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Shot of Life!

By Aaron 9/8/2007

 

Shoot em’ Up starts running and never stops. Some movies have non-stop action, and some movies are entirely action. Shoot em’ Up is entirely action. Not the Pulp Fiction or Bourne Identity kind, but the over the top kind. The fun kind. From the first scene when Clive Owen is eating a carrot at a bus stop, you know the movie is going to be ridiculously over the top. Once you accept that fact, it is hard not to love Shoot em’ Up. The movie has all the scenes you play over in your head when you get your first toy gun – all the unbelievable stuff you fantasize about doing to the bad guys.

Not be left in the Transporter genre of plotless-action movies, Shoot em’ Up develops a hell of a lot on the run. When the movie opened with an unexplained, unprefaced action scene, any plot seemed to be a forced concession. But the movie pushes itself to make connections – we actually know why there are two groups trying to kill Clive Owen and we actually see the antagonists, unlike Mr. and Mrs. Smith. There are even significant amounts of character development as we find out who Clive Owen is, who Monica Belluci is – we even find out about Paul Giamatti’s family. So it would be best to say that the movie evokes the feel of Payback and the glam of Smokin’ Aces.

But more importantly – how does the movie stack up as an action movie? Once you leave reality behind, the movie is almost unmatchable. The action just LOOKS great too – so fluid and fast and the camerawork is tight and sharp, making the action look even faster. Perhaps it is hard to be unbiased considering Clive Owen does all the things I look for action heroes to do. He picks up weapons of the guys he has killed, he uses his terrain to move around so he is not a target, and does everything else we want to do but do not because we have some attachment to our body as it is – unbroken.

Not to leave any action movie distinction unchallenged, the movie also does its best to race for the highest kill count. At one point the bad guys even say, “I guess fifty men will have to do.” And then a scene later they need to reload on henchman. Not to forget firepower, the movie has a scene in a weapons factory, which gives Clive all the weapons he needs at his very fingertips. Despite severing itself from reality, the movie DOES go to great pains to explain why Clive Owen knows about guns and why he always has so many. All these things set Shoot em’ Up apart – it seems incredibly similar to Smokin’ Aces in terms of advertising and style, but this movie succeeds with simply action instead of contrived plot twists, boasting its ridiculousness. So the little things start to add up for the movie and it is worth 7/10 saltystix.

   

Bob’s October Movie Preview

By Bob 10/2/2008

Now that we have gotten through the sludge of September movies, it’s time for some Oscar contenders, and movies that think they’re good but not. Halloween is also this month so there is bound to be a lot of random horror movies going on and of course a Saw film to soak in. Whatever happens though, I’m gonna guess that at least one of the following gets some nods come Oscar time. With that, my October Movie Preview:

Cops, Robbers, and Blah

10) Pride and Glory: October 24th

From the director of Miracle comes one of the most clichéd trailers of ALL TIME. Edward Norton as A COP. Colin Farrell as HIMSELF. What more could we want from a movie? I don’t know, and I will likely never find out because this is not one flick I will be seeing.

9) Max Payne: October 17th

As I feverishly go through my mind trying to think of a video game adaptation that has actually been a good movie, I’m also reminded of all of the bad movies Marky Mark has made over the past ever (excluding The Departed and Boogie Nights of course). I would be shocked if there is anybody who is actually excited for this, as anybody who actually played the game has probably outgrown the genre.

8) Body of Lies: October 10th

Leonardo Dicaprio. Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. Something about spies. The trailers really tell us nothing about this film except, “How am I supposed to run an operation when you’re running a side operation.” I don’t really know what that means, but Leo says it in the trailer. This film looks like another lame attempt by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to win Oscars. I’m not buying it.

7) Flash of Genius: October 3rd

Greg Kinnear stars as an man who invents the intermittent windshield wiper, and then has it stolen from him buy the major auto manufacturers. This just looks like a boring film that will get a lukewarm response. For some reason, however, it has been getting a huge level of marketing with television and even radio advertisements. I doubt people will buy it.

6) RocknRolla: October 10th

Guy Ritchie is back in the genre he knows best, and this appears to be an English gangster film much in the mold of Lock Stock and Snatch. We’ll see if he still has his stuff, but for now, I’ll just pop in my DVDs of the older films that I can trust, and look to be almost identical in plot to this one.

Movies that Intrigue Me

5) Changeling: October 24th

Angelina Jolie stars in this Clint Eastwood film about a woman whose son goes missing and is returned with something different. Any film that Eastwood directs (that’s not Flags of our Fathers of course) is worth checking out, and this looks to be no different. It got solid reviews with it premiered at Cannes, and Angelina Jolie is ready for a solid role.

4) W.: October 17th

A film that is certain to be the years most controversial, Oliver Stone directs this biopic about our current president. While I am sure Stone will exaggerate many of the details, there is no denying that he has put together an awesome cast including Josh Broling (as Bush), Elizibeth Banks (as First Lady Laura), James Cromwell (as his father H. W.), Richard Dreyfuss (as Cheney), Thadie Newton (as Condoleezza Rice) and others as the rest of his cabinet. Whatever happens in this film, it will certainly be interesting.

3) Synecdoche, New York: October 24th

A film that I have been awaiting since last year, this is Charlie Kauffman’s directorial debut. I have loved the films he has written (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Adaptation. ) and this should prove to be equally compelling. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a playwright who attempts to put on a production in a warehouse that includes a scale model of New York. It will probably boggle our minds, but that is Kauffman, isn’t it?

2) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: October 3rd

Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the eponymous Nick and Norah who meet each other one night in New York and have adventures. Something about the trailer really brought this movie to my attention, probably the indie style that I love. Cera is always great, and Dennings was really cool in Charlie Bartlett, so I might make my way to a cinema this week to check it out.

1) Zach and Miri Make a Porno: October 31st

Seth Rogen and Elizibeth Banks star as two best friends who decide to make a porno together. This is Kevin Smith’s first film since Clerks 2, and I can only hope that it matches that film in hilarity. The only thing I don’t understand, is why are they releasing this film on Halloween? I guess there is probably a Saw film being released anyways.

   

   


   


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