Posts Tagged ‘morgan freeman’

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Lucy (2014)

February 20, 2015

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
Director: Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, The Professional)

Bottom Line: Strange fact: someone – maybe even multiple people – recommended this movie to me. Whoever you are: damn you… DAMN YOU! I probably would have watched this on my own accord on account of Miss Johansson, but I heard enough positive word of mouth that I decided to make it a priority. Don’t make the same mistake. I honestly don’t know what the heck was going on here. For the first 45 minutes or so I was thinking it was a slightly better version of Limitless with nice eye candy and some cool Neo moments, but the last 20 minutes ranks amongst the worst climaxes I’ve ever seen. My girlfriend and I were looking at each other from across the couch like: “What the f*** are we watching?” And, just to cement my conclusion, after it was over, I stated with sincerity that it was the best 2014 movie I’ve seen so far just to see her incredulous reaction.

I really don’t think there’s anything to like here. The characters are absurdly undeveloped. You don’t care about or get to know any of them. That’s normally not a huge problem in an action movie, but unfortunately the action here is mildly entertaining at best. Scarlett Johansson’s interpretation of accessing the higher brain powers is essentially walking around looking like a confused robot. Lucy is such a dominating presence that the bad guys never pose any real threat; there’s no tension. What starts out as a somewhat intriguing concept quickly delves into weird territory and then dive bombs into the totally absurd – and unwatchable. After Lucy reaches about 40% of her brain’s capability, you’ll start viewing the numeric updates of her brain usage as a countdown to the end of the film – and release from this brutal movie.

Replay Value: No thank you.
Sequel Potential: LMFAO!
Oscar Potential: If Scarlett got nominated for a Razzie I don’t think it would have been too undeserving.

Grade: 3/10 (Just Skip It)

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Red (2010)

February 22, 2011


Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren
Director: Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife)
Quick Thoughts: It’s fitting that I watched Red immediately after seeing Salt because it illustrates my point about understanding what the filmmakers are trying to accomplish and how well they achieved their goal. The films are somewhat similar in that they are both clearly over-the-top action movies, but are completely different in tone. Red takes a rather comedic approach giving its characters playful banter and the impression that everyone involved is simply having fun, while Salt is equally ridiculous but takes itself way too seriously. One movie succeeds where the other fails and it all comes down to tone… and it’s the tone of Red that makes it work, despite an overly ambitious script. The plot here isn’t as important as watching the characters interact with each other, old comrades reuniting in humorous fashion after retiring from their respective trades. No one’s winning any Oscars here but it’s kind of fun to see a serious actress like Helen Mirren ham it up a little bit. Speaking of hamming it up, the always great John Malkovich is at his quirky best here, providing many comedic moments throughout the film. Red‘s script may be convoluted at times and the film certainly has it’s eye-rolling worthy moments, it’s ultimately a relatively funny action flick that was quite enjoyable.
Viewings: 1
Replay Value: It’s probably worth seeing a second time because the plot can lose you in some spots. There were some moments where I was like “ok, who is this? and why are we talking to them now?”
Sequel Potential: Red turned a modest profit at the box office and it’s the kind of movie I can see inexplicably getting a sequel.
Oscar Potential: No nominations.
Nudity: None
Grade: 6/10 (Recommended)
Recommendation: Expect a cheesy, but funny action movie and you won’t be disappointed.

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