Film: Escape Plan

GENRE: Action
RATING: 14A for violence and language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 56 minutes
STARRING: Sylvester Stallone (Expendables, Rocky, Rambo)
Arnold Schwarznegger (Terminator, Total Recall, Commando)
DIRECTOR: Mikael Hafstrom (1408, The Rite, Derailed)
WRITERS: Miles Chapman (new) & Jason Keller (Mirror, Mirror)
PLOT: A professional prison-breaker finds himself stuck in a secret and secure prison where he will need to depend on others to help him escape.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 In Expendables, you only get a couple of moments with these two 80’s action stalwarts, in this film you get to revel in it. It’s fun seeing these two work together. You can tell they are having a lot of fun.
2 Lots of plot holes. The story is pretty laughable. Also, why do the guards have shoulder pads? Why is Stallone’s character a good marksman?
3 Hafstrom uses a lot of extreme close-ups in this film. I know what these actors look like. Is this for the aging audience who have a hard time recognizing them?
4 What’s with bad guys always having OCD? Is it for the irony of cleanliness being next to godliness? What a cliché!
5 Favourite moment: Say cheese pose.

RECOMMENDATION: Wait for it on TV
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Fall TV Scorecard

Film: Gravity

GENRE: Drama, Suspense
RATING: PG for intense sequences & some language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes
STARRING: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side, Crash, 28 Days)
George Clooney (The Descendants, Up in the Air, Ocean’s 11)
DIRECTOR: Alfonso Cuaron (Harry Potter 3, Children of Men)
WRITERS: Alfonso & Jonas Cuaron (Children of Men)
PLOT: Two astronauts try to survive after an accident leaves them adrift in space.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Talk about visually spectacular. This film is simply beautiful. The images of the earth, the vastness of space, even the chaotic dance of destruction. Wow. I already predict a Oscar winner for best visual effects.
2 Cuaron uses the silence well. There are a couple times when the music is a tad schmaltzy but he also uses a cacophony of sound to show perfect contrast.
3 Bullock does an amazing job and keeps the audience connected at all times. Her constant fear is beautifully juxtaposed to Clooney’s calmness. He is fun to have aboard this amazing trip.
4 Even before this film, the thought of being in space scared me. This film brings this fear to a whole new level. The suspense is gripping; this is not a relaxing film.
5 Like Don Jon last week, I am enjoying these 90 minutes films. I think it’s the perfect amount of time. Gravity plays out in mostly real time and it is just enough. Add another half hour and I’m sure I would have gotten restless. Way to keep things succinct.    

RECOMMENDATION: See it in 3D in theatres
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Escape Plan, Fall TV Scorecard

Film: Don Jon

GENRE: Comedy, Drama
RATING: 18A for strong sexual material, nudity and language
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 30 minutes
STARRING: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (50/50, 500 Days of Summer)
Scarlet Johansson (Hitchcock); Julianne Moore (Crazy Stupid Love)
DIRECTOR: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (newcomer)
WRITERS: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (newcomer)
PLOT: A man trying to find happiness in true love is hindered by his addiction to pornography.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 I was aware that pornography addiction was featured in this film, just not this heavily. I was hoping that JGL would have went a little further in the explanation of unrealistic expectations and how they also tied into romantic comedies for women. The movie was smartly written but I wanted a little but more.

2 This film was very well paced. It uses it’s 90 minutes perfectly. As Jon is a creature of habit, we get to see his fun cycle and watch him grow as he goes.

3 Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a great job even though he’s channeling Jersey Shore. The rest of the cast is stellar. Love seeing Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss) as his dad, nicely done.

4 If I was watching this at home, I would have been yelling more at Scarlett Johansson when she was portraying the manipulative Barbara. Wow.

5 I liked how religion was factored into the film. I found the confessionals interesting.   

RECOMMENDATION: Better on DVD at home

UPCOMING REVIEWS: Gravity