Run All Night

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  Since he ran all night, I guess he ran so far away...boy, I really pulled that Flock of Seagulls reference outta my ass, didn't I?

Run All Night ? 3 out 5

Liam Neeson definitely has some star power behind him and it?s a power that completely influences some of the films I will see.  For example, I never would have paid to see Battleship in the theater if it wasn?t for him being in the film.  However, as badass as the guy is, his ability to convincingly be someone who has that special set of skills that involve bustin? suckas in the face doesn?t always translate to the entire production of the film being good, decent or even watchable.  He?s been in some stinkers (for example, Battleship) but is Run All Night as awesome as Taken or is it as bad as the sequels to Taken?

I'd probably piss myself if Neeson gave me that look because it's clear an ass-kicking
is coming.

Jimmy ?The Gravedigger? Conlon (Neeson) might sound like a name of a professional wrestler but he?s a former mob enforcer who has fallen on hard times and spends more time drinking than mob enforcing.  His life caused a schism between himself and his son Mike (Joel Kinnaman).  One night, Jimmy?s former boss Shawn Maquire (Ed Harris) rejects a deal his son Danny (Boyd Holbrook) set up and it results in Danny killing some men and Mike accidentally becoming a witness.  Jimmy comes to his son?s aid and kills Danny.  Shawn, rightfully upset, tells Jimmy that since the former enforcer killed his son, he will see Jimmy?s boy meet the same fate.  Now Jimmy must do everything he can to protect his son.

He can protect his son because he has a certain set of...guns to help kill people with.
What did you think I was going to say?

The trailer to this one looked pretty cool and seemed like it would have some killer, gritty action sequences.  However, as much as I like Liam Neeson, a lot of his movies aren?t as good as he is as an actor so I?m reluctant to shell out the cash to see it in the theaters.  This one definitely looked cool but it also, most certainly, was going to be a film I would wait to see when it hits the home market.  Overall, I?m glad I waited because it definitely wasn?t worth the cash for a theater visit BUT it?s not as bad as some of his other recent films have been.

*Pew Pew*

Common was so badass it was a crime
he wasn't in the film more.

My feeling that the film would have some killer action was definitely a dead-on prediction because the film does not disappoint in this department.  There?s a great car chase when Jimmy is trying to rescue his son from the cops (because, not surprisingly, the cops are dirty and in the pocket of Maquire), there?s a fantastic fight sequence between Jimmy and the hitman played by Common in a burning building and the final shootout during the last moments of the film makes sure the adrenaline rush doesn?t end before the credits hit.  This is really the best part of the film.

Ed Harris' performance is pretty intimidating.  Just this pic is making me ready to
surrender and give him whatever he wants so he won't hurt me.

Gun Cam!

Additionally, there?s some really great performances in it.  Liam Neeson?s character starts out a little silly as he?s sheepish and a vile drunk who says inappropriate things to women.  While these character elements work for the character, Neeson just couldn?t pull them off convincingly.  However, once his character gets into form as he returns to being a badass enforcer extraordinaire, this slippery start to the performance is easily overlooked.  Furthermore, Ed Harris is predictably amazing in his role as the antagonist and he provides an excellent antithesis to Liam Neeson and Joel Kinnaman is giving, quite possibly, the best performance I?ve ever seen him in.  Prior to this film, I haven?t been too impressed with his work.

The crazy eyes that bothered me in RoboCop are definitely under control now.

Let's be real:  Nolte probably got the role because he was
living on the set under a pile of rags.

Ultimately, however, Run All Night does have some flaws that stop it from being better than just an average feature.  For example, Nick Nolte is in the film and acts as a walking plot device in order to create more tension between father and son.  In theory, this isn?t a bad thing but the character just sorta appears in the story and is never seen from again, so he feels like his whole existence was just too lazily create drama.  Additionally, the actual moment when the antagonist is stopped by Jimmy feels a bit hollow and not as important as it should be.  Finally, Common plays a really cool hitman character that is hired to come in and take out Mike and there was endless potential to this character but he feels terribly underutilized.  While his moments are cool and provide some killer action sequences, his potential promised so much more and not enough was done with him.  This complaint also applies to the cop character played by Vincent D?Onofrio as this character has a past with Jimmy ?The Gravedigger? Conlon but he just sorta comes and goes within the story.

