Drive Angry (2011)

Visionary film director Patrick Lussier (2009’s MY BLODDY VALENTINE 3D) has taken the spirit of classic 70’s action films and 3D by combining them together for the explosive, high octane, 3D action-adventure-thriller from Summit Entertainment and Millennium Films called DRIVE ANGRY. Academy Award winner Nicolas Cage (1995 – Best Actor, Leaving Las Vegas) stars as Milton, a hardened felon who breaks out of hell to go after Jonah King (Billy Burke – The Twilight Saga), the crazed leader of a vicious cult, who is responsible for the murder of his daughter and kidnapping his daughter’s baby. With the help of a sexy but tough as nails waitress named Piper (Amber Heard – Pineapple Express), her vintage 1969 Dodge Charger, and one last chance at redemption, Milton has three days to avenge his daughter’s death and save her child from being mercilessly sacrificed by the cult while avoiding capture by an enigmatic assassin, who’s also the devil’s right hand man (William Fichtner –TV’s Prison Break). The film also stars David Morse (The Green Mile) as Webster, Katy Mixon (TV’s Eastbound & Down) as Norma Jean, Charlotte Ross (TV’s NYPD Blue) as Candy, Pruitt Taylor Vince (Mississippi Burning) as Roy, Jack McGee (The Fighter) as Fat Lou, and Tom Atkins (John Carpenter’s The Fog) as Cap. Capone of AIN’T IT COOL News said that this film “must be experienced on the big screen” and I thought this was a very entertaining movie that’s got a lot of great action sequences, and I also thought that this film is almost as a reference to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s GRINDHOUSE movies. I thought Billy Burke’s performance as Jonah King was both scary but good. The movie was filmed on location in Minden, Plain Dealing, and Shreveport, Louisiana from March to May 2010 with an estimated budget of $ 50,000,000. If you’re a fan of action movies or a Nicolas Cage fan, than DRIVE ANGRY 3D is a movie that I recommend for you to see.

Unknown (2011)

“Do you know what it feels like to become insane? It’s a war between being told who you are and knowing who you are… Which do you think wins?”

From Director Jaume Collet-Serra and Producer Joel Silver, the team that brought us 2005’s HOUSE OF WAX and 2009’s ORPHAN, comes the psychological action-drama-thriller from Warner Brothers Pictures and Dark Castle Entertainment called “UNKNOWN”. Based on the novel “Out of My Head” by French author Didier Van Cauwelaert and originally entitled “UNKNOWN WHITE MALE”, The film tells the story of Martin Harris (Liam Neeson – Schindler’s List, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Michael Collins, Taken, and The A-Team), an American doctor, who awakens from a coma after being in a car accident in Berlin and soon discovers that someone has taken on his identity. With no one believing who he really is, being hunted by mysterious assassins, and with the help of an unlikely ally named Gina (Diane Kruger - Inglorious Basterds, National Treasure), Martin plunges headlong into a deadly mystery that will force him to question about not only just his identity, but his sanity, and just how far he's willing to go to uncover the truth about who he really is. The film also stars January Jones (TV’s Mad Men, American Wedding) as Martin’s wife Elizabeth Harris, Aidan Quinn (Benny & Joon, Legends of the Fall) as Martin B., Bruno Ganz (The Reader) as Ernst Jürgen, and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps) as Rodney Cole. Carrie Keagan of NGTV said “It’s TAKEN meets THE BOURNE IDENTITY”, and I totally agree with her. I thought this was a very entertaining movie that had me guessing till the very end. I enjoyed a lot more than TAKEN and I credit Neeson’s performance one of the best I’ve ever seen him in. The movie was filmed entirely on location in Berlin, Germany from December 16th, 2009 to March 28th, 2010 with a budget of $ 30 million. I recommend UNKNOWN to all movie lovers, and I make it the first best film I’ve seen in 2011.

