First up, Ca$h, a French heist film that I actually really enjoyed, despite the fact that IMDB only has it at 5.8 stars. Netflix told me I’d give it 4 out of 5, and I did. The plot is very well constructed, and although I had inklings about what was going to happen, it was still a pleasure to watch unfold. The premise is the same as so many other heist movies: a job goes bad, someone dies, and the team’s out for revenge. Also like most heist movies, it’s better if you don’t know that much about it going in. It’s all about the reveal. Watching this film while finishing off the ending of TARNHELM (my current book project) made me appreciate it that much more. Having a twisty turny climax is much, much more difficult than you think it’s going to be. 3.5 stars. (Note: the version on InstantWatch is unrated. The IMDB rating is R. Besides a slinky dress, I didn’t see anything in this to really warrant an R rating. Maybe I missed something . . . )
Hanna was a strange movie. Very intense and brutal flick about a guy who raised his daughter to be a killer, because he knew that some very bad people (Cate Blanchett) would be after her if they ever found her. It’s PG-13, but has some very disturbing images that Denisa most definitely didn’t like. Still, it had a surreal sense to the film that I quite enjoyed, and (for the most part) the characters were well drawn and depicted. Some very good action scenes, and I was quite impressed with the young lead (Saoirse Ronan, who was also in City of Ember and The Lovely Bones.) Three stars.
Then we have Night of the Hunter, a classic suspense movie from 1955, starring Robert Mitchum as a serial killing pretend preacher stalking a family through the course of the film. Yes, you read that right–1955 serial killer preacher. It’s possibly most famous for Mitchum’s tattoos in the film: LOVE and HATE tattooed on the fingers of his right and left hands. This was a much artsier film than I expected, but I really enjoyed it. There’s a reason it’s number 172 on IMDB’s top 250 list. Mitchum does a fantastic job in his lead role. A real classic. 4 stars.
Finally, Korean martial arts movie: War of the Arrows. Well, more of a Korean bow and arrow movie, though I’m not sure such a thing exists. Set during one of the Manchu invasions of Korea, a man goes to extreme lengths to save his sister, who has been kidnapped by the Qing Dynasty. They came up with just about every way to have a tense arrow fight you can think of in the movie, and if that doesn’t sound like it interests you, then what’s wrong with you? I had a great time with the movie, though it was a tad slow in places. 3 stars.
And that’s all I have for you today. Have a nice Thursday!
War of the Arrows was definitely a tad slow. I’ve started it 3 times and haven’t gotten halfway through yet. It *looked* good, and it’s fine enough for what I’ve seen, but I just couldn’t keep up my interest for a sustained length of time.
It picked up at the end. Definitely finished stronger than it started, for what it’s worth.