Law Abiding Citizen

The next installment of movie reviews is about the thriller Law Abiding Citizen. For those that want a smart, revenge thriller where no one is safe, this might be the film for you. If you don’t want gore, or mature content, just stop reading and don’t consider the film. It is not a children’s movie in any means, but if these things don’t bother you, continue on and hopefully see it.

Gerard Butler stars as Clyde Shelton, who during a violent home invasion, witnesses the death of his daughter and wife. His lawyer, Nick Rice, played by Jamie Foxx, tells Clyde that due to botched forensic evidence, and the fact that Clyde’s testimony alone is not enough for a conviction. Nick, against his own will, makes a plea agreement with the killers. One killer, Darby, will testify against his accomplice for a sentence of three years, while his accomplice, Ames, will be sentenced to the death penalty. Shelton knows that Darby is the real killer and he feels betrayed by the justice system and Nick. The film jumps ahead ten years to the execution of Ames, who during the lethal injection becomes tortured with a concoction of chemicals that make his death long and painful, rather than quick and pain free. Shelton then goes after Darby and kills him and sends a tape of the action to Nick Rice. The film follows the standoff between the two men and the cunning that Shelton has for what he believes is the right thing.

As stated the main stars of the film are Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx. Butler is most well known for the title role in 300 and Phantom of the Opera. Lately he has been mixing it up with either action films or romantic comedies. Jamie Foxx started out acting in films in 1992, but didn’t break big until roles in Any Given Sunday and Collateral. His biggest project, Ray, projected him to star status for his role as Ray Charles. That role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor.

The director of the film is F. Gary Gray. He also began his career in 1992, by directing Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day” music video. When he was just 24 he directed his first feature film, Friday, which also starred Ice Cube. He has also directed the films The Negotiator, The Italian Job, and Be Cool. He is expected to direct the sequel of The Italian Job, The Brazilian Job, if it ever gets going again. It has been in development hell for about three years.

This film is an adaptation of the “classic revenge” story that tells of anger and loss. When upset with the system, why not set it back to zero? I personally didn’t like this film at first, maybe because I watched it on an airplane, but the second time I saw it, it grew on me because of the unique story and strong acting from the leads.

4/5 stars.

Source Code

The latest update from your friendly, neighborhood movie critic is Source Code.

Source Code is about an army helicopter pilot, Colter Stevens, who wakes up on a commuter train traveling to Chicago, although the last thing he remembers is a mission in Afghanistan. He finds out that he appears as Sean Fentriss, a school teacher. As he begins to understand that he is Sean Fentriss, the train explodes, kills everyone on board, and derails and runs into a train going the other direction. He wakes up in an unknown area. Through a screen he sees Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin who explains that he is in an experimental unit known as “Source Code”. It allows its user to go back and experience another well-suited person’s life within a past alternate timeline. He is also told that the train explosion cannot be changed, but if he can find the bomber, he can save millions of innocent lives. Stevens goes back into the “Source Code” and tries to identify the bomber, but in the process thinks he can change the past alternate timeline. The film focuses on the struggle between Stevens and finding the bomber, as well as trying to change the explosion although he is told he cannot.

The film is directed by Duncan Jones, David Bowie’s son, who has directed Source Code and Moon. He is known for his two science-fiction films and is understanding of science and the research he puts into the projects. His first film, Moon, was released in 2009 and is regarded as one of the best science-fiction films of 2009. He is currently working on an untitled project which could possibly be a sequel to Moon.

The actors in this film are phenomenal. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of Colter Stevens/ Sean Fentriss, in one of his better performances recently (mainly because I am comparing it to Prince of Persia). Michelle Monaghan plays Christina Warren, Sean Fentriss’s travelling partner, in her best role since Gone Baby Gone. Accompanying these two are Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright. Vera Farmiga plays the role of Air Force Captain Colleen Goodwin, and plays it extremely well. I think she is one of the most underappreciated actresses working now. She always brings her A game and I haven’t seen her in a bad role yet. Jeffrey Wright, probably most well-known for his roles as Felix Leiter in the last two James Bond films, is also a phenomenal actor on the stage as well as in front of the screen.

Filming took approximately two months to do in Montreal, Canada and Chicago, Illinois. Editing took place in Los Angeles and the soundtrack was to be done by Clint Mansell, who did the soundtrack for Moon, but due to time constraints, Chris P. Bacon replaced him.

Critics and fans alike both like this film. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a score of 92 percent, Entertainment Weekly gave it a B+, and Metacritic gave it a 74/100. My rating for this film is a 4 out of 5 stars. It was extremely well done and the acting was great, but some of the plot was confusing and needed further explanation. Loved the ending though, so if you want a smart science-fiction thriller with Jake Gyllenhaal, this is your movie. You will not see the ending coming.

Ideas?

I need your feedback! I can write reviews about anything I want, but it only works if it benefits you. You are the audience; I am the service. It only works if you tell me what you want.

I've already done Shawshank Redemption, Black Swan, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Inside Man. I've done a long drama (Shawshank), a psychological thriller (Swan), a motion-captured kid's movie (Fox), and a bank robbery drama (Man).

So what do you want next?? Do you want something completely different? Maybe a comedy this time? A musical? The same kind of films? This all depends on you.

Send me your suggestions of films that you want to see, but aren't sure if you should actually see it. I can persuade you to either see it or skip it. I'm not doing films in theaters at the moment, but anything on DVD is fair game.

Thanks!

Shawshank Redemption

The next edition of Tom’s Movie Reviews is the film Shawshank Redemption. I should start by saying this is one of the best films of all time. If you haven’t seen it yet, stop reading this review, and go rent or buy it now. But, if you’re still hesitant on my word and still want to know what it is about, then keep reading.

The storyline of the film revolves around Andy Dufrense (played by Tim Robbins), who is a successful banker who is sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and her lover. In the prison for the first years, he is lonely and separated from the rest of the prison population but over the years, he gains the respect of some of the other inmates, most importantly “Red” Redding (played by Morgan Freeman), who is the smuggler of goods into the prison. They forge a friendship throughout the years. Andy asks Red to get him a small rock hammer to continue with his hobby of rock collecting and posters of beautiful women such as Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe. He also befriends the warden and the officers by doing their finances, to make his life in jail easier. Shawshank Redemption is about the relationship between Red and Andy and their lives behind bars.

This film is based off of a Stephen King short story Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption in his collection Different Seasons. It has been said by many critics and readers that it is his greatest work. It was adapted for film in 1994 and was nominated for seven Academy Awards including: Best Picture, Best Actor (Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Original Score. It did not win the Best Picture that year because the competition was so great. 1994 was also the year that Pulp Fiction and Forrest Gump came out, and while most critics thought the race for Best Picture was between Pulp Fiction and Shawshank Redemption, Forrest Gump snuck out with the statue.

The fun fact of the day is that this version of the film might not have been made. Frank Darabont, the director of the film and the owner of the film rights, almost gave Rob Reiner the film rights for 2.5 million dollars. He wanted to be the writer and director of the film. Andy would have been played by Tom Cruise, and Red would have been played by Harrison Ford. Think about that for a second.

This film is easily a 5 star out of 5 star film. The story is rich and the characters make the film feel real. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, go watch it. It is an extremely well-done film that will keep you interested throughout the entire movie. This film is about life, love, and friendship; all things that we care about today.