Ransom (1996)

From Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, the Academy Award winning Director-Producer team of APOLLO 13, A BEAUTIFUL MIND, and THE DA VINCI CODE, Bring us the most intense crime thriller from Touchstone Pictures and Imagine Entertainment called RANSOM. Released in 1996, the film follows the story of New York City’s multimillionaire airline owner Tom Mullen (Mel Gibson – Braveheart, Lethal Weapon trilogy) and wife Kate Mullen (Rene Russo – Lethal Weapon 3-4, Get Shorty), whose only son Sean (Brawley Nolte - Affliction) gets kidnapped by a gang of criminals, who demand $2 million as ransom. At first, Tom cooperates with the N.Y.P.D., and then later tries a unique tactic with the kidnappers’ leader by offering the ransom money for his head. The film also stars Gary Sinise (TV’s CSI: N.Y.) as N.Y.P.D. Detective Jimmy Shaker, Delroy Lindo (Malcolm X) as FBI Special Agent Lonnie Hawkins, Lili Taylor (I Shot Andy Warhol) as Maris Conner, Liev Schreiber (Scream) as Clark Barnes, Evan Handler (TV’s Sex and the City) as Miles Roberts, and actor/musician Donnie Wahlberg (New Kids on the Block, TV’s Blue Bloods) as Cubby Barnes. I sort of grew up watching this film because my Dad took me and my family to see this movie at a drive-in movie theater when I was eight years old. I forgotten about it as the years passed, and I never saw it again till I was a teenager when it was broadcasted on television. Although Ron Howard directed a very entertaining thriller, but it’s hard for me to watch it because this is one of the most intense thrillers I’ve ever seen and can’t watch. The performances of Gibson, Russo, Sinise, Lindo, and Taylor were sensational. And also Liev Schreiber, Evan Handler, and Donnie Wahlberg were also good in their performances. Gibson was nominated for a 1997 Golden Globe award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, but he lost to Geoffrey Rush for his performance in SHINE. Filmed entirely on location in New York City, New York from January 10th to May 10th, 1996, with an estimated budget of $80 million, RANSOM was released on November 8th, 1996. With $34,216,088 on its opening weekend, the film later grossed over $136,492,681 domestically. RANSOM is one of the best films of the 1990’s, and if you’re a fan of intense crime thrillers, this movie has it all.

The Green Hornet (2011)

I'm not a Seth Rogen fan, nor will I ever see him in KNOCKED UP or PINEAPPLE EXPRESS. But THE GREEN HORNET was the 1st movie of his I've seen in theaters. Based on the character of the same name that had originated in a 1930’s radio program and has appeared in movie serials, a 1960’s television series that starred legendary Martial Arts star Bruce Lee as Kato, comic books and other media, the 2011 movie follows 28 yr old irresponsible playboy Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) as he becomes the heir of his late father’s newspaper company The Daily Sentinel and teams up with his father’s assistant Kato (Asian pop singer Jay Chou), a mechanic and skilled martial artist, to become crime-fighters who pose as criminals in order to infiltrate real criminals, and also to prevent enemies from using innocents against them. The Film was Directed by French filmmaker Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and also stars Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (2009 – Best Supporting Actor, Inglorious Basterds) as Russian gangster Benjamin Chudnofsky, Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) as Britt’s father James Reid, Edward James Olmos (TV’s Battlestar Galactica) as The Daily Sentinel’s managing editor Mike Axford, David Harbour (007 – Quantum of Solace) as D.A. Frank Scanlon, Edward Furlong (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) as meth dealer Tupper, and Cameron Diaz (Charlie’s Angels) as Britt’s secretary Lenore ‘Casey’ Case. I really loved the action sequences but the comedy I thought wasn't that great. However, there were some funny gags like when Rogen accidently shoots himself with the gas gun and running away from the cement truck. I loved how they showed a drawing of Bruce Lee as a tribute to the legendary Kato. As I was watching Rogen, he reminded me of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark from IRON MAN. But to me, I thought he was ten times worse than Tony Stark. I’m also surprised that he co-wrote the story with his friend and collaborator Evan Goldberg, who both did Rogen’s past movies. I thought Jay Chou was awesome. I thought the performance by Tom Wilkinson almost reminded me him from ROCKNROLLA, cause he had the same attitude he portrayed from that movie. It's weird for me to see Cameron Diaz in this film because I thought she was least expected. And the scenes between her and Rogen I thought were dumb. After seeing Christoph Waltz in INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, I was happy to see him in this film as Chudnofsky. And I thought he did a great job in his performance. I was surprised to see James Franco, Rogen’s Pineapple Express co-star, in a terrific cameo appearance as rival drug dealer Danny "Crystal" Clear. Filmed entirely on location in Los Angeles, Calfornia in late 2009 with an estimated budget of $120 million, the film was originally to released as a regular film in the summer of 2010, but Sony pushed it to January 2011 to secure more time to convert it into a 3D film. As for the film itself, I only loved the action but not the comedy. But I recommend that you see it if you’re a Seth Rogen fan like I’m not. Sorry!

