Change Your Image
thejman10
Reviews
The Recruit (2003)
Absolutely magnificent and nicely done!
I've just finished seeing the movie and I must admit - this is way above my initial expectations. I've seen the promo and the critics, but you never know for sure until you actually see it. This movie finishes off with inspiration - everyone can be an agent, but only a few can really master it. Anyway about the film - just by the name : Al Pachino -- says it all, this is going to be true hard and good thriller. He never disappoints his audience and his fans (like me, hehe). This movie starts with the process of recruiting - the tests, the actions and the human originality. This recruiting is not attaches to the CIA at all, and that's the beauty of it, cause it could easily be FBI,NSA,KGB, etc. The idea is the same on all; it makes you concentrate on the acting action and not on the company related. The real thriller starts after about 50 minutes of setting the necessary background, because now James (Collin Farell) is asked to put aside his feeling and catch the "big mole" - his beloved girl former colleague of training. The name of the game is catch the double agent a.k.a "the mole" - is it the algerian girlfriend? is it James Clayton? is it Walter Burke (Al Pachino) - the head master? is it ..... anyone??Well , to know the answer, which is the main core of the movie - buy the dvd or watch it on theatre - either way is fine. This master-piece is definately a big 9, why 9? ... well some hero boosting was to my taste unnecessary, because Farell fits right in.
What Lies Beneath (2000)
Fire the director!
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Well, I really want to tell you that you should buy this movie, or see it (if you haven't already)... hmm. Ah, but I simply can't. There are so many lacks and cuts, stupid things happening without decent explanations, predictable scenes and a lot of poor distractions from the main story. Well, I wouldn't warn you down with all the bad features of that try-out film, but I can say a little what should have been in it and also some good things that were noticeable: First, a preparation for a good thriller is always the last scene; you begin with a flick of the ending without uncovering too many details and then you tell the story that lead to it. Second, lots of events should occur with some reality; a bloody half dead guy, that barely crawls, cannot make a distance of 20 meters without some noticable noise (unless he's unreal), a woman can't hold her breath above 4-5 minutes (unless she's some kind of an olympic athlete) and above all - recovering from a paralysing drug takes time (please!) and after being a while in cold-freezing water, you can barely move! and certainly not jump into a car ... well, in short, it's not realistic! Two good things you can say about this picture are that acting is great, done by an experienced couple of actors, who won't disappoint whatever the story is. Another good thing is casting Harrison as the bad guy - this is the only genius feature this picture had. Harrison Ford always plays the good guy, thus is a trusted figure, and that made it. Also Michelle's eyes also contribute to the scenery - she's a natural! In Summary, I'd give this picture a 4/10 for the few good things in it. The director should be more thorough...
One Way Out (2002)
Great Thriller, but unfortunately like everything in life, too good to be true!
Well, this is indeed as good as perfect murder, but this one is a little different; this has a purpose - the hero must be the man that does his job and protecting his fellow colleague, whom he likes very much. As much as he liked her, he would hate to see her die out of the wrong reasons... so, despite his will to participate in the cruel role set up just for him, he does it and almost gets away with it, but in the end... well the end is not so surprising, but is still good. A very romantic notion, but I'm afraid it's too much for a real life... Truly worths a watch and the pleasure is maximized by the DVD version. The DVD gets more into effect detail that is necessary to get you in the mood!