Jack Reacher, 2012

Jack Reacher, 2012
Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins




Jack in short: In an innocent heartland city, five are shot dead by an expert sniper. The police quickly identify and arrest the culprit, and build a slam-dunk case. But the accused man claims he's innocent and says "Get Jack Reacher." Reacher himself sees the news report and turns up in the city. The defense is immensely relieved, but Reacher has come to bury the guy. Shocked at the accused's request, Reacher sets out to confirm for himself the absolute certainty of the man's guilt, but comes up with more than he bargained for.


Stage: Local Colloseum, just before NY eve.


Preps: Seen the trailer, wanted to see it badly. Am fan of Cruise anyway. But I expected some kind of MI, or something like it, to be honest. 


Reality: A good political capitalist thriller. I have really thought this was a clone of Mission Impossible, so imagine my surprise. Not only that it can hold the thread from the beginning to the stunning end, the story is extremely good, the delivery is such that it makes you wonder what the next move is going to be like and after a while you are surprised with the ways the story makes turns.

It is impressive from multiple parts. Tom is obviously a bit older than we are used to, but still dazzling. He does not use his charming smile, which I am absolutely mad about, but you cannot blame the director for skimming this off the movie. It would not work, not in the scenes that movie is telling about. Thank you, McQuarrie, for making us see that Tom can really act and be a splendid sight for sore eyes even without the dashing smile. Without a doubt, the movie gives a few points for not making the obvious romance which could happen, really happen. I am grateful for this more than I can even point it out.
Great music and strong dialogues. The type that makes you want to make it until the end. Strong two hours of action and investigation. Very suitable for anyone that wants to see something between CSI and Poirot, something between The Net and Tom Cruise bedazzling on the scenery.  Like some kind of Terminator or Rocky. He is a trained tuff guy from war police, investigator for a cute attorney. My mind sets in a different scene, with Matthew McConnaughey and Sandra Bullock, a time to kill. Although now the lady is the attorney and not vice versa. If you liked that piece, you will love this one, storywise. The action is as exciting as in MI2.

I appreciate the crew didn't want to go live just in the time of shooting in US. It wasn't appropriate. However, until I saw the piece, I didn't realize the point. Now I am smarter and know why they didn't want to go out public. The movie is about violent shooting of innocent people which should never happen. In this piece it is the interest in money, not the victims. Unfortunately, it often is.

My personal rating: 7,5 (unusual piece, it won't let you down)


Jack Reacher on IMDB

8MM, 1999

8MM, 1999
Director: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Nicholas Cage, James Gandolfini, Joaquim Phoenix


Stage: Home, late Saturday TV selection




8MM in short: A small, seemingly innocuous plastic reel of film leads surveillance specialist Tom Welles down an increasingly dark and frightening path. With the help of the streetwise Max, Welles relentlessly follows a bizarre trail of evidence to determine the fate of a complete stranger. As his work turns into obsession, he drifts farther and farther away from his wife, family and simple life as a small-town private eye.


Preps: None. I have seen this piece a long time ago. Time to see it again.


Reality: this is one of the pioneer ones about Snuff genre. It hasn't been spoken wildly in public about, however it remains one of the so called forbidden genres. The one that doesn't exist, like the drugs don't and certainly, the one that noone has ever heard about, yet all of us know what it is and what the term stands for.
The storyline is basicly simple to absorb, it's the philosophy that stands behind the investigation, that is intriguing. In terms of what kind of a person are you to order such a movie, to film it, where do you get persons to volunteer to act in these kind of movies and overall, is it worth it? Demistification of the husband's secret now becomes an obsession for the investigator. I must confess the role suits Cage like a glove. He feels extremely comfortable inside the scenes and I am thrilled to see him crash after a while because all of this becomes too much even for a tough policeman/investigator. The reasons for doing it, still, remain uncertain and unrevealed. It's not a surprise to see a christian son doing the killing, and a close member to the family Cage is investigating for, to take a greater role in helping the husband do the deed and order the snuff movie. For any person who has ever seen or read some crime stories, this is a normal turnover. In this sense, the movie isn't exciting or goes beyond average. I believe, that the unique sales proposition in this matter is snuff, because this is enough to make up for every other average perticularity of the piece. Not enough said about dark sides of porno movies, drug industry or other "misbehaviour" in our society. I would make this a pioneer piece for the sake of widering the mind of us, observers.
A nice, unusual role, for the young Phoenix, who at that time wasn't quite so famous as he is now, in 2012, where we are quite familiar with his ass in some other notorious pieces. Here in a role of a drug jockey, plays magnificently and surprises me with the elegance and comfort he finds in this role.

