Live Free or Die Hard

Stupid title.

The copy I watched actually announced the film as Die Hard 4.0, which I prefer. It even makes sense, since the film focusses on technology and hackers. But the official title seems to be Live Free or Die Hard. Well, so be it.

John McClane is sent to get a hacker and bring him to the FBI in DC, because there are some serious technology based security issues and several hackers have had their hands in them. Unwittingly, as it turns out. These hackers are now being killed off by the people that originally used their services. McClane saves his package, one Matthew Farrell, from death by explosion and/or multiple gunshot wounds. They will spend the rest of the film running from henchmen sent by the bad guy, one Thomas Gabriel.

Thomas Gabriel is played by Timophy Olyphant, who makes a wonderful baddie, I always thought. My earliest recollection of him is in Scream 2, where he was bad, bordering on insane. Here, he is more of an evil genius, always keeping his composure and cooly disposing of everyone who has done his part in the operation and is no longer of use to him.

An additional complication is thrown into John McClanes path in the form of his daughter, who is upset with daddy right up to the point when he is her only hope of survival. His son we will meet in A Good Day to Die Hard, which is nowhere near as good as any of the other parts.

You know what? I like this film. I am down with turning off my brain and watching Bruce Willis save the day. It's good fun.

7/10

Surrogates

In a story set in the future, instead of leaving their comfortable chairs people move about via surrogates. You know, much like today they do online. This means that you could be the grossest slob in person, but cut the dashing figure out in the world.

This has gravely lowered the crime rate, but things are starting to come apart at the seams when a weapon that kills not only the surrogates but also the people operating them appears and is being used on humans. The first victim is the son of the original inventor of the surrogates who has long been disgraced and kicked out of his own company and now works against the use of surrogates.

The killer was actually sent to take him out, but his son used one of daddy's surrogates. Out to find the mysterious weapon and trying to uncover the people involved in its use is FBI agent Greer, who is beginning to become uncomfortable with the use of his artificial self and goes rogue (this is Bruce Willis, so of course he would).

A bit confusing and the artificial visuals are not at all charming.

4/10

A Good Day to Die Hard

Wonderful, brainless action combined with the humor one expects from a Die Hard movie.

This time around, John McClane is in Moscow to aid (or so he thinks) his estranged son. What he doesn't know, however, is that McClane junior is a key player in a covert CIA operation. The botched (thanks to McClane sr.) mission takes us after Moscow to the only other place in the former Soviet Union that the average US American might have heard of - Chernobyl.

The story, of course, doesn't matter. The fillm is loaded with expolsions, shoot-outs, double-crossing, villains dancing, McClanes jumping off buildings and a car chase that has them destroy a string of vehicles along the way.

For everyone worried about Bruce Willis getting too old for this shit - he has a son! The franchise is secure!

4/10

The Expendables 2

The sequel to Expendables features everybody (except for Steven Seagal, luckily), this time even Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. The latter is in it just to be in it. Pure courtesy. His character is of no significance to the story.

As for the story, Stallone and his gang (oh, Lundgren, you are awesome) are blackmailed into retrieving....oh, never mind. Nobody watches this for the plot, which is as insignificant as Chuck Norris.

It's fighting, shooting, bad jokes ("I'll be back.", "Yippie-ka-yay.", something about Rambo) and bad acting. An homage to good old no-nonsense 1980s action films.

Here's a picture of Dolph Lundgren. You're welcome.

(cannot be measured in stars)

Moonrise Kingdom

Hilarious!

The latest offering from director Wes Anderson is a film set in a pathfinder summer camp in the 1960s. The camp division is run by the hapless Scout Master Randy Ward (Edward Norton) who "loses" one of his Khaki Scouts (and eventually all of his scouts). The only police officer on the island the film is set is one Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis), who - together with the at this point remaining scouts - sets out to find the missing Sam Shakusky.

The eventually learn that Sam is on the run with his beloved Suzy Bishop, daughter of the local couple of lawyers (played brilliantly by Bill Murray and Frances McDormand). The journey they take is as awkward as both young kids. And really everything and everyone else in this film. They are first hunted and later aided by the other Khaki Scouts and run off to the HQ camp to get married.

I love the narrator (if you will) played by Bob Balaban. He is placed in different sceneries, sometimes on the very edge of the picture, dressed in a red coat and a greenwool hat, which makes him very much look like a garden gnome. The rest of the cast is wonderful, as well. Short appearences included are by Harvey Keitel (Harvey Fucking Keitel!) as the commander of the scouts, Jason Schwartzmann (normal sight in any Wes Anderson film) and the ever brilliant Tilda Swinton as "Social Services" (her name, apparently).

Aside from The Darjeeling Ltd. possibly my favorite Wes Anderson film.

8/10