Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Director: Len Wiseman
Writer: Mark Bomback
Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime/Thriller

What's It About

This part should be obvious, it's Die Hard. There is a conflict and John McClane is there to save the day. This time it is on a national scale. Each Die Hard seems to be a bigger and bigger scope. The first one was in a building and only a few people were involved, the second one had lots of people on planes involved, and the third one had a whole city involved. Now, John McClane (Bruce Willis) has to save the entire country from the villian. May the whole country is not involved, but most of it is. It is always about the bad guy wanting money and the good guy saving everyone and killing the bad guy. Standard Die Hard glory.

How'd They Act

Let's save Bruce for last since he is the major actor. Timothy Olyphant plays Thomas Gabriel, the villain in this Die Hard romp. At first, it seemed as though he was not going to be a very good villain because of two things. First, his age is not where the previous villains were at. He almost seemed too young to be the bad guy, but they were able to make some history for him and make him seem a bit more established which made it ok that he was young I guess. He still could have been a little older in my opinion though. Secondly, he almost seemed too weak. In hand to hand combat, there was no doubt who would win between John McClane and Thomas Gabriel, but this is similar to the original. However, Gabriel did seem somewhat geeky. This of course goes along with the plot that involves mainly computer hacking. Olyphant overall did a great job as a villain. The role was an interesting one to play for a Die Hard villain, but Olyphant does a good job with what he was given. Don't expect a performance like Alan Rickman in Die Hard, or Jeremy Irons in Die Hard with a vengeance. They were both excellent villain and truly lived up to the Die Hard villain. Justin Long play Matt Farrell, a geek that helps start the chaos that ensues unintentionally. He is one of the good guys and the only hope besides McClane for saving the U.S. Justin Long may be a MAC, but he can act too. He does a real good job here, even though he does not step out of his comfort zone too much. He plays a nerdy tech geek that knows way too much about computers and is physically weak. He is the brains for McClane even. However, it is still obvious that McClane could save the day without Farrell since he is of course John McClane. Live Free or Die Hard is going to be the gig Justin Long needed to really come out of his shell and into the mainstream. This brings us to Bruce Willis himself. The only consistent actor throughout all of the Die Hards has been Bruce Willis. Obviously it would not be Die Hard without him, but he has always stayed the John McClane that we knew from the first movie. The only difference in this one is the PG-13 rating. He is not able to be quite as dark as he would normally be, but he still does a great job in the character. Willis is still good at the classic one liners and laughs. My favorite part is his reactions to each person's death. Bruce Willis will always be John McClane to me.

Delivery

How spectacular was this movie you ask. Well, they went over the top a few times, but it is still Die Hard. In most action movies, you have to have parts that are not only impossible, but simply rediculous just for entertainments sake. Live Free or Die Hard definitely lives up to this. There are times that you are watching, and you think to yourself "give me a break," but it is great anyway. It was an interesting choice to go with a PG-13 rating. The series has always been R rated, but this one was obviously meant to win over more people in the box office because of its rating. I think that they must have made this decision very late in the process however, since I actually saw parts where it looked like they had dubbed over what Justin Long and Bruce Willis were actually saying. You could also tell that they tried not to have too much blood in the regular Die Hard fashion. This upset me at first, but it worked out well in the end. The biggest problem with PG-13 movies, is the teenagers in the theaters. It is often harder for them to get into the R-rated films and if they are there, they usually keep quite since they do not want ot get kicked out. Luckily there were not too many youngins in the theater so it was a pleasent Die Hard experience. The directing itself is basically what I would call "Die Hard directing." Everything was pretty standard, but there was a lot of action and just a little bit of story line. Things did not always make since, but if you love Die Hard, you really don't care at this point. It is just awesome anyway.

The Real Deal

I paid $10 for this movie to see it with teenagers and crazy Die Hard fans on opening night. I am going to see it again next week in the theaters for another $10 and I would probably see it again in the theaters. So I guess that explains whether or not I liked it. If you are a Die Hard fan you have to see this movie, but even people who are not familiar with the series could enjoy this film. Say it with me now, "please, please, please, give us a Die Hard 5!!!!"

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 797,013
Sharon Movie? No

Live Free or Die Hard

It has been confirmed, I am going to see Live Free or Die Hard tomorrow. I will definitely have a review as soon as possible afterwards, so look for it. I will give you the real deal about whather or not it was worth it, since I am paying Movietickets.com price. Wow, it better be good!

Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard comes out this Wednesday June 27th. The long awaited fourth installment of the Die Hard franchise with Bruce Willis is finally here.

Die Hard is a classic and is much loved my many. Die Harder was the sequel to Die Hard, but did not live up to the name. The acting and story of Die Harder were terrible and it seemed as though it was only made for the money. However, it is great for a laugh. When Die Hard with a Vengeance came out it rejuvenated the series for many. Everyone though that was it, but I guess Bruce Willis wanted to revisit one of his best characters ever, John McClane.

Live Free or Die Hard will be here Wednesday, and it could prove to be a great one. Let’s hope this is not a flop like Die Hard 2. The only problem is my Die Hard Trilogy box set is sitting on my shelf. Now I have to get the Die Hard Legacy on DVD. Maybe I will get them on Blue-Ray instead. See you at the movies.

