Ridley does it again....

Body of Lies (2008)

You really have to admire Ridley Scott's moxie.

Even though the 70-year-old director has long established himself as one of Hollywood's best and most durable directors; having helmed some of the most entertaining films of all time, in virtually every genre (including sci-fi classics like Alien and Blade Runner); and having been nominated no less than three times for the Best Director Oscar (Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down), to decide to take on theme that has produced exactly zero blockbusters thus far – the Middle East and terrorism – takes an incredible amount of chutzpah.

But it does help if you have the help of two of the biggest actors in Hollywood at the moment, those being Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe (who has worked with Scott on two previous films, Gladiator and A Good Year). It's ironic to think that the last time these two actors shared the screen was back in 1995, with the clichéd-but-entertaining oater The Quick and the Dead. Of course, at the time, Crowe was a complete unknown and DiCaprio was a 21-year-old newcomer with only a couple of notable titles under his belt. But oh, how that's all changed now.

It's not easy to describe the plot of Body of Lies without giving too much away. DiCaprio plays CIA operative Roger Ferris, who is trying to flush out a terrorist leader named Al-Saleem in Jordan. He gets his orders from Ed Hoffman (Crowe), a man for whom results are the only satisfactory outcome, delivered with a fair amount of arrogance and a cocky Southern drawl. Ed plays the situation like a kid playing a video game, and has the resources to change the rules anytime he feels like it, dispensing his orders from his office, from his backyard, from his daughter's soccer game, for Pete's sake! This, of course, infuriates Ferris to no end, because he is the one who is in the trenches, chasing the bad guys, dodging bullets, ducking explosions, and procuring the badly-needed intelligence that Hoffman needs. Ferris is also trying to build a productive working relationship with the head of Jordanian Intelligence, Hani Salaam (Mark Strong), a relationship that is made even more tenuous by Hoffman's double-dealings and hidden agendas.

There are so many ways that Scott could have screwed this up. A lesser director might have chosen to ramp up the action, sacrificing intelligence for entertainment. A lesser director could have taken this story of espionage and twisted it into a convoluted and indecipherable Gordian knot. A lesser director would have gotten less convincing performances from his lead actors.

But Ridley Scott is not a lesser director. Though the plot is indeed complex, with many layers and sub-layers, deceit and treachery, Scott never lets you lose sight of the overall picture. He tells a solid, wonderfully entertaining story, without the need to drive home its message with sledgehammer subtlety (after all, very few things are black and white). And most of all, he gets electric performances from Crowe and DiCaprio, whose symbiotic relationship with a thinly-veiled veneer of mutual contempt is a pleasure to watch.

I don't know if Body of Lies will end up breaking through the barrier that every movie in this genre couldn't; but for what it's worth, I hope it does. One thing's for sure… if anybody can, Ridley Scott can.

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Exactly what you want in a Punisher movie

Punisher : War Zone (2008)

Just came back from watching the movie and i was not disappointed! This is a better adoptation compare the 2004 version and 1989 version. For me, Ray Stevenson is THE PUNISHER!!!!. I like Dolph and Tom's interpretation are good, Stevenson was the best and showed a wide range of emotion, a great voice, fighting, guns and all together look and feel of Frank castle.

This is one of the best adaption of a comic in a long time, the back story for Frank Castle was right on target and though Jigsaw's origin is modified its a better origin. The casting for all characters was great (way to go Wayne for Microchip and Dominic for Jigsaw). Everyone fit perfect.

The story for the movie felt like a comic book, as The Punisher takes out criminals and how Jigsaw and his brother Looney Bin Jim wants revenge makes for great entertainment. But I do not want to spoil anything for moviegoers, if you enjoy comics, action, or revenge movies, check this one out.

For all the people who reviewed this movie and either bitch about the violence or didn't like this incarnation of The Punisher had no idea about the character nor even read the comic book or didn't start reading until after the 2004 version. So this is a great tribute to almost all incarnation of the Punisher in the comics and even a nod to the 1989 version too.

Though I like all the Punisher movies, I liked the 1989 version better then 2004 version, I think this is better then the 1989 and best adaption (it may seem like a broken record, but I feel it is necessary).

By all mean check out one of the best action and comic book movie in a long time. This brings back what action should be like. I too hope this will have a good box office return, as well for rentals and sales to bring more sequels! The producers are already in talks in for more and Barricuda could be the next villain!

Way to go Lexi and Ray and everybody involved working on this film, thank you for bringing back the PUNISHER!!!

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Smash! Crash! and Shattered Glass...

Eagle Eye (2008)

Jerry Shaw: (shouting) "Are you the one who called me on the phone?"

Rachel Holloman: "She called you too?"

