Lethal Weapon Collection 2012 Movie Review

Way, way back in the day, before a traffic pullover and then some breathlessly nflattering words, Mel Gibson was THE man. Mad Max, Braveheart, even Ranson, almost everything he touched was gold. But Lethal Weapon changed everything. The prototypical 1980s buddy flick, teams the unstable Mel Gibson with the stable family man, Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover. Whatever it was, these two had an absolutely magical chemistry on film that defied insanity, death and even bad scripts as the movies went on. 

While the movies get progressively worse as they got bigger, with the exception of 2, Gibson and Glover propel this through sheer star power and will. If you want to see two masters at work, doing what they do almost effortlessly, resulting in pure eye candy, check these films out. They are a tad violent and a little sewer mouthed, hence the R ratings, but they are fantastic. Add Joe Pesci to the mix, right off his Goodfellas role, and you got a great movie on your hands.

If these are not the special editions, that would be too bad, because they are fun, but only the first one adds any real grabbers. The scene where Riggs walks into a sniper's line of fire who was shooting kids is chilling and establishes Riggs' death wish quickly and brutally. Modern post-Columbine sensibilities may find it hard to take, but it is an amazing scene. All the other scenes are filler, but really fun filler. 

If you can take a good hard R with lots of great comedy, this is a movie set for you. Just remember it is a product of its times, and people were not as politically correct then. These still stand out literally as some of my favorite films that I never get tired of watching.

Lethal Weapon Collection 2012 Movie Review

• Actors: Joe Pesci, Danny Glover, Mel Gibson
• Genre: Comedy, Action
• Release Date: May 22, 2012
• Number of discs: 5
• Run Time: 476 minutes
• Studio: Warner Home Video

Safe House 2012 Movie Review

The action/drama/mystery film opens with a quick character build up of the multifaceted CIA agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds). He operates a safe house with nobody in it. He wants a European field assignment, but lacks department seniority.

The movie switches to Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) obtaining an embarrassing electronic file from the MI6 in South Africa. "Frost", because he is cold. Denzel uses his expected savvy to escape. He is a rouge super agent who free lances, buying and selling information. In order to escape the bad guys, Tobin surrenders to the CIA. Now the questions are: Was this his original plan? What is on the file?

Tobin is taken to our aforesaid safe house for intense interrogation. Frost is too important of a person and the top secret safe house comes under attack. The young low level highly trained Matt Weston is now on the run with a man who is a master manipulator of people. To our list of unanswered questions we now add, "Who is the mole?"

Ryan and Washington give us excellent performances. It had elements of the Bourne series that made this story interesting, but it doesn't quite measure up to that film. Cliche ending. I would say if you are a fan of the trilogy, check this one out.

Multiple chase scenes, torture, killings, shoot outs, minor "roof top" jumping, car wreaks without explosions

Overall, one of the best thriller action movies in the past year.

Safe House 2012 Moview Review

• Starring: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds
• Supporting actors: Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Rubén Blades, Nora Arnezeder, Robert Patrick
• Directed by: Daniel Espinosa
• Genre: Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
• Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
• Release year: 2012
• US Theatrical Release Date: Feburary 10, 2012
• Studio: Universal Pictures

Red Tails 2012 Movie Review

First, as of 22 Jan 2012, "Red Tails" is the number two in the country, with a $19 million dollar purse for the first week! Secondly, there was an apparent miscalculation by the movie industry writ-large, that the American public has somehow lost interest and draw power in a TRUE story of Americans overcoming overwhelming odds and adversity to fight for their country and for racial equality.

Red Tails delivers outstanding performances by both A-listers Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard as well as the up-and-coming supporting actors. The action, tempo and effects were great. The storylines for the characters were good as well. The movie allows Americans the opportunity to review first-hand the bigotry and sheer ignorance of that time period, in hopes we will rise above it today. And that perhaps by remembering racism and prejudice in the context of such magnificent sacrfice and human struggle will minimize the impact of the small pockets of poison that still lingers within our society, even today.

Red Tails is AWESOME true-story of America at its best, while simultaneously being at its worse. Its a great movie to take young teens to, just as a reminder, although we havent quite attained "the dream", perhaps they can step closer to attainment in their generation.

Red Tails 2012 Movie Review

• Starring: Nate Parker, David Oyelowo
• Directed by: Anthony Hemingway
• Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
• Release year: 2012
• US Theatrical Release Date: January 20, 2012
• Studio: Fox

This Means War 2012 Movie Review

"This Means War 2012" Movie Review. When two CIA agents find themselves vying for the same woman, their rivalry is epic! Lucky Reese Witherspoon, to be one-third of an eternal triangle with these guys!

Even though this is a romantic comedy, CIA activities and skirmishes are couched in enough reality that we invest a little skin in the game. But the banter and camaraderie between two hunky heroes keep it cartoony and light. Furthermore, the conversations between our heroine and her best friend are hilarious, particularly when they are being overheard by the guys.

Reese Witherspoon, tests products and facilitates focus groups, but she hasn't quite recovered from her last break-up. Her best friend offers sage advice that positively drips with envy. Chris Pine is the smooth man about town, a CIA-trained lady killer with blue eyes you could get lost in. Problem is, Reese isn't about to fall. She may be tempted, but she won't fall. Tom Hardy is the third side of this triangle, who pretends to be a travel agent, which contributed to the end of his marriage. Now he's competing with Chris Pine for Reese's affections and not doing too badly, either, despite being British.

If you're in the mood to sit back, laugh, and not have to think too much this is the movie for you! It's the perfect combination of Comedy, Romance, and Action. The cast has good chemistry and are sexy to boot! As with any romantic comedy, you can't over analyze...you just have to sit back and enjoy!

This Means War Movie Review 2012

• Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine
• Directed by: McG
• Runtime: 1 hour 38 minutes
• Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance
• Release year: 2012
• Studio: Fox 

Recommended Movie: The Bourne Trilogy [Blu-ray]

First, you know that the movies are amazing. The action starts strong and never lets up over the course of all three films. Aside from one or two quibbles (why does Mr super-spy who memorizes every license plate in a parking lot at one glance need to have something implanted in his hip to remind him of his bank account? Just in case he loses his memory?) the movies themselves are wonderful.

Here are the pros and cons of this particular edition of the films:
Pros:
-the blu ray transfer is good, with a fine picture and sound.
-the extras are fun.

Cons:
-These are the single-disk versions of the movies. No dvd or additional disks such as digital copy.
-At times the picture quality was not as good as I might have hoped. Still very good, but a bit off.

All in all, highly recommended. If you like Bourne, you will like this package. If you like action films, you will love Bourne.

If you don't like action films, then why are you reading this at all? 

• The Bourne Identity 
• The Bourne Supremacy 
• The Bourne Ultimatum