Killshot (2008)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: John Madden
Cast: Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Time: 95 minutes

 

Wayne and Carmen Colson have recently separated. After crossing paths with a couple of hitmen, they are placed together in witness protection, but that does not stop the two bad men from coming around trying to eliminate them from circulation.

This action thriller is based on the 1989 Elmore Leonard novel of the same name. The premise is compelling enough, but the acting feels very uninspired and the characters are pretty one dimensional.

Rating: ««

Mon cirque à moi (2020)

Genre: Franco / Comedy / Drama
Réalisation: Miryam Bouchard
Distribution: Patrick Huard, Jasmine Lemée, Robin Aubert, Sophie Lorain
Durée: 105 minutes

 

Laura est une adolescente vivant une vie assez atypique, avec son père veuf qui est clown de profession. Elle passe beaucoup de temps en tournée avec son père et son assistant, Mandeep. Cependant, Laura rêve d’une vie plus rangée et d’aller à l’école privée. Ce désir ne cadre pas avec les valeurs de son père, qui ne croit pas tellement dans l’éducation formelle.

C’est un très bon film, touchant et drôle à la fois. Le jeu des comédiens est très fort et les dialogues sont bien ficelés. C’est facile d’embarquer dans l’histoire et de s’y intéresser jusqu’au bout. C’est un peu sirupeux à l’occasion, mais, somme toute, j’ai bien aimé.

Rating: ««««

Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: John Herzfeld
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Max Zhang, Dave Bautista, Devon Sawa
Time: 96 minutes

 

Security expert Ray Breslin gathers a team to counter the son of a former ally-turned-enemy, Lester Clark Jr. Clark Jr. and his group of terrorists have abducted a delegation from Hong Kong based company, Zhang Innovations, and Breslin’s girlfriend.

This is the third installment in the Escape Plan franchise. While not a great movie, it is a clear improvement upon the previous offering. The action is fun and the fight scenes are well done. The story is better structured, though there still are a few plot holes. The acting is decent overall. All things considered, okay entertainment.

Rating: «««

Striptease (1996)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Andrew Bergman
Cast: Demi Moore, Armand Assante, Ving Rhames, Burt Reynolds
Time: 117 minutes

 

Erin Grant used to be a secretary for the FBI, but she lost her job because of her ex-husband’s arrest record. Thanks to his connections, the ex-husband gets custody of their 7-year-old daughter Angela. To get the money to fight this situation and get her daughter back, Erin starts working as a stripper. In the process, she gets the attention of corrupt congressman David Lane Dilbeck, who becomes infatuated with her.

This is a mess of a film that suffers from a contradiction in tones. While Demi Moore plays her character pretty straight, all the other characters are treated as comical caricatures. Burt Reynolds is particularly bad as congressman Dillbeck. And the story does not make much sense if you try to analyze it in any way. The nudity is fun and nice, but other than that, there is not much to see here.

Rating: ««

Grown Ups (2013)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Dennis Dugan
Cast: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade
Time: 101 minutes

 

Lenny Feder has moved back his family from Hollywood to his hometown. Along with three of his best friends and their respective families, he gets involved in multiple crazy antics, including a fight with a group of young college frat boys.

While the original film in this franchise was silly enough, there was at least a story behind the shenanigans. Here, all semblance of a story went out the window. All that is left is the silliness. Sure, there are some funny bits here and there, and some cool cameos, but it is not enough to make this movie really good.

Rating: ««

The Boondock Saints (1999)

Genre: Action / Thriller
Directed by: Troy Duffy
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus
Time: 108 minutes

 

After beating two Russian mobsters to death in an altercation, Irish American fraternal twin brothers Connor and Murphy MacManus get an epiphany and decide to turn to vigilantism as a mean to rid their city, Boston, of the people doing wrong deeds. In their cavalcade, they are pursued by FBI Special Agent Paul Smecker.

In terms of action and thrills, The Boondock Saints is a fun film. There is a good dose of dark humor and you can see that the filmmaker, writer and director Troy Duffy, does not take himself too seriously here. The aim clearly seems to be entertainment. The main issue here is that plot-wise, it is a very thin offering. Nonetheless, I was entertained while it lasted.

Rating: «««

Quills (2000)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Philip Kaufman
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Joaquin Phoenix, Michael Caine 

Time: 124 minutes

 

Adapted from the Doug Wright 1995 play of the same, Quills offers a heavily fictionalized account of the Marquis de Sade’s last years of incarceration in the insane asylum of Charenton, before his death, at the age of 74. Here, we see Sade manage to keep on publishing his controversial works, thanks to the help of a laundress, leading Napoleon 1 to send in Dr. Royer-Collard to attempt to silence the Marquis once and for all.

With a compelling story involving such an interesting character, a talented director at work in a project he is passionate about, and a cast loaded with such amazing actors, this film packs up quite the punch. The sets and costumes are also great. Sure, like the play, the movie does not limit itself to the facts of Sade’s life. There are a lot of liberties taken but isn’t the Marquis the perfect subject matter for the taking of liberties. Quills is a very riveting exploration of such subjects as censorship, pornography, sex, art, and mental illness. I enjoyed this one very much, though it dragged a bit in a few places.

Rating: ««««