I rarely like sequels better than their originals, but Red 2 is one of the few! I was on the fence about even seeing 2, based on the first.

What's better than that? You don't even need to watch the first Red to follow this cool little espionage romp.

It's about an ex-CIA agent (Bruce Willis) - having marital issues with his civilian wife (Mary-Louise Parker) - who's forced out of retirement to retrieve a missing nuclear device.

Red 2 is funny. The cast is amazing: Willis, Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, & more. And the action is good. 

My biggest problem with the 1st Red was it's action. It's one thing to make a funny espionage and/or action flick. Just don't make light of the action scenes, in my opinion. (Not even the "best shot in the world" can shoot out an incoming RPG with a handgun, Red! I get it, it's supposed to be funny, but come on.) 

Red 2 takes it's action a lot more seriously. There's some good martial arts in this one. And there's only one instance that I said, "Eh, that's NOT gonna happen." But it was kinda a fun stunt anyway, and I overlooked the impossibility rather easily.

Rent Red 2 for some fun!

Gravity

In a radical departure from this blog's mission statement I'm recommending a movie that's in theaters right now. And you need to see it NOW. You'll read why... 

It's called Gravity (2013). And it makes the most out of a minimalist plot: survival in outer space for astronauts after a catastrophic accident. For those of you who can't watch sci-fi without a big-named franchise attached (Bug, Sezduck), replace "catastrophic accident" with "nefarious Klingon attack" in your mind.

The cast is even more minimalist, but excellent. Sandra Bullock is very good as the Mission Specialist (there for her technical expertise; not a "real" astronaut). But George Clooney nails it! He plays the veteran astronaut perfectly! Ed Harris lends his voice to Houston's Mission Control (kinda sorta reprising his role from Apollo 13). 

Gravity's soundtrack is good (not perfect) - wonderfully non-existent in large chunks. And rightfully so.

It's not the best movie ever. And it won't ever be mistaken for a documentary. But...

See this now! Before it leaves the theater! And splurge for the 3-D!! I won't say it's the best visual effects ever (honestly, I was expecting a little more early in the film), but really good. And, probably the best 3-D movie I've seen. The reason why: they use it to tell a story - not to be just something kinda cool to look at.

A Hijacking

 Here's a good Danish movie.  A Hijacking (2012) is about a Danish cargo ship that's taken by African pirates.

If you're looking for "Die Hard VIII: Vengeance On The High Seas" this is not your movie.

This is a slow-developing (at first), highly-suspenseful drama - more concerned with humanity than bullet-ridden bad buys. Thank you, Denmark!

The acting is great. It seemed more like a documentary than fiction. But I really liked its use of subtitles and different languages. These may seem like a trivial things, but writer/director Tobias Lindholm uses these better than any movie I've ever seen before.

I, personally, would've made a couple different choices than Lindholm did later in the film. But it really is a personal, suspenseful drama worth renting!

Room 237

Did you like Stanley Kubrik's 1980 masterpiece The Shining? 

Yes: Watch Room 237! 
It's OK: Watch Room 237!
No: Skip the rest of this review. (And re-rent The Shining!)
Never Seen It: Rent it now! (Then goto step 1)

Room 237 offers an insight into The Shining's hidden meaning. (If it has one.) 

It has a disclaimer at the beginning (and on the poster) distancing itself from Kubrik, Kubrik's family and the studio. This may not be what the director had intended. Or did he?

This documentary is a fascinating look into its possible interpretations, reading between the lines, of a brilliant movie from a brilliant director.

What I loved about this movie is that it actually shows what the pontificator is talking about. Arrows point to t-shirts, posters, they enlarge stuff, etc.

And I love that, as in The Shining, things are never as simple as you'd like.

The beautiful part is I actually know the answer. I'd tell you the real meaning - and it may or may not be in Room 237 - but I'll keep you guessing for a while.

Now You See Me

This is yet another movie that I will recommend with a caveat: 2013's Now You See Me.

 It's got a stellar cast - Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg (Both seen in Zombieland, wonderful movie - see my review!), Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman (in lesser roles) and lesser-known good character actors like Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco (younger brother of James).

It's about 4 solo magicians who come together to do a Robin Hood routine - steal from the rich, give to the poor. Except it isn't an illusion. Pursued by the FBI, Interpol and a guy who makes a living by exposing how magicians' tricks are done, there is a lot of tension, and even a car chase. 

The only caveat is that it is a bit more intense than its PG-13 rating. Personally, I would have given it an R for 2 scenes - 1 early, 1 late. And I am not super squeamish. 

But if you can get past the 1st shock (CRAPPY intro to one of the 4), a treat is in store for you. A real thriller.

I gave it 3.5 stars.

Veronica Guerin

This is a good movie with a bigger historical impact.

Veronica Guerin (2003) is based on a true story of a true heroine reporter investigating the rampant drug trade in 1990's Dublin.

But this is another movie (2 in a row??) that I have more respect for after listening to the Director's commentary. 

So here's what you should know that get's lost in the translation (THICK Irish accents caused more than a little confusion for me), or - in my opinion - not enough time and effort devoted to: 1) Veronica wasn't schooled/trained as a writer or journalist. She was an accountant by trade who had an overwhelming desire to out the wrong. She started her journalistic career by tracking a pervert Catholic priest to Nicaragua then New York, on her own dime, and sat on his doorstep until he relented to an interview (his only one!) But, despite her tenacity, she wasn't a good writer and her "peers" in the journalism community regarded her, uuummm, shall we say, badly. 2) Irish laws erred on the side of the individual. After being an English-controlled police state for so long their constitution was too liberal and handcuffed, so to speak, the police. And 3)  Libel laws weren't near what they are here. So reporters couldn't even name a suspect in writing no matter what the evidence against. Unless convicted, the name had to be a made up pseudo-name or nickname.

I did enjoy this movie on my first watching. It's a good crime drama. But then I learned how true it actually was and appreciated it even more.