Mos Def and Bruce Willis, what an odd pairing.

Tasked with escorting chatty prosecution witness Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) from police custody to a nearby courthouse, aging New York City cop Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) reluctantly gears up for the 16-block trek. But with powerful forces intent on keeping them from reaching their destination, they’ll be lucky to make it there alive.

Bruce Willis like in many of his film’s as of date, has basically played that same hard-nosed cop who turns superhero when things go array. Director Richard Donner has directed all of the Lethal Weapon films and knows how to do these buddy-cop thriller action films, and this shows he hasn’t lost any of his touch.

The storyline to this so called “great concept” that I just stated could have been put together better than it was. I’m not a film writer or director so I don’t know what exactly could have made the storyline better, but I’m just saying that it could have been better. Some scenes did drag on a little bit too long and the film didn’t create too much of a character personality for the two leads to get us to care for them.

The performances from the trio of leads are great. Mos Def is really good in this film and does make this film if his voice doesn’t annoy you enough. He brings a lot to the table and is not like many other rapper’s turned actor’s that we have seen before, he’s actually pretty good. Bruce Willis I think does relive the Die Hard character within him a little bit too much but makes this one more compelling and more tragic to where we feel sympathy and root for him. The one great thing about the two is how their connection in the beginning of the film is not good but as the film progresses the two gain a great deal amount of chemistry between the two and it actually feels real. David Morse also does a very good job at playing the villain as usual.

A lot of the action scenes though do seem done before are actually well-played out and just create a step to have another clever twist in the story. The film is not very comedic but takes all that away with it’s over the top action. I enjoyed the ending and thought it was very sympathetic but strong at the same time and fully made this film.

Consensus: 16 Blocks features strong performances from it’s trio of leads and has some high-quality action but may seem a bit too predictable and doesn’t add much to thrillers.

6.5/10=Rental!!!

IMDB link  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450232/

IMDB ratings 6.7/10   36,564 votes
Release Date : 5 June 2009 (USA)

Genre : Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot : Jack Mosley, a burnt-out detective, is assigned the unenviable task of transporting a fast-talking convict from jail to a courthouse 16 blocks away. However, along the way he learns that the man is supposed to testify against Mosley’s colleagues, and the entire NYPD wants him dead. Mosley must choose between loyalty to his colleagues and protecting the witness, and never has such a short distance seemed so long…

Direct Download links

http://www.storage.to/get/jrzg0xRt/16.Blocks.DVDRip.XviD-ALLiANCE.avi

Despite negative reviews when this film opened, I actually enjoyed watching this film. This film is about a husband and wife just moving to South America. While building a dam, Alice’s husband, Peter, played by David Morse (Contact, 16 Blocks)  is kidnapped by a local militant group. Enter the negotiator, Terry Thorne. The rest of the film in a nut shell is the negotiating with the group for Peter’s release, with a few side plots and twists here and there.

Alice, played by Meg Ryan (You’ve Got Mail, City of Angels) and Terry Thorne, played by Russel Crowe (Best Actor Gladiator) are the two main characters and through the drama, supposedly develop feelings for one another. This was the only fault in the movie for me. I never did think there was much going on between them throughout the entire movie until they parted ways at the end. It made me feel like I missed out on a big romance, and I didn’t think there was much there as far as a relationship. They either should have made more of a romance and then it would have ended up like Bridges of Madison County with the wife left to choose who to be with in the end, or they could have left out the romance completely and would have been a good political thriller on it’s own.

In all, this was a better film than what the critics made it out to be. Even though the love story falls flat for me, there is plenty of action and drama to keep me more than interested. This isn’t one that everyone should see once in their lifetime, but for fans of movies, I would recommend it.

Kate O’Hare – The Oklahoman

On Tuesday, a popular cable network gets a new name and opens the door to a passel of mysterious artifacts and enigmatic relics.

With the two-hour premiere of “Warehouse 13,” SCI FI Channel becomes SYFY and shakes up its on-screen image, hoping to expand its audience even further beyond science-fiction fans.

