Rushlights (2012)

Genre : Crime/Drama/Romance
Country: USA

Cast :
Josh Henderson : Billy
Haley Webb : Sarah

Beau Bridges : Sherif Brogden

Director:
Antoni Stutz

Summary
Billy and Sarah, two delinquent teenage lovers from the suburbs of Los Angeles, travel to a small southern town to falsely claim a dead friend's inheritance. The two teens, haunted by their own dubious pasts while pursuing their scam, wind up in a nightmare of greed and betrayal when confronted with the twisted and bizarre underworld of Tremo.

My opinion
Sooner or later, I'm gonna nail your maggot ass to the wall.

"Rush Lights" is a mediocre movie and for once the design and interpretation are not really the weak point. The storyline however is terribly simplistic and looks like a regular TV series. Often it seemed like I was watching an old episode of "Matlock" or "Columbus" cause it was so average and uninspiring almost during the whole movie. Then the unbelievable coincidences started to appear at a furious pace. I was just waiting for the next nonsense that they came up with.
The performances and the displayed images need no criticism. The town Tremo is a small village in the middle of nowhere in Texas. It's a dusty place and it seems as if time stood still there. You can still look at the horizon while standing somewhere on a hill and when you're standing at the wrong place where at that moment an old Buick or Cadillac is speeding away, you can be sure that weeks later the sand is still gritting your teeth. So visually it looks acceptable.
The fact that they managed to incorporate Beau Bridges and Aidan Quinn is a positive thing.There is no doubt about the experience that both gentlemen have, given their huge list of films on their resumé. They are also the only two compelling actors and stand their ground in this crooked story. Josh Henderson as "Bill" isn't out of place in this movie. As I said earlier, it looks more like an episode of some TV series. And that's exactly the kind of thing he has a lot of experience in. Usually, his acting was fine but at times it was quite hesitant and faintly. Haley Webb acting as "Sarah" didn't thrill me that much. She looks absolutely stunning (besides the fact that she has such a weird crooked smile sometimes) but sometimes has a tendency to over-act. Despite their limited experience in feature films, they do ensure that their characters look credible.
Where does this movie actually fail? It's the storyline, the conduct and that stupid ending that screws up the overwhelmingly positive feeling I had about this movie. The initial setup is actually average. Billy and Sarah meet and start a relationship. It goes terribly wrong when a friend of Sarah dies from an overdose. It's a bizarre coincidence they look like twins and Billy comes with the brilliant idea to use that benefit and cash an inheritance of the deceased. After arriving in Tremo it turns out this is not so easy and some secrets from the past start to reveal themselves. And from then on it's just a series of astonishing facts.

*** SPOILER ALERT***

Lets start with a little summary of some ridiculous things :  
- To receive a plain simple post package here in Belgium I need to show my ID. So I'm pretty sure there is a bit more needed concerning an inheritance then just a quick check of the ID by a lawyer. And especially when it comes to an inheritance involving a significant value of real estate.
- The family lawyer turns out to be closer to the family than he expected. Ignorant as he was in all those years, he can understand the whole thing by simply reading a letter from the deceased rich man and recognizing the handwriting of his mother. And in a magical moment the plot is very very clear to him. 
- While Sarah and Billy are passionately kissing, a shotgun falls down on the floor, goes off and miraculously hits an unknown person standing behind the window. 
- A burglar loses in a clumsy way a DVD with compromising material on it. The recordings show that the rich guy had some kind of gay relationship with his bastard son (This part wasn't made that clear in the movie)
- Billy is looking in the yellow pages for another lawyer for a consultation. Turns out to be the lawyer the rich guy visited to change his will. What a coincidence.
- A dealer is chasing the two lovebirds to collect his money. At first he kind of get killed. I was sure about that after seeing the cloth he's wrapped in, completely soaked with blood. He's thrown in the trunk of the car and then still appears at the end to claim once again his money. But then the  unfortunate fellow suffers a heart attack. Isn't life a bitch ?
Probably there are even more of those facts that can be added to the list. So concerning the content it feels a bit plain and it seems as if they had a lot of ideas and possibilities after a brainstorm session and put them all in this movie. Too bad, because ultimately the visual part wasn't that bad.

