Movie review - Max Payne

I saw Max Payne a month ago, but I'm a little behind, again, in my blog reviews... In a race to catch up once more!

I never played the game this movie is based on, so I can't compare the two. I can only comment on the movie itself for what it is. That would be an action movie, with revenge in mind and a lot of violence along the way. Hm, that does sounds like a game! The main character is played by Mark Wahlberg and was key in getting me to go see this movie. I've liked Wahlberg since I saw him in The Big Hit and he made me buy a few more movie tickets since. This movie is perfect for his style of acting (sorry for the type-casting, Mark!).

The plot is not very original, but it works. A cop who's family was killed seeks revenge and hunts down the people responsible for their death. He has to find them first and in his quest will make allies and enemies. Many bullets will be used during this story, as well as other weapons. Did I mention this was a violent movie? OK, just checking.

The movie also stars Beau Bridges, Chris O'Donnell, Ludacris, Mila Kunis and Olga Kurylenko (one of the newest Bond Girl in Quantum Of Solace), to name a few. It's not a great movie, but it's fun if you like action, which this movie does have quite a bit of.

Oh, if your the type that leaves the theatre when the credit starts rolling, you don't get to see the whole movie. There is a short scene at the very end. No, it doesn't star Nick Fury, but I bet they're hinting at a sequel...

Movie review: Wanted

I knew two things when I went to see Wanted: It was an action movie, starring Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman. First, the real star is James McAvoy, unknown to me until then, who plays Wesley Gibson, a man with talents he doesn't know he has, until he his contacted by a member of The Fraternity, an assassins group. That member is Fox, played by Jolie. The leader of the group is Sloan, played by Freeman. Second, while it is an action movie, I found it to be more then what the trailer let us know. That's a good thing. And I'm not just talking about a single surprise twist to the story at the end of the movie, but several plot development to the story. Of course, it does have it's lot of improbable or even impossible scenes, has can be witnessed in the trailer.

I do not want to spoil the story, so I'll keep it brief. Gibson works in a cubicle, in an office, as an accountant. He's been at it for a while and he'd love nothing more than leaving that job, but doesn't have the nerves to do it. He keeps taking the abuse from the boss and takes pills to deal with the stress. After his encounter with Fox and a wild ride running from another assassin who rebelled against The Fraternity, he gets to meet Sloan and the rest of the gang. He learns about his father's history with the group and about his own abilities. At first, he doesn't want to join, but after a few more work related events and other events in his personal life, he will of course join the guild.

What follows is training, missions and revenge. One of the thing that pushed him was the fact that his father was killed by a rogue member of The Fraternity. Everything leads to this final vengeance, or so he believes. Other things gets in the way. In particular, the obligatory assassination orders, which are summoned in a very unique way. I can't really say more, except that the visuals are very good, there are many great action scenes, as well as over the top sequences and a bit of humour here and there, for good measure. Good casting too, I didn't know many of the actors, but they did a good job.

Of course, there's a lot of violence, so don't bring young kids along. And one word of advice: Don't stand on that X on the floor... ;-)

Movie review: Resident Evil: Extinction

Here's a movie from one of my favourite category: "Cute girls that kicks butts". As a disclaimer, I would like to mention that the main reason I went to see this movie (and the two previous ones) is because it stars the beautiful Milla Jovovich.

In this third installment in the series, the world is pretty much taken over by the virus that turns people into zombies. Only a few survivors remains here and there, fighting to stay human. Alice (Jovovich) is by herself at first, but eventually join a group of survivors lead by Claire (Heroes' Ali Larter). The zombies are everywhere and many violent fights occurs, thinning the number of survivors at an alarming rate. The Umbrella Corporation is still around as well, trying to find a cure to the disease they created.

We discover new aspects and abilities for Alice, who seems just about invincible, while remaining super cute. The ending doesn't answers all questions and actually open the doors wide open for a sequel, which has not yet been announced, but is certainly possible.

If you enjoyed the first two RE, you will probably like Resident Evil: Extinction as well. Particularly if like watching Milla like I do...

Movie review: Shoot 'Em Up

When I first heard of this movie, I wasn't really interested based on the title. Then, I learned that it starred Clive Owen, an actor I really like. Then, I also learned that it wasn't that serious. In fact, within the first few minutes of the movie, it was said that he killed a man with a carrot and cut the umbilical cord of a new-born with a bullet (BTW, he does!). Now, that's different... So I did go see the movie and it was a great ride!

I had a lot of fun watching this movie, but be warned it is quite violent, as you probably already figured out. And also funny, very tongue-in-cheek in style. Lots of action and shooting, of course, with a lot of humour too. The story is around a baby who gets chased after, hidden, tossed around, dropped, picked-up and taken cared of as best as possible considering all the bullets flying around. Insane. There's also a great chase & shoot-out scene in parachutes near the end, but the baby missed that one.

Beside Clive Owen, the movie also stars Paul Giamatti as the main bad buy and Monica Bellucci, a prostitute who gets stuck in this adventure pretty much against her will and better judgment... Both do a great job.

So if you like dark humour and action, go see this this movie, it's really worth it!