Ryan Revolver Reviews: Ghost Rider, Comin’ At Ya
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Nicolas Cage stars once again as Johnny Blaze. This time around Blaze is hiding in Europe, and is called upon to protect a young boy who is being sought after by the devil himself.
Spirit of Vengeance was a HUGE improvement over the first Ghost Rider movie; with more of a gritty feel, as opposed to the pun-tastic nature of the first film. Nicolas Cage’s acting was more erratic, which suits him better than his attempts at serious roles.
A more inclusive supporting cast gave Cage enough to bounce off of, which hid the mediocre storyline between scenes of the transformation process from Blaze to Rider quite well (not to mention the fact that you are watching a guy with a skull for a head that is on fire.)
Now, this is not the best action movie of all times, but it is more than adequate considering who is the star of the movie. I would go see this movie again and suggest that the first Ghost Rider movie be stricken from the record and use this movie as a fresh slate for Nick Cage.
Comin’ At Ya!
Comin’ At Ya! takes place in the wild west, where H.H. Hart is hell-bent on rescuing his kidnapped wife from two brothers. The two brothers, Pike & Polk are kidnapping women all along theRio Grande and then selling them to Mexican Brothels.
This goofy western flick hummed out overblown stereotypes in every scene. The use of 3D was irrelevant & was delivered to the audience as if a 12 year old was in charge of cinematography. The acting was below sub-par, and borderlines on soap opera performances. Tony Anthony was trying to channel his inner Charles Bronson in his role as H.H. Hart, while Gene Quintano was flat as the main villain Pike.
If more substance was added to the final shootout, the movie could have remedied itself. Even the slow motion hand-to-hand fight between Anthony and Quintano was lifeless. Comin’ At Ya! will be playing at select Alamo Drafthouse locations starting February 24th.
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Ryan Revolver Reviews: Bullhead
Jacky is an intensely formidable cattle farmer who is asked to tag along with his veterinarian as he sets up a deal to supply a big time beef trader with hormones. In Bullhead.
This movie reminded me of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and of Snatch – both films rampant with different activities of criminality that lend themselves to solid development. More is revealed of characters after first appearances, which kept me fixated on the screen. Between cops, an undercover informant, two mechanics, and a counter girl there are several sub stories, which incorporate seamlessly into the story of Jacky. If you do not dive into foreign films regularly, then they can seem more intense than what comes out of Hollywood. Matthias, who plays Jacky, charges into the role. He displays to the viewer that Jacky is more raging animal than gentle giant. His performance is beyond impressive, and consumes every scene in which he appears.
Bullhead will be playing at select Alamo Drafthouse locations starting February 17. Bullhead is nominated for an Oscar in the Foreign Language Film category. The 84th annual Academy Awards take place February 26th.
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Ryan Revolver Reviews: The Women in Black
Okay… Three high school girls are babysitting on Halloween night, and one of the girls’ deranged brothers (who escaped from an insane asylum) is after them…Ummmm. NO! That’s John Carpenter’s Halloween.
Ummmm. What’s the movie? Okay so a special needs kid drowns at a camp because the counselors aren’t paying attention. No, that’s Jason.
Oh I know! A janitor is brunt alive by angry parents because he molested children. Wait, is that Jerry Sandusky? No. Oh, no, I know what movie that is A Nightmare On Elm Street.
Oh yeah I know what movie I was supposed to talk about, The Women In Black
This film was just barely able to elevate my heart-rate. Mr. Harry Potter did not add any lighting or thunder to this. And the women wearing black was only scary due to lighting techniques.
Ryan Revolver Reviews: Chronicle
Three high school students get extraordinary powers in Chronicle…
Not gonna lie, I felt sympathetic towards the Andrew character. Poor kid had it rough between how classmates treated him and his father’s very bad parenting. Chronicle shows what would happen if immature high school students had special powers, you can substitute the words “high school students” with CJ and Chuy if you want too.
The cinematography was bar-none, but that didn’t make up for the fact that the ending scene was yawntastic, and definitely had a “green screen” feel to it. The lack of life experience of the super kids ultimately is what leads to their demise.
This was an interesting concept for a movie, but not interesting enough for me to fly away with it.
Ryan Revolver Reviews: Underworld Awakening & Haywire
Ryan Revolver Reviews: Underworld Awakening
Underworld Awakening takes place 12 years after Underworld Evolution, with Kate Beckinsale reprising her role as werewolf hunter Selene. This time around werewolves, or lycans, and vampires are being ruthlessly hunted down & exterminated by humans.
Any vampire movie without those Twilight geeks in it is alright in my book. There are a lot of cool fighting action sequences. And I tell you one thing, Selene can handle a gun! Also there is a twist at the end that even I didn’t see coming.
Haywire
A contract agent for the government is betrayed after a mission goes sour in Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire. I thought this movie was so bad I am not even going to include a sound clip from the trailer in my review. Okay so the star is a MMA fighter, it doesnt mean she can act. It just means she can put guys in headlocks. Michael Douglas could not even resuscitate this film.
Watching this 93 minute piece of garbage reminded me of those terrible Hulk Hogan films from the early 90′s. Only decent part of the film was Antonio Banderas’ awesome beard.
Ryan Revolver
UNDERWORLD AWAKENING & HAYWIRE
Ryan Revolver Reviews: Contraband
Ryan Revolver Reviews: Contraband
In Contraband Mark Walberg plays a former smuggler who is brought back into the criminal world to bail out his brother-in-law.
This is a straight shoot from the hip action-thriller with a little bit of comedy mixed in that I thought was a very good movie. Now of course it is not a Oscar worthy performance, by any means, but it is still a good little flick to go check out on a Friday Night.
The only thing that really bugged me about this movie was Giovanni Ribisi’s accent. I don’t know what that was! Was it like this Southern Twang? It was horrible! The movie gives audience goers a soft-laced look at the world of smuggling drugs and counterfeit currency. PLAY: CONTRABAND
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