Bullet to the Head (2013) review

When The Last Stand was released, I was excited to see Arnold back in action and when I heard that Stallone was having his movie, I was just as excited. Following the abysmal ‘The Last Stand’, I began to lose hope in Bullet to the Head. I wanted to simply have a good time watching a Stallone film and when reviews came in saying that this film had some great action sequences, I was once more excited. The final result of this film for me is that it’s a good film but needed to be longer and have better action sequences and better fight cinematography.

‘Bullet to the Head’ follows the story of Jimmy Bobo (Sylvester Stallone) who goes on a revenge rampage, getting teamed up by a cop named Taylor (Sung Kang) to find and capture the man responsible for the death of Bobo’s partner. 

The story to the film is nothing special, it has definitely been done a million times before! However, the story itself at its core was interesting. The way that Jimmy interacts with Taylor, never trusting him was great. I loved that aspect of the film more than anything else in the film, even more than the action or Sylvester Stallone. This part of the story had some depth and I thought that the ending of the film was great, perfectly summing up the friendship and realism of how a criminal and a cop cannot easily become friends. However, as a whole, this film falls short of my expectations. 

My biggest issue with this film is simply the fact that there wasn’t enough action sequences in the film to keep me entertained. For a film that is more about Stallone and his ability to kick ass, I didn’t see too much of him doing that. Sure, Stallone is still as physical as he was back in the 80s but the action sequences were ordinary, bland and not really that exciting except for the film’s final battle involving Jimmy and Keegan (Jason Momoa) This action scene was extremely interesting, violent, intense and just plain awesome demonstrating how brilliant Stallone is even in his 60s. 

However, the issue with this film is that the rest of the film isn’t this engaging. The film itself should’ve been longer, had more bombastic action sequences and should’ve had far better fight choreography. At times, the fight cinematography was pretty poor that it became rather difficult to see what was really going on.

However, as many bad things there are about this film, there are also many good things that certainly work. Stallone does, he is still fantastic and continues to have the same agility as he did back when he was involved with films like Rocky or Rambo. As short as this film was, and even if it fell short of my expectations, I thought the pacing to this film was great. There were some great lines throughout the film and some great moments with Jimmy. Walter Hill did a decent job directing this film that doesn’t need to be seen by all. However, laying aside the criticism, this film is far superior to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ‘The Last Stand’

Grade- 6/10  

Die Hard (1988) review

Back in the 1980s, John McTiernan was on a bit of a role coming right off an action classic, Predator. The following year, he made an action film called Die Hard which to this day is one of the all time great action films and definitely one of the more revolutionary pieces of action films. Very few films could floor someone so much upon a re-watch than Die Hard; it really is such an action classic that needs to be viewed by all fans of films.

Die Hard has one of the most simplistic premises to a movie, making it all the greater. A police officer, John McClane (Bruce Willis) coming down to the Nakatomi Plaza for Christmas to stay with his wife finds that the plaza gets under attack by a group of terrorists lead by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) who take all the people hostage in an attempt to rob $600 million. The only thing they forgot to get was McClane who must, with the help of a friend through a phone stop these terrorists as he runs around the Nakatomi Plaza.

The best thing about Die Hard is not the amazing villain, the great action, easy and relatable story or even the great pacing and fantastic tension but quite simply, John McClane himself. I myself consider him the most endearing hero of all time, next to Indiana Jones. John McClane possesses all the traits that make you love a movie character so much. He is an average schmuck, like ourselves and is not by any means a superhero (like Die Hard 4 makes him). He runs through trouble with his family and gets put in perilous situations to the point where he maniacally starts talking to himself. “C’mon John, think, think!” Bruce Willis’ fantastic and even charming performance as John McClane ensures that every fan of movies loves McClane. There is nothing greater in a film than to have an endearing hero, Die Hard nailed that aspect with perfection! 