'Eagle Eye' is a race-against-time thriller starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Mackie and Billy Bob Thornton. Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together by a mysterious phone call from a woman they have never met. Threatening their lives and family, she pushes Jerry and Rachel into a series of increasingly dangerous situations--using the technology of everyday life to track and control their every move. As the situation escalates, these two ordinary people become the country's most wanted fugitives, who must work together to discover what is really happening--and more importantly, why.

A highly entertaining popcorn flick thrill ride that doesn't stop from start to finish. The movie kind of starts slow, introducing the main characters Jerry (Shia) and Rachel (Michelle) and a bit of story development from each character but then the minute Shia's character is arrested by the FBI under false pretenses, the movie kicks into overdrive and the adrenaline rush doesn't stop until it ends. Eagle Eye is a prime example of a highly budgeted studio popcorn flick with big explosions and eye popping car chase sequences. Michael Bay should be proud.

The plot is somehow far fetched and implausible which makes this kind of a science fiction in its kind and so far, this has been one of the better science fiction I have seen but its no 'Blade Runner'. Pure mindless, adrenaline, over-the-top sci-fi thriller fun, and I liked it...a lot.

The goal of the film, besides giving us virtual adrenaline rush in high doses is, they want us, the audience to fear our cellphones and computers and hoped that after watching it, we would never ever touch a single technological gadget in our lives. Just like what Spielberg did when he made 'Jaws'. When people saw the film, they thought twice in getting in a sailboat and heading out to open seas. It could have worked, it might not but if you ask me, I'm still not afraid of my BlackBerry. I love my BlackBerry. But that's just me.

Shia LaBeouf who is clearly making his way into bankable lead actor status is improving in every film that I see him in. He's one of those actors you might want to watch out for. Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Will Smith should watch their backs, there's a new kid in town. Michelle Monaghan, on the other hand, is an actress that I am totally a fan. I first noticed her in 2005's underrated film "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" then her follow-up "Mission Impossible III" as Tom Cruise's flame. This lady delivers all the goods when it is needed, that's why she's one of my favorite actresses out there.

The plot of Eagle Eye may have been used a lot of times, I can see some striking similarities with 2004's I,Robot and Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey" but this one I highly enjoyed and I was impressed actually. I little bit of advice, I highly recommend it that you watch this movie in the theaters because I am telling you right now, those high-definition Dolby surround sound will blow your eardrums away.

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The Metaphysics of the Saw pentalogy

Saw V (2008)

Saw Saw V. I liked it. Its one of the best in the growing series. I then saw Saw 4 to fill in the gaps on DVD as I missed its theatrical. Here comes Tricky Dicky's analysis of the saw Pentalogy of films, that shows no signs of stopping as it moves next year onto a hexology! The Saw films are about torture. But they also claim to about existential authenticity. The Saw films are presented as a caveat about the dangers of not appreciating life in its fullest existential dimensions. I have commented elsewhere that while the Saw films offer us a picture of 'torturing for your own good', they have failed to meet up to the challenge of their own thesis on occasion. The problem? The Saw film series premise often has tortures that no one would care to survive alive. So, built into the 'torture for life' motif is its own erasure with the 'you will be tortured until you don't want to live or sustain injuries to be sure you won't' motif.

This negative dialectic is part of the series charm and appeal, I suspect. Its extreme nihilism has resonated with the under 30's of today. The torture conundrum of its plot they must relate to on some deep level, as it probably best condenses the emptiness of their lives into short torture porn vignettes.

The Saw series is highly original in its theme and gruesome nature all the same. It presents a metaphysics of torture that is both disturbing and prescient, albeit negative.

The new movie Saw V is one of the best of these films. The director of Saw V is David Hackl. The name Hackl recalls to my mind the early proto-fascist biologist and eugenicist Ernst Haeckel who believed and advocated the scientific guidance of all nature coming together to form the perfect organism; i.e. the monism. Interestingly a Haeckel motif is at work in Saw V! That of perfecting the organism. Jigsaw does it through torture. Haeckel did his work and theorising through science. The desired result: Nature perfected! Hackl, the director, weaves two stories together in Saw V. The first concerns a detective hunting down a renegade psycho cop who is now carrying on Jigsaw's work. The second is about a group of five people who have to survive the Jigsaw advocate's games. A third element concerns more Jigsaw back story, which is always fun if you like Tobin Bell, as I do. The torture scenes in the second segment slowly apply Social Darwinistic laws to the five folks under Jigsaw's world view made flesh. Soon only two are left. The challenges up to now have been believable and challenging but leaving the all important room for survival unscathed. The last torture though is absurd and revolves around ripping your arms to shreds to feed blood into a trap to release you. Again here the return of nihilistic motif of complete and utter hopelessness and defeat.

