Film: Red

GENRE: Action/Comedy

RATING: PG-13 for action violence and language

RUNTIME: 1 hour and 51 minutes

STARRING: Bruce Willis (Die Hard, Pulp Fiction)

John Malkovich (Con Air, Burn After Reading)

Helen Mirren (The Queen, National Treasure 2)

DIRECTOR: Robert Schwentke (Flightplan)

WRITERS: Jon & Erich Hoeber (Whiteout)

PLOT: Retired black-ops agent Frank Moses survives an assassination attempt by the CIA, so he gets some of his retiree pals to seek revenge.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 What a fun little flick. Funny lines, things blow up, why wasn’t this released during the boring summer?

2 It’s fun to watch John Malkovich having fun in a role. Well, most of the characters seem slightly amused but Malkovich takes the cake. He’s a special level of crazy and paranoia with some of the best lines in the film. Fun stuff.

3 Some reviewers said there was nothing sexier than watching Helen Mirren behind some powerfully large guns. I agree. Watching Queen Elizabeth as an expert marksman is quite entertaining. Perfect casting.

4 The storyline was nothing spectacular but the pace was well done. It kept me interested for most of the time.

5 They introduce their various locations with a postcard dissolving into the city. NBC’s new spy show Undercovers does the same thing. Is this a trend? Is this from the Red graphic novel? Just slightly curious.

RECOMMENDATION: DVD Rental

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Due Date

Film: The Social Network

GENRE: Drama

RATING: PG-13 for sexual content, language and drug use

RUNTIME: 2 hours

STARRING: Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland))

Andrew Garfield (Doctor Parnassus)

Justin Timberlake (Alpha Dog)

DIRECTOR: David Fincher (Zodiac, Fight Club, Seven)

WRITER: Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, West Wing)

PLOT: Through intense depositions, we learn how Mark Zuckerberg managed to create the global phenomenon known as Facebook.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:

1 With a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I went into this movie with pretty high expectations. They were met. Easily. In the first ten minutes alone. This may have beat out Inception as my favourite movie of the year.

2 Aaron Sorkin is a writing god. His script is impeccable. Words come out rapid-fire with a rhythm that would make David Mamet’s head spin. It’s witty, clever, intense and contains some laugh-out-loud moments to boot. His script makes you think and see things from a different perspective. His chair and trout analogies are pure genius. I should sign up for his fan club.

3 The acting is so subtly layered; it pulls you in when you want to keep your distance. Garfield’s Eduardo is so sad to watch as he just wants to be liked and respected. Timblerlake’s Sean Parker is all flash but has moments of fear. Eisenberg’s Zuckerman pulls off the asshole card but you still feel a little sorry for the guy who’s website is all about friends while he barely has one friend to call his own. Some fine acting from these fresh young stars.

4 As a creative person myself, I loved watching the ideas form to create this global revolution. A simple conversation could turn into a feature on the site. I didn’t understand most of the technical jargon but was still mesmerized by how it all fit together so nicely.

5 I’ll have to admit the dialogue and script kept me more entranced than the direction of David Fincher. Next time I see the film, I’ll be focusing on his work. I was impressed by how he let you into these various worlds. This one club scene had such loud bass, I felt I was sitting in the VIP lounge with Parker and Zuckerman. Nice work.

RECOMMENDATION: See in theatres now

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Town, Due Date