You know how much I like to throw a little curve ball at all you readers (all 6 of you). I have been watching some independent films and I have one that you must check out. The film is called Twelve and Holding and it came out in 2005. The story starts with these twin brothers, Jacob and Rudy, getting chased around by the town bullies. They meet up with their two friends an over weight boy named Leonard and a little girl named Malee. The little group hears that the bullies are going to try to tear down their tree house so Rudy decides to meet Leonard there to stop them. The bullies throw a bottle with a burning towel at the tree house. Leonard escapes after he falls on his head and poor Rudy is buried alive. This is a really hard scene to watch but very good. Don't worry I'm not giving anything away because this happens in the first 5 minutes.
After Rudy's death Jacob tries to live his life. Jacob is different from Ruby because he has a big birthmark on the side of his face. Leonard finds out that he lost his sense of smell and because of that he can no longer taste food. Malee meets a man in her mother's therapy office named Gus (played by Jeremy Renner).
The movie divides into 3 small stories about the year after Rudy's death. Jacob becomes close with the boy who accidentally killed Rudy. He continues to go visit him and tell him about the outside world.
Leonard decides to get in shape and save his own life. He starts working out and eating right. This throws off Leonards whole family because they are big people and eat terrible foods. Leonard see this as his second chance for a better life. I wont mess up the ending but let's just say that he takes the diet to the extremes with his family.
Malee was by far my favorite character. She is this little 12 year old girl that gets her first crush on Gus. To be totally honest what girl wouldn't have a crush on Jeremy Renner if he was sweet to you. Malee starts to sneak around to find information about Gus. She even sneaks into her mother's office to hear his therapy session. Gus used to be a fire fighter and has serious post-traumatic stress. Now Gus is doing construction on the land where Rudy was killed.
I may give you a bit of a spoiler here but I have to talk about this scene, it is so powerful. Malee finds a key to Gus's apartment and shows up there. She goes through his things and finds a gun in his drawer. Just as she grabs it Gus comes home. Malee hides under the bed and watches as Gus gets into the shower. Gus starts to have an emotional break down in the shower. His back is to the door and his head in the corner of the shower. This is some of the best acting I have ever seen with Renner. As he is having this emotional break down, Malee walks into the bathroom and tries to put her hand on his back. She stops and walks out without him ever knowing she was there.
The rest of the movie Malee starts to see Gus more and more. She talks to him about falling in love and not liking the boys her age. As she sees him more and more she starts to dress more like a little woman and not a little girl.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!!!!!!
One night Malee shows up to Gus' and cleans the house, makes the bed, and cooks dinner. When he walks in he looks confused as she is sitting there. He has a moment of realization that she has been in here before and took his gun. She walks up to him and takes off her robe. He looks away and tells her to stop this craziness and get dressed. She is begging him to hold her and says they are soul mates. He covers her up with his jacket and calls her mother.
Later Gus talks to Malee's mother about how he felt terrible because he knew she had a crush on him and didn't discourage it. But then he tells a story about a fire where he killed another little girl. He said that Malee looked at him the same way. She just wanted him to take her pain away. He was Malee's escape from everything that happened.
There is alot more that happen but I want you to WATCH the movie!
The acting by the 3 little actors is stunning. They have the emotional range that gets at your heart. You forget that these are just young kids and believe these wise souls. Jeremy Renner is fantastic and completely tragic in this film. You just want to reach out and help him and the kids with all the pain they are dealing with.
Over all A!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Killer Elite
Alrighty then, so I saw Abduction and Killer Elite in the same night. I must have been in an action adventure mood. Killer Elite is an action drama that is filled with guns, stunts, and government cover-up. All the good things that make films interesting! We have Jason Statham as Danny, he is the best of the best assassins. He know how to do his job and do it well. There is also Robert DeNiro as Hunter, he was the best and he trained Danny. Danny looks at Hunter as a type of father figure/mentor. We then throw in a little sexy Clive Owen as Spike a MI5 former enforcer.
The film starts with Danny and Hunter going on a job in the Middle East during the 1980's. Now this movie claims to be based on real events but you know how loosely that term in used now a days. Anyways, the job goes bad and Danny is injured and decides to get out of the "life". We flash ahead a few years and we see Danny is living in the Outback and has a new girlfriend played by Yvonne Strahovski. She is a new actress but very sweet and charming. She is one of those girls you can't help but like. Danny gets a package with a picture of Hunter being taken prisoner.
Danny finds out that a Middle Eastern man wants revenge for the British government killing his 3 sons. He hires Danny to find these men, get a recorded confession, and kill them but make it look like an accident. This is so the man's son can go back to his homeland with revenge. The only way Danny will do it is if they have Hunter.
Danny must assemble a team and hunt these guys down. Spike is a retired agent that finds out about Danny and tries to stop him. He tries to figure out Danny's every move to stop him.
The movie is filled with everything a Statham film has, action, adventure, and guns. They movie was very well done with stunts. There were only a few that you didn't believe were possible. There is a great one of Statham flipping over while tied to a chair....it's freaking awesome! I must say Owen really kept up with Statham's action. There are a few great fight scenes between the two of them.
The movie does tend to slow down a bit in the middle. It was almost like there was too much action and it didn't have the same effect anymore. It does pick up again near the end and then you will be on the edge of your seat till the credits roll.
Action: Yep
Adventure: no bad
romance: so so
Over all B+
The film starts with Danny and Hunter going on a job in the Middle East during the 1980's. Now this movie claims to be based on real events but you know how loosely that term in used now a days. Anyways, the job goes bad and Danny is injured and decides to get out of the "life". We flash ahead a few years and we see Danny is living in the Outback and has a new girlfriend played by Yvonne Strahovski. She is a new actress but very sweet and charming. She is one of those girls you can't help but like. Danny gets a package with a picture of Hunter being taken prisoner.