“Warehouse 13” focuses on two Secret Service agents — Peter Lattimer and Myka Bering (Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly) — who save the life of the president and wind up transferred to a facility called Warehouse 13.

Located in South Dakota, the top-secret bunker houses a collection of bizarre objects, all under the care of Secret Service agent Artie Nielsen (Saul Rubinek), who answers to Mrs. Frederic (CCH Pounder).

“Everybody is a closet conspiracist,” says Jack Kenny, who executive produces with David Simkins. “We all want to think, ‘Oooh, there is all this stuff going on that we don’t know about.’

“And there probably is a bunch of stuff we don’t know about and probably don’t want to know about. We like the idea that there’s a warehouse out there that houses everything the government doesn’t know what to do with but needs to safeguard and protect.”

He also emphasizes that we’re not talking about alien bodies from Roswell or anything of that sort.

“We don’t want to go into alien stuff because it stretches the point of believability,” Kenny says. “Every one of these artifacts, we want to be absolutely viable.”

“The artifacts come from history,” Simkins says. “They come from science. They come from strong-willed individuals (like) Lucrezia Borgia. All the artifacts are based in reality.

“You could go to Wikipedia or Google and look this stuff up.”

Luckily for science-fiction fans, while the artifacts may not be from outer space, a few guest stars have worked there.

Among them are Tricia Helfer and Michael Hogan from “Battlestar Galactica” and Joe Flanigan from “Stargate Atlantis.” Others include Ivan Sergei (“Charmed”) James Naughton (“Gossip Girl”) and Erica Cerra (“Eureka”).

The show also promises a sense of humor. For example, there’s the purple goo.

“We get purple goo squirted all over us,” McClintock says. “The purple goo is a big story point. When we put an artifact into the purple neutralizer, it takes all its power away and makes it easier to transport.” 

The Special Effects Crew

Michael Innanen (Max Payne, The Incredible Hulk, Jumper) is the special effects supervisor

Laird McMurray (The Incredible Hulk, Dawn of the Dead, Cinderella Man) is the special effects coordinator

Shane Million (Assault on Precinct 13, Dawn of the Dead, Man of the Year) is the key special effects artist

Marcus Rait (X-Men, 16 Blocks, Chicago) is the special effects foreman

Atenção os leitores que gostam de filmes na faixa. Mais cinco filmes, mais um post. Abaixo segue os comentários e fotos de cada um deles.

Só para lembrar, a escala é a seguinte: de 0 a 2, não assista – não vale nem R$1,99! 3 é por sua conta, assista e tire sua conclusão. 4 e 5 eu “agarantio”: pode assistir sossegado, vale R$1,99!  Detalhes técnicos do Cine Player. Vamos aos filmes:

16 quadras: Um policial recebe a missão de escoltar uma testemunha para o tribunal. O que parecia uma missão ordinária, acaba tendo inúmeras complicações quando bandidos querem envolver-se nela.

Nota 4. Filme muito legal e cheio de ação. Em momento algum o filme perdeu o ritmo. Nota 4 com louvor!  

Homem de Ferro: A vida do inventor e maior fornecedor de armas do governo americano Tony Stark nunca mais será a mesma depois que ele é atacado e mantido refém por um grupo de rebeldes afegãos. Ferido por estilhaços de granada que se alojam perto de seu coração, Tony recebe a ordem de construir no cativeiro uma devastadora arma, mas, em vez disso, usa suas habilidades para criar uma armadura que permite que ele consiga fugir. Ao retornar aos Estados Unidos, Tony promete dar um novo rumo às Indústrias Stark. Ele passa dias e noites desenvolvendo e aperfeiçoando uma avançada armadura que lhe propiciará uma força sobre-humana.

Nota 4. O melhor filme da Marvel. Obviamente um filme bem “trucado”, mas filme de super-herói é assim. Mesmo assim achei muito bacana, com um apelo tecnológico bem interessante que conseguiu prender a minha atenção e curiosidade.  