Even though his character was underutilized, anytime D'Onofrio is in a movie is
a win in my book because that dude is talented!

Run All Night is a serviceable but not too memorable action film.  The cast is great and the action is definitely satisfying but the story doesn?t feel that unique and it?s is only hampered by some lazy moments in the plot.  It is definitely one of the better films that Neeson has starred in during the last few years but the film does fall short of the potential it has.

TAKEN 3 (2015) REVIEW : Season Finale of Kidnapping Bryan Mills?s Famiy Member

?I will find you, and I will kill you? line ini sangat menempel di pikiran penontonnya lewat karakter Bryan Mills lewat seri-seri Taken. Karakter fiktif hasil pemikiran Luc Besson ini memang mendapat perhatian lewat film aksinya yang menegangkan di film pertama. Dengan adanya Hype yang besar, Taken 2 muncul tahun di 2012. Dihadirkan kembali 3 tahun setelahnya lewat Taken 3. Ya, tahun ini Taken kembali hadir menyapa penontonnya dan digadang-gadang seri ketiganya ini adalah penutup dari seri Taken.

?It Ends Here? adalah tagline yang digunakan untuk film ketiga ini. Tetapi, tak menutup kemungkinan Taken seri ke empat akan hadir untuk menyapa penontonnya. (Semoga itu rumor). Setelah Pierre Morel memberikan tongkat estafetnya kepada Oliver Megaton untuk mengarahkan seri keduanya, Maka di Taken 3 ini Oliver Megaton kembali mengarahkan cerita milik mantan anggota CIA, Bryan Mills dalam melindungi anggota keluarganya. Ya, Setelah anaknya yang diculik, mantan istrinya yang diculik di seri kedua, lantas siapa yang jadi korban di seri ketiga ini? 

Di seri ketiga ini tidak ada yang menjadi korban penculikan. Tetapi, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) harus kehilangan seseorang yang pernah dicintainya dan masih menjalin hubungan pertemanan hingga sekarang. Lenore (Famke Janssen), sang mantan istri ditemukan tergeletak tanpa nyawa di kamar apartemen milik Bryan Mills. Polisi pun menyergap kamar apartemennya dan menganggap bahwa Bryan Mills lah yang membunuh Lenore.

Bryan Mills melarikan diri dan berusaha untuk membuktikan kepada polisi bahwa dia tak bersalah. Bryan Mills juga meyakinkan sang anak, Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) bahwa dia bukanlah pembunuh ibunya. Kim juga membantu Bryan untuk menemukan siapa pembunuh Lenore. Bryan meminta dua hari kepada polisi untuk menemukan sang pembunuh sebenarnya. 

Kesalahan yang dilakukan sekuel Taken di seri kedua adalah menggunakan formula yang sama dengan perlakuan yang berbeda. Tentu, Oliver Megaton merasa harus ada sesuatu yang baru untuk ditawarkan kepada penontonnya di seri ketiga film Taken. Apalagi, seri ketiga ini digadang-gadang akan menjadi penutup dari seri petualangan Bryan Mills dalam melindungi anggota keluarganya. Taken 3 pun (terlihat) memiliki dasar cerita yang berbeda sebagai premis yang dikembangkan ke dalam 100 menit filmnya.

Taken 3 sebenarnya tidak benar-benar berbeda dengan seri-seri sebelumnya. Perlakuan yang dilakukan oleh Taken 3 pun hampir sama dengan film-film sebelumnya. Hanya saja, Taken 3 kali ini berubah menjadi sebuah film aksi spionase penuh misteri. Taken 3 sangat berusaha memberikan sesuatu yang berbeda daripada film-film sebelumnya. Meski tak mulus, harus diakui bahwa Taken 3 ini benar-benar berbeda ketimbang film sebelumnya.