Danny finds out that a Middle Eastern man wants revenge for the British government killing his 3 sons. He hires Danny to find these men, get a recorded confession, and kill them but make it look like an accident. This is so the man's son can go back to his homeland with revenge. The only way Danny will do it is if they have Hunter.
Danny must assemble a team and hunt these guys down. Spike is a retired agent that finds out about Danny and tries to stop him. He tries to figure out Danny's every move to stop him.
The movie is filled with everything a Statham film has, action, adventure, and guns. They movie was very well done with stunts. There were only a few that you didn't believe were possible. There is a great one of Statham flipping over while tied to a chair....it's freaking awesome! I must say Owen really kept up with Statham's action. There are a few great fight scenes between the two of them.
The movie does tend to slow down a bit in the middle. It was almost like there was too much action and it didn't have the same effect anymore. It does pick up again near the end and then you will be on the edge of your seat till the credits roll.
Action: Yep
Adventure: no bad
romance: so so
Over all B+
Abduction
So let me get something out there, I did not only see this movie because Taylor Lautner was in it. I really wanted to see this because of the action and adventure.....ok ok I was also curious about our dear little Taylor. For those of you that don't know I met little Taylor once at a book signing for Breaking Dawn. (That's right I just admitted my Twilight readings!) He is from the town next to mine and I have to say he is the sweetest most down to earth guy I have ever met. I did meet him before he was big buff Taylor. Anyways I was interested to see if our local boy could hold his own in this film. I must say, BRAVO
The movie is the typical teen action film. There is a girl that the boy likes and as always she gets mixed up in the mess. You all know I have a strict no spoilers policy unless I feel very passionate about the movie. So I'll try my very best not to give anything away. The film is about Nathan (Lautner) a high school kid who has a less than normal family. His parents are played by Maria Bello and Jason Issacs, both are amazing in this film. They are not in the movie long but they have this amazing chemistry with each other and with Taylor. Issacs trains Lautner how to defend himself and they honestly beat the crap out of each other. The fighting in this movie is awesome and the fact that Taylor does almost all of his stunts is just plain IMPRESSIVE! Let's be honest, the boy has mad skills!
One day Nathan and his neighbor girl Karen (Lily Collins) work on a school project about missing kids. They find a picture of Nathan on a missing kids website. So out of curiosity Nathan get a hold of this website and asks about this missing child. This sends a red flag to all these societies looking for him. This is when everything falls apart. Nathan has to go on the run with Karen as they become attacked by agents and hired guns. We find out that Nathan's family is not who they say they are and now all these little societies are trying to find Nathan because he has information.
So the rest of the movie is Sigourney Weaver trying to hide Nathan and Alfred Molina as the agent trying to hunt them down. There are train fights and car crashes and lots of explosions. All the good stuff that every action film needs.
There is also this great moment where we realise Taylor Lautner is no longer a little kid. He has this great intimate scene with Lily Collins that had my jaw drop. Let's just say it reminded me of that moment in The Fast and Furious where Vin Diesel picks up Michele Rodriquez....YIKES! Yeah let's just say I had to remind myself that Lautner is 19. Boy is gonna be a stud of a leading man!
Over all the movie was pretty good, the stunts and action were awesome. The movie did have a ton of total crap dialog. You could almost predict the cheesy one-liner coming next. Other than that the movie is still entertaining and interesting. I say if you are in the mood for some action and a fun story check this out. The acting is alright and the stunts kick major tail!
Action; Yeppers
Adventure: Yeah
Drama: A little
Romance: So So
Over all: A-
The movie is the typical teen action film. There is a girl that the boy likes and as always she gets mixed up in the mess. You all know I have a strict no spoilers policy unless I feel very passionate about the movie. So I'll try my very best not to give anything away. The film is about Nathan (Lautner) a high school kid who has a less than normal family. His parents are played by Maria Bello and Jason Issacs, both are amazing in this film. They are not in the movie long but they have this amazing chemistry with each other and with Taylor. Issacs trains Lautner how to defend himself and they honestly beat the crap out of each other. The fighting in this movie is awesome and the fact that Taylor does almost all of his stunts is just plain IMPRESSIVE! Let's be honest, the boy has mad skills!
One day Nathan and his neighbor girl Karen (Lily Collins) work on a school project about missing kids. They find a picture of Nathan on a missing kids website. So out of curiosity Nathan get a hold of this website and asks about this missing child. This sends a red flag to all these societies looking for him. This is when everything falls apart. Nathan has to go on the run with Karen as they become attacked by agents and hired guns. We find out that Nathan's family is not who they say they are and now all these little societies are trying to find Nathan because he has information.
So the rest of the movie is Sigourney Weaver trying to hide Nathan and Alfred Molina as the agent trying to hunt them down. There are train fights and car crashes and lots of explosions. All the good stuff that every action film needs.
There is also this great moment where we realise Taylor Lautner is no longer a little kid. He has this great intimate scene with Lily Collins that had my jaw drop. Let's just say it reminded me of that moment in The Fast and Furious where Vin Diesel picks up Michele Rodriquez....YIKES! Yeah let's just say I had to remind myself that Lautner is 19. Boy is gonna be a stud of a leading man!
Over all the movie was pretty good, the stunts and action were awesome. The movie did have a ton of total crap dialog. You could almost predict the cheesy one-liner coming next. Other than that the movie is still entertaining and interesting. I say if you are in the mood for some action and a fun story check this out. The acting is alright and the stunts kick major tail!
Action; Yeppers
Adventure: Yeah
Drama: A little
Romance: So So
Over all: A-
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