Braveheart (1995)

“Would you be willin' for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM!” “Alba gu bràth!” (“Scotland Forever”). Do you know what movie features that famous quote from? It’s from Director Mel Gibson’s 1995 epic historical action drama BRAVEHEART. The film is based on the true story of William Wallace (Mel Gibson), a 13th Century Scottish man and patriot, who rallies his fellow countrymen into liberation with the English and to overthrow King Edward I aka “Longshanks” (Patrick McGoohan – ITV’s Secret Agent aka Danger Man). The film also stars Sophie Marceau (007 – The World is Not Enough) as Princess Isabelle of France, Angus Macfadyen (Cradle Will Rock) as 17th Earl Robert the Bruce, Brendan Gleeson (28 Days Later) as William’s often short-sighted but thinks with his fists childhood friend Hamish Campbell, Catherine McCormack (Spy Game) as William’s wife Murron MacClannough, David O’Hara (The Departed) as the fearless Irishman Stephen, James Cosmo (Highlander) as Hamish’s father Campbell the Elder, Peter Hanly (BBC’s Ballykissangel) as Longshanks’s homosexual son Prince Edward of Wales, Ian Bannen (Ghost Dad) as Robert’s father The Leper, Tommy Flanagan (Smokin’ Aces) as Morrison, Alun Armstrong (The Mummy Returns) as Mornay, Michael Byrne (Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade) as Smyth, John Kavanagh (The Black Dahlia) as Craig, Stephen Billington (Resident Evil) as Prince Edward’s lover Phillip, John Murtagh (Rob Roy) as Lochlan, Richard Leaf (The Fifth Element) as the Governor of York, and Brian Cox (Manhunter) as William’s uncle and Roman catholic priest Argyle Wallace. I’ve heard about this movie since it came out when I was six years old. I grew up watching Mel Gibson in other films such as the LETHAL WEAPON movies, and I would never see BRAVEHEART till I was 22. This was Gibson’s second film as Director after 1993’s THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE and originally was to direct and co-produce BRAVEHEART only, but finally agreed to star in it as well after he couldn’t decide who would be the right choice for Wallace. American stuntman Mic Rodgers, who was also Gibson’s stuntman from 1984 to 1997, was the stunt coordinator for the battle sequences, including the Stirling battle sequence, which features Gibson saying the famous “Freedom” speech, was shot with nine cameras within a period of six weeks between mid-July and August 1994. Filmed entirely in Scotland and Ireland for five months between June to October of 1994, BRAVEHEART was released on May 24th, 1995. Although the film was at #7 at the box office opening weekend with $2,642,460, and grossing over $75,609,945 worldwide, BRAVEHEART was nominated for 10 Academy Awards at the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, but only won five awards: Mel Gibson for Best Director, John Toll for Best Cinematography, Lon Bender and Per Hallberg for Best Sound Editing; Peter Frampton, Paul Pattison, and Lois Burwell for Best Makeup, and Best Picture. I have seen other historical epic movies such as GLADITATOR, SPARTACUS, and ROBIN HOOD: PRINCE OF THIEVES, I found BRAVEHEART to be very entertaining and I really loved James Horner’s music for the film. I add BRAVEHEART to that list of historical epics I’ve seen. And if you haven’t seen it, I recommend it.

Rush Hour (1998)

