We Own the Night (DVD)

we_own_the_night_ver2Being a fan of films involving mobsters and crime syndicates, We Own the Night was a definite must see for me. The film itself will never be considered a classic mob movie, but I did enjoy most of the feature.

First off, I must mention that the casting of the movie was superb. I won’t hid the fact that there were some instances where I felt that several characters were under developed, but overall I was satisfied with the outcome. Joaquin Phoenix in particular, who played the lead role of Bobby Green had definitely put on one of his most convincing performances thus far in his career.

The plot of the film was your basic gangster type material. As with films such as Scarface, the Godfather, and Heat, We Own the Night focused primarily on the glamorization of the mobster lifestyle and the consequences that come along with it.

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Shooter (DVD)

shooter_ver2Antoine Fuqua has always been one of my favorite directors particularly when it comes to action films. Training Day and Tears of the Sun are in my opinion two of his greatest works thus far, and it seems that he took some aspects from each film and molded it into this latest action thriller.

Shooter starts off very nicely. We get thoroughly introduced to the main character, learn a bit about his background, and get some insight into what the main plot is all about. Mark Walberg, who plays the star role in this film, impressed me yet again with his powerful presence and demeanor, and I found it very interesting to see Danny Glover casted for a role he is typically not known for. I thought he did a modest job at attempting it, although it just didn’t seem right for him.

The film did have some really good action scenes, scenery, and special effects, but was a bit diluted by the overly complex government conspiracy, and the typical mundane dialogue heard in many of these politically driven movies.

Overall, this film is worth a look at the local blockbuster. Its definitely not the best action thriller I’ve watched to date, but it wasn’t a waste of time either.

Synopsis:

Bob Lee Swagger, one of the world’s great marksmen and the son of a Congressional Medal of Honoree, is a loner living in the Rockies. He’s left the military, having been hung out to dry in a secret Ethiopian mission a few years before, when he’s recruited by a lisping colonel to help find a way that the President of the US might be assassinated in one of three cities in the next two weeks. He does his work, but the shot is fired notwithstanding and Bob Lee is quickly the fall guy: wounded and hunted by thousands, he goes to ground and, aided by two unlikely allies, searches for the truth and for those who double-crossed him. All roads lead back to Ethiopia.

Four Brothers (DVD)

I’ve been meaning to see this film for quite sometime now. When it hit the theaters, I just totally missed it. I’ve been a fan of Mark Wahlberg’s films since his performances in Boogie Nights and The Big Hit. He isn’t the best rap star (Marky Mark), but his films have always been pretty good.

Four Brothers combined all three elements that make a good movie. It had just the right amounts of action, comedy, and drama mixed into it. Overall, I thought the movie had a good balance of the three. The acting was also well done. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve always been a fan of “The actor” Mark Wahlberg, but I’ve never found Andre Benjamin or Tyrese to be great actors. Their movies were mediocre at best. In this film however, I thought they provided the perfect supporting cast.

The storyline itself is pretty much your typical revenge type theme, but the plot itself it much thicker than I thought it would be. This is definately a great rental. Pick it up.

After their adoptive mother is murdered during a grocery store hold-up, the Mercer brothers–hotheaded Bobby, hard-edged Angel, family man and businessman Jeremiah, and hard rocking Jack–reunite to take the matter of her death into their own hands. As they track down the killer, they quickly realize that their old ways of doing business have new consequences. Its not as predictable as you might think.