bad. It's not all of course. Why did Electro and Harry Osborn/Goblin attack Spider-Man separately? Why didn't the police show up near the power plant? Why didn't Gwen bleed when she hit the floor? Why did Harry kill Gwen? Wasn't Norman supposed to? And more important, is Harry normal or still "infected"?

At least the acting is still good. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are good as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy, and their chemistry is amazing. Though his character development is bad, Dane DeHaan delivers a good performance as Harry Osborn, and same does Jamie Foxx as Electro.

Quotes

Gwen Stacy: It's easy to feel hopeful on a beautiful day like today, but there will be dark days ahead of us too. There will be days where you feel all alone, and that's when hope is needed most. No matter how buried it gets, or how lost you feel, you must promise me that you will hold on to hope. Keep it alive. We have to be greater than what we suffer. My wish for you is to become hope; people need that. And even if we fail, what better way is there to live? As we look around here today, at all of the people who helped make us who we are, I know it feels like we're saying goodbye, but we will carry a piece of each other into everything that we do next, to remind us of who we are, and of who we're meant to be.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

Genre

Action | Adventure

Director

Steven Spielberg

Country

USA

Cast

Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott, John Rhys-Davies, Julian Glover, Michael Byrne, Kevork Malikyan, River Phoenix, Alex Hyde-White, Robert Eddison, Vernon Dobtcheff, Alexei Sayle, Michael Sheard

Storyline

When Dr. Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery) goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, an art collector (Julian Glover) approaches Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) with a proposition to continue his father's search. Once accepted, Jones must find his father and stop the Nazis.

Opinion

Definitely the best Indiana Jones film yet, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is more comedic, emotional, and spiritual than its predecessors, still plenty of superb action and thrills.

The great story, written by George Lucas and Menno Meyjes, begins with an introduction to a younger Indy, that finally gives the audience something about his background, such as the roots of his taste for adventure, the determination to put artifacts into museums, his fear of snakes, and, less important, how he got the chin scar. Back in 1938, the story is related to God in a beautiful way, without disrespecting religion - thing that happened in The Temple of Doom. 

The introduction of Indy's eccentric father, played by Sean Connery - couldn't really get any better than that -, is one of the highlights of the film. Most of the fun is delivered by him, and along with Ford, he also provides a great father-son dynamic.

Having most of the action of the film, Harrison Ford is amazing and charismatic as Indy. New entry Sean Connery does a wonderful job in portraying Indy's father, making a perfect duo with Ford. John Rhys-Davies is back as Sallah, and he is wonderful as ever, so is Denholm Elliott, returned as Marcus Brody. Alison Doody does a good job with her interesting character. Julian Glover is probably the best of Indy's villains so far. 

Quotes

Fedora: You lost today, kid. But that doesn't mean you have to like it.

Homefront (2013)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Gary Fleder

Country

USA

Cast

Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Chuck Zito, Frank Grillo, Rachelle Lefevre, Clancy Brown, Christa Campbell, Stuart Green, Omar Benson Miller, Izabela Vidovic, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Marcus Hester, Austin Craig

Storyline

Former DEA agent Phil Broker (Jason Statham) moves to a small town for the sake of his 10-year-old daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic). The is only one problem: he picked the wrong town.

Opinion

Based on Chuck Logan's novel, and with a quite good cast - I'm not talking about Statham of course -, the film was promising. Then I read Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay, and the house of cards fell apart.

As mentioned before Jason Statham is in it, and his films are pretty much the same thing. This time, he is a quiet guy in need to use his exceptional fighting skills against the bad guys, and he also happens to be the fastest in the west, as usual. 

Having said that, Homefront is an action film Statham's style - his fans are gonna love it -, with no climax, still the action and violence keep you entertained, and it gets a little bit thrilling at the end. Kind of.

Agreeing on the fact that Statham is good at fighting, he is not good at acting. His performance is substanceless, just a smile here, and a smile there. Izabela Vidovic very well plays Statham's daughter. James Franco does a great job as the main bad guy - finally a role that suits him. Winona Ryder does good with his small screen time. Kate Bosworth is pretty good too. I would have like to see more Frank Grillo in here. 

Quotes

Phil Broker: Whatever you're thinking, rethink it.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

Marc Webb

Country

USA

Cast

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, Chris Zylka, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Leif Gantvoort, Hannah Marks, Kelsey Chow, C. Thomas Howell, Stan Lee, Michael Massee, Michael Papajohn, Max Charles, Jake Keiffer

Storyline

Like most teenagers, Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance, leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero.

Opinion

The Sam Raimi's trilogy, though the awful ending chapter, will always stand out among the superhero films, and definitely did not need to be rebooted. Still Marc Webb succeeded in making a quite amazing interpretation of Spider-Man's origins - and a more loyal film towards the comic books.

The Amazing Spider-Man is surprisingly engaging, plenty of action, thrill, and genuine emotions, with a more effective drama than ever.

Marc Webb faithfully manages to bring to the screen Peter Parker's humanity, creating a more credible superhero, that must defeat a villain, and on the other hand take care of his worried aunt.
In this new film, Parker isn't accidentally bitten by the spider but he is kinda looking forward to, and there's a new way his powers work. He now needs a device to shoot a web perfectly, and still causing lot of damage, he looks more credible. Some parts - like when Peter is working on his costume - are way too rushed though. The villain is good, but Connors becoming evil because he became Lizard is a little forced.

Andrew Garfield is indeed the best choice to play Peter Parker, giving him that humour - and better look - Maguire's didn't have. Emma Stone is amazing as Gwen Stacy, way better than Dunst, and her character as well is better than MJ, being more than just a love interest. The chemistry between Garfield and Stone is amazing.

Quotes

Ben Parker: Peter? I know things have been difficult lately and I'm sorry about that. I think I know what you're feeling. Ever since you were a little boy, you've been living with so many unresolved things. Well, take it from an old man. Those things send us down a road... they make us who we are. And if anyone's destined for greatness, it's you, son. You owe the world your gifts. You just have to figure out how to use them and know that wherever they take you, we'll always be here. So, come on home, Peter. You're my hero... and I love you!