Libby Parsons (Ashley Judd) awakens to find herself adrift at sea, with her husband missing and her hands covered with his blood. She’s arrested for murder and loses everything, including her son. While in prison, Libby finds out that she’s been framed. Now, the law of “double jeopardy” — and the desire to kill her “late” husband for good — is all Libby has left, even if it means outwitting her sympathetic parole officer (Tommy Lee Jones).
Ashley Judd is wrongly framed for the murder of her husband. There are twists here that I just don’t want to give away. At any rate, eventually her parole officer Tommy Lee Jones helps her. It’s a B movie, but the story keeps you going.
When a mysterious loner named Mr. Smith (Clive Owen, Children of Men) delivers a woman’s baby during an intense shoot-out, he inadvertently lands himself at odds with the ruthless Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti). Aided by the enigmatic DQ (Monica Bellucci), Mr. Smith is tasked with protecting the newborn from Hertz and his henchmen. Written and directed by Michael Davis, this bullet-riddled action thriller also stars Ramona Pringle and Chris Jericho.
“Antonio, you can’t be serious !!!” I make no apologies for having enjoyed thoroughly the wonderful escape offered by this violent, funny, outrageous, vulgar movie. This is a movie made for Clive Owen. And Paul Giamatti makes a great villain. Jackie Chan is quite an athlete and all the things he does are real. In “Shoot ‘Em Up”, on the other hand, nothing that Clive Owen does could possibly be real. During the movie he never misses a shot and kills possibly a hundred men. But the shooting sequences are works of cinematic art. The dialog and moments of sex are down and dirty. I loved this movie. But then, I LOVE TRASH !
Stranded on a tropical island after their plane crashes 1,000 miles off-course, a group of castaways must learn to survive in their new home — as well as avoid the gigantic something crashing through the trees and determine whether they really are alone. Matthew Fox, Evangeline Lilly, Terry O’Quinn, Dominic Monaghan and Naveen Andrews head up a diverse cast in creator J.J. Abrams’s Emmy winner for Best Drama.
“Lost” concerns the adventures of the survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island. It is very imaginative. There is much violence. Plot twists are inventive. The fun never stops. If this kind of story appeals to you, once you get into “Lost”, you will be trapped. The above NetFlix description is just for Season 1. At the time I am writing this, the series is still going strong on TV.
In this creepy thriller based on Stephen King’s book, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) rescues her idol, romance novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), after a horrible car accident. But she morphs from nurturing caregiver to sadistic jailer upon discovering that Sheldon plans to kill off his literary heroine, Misery, in his next volume. Bates’s disturbing performance as the psychotic Annie netted her a Best Actress Oscar.
The book is quite good especially compared to the movie. The movie vaguely resembles the book but still offers the same roller coaster ride. It’s just fun at a B level. Kathy Bates as the crazy captor and James Caan as the captive are a hoot. Bring along your strong stomach for some of the violence.
In three interwoven vignettes, Traffic offers disturbing snapshots of America’s drug war. Drug czar Michael Douglas sees his life turned upside down when the drug problem hits home, while Tijuana cop Benicio Del Toro tries to keep his hands clean — and stay alive. Meanwhile, Drug Enforcement Agency operatives arrest a major dealer, forcing his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to take over the family business.
Recommended both by “1001 Films to See Before You Die” and “NY Times 1000 Best”, this film is in the “Crash” tradition of many separate interrelated plot threads. As such, the film can be confusing.
Besides violence (e.g. torture) there is much ugliness (e.g. The U.S. drug czar finally tracks down his cocaine-addicted daughter as she is prostituting herself to an old man in order to get drug money). Another main theme is governmental corruption. This film, which won 4 oscars, is not an easy watch.