The movie itself could be somehow shorter, I believe the agony is prolongued more than it should be, but that might be Schumacher's aim, to make it go deep inside our veins.


My personal rating: 6,5 (a solid piece on a genre we aren't familiar with and most of us really contradict the fact it exists).


8MM on IMDB

Turist, 2010

Turist, 2010
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Cast: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany


Stage: Local theatre


Turist in short: Elise (Angelina Jolie) sits next to an American tourist, Frank (Johnny Depp), on a train going to Venice. She has chosen him as a decoy, making believe that he is her lover who is wanted for police. Not only will they need to evade the police, but also the mobster whose money her lover stole.



Preps: None whatsoever. Just want to see Depp and Jolie again. How bad could it be?


Reality: Well, never say how bad can it be.. this is one of the major no-no's in this year to start with. How low can you go with picking a script, cast and the movie as you are one of the leading stars, as Depp, Jolie and Bethany definitely are? You can not just place wonder kids (cast) on the stage and locate it in Venice. Reality just doesn't work this way. It's definitely one of the worst movies lately and I don't want even to hear about it again. The storyline (plot), the cast itself, lack of energy between Depp and Jolie.. arrrrr. It just goes on and on.

On the first half you will barely see it to its end, I can assure you that. Truly sorry it ever came under my hands. I don't dare to say anything really positive about this piece, as there isn't anything positive to say. Besides the placement and cast. Content is awful, scenes, music, everything lacks. A hut never became a castle just because a king parked outside for a while. Neither did this movie. It remained in its stone age. Total waste of time. And I am sorry for the main cast. A big minus to their respectful line of great movies.


My personal rate: 2,0 (bljak. Do something else. The 2,0 is only because the cast and Venice, which is breathtaking. All the other.. not worth even mentioning).


Turist on IMDB

Official page

Vantage Point, 2008

Vantage point, 2008
Director: Pete Travis
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forrest Whitaker


Vantage point in short: The President of the United States is in Salamanca, Spain, about to address the city in a public square. We see a plain-clothes cop, his girlfriend with another man, a mother and child, an American tourist with a video camera, and a Secret Service agent newly returned from medical leave. Shots ring out and the President falls; a few minutes later, we hear a distant explosion, then a bomb goes off in the square. Those minutes are retold, several times, emphasizing different characters' actions. Gradually, we discover who's behind the plot.


Stage: Home TV selection

Preps: I have seen this piece at the movies in 2008 and I am more than happy to catch it again. I loved the investigating part and I hope to see some more action that I missed in the cinema.


Reality: Some movies are better if you see them two or three times. You are not really paying attention all the time and if you like this genre, or any form of CSI put into a movie (or if you loved JFK for instance), you will want to see it several times - this one, I mean.

It's a superb setting, one of re-makes of assasination attempts, in my opinion, the best one after JFK with Kevin Costner. Quaid is presented as the hard core investigator that digs the truth out of the scenes. The assasination is filmed from 8 different perspectives and each time you receive new information that overruns the facts you knew from the last perspective. The flow of the movie is unique, as it keeps your attention most of the time and your brain cells wondering, what is the truth behind this. The topic is assuring and safe, because people love to watch assasination attempts in a movie - especially if everything is smooth - the cast, the flow of the story, the photography. The scenery is brilliant, photography vivid and overall I have a strong deep recommendation for this one. The complex twists and turns of the plot as well as the characters make Vantage Point worth seeing again and again (as you will see the scene of the attempt over and over again).



My personal rating: 8,5 (one of the best ones truly after JFK, a must see for someone that likes the genre)


Vantage point on IMDB
Vantage point official site