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Reviews
Eastern Promises (2007)
Excellent Film, A Must See
Again Cronenberg nails it, an excellent portrayal of a male lead with a solid character that also kicks ass and takes no prisoners. Viggo is Cronenberg's ideal man. You can count his lines on your hands, but the man oozes strength and conviction.
All the actors give A+ performances, Naomi Watts strong in the face of danger, and the actor who plays the son is so pathetic you can almost forget his evil. Beautifully shot in grays and muted reds, the cinematography is stunning, and the violence is gorgeous. The fight scene is not to be missed.
I don't think the people in the theater I was in really understood the power of the film until the end. When the end shot went black there was stunned silence and then someone started howling. Everyone joined in. It sneaks up on you like that- you are taken for a ride and jolted into someplace you've never been, but then realized at the end it was amazing.
A total must-see and kudos to Cronenberg for another winner.
Rocky Balboa (2006)
Dignified and Satisfying End for Rocky Fans (Spoilers)
I am a 40-year-old rabid Rocky fan. I saw all the films in the movie theater and have thought of Rocky as my hero for a long time. As a kid, Rocky represented overcoming the naysayers and doing what you want and becoming a winner. This message continued through all the Rockys except Five, which left us fans sad and disheartened that our beloved Rock was on the outs. I am glad Stallone waited so long for this film, it has made it all the sweeter.
I have admired Sylvester Stallone for many of the same reasons I do Rocky and although he has made some questionable choices with some films, I find him fascinating. How he is as a person or an employer is not in question- as a writer and director, and as the creater of Rocky, he is amazingly talented. Rocky is an American icon and this film solidifies that fact. This film was made so Stallone could end the series with a high note, make up for the disappointment the fans felt for Five, and leave Rocky on top. This film does that and more.
Altogether I think fans will be pleased to see Rocky is thriving. He has his restaurant, he has a home, he has his turtles back (YES!) and seems comfortable in his own skin. The scenes at the outdoor market were heartwarming and made me happy that Rocky has finally found his place in life after boxing. The scenes dealing with Adrian's death were mercilessly tragic. Again, an excellent choice to have her pass. The son was solid, not really feeling his place in the world with his dad being so famous and well known. And Paulie- ever-present, bitter, killer one-liner Paulie.
I hand it to Stallone for bringing so much of the past for us fans. Spider Rico and the original boxing commissioner were back, as well as Little Marie. There were references to many things that happened in the past in the script that made me believe Stallone respected us fans enough to know we'd recognize that.
I found only two shortcomings, which was the training scenes were too short and the fight was edited too close. As a fan, I needed more long shots to really see the action. I enjoyed the flashbacks during the fight scene, though. For anyone who says the fight was "unrealistic", lets please remember-it was supposed to be exhibition and then turned into something else when the champ realized Rocky could still dole it out. The fact that it was a draw instead of a win was good. In fact, Rocky could have technically LOST and it wouldn't have made a difference. Rocky won in all of our hearts.
Thanks to Stallone for this film. It is a gift!
Last Exit (2006)
Last Exit Delivers
THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS-
I was in complete shock at how well done and suspenseful this film is. Both actresses deliver the goods- Andrea Toth (of Rescue Me) and Kathleen Robertson both are perfectly cast as the Career Woman and the Single Mother who meet in a very disturbing way. Within the 2 hours of the film, we live a 24 hour period in both of their lives concurrently.
Andrea is an Ad Exec with huge pressure to perform in her career as well as home- her husband is unemployed and she has 2 teenage children to support, and another on the way. As viewers, we can plainly see that she is completely preoccupied 100% of the time. She is up for a promotion and today is the day she must give a presentation that will make or break her promotion to VP.
Kathleen is a single mom living in a small apartment right off the freeway, raising her child, who is in a wheelchair. Her car is on the fritz, and she has no money to spare. She works as a lawyers assistant and everything in her life seems to go wrong. When we meet her today, she is late to work and isn't there to receive a affidavit her boss needs for court that day. He demands she go get the document- and she ends up having to run for blocks and blocks to catch up with the bicycle messenger. She finally gets the document only to return to work to be fired. At her wits end, she pawns her necklace to buy her child a birthday present. When she goes to meet her ex and her child for birthday dinner, her ex threatens to take her son away. As the viewer, you can literally feel the pressure in your chest, watching this woman's world crumble.
Andrea, meanwhile, is called back to her sons school during her hectic day because he has taken one of his father's antique guns to school. She cant get her husband on the phone, so she takes her son home. She then sees her husband pull up with his golf clubs in the back of the car. Again, as a viewer- you can identify with the frustration. She returns to a job site where an ad is being shot, and her car is towed. She then fails to get to the important client meeting and loses the promotion. When she finds out all the flights out of the airport are delayed, she makes the unwise decision to get to the client at the airport.
Throughout the entire film, the two main characters are weaving in and out of each others lives- all while desperately trying to be Super People Who Get Things Done Without Help. First Andrea cuts Kathleen off on the freeway in the morning, causing the lateness that makes her miss the document delivery. Then the commercial being shot makes Kathleen unable to return to work with the document on time. Andrea's problems with her son at school cause her to be absentminded enough to park in a tow away zone- therefore losing the client. Kathleens car stalls once again at the end, this time with Andrea behind her trying to get to the airport.
Kathleen recognizes Andrea as the woman who caused the delay in the morning, and in a Falling Down moment, confronts Andrea who is still in her car. She then proceeds to bash the SUV with the telescope she had purchased with the money from pawn. Andrea floors it in fear- and Kathleen follows in hot pursuit. They have a nightmarish accident, which is shown throughout the story in pieces, without giving anything away.
At the end, we discover that after the accident, Kathleen attempts to help Andrea out of her SUV in the pouring rain. At that time, Andrea pulls the antique gun and shoots Kathleen in the chest. They are both taken to the hospital and Andrea lives, while Kathleen does not.
Claiming self defense, Andrea will go to trial for the shooting- but she did not lose the baby, although she lost part of one of her legs. She then vows to spend more time on things that matter. It was devastating to see the impact of road rage and frustration from the day to day pressures we all suffer. So many things loom large when we cant step away from them and see them clearly. This story is a perfect example of that, and the actresses are both superb.