Apa yang berbeda di seri ini jelas ada pada bagaimana porsi drama keluarga akan hadir lebih kental daripada seri-seri sebelumnya. Taken 3 lebih mengekspos hubungan ayah anak antara Bryan dan Kim yang diperlihatkan sangat dekat dan penonton akan dibuat simpati kepada kedua karakter tersebut. Oliver Megaton pun juga terlihat seperti ?memanusiakan? karakter Bryan Mills yang biasanya terlihat sangat dingin di setiap serinya. 

Bryan Mills di film ini akan terlihat lebih hangat dan membentuk sebuah karakter yang berbeda dengan Bryan Mills di film-film sebelumnya. Pun, apa yang dialami oleh Bryan Mills di film ini pun terkesan memiliki beban yang begitu berat. Sehingga, Bryan Mills benar-benar dibuat berada di posisi terburuk dalam kehidupannya. Inilah yang dimaksud bahwa Oliver Megaton berusaha ?memanusiakan? karakter Bryan Mills.

Perbedaan selanjutnya berada pada perlakuan plot cerita yang sudah digunakan oleh film-film lainnya ke dalam film ini. Taken biasanya cenderung menggerakkan alur ceritanya dengan lurus-lurus saja hingga akhir film. Di Taken 3, Oliver Megaton ingin memberikan cerita dengan twist and turn yang dikabulkan di dalam naskah yang ditulis oleh Luc Besson bersama timnya. Bagus, Oliver Megaton mulai paham bahwa penonton akan bosan jika mengulang template cerita yang sama untuk triloginya.

Tetapi, Oliver Megaton pun belum bisa menggunakan potensinya untuk mengarahkan filmnya. Taken 3 yang lebih dominan lewat drama keluarga antara Kim dan Bryan Mills ini akan terasa terlalu dipanjangkan. Belum lagi, beberapa lubang besar dalam plot penggerak ceritanya yang seperti ditulis asal-asalan di film Taken 3 agar lebih terasa twist and turn-nya. Hasilnya, Taken 3 malah menyisakan lubang-lubang besar yang menganga lebar tanpa ada usaha dari Oliver Megaton untuk menutupi lubang tersebut.

Meskipun Oliver Megaton berusaha untuk ?memanusiakan? Bryan Mills, tetapi sosok Bryan tetap saja menjadi sosok yang kuat dan tak tertandingi oleh siapapun. Bryan tetap menjadi sosok mantan CIA yang didewakan oleh siapapun. Karena masih ada beberapa adegan yang malah membuat penonton bergumam ?lho, kok bisa?? di dalam 100 menit film ini. Banyak adegan-adegan yang kurang masuk akal di dalam Taken 3 dan membuat dahi penonton berkerut.

Taken 3 memang diperuntukkan kepada penonton yang ingin duduk, menutup mata, dan mematikan otak untuk menikmati menit demi menit seri ini. Oliver Megaton berusaha untuk membedakan seri ketiga ini dengan seri-seri sebelumnya dengan menitikberatkan sosok Bryan Mills yang ?dimanusiakan? meski masih salah kaprah. Juga, hubungan ayah-anak yang dipertontonkan lebih dalam untuk menarik simpati penontonnya lewat karakter Bryan dan Kim. Maka, Taken 3 adalah sebuah film penutup dari trilogi Taken. Tetapi, siap-siaplah jika Bryan Mills kembali di seri keempat. Tetapi, semoga tidak.

TAKEN 3 (2015) REVIEW : Season Finale of Kidnapping Bryan Mills?s Famiy Member

?I will find you, and I will kill you? line ini sangat menempel di pikiran penontonnya lewat karakter Bryan Mills lewat seri-seri Taken. Karakter fiktif hasil pemikiran Luc Besson ini memang mendapat perhatian lewat film aksinya yang menegangkan di film pertama. Dengan adanya Hype yang besar, Taken 2 muncul tahun di 2012. Dihadirkan kembali 3 tahun setelahnya lewat Taken 3. Ya, tahun ini Taken kembali hadir menyapa penontonnya dan digadang-gadang seri ketiganya ini adalah penutup dari seri Taken.

