National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ben Gates is just not doing well at all:
His girlfriend broke up with him
He's living with his father
and....
Ben Gates' Great Grandfather, Thomas Gates, is just about to be nationally recognized as a hero when Mitch Wilkinson steps out and announces he has evidence that Thomas Gates was part of the conspiracy to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln.
In order to clear his ancestor's name, Ben, his sidekick Riley, and Ben's father start to investigate an order of Southern militants. What they discover was that Queen Victoria supported the Southerner's cause and she was attempting to help them find a treasure to finance the war.
Naturally, there's a treasure involved--the famed City of Gold. In order to find this treasure, they must race against Mitch Wilkinson and kidnap the US President to get to the Presidential Book of Secrets, containing information about everything from the City of Gold to Area 51 and the Kennedy Assassination.
Along the way, Ben's ex-girlfriend, Abigail, and Mom, Dr. Em Appleton, are added to the treasure hunting crew.
In my opinion, "Book of Secrets" has exceeded the "National Treasure." The story's better, the ensemble cast is strongly refined, and both the jokes and action just keep coming. Everyone in the cast save for Ed Harris impressed me. I honestly wasn't sure whether Mitch Wilkinson was a mercenary or a misguided man trying to claim some fame for his own family.
And yes--there appears to be a good chance we will see more of Ben Gates' adventuring. This one sanctioned by the President himself. I'm looking forward to Film 3.
An added bonus was the Disney cartoon up front where Goofy gets a bigscreen TV. The story details an armchair quarterback's quest for the optimal viewing experience and how simple it is to set up a modern home theatre system. The jokes were so fast and furious I had tears in my eyes by the end and my stomach hurt from laughing. This cartoon is second only to my all-time favorite movie cartoon featuring the "Madagascar Penguins" that featured in front of "Wallace and Gromit--the Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

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Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) sets out to find the lost 18 pages from the diary of Abraham Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. One of the 18 missing pages has been discovered by Jeb Wilkinson (Ed Harris). On that page are the names of the Lincoln assassination conspirators. Thomas Gates, Ben Gates' great-great-grandfather, is listed on the page. After discovering this, Ben does not want Thomas Gates to be remembered "as a conspirator in the assassination of the man who brought this nation together." His quest to clear his family's name leads to unexpected twists and turns. Agent Sadusky (Harvey Keitel) tells Ben that a secret book has the information he needs. The president's "book of secrets" holds documents, for presidents' eyes only, of all the nations secrets; from the truth behind the JFK conspiracy, the missing minutes from the Watergate tapes, and Area 51. When Ben's request to see the book is denied, he says he must kidnap the president. Each clue leads him closer "to a discovery that the world isn't ready to believe."

