Quick Movie Reviews: Vol 16

So I’m back on the movie train, watching plenty of new and old films. During a re-watch of one of my favourite movies of last year, I noticed it ended with ‘The End,’ plastered on the screen. I honestly thought in this day and age we don’t really need to be told when the movie ends. Really don’t see the point, and what made me scratch my head even more was that the film in question had naturally come to the end without need of telling us that. But I’ll stop before I get into old man rambling mode. Let’s get on with the movies.

Warrior (2011)

This movie isn’t going to shock anyone, it’s not going make you look at films in a new way, but what it will do is give you a solid story and some brilliant performances. It’s a drama set in the world of MMA (mixed martial arts) and centres on a family torn apart. You can probably guess where the movie is headed from the outset, but the movie is more concerned with getting the audience to connect to the two main brothers Brendan (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy (Tom Hardy). Putting it plainly I guessed the ending, but damn if I wasn’t on the edge of my seat feeling for both characters. Some times the best movies are predictable but allow us to connect emotionally.

Hatchet 2 (2010)

I heard rumblings that fans of the first movie weren’t that keen on the sequel; actually saying rumblings is a nice way of putting it. In some respects I can see why people were disappointed in this sequel; it’s a different kind of movie with the gore amped up. But there is actually nothing wrong with this movie, it’s still fun, gory and does the job. In fact I think it’s a great riff on how horror sequels try and up them selves. More body count, more action and as always an over explanation of the monster. Adam Green injected the first movie with a sense of humour and a love of horror, no matter what you say about the story direction of this sequel, it still has those things. Also any movie that gives Tony Todd the spotlight is worth your time.

Unknown (2011)

Every now and then a movie comes a long with a plot development that just makes me want to give the middle finger to everyone involved. This movie uses a plot device commonly used by the Flinstones, and for that it can go to hell. Look if I can step back for a minute from my bile duct, I will say that Liam Neeson is fine in the role, and the movie does have its thrilling parts, in fact it’s not a bad movie if it wasn’t for one glaring horrid excuse for an ending I’ve seen in a while. The reason why I feel so impassioned by this plot development is that it wasn’t necessary. All it actually did was give one more action beat, smarter writers could have written around it, and actually created a more meaningful ending. Most people will watch this and enjoy it and not really care with the ending, and there are things to like in this movie. Honestly if you want to see a good Liam Neeson thriller I would go for Taken instead.