?It Ends Here? adalah tagline yang digunakan untuk film ketiga ini. Tetapi, tak menutup kemungkinan Taken seri ke empat akan hadir untuk menyapa penontonnya. (Semoga itu rumor). Setelah Pierre Morel memberikan tongkat estafetnya kepada Oliver Megaton untuk mengarahkan seri keduanya, Maka di Taken 3 ini Oliver Megaton kembali mengarahkan cerita milik mantan anggota CIA, Bryan Mills dalam melindungi anggota keluarganya. Ya, Setelah anaknya yang diculik, mantan istrinya yang diculik di seri kedua, lantas siapa yang jadi korban di seri ketiga ini? 

Di seri ketiga ini tidak ada yang menjadi korban penculikan. Tetapi, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) harus kehilangan seseorang yang pernah dicintainya dan masih menjalin hubungan pertemanan hingga sekarang. Lenore (Famke Janssen), sang mantan istri ditemukan tergeletak tanpa nyawa di kamar apartemen milik Bryan Mills. Polisi pun menyergap kamar apartemennya dan menganggap bahwa Bryan Mills lah yang membunuh Lenore.

Bryan Mills melarikan diri dan berusaha untuk membuktikan kepada polisi bahwa dia tak bersalah. Bryan Mills juga meyakinkan sang anak, Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) bahwa dia bukanlah pembunuh ibunya. Kim juga membantu Bryan untuk menemukan siapa pembunuh Lenore. Bryan meminta dua hari kepada polisi untuk menemukan sang pembunuh sebenarnya. 

Kesalahan yang dilakukan sekuel Taken di seri kedua adalah menggunakan formula yang sama dengan perlakuan yang berbeda. Tentu, Oliver Megaton merasa harus ada sesuatu yang baru untuk ditawarkan kepada penontonnya di seri ketiga film Taken. Apalagi, seri ketiga ini digadang-gadang akan menjadi penutup dari seri petualangan Bryan Mills dalam melindungi anggota keluarganya. Taken 3 pun (terlihat) memiliki dasar cerita yang berbeda sebagai premis yang dikembangkan ke dalam 100 menit filmnya.

Taken 3 sebenarnya tidak benar-benar berbeda dengan seri-seri sebelumnya. Perlakuan yang dilakukan oleh Taken 3 pun hampir sama dengan film-film sebelumnya. Hanya saja, Taken 3 kali ini berubah menjadi sebuah film aksi spionase penuh misteri. Taken 3 sangat berusaha memberikan sesuatu yang berbeda daripada film-film sebelumnya. Meski tak mulus, harus diakui bahwa Taken 3 ini benar-benar berbeda ketimbang film sebelumnya.

Apa yang berbeda di seri ini jelas ada pada bagaimana porsi drama keluarga akan hadir lebih kental daripada seri-seri sebelumnya. Taken 3 lebih mengekspos hubungan ayah anak antara Bryan dan Kim yang diperlihatkan sangat dekat dan penonton akan dibuat simpati kepada kedua karakter tersebut. Oliver Megaton pun juga terlihat seperti ?memanusiakan? karakter Bryan Mills yang biasanya terlihat sangat dingin di setiap serinya. 

Bryan Mills di film ini akan terlihat lebih hangat dan membentuk sebuah karakter yang berbeda dengan Bryan Mills di film-film sebelumnya. Pun, apa yang dialami oleh Bryan Mills di film ini pun terkesan memiliki beban yang begitu berat. Sehingga, Bryan Mills benar-benar dibuat berada di posisi terburuk dalam kehidupannya. Inilah yang dimaksud bahwa Oliver Megaton berusaha ?memanusiakan? karakter Bryan Mills.

Perbedaan selanjutnya berada pada perlakuan plot cerita yang sudah digunakan oleh film-film lainnya ke dalam film ini. Taken biasanya cenderung menggerakkan alur ceritanya dengan lurus-lurus saja hingga akhir film. Di Taken 3, Oliver Megaton ingin memberikan cerita dengan twist and turn yang dikabulkan di dalam naskah yang ditulis oleh Luc Besson bersama timnya. Bagus, Oliver Megaton mulai paham bahwa penonton akan bosan jika mengulang template cerita yang sama untuk triloginya.