My rating 4 /10
Links : IMDB

Godzilla (1998)

Genre : Action/SF
Land : USA

Cast :
Matthew Broderick : Niko Tatopolous
Maria Pitillo : Audrey Timmonds
Jean Reno : Philippe Roaché

Director :
Roland Emmerich

Summary
Following the French atomic bomb tests in the South Pacific, an unknown creature is spotted passing eastward through the Panama Canal. Scientist Niko Tatopolous is called in to investigate the matter, and he quickly arrives at the conclusion that a giant, irradiated lizard has been created by the explosions. Godzilla then makes its way north, landing at Manhattan to begin wreaking havoc in the big city.

My opinion
"The radiation isn't an anomaly, it's the clue."

Because of the new release of Godzilla this year, and I’m looking forward to that, I watched this old blockbuster of 1998 once again. Well, it's obviously an old movie in terms of CGI and the acting is sometimes hugely annoying and childish. Compared to the new movie this year it really looks miserable sometimes . On the other hand, I can still remember the original Godzilla movies I saw when I was young  in an old movie theater on a Sunday afternoon . There always was some Bruce Lee movie programmed in conjunction with a Japanese Godzilla (vs. King Kong ) or a  Bud Spencer/Terence Hill movie . The Japanese Godzilla was hilarious . It looked like a plastic figure between cardboard boxes with some terribly bad special effects . By comparison, this Godzilla is state-of-the-art .

Lets have a look at Godzilla first. At times the images are quite good like for instance the underwater images. In most of the movie, we only see parts of Godzilla: a leg that is put down on some stationary taxis, a swishing tail or only his head. Not exactly high technology. What bothered me the most is the fact that the thump of the drop of a foot followed with the subsequently shock wave is not properly synced with the bounce of people and cars . I thought  this happens with a bit delay. The fact that New York is turned into a ruin is one thing. The fact that the army is the main cause of this instead of Godzilla is another thing. It’s totally ridiculous. And sometimes I had the feeling that the decor was also made of cardboard boxes .

The most irritating thing in Godzilla, are the stupid and terrible performances . I think Mathew Broderick is totally misplaced in this monster movie. I can tolerate him in a comedy like "She's having a baby", "Addicted to Love" or "Inspector Gadget ", but not in this disaster movie . Or they used him to pump up the comedy-rate. His name Tatopoulus is already a reason to make some hilarious (sarcastic) jokes. All the time he runs around through the rain with that ridiculous hat and every time he says something it sounds implausible and totally made up .

Maria Pitillo looks like an angel but is corny and predictable. She’s the blonde bimbo in the news department who’s not allowed to bring important news. Eventually she’s steals some footage on a tape and makes her own reportage. Her boss uses that for his own benefit but eventually she triumphs with a report at the end. She also appears to be an old sweetheart from Broderick. What a coincidence ! Hank Azaria was actually the best actor. A nice guy at the right time to use the camera for exclusive images. Kind of weird that every time something like that happens, the camera doesn’t function properly.
Then there are some more irritating people, such as: Kevin Dunn as a pedantic and clamorous Colonel, Michael Lerner as a stupid and thick mayor, Arabella Field as a friend of Animal who apparently doesn’t know  a cameraman sometimes experiences dangerous situations. Her reaction is almost hysterical all the time. Then there’s  Vicki Lewis the horny science woman who, despite the apocalyptic situation, still has time to start drooling whenever she looks at Broderick. And last but not least, Doug Savant as the most stupid soldier of the U.S. Army . The PeeWee Herman of the American army .