What do you do if you take the fastest hands in the east and the biggest mouth in the west? My answer is simply this: You put them together, mixing punches with punch lines, in Director Brett Ratner’s (The Family Man, Red Dragon, and X-Men: The Last Stand) martial arts buddy-action-comedy RUSH HOUR. Distributed by New Line Cinema and released in 1998, the film tells the story of two mismatched cops from different worlds and with nothing in common: top Hong Kong Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and big-mouthed, work alone, Los Angeles Police Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), who reluctantly team up to catch a group of criminals who kidnap the daughter of a Chinese Consul and demand a ransom of $50 million – if they don’t kill each other first. The film also stars Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton) as British Police Commander Thomas Griffin, Philip Baker Hall (Hard Eight) as L.A.P.D. Captain William Diel, Mark Rolston (The Departed) as Special FBI Agent in Charge Warren Russ, Tzi Ma (Rapid Fire) as Chinese Consul Solon Han, Rex Linn (TV’s CSI: Miami) as FBI Agent Dan Whitney, Ken Leung (Saw) as Chinese criminal Sang, Clifton Powell (Next Friday) as Luke, John Hawkes (The Perfect Storm) as Stucky, with Chris Penn (Reservoir Dogs) as Clive Cod, and Elizabeth Peña (Transamerica) as L.A.P.D. Detective Tania Johnson. I was ten years old and was in the fifth grade when this film came out that fall and I never got the chance to see it in the theaters. I finally did seeing it once when my father rented it on VHS the following spring, but when it was finally broadcast on network television during the time RUSH HOUR 2 was released, I started to really like this movie and would watch it over and over again on TV till I finally added to my DVD collection. My favorite scene would have to be the fight scene at the Foo-Chow Restaurant. As a fan of Jackie Chan, Ratner really wanted to do a film with him and the thought the script for RUSH HOUR was the perfect choice. And Tucker had previously worked with Ratner, who are also life-long friends, on 1997’s MONEY TALKS. According to Ratner, this was Jackie Chan’s first English speaking role that did not involve any kind of dubbing that what Chan did in his other movies from Hong Kong. Filmed in Los Angeles, California and some in Hong Kong, China from December 1st, 1997 to February 17th, 1998 with a budget of $33,000,000, RUSH HOUR opened at #1 at the box office, with a weekend gross of $33,001,803 when it was released on September 18th, 1998, and later grossed over $141,186,864 worldwide. Before the film was placed at #7 of the top grossing films of 1998, it gained relatively positive reviews from critics, such as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert giving it Two Thumbs Up and many other critics praised Chris Tucker for his comical acts in the film and how he and Chan formed an effective comic duo. Their performances earned them both 1999 MTV and Blockbuster Movie Awards for Best On-Screen Duo and Favorite Duo. With the success of RUSH HOUR, The film went on to spoil in two hit sequels: 2001’s Rush Hour 2, earning $226,164,286 domestically, and 2007’s Rush Hour 3, which earned $140,125,968 domestically. “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth” when I say RUSH HOUR is one of the greatest action comedies of all time? And if you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend it.

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

In 1984, actor/comedian Eddie Murphy left NBC’s Saturday Night Live after four years (1980-1984) and went on to focus on his movie career after appearing in the hit movies: 1982’S 48 HRS. And 1983’S TRADING PLACES. In that same year, he starred in his first leading role that shot him into international stardom, that was originally to be played by Sylvester Stallone, in Producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer’s Paramount Pictures production called BEVERLY HILLS COP. Directed by Martin Brest (Scent of a Woman, Midnight Run), The film tells the story of Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), A young, wisecracking but street-smart Detective from Detroit, who travels to Beverly Hills, California to solve his best friend’s murder, but finds himself dealing with the very different culture that Beverly Hills has. The film also stars Judge Reinhold (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) as Detective William ‘Billy’ Rosewood, John Ashton (Midnight Run) as Sgt. John Taggert, Lisa Eilbacher (Live Wire) as Axel’s best friend Jeannette ‘Jenny’ Summers, Ronny Cox (Deliverance) as Lt. Andrew Bogomil, Steven Berkoff (007 - Octopussy) as Victor Maitland, James Russo (Once Upon a Time in America) as Axel’s doomed best friend Michael ‘Mikey’ Tandino, Jonathan Banks (48 Hrs.) as Zack, Bronson Pinchot (TV’s Perfect Strangers) as Serge, Paul Reiser (TV’s Mad About You) as Detective Jeffrey Friedman, and real life former Detroit Police Detective Gilbert R. Hill as Axel’s trash talking boss Inspector Douglas Todd. I started to watch this movie when my parents had it on VHS, and I would watch it over and over again, and I loved it. As I said earlier that it was be starring Sylvester Stallone, The movie was written for him, with the character of Michael Tandino being his brother, Jenny Summers being his love interest, and did a lot of work on the screenplay by making it as a much bigger action movie. But two weeks before filming was to start, Stallone was suddenly out and Murphy was in, prompting massive rewrites. However, Stallone would later use the same ideas for his 1986 film COBRA. After watching ARMAGEDDON and ENEMY OF THE STATE when I was ten, and by the time I was to middle school, I became a big fan of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, but I never noticed that he was one of the producers of this film when I first watched it. I love the famous Axel F. song that composer Harold Faltermeyer made for the film, and I listen to it sometimes on my iPod. Filmed in Detroit, Michigan and between Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California, with a budget of $15 million, the film was released on December 5th, 1984, opening at #1 at the box office with $15,214,805. It was well received by film critics and it went on to become one of the best films of that year, grossing over $316,360,478 worldwide. Not only was it one of the best movies of 1984, next to GHOSTBUSTERS, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, and THE TERMINATOR, BEVERLY HILLS COP is one of the greatest Hollywood action comedies of all time. And if you haven’t seen it, I am so recommending it for you to see it!