Films worth a watch.

[Kingy]

A few who's reviews were not that good, so I watched them not expecting anything and was pleasantly surprised. I think both are worth watching ...

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Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205537/

Quote:A new version of the saga of CIA analyst, Jack Ryan. It begins when Ryan was attending the London School of Economics; and 9/11 happened. He would then enlist in the Marines and would go to Afghanistan. The chopper he was on would get shot down and he would suffer severe injuries that would require intense rehab. While there, he grabs the attention of a man named Harper, who works for the CIA and would like him to finish his studies and get a job on Wall Street so he can find out of any terrorist plot through their finances. A few years later, Ryan finds anomalies in the accounts of a Russian named Cherevin. Jack thinks he should go to Russia to find out what's going on. Jack was told not to tell anyone who he is and that includes his girl friend Cathy. But she catches Jack in some lies which makes her doubt him. Jack goes to Russia and Cherevin assigns him someone to take care of him. But when they're alone the man tries to kill Jack. So Jack kills him. Obvious Cherevin is hiding ...

Chris Pine plays a steady enough lead role and Branagh suits his role as villain. You don't get too drawn into the other characters as it's all about hero/villain with the sub plot of how Ryan met his wife Cathy and her involvement. (If you have watched the Harrison Ford films the family element is a theme).
It's action pretty much from the start and it maintains a fast pace throughout the film. As the cast is good it's easy to watch and the story line is ok (very modern) too. I enjoyed it, but its my 'type' of film. 7/10.


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Non Stop

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024469/

Quote:Bill Marks, a former cop dealing with his daughter's death by drinking, is now a federal air marshal. While on a flight from New York to London, Marks gets a text telling him that unless 150 million dollars is transferred to an offshore account, someone will die every 20 minutes. Can he find the terrorist in time and save everyone?

I was expecting this to be a stinker. I also had 'The Grey' in the back of my mind which was the last Neeson film I watched and I thought it was one of the worst films I've ever seen. But, I also remembered 'Taken' (the first, better one) and felt it was worth a watch. I'm glad I did, because despite the odd crap review I thought this was a good film. Given it all takes place on a plane it relies on some nifty writing to keep you guessing as to who the villain could be with quite a few twists along the way. Neeson is well cast in the lead as his demeanour suits his character. He is a 'nice fit' and that helps a lot as a film where it's intentionally quite claustrophobic being filmed on a plane needs the right cast or it just won't work. Again, well worth a watch. 7.5/10.


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Robocop (2014)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1234721/

Quote:In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years - and it's meant billions for OmniCorp's bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) - a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit - is critically injured in the line of duty, OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice.

If you are not a fan of science fiction movies/ the first Robocop or CGI then you may want to swerve this film. I did enjoy the first Robocop film. I'm also a fan of Joel Kinnaman who plays the lead from his time playing Detective Stephen Holder in 'The Killing'. So, I wanted to enjoy this film. I did, but only for the reasons I state. It's not a remake of the original - its a reboot. It plays homage to the first film, but is a new, adapted script that feels like it's purposely watered down to lead into a second film. Worth a watch if you are a fan of the genre. 6/10 and thats being generous.