Tetapi, Oliver Megaton pun belum bisa menggunakan potensinya untuk mengarahkan filmnya. Taken 3 yang lebih dominan lewat drama keluarga antara Kim dan Bryan Mills ini akan terasa terlalu dipanjangkan. Belum lagi, beberapa lubang besar dalam plot penggerak ceritanya yang seperti ditulis asal-asalan di film Taken 3 agar lebih terasa twist and turn-nya. Hasilnya, Taken 3 malah menyisakan lubang-lubang besar yang menganga lebar tanpa ada usaha dari Oliver Megaton untuk menutupi lubang tersebut.

Meskipun Oliver Megaton berusaha untuk ?memanusiakan? Bryan Mills, tetapi sosok Bryan tetap saja menjadi sosok yang kuat dan tak tertandingi oleh siapapun. Bryan tetap menjadi sosok mantan CIA yang didewakan oleh siapapun. Karena masih ada beberapa adegan yang malah membuat penonton bergumam ?lho, kok bisa?? di dalam 100 menit film ini. Banyak adegan-adegan yang kurang masuk akal di dalam Taken 3 dan membuat dahi penonton berkerut.

Taken 3 memang diperuntukkan kepada penonton yang ingin duduk, menutup mata, dan mematikan otak untuk menikmati menit demi menit seri ini. Oliver Megaton berusaha untuk membedakan seri ketiga ini dengan seri-seri sebelumnya dengan menitikberatkan sosok Bryan Mills yang ?dimanusiakan? meski masih salah kaprah. Juga, hubungan ayah-anak yang dipertontonkan lebih dalam untuk menarik simpati penontonnya lewat karakter Bryan dan Kim. Maka, Taken 3 adalah sebuah film penutup dari trilogi Taken. Tetapi, siap-siaplah jika Bryan Mills kembali di seri keempat. Tetapi, semoga tidak.

Liam Neeson's Latest, The Run-Of-The-Mill RUN ALL NIGHT

Now playing at a multiplex near you:

RUN ALL NIGHT (Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra, 2015)

While watching this new crime thriller, I wondered: ?how much longer can Liam Neeson make these sort of action movies?? The next day I had my answer as it was reported that he told an interviewer that he?d be doing them for ?maybe two more years. If God spares me, and I?m healthy and stuff. But after that, I?ll stop [the action] I think.?

That sounds fair. I mean, he can crank out a couple more TAKENs in that time and still have time for a few more generic, run of the mill offerings like this one.

That?s not to say there?s no fun to be had with RUN ALL NIGHT, Neeson?s latest collaboration with Spanish director Collet-Serra, their third after UNKNOWN, and last year?s airplane thriller NON-STOP.

This time around, Neeson is a washed-up mob hit-man boozing it up in a Brooklyn club owned by his former boss (Ed Harris). Neeson has an estranged son, a limo driver played by Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, the ROBOCOP re-make), who wants nothing to do with his father. Harris has a son, Boyd Holbrook (WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, GONE GIRL), an arrogant, entitled idiot who?s impatiently waiting to take over the family business.

The fateful night of the title, Kinnaman witnesses Holbrook shooting down a Albanian heroin dealer which, after a gun-fire filled chase through the dark neighborhood, leads to Neeson shooting down Holbrook. ?I just killed your boy, Shawn,? Neeson tells Harris on the phone. ?I had to.?

The scenario has similarities to JOHN WICK, in that the mob boss is actually sympathetic and understands what happened, but still needs to follow through and avenge his son. The intense yet weirdly warm exchanges between Neeson and Harris, particularly in a HEAT-styled meeting in a restaurant, are the film?s highlights.

There are some other mildly enjoyable elements in Common as a smooth dapper assassin on the trail of the father/son duo, and Vincent D'Onofrio as a frumpy cop (a guy as seemingly washed up as Neeson) set on finally busting Neeson after all these years. Sure, these characters are well worn clich?s but I still enjoyed the actors? presences.

Of course, Neeson, who amusingly is able to completely kick his alcoholism in a snap, and Kinnaman work out their differences in between shoot-outs, car chases, and brutal fist fights (my friend Fonvielle remarked that Collet-Serra and Neeson?s movies always have an intense confined-space bathroom fight), and the action moves from the city out to a house out in the country for the finale as it often does in these type things.

