What do you get when you put a group of competent actors in a film with a script that clearly should have been written 30 years ago? You get The Rite, or shall I call it, the Movie That Would Have Been Good Before The Exorcist. I mean, hey, there are some good people in this, but it’s pretty obvious that the fact that Anthony Hopkins stars here is why the movie got made at all.
There’s one thing in particular to remember about action movies like this one: don’t expect any Oscar noms. And know what you’re getting into before you buy your ticket. Ok, that’s two things. But remember them, because if you go in with some kind of delusions of grandeur, then you’ll come out disappointed for sure.
Let’s be honest, the movie is alright. It’s not a great movie, it’s not a bad movie. It’s a good movie. It’s better than most. It’s good like a movie should be. I’ll even grant that it is great. Like, “That was great!” great. Like Frosted Flakes great. Not like, all-time great. Not like Godfather great. Not like award season great.
You would think a movie like The Social Network is made for a person just like me; entrepreneur Chill Pak inventor who has been on the internet so long my first email addy was a series of random numbers generated by my ISP (103220.324@compuserve.com)
Well, granted this didn’t come out in January, but we’re reviewing now anyway. It’s clear this isn’t a January release because it doesn’t suck. It’s way better than anything you’ll likely see until at least Spring. Winter’s Bone, despite it’s name, came out back in the summer. We’re just here to confuse you all.
Within the first ten minutes of the film Wild Target the audience bears witness to a hitman killing an innocent woman. Now, when a movie contains such a scene the reaction it would typically be after is a gasp of shock and/or horror. Not Wild Target. In this movie before the opening credits had finished rolling the darkly comedic tone had been set so precisely that the scene elicited laughter from everyone in the theater. Which is exactly why I freaking love this movie.
This story is based on some nebulous historical events of Rome’s Legion IX Hispana that Rome lost track of around 117 AD. How you loose 5,000 Roman soldiers is beyond me, but then, if some of the theories are correct, it’s just another reason that the Scots kick ass.
This is what you might wanna know when you see I Am Number Four:
1) I am based on sci-fi novel geared toward young adults.
2) I am a movie probably best suited for young adults, but don’t expect Twilight.
3) My title suggests that I am a really good set-up for a sequel (or two).
There are some really beautiful shorts here. And not one of them is drawn like a drunken 5 year old. Uh, not that there would be anything wrong with that. Well, the drunken part, maybe. Definitely. And the Plympton one has that shaky thing going on. Oh, whatever.
If someone had told me a year ago that Liam Neeson was going to become an action movie star, I would have raised an eyebrow, to say the least. Not that I didn’t think he was capable of it, but you know, look at him. He just doesn’t seem to fit the part.