Movie Review: The Commuter

What is it about Liam Neeson that makes him such an effective badass/everyman? Is it that voice? His imposing stature? Maybe it’s the way he can go from being a kind fatherly type, to a cold blooded killer, to a rage filled man out for justice in the blink of an eye? Whatever it is, it doesn’t really matter how familiar the movie feels, he always brings a certain class and charisma to the screen. It should come as no surprise, then, to find The Commuter is an easy to watch and entertaining film, even being as predictable and flawed as it is. I just seem to really like him in these increasingly familiar. Something akin to a manufactured Bronson type, aging star appearing in crazy action films. No, he is no Bronson, but you can see where the comparison comes from, right?

Trailer Park: The Commuter

It is amazing to see how an actor seems to completely reinvent themselves. Liam Neeson, I always looked at as that respectable drama actor type, but then something changed. Liam became the ultimate cinematic badass, the likes we haven’t seen since Charles Bronson’s heyday. Well, that may take it a bit too far, Neeson is no Bronson, but there is no denying the string of action/thrillers that he has put out over the past decade or so and the entertainment they have delivered. Yes, the Taken films have run out of steam, but now we have another Taken-style thriller. Will it deliver the goods? One can hope.

A Tale of Two Movies: The Gunman/Run All Night

The other day I went to the movies and saw a pair of recently released action films. The first one I saw was really bad, the second one, fortunately, was really good. It made me take pause and wonder about why there was the chasm between them in terms of their quality. They both had competent directors and cast that has seen success. The difference in their relative effectiveness was pretty stark. I did find that a lot of it came down to emotional involvement, an element I have found to really want in recent years, not always, but more often than not. I also wondered if the filmmakers stopped o watch the finish product before unleashing it.

Movie Review: Taken 3

It has been nearly three years since we last saw Liam Neeson put on the guise of Bryan Mills, the former agent with the particular set of skills. Granted, those three years have not been completely devoid of Liam Neeson as bad ass, we did get A Walk Among the Tombstones and Non-Stop in the interim. I think you could also toss in his performance as Bad Cop in The Lego Movie as a sort of family-friendly bad ass. The only thing I can hope for at this point is that this is the last we see of Bryan Mills. It is not that I don't like him or this movie, but I think they have run out of stuff for him to do.

Critical Capsule: A Million Ways to Die in the West

Well, I saw A Million Ways to Die in the West. I am pretty sure I did not laugh at all. I suspect I will be in the minority, but the movie just did not work for me. It felt like a Family Guy cutaway that keeps going and going for nearly two hours. It is like observational stand-up, only difference is the guy is actually in the setting and pointing things out. The humor is similar to that one guy who thinks he is hilarious for pointing things out and if you don't laugh, he repeats it until you do.

Movie Review: Non-Stop

Non-Stop is movie that really does not need a lot time spent on it from a critical perspective. This is not a movie that was made for critical reception, it is one made to merely entertain and make some money. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The first thing I thought was that they actually remade that old Ray Liotta movie, Turbulence. Of course, I knew the reality but it was still a humorous thought I had. The only thing I was hoping for when I saw it was for some fun, after all, it does feature Liam Neeson in the lead.

Movie Review: The Lego Movie

When I first heard they were going to make a movie based on Lego Blocks, I could not imagine it being a good movie. Wait, let me take that a step further, I actually did not think it was a real thing. If anything, I figured it was going to be some sort of straight to video thing for kids. I was wrong. Trailers arrived, commercials arrived, and I was surprised to see that it actually looked kind of funny. Was it possible for this to actually be a good movie? The positive buzz that formed around seemed to indicate so. All right, I guess you could consider me officially interested.

Movie Review: Taken 2

When Taken came out a few years back, it was not supposed to be a hit. It had already been through European theaters and was already out on DVD in writer/producer Luc Besson's native France. Still, people, me included, latched onto Liam Neeson as bad ass shtick and the movie found great success. Now, the idea of a sequel was inevitable with the prior success, but the prospect of such a prospect was a bit daunting. How do you follow that up?