Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Movie Review: 3 Days to Kill - PG13


When CIA Agent Ethan Run finds out that he has a terminal disease,  he decides to reconnect with  his estranged wife and daughter, who he had left in order  to keep his work away from them.  But his work has a way of finding him, when he is offered a potentially life-saving drug in exchange for tracking down and killing the world's most dangerous terrorist, the Wolf.  To add to his problems, he finds a family occupying his apartment, which turns out to be entertaining.

After his wife leaves town for a few days, there is a bit of a humorous aspect to the story, as Ethan struggles to watch his teenage daughter while pursing the Wolf, without her knowing his real 'work'.

The interaction between Ethan and his daughter adds a lot to the story.

The  plot is well-written and the action is good, but watching Ethan struggle against his illness does get tiresome: it only serves to drag out certain scenes to the point of frustration.  It takes away from the story rather than adding to it.  I am a big fan of Kevin Costner, and I am used to him playing strong characters,  but that is not how he portrays Ethan.


An average action movie, but disappointing for a Kevin Costner movie.  




 

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Movie Review: Non-Stop - PG13



Bill Marks (Liam Neesom) is a Federal Air Marshall aboard a flight from New York to London.  He receives a series of text messages threatening to kill a passenger every 20 minutes unless $150 million is transferred to a designated account.  Bill tries to let the TSA know what is happening, but the real hijacker does a good job of making Bill look guilty

a series of well-written plot twists make it nearly impossible to figure who is behind the threat.   Add  that to a great cast (Neesom, Julianne Moore, Linus Roache and others) and you have an excellent movie.  One of the more suspenseful movies I've seen.  Both the writing and the acting are top notch.

There is lots of action, and a few people do die, but there is no gore or overdone gratuitous violence.

The only content warning is one sensual scene where a couple is being intimate in their seats (covered by a blanket).  

This is a very good thriller that you should see!