Taken 3

Alright, so I watched Taken 3: The Takening and um what the hell did I just watch?  This is one of those films where if you have popcorn you will be throwing it at the screen every few minutes.  The story really had nothing to do with the Taken Series even with how bad Taken 2 was it was still cannon to the original, Taken 3 really had nothing to do with the Taken series.

Story

Well no one actually gets taken in Taken 3, so there's that.  The story it's self wasn't that bad, if the film had been made for adults and had been rated R it could have held up to the original.  That was my major issue with this film, it was dumbed down to the point that it pulled me out of the film, there are a ton of examples but one that I'll share is when Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is in the back of a police car and there is no barrier between the front and back and he's able to fight two police officers from the back seat then hold a gun on the driver while crawling into the passenger seat from the back seat.  It's just over the top stupidity with dumbed down, PG friendly violence where you don't see blood when someone is shot.

Acting

Really the acting wasn't the issue, the directing was the issue, the actors did a fine job with the turd they had to work with, it's not the actors fault that they had a bad director.  Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Maggie Grace, and what little of Famke Jassen, all do fine jobs.  The rest of the cast on the other hand... I think the director said something like "if you could look more mafia scumbags and pedophiles and less like LAPD officers that would be great" because that's what I thought the whole time they were on screen.

Music

Well I can't really say I remember any music.  If there was any real music to this film it should say something that I didn't even remember it.  There was a few things like put records on and music in cars but music played as part of the film's score, I don't remember.

Conclusion

In the end this is a sad end to what started off as a great film franchise, I can forgive a lot of the flaws of this film, but the director dumbed the film down so much that on children who have never seen a good down and dirty, blood and guts action film could even remotely enjoy it.  This one is most definitely a skip on my list.

Emperor

You would think this is the story of the Emperor of Japan vs. the new emperor (supreme commander) General Douglas MacArthur, and you would be right in thinking that, sadly that is a very minor sub plot to a tragic love story that only half played out.  This film left me wondering what the writers were even trying to say, by the time it was over I was disgusted with this entire film.

Story

Well as I said I don't really know what the writers were trying to say, I mean I really don't know if they were trying to tell a power struggle story or a love story, or a tragic war is hell even after the war story.  It seemed like there was five different people writing different stories based on the same idea and then they just took a page from each script and made a film.

Acting

Honestly it wasn't that great, maybe it's because I really didn't enjoy this film but I just did not like any of tha acting work in this one.

Music

Nothing to complain about, there wasn't much music to talk about, but what there was seemed to work for the film.

Set Design

Ok I'll give it to them here, even though this film basically lacked in every department the one thing they got right was the set design, this was totally believable and looked perfect.  The set designers are the only ones who deserve any praise for this film.

Conclusion

Don't waste your time on this film, it's slow, it's boring, it's a mess of a script, and it will just leave you frustrated and unsatisfied by the time it's over.

Up In The Air

I didn't really know what to expect from Up In The Air but I can say I liked it, this is a good one time watch type of film, not something you'll go back to time and time again but it gets the message across.  Basically this film shows that everyone has emotions and no matter how cold you are on the outside, inside your vulnerable and want to be loved.

Story

Decent but really predictable, there was no real surprise or twist here, just first act, second act, third act, end.  If you're looking for something deep to make you think I can only say "keep moving nothing to see here".

Music

Not really much music in this film, but what little music there was didn't bother me, if fit the mood of the film and matched well.

Acting

George Clooney does a fine job, there really isn't that much to say here, no one was bad, no one was great, just an average job throughout.

Conclusion

As you can tell I was not very impressed by this film, while I can't say it was bad, I can't say it was great, it was just alright.  There was no big revelation, and by the end I thought "well now I've seen that" so if you want to see it give it a shot but rent this film before you buy.

The Imitation Game

Having seen The Imitation Game I can only say, it was good.  I know some of the story was inaccurate, and I get that, but still it just kind of made me not want to get into the film as much knowing that ahead of time.  If this were a pure fantasy film it would have been great, a little long winded, but great, but sadly it was a true story and so the fact that there were fallacies only takes away from what would other wise be a great film.

Story

I'd say this was a good story, it left you thinking by the time it was over and that is always a good thing in my opinion.  You have to remember that while the vest majority of this story is true, there are some fictional parts that aren't obvious, and this is the major issue with the film since while watching the film you'll have a nagging little voice in the back of your head wondering if every little part of this is true or not.

Acting

The film was very well cast and the actors were amazing, Cumberbatch is amazing, he can portray genius and suffering at the same time and make you feel and believe both without question.  As for Keira Knightley, I really don't have that much to say, she wasn't bad she just didn't really stand out to me.  The rest of the cast was fine, nothing special but not bad.

Music

Very little music really, there was some, but not much.  The music was really just things in the background that would be playing on a record player.  Of course the music was appropriate for the time the film was taking place.

Conclusion

Should you see this film?  Yes.  Just go into it knowing that it's not 100% true, do that and you can sit back and enjoy the film.  It's a good look at the Enigma Machine and how the British were able to break it, and everyone should know that part of history.