A fantastic hero is useless without a fantastic villain he can go against and Die Hard once more, nailed that aspect! Hans Gruber is simply, one of the greatest villains ever put to film. When you have one of the greatest heroes and one of the greatest villains of all time, the film itself is sure classic. Hans Gruber is brilliantly portrayed by Alan Rickman. He was intense, he was hilarious and he was extremely clever always outsmarting John McClane. What could’ve come off as an incredibly boring and stereotypical villain actually ends up being one of the most entertaining and chilling villains, who whenever he is on screen, either freaks you out or makes you laugh. His two greatest lines, “Now, I have a machine gun…Ho..Ho..Ho!” and his imitation of McClane’s “Yipee-kiyay—Motherfu*ker” are incredibly hilarious and are possibly, the two most iconic quotes from the film. Hans Gruber makes for a fantastic villain, not just through Rickman’s great performance or his big brains and wit but also from the fact that his intentions right throughout the film are perfectly clear. He pursues the codes to open the vaults at the plaza in order to steal the money and use the detonators to blow up the plaza, ensuring that trails aren’t left behind. “Now, bring me my detonators!”

If there’s any nitpick I have with the film, its possibly that the start feels rather slow, like a slow burn. However, it does introduce characters nicely but if it were possibly a bit faster or shorter, it would’ve probably been greater but my guess is, that from the start being slow makes the overall film feels incredibly fast paced. By the end of the film, you completely lose track that you are watching a film and have lost complete track of time. It’s as if you are lost in McClane’s world just like you’d be lost in space in Star Wars or Middle Earth in Lord of the Rings. The overall film is incredibly fast paced, providing nail bitingly intense action sequences that even upon re-watch hold up perfectly! The movie’s action scenes aren’t big and bombastic like in the Rambo sequels but directed and even filmed extremely realistically, providing for ultimate tension. Even if the ending is predictable early on, how the hero will survive, throughout the course of the film you come to a point where you are completely uncertain about McClane’s fate. That there, is brilliant writing and directing. Another nitpick I have is possibly me is the tiniest of criticism I can use. 

Some of the lines such as the Arnold Schwarzenegger reference or the Rambo reference could possibly have been left out but then again, they did not affect the course of the film nor even the scene. The script is so sharp and entertaining that the only thing I had trouble accepting 100% were those few lines. That is easily forgotten when compared to other brilliant lines such as McClane’s trademark line or some of the words uttered by Hans Gruber.

Possibly the only REAL issue that I had with this masterpiece is Holly Gennero/McClane. There is nothing annoying about her character and she herself, is a relatable person but she at times, seems to be played out too much of a “damsel in distress” Not that it is a bad thing but her character seems the typical damsel in distress such as the Leia of Die Hard. Again, her character isn’t an issue and in fact, her relationship with her husband is done brilliantly. I loved that scene early on where John types Holly’s name but only finds her name under the surname ‘Generro’ and I love how by the end of the film, it is contradicted when she tells Al that her name is indeed ‘Holly McClane’

The other incredible aspect of this film is the character of Al Powell, who McClane befriends during a communicator. This is one of the greatest offscreen bits of chemistry I’ve ever seen and throughout the film, the way their friendship falls in place is perfect. The character of Al is such a likeable guy, from the very first scene that he is involved in to the last. I particularly loved that scene where Al states that he accidentally shot a kid with a gun one day in the dark, and since then out of regret has never fired a shot with his gun. That, I thought was an incredibly powerful scene which also contradicts by the end of the film. Reginald Val Johnson did a tremendous job playing Al, who comes off as one of the most likeable sidekicks. I guess Joel Schumaker should have watched Die Hard before making Batman & Robin.

 

Everything that now needs to be said about Die Hard has been said, it is one of my all time favourite films now and is one of the all time great action films. A true art that has been praised to death as the greatest action film and one of the best films of the 1980s, and indeed of all time. Die Hard is exciting, fast paced, has a fantastic villain and an endearing hero and has quite possibly, some of the greatest lines ever said

Grade- 10/10 

#2- The Godfather (1972) review

Hailed by many as the greatest film to ever grace the big screen, it can usually be hard to agree with such statement when hundreds of ground breaking films have also been released but in this case, when the Godfather Part I is considered the greatest of all time, I without hesitation, will agree!

Focusing around the Corleone Family, the story’s essential focus is that of their youngest son, Michael Corleone, a World War II patriotic veteran who has returned home just in time for his sister’s wedding. The film depicts the fall and rise to power of Michael Corleone as well as various other family businesses movements.