The stylish choice to have swooping cameras take us from aerial shots quickly down to ground level for transitional purposes is really better suited for high tech thrillers like ENEMY OF THE STATE or LIMITLESS. It's a cool looking device, but it doesn't feel in sync with this material.

There?s little depth in RUN ALL NIGHT, but it has more grit and less melodrama than Neeson/Collet-Serra's previous effort NON-STOP. This entry is far from an embarrassment, and I'm certain a lot of action fans (and especially Neeson action fans) will find it quite serviceable.

So seeya next time Neeson, when his big old end to action countdown to 2017 continues.

More later...

Liam Neeson's Latest, The Run-Of-The-Mill RUN ALL NIGHT

Now playing at a multiplex near you:

RUN ALL NIGHT (Dir. Jaume Collet-Serra, 2015)

While watching this new crime thriller, I wondered: ?how much longer can Liam Neeson make these sort of action movies?? The next day I had my answer as it was reported that he told an interviewer that he?d be doing them for ?maybe two more years. If God spares me, and I?m healthy and stuff. But after that, I?ll stop [the action] I think.?

That sounds fair. I mean, he can crank out a couple more TAKENs in that time and still have time for a few more generic, run of the mill offerings like this one.

That?s not to say there?s no fun to be had with RUN ALL NIGHT, Neeson?s latest collaboration with Spanish director Collet-Serra, their third after UNKNOWN, and last year?s airplane thriller NON-STOP.

This time around, Neeson is a washed-up mob hit-man boozing it up in a Brooklyn club owned by his former boss (Ed Harris). Neeson has an estranged son, a limo driver played by Joel Kinnaman (The Killing, the ROBOCOP re-make), who wants nothing to do with his father. Harris has a son, Boyd Holbrook (WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, GONE GIRL), an arrogant, entitled idiot who?s impatiently waiting to take over the family business.

The fateful night of the title, Kinnaman witnesses Holbrook shooting down a Albanian heroin dealer which, after a gun-fire filled chase through the dark neighborhood, leads to Neeson shooting down Holbrook. ?I just killed your boy, Shawn,? Neeson tells Harris on the phone. ?I had to.?

The scenario has similarities to JOHN WICK, in that the mob boss is actually sympathetic and understands what happened, but still needs to follow through and avenge his son. The intense yet weirdly warm exchanges between Neeson and Harris, particularly in a HEAT-styled meeting in a restaurant, are the film?s highlights.

There are some other mildly enjoyable elements in Common as a smooth dapper assassin on the trail of the father/son duo, and Vincent D'Onofrio as a frumpy cop (a guy as seemingly washed up as Neeson) set on finally busting Neeson after all these years. Sure, these characters are well worn clich?s but I still enjoyed the actors? presences.

Of course, Neeson, who amusingly is able to completely kick his alcoholism in a snap, and Kinnaman work out their differences in between shoot-outs, car chases, and brutal fist fights (my friend Fonvielle remarked that Collet-Serra and Neeson?s movies always have an intense confined-space bathroom fight), and the action moves from the city out to a house out in the country for the finale as it often does in these type things.

The stylish choice to have swooping cameras take us from aerial shots quickly down to ground level for transitional purposes is really better suited for high tech thrillers like ENEMY OF THE STATE or LIMITLESS. It's a cool looking device, but it doesn't feel in sync with this material.

There?s little depth in RUN ALL NIGHT, but it has more grit and less melodrama than Neeson/Collet-Serra's previous effort NON-STOP. This entry is far from an embarrassment, and I'm certain a lot of action fans (and especially Neeson action fans) will find it quite serviceable.

So seeya next time Neeson, when his big old end to action countdown to 2017 continues.

More later...

A Walk Among the Tombstones

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! A part of his certain set of skills is skillfully walking among tombstones.

A Walk Among the Tombstones ? 3 out of 5

Liam Neeson will pretty much take any script that comes his way (and I?ve heard he?ll even just jump in front of ones in slo-mo and intercept them from others) and this decision results in films of varying quality (but I won't fault his reasons for doing this).  The one thing above all else in these films is the fact that Neeson is great in all of them.  It?s a rare sight when I see a film with him in it and I say, ?Wow, Neeson is pretty bad.?  So, how is it when Neeson steps into the role of the iconic private investigator from the successful novel series?

