Category Archives: Car Chase

2012, Acceptable Trash, Bicycles, Car Chase, Crude Talk, Slapstick, Suspense, Violent

Premium Rush (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a New York City bike messenger whose routine “premium rush” run turns into a life or death chase through the streets of Manhattan after a dirty cop (Michael Shannon) becomes desperate to get his hands on the package.

Basically this is an adolescent action film with a plot that fails to be important. Cars chase bikes. Bikes chase bikes. That’s pretty much the content of the film.

HOWEVER, the bike riding scenes and skills were amazing. The Wikipedia article does not discuss how real the bike riding was, although I would be disappointed if it were not real. No doubt some professional stunt rider did at least some of the scenes. But that Wikipedia article did included the following:

Gordon-Levitt was injured during filming on August 1, 2010, when he was cycling too fast and hit the back of a taxi. The impact sent Gordon-Levitt flying into the rear windshield of the taxi, slashing his arm which required 31 stitches. A shot of the aftermath of that accident is included as a scene during the credits of the film. Locations included Columbia University, Central Park and Canal Street.

One very clever device is as follows: Willee (our hero) sends us on many fast and perilous rides in New York City. He must continually make split second decisions about where to aim his bike. At certain points in the film he is about to make such a decision and the action changes to Willee’s mental practice run-through of what would happen if he make a particular choice. Clever fun!

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Willee) plays Robert Lincoln in “Lincoln”. You may recall Michael Shannon (the bent cop) as the tormented Curtis in “Take Shelter”.

Just enjoy the superficial film with its fun bike stunts.

2012, B-movie, Car Chase, Conspiracy, Could be boring, Mayhem, Mediocre, Sci-Fi, Violent

Total Recall (2012)

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FromNetFlix:

Bursting with mind-blowing action sequences and spectacular visual effects, Colin Farrell stars as Douglas Quaid, a man on the run after a mind-bending procedure at Rekall goes horribly wrong. Co-starring Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel.

As much as I hate to say it, I preferred the 1990 version by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Granted the special effects of this 2012 version with Colin Farrell were worth seeing. But that is just about all you get. Chase follows chase. Shooting follow shooting. You have already seen this film in different disguises many times before.

Thank goodness Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel wore different outfits. Bad guys always wear black. Otherwise the two women were hard to differentiate. Is it me, or do many of today’s young female stars tend to look alike? You could say the same for the young men.

Good luck understanding the many sequences in which our hero knows just what button to push or which lever to pull. Just enjoy the ride.

Ho-hum. If you enjoy mayhem, this is the film for you.

1997, Abduction, British Mystery Series, Car Chase, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Disturbing Image, Eccentric Detective, Grim, Gritty, Kidnapping, Lawyers, Made For TV, Mental Illness, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Occasional gore, Prison, Psychological Thriller, Rape, Revenge, Sadism, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Torture, TV Series, Violent

Touching Evil (1997)

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From NetFlix:

After suffering head trauma from a shooting, moody, job-obsessed Detective Inspector Dave Creegan of the organized and serial crime unit heads off some of England’s most deviant and deadly offenders by creeping inside the criminal psyche.

Robson Green plays the DI Dave Creegan in this British detective TV series. His character is single-minded, isolated, and socially awkward. As is often the case in British detective shows, the crimes are usually violent and involve some ugly scenes. Indeed each episode develops side by side both Creegan’s personality difficulties as well as the crime du jour. You will not relax watching these plots but you will probably not be able to stop watching despite the suspense.

After he made this series, Robson Green then starred in Wire In The Blood in which he portrays the exact same personality, the only difference being that in this later series he ia cast as a free-lance psychologist specializing in the criminal mind.

Both “Touching Evil” and “Wire in the Blood” provide tense, suspenseful viewing that (providing your nerves hold up) you don’t want to miss.

2011, Car Chase, Clever Plot, Complicated, Conspiracy, Crime, Frenetic, Love Story, Norwegian, Nudity, Occasional gore, Plot Twist, Revenge, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

Headhunters (2011)

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From NetFlix:

Living way beyond his means, corporate recruiter Roger Brown steals rare artwork to maintain his lavish lifestyle. But when he plans to boost an especially valuable painting, he targets a man who has headhunting skills of a different variety.

Hold onto your seats because this plot twists and turns like an angry alligator. From one minute to the next you will be surprised by all the unexpected, and usually violent, events.

In Norwegian with subtitles, even though the actors are Norwegian, still there is a surprise in store. Just how the names of the actors are pronounced is beyond me. Aksel Hennie as Roger Brown and Synnøve Macody Lund as his drop-dead beautiful wife Diana were excellent actors that I have never seen before. However, I kept staring at Nikolaj Coster-Waldau who plays the villain Clas Greve and wondering where had I ever seen this Norwegian actor. Surprise … he played Jaime Lannister in the TV series “Game of Thrones” (which you should NOT miss!) where he seemed to speak perfect English.

Much of the plot has Roger Brown running for his life from one horrible experience to another. But his ingenuity is remarkable.

Expect an incredibly satisfying ending. But you have to also expect unending suspense.

2012, Abduction, Car Chase, Detective, Frenetic, Serial Killer, Suspense, Violent

Gone (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Jill expects to find her sister home in bed. When she doesn’t, she knows just where to look — her own past abductor. But the police show little interest, so Jill sets off on her own to find her sibling in this chiller.

Amanda Seyfried (Sylvia Weis in “In Time”), as Jill, puts a lot of energy into trying to rescue her sister from her past abductor. In this film the theme is that no one believed that Jill was ever abducted. In fact she was put into a mental institution as delusional. So she spends most of the film not only trying to rescue her sister (while armed) but also trying to elude the police who think she is on some lunatic escapade.

