Non-Stop

This was exciting!

An US air marshal with a whole list of personal issues is getting texts from an unknown fellow passenger requesting a money transfer or every 20 min. someone will get killed. And that is what happens, because everything is made out to frame the air marshal, here played by Liam Neeson (finally not the "I will find you and I will kill you!" guy).

What follows is a guy trying to save himself and the passengers while everyone around him suspects that he is responsible for all of this. His only loyal aid is the woman that sits next to him on the plane, while everyone else is eyeing him suspiciously.

Of course, passengers start taking things into their own hands, trying to overwhelm the air marshal. One person on board is law enforcement himself, working for NYPD, and rallying the troops around him.

In the end, of course, the Liam Neeson character will be redeemed and become the celebrated hero that saved all but a few lives (the ones killed in 20 min. intervals).

Pure entertainment.

7/10

The Nut Job

I like animated films. I do. But they still need to try a little harder than this.

The story is nothing new - group of animals have to work together but don't realize that their 'leader' (in this case a raccoon) is a total scumbag. They believe everything is for the good of all and listen to everything raccoon says with wide eyed wonder. Then there is the anti-raccoon, a squirrel, who is a bit of a loner and has previously crossed raccoon.

They have to find provision for the winter and it takes a multitude of shitty moves before the group wises up to raccoon's insincerity and the squirrel's bigheartedness. The story plays out with all the usual puns and nothing overly exciting happening that hasn't happened many, many times in some variation before.

There are some cute moments (mostly involving a dog) and an evil little girl scout (who is pretty awesome, to be honest) and a rat that somehow follows the title character squirrel everywhere despite the squirrel being a total asshole to the rat (which is all a front, really, because he actually likes the rat a lot but doesn't want to show so as to not taint his rough-guy front). The rat, by the way, was played by the same rat that was already in Ratatouille (a little worse for wear nowadays).

Meh.

4/10

Love Actually

'Tis the time of year to watch Christmas themed movies. Before seeing my traditional Scrooged I re-watched the lovely Love Actually.

The film is made up of different relationship stories playing out in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Billy Mack, an aging rock star, tries to make a comeback by making a shitty single, hoping to make the coveted Christmas no. 1. The song is a cover of Love Is All Around, in which the word 'love' is simply replaced by 'Christmas', no matter the difference in syllables. His promise is to strip on national TV if the buyers get his song to the no. 1 spot. It works. He ends up spending Christmas with his long time manager, realizing that he is the closest person to him in the world.

Writer Jamie, finding his girlfriend cheating on him with his brother, goes on a trip to France to work on a book. There, he is introduced to Aurelia, a Portuguese cleaning lady. She does not speak English, he does not speak Portuguese, which leads to cute conversations. Back in England he learns her language and goes back to propose to her, with her father, her sister and her entire neighborhood watching.

Daniel has recently lost his wife and is left to help his step son Sam with his conundrum. Sam is in love with a girl he believes does not know him. She sings and to get his attention he learns the drums and performs in her band during a Christmas show. But the world works against him. His beloved - Joanna - is about to leave for the US. Daniel and Sam rush to the airport so that Sam can profess his love.

Daniel's sister, Karen, has troubles of her own. She finds a gold heart on a chain in her husband Harry's pocket and believes this to be her Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, however, she gets to open a package of similar proportions to find a Joni Mitchell CD. The heart went to Daniel's new assistant Mia, who is basically offering herself up to him on a platter.

Harry's employee Sarah, who is in love with her colleague Karl, and everybody knows it. But when the two finally get together, Sarah gets sidetracked by a phone call from her brother Michael. Michael is in a mental institution and calls his sister a lot and she will always, always, always take the call. There seems to be no hope for Sarah and Karl.

Young Colin has everything figured out. He buys a ticket to the US because he is convinced that hot women just hang around in bars waiting for someone with a British accent. So upon landing in Milwaukee he walks into the first bar he chances upon. And he was right about everything. The women in the joint fall over themselves to get him to come home with them. They offer him a place to sleep, but only have one bed between four women and he will have to squeeze in with them. The poor girls are so poor they cannot afford pajamas and have to sleep naked....

Body doubles John and Judy meet while working on a film together. They act out different scenes in different stages of undress despite being rather shy and taking their sweet time before finally going out together.

Then there is the triangle of Mark, Peter and Juliet. Peter just married Juliet, who Mark is hopelessly in love with. As a self defense mechanism he barely speaks with Juliet who thinks that he cannot stand her.

And then there is the new prime minister to Britain, brother to Karen and Daniel, who on his first day in office falls in love with Natalie, who works at Downing Street 10 until his discomfort with the situation makes him request she be moved elsewhere. After receiving a Christmas card from Natalie, he goes off in search for her. Knowing only the name of the street where she lives, he knows on every door until he finds her, leaving people confused. He even has to sing carols for a trio of little girls.

One of those films I can watch over and over again. So sweet and so funny.

7/10

Taken

If you want a plausible story and/or interesting dialogues, stay away from this. This is pure action.

Liam Neeson, former CIA agent, retired to spend more time with his estranged daughter. There are, of course, her jaded mother and the super-rich step father that can easily drop the dough to buy her a horse (yes, that's right, folks...a horse) for her 17th birthday. Makes it hard to compete if all you can offer is a karaoke machine.

Anyway, daughter goes to Paris (actually, all across Europe, but *ssshhhh*, don't tell daddy, because he worries too much as it is) and gets kidnapped by an Albanian group of girl trafficers on her first day there. Neeson - being former CIA - knows how to kick some serious ass and comes down on the gangsters with a vengeance - leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake - to retrieve his darling girl.

Sadly, Neeson's immense acting talent is totally wasted here. Why he would do action film after brainless action film I do not know.

My biggest beef with the movie? Neeson goes to Paris and passes himself off as local police without speaking one single word of French. Not a one. And the best part? Nobody questions this...in a country where they eliminated all words of English origin from dictionaries and people will pretend not to speak English, even if they do.

Why anyone would need a sequel is beyond me.

1/10