Walk the fuck among those tombstones!

Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) has a history with alcohol and, in 1991, it ended up causing him to make a mistake that left him leaving the police force (he was a cop, by the way).  After that, Scudder became an unlicensed private investigator and, in 1999, is asked for help from a local drug trafficker.  The man informs him that his wife was kidnapped and murdered despite the fact he gave them the ransom they were asking for.  Scudder begins to investigate and finds that others involved in the drug game have had their loved ones ripped from their lives and murdered after the ransom was paid.  Now it?s up to Scudder to find out who is behind the killing and bring them to justice.

They wanted to really show you it was the 90s but stopped from having Liam wear
a Nirvana shirt.

The trailer, the title, and the presence of the action genre's badass Liam Neeson, I sorta expected a Taken-kinda film.  I?m not really familiar with the book series the film is based off of but just the few elements I took in made me think this was going to be a crime thriller with plenty of bullets flying.  I was a little surprised to see the film was more about the investigation part than it was about the heaping helping of justice that Liam Neeson has become synonymous with.  This ended up with a movie that moved at a slower, more deliberate pace.  Expecting Neeson throwing fists with a very specific set of skills threw me greatly and could easily cause people expecting Taken action to become bored with the film.

By the way, this movie has a lot of scenes with people talking to each other on the phone.

The story is very interesting but I won?t say it was captivating.  There are moments during Scudder?s investigation that really had me glued to the TV but there were also parts that moved far too slowly for me and lacked a great deal of tension and were, for the most part, boring to me.  However, the overall story was still interesting enough and contained enough shock factors that it never became overwhelmingly boring.  Hell, the film is even nice enough to throw in some mildly satisfying action towards the end of the film.  But, the slower pace the story kept still can?t be completely overlooked.

Seriously, a lot of talking on the phone.

It?s not surprising that Neeson is very good in the film.  He makes the character of Scudder an interesting and broken one.  One thing the film did exceptionally well was keeping the film?s main story moving forward while developing the character of Scudder at the same time?without one feeling like it was overwhelming the other.  The development of Scudder is only made more intriguing thanks to the very strong performance of Liam Neeson. 

"...anyway, enough about me.  When's a good time for me to find and kill you?"

"What?  Who is this?"

The rest of the cast, while made up of mostly unrecognizable names or character actors that most people known only because they?ve seen them in that one thing as that one person, back up Neeson very well and make a very believable world.  One of my favorite performers in the film was Brian ?Astro? Bradley playing the character of TJ; a homeless boy who ends up assisting Scudder in the investigation.  The back and forth between him and Scudder made for some of the more lighter moments in the film but also showed how Neeson could have varying degrees of working chemistry with the entire cast.

Geez...remember what happen the last time you took it upon yourself to guide
a child, Liam.  We don't need another Darth Vader.

A Walk Among the Tombstones didn?t wow me but I definitely found a lot of it to be very interesting and some of it to be very intense.  The performances were good and, aside from some boring bits, the story is very interesting.  While I won?t lie and say I was hoping for a little more action from this one, the end result was a pretty decent crime thriller with some very strong and realistic performances.

If Neeson learns how to kill people with his mind, we're all fucked.

After.Life

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! Did the title really need that period?

After.Life ? 1 out of 5

Sometimes I add films to my Netflix queue (I dropped your name Netflix, pay me) and I forget about it.  Maybe I read something about it and was interested at the time but not interested enough to watch it immediately or maybe Netflix recommended it to be based on my interests and viewing habits, I don?t know.  However, there is usually a time when I suddenly get a DVD in the mail and I look at it and say, ?Hmm, why did I add this one to my queue??  After.Life is one of those films?

"If someone takes you...I will find them and--you know what?
You know the rest."

After having an argument with her boyfriend, Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci) gets into a car accident and wakes up in a funeral home.  She is greeted by the man who runs the place, Eliot Deacon (Liam Neeson), and he informs her that she has died.  Anna refuses to believe him and is convinced that his claims of being able to speak to the dead are greatly exaggerated and, in reality, she is just being held against her will and is still alive.  Her boyfriend Paul (Justin Long) is inconsolable over her death and, also, comes to believe that she is, indeed, alive and there is something that Deacon isn?t telling him.  Now he must try to save his beloved while Anna tries to escape at the same time.