The metaphysics of the Saw series could be and should be more fertilizing with its clever premise. Still after five films they are still Nihilista par excellence. Maybe this metaphysics of nihilism is the key to the series success? It is now the biggest horror franchise in US history. James Wan and Leigh Whannell can be very proud of that fact. My favourite Saw film is still Number one, where Jigsaw's games had some semblance of possible escape and a more fertilizing mythology of violence.

But at bottom it seems the films and their makers are aware of the twisted nihilistic logic of the Saw pentalogy and are afraid to fix something that 'aint broke. Financially, that is of course, due to the films continued dominance at the B.O. every Halloween. With future installments could the franchise be moved in the direction of a more fertilizing orgy of positive violence? And less the cul de sac of unending nihilism? I would hope so… Whatever happens these films need to receive more serious critical attention. They are often dismissed as 'torture porn' or just gruesome, going over the heads of most reviewers afraid to confront what the films might actually portend. This dismissal from critics only goes to show the disturbing intellectual and cultural issues at the heart of the Saw series. Issues that I hope would receive more serious attention from film critics world wide.

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Intense, weird, and disturbing thriller

Surveillance (2008)

SURVEILLANCE is an intense thriller written and directed by David Lynch's daughter, Jennifer Lynch. David Lynch is the executive producer of the film. Well, I must say she inherited her father's directing qualities in my point of view, because she did an excellent job with what seems to be a very low cost production. Few resources, excellent directing job (and writing as well)!

The film is intense, weird, and disturbing at parts, but it is mostly an audacious and sarcastic critic to the American police and the way some officers behave… When they are supposed to "protect and serve" the common citizen they are the criminals themselves! But that's just a part of the movie, the one before the main and great twist this film has. In fact, there's an excellent twist in this movie that completely changes the plot direction. The final twist made me score it with an extra point I must say…

About the acting, there're some awesome performances: Bill Pullman (does a great job, especially after the twist); Julia Ormond; Pell James (very beautiful young actress, also does a good job); and the guys which play the local cops, especially the ones who did the patrols (they were funny as bad cops!).

Definitely it's a great job by Jennifer Lynch

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Exciting action, a good plot, and interesting characters make this film easily worth seeing and enjoying.

Transporter 3 (2008)

Frank Martin, played by Jason Statham, made his debut on the big screen in 2002 with "The Transporter". This was a thrilling movie that impressed a lot of people and was also ridiculed by many. The second installment in the series was met with a more widespread negative response; It had a less-believable story and more wacky scenes with over-the-top combat and vehicle stunts than the previous movie and this severely hampered the experience. "Transporter 3" finds a more than acceptable balance between ridiculous, stupid mayhem and realistic scenarios, edgy and impressive action, and well-rounded, real characters.

The point of an action thriller is to impress an audience with stunts, tricks, combat, a cool protagonist, and above all, beautiful women, right? Close to every action film ever produced possesses these qualities as they are easy to obtain. What most of these movies DON'T have is a cheese-less story, interesting plot line, and likable characters. These things are what a GOOD action movie really needs. An action movie doesn't even need completely realistic stunts, action scenes, and karate moves that make you go "Sweet!"

You'll be saying more than "sweet" after some of the cool, well-directed and performed action sequences throughout "Transporter 3." Few are things which could not easily happen in real life. All are fun, entertaining, and exciting scenes that America goes to action flicks for. They are not the best or most well-done cuts out there however, outclassed perhaps by the likes of the original "Die Hard" franchise or maybe even some of the "Mission: Impossible" films. Still, you will not be disappointed by the cars, the moves, and the explosions (Who doesn't like explosions? Come on."

The prime of this thriller, believe it or not, is the characters within it. They are interesting people who are portrayed excellently on every level as who they were written to be. Statham's character is, as always, the cool guy who likes things done and said his way and gets it that way. His talk is sometimes too bland and is at times a tad unbelievable, but never anywhere near bad. His newest "package", played by Natalya Rudakova, is a care-free, playful, and gorgeous party girl who got dragged into a bad situation because of the political position of her father. These two people are exact opposites and create a surprising attraction filled with visible chemistry and interest both physically and emotionally. This is a change for the character of Frank Martin and it is a welcome one which only adds wealth to the character and plot. The idea of fighting for a loved one is never not overdone in an action movie, but here it works much better because it is abnormal of the main character.

It's hard to find a movie of this type with characters you become attached to and worry for even when you know everything is going to be alright in the end. "Transporter 3" is a welcome addition to the series which is much more impressive than the previous installment and does a great job of entertaining and exciting someone who is open to fun, cheap albeit impressive, fresh thrills and a finely-directed piece of action cinema.

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Transporter 3 Trailer