Jason Statham stars in this procedural supposedly based on a real 1971 robbery.  It involves all strata of British society, from vicious pornmongers to the Royal Family.  An engaging cast and no lags in the drama, with genuine suspense along the way.

FF=0

Puh-LEASE do not show me another flashback of the same events!  I glommed to the traitor early on.  The high-tech stuff was a little too high to believe.  Not worth your time.

FF=3

A good, fun story (based on Ben Mezrich’s book about MIT students taking on Las Vegas) good acting, with satisfying (if predictable) symmetry.  A bit too long (my ongoing complaint with Hollywood – okay, one of my ongoing complaints with Hollywood) but I remained engaged.

FF=0

A London-based “Death Wish” (unfortunately more like the fourth installment than the first) with Sean Bean.  My first problem was that it was shot with a high-def camcorder that gave it a strange look that put me off.  The second was the meandering, unfocused screenplay.  Still, it has its moments, and the mistakes the characters make are ones you’d expect.

FF=2

If you rent this expecting some superior chop socky (seeing as it’s got Jet Li and Jackie Chan together for the first time), you’re going to be disappointed.  This is aimed at the young end of the kung fu audience and as such is light on the violence.  But it’s well produced, with beautiful sets, an engaging cast, and a Karate Kid feel to it.  Not what I was expecting, but fun along the way to a satisfying (if predictable) conclusion.  (I FF’d through the long fight scenes, which were pretty conventional.)

FF=2

I rented this because Ryan Reynolds plays three characters, and plays them well.  The script though…it’s solipsistic and ontologically challenged (my big words for the week).  It ends up a head scratcher.  I mean, I know what the ending meant, I just don’t understand why anyone would write that ending.

FF=3

Jet Li vs Jason Statham.  You’d expect a lot of mayhem.  Well, there was some, and a few good set pieces, but the twist toward the end…I can suspend my disbelief with the best of them, but not when it flies in the face of all logic.  Sorry, we have too many ways to identify a body to let you get away with that.

FF=3

I don’t know what Clooney was shooting for.  A screwball comedy?  Well, it was that.  A commentary on taking the “fun” out of sports by making them “professional”?  Maybe, but that earns a big fat Meh.  Mostly it was ho-hum.  An amiable way to kill a rainy afternoon.

FF=2

If you liked the Road Warrior films and Escape from New York and 28 Days and Timeline, you’ll love this glorious mess of an action film.  Nary a dull or quiet moment, lots of colorful characters, but check your need for coherence at the door.

FF=1

Pretty good.  Wanted to see this on the big screen but couldn’t find the time.  Not as wonderful as the hype led me to believe (I was never a fan of the Iron Man series) but very enjoyable. I doubt it would have been half as good without Robert Downey’s charm.

FF=0