The greatest strength of the film, which is extremely tough to pick one when everything about this movie is flawless and perfection, but the greatest aspect of the film is the acting. Marlon Brando’s performance of Vito Corleone is what I believe one of the all time greatest performances ever. It is chilling, calming, intense but completely believable. If I were to ever have a godfather, I would imagine him as Brando’s Vito. He embodies that, he is the Godfather! You remember the poster to Forrest Gump that says “TOM HANKS….IS FORREST GUMP”, in this case it should most certainly say ‘MARLON BRANDO IS THE GODFATHER” He is the scene stealer of the film, he owns the film, he motivates the film and he is simply the driving force of the film. 

However, the supporting cast is unbelievable. Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, adopted son of the family and lawyer, Duvall is fantastic in his role and is welcome! His character is also superbly done. James Caan as the oldest brother, Sonny, is unbelievable and believe me, right up there with Al Pacino’s performance in this film. It’s a truly remarkable performance, that everything I see him, I’m left with the biggest of smiles on my face! Caan and Brando are the ones that are sorely missed in The Godfather Part II. Diane Keaton is great in her role, despite heavy criticism towards her performance. It  isn’t most definitely the greatest she could give but it is a believable performance. However, what would acting be without a strong performance by our lead star: Al Pacino. Despite not being the scene stealer, it is mainly Michael’s story and Al Pacino is the only man to possibly play Michael. He is innocent when he needs to be, caring and lovable and simply, the one character you wouldn’t want to fall into the family business but when he does, it is one of the greatest performances ever. Like Brando, it is extremely relaxed yet extremely intimidating.

The acting is flawless, the direction taken by Francis Ford Coppola is only described by the word ‘flawless’ and that’s what every aspect of the film is. The writing is superb and obviously helps from incredibly strong source material by Mario Puzo and the amazing cinematography is just gorgeous to look at. Every scene is filmed in the most gorgeous of ways even though it does not seem like they try to do so. That’s what good filming does! Gorgeously filmed and executed, along with strong writing, The Godfather is still flawless.

When you have a three hour epic like The Godfather, the pacing to the film must be strong and that’s exactly what this film is. It is paced unbelievably well. For a three hour film, a lot of important events happen such as the death of a character. Francis Ford Coppola shows his mastery here by leaving a clear indication to how it affects Michael but has the brain to not have any further discussions about this, therefore not wasting any time unnecessarily. Whilst this may be considered too packed, believe it or not, it isn’t. There isn’t one moment that feels too slow nor too packed. The dialogue is downright amazing, the music is legendary. One of the most iconic soundtracks ever to grace the screen, everything it plays throughout this film, I fall in love with it. Whereas Part II uses it, it doesn’t have the effect that the score has on this film.

The Godfather is packed with many iconic scenes and dialogue. Dialogue from ‘I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse’ to ‘Look how they massacred my boy!’ to ‘It’s a Sicilian message. It means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes!” are the definition of iconic dialogue. Then, the iconic scenes in this movie do not stop. Unlike Part II, which despite being a masterpiece, offers very little iconic sequences or if they are iconic, aren’t anywhere to the extent of the power in this film. The film is packed with iconic sequences to the horse head, to Luca Brasi, to the Sollozo/McCluskey incident, to Vito being shot, to the baptism, Vito’s talk with Michael, the agreement with the Five Families to the tollbooth sequence. The word iconic graces every minute of the film and that’s no joke!

And that is no joke too! That being said, The Godfather is the definition of a masterpiece and quite possibly, the greatest film ever made. A gorgeously shot movie with masterful directing and writing, to legendary acting and story-telling alongside one of the greatest film scores of all time, The Godfather is the definition of an iconic movie. It’s a legend…Everyone needs to see The Godfather…Or else…Vito Corleone will catch you!  

Grade- 10/10

Superman Returns (2006) review

Everyone hates the last two Superman films, there is not one person who views them as good films. However, prior to the release of Superman Returns, many would’ve been highly anticipated and hyped for this film, saying that how could Superman go wrong under the director of The Usual Suspects when he’s got a massive $250 million to work with. Well, to keep this review short…everything went wrong with this film. Very little good aspects can be picked off this ridiculously long and slow running film which has little to offer in terms of character development and moments, exciting action, amazing visuals or even in terms of acting and writing.