You shouldn’t assume that this movie is accurate and realistic. If you seek that in a movie, go watch “The Butler”. But there are still quite a few things that look ridiculous . That Godzilla was created by radioactive radiation by nuclear tests in French Polynesia, is actually a variant of the original film . Why that animal must swim all the way to Manhattan to lay her eggs, is a mystery to me. He/she swims from the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal, along Florida and then straight to New York . Is he/she making a tourist trip ? The pilots who control the helicopters apparently never had to do an IQ test. They are chased by Godzilla, look over their shoulders in a panic , knowing that if they just flew that thing straight up they would be safe . I also think their index finger got stuck with super glue to the firing mechanism , because they kept spraying bullets continuously even when there was nothing in their sight. And could they ever miss Godzilla ? Such a huge animal . Dr. Tatopoulus is a renowned researcher in the field of animal mutation by radiation. At the time he presents this as proof that Godzilla might be actually a mutant lizard ,everyone declared him as a total nutcase and crazy fruitcake. Why did they call upon him in the first place ?

The end was somewhat entertaining with the “Jurasic Park”-like baby Godzillas . But overall it was a disappointment. "Godzilla" had no such effect as let’s say “Jaws “ or “King Kong”. Those movies gave you an anxious feeling. As someone suggested on IMDb : you purchase a lifelike Iguana as a pet, place it in the middle of the living room between some  Lego houses , and observe how it moves and destroys everything . This can also be nerve-wracking and exciting.

My rating 4 /10
Links : IMDB

Escape Plan (2013)

Genre : Action
Country: USA

Cast :
Arnold Schwarzenegger : Ray Breslin
Sylvester Stallone : Emil Rottmayer
Jim Caviezel : Hobbes

Regisseur :
Mikael Hafström

Summary
Ray Breslin is the world's foremost authority on structural security. After analyzing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons, his skills are put to the test. He's framed and incarcerated in a master prison he designed himself. He needs to escape and find the person who put him behind bars.

My opinion
Heh heh. You hit like a vegetarian!

Now this was a movie to sit back and enjoy watching two old action veterans doing it all over again. Who thought these two gentlemen would be completely extinguished and only live on their well-deserved reputation of the past, was definitely wrong. Forget "The Expendables", "The Last Stand" and "Bullet to the head", and don't assume that this movie is comparable. Stallone and Schwarzenegger once again prove that they are still able to present a movie that’s entertaining, action-packed and dressed with a touch of humor. There is even a glimpse of a story. How is that possible ! Obviously you can see that some years have passed after they have been rolling their biceps frightfully in “Conan” and “Rambo”. But they still look tough enough and are able to kick some butt.Admittedly the topic "Escaping from a prison" isn't very original. The fact that Ray Breslin (Sly) is an expert in this field and volunteers to be locked into such facilities to find the weaknesses and always manages to escape , I found a brilliant idea. The ultimate test he has to take is on an unknown place for his team and turns out to be a hard mission to deal with . Emil Rottmayer (Arnie) is also locked up in this prison and eventually helps to ensure that Ray can escape and catch the person that set him up in the first place.
Stallone plays a convincing role as an expert and I'm sure he kept training hard in all these years since he still looks stunningly muscled. Schwarzenegger also still has rock hard muscles, only his facial features betray his upcoming retirement. To my surprise he tries a rather successful attempt at acting. It's not just a mumbled English with a heavy Austrian accent. No way. Sometimes there are full dialogues, sometimes surprisingly with a comedic twist. The moment he starts whining in his own mother tongue while in the isolation cell, is actually hilarious but also admirable convincing. The scene on the stairs where they make a snapshot made me laugh so hard I almost had tears in my eyes . I repeated that fragment probably five times ! The action part is similar to the better films in which both men have acted and not the plain dumb violence as used in “Commando” or the latest “Rambo” movie which apparently was intended to get the score of shot opponents as high as possible. I thought the end was perhaps a bit exaggerated and over the top. But that didn’t really bother me at all.

The supporting roles weren't that bad either. Jim Caviezel played convincingly the ice-cold prison director Hobbes . Even 50 Cent didn’t irritate me this time and wasn't that bad.

Are you in for a decent and nicely put together action movie, then "Escape Plan" is a must see. It’s filled with guaranteed action scenes and humorous one-liners . Sly and Arnie thus prove that they really are the crème de la crème in this genre . Hopefully there will be even more enjoyable movies like this in the future !

My rating 7 /10
Links : IMDB