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.

Movie Review: Insidious - Chapter 2

It was just a couple years ago that producer Oren Peli (director of Paranormal Activity) teamed with director James Wan (Saw, Death Sentence) and writer Leigh Whannell (Saw, Dead Silence) to bring us the surprisingly awesome Insidious. It was a movie that was truly, well, insidious. Now, a few months back I saw a trailer for Insidious: Chapter 2, I had no idea they were even making a sequel. Sadly, the trailer looked uninspired. It advertised a movie that looked like nothing more than a rehash of the first. Still, I have become a Wan supported and had hopes that it would deliver, especially after the excellent The Conjuring.

Movie Review: The Conjuring

It has to be difficult for a director working within a specific genre. There are some types of films whose formulas and tropes have been so ingrained in pop culture and people so familiar with how they work that it has to be incredibly difficult to work within them and create something effective. It is not always easy to break from the chains of familiarity and transcend what we think a genre film can be. Some people are willing to accept mediocrity. Fortunately we have some filmmakers willing to play in the genres and try things, some new, some old.