SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD MOVIE REVIEW

STAR CAST- Steve Carell and Kiera Knightley

Directed By- Lorene Scafaria

Seeking A Friend For the end of the World' is one of those movies that people are going to love or hate. I fall into the first camp, loving it, so I'd better say something in its defense.

This flick presents all most a perfect picture of the scenario when world will come to an end.
But in one superbly dialogued scene after another, the relationship takes on depth, then overwhelming substance, It is only in the last third of the movie that it reveals itself to be a full fledged love story, that the bonding of these two is what the movie is all about in the first place. 

Steve Carrell's character Dodge doesn't exactly know what he wants, but he knows full well what he doesn't want, none of the above. His quiet refusal to acquiesce to any of this makes him instantly likable. He adopts an abandoned dog because he's too decent not to, and takes up with Penny (Keira Knightley) almost by chance. They meet cute, in a way, but with none of the emotional affectation of bad rom coms - neither angry nor incandescent - 'like at first sight', if you will. They leave the city together, not for any large motive, but because it seems like the best idea available.

The last scenes take place at the last hours of the earth. The girl is committed, but scared. But the man, Dodge, is so happy to have finally found someone with whom he connects completely that he really doesn't care that the whole world is ending. Carrell, whose performance is Oscarworthy (though of course it will go unnoticed) conveys this perfectly.

One word BEAUTIFUL.

MY RATING 

TAKEN 2 MOVIE REVIEW

STAR CAST- Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace

    DIRECTED BY- Olivier Megaton

I enjoyed the film Taken mainly because of Liam Neeson's solid performance, which added deepness to the screenplay because of his conviction and intensity (I will refrain from mentioning that the TV series 24 was quite popular in that time, and Neeson basically played Jack Bauer, but on the big screen). Now, 4 years later, we have Taken 2, which unfortunately is a pathetic action film with an incredibly weak screenplay, insipid direction and some of the most boring action scenes I have seen in the last years.

Neeson made his best effort in rescuing Taken 2, bringing the seriousness and conviction from an authentic professional actor who trusts in the screenplay...or at least pretends to. For the rest, the film is a collection of forced domestic melodrama (Kim couldn't obtain her driving license; Bryan distrusts of Kim's new boyfriend; Lennie has problems with her new husband; etc.) and confusing action scenes completely lacking of any energy and impact. I was almost falling asleep during the car chase through the narrow streets of Istambul; and the fights are edited into micro-shots of less than a second, and as a consequence, it was very difficult to notice what was happening.

But the worst thing of all is that Taken 2 retroactively harms Taken, because the villains are so inept that they make us doubt about the hero's ability. He was maybe just lucky of finding a gang of idiots who leave him alone during long periods of time in order to give him the opportunity to escape; kindly allow him to make phone calls while they are having him held at gunpoint; and start to endlessly make a monologue when they should be having the revenge they enjoy mentioning so much. As for the violence, Taken 2 is strictly PG-13 material; the main character employs magic bullets which always hit the spot, but without shedding a single drop of blood; on the opposite, the villains employ bullets which inoffensively dissolve through the air, or at most, only work on walls. 

In conclusion, Taken 2 is an unbearable film, whose 90 minutes feel like 180 because of the poor screenplay and director Olivier Megaton's laziness. I liked his previous film (Colombiana), but he fell so low in Taken 2 that it will be difficult to have any enthusiasm in his future films. In other words, save your time and your money, and don't watch Taken 2. I just hope that this piece of junk isn't economically successful, and we won't have a third part, in which Neeson will have to look for the cup of coffee he accidentally left on his car's roof. After Taken 2, I think any foolishness would be viable for producer Luc Besson.

Don't waste your money at the cinemas Wait till its on DVD

MY RATING

 

MAGIC MIKE MOVIE REVIEW

Star Cast- Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Olivia Munn
Directed By- Steven Soderbergh

This flick will either surprise or disappoint you, depending on what your expectations are. Still, it's a film BOTH genders can enjoy, and it shouldn't be limited to "a movie for the ladies." MAGIC MIKE is funny and dramatic when it needs to be, but the main reason it succeeds is because of the cast. Overall, MAGIC MIKE is a very good film. Just don't expect a lot of stripping.

The cast is terrific all around. Channing Tatum is very good as the lead role, playing comedy and drama effectively. However, I want to give a huge shout out to Alex Pettyfr and Cody Horn, both pulling off terrific performances in their substantial roles. Pettyfr, in particular, I never really liked in the films he starred in before, but he is just phenomenal in this film. Horn, on the other hand, seemed to come out from nowhere, but her rapport with Tatum is terrific. Let's also not forget about Matthew McConaughey. Even though he isn't in the film that much, he steals every single scene he's in. He's just that good.

As far as the stripping goes and the first hour of the movie, it wasn't that bad. I actually had a good time. When the movie got close to two hours, I along with everyone else in the theater were ready to leave. That being said, I think the writer of the film was also ready to leave... his computer from writing the script, because there was NO ENDING... they kind of sum up two characters and thats it.. for the rest of the cast you spend 2 hours getting to know them, you have no idea if they die from too much crack or if they quit dancing or if they have fun at a new club... there needed to be at least a photo of each character with a small description of what happened to them next... NOT TO GIVE ANYTHING AWAY... but one of the main characters in the movie has a HUGE LIFE ISSUE, and they NEVER SOLVE IT, they give you nothing... just "WELL THESE TWO PEOPLE ARE HAPPY, THE END"
This movie (script wise) shows us nothing new but it was well-made and entertaining. This is not just for women and gay men--I think everyone would enjoy it

MY RATING