Jill has made a friend of her fast food colleague played by Jennifer Carpenter who is Dexter’s sister (WHAT! You have never watched Dexter (2006)?).

As regards the police not believing Jill, the film has a very satisfying ending.

Nothing special, but watchable.

2012, Acceptable Trash, B-movie, Car Chase, Crude Talk, Explicit sexual discussion, Gangs, Mediocre, Optimistic, Sex Scenes, Violent

This Means War (2012)

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From NetFlix:

Each determined to win the heart of a sexy blonde bombshell, two best friends and CIA spies turn their secret-agent skills against each other, heedless of the ever-widening trail of wreckage and collateral damage they leave in their wake.

“Acceptable Chick Flick Trash” fairly well summarizes this B-film. As you might expect you will encounter crude language, much talk about penises, flirting, sex scenes, etc. What you might not expect are all the CIA action sequences with lots of shooting. Except for the final action sequence that actually involves Reese Witherspoon, the other action sequences seem almost pointless.

Chris Pine you know as Will from “Unstoppable”. Tom Hardy is more of a newcomer to film. He was one of the fighting brothers in “Warrior”.

Having prepared you for the worst, you are now free to sit back and just enjoy the trash.

I LOVE TRASH!

2007, Car Chase, Conspiracy, Frenetic, Kidnapping, Mayhem, Suspense, Violent

Vantage Point (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Moments after he arrives in Spain for a landmark antiterrorism summit, U.S. President Ashton is shot. The 15 minutes leading up to the shooting are rehashed — Rashomon-style — from the perspective of various onlookers: two Secret Service agents (Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox), a TV reporter (Sigourney Weaver) and a tourist (Forest Whitaker). This nail-biting political thriller marks the feature directorial debut of Pete Travis.

Essentially a car chase film, this film examines an attempted assassination on the president of the U.S. from the viewpoints of Secret Service agents, news reporter, bystanders, and the assassins themselves. For each viewpoint the story starts over and you get to watch in that participant’s own eyes. Finally there is a long car chase ending in the usual collisions.

Don’t you wonder how they film those chases without anyone actually being hurt ? Here is an article that explains how it is done.

Nail-biters of the world, this film is for you!

2011, Car Chase, Frenetic, Redemption, Revenge, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

In Time (2011)

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From NetFlix:

In a near future where aging stops at 25, time is the new currency and the wealthy can live forever. When Will Salas inherits decades of life from a wealthy murdered man, he’s pegged as the suspect by the corrupt Time Keepers, who enforce the law.

Each person’s forearm shows how much time that person has to live. You can earn, steal, give, and buy things with time. For me this was a novel theme although the idea has probably been used elsewhere.

Rich people live forever, poor people die young. Probably the plot intends an analogy with the corruption of our current financial world.

Justin Timberlake is convincing as an angry, honest, poor, and of course invincible crusader. Amanda Seyfried is OK as his sparring partner and love interest.

Net Flix got it wrong. The Time Keeper (Cillian Murphy) was un-corruptible to the point of death. But he was misguidedly enforcing a corrupt system. You can watch Cillian Murphy in Retreat (2011) with a wonderful Irish brogue.

Possibly a “B” film but fun anyway!

2011, Car Chase, Crime, Grim, Love Story, Occasional gore, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Drive (2011)

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From NetFlix:

A Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver is lured from his isolated life by a lovely neighbor and her young son. His newfound peace is shattered, however, when her violent husband is released from prison.

Perhaps they should rename this film to “Ryan Gosling Drives” because the entire film really belongs to Gosling. Sometimes I criticize actors who capitalize on the silent type. How much acting talent does it take to just say nothing? In this case it works, Gosling mostly stares and it fits his character. Unfortunately his character is also one of those omnipotent tough guys who wins every physical fight and easily shoots his way out of every jam. Just suspend disbelief and watch the violence, because the violence is constant, extreme, and graphic.

Somehow I cannot buy the last scene where our “hero” survives (or does he?). You might want to read the Wikipedia article which praises the film but still does not make the ending any more believable.

Carey Mulligan, who played Kathy in “Never Let Me Go”, is just plain cute. This is one film in which oddly enough the two sad star crossed lovers never really get together because our “hero” is an omnipotent (albeit crooked and violent) man of honor.

Forget the cynical remarks because, in fact, I was glued to my seat throughout.

2010, Car Chase, Crime, Detective, Gangs, Mayhem, Mediocre, Mixed Martial Arts, Police Story, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Takers (2010)

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From NetFlix:

With their collective eye on a huge payoff, a motley crew of bank robbers (including Paul Walker, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown and Hayden Christensen) get busy planning out their next heist. Their former colleague, Ghost (T.I.), convinces the boys to target an armored car carrying $20 million. But a detective (Matt Dillon) who’s obsessed with his work is just as obsessed with making sure the thieves never pull off their scheme.

Yet another gang planning that great final heist with lots of car chases, shooting, foot chases, and general mayhem (read that – violence). If there is a main star, it is Matt Dillon obsessed with his work and ignoring his family. You have seen this film over and over. There is a foot chase that defies belief even if the runner is a super athlete. And of course there is an opposing Russian gang. As I have just said, you have already seen this plot many times.

As far as cast is concerned, this is the first time that I have seen Marianne Jean-Baptiste (of “Without a Trace” fame) in a film. Paul Walker did just about nothing in the film.

Next film, please!