The Gathering

The Gathering (2002)

Director: Brian Gilbert
Writer: Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Horror/Mystery/Thriller

What's It About

Christina Ricci plays Cassie Grant, a girl that gets in a car accident in an unfamiliar town and doesn't remember why she is there. Cassie finds herself in an interesting situation when she keeps seeing horrifying images of the townspeople around her. The strange visions begin to add up, but the truth is hard for Cassie to take. This film is about having a second chance in life.

How'd They Act

The most notable actress is Christina Ricci who plays Cassie Grant. Ricci does well in this horror film. Although she does not give a truly great performance, she is able to pull off the role of Casie Grant quite well. Ioan Gruffudd plays Dan Blakeley, but the main character is Ricci. Gruffudd seems to be a good actor, but he is not given the chance to really break out in this film. Fantastic Four is even more unlikely to boost his career in my opinion. If want a film this has one main actress, with one main part, then you've got it.

Delivery

The directing was clean and understandable, but there are no break throughs here. Sometimes strong, consistent directing is all that is needed to make a great film, but this time it left the film with many opportunities to grow. When I think about a movie that was able to have strong, consistent directing without bringing attention to itself, I think about The Saint (my second favorite movie). Philip Noyce directs in a way that makes the viewer not think about the directing at all, but concentrate on the other aspects of the film and how they come together beautifully. The Gathering seemed a little rough around the edges at times, and without any other strong actors besides Ricci, the directing almost seems bland here. This is definitely not directing with the intensity of The Shining from Kubrick or Natural Born Killers from Oliver Stone. The directing and cinematography does carry the movie through without too many "ouch" moments.

The Real Deal

This less know horror movie may surprise you with its meaningful message. It may not have been worth the ticket price when it came out, but a Blockbuster Online rental was more than worth it. If you want a horror movie without too much gore and a little deeper plot line, then this may be your movie. Christina Ricci does well in this film. The most shocking fact about this movie may be how it ties back into to morality and religion with respect.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 741,871
Sharon Movie? No

The Rating System and Grammar

After the first review there are a lot of loose ends to be tied up. The rating system needs explanation and the grammar needs a check.

The rating scales are going to be the heart of this review site. You may have noticed the comment, “Not a Sharon Movie,” in the first review. Sharon is my sister. Sharon and I have different tastes in movies for sure, but I have figured out for the most part what kind of movies she likes. This has, in the past, been a way for me to recommend movies to my sister. I could talk to her about how great a film was, but then say “it’s not a Sharon movie” and she would know not to even think about watching it. I will work getting some actual visuals to go along with this rating scale in the future, but for now it is either a Sharon Movie or Not.

Grammar…huh. Well, that has never been my strong point, but I guess I could try a little harder. Maybe I will get someone to proof read my reviews before I post them. We will have to see. Feel free to let me know of any grammar “opportunities” I may miss in the future.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to have my next review up later this week.

The Gathering Review Coming Soon

The Gathering was an interesting little gem that I found at Blockbuster the other day. I watched it last night after I watched The Good German and The Ghost and The Darkness. It is amazing that it took me so long to see the Ghost and the Darkness, but it ended up being a pretty good movie. I think enough people have probably seen it not to make a review of it too soon, but I will make a review of The Gathering since I figure few people have seen or even heard of this movie. In the time being just know that The Gathering is "Not a Sharon Movie".

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Ocean's 13

Ok, so they decided to have a third Ocean's 11. Or is this the fourth, I lost count. Hmm, anyway, it sounds like it is going to be a good one. Steven Soderbergh is one of my favorite directors. He has made many good movies and this one looks to follow suit. Great movies makers can come from Atlanta, GA. After seeing Ocean's Twelve, I was hoping they would stop the franchise, but I guess they needed to try and redeem themselves. How can movies be profitable these days with all of those stars in the movie. I don't even want to know how much it cost just to cast this movie. I hope to see it soon, but I don't know how crazy I am to fork over 20 bucks for it. The next movie review coming soon.

Mr. Brooks

Mr. Brooks (2007)

Director: Bruce A. Evans
Writer: Bruce A. Evans and Raynold Gideon
Genre: Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller


What's It About

Mr. Brooks is about a man, a man named Mr. Brooks...Ok, lets not give it all away. It's about a man with two personalities. The first personality is a successful business man who doesn't talk a lot. The other personality is a serial killer. The movie toys with the idea of people living two separate lives. Kevin Costner is Mr. Earl Brooks? Dane Cook is in the movie? Yes, and yes. Weird, but it works great. Dane Cook's character Mr. Smith, a photographer that happens to catch Mr. Brooks in the act, wants to be like Mr. Brooks and kill people for fun. Mr. Brooks can't reveal his secret to anyone, but Mr. Smith has pictures of Mr. Brooks's murders. How will Mr. Brooks get out of this situation?

How'd They Act

How was the acting you ask? I have not seen Kevin Costner do well in quite a while, but this was one of his best performances. He played the part of Mr. Brooks quite well and his performance was matched well with the actors around him. When I saw that Dane Cook was in it I had a brief pause in thought. What, is this a comedy? No, well yes and no. His character is played very well, but it is rather quirky at the same time. He is funny, but not all of the time. The character has a little more depth than say Employee of the Month. He won't win an Oscar for it though; then again what does Oscar really know. Mr. Smith adds some flavor to an otherwise dark film. William Hurt plays Marshall, the imaginary friend of Mr. Brooks. This may seem a little odd and it is, but