Ilusão de Morte: Dois homens de mundos diferentes precisam se unir para explicar o inexplicável. Um bem-sucedido executivo é acusado de derramar uma substância tóxica no oceano e é descoberto morto no seu escritório. Apesar do escritório estar completamente seco, acredita-se que ele morreu afogado. A fim de resolver este e outros terríveis crimes, o governo de Taiwan é obrigado a aceitar a ajuda de um agente americano do FBI. Ele se alia a um encrenqueiro policial local e, juntos, têm que fazer o impossível. Esta jornada irá levá-los aos locais mais obscuros de Taiwan e ainda à busca ancestral da imortalidade.

Nota 1, para não dizer que foi zero. Fraco e de dar sono.

O nome é péssimo, mas o filme...

Após depredar um colégio, jovem é enviado para fazer serviços comunitários no mesmo local: uma escola de artes. Lá, conhece uma bela aluna de dança moderna que precisa urgentemente de um novo parceiro. Acostumado às danças de rua, ele reluta, mas cede à disciplina à medida que supera seus limites e conhece o amor.

Nota 5: Apesar do nome em português ser péssimo, o musical é muito bom. Nota 5!

Dois é bom, três é demais: Carl e Molly Peterson estão começando sua vida juntos — em uma graciosa casa, com vizinhos chatos, empregos estáveis e rotinas de recém-casados. Só há um obstáculo desastroso em seu novo mundo construído com perfeição… e seu nome é Dupree. Randy Dupree, melhor amigo de Carl e solteirão convicto, ficou sem ter pra onde ir depois de ser demitido. Carl retira seu companheiro desempregado e sem-teto do bar no qual ele está vivendo e o convida para dormir temporariamente em seu sofá, pois é isso que os amigos fazem. Na medida em que Dupree começa a se tornar parte da residência dos Petersons, a vida a três se mostra uma completa e hilariante catástrofe.

Nota 4. Hilário, mas chega aos extremos em algumas situações. Mesmo assim o filme é muito engraçado. Nota 4 com louvor!

went to the grocery shop down the road sometime after friday prayers. actually i wanted to go to the bakery but saw the CLOSED sign on the door. had actually wanted to see whether there was any sausage buns coz i was too lazy to cook anything plus there’s nothing to cook, anyway. but since it’s closed, i went to the grocery shop instead. and it was closed. thank goodness the indian muslim guys who man the shop has just gotten back from prayers, so i waited.

anyway, it’s so great that this shop, opposite STPRI, is now stocked full of stuff. when i first came here, it was rather sad and almost empty. i heard that there is a change of management. hurray! on schooldays, they sell packed food like nasi lemak and mee goreng. but the ones i’ve tasted was rather tasteless. but hey, for a hungry person, food is food.

the good news is … when i left the grocery shop, i discovered that the sign on the bakery shop showed OPEN. so, went in there but no sausage buns. the girl said that if i was willing to wait, i can buy real food, like rice and stuff. apparently a new stall has been set up just outside, and you can get nasi katok and snacks like keropok lekor (i think).

i couldn’t wait, but i will definitely be coming back to check out the stall!

anyway, the indonesian girl is looking for a job coz she will be going home to Indonesia. she said she couldn’t take it … she had to work at the bakery AND then after ten, go to her employer’s house to clean, etc … and would only retire at 12am. ngalih … she said. tired.

i told her, the situation in msia is not any better. she’d probably hv to multi-task. at the moment, she has to work at the shop more than 10hrs, then go home and clean up the house, and look after the kids with another amah. i know in msia, sometimes that happens too. but the girl is really skinny, prob from not enough sleep. at first, i was contemplating asking her to work at my mum’s house … but looking at that girl, being young and all … she would prob prefer to work in a shop or shopping mall or sthing. and we’ve already had a problematic experience with a young indonesian maid who has been sent back bcoz she was not doing her job after being influence by some other indonesian girls working in the area who persuaded her to run off and get another job – not as an amah/maid obviously. these girls, like many girls around the world, want freedom to do what they like. who wants to be stuck in the house looking after snotty nosed kids? hmm … like teaching, i think being a maid or an amah or a nanny is a calling. not everyone has the patience or the strength to do it.

