A Bridge Too Far

I haven't reviewed a war movie in a while, so today's film is 1977's A Bridge Too Far.
The film takes place during WWII and tells the story of a failed Allied mission to break through German lines, and seize several bridges along the way. The plan was to have paratroopers drop in behind enemy lines and secure the bridges, making a path for tanks and heavy artillery to reach the town of Arnhem. Unfortunately, a series of setbacks including problems with radio communication, and underestimating German firepower in the region, doomed the operation. 

This is a well directed film and, even if you're not a big fan of war movies, the cast is amazing. Starring the likes of Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, James Caan, Ryan O'Neal, Elliot Gould, Robert Redford, and Sean Connery this film is worth watching based on cast alone. Now I really like this movie, but if I have nitpick it's the runtime. I have no problem sitting down to a long film, as long as the length is necessary to tell the story. A Bridge Too Far clocks in at just under three hours and it really doesn't feel like needs that much time. 

Overall, I highly recommend this one. It's about 20 mins too long, but it's worth it.
4.5 out of 5

Today's Movie: Paranoia

Paranoia is a 2013 thriller about corporate espionage going on between rival cell-phone companies, and for a film called "Paranoia" there is surprisingly very little tension throughout. I didn't see this one in the theater and chances are you didn't either, because this film bombed hard at the box-office. However, I thought it might have just enough good stuff tucked within to be decent. The movie does boasts a pretty strong cast featuring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, and Richard Dreyfuss. Unfortunately, the lead character Adam Cassidy is played by Liam Hemsworth who was not up to the task of carrying this film.

The plot is pretty straight forward; Adam is a tech-savvy, every-man who is doing his best to take care of his sick dad. Then, one day after being fired, his former boss forces him to steal secrets from a competing company otherwise Adam will be turned over to the police for credit card fraud. Adam agrees, and the next hour is an uninspired, and unoriginal journey to the end credits. Now, I don't know for sure if a better director or different writers or a better lead actor could've taken this story and made something great, but it could've be a lot better.

I give this on a 1 out of 5. 

Don't waste your time.

Fading Gigolo

 John Turturro serves as writer, director, and star of this 2013 comedy and, though the film received mixed reviews, I think he did a decent job at all three. The film is about a florist named Fioravante (played by Turturro) who is convinced by his friend Murray (played by Woody Allen) to become a part-time gigolo. Initially Fiorvante is hesitant, but the money is good so he goes along with it. Eventually, he develops feelings for one of the women and, while they don't end up together, that experience puts ends his gigolo career (at least for now). The plot is a bit predictable and really nothing to write home about but there is a lot to like about this movie.

 The dynamic between Turturro and Allen really worked for me, I found the story engaging, and the runtime is a breezy 90 minutes so when there are some of those slower moments they don't drag on. Also, alongside Turturro and Allen, the film also stars a solid cast consisting of Sharon Stone, Liev Schreiber, Vanessa Paradis, and Sofia Vergara. 

Overall, this is a soft recommend. I enjoyed it and think it's worth a watch, but I wouldn't call it a 'must see'.

3 out of 5

Age of the Dragons

2011's Age of the Dragons is an adaptation of the classic novel Moby Dick, except the white whale is a dragon. While that is a pretty interesting premise, in my opinion, the film fails to be all that entertaining.The acting is inconsistent, with some of the actors giving pretty wooden performances while others (like Danny Glover) are hamming it up. Visually, this one is a bit of a mixed-bag; The cinematography isn't half bad for a low budget film but the CGI dragons do not look good. I think this had the potential to be a decent movie, but they didn't have the budget to make a big fantasy film and they didn't want to go the Syfy channel, dumb monster-movie route either.

Overall, I don't recommend seeking this one out, but if you're curious and you come across it on TV or find it in a bargain bin, it's a bit boring but not unwatchable. 

1.5 out of 5

Shark Night (2011)

There are a ton of shark movies out there but, oddly enough, there's only one good one: Jaws. When it comes to all other shark films they range from terrible to just ok. Now, obviously this isn't a great movie like Jaws, and you shouldn't expect that going in. However, it also lacks the 'so bad it's good' charm of a movie like Ghost Shark.

Shark Night starts out on the right track with a shark attack in the first scene. Unfortunately, it then cuts to a college campus and over the next 20mins nothing interesting happens. We're given the setup; a group of friends are going to a lake house for the weekend -AND- we're introduced to all the complex, nuanced characters, like Hot Girl, Black Guy, Comic Relief, and others. Of course they're not at the lake house long before the first shark attack and, to the film's credit, the pacing is pretty good from this point on. Now you may be wondering 'why is a lake full of vicious sharks?' Well, it's a saltwater lake and the bad guys filled it with several different species of shark so they could film the attacks and make some money off it. 

The plot is dumb, as it is in most shark flicks, and the deaths are predictable. It's a PG-13 movie which is kind of ironic since the villain's plan is to give people real footage of vicious attacks, and yet the movie is pretty tame. 

I'd recommend skipping this one.

1.5 out of 5

A Quick Review of "Shoot 'Em Up"

Well, the movie delivers what the title promised...

When I picked this one up I expected a slightly over the top action flick, but this movie doesn't f*** around. Clive Owen shoves a carrot through a guy's skull and then quips "Eat your vegetables", gets involved in a massive firefight, delivers a baby, and jumps through a window... and all of that is just in the first scene. From there movie never lets up. If you like movies with a bunch cheesy one-liners, tons of way over the top action, and a rockin' soundtrack then I can't recommend this movie enough.

 Is a great film? No, but I liked it and 15 year old me would've loved it. The film does have a plot but it's pretty thin and only serves to move the characters from one bone-breaking, bullet-riddled action set piece to the next. Oh, and Paul Giamatti is in it as the bad guy so that's a plus.

4 out of 5.

Recommended Double Feature: Kill the Irishman & The Iceman

Something I always enjoy doing when spending the night in or enjoying a quiet day off is finding a pair of films that go well together either because of genre, lead actor, or director. With that being said, I'm a big fan of movies about organized crime and these two, Kill the Irishman and The Iceman, make for a solid double feature if you want to spend an afternoon with a couple movies.

Both films are crime-thrillers based on actual people, they were released just two years apart, they largely take place in the 1960's and 70's, and both hold very similar Rotten Tomatoes scores. Also, despite the films having pretty good casts (Kill the Irishman stars Ray Stevenson, Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Christopher Walken whereas The Iceman stars Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans and Ray Liotta) they were both box-office disappointments. Quality-wise the movies are very similar; I like the cast of Kill the Irishman a little better and I also think it's just the more interesting movie overall. However, in the hands a more capable director The Iceman could've been the better of the two. Neither film is a top-tier entry in the genre like Goodfellas, The Godfather, or The Untouchables but they're still good entertaining movies.

If you're also fan of the genre then I recommend checking both of these out.

I give Kill the Irishman a 3.5 out of 5 and The Iceman a 3 out of 5.