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Runaway Train (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm a railfan -- i try to go to virtually every "train" movie that i hear about. I've seen some mediocre films ("Breakheart Pass"), some Awful Films ("The Cassandra Crossing") and some Pretty Good films ("Silver Streak") that way.
And i saw "Runaway Train" -- an Incredible Film.
With Jon Voight nominated for Both Oscar and Golden Globe (which he won) as Best Actor, and Eric Roberts nominated for both Oscar and Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actor, and featuring Rebecca deMornay in a decidedly UN-glamourous role, this is obviously not your standard action film.
And when one adds that the original screenplay was by Akira Kurosawa, one realises that this is NOT the usual Golan-Globus production at all, at all.
In brief, the story is simple -- two cons, one old and experienced and dangerous and one young, cocky and ignorant, break out of a max security prison in Alaska, hop a train headed for the Lower 48, and find themselves (along with a female railroad worker) on a hair-raising ride to nowhere on a runaway train with no brakes and no engineer.
But the performances and the nuances make this film Something Special Indeed.
Voight's portrayal of Manny, the man so dangerous that for three years his cell door was *welded* shut, is scary, compelling and sympathetic by turns. "Anything that doesn't kill me makes me stronger" is his motto.
Eric Roberts's performance as the cocky young loser, destined to spend major parts of his life inside, who can't even recognise good advice when Manny practically rubs his nose in it, is at almost the same level, and honestly deserving of the "Best Supporting" nominations he earned for it.
John P. Ryan, as Assistant Warden Rankin, Manny's antagonist and would-be nemesis, is adequate, but not up to the level of performance of Voight and Roberts.
In the end, after all of the incredible stunt work and amazing train work, after all of the violence and emotion, it comes down to two big men (Manny and Rankin) finally confronting each other, in one final test to prove which is the stronger.
Along the way, Voight, playing the existential monster to the hilt, gives us a view of a man who knows all too vividly that he long ago chose the wrong road, but also knows that there is no turning back for him.
When the girl screams at him that he is an animal, he replies "No -- Worse! Human!"
He tries to set the kid straight -- tells him that if he's smart he'll find a job flipping burgers or scrubbing toilets, and do it well and earn his pay -- "...and, if you could do that, you could be President of the United States." But the kid knows better -- he wonders why this big tough guy is talking such nonsense; and he doesn't hear the longing in Manny's voice.
And the final confrontation and the end -- after one last, horrifying and exhilirating stunt sequence -- is exactly what the film needs for its perfect conclusion; as exhilirating and appropriate in its way as the end of "Thelma & Louise" or of "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid".
Be warned -- this is a brutally, horrifyingly violent film (i spent a lot of time wincing and cringing, reacting in a way that most film violence doesn't bother me), and the language used, while probably somewhat less graphic than actual cons would use, is not for Little Old Ladies.
Add in the Almost Perfect portrayal of railroading (there is one major departure from the way a real railroad would Do Things, but it's necessary for the film to work, and it *could* happen, i suppose), some incredible cinematography, and generally perfect design and execution of sets and costume, and you have got one incredible film experience; a thrill ride you will NOT soon forget.
((Knowing that Kurosawa wrote the original screenplay and had intended to make this film himself, i kept trying to guess whether Manny or Rankin would have been played by Toshira Mifune...))

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Tearing up the track at 100 miles-per-hour, Runaway Train featureshair-raising footage(Leonard Maltin) and spectacular, OscarÂ(r)-nominated* performances by Jon Voight and Eric Roberts. Packed with action, suspense and apowerful climax that will sweep you away(The New YorkDaily News), Runaway Train is anintense...stunning...astonishing(Roger Ebert) super-thriller!Manny (Voight) is the toughest convict in a remote Alaskan prison who, along with fellow inmate Buck (Roberts), makes a daring breakout. Hopping a freight train, they head full-steam for freedom, but when the engineer dies of a heart attack, they find themselves trapped, alone and speeding toward certain disaster. Until, that is, they discover a third passenger, a beautiful railroad worker (Rebecca DeMornay) who's just as desperateand just as determined to surviveas they are!*1985: Actor (Voight), Supporting Actor (Roberts)

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Pride and Glory (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)I agree with the other review in that the story line is nothing out of the ordinary. Typical New York good cop, bad cop storyline. This is why I didn't give it four stars but I have to give a lot of credit to the actors especially Collin Farrell. He is brilliant in this movie. I have to say, he nailed his performance to the tee. So the story goes: A family of cops, the dad (Jon Voight (Francis Sr.), his two sons (Edward Norton (Ray),Noah Emmerich (Francis Jr.) and their brother in law (Collin Farrell (Jimmy). They were all after this drug dealer who killed four other cops. Ray was thrown in this wild goose chase only to find out that Jimmy was somehow involved. So Jimmy somehow framed Ray (can't spoil the movie too much), they were in this battle of Ray's words against Jimmy. The ending could've been better but overall, it is a pretty good movie. Worth watching on DVD.

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Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich star in a gritty, tension-packed tale of a multigenerational family of cops facing hard realities and tough choices. Set and filmed in Manhattan's Washington Heights, Pride and Glory draws you into a grippingly raw real world...and into a house divided.

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