She seems pretty "whatevs" about being dead.

Realistically, I think the reason I added this film to my queue was because Liam Neeson was in it and I thought, ?Hey, he?s in a horror/thriller film?  I?ll watch that.?  Because, let?s be honest, I didn?t add this film for the presence of Christina Ricci and Justin Long.  After watching, I think I could have left this on my queue for much longer and never would have really cared that much.

For me, Ricci peaked at Wednesday Addams.

The story has potential to be interesting and, occasionally, it is.  However, the film wastes way too much time to try and create a mystery that really didn?t need to be there and fails at every turn to create conflict.  The story wants you to think there is a possibility that Anna is alive but it is never convincing.  The story also wants you to think there is something unsavory about the character of Eliot Deacon but it never works and it is the supporting cast that comes off more nutso than he.  Finally, the story tries to have the whole scenario of Paul trying to find out if Anna is alive and being held captive look like it makes total sense and be one of those times where the crazy guy is right type of moments but it just never works.  The whole time the film comes off silly whenever Long?s character tries to act like Anna is still alive and he?s her only hope.  The film has some scenes where he sees visions of Anna?s ghost and a little kid tells him that he saw her alive but these events of ?proof? did little to make me sympathize with Paul and, when you add in Long?s inability to not be annoying when he?s playing a non-comedic role, this whole aspect of the film is either just tedious or accidental comedy.  Never once did I root for Paul to find out the truth about his girlfriend and only found myself saying, ?Wow, he just looks like a moron.?

The sex scene no one wanted to see...

Acting wise, the film isn?t really that special.  Ricci is painfully unconvincing with nearly every line she delivers and, like I touched on previously, Justin Long is too hard to take seriously in a non-comedic role.  His Jerry Lewis-level of delivery he gives off when his character is hysterical is playing out more like bad comedy than anything else and, even though it is completely accidental and exists only because Long isn?t that talented of an actor, it makes for a striking change in tone of the film.

"Thanks for visit...I'm going to stand here and make sure your tail lights work."

The score would greatly improve if Neeson just cold-
clocked Long.

The film also does a tremendously poor job of developing any and every character in the film.  Ricci?s character of Anna Taylor is the only one who really seems to be growing (which is amusing since her character just died) throughout the story.  Paul is a one-dimensional character who works at a corporate job and acts in the most stereotypical way of grief (read that as he is seen drinking a lot?why express how he is in pain when you can just take the short route and show him getting smashed?).  Even the funeral director Eliot Deacon, who seems to have the ability to converse with the dead, is given no real attention or is really given any meaningful insight to who he is, why he can do what he does, or the roots to why he?s kind of a dick to the dead.  The film even decides to add in a little conflict between Anna?s mother (played by Celia Weston) and Paul and it feels like there is some serious shit between the two but the film, ultimately, does abso-fucking-nothing with it.  It end up making a film that becomes very boring and dragging because I ended up watching a bunch of characters with no real development bumble their way through a story that also has no real development going on with it.

Dear Script Writers...people often mishandle their grief through means outside
of alcohol.  Just saying...

The only real shining light the film has is the fact that Neeson is doing a fantastic job in his role.  Yes, his character isn?t feathered out or really developed but Neeson is acting the fuck out of it.  The only problem is that his delivery is so good that it is making all the other performances look even worse.  His exchanges with Ricci are almost painful to endure because she looks like she?s phoning it in while he is giving it his all. 

Don't let the weird face and the flowers fool you.  He's Liam "Freakin'" Neeson...
he can still kill you in a variety of ways.  Or at least his movies lead me to
believe he can.  Either way, I wouldn't risk it.

The premise for After.Life could have easily worked but the story feels like a first draft and, aside from Liam Neeson, the acting is pretty bad.  While I?m a fan of Neeson, his talent alone isn?t enough to make a thrill-less thriller work and this film just sinks to the depths of the forgotten for me.