i bought maggi tomyam in a pot today. had it for lunch. it was horrible. i guess, maggi is great when you’re a kid; but for as an adult, my tastebuds have evolved. i can however, eat maggi if it’s cooked properly with veggies, eggs and stuff. but not hot water in a plastic pot. sucks.

so, later … i had to have some real food for dinner. wanted tomyam fried kuay teow minus the beansprouts (i hate taugeh!) with chilli and a lime on the side. BUT the stall where i always order my food from at Food Zone in Gadong has run out of kuay teow. so, i ordered butter prawns with rice, instead. i had never tried this dish. was a bit weird. salty and sweet and buttery with curry leaves as well. but i was hungry. but honestly, by thoroughly mixing the stringy egg stuff with the rice, it was not bad. but i won’t be ordering it again. just not my thing.

16 blocks is on tv2. this is one of my fav movies, only bcos i think those crooked cops needed to be taught a lesson, which being a hollywood movie, retribution is a given. justice must be served. and bruce willis is great too. weird thing about mos def. he looked hot in that video with alicia keys. i almost didn’t recognise him in this movie. and the first time i watched it, i couldn’t understand what the heck he was saying. but anyway, crooked cops make me sooo mad. coz ive met one or two before. traffic cops. even 50 bucks is enough to make them happy. ive never gv any cop any money. don’t they realise that its wrong? geez!

i love the ending . and barry white … can’t get enough of your love, babe … no matter how i tryyyyy … what can i say, what am i gonna do … what kind of love is this that you’ve given me …

A fantastic actor, with many films to be remembered for. He seems to be fading lately, with less movies. Nonetheless, the guy has many classic roles under his belt.

Best Performance: John McClane (Die Hard)

Best Movie: Pulp Fiction

Scene:

Other Movies With Bruce Willis:

• 16 Blocks
• The Sixth Sense
• Twelve Monkeys 
• The Fifth Element
• The Whole Nine Yards

The Culture Capture Champs catch Mos Def during a break in the studio while recording “The Ecstatic” . Hear how he dissects some of his favorite MF DOOM lyrics

Bad Boys
Sean Penn in an American Scum.

16 Blocks
Bruce Willis is *not* John McClane in this mostly taut (but sometimes slack) thriller about a past-it New York cop escorting a chatterbox witness (Mos Def) to a grand jury, with a whole lot of dirty blues in between. Could have been great, but it’s not.

Take
The paths of two strangers (Minie Driver and Jeremy Renner) cross; the lives of each are forever changed. Some interesting ideas, very competently handled, but not really satisfying. I’m really not keen on the whole bleached out look, either.

Air Force One
What was I thinking, watching this? It’s Die Hard on a plane, with Harrison Ford as a Presidential John McClane type.

Iron Man
Rather spiffy Jon Favreau-helmed adaptation of the Marvel comic about über-capitalist arms dealer and all-round playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr), who takes on a crime-fighting alter ego with the help of a battle suit he builds himself. Good fun.

Gacy
Psychological portrait of serial killer John Wayne Gacy, the dude who killed loads of boys and buried them in his basement as well as dressing up as a clown for block parties. Not fun. Still, I learned what a crawl space is.

Old School
Luke Wilson, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn as heading towards middle age so try to reclaim the vitality of their youth by setting up a fraternity house.

Shakes The Clown
Bobcat Goldthwait as a booze-sodden clown. Nuff said. Also features a fresh-faced Adam Sandler.

Office Space
Really enjoyable mellow satire on white collar drudgery by Mike Judge, with Ron Livingston (the alkie S2 from Band Of Brothers) as a software engineer in Texas who hates his job. Good to hear Geto Boys on the soundtrack too.

