Movie News and a Review

Two big movie releases this weekend.
I chose to see Unstoppable.
I think I made a wise choice.

Staring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine and directed by Tony Scott, Unstoppable is about a runaway train carrying toxic chemicals.

And the title fits perfectly!

This movie is fast, relentless, and never stops moving. It's the ultimate roller coaster ride. One critic called it "Perfect popcorn entertainment."

This movie does not break new ground nor is it perfect as a dramatic film. But you don't go to see Unstoppable expecting Oscar performances and a deep, thought-invoking plot. You go for the action!

Scott does an excellent job with the action - once things begin to roll, about ten minutes into the movie, the pace never lets up. The director maintains a high level of tension until the very end. And despite all of the crashes and explosions in the preview, there's really very little destruction and death. It's presented in a thrilling but realistic manner. Nothing appeared impossible or implausible.

The actors do a good job. Denzel is Denzel, full of charisma, and Chris Pine's character starts out as unlikeable, but grows over the course of the film. Rosario Dawson does a great job as the station manager working with Denzel and Pine.

And with any Tony Scott film, you have amazing visuals. His shots of the countryside, not to mention the trains, are fantastic. You see that speeding train from every angle possible - and from underneath is the wildest!

You want a fast-paced action flick that's not dumb? Go see Unstoppable!


In other movie news, Hollywood Spy posted a trailer for next year's Battle: Los Angeles and it looks both chilling and amazing. Looks like that alien invasion movie might live up to its hype!

Speaking of hype, have you read some of the reviews for Skyline over at Rotten Tomatoes? They're funny! Critics compare it to a SyFy original movie, a trip to Kmart, and just below a Roger Corman film. Said it made Independence Day look like a second coming of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Ouch!

If any of you ventured out to see it, let me know - was it really that bad?

Ultimately, I think it's a shame the studios chose to push Skyline instead of Monsters. Guess they felt tons of special effects would do better than a slow-paced, smaller film. I'll say it again - if it's playing near you, check out the sheer genius of Monsters. Critics of Skyline may claim that film making is best left to filmmakers, but the director of Monsters proves them wrong.

Time to write! How's everyone else doing with NaNo? Some new ideas hit me this morning and I'm ready to rock.