‘Superman Returns’ tells us the story of Superman following the events of Superman II, where has returned to his home planet of Krypton in hopes of finding any survivors after an astronaut discovery of Krypton. He returns to Earth only to learn that the evil Lex Luthor has been released, following Superman’s failure to show up in court. Now Lex Luthor is at it again, attempting to once more destroy the world as Superman must “return” to defeat him.

In terms of story, this is a straightforward premise and could easily be an engaging one. This was very similar in Superman: The Movie and the Lex Luthor storyline completely works there but here, it simply doesn’t. Bryan Singer definitely did not demonstrate his love for film and his passion to resurrect a franchise that died out 19 years earlier. The way that the entire story was told was in a dull manner, never providing the true character moments that even the atrocity, Superman IV remembered and provided. Lex’s plot to take over the world for a while seems interesting, especially a scene involving Jor-El. It was actually great to see them re-use Brando’s legendary performance back in 1978 into this film and surprisingly worked, I must say. However, the whole aspect of Kal-El leaving Earth to Krypton betrayed his character and his constant frustration and jealousy throughout the film resembles more of the Clark from Smallville than previous Superman films!

Something that was horrendous about Superman IV was the laughable visual effects which looked like they had been horribly Photoshop-ed thanks to an extremely low budget of under $20 million. Thankfully, the effects in Superman Returns are good but still, in terms of its age don’t look incredible. Much of the visuals do not seem engaging especially considering most other elements of the film are horrendous. Bland visuals generally don’t mean much but here it does, considering that everything is pretty terrible, especially the characters.

Something that was amazing about the first two instalments were the endearing characters and how they were played out. Kal-El was always charming and possessed all the traits that Superman should have whether it be witty humor, intensity, eagerness, boldness or even the clumsiness and awkwardness of Clark Kent which were all brilliantly portrayed by Christopher Reeve. The same cannot be said about Brandon Routh who simply doesn’t bring much charm and excitement to the film despite some good Superman moments. When he delivers the line, “flying is still statistically speaking, the safest means of transport!” which was a complete take from Superman IV, not much is felt. He wasn’t terrible but he definitely was miscast and definitely does not bring the memories of Reeves’ Superman. Whilst Kevin Spacey is great as Lex Luthor, yet still remains a boring character, there was a huge issue I had with this film and that was Lois Lane who was such a lovable character in the old films. Kate Bosworth was rather terrible in this film for many reasons. She looked and certainly did not act anything like Lois Lane from the previous films but she looks far too young which becomes extremely distracting. However, the core of this issue lies with her acting abilities which are extremely limited. Considering a large proportion of the story is devoted to her story, it becomes rather hard to watch and care for her portrayal of a beloved character. Her chemistry with Brandon Routh was terrible with the two never demonstrating their charming and bold personalities that their previous actors displayed. Eva Saint Marie is great as Martha and it is a surprise that she and Brando were in a film together, despite not playing a couple or anything, since On The Waterfront in 1954.  

There is one decent action sequence in the film and that is entirely it. To not spoil much of the ending, the film ends in the most anticlimactic and rushed way that it becomes utterly frustrating. To think that a new Superman film with the budget and even the time did not add as much action as even Superman III did is just shocking. It’s actually an insult and would make this film feel worse and worse when re-watching. One decent action sequence doesn’t give justice and respect to previous Superman films even if the source material was somewhat loyal to the original films. Since there is almost no action and no final confrontation between Kal-El and Lex, but ends abruptly, most of the emotion and conflict cannot truly be felt. Possibly one of the greatest scenes in the film is when Superman is hospitalized and people support him and wait eagerly, much like us the audience did. But…nothing really happens! 

Another frustrating aspect of Superman Returns was the vision of Metropolis by Singer. This certainly didn't seem to resemble that of the old films and especially sequences inside the Daily Planet seemed to show no recognition of what the old films were life. It now seems like a huge part of life on Metropolis with constant interviews and rooms full of people. Compare this with that of the old films and it certainly doesn't work well especially as a sequel to the first two Superman films.

 

Overall, Superman Returns is quite possibly the fourth worst film in the Superman film franchise and suffers much from poor character development and lack of emotion and conflict. Many performances aren’t that great and many characters and themes feel betrayed by this film. Even the effects do not look dazzling with such a big budget.

Grade- 3.5/10