During the long, dark days of winter, I often find myself watching a lot of videos and DVDs at home and this holiday break has been no exception. Without further ado, I now present Miss Method’s guide to recent (and semi-recent) releases:

Two Opposable Digits Way Up:

Batman: The Dark Knight

Apart from beating the Batman franchise to death, I was put off from watching this movie because I thought it was much too violent. However, I have to say that I was pleased and even surprised by how well-done “The Dark Knight” is . This is a very anti-heroic superhero picture. Briefly, the forces of organized crime have re-grouped and are fighting back against Batman and the reformers within City Hall and the police force. To do this, they decide to hire the Joker, a professional assassin, to take out Batman and the others, but the Joker is no ordinary killer and events quickly escalate.
Although there are action sequences, they aren’t the focus of the film. The real message of the movie is that defeating the forces that threaten society isn’t as easy as blowing up the bad guys. The draconian measures that Batman and Gotham employ have unforeseen consequences. In failing to understand his enemies, Batman has inadvertantly created a much worse villain in the Joker.

An especially nice touch: the presence of wanna-be Batman vigilantes.

“There is no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.”

Kung Fu Panda

I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more through this animated story of a panda fan-boy who is chosen to be the Dragon Warrior and defend his community against the outlaw Tai-Lung. If you were exposed to very bad kung-fu action movies during your formative years, as I was, you will enjoy the way this flick parodies the genre.  The central theme of the movie, however, is the special bond between teacher and student. Po the wanna-be warrior can’t achieve anything even remotely resembling competence at kung-fu until Sifu, his snappish teacher, not only believes in him, but works out the best way to teach him.

Tin Man

Two words, folks: Steampunk Oz. If you get the SciFi Channel, you may have already heard of this excellent mini-series. If you don’t, you will be pleasantly surprised by this dark, modern re-telling of L. Frank Baum’s classic story, The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothy (D.G.) is a restless young woman, bored by her humdrum existence as a small-town waitress and troubled by strange dreams at night. Her life as she knows it is abruptly brought to an end when her family home is attacked by stormtroopers and she and her parents have to jump into a tornado to escape. Waking up in the O.Z. (Outer Zone), D.G. seeks to find her parents, her memories, and her past. Hunted by the evil sorceress Azakadellia who is hiding secrets of her own, D.G. is helped by Glitch, an enemy of the state who has had his brain literally removed, Raw, an abused, lion-like psychic, and Wyatt Caine, a former law officer or “tin man” imprisoned in a suit of armor for remaining loyal to the previous regime. Can Dorothy find her power and save the O.Z. before darkness descends on the land forever?

“Tin Man” is hampered by a slow beginning, cheesey, made-for-TV special effects, and a largely uninteresting performance by lead actress Zooey Deschanel as D.G. who seems to have been chosen for her big blue eyes as opposed to any acting chops.  Pluses: a script (and scriptwriters) who refuse take the easy way out and winning performances from experienced character actors like Alan Cummings (Glitch) and Neal McDonough (Tin Man).

This ain’t your mama’s Oz, friends, but it is a complex, noirish, modern day fairytale. Watch it.

Good, But Not Great

Something New

Sanaa Lathan plays Kenya, a successful, black, female professional who is looking for the perfect man. She has a little list–well, a long list, actually–of all of his traits. He has to be white-collar, college-educated, and definitely African-American. However, she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to the free-spirited, blue-collar Brian (Simon Baker), a landscape architect she hires to renovate her backyard. Brian is everything she doesn’t want in a man–he likes dogs, he works with his hands, he’s outdoorsy, and most of all, he’s white. When Kenya meets Mark (Blair Underwood), a handsome black tax attorney and the living embodiment of her perfect man list, she has to decide where her heart truly lies.

While the film’s interracial romance and strong message about the importance of following your heart and opening yourself up to new experiences elevate it above the common fare, the movie is held down by a formulaic script. The actors turn in great performances, but there is never any doubt in our minds about which boy the girl will eventually wind up with.

The intense Afro-centricism also seems very forced. Upper class black professionals are portrayed as a group so snotty and pedigree-conscious that President-elect Obama (a bi-racial guy from a multi-racial family) couldn’t get an invitation to their events. A more subtle approach to showing the racial prejudices of the characters would have worked better.

This movie is a great one to watch around New Year’s. I know that it really made me question how open I was to new experiences that were outside of my comfort zone.

The Bucket List

Good end-of-the-trail movie. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two very different men with terminal cancer who opt to spend their final days doing things they’ve always wanted to, but have put off. Along the way, they have to come to terms with the life choices that they’ve made. Nice twist at the end.

16 Blocks

The biggest flaw of this movie is its extremely slow pace which blights an otherwise fine noir drama about a broken down cop and the petty thief he’s trying to deliver to the grand jury, just sixteen blocks away from the jail.  Bruce Willis stars as Jack Mosely a washed up, alcoholic NYPD cop just going through the motions. Jack is given an easy assignment: transport Eddie (Mos Def), a whiney petty thief to the court house just down the street, but this quickie errand turns into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse when crooked cops including Jack’s ex-partner try to kill Eddie before he can testify. The focus of this movie is not on car chases and gunplay, but on Jack and Eddie’s internal drama as the characters bond and face hard truths about themselves. For the record, I preferred the theater ending to the alternative ending.

Penelope

A charming, modern fairytale about a young woman who is cursed with the nose of a pig. Only when one of her own class accepts her can the curse be broken. Tired of waiting for the right suitor to come along, Penelope leaves her secluded life at home to find her own way. It sounds lame, but it really is a fine movie. Christina Ricci stars as the title character and Reese Witherspoon is the producer.

Two Thumbs Down

Mamma Mia!

You know a film just isn’t going to make it when you find yourself reaching for a book less than half-way through. This isn’t a film so much as it is an extended music video–a pastiche of ’70s songs with a very thin storyline. Yes, the music is toe-tapping in an easy listening sort of way and yes, Meryl Streep is always watchable, but I expect a bit more from my movies.

Wall-E

This is one of those movies that looks very promising, but then doesn’t deliver. Part of the problem is that I think the movie-makers just couldn’t decide what the story was really all about. Is it a love story between Wall-E and EVA? Is is the usual, hackneyed tale about machines declaring dominion over human beings? Or is it a cautionary tale about the effect of overconsumption on the environment? The animators clearly had a lot of fun here, but the script needs a complete overhaul.

Buy at AllPosters.com


Bruce Willis unconventional detective with a reputation for inveterate drunk has to deliver safely the key witness of the trial of a case of police corruption. The only way to ensure the fulfillment of his duty is to ensure the survival of the witness facing the distance that separates the court all the time risking the lives of both. Ruthless persecution, all rely on the desperate and risky attempts to overcome what seems inevitable: the death of the two.

IMDB link  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450232/

IMDB ratings  6.7/10 (28,274 votes)

Release Date : 3 March 2006 (USA)
Genre : Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller
Plot : Jack Mosley, a burnt-out detective, is assigned the unenviable task of transporting a fast-talking convict from jail to a courthouse 16 blocks away. However, along the way he learns that the man is supposed to testify against Mosley’s colleagues, and the entire NYPD wants him dead. Mosley must choose between loyalty to his colleagues and protecting the witness, and never has such a short distance seemed so long…

Direct Download Link

http://www.adrive.com/public/c964bc6a6fb6da8665a9cbe2c3d922f603748058602985718f88ad961c90d528.html

]]> http://repeta.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/16-blocks-%ef%bc%88%ef%bc%91%ef%bc%96%e3%83%96%e3%83%ad%e3%83%83%e3%82%af%ef%bc%89/ Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:13:28 +0000 repeta http://repeta.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/16-blocks-%ef%bc%88%ef%bc%91%ef%bc%96%e3%83%96%e3%83%ad%e3%83%83%e3%82%af%ef%bc%89/