10s Movie Review - Broken City

Director: Allen Hughes
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 109 minutes
Year: 2013
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Barry Pepper, Alona Tal, Natalie Martinez, Michael Beach, Kyle Chandler

Description: In a city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed by its most powerful figure: Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe).

I WATCHED THIS FILM FOR MY 2022 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 11: A MURDER MYSTERY
 
Review: “Broken City” begins with a trial in which private investigator Billy Taggart is charged with murder. Nicholas Hostetler, the mayor of New York City, gets him off by suppressing evidence and preventing a witness from speaking. After all, Billy is a hero since the victim was a rapist. The mayor is well aware that it is an election year and does everything he can to keep the voters on his side. After his release, Billy goes back to work and notes the mayor calls him for a job. Hostetler suspects that his wife is cheating on him and wants to know all about it. Billy indeed finds out that the first lady of New York is having a secret relationship, after which her lover is found dead.
The first thing that stands out is the great cast they managed to assemble for this film. Mark Wahlberg does his tough guy routine perfectly. It may be a copy of previous roles, but why change something that works? Russel Crowe is also in good form. He visibly enjoys his role as a sleezy politician who thinks only of himself. The best moments are the cold scenes between Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones, who plays his wife. Their hatred for each other is very visible and it’s a shame they don’t get much screentime together. Other roles are played by Barry Pepper, Jeffrey Wright and Kyle Chandler. Still, despite the fantastic cast, “Broken City” has not become a top-notch film. The story just isn’t engaging enough. It’s clear that director Allen Hughes and screenwriter Brian Tucker have tried to make it a contemporary “Chinatown”, but that level is nowhere met. At times the plot seems to get complicated, only to be too simple again.

Rating: 2,5 / 5

Movie Review - Crawl

Director: Alexandre Aja
Genre: Horror/ Action/ Adventure/ Drama
Runtime: 87 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper

Description: While attempting to save her father (Barry Pepper) during a category 5 hurricane, Haley (Kaya Scodelario) finds herself trapped in a flooding house and must fight for her life against alligators.

Review: The era of summer blockbuster once started with “Jaws”. And if you loved “Jaws”, you’re really going to like “Crawl” as well. It’s a small survival horror film, where two people are trying to escape hungry alligators. This simple given isn’t a masterpiece like “Jaws”, but results in a surprisingly solid and fun monster movie.
During a hurricane in Florida, Haley is trying to find her father. She finds him knocked out in his basement. And that’s the least of their problems, because the are prey for alligators, who managed to enter the house. And since the water is rising, they have to find a way to get out of the house and away from the alligators.
It’s a pretty simple story, set in one location and it only has two characters. With only 87 minutes of runtime, it’s the perfect recipe for this film. The scare moments are good. No unnecessary jump scares (lots of loud noises and nothing happens), but jump scares when you don’t expect them and something does happen. Very well timed. The characters have a little depth, there is a backstory and you see that father and daughter grew apart. This gives you a little bit of relatability.
The premise could have easily become ridiculous, like “Sharknado” also used a hurricane. But “Crawl” could easily be a true story, for the most part. And it was surprisingly bloody I might say. Just the right amount of horror. And most of the injuries that Haley and her dad get, are believable. Up until the end, it becomes a little less credible, but overall it’s very well done.
What most monster movies miss or horror movies lack, are good performances. Well, not “Crawl”. Both Kaya Scodelario and Barry Pepper are very strong in their roles. Apart and together. And both portray characters that you can easily relate too or root for.
“Crawl” is definitely a movie that I will rewatch someday and as a lover of monster movies, it’s a film I can recommend.

Rating: 4/ 5

90s Movie Review - Saving Private Ryan

Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Drama/ Action
Runtime: 170 minutes
Year: 1998
Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson, Dennis Farina

Description: Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper (Matt Damon) whose brothers have been killed in action.

