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Wild
Hogs
Cert: 12A
Starring: John Travolta,
Tim Allen, William H. Macy, Martin Lawrence
Director: Walt
Becker
Running Time: 99
minutes
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Wild
Hogs is an action comedy about four friends who all seem to be
entering a mid life crisis, and their answer to it all? Take a
break from their normal jobs for a road trip on their Harleys.
The four unusually matched friends are made up of Doug (Tim Allen)
a dentist with identity issues, Bobby (Martin Lawrence) a frustrated
writer forced by his domineering wife to remain as a plumber for
a steady income, Dudley (William H Macy) a computer geek, who can’t
speak to a woman even if his life depended on it, and heading them
all is
Woody (John Travolta) a millionaire who’s life is really
falling apart.
Our band of Wild Hogs (as they call themselves) take to the road
to recapture some of their youth, but it doesn’t go quite
as they planned!
I think one of the main problems this movie faces is with the all-star
cast. Most viewers will expect something quite special, where sadly
it doesn’t deliver.
Much of the humour is a little predictable and the pace tends to
slow when focusing on each of the characters background stories.
But it does contain some good points aswell The actors are all
convincing in their parts, and the more slapstick comedy type moments
are funny.
It may be a little slow in places but it can still raise a smile. |
Shooter
Cert: 15
Starring: Mark
Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Rhona Mitra
Directors: Antoine
Fuqua and Jonathan Lemkin
Running
Time: 125
minutes
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Shooter
is based on the Stephen Hunter novel ‘Point Of Impact’ and
revolves around a character Bob Lee Swagger (played by Mark
Wahlberg).
Swagger was a crack marine sniper, until a mission causes the
death of a friend and partner.
Unable to face what has happened he becomes a recluse
in the Arkansas wilderness.
As we then move forward three years Col. Isaac Johnson (Danny
Glover) comes looking for the ex-marines help, needing his
expert knowledge to help pre-vent a presidential ass-assination,
but not all is as it seems and soon it is Swagger who is the
person now blamed and being hunted down.
While avoiding capture our ex-soldier decides to seek out his
own revenge on the people who have double crossed him, regardless
of how powerful they may be.
Shooter follows a familiar formula we have seen many times
before with the likes of movies such as Rambo, but while the
director Antoine Fuqua keeps the pace moving there are too
many other elements that stop this movie developing as political
thriller rather than just another action movie. It’s
not all bad, Wahlberg does give a credible performance, and
the action scenes do come thick and fast.
As long as you don’t expect too much development in the
plot, and just want some old fashioned action entertainment,
it’s worth a watch. |
Perfect
Stranger
Cert: 15
Starring: Halle
Berry, Bruce Willis, Gary Dourdan, Giovanni
Ribisi, Nicki Aycox
Director: James
Foley
Running
Time: 109
minutes
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Rowena
Price (played by Halle Berry) is a successful investigative
reporter for a large city newspaper, but when her story about
a US senator is quashed she quits her job.
When she finds that a childhood friend has been murdered, Rowena
soon begins to use her skills and her free time getting involved
in the investigation. With the help of her old newspaper partner
Miles (played by Giovanni Ribisi) she goes undercover.
Using a job as a temp and other identities on internet chat
rooms they try to find if their main suspect advertising executive
Harrison Hill (played by Bruce Willis) is the person they are
looking for.
This is the movie in which it was reported the director (James
Foley) had filmed three different endings. The problem is in
the effort to maintain these possibilities the amount of red
herrings in the script are over done, and instead the story
line becomes frustrating.
The actors do what they can with their parts, but the characters
are never really developed and tend to be left rather one-dimensional.
All of this just has the effect of leaving you unsympathetic
with their cause and what is happening to them.
Despite the makers of this film selling it as a “sexy
thriller” (in the Final Attraction vain), I can only
say it is watchable but rather disappointing. |
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