Posts tagged Los Angeles
“Taken” An Exciting Thriller
Feb 4th
An Exciting Thriller
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
TAKEN is a nonstop action thriller that does its job very well, but its job is just to make you enjoy it while watching and then forget about it after it’s over.
In other words, it has no lasting value other than what appears on-screen for 91 minutes.
Liam Neeson plays Bryan Mills, who is divorced, who has a 17-year-old daughter, and who gave up his career in order to live close to his daughter in Los Angeles.
What was his career? Well, we aren’t told explicitly, but it kept him away from his daughter, Kim, while she was growing up, and he was probably an agent for the C.I.A.
However, what he tells Kim is, “I was a preventer. I prevented bad things from happening.”
And, Boy, does he ever! With all the gadgets and know-how he needs to prove it!
Bryan reluctantly agrees to let Kim go to Paris with her friend, Amanda, but only if Kim will follow all the rules he lays down for her.
And, sure enough, their very first day in Paris, Kim and Amanda are kidnaped out of the apartment they are staying in, which causes Bryan to leap into action and show his stuff.
Through his expertise and contacts, Bryan figures out that he has only 96 hours to rescue Kim or else he will never find her, and so Bryan is off to Paris.
Right at the Paris airport, there is a good chase with a fantastic ending. Then that night at a construction site, there is a big shoot-out and escape. No, there is not quite an escape. Wait, yes, there is.
Bryan knows lots of tricks, and the action is very good.
No, it is outstanding!
Bryan proves to be one ruthless, hard-nosed “preventer,” but the movie might remind you of the 1988 FRANTIC, starring Harrison Ford and directed by Roman Polanski, only this one has more testosterone.
The action is nonstop and is just chase after chase after chase with no depth, but only horizontal action.
Then there is a coda at the end which wraps everything up in a nice, heartwarming bow.
TAKEN should be taken with a grain of salt–no, a spoonful–no, a cup– no, a pound of salt, and then you can enjoy it for what it is, an exciting thriller.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Changling” Disturbing to Think About
Nov 6th
Disturbing to Think About
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
CHANGELING is the latest film directed by Clint Eastwood, which stars Angtelina Jolie, and it should not be confused with the 1979 THE CHANGELING, which starred George C. Scott.
The earlier film was a ghost story, and this one is more of a horror story, but not in the way you might think. It is based on actual events.
The time is 1928, the place is Los Angeles, and Jolie plays Christine Collins, a single mother of a nine-year-old boy named Walter.
Christine is a supervisor of the massive switchboard operation at the local telephone company, which requires her to wear roller skates and glide back and forth behind the long line of operators.
One Saturday morning, Christine is called in to work, and she is forced to leave Walter alone in the house they live in.
Walter assures his mother that he will be all right by himself, saying, “I can take care of myself. I’m not afraid of the dark. I’m not afraid of anything.”
However, when Christine comes back home that evening, Walter is gone and she cannot find him anywhere. She calls the police and is told that they won’t even begin looking for him until he has been missing for 24 hours.
So, Christine keeps calling, the police keep investigating, and Walter remains missing.
Finally, five months later, the police inform Christine that Walter has been found in Illinois, and he is being brought home. However, after Christine, the police, and the local reporters all wait at the train station for Walter’s arrival, when he gets off the train, Christine says, “He’s not my son.”
The police find themselves in an awkward situation, they insist that he is, the boy agrees, and Christine is told to take him home on a “trial basis.”
She is told that she is the boy’s mother and therefore in no position to be objective.
Then John Malkovich shows up as the Reverend Gustav Briegleb, who has made it his mission in life to expose the Los Angeles Police Department and all its corruption. He tells Christine that the police don’t want public dissent, contradiction, or embarrassment.
Because Christine represents all three to them, Christine is forcibly admitted to the Psychopathic Ward of the General Hospital solely on the captain’s signature.
CHANGELING is gruesome to watch and disturbing to think about.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”