Review: Director Steven Spielberg proofs again why he is one of the best directors in Hollywood, with this strong war movie. When three brothers of the Ryan family have died in battle, it’s decided that the fourth brother can go home. Problem is that this soldier is somewhere in France. To find Ryan, Captain John Miller is the person to find him, together with a team of eight men.
The movie is divided in three parts: the first part is the landing of the American troops on Omaha Beach on june 6th 1944, D-Day. The second part is the search for private Ryan. The third part is what the soldiers do when they have actually found Ryan.
Especially that opening scene is very violent and shocking and it’s definitely one of the best opening scenes in movie history. Not only that first scene makes this movie good. The screenplay is intelligent and the camera work is fantastic. And also the acting. Tom Hanks does exactly what we expect from him: an excellent job! The interaction between him and his team and later also with Damon’s characters is impressive and believable. Smaller roles by Dennis Farina, Vin Diesel, Ted Danson and Paul Giamatti are also worth mentioning.
The movie won several Academy Awards, one being best director. Totally deserved. It’s a fact that “Saving Private Ryan” is one of Spielberg’s best, and he already made so many great ones.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

90s Review - The Green Mile

Director: Frank Darabont
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 181 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Tom Hanks, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Clarke Duncan, James Cromwel, Michael Jeter, Graham greene, Doug Hutchison, Sam Rockwell, Barry Pepper, Jeffrey DeMunn, Patricia Clarkson, Harry Dean Stanton

Description: The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.

Review: Director Frank Darabont is at his best when filming adaptations of Stephen King novels. His directorial debut, “The Shawshank Redemption”, hit every mark. With “The Green Mile” he’s on trusted territory, because it’s also set in a prison. It does introduce a new element: the paranormal. “The Green Mile” is set in a death row cell block, led by Paul Edgecomb, in 1935. They call it the green mile. He runs it with his best friend Brutus Howell, the young Dean Stanton, veteran Harry Terwilliger and newcomer and sadistic Percy Wetmore.
All prison guards, except for Percy, want the prisoners the end their life in the most humane way possible. The silent Native American Arlen Bitterbuck and the joyful Eduard ‘Del’ Delacroix are both waiting for their judgment day. One day, the gigantic John Coffey is brought in. He is sentenced for the rape and murder of two young girls. But he looks more dangerous then he actually is. Coffey is afraid of the dark and has a gentle character. Soon Paul discovers that something special is going on and that John Coffey has a gift.
Like “The Shawshank Redemption”, “The Green Mile” is a film that’s carried by the actors. Tom Hanks is perfect for his role as sympathetic protagonist and through his eyes we see the story. Doug Hutchison is very convincing as the exasperating Percy. Sam Rockwell goes nuts as crazy inmate Wild Bill, David Morse is likeable as the goodhearted Brutus and James Cromwell portrays his role as prison boss very well. But it’s Michael Clarke Duncan that impresses the most. He grabs viewers and it’s really hard not to like him.
“The Green Mile” is a powerful film with a good message, that will leave many people in tears. The characters get all the room to exploit. Darabont puts the focus on the characters and not on the plot.

Rating: 5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 1: The Lone Ranger

Director: Gore Verbinski

Genre: Action/ Adventure

Runtime: 149 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, James Badge Dale, Barry Pepper, Helena Bonham Carter

Description: Native American warrior Tonto (Johnny Depp) recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid (Armie Hammer), a man of the law, into a legend of justice.

Review: Johnny Depp and Jerry Bruckheimer wanted to do another epic film, after the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. Something that would speak to both young and old. The popular radio show “The Lone Ranger” caught their attention. Later the show was turned into a television series, but a movie adaptation hadn’t been made yet. Bruckheimer and Depp hoped that with some of the Pirates magic and a big budget they would succeed. Well, they didn’t.

The old Indian Tonto tells the story of John Reid and how they met. When Reid’s brother is killed by bad guy Butch Cavendish, Reid wants revenge. He doesn’t want to kill Cavendish, because that’s not like Reid, but he wants justice. Tonto advices him to wear a Zorro like mask and together with his white cowboy hat his costume is complete and he starts working as the Lone Ranger.

Gore Verbinski made a somewhat confusing film. On one hand it looks like a kids film. The scenes with Tonto are humorous and sometimes like a silent film. Depp manages to create a quirky character, like he did with Jack Sparrow. But sometimes Verbinski choses to leave out the comedy completely and the film turns into this serious western.

Sadly they choose “The Lone Ranger” to be so serious at times and the film is very long too. The action sequences do look great from time to time, like the train scene in the first half hour. The film should be either an adventurous film with humor or a serious western. Now, the film doesn’t really find its direction.

Rating: 2/ 5