Well, hello there, kind folks. If you’re visiting this blog of mine, I presume that you have a certain interest in the cinema. As for me, even since my early childhood, I have had a deep love of everything related to movies and television. As far as I can remember, I have been more at ease in front of a screen than in the yard, outside, playing. It is a great way to travel, though other people’s stories, without having to foot any kind of steep bill. Over the years, I feel that movie-watching has even fuelled my own creativity.

All that being said, I welcome you in my Cinephile’s Nest. I hope you enjoy it here, feel free to come back at any time. Here you will find reviews of current movies and older ones. TV shows also. Some classics that have remained some of my favourites, some that have disappointed me. I will use a very basic star (*) system to grade them from 1 to 5 (5 being sliced bread level). Remember, these are just my tastes. I will try to explain in each review what I liked about these particular movies, without giving spoilers.

Il y aura aussi des critiques en français pour les films francophones, car j'aime également le cinéma dans ma langue maternelle. Avant d'apprendre l'anglais, plus jeune, je louais des tonnes de films traduits en français, surtout ceux de Bud Spencer et Terrence Hill. Ma mère a eu le choc de sa vie lorsqu'un jour, dans la boîte d'un de ces films, Deep Throat avait malencontreusement inséré. Une expérience formatrice pour le jeune cinéphile que je suis.

Bienvenue à tous, amusez-vous bien.

I welcome you all here, enjoy yourself.

Monday, March 16, 2015

Safe (2012)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: Boaz Yakin
Starring: Jason Statham, Chris Sarandon, Robert John Burke
Running time: 95 minutes



Luke Wright is an ex-cop turned MMA fighter. When his pregnant wife gets killed by the mafia after he unintentionally wins a fixed fight, his life goes on a downward spiral. A year later, his life in ruins, he is about to give up everything when he sees a little Chinese girl in trouble walking around pursued by a group of men. She has three different groups after her because she is a math whizz with a powerful ability to remember numbers and they need her to figure out the combination to a safe containing a huge ton of money.

Whew, what a story this is, you would think nobody could think up this stuff. Well, someone did. The filmmakers really tried to squeeze in a little too much in 95 minutes story-wise. When you are doing this genre, with lots of action and fight scenes to boot, it is much more efficient to keep it simple. That is not what happened here, and what we get for it is a convoluted mess.

Jason Statham is his usual self, a badass guy who will never back down from a fight and worthy cause. He shows a little fragility and sensitivity here, up to the limit of his possibilities, and the chemistry with the little girl was pretty good. It is a nice change to see that sensitive side peek through; unfortunately, it was not enough to make up for this and overly convoluted story. And it felt like the director was trying to speed-up the pace a little too much; it felt rushed in some place with some important elements that could have given more depth to it all missing. They could have simplified the story and then have more time to tell it more efficiently, in my opinion.

Safe is a fast-paced thrill ride that should please the diehard fans of the genre, but go in with low expectations.


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