Taken

2/14/2009

I watched Taken on a Saturday afternoon, after I had heard good things about a movie I otherwise probably would have skipped, at least at the theater. I liked the edge that this film possesses, along with Liam Neeson's character, a retired government worker. I guess the lack of language kept this movie at a PG-13 rating, because the very straight forward violence and adult thematics, in my opinion, made up for a rather clean script. Using his skills as a former government "Preventor," Neeson sets out to kill the man responsible for kidnapping his daughter, who was on a trip to Paris with her best friend. Once overseas, the movie turns from a drama about a man trying to rekindle a lost relationship with his daughter into an full-blown action film. The flow of the action scenes were catchy and thankfully, I never had the feeling that I was watching a movie that I had seen before. Unfortunately, for all of the reasons that I enjoyed the edgy "do exactly as I say" action, I thought the ending turned back into a little bit of Hollywood and was a little disappointing. All in all, a good flick that was worth the matinee price.

Gran Torino

1/27/09

I thoroughly enjoyed Gran Torino. Clint Eastwood gives a classic performance as an over-the-top disgruntled veteran who is content on not trying to get along with anyone, from family members to his next door neighbors. The silver years of his life change after an incident where his prized possession, a black Gran Torino, was attempted to be stolen. I found myself entertained with the majority of this movie, and caught myself laughing and chuckling at what I would consider a very racist laden slurring movie. I believe I was not laughing alone and I just kept saying to myself, "I can't believe I'm laughing at this, but I am." I realize this movie was probably made too late in the career of Eastwood to be considered a classic now, but when we look back at this film years from now, it will probably be ranked up there with a lot of his other gems. I would put this movie in the category of "Not to rush out and see it, but definitely be sure and give it a view."