RED 2 - Review

RED 2
(2013 - July 19)
Action | Comedy | Crime
1 hr. 56 min.

Rated: PG-13 Pervasive action and violence including frenetic gunplay, some language and drug material. Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+. Read more on child suitability
Grade: C

Director: Dean Parisot
Writers: Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Warren Ellis (characters), Cully Hamner (characters)
Stars: Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker | See full cast and crew

In RED 2, the high-octane action-comedy sequel to the worldwide sleeper hit, retired black-ops CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device. To succeed, they’ll need to survive an army of relentless assassins, ruthless terrorists and power-crazed government officials, all eager to get their hands on the next-generation weapon. The mission takes Frank and his motley crew to Paris, London and Moscow. Outgunned and outmanned, they have only their cunning wits, their old-school skills, and each other to rely on as they try to save the world—and stay alive in the process.

RED 2 (Retired, Extremely Dangerous Part 2) in case you are confused about the title, is the follow up to the 2010 hit RED. Red 2 had a better opening weekend besting RED by about $7 million exceeding $28 million. RED cost $58 million to produce and brought in $199 million plus, you do the math, was there any doubt there would be a sequel?

I saw the first film in this franchise, yes, RED 3 is on the way, and I wasn't particularly impressed. I can't suspend belief enough to accept that these retired people would be able to function as they are portrayed in the film, that much they could so easily best and out smart much younger and fitter agents with similar training.

Nor is the dialogue all that clever, its all old stories rehashed and consequently the humor, for me anyway, falls flat. Since smug Smart Alec quips are the intended strength of these films, it doesn't quite achieve its goal.

RED 2 has assembled an impressive group of talent. The cast is very capable, it just doesn't have that much to work with. Many of its stunts, though impressive, are outside of the realm of believability. It is, however, pretty much free of nudity, vulgar and profane language which is a plus in my humble opinion.

On the set with director Dean Parisot

Cast

      Bruce Willis          John Malkovich   

   Frank                                Marvin   

       Helen Mirren        Mary-Louise Parker   

   Victoria                              Sarah         

      Byung-hun Lee   Catherine Zeta-Jones   Anthony Hopkins  

   Han Cho Bai                          Katja                                 Bailey

Warm Bodies - Review

February, a time for Valentines, Romance and Zombies!

 

Warm Bodies
(2013 - February 1)
Comedy | Horror | Romance
97 min

Rated: PG-13 Zombie violence and some language | What parents should know.
Grade: B+

Director: Jonathan Levine
Writers: Jonathan Levine (screenplay), Isaac Marion (novel)
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich | See full cast and crew

A funny new twist on a classic love story, WARM BODIES is a poignant tale about the power of human connection. After a zombie epidemic, R (a highly unusual zombie) encounters Julie (a human survivor), and rescues her from a zombie attack. Julie sees that R is different from the other zombies, and as the two form a special relationship in their struggle for survival, R becomes increasingly more human - setting off an exciting, romantic, and often comical chain of events that begins to transform the other zombies and maybe even the whole lifeless world. (c) Summit

Warm Bodies is the debut novel of author Isaac Marion. The book is described as a "zombie romance", and makes allusions to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Issac Marion is based in Seattle, hie novel originated as a short story titled, "I am a Zombie filled with love". It first attracted a wide internet audience which led to Atria Books (a division of Simon and Schuster), acquiring the publishing rights to the full novel in early 2010. (Buy the novel here)

Warm Bodies is charming, quirky, sweet, odd and refreshing, if nothing else a pleasant surprise at the very least. The film is formulaic, full of clichés and at the same time fresh, unique and heart warming. One of the more original on-screen pairings. It's a little bit Romeo and Juliet (especially the balcony scene), a little Edward Scissorhands, a little bit Twilight Series and maybe even a little bet of the Hatfields and the McCoys and I'm sure you can come up with more comparisons on your own.

I would have been more generous with my grade if not for the gratuitous use of a word starting with an 'F' and a few other words that were supposed to be funny (just cheap shots for cheap laughs). Thankfully the profanity is brief and the sexual content is not crass nor graphic.

Any teenage boy (or any man that has been one) can identify with R's (Nicholas Hoult) ability to formulate smooth, romantic, witty  lines in his head but when attempting to express those ideas is limited to a series of brutish grunts, groans and shoulder sruggs.

One glaring negative was the miscasting of John Malcovich, an obvious attempt to add some gravitas to the cast but when he phones in his performance it is counter productive and a distraction. John is a good actor but seems to have become lazy. He is becoming a caricature of himself as of late.

I really liked liked this film. It's a story of relationships and humanity. Nicholas Hoult is a romantic lead with a capital R! The plot is simple, your typical girl meets zombie story...enjoy it with someone you love.

On the set with writer/director Jonathan Levine

Cast

   Nicholas Hoult          Teresa Palmer   

     R                                          Julie

    Rob Corddry          Analeigh Tipton  

    M                                          Nora

  John Malkovich           Dave Franco     

Grigio                                     Perry