Patriot Games

I am about to give you some sad news and you have to be very strong now...Sean Bean dies.

Cause of death: impaling by anchor, followed by explosion (for good measure).

Now to the actual story of the film.

A group loosely affiliated with the IRA is making an attempt to kidnap one Lord Holmes, cousin to the Queen of England. What they did not factor in is that ex-CIA agent Jack Ryan would leisurely stroll by and throw himself in the middle of it all to not only save the Lord and his family but also take out a few bad guys while he's at it. One of them is little Patrick Miller, whose brother Sean (this is Sean playing Sean) is right there to witness his baby brother killed.

He is incarcerated, he swears revenge, his friends get him out of jail and while they still have their sights set on Lord Holmes, Sean has his eyes set on Jack Ryan. Yes, one of the members of the group of IRA guys going rouge is about to go rouge.

Shoot-outs, training camps in North Africa, a few explosions, cars forced off the road, a boat chase and the ultimate fight to death on a speeding, burning boat in the middle of a storm (because it wouldn't be an action sequence without there being a storm, obviously).

Yes, this is mostly standard action fare. Only, this has a way better cast than your random action movie. The original Jack Ryan is Harrison Ford. You also have James Earl Jones, James Fox, Richard Harris, Samuel L. Jackson, a very young Thora Birch - and those are just the supporting players. And of course there is Sean Bean and his brother in arms (until he falls victim to Sean/Sean's blinding revenge) is Patrick Bergin (whatever happened to him, I wonder).

6/10

42

There are some stories that have such historical impacts that they need to be told. The story of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play Major League baseball, is one of them.

In a time when we high-tech sci-fi adventures and comic book based films are forced down our throats, a well told tale of bravery and overcoming adversary is a breath of fresh air. I'm not saying that I can't enjoy a decent blockbuster or graphic-novel-coming-to-a-theater-near-you (although, I am growing weary of that genre in particular), but give me a film like 42 as an alternative and I will choose it any day.

It probably helps to have an interest in baseball to begin with (I'm guessing the film plays better in America than any other continent). But even if you don't this is still a good story about post WWII racism in the US.

The film cast some of the usual suspects, Harrison Ford as the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers being an obvious choice, but the title role is played by relative newcomer Chadwick Boseman. Personally, I had never heard of him before. He is brilliant. As are all other actors, whatever side of the argument they are paid to be on in this film.

The one surprising casting would be that of the most vocal racist in the film and real life, Ben Chapman, manager of the Phillies during Robinson's rookie season. The role is played by Alan Tudyk, who we are used to seeing as a likable character. There is a short EW article about his (inspired, brilliant) casting, The nasty curveball of 42: Alan Tudyk puts an unexpected face on racism. Chapman's taunting of Robinson is the high point and low point (if you know what I mean) of the film.

Overall, despite the pathos and slo-mo sequences, this is well worth your time.

8/10

Firewall

Jack Stanfield works for the Landrock Pacific Bank in Seattle and his day is about to take a weird turn when a debt collector shows up at his job trying to collect $ 95,000,-- in gambling debts. Jack realizes he has been victim of identity theft. What seems like a small incident at first is supposed to be used to set him up. The fictitious gambling debt is to be used as an also fictitious reason for him to steal from his own bank.

His colleague Harry has set up a business meeting with one Brian Cox, offering both of them work. After a few drinks, as Jack gets in his car to return to his family, Cox gets into the backseat and puts a gun to his head. While Jack was at work, his family has been taken hostage at their house. As Cox and Jack return their, they are kept at gunpoint over night.

The next morning, Jack is to go to his job as usual, equipped with a video and voice feed connected to the culprits. During the day, Cox shows up again for a 'meeting' with Jack, that his assistant is suspicious of, as she didn't set it up. Cox has Jack take him on a tour through the server room where he explains his plan. With Jack's technical expertise, he is supposed to transfer millions to an account on the Cayman Islands.

After a difficult day, with Jack trying to contact somebody, anybody for help and being found out, Cox drives home his point by killing one of his own associates for not paying attention for a moment that Jack used to sneak his video camera (disguised as a pen) onto his secretary.

The family devise a plan for Jack's wife and their two children to escape by clever use of one of the son Andy's toy - an remote controlled car, that has in the past interfered with TV reception is used to interfere with the video feed that is being used to keep taps on the family. They do not make it out and - in a quiet moment - Cox again emphasizes that he has no scruples, he feeds Andy, who has a severe peanut allergy, with a cookie containing peanuts and making Jack beg for the EpiPen.

Finally, the plan is set into action, with Jack moving to different terminals in the bank as to not be interrupted by one of his colleagues, who is hot on his heals the entire time. When the transfer is made, Jack and Cox split up. When Jack gets back to the house it is empty. One of the culprits returns to finish him off, but Jack beats him to death with a stand up mixer (handy thing, that).

He flees to Harry's empty apartment and hears a message on the answering machine from his wife, reading from a script that makes it look like a message to her lover, Harry, and a confirmation that she has left Jack. When he hears someone coming in - it is Harry with Cox, still in future business partner mode - he hides in a closet (classic!) to see Cox execute Harry. Jack realizes, that this will only reflect back on him with the tale of an affair and Cox using Jack's own gun. His flight continues...

To pressure Cox into giving his family back, he takes the baddie's cell with him and calls Cox as he is re-transferring the money and telling him that he will give him the money in exchange for his family's safe return the next morning. Jack changes his plan, however, when he realizes he heard the family dog bark as he was on the phone with Cox. The little pet has a tendency to run away and has been equipped with a GPS collar.

With the help of his secretary, he manages to locate the dog, who has been thrown out of the transport vehicle for unruly behavior. Fortunately, they are close enough to the hide out for Jack to sneak up to the house and a combination of one of the culprit's reluctance to hurt his family, Cox' hurt pride and Jack's and his wife's anger, the bad guys are taken down once an for all. Cox meets his end in a fist fight, cut short by use of an ax.

An ok, fast-paced watch. Nothing to write home about but entertaining enough.

5/10