If some movies are made to be seen on the big screen, Bloodsport is made to be seen on VHS in a semi-finished basement. Your best friend’s older brother, the one with the collection of throwing stars, should be there to explain all the finer points of the world’s fighting styles. He’ll tell you about this guy he knows who had to turn down an invitation to the last Kumite so he could go to Navy Seal training.
A strong current of humor courses its way through Paddington, one packed with jokes targeted for everyone as our protagonist searches for a new home to call his own. While kids giggle at the interludes of over-the-top slapstick, some of the human actors, in a wink and a nod to the parents in the theater, mutter a clever wisecrack.
I’m kind of a sucker for ‘war movies.’ Maybe it’s because whenever a war film or Spaghetti Western was on TV when I was a child, my father would stop to watch it even if it was only the last five minutes. I don’t recall showing much interest in said films but perhaps it sank into my psyche. Or maybe it’s because while I’m in the military, I’m not exactly in a ‘military’ career and my idea of danger is forgetting to discharge a capacitor before troubleshooting something so these movies are a chance to live vicariously. Maybe I should be talking about this to a psychologist rather than rambling.
While Chris excels as a SEAL and is constantly driven to succeed, every time he comes home from a deployment more and more of his humanity seems to be missing. Made jumpy by loud noises, prone to zoning out and unable to talk about his experiences to Taya, the film manifests PTSD in a powerful, sympathetic way.
Gabriel Ricard, Film Editor: It’s not perfect, and it probably never will be, but I don’t think I’ve ever been this pleased overall with the Oscar nominees. I’m tempted to focus on things like Selma being almost completely shut out, Lego Movie being ignored for Best Animated Feature, or the fact that certain great performances were completely ignored (Renee Russo making a huge comeback in Nightcrawler, or John Goodman making it look easy in The Gambler).
I feel like I’m kind of repeating myself, but I seem to be pathologically incapable of not doing that, so here we go. In terms of movies, we have a long year ahead of us. Awards season, as it will do, is going to make things feel even longer for a little while. The blockbusters and reboots are waiting, as well, and all the speculation in the world isn’t going to get us to them any faster.
In 2008 Liam Neeson showed the world that he still had plenty of gas left in the tank as the star of Taken. Written by Luc Besson, it was an dumb but entertaining romp of an action thriller. Since it did really well we have of course been subjected to the sequels of diminishing return.
I cannot stress enough how overcomplicated the plot is. They tried so hard to make this a genuine murder/mystery and in doing so they shoved so many people and elements into it that the entire movie toppled under its own weight.
Welcome to 2015! One of my resolutions is to stop procrastinating, even if it means inevitable disappointment. That makes it fitting that my first film of the year be within my favorite genre: horror.
The worst sin a horror film can be is predictable. Every step, every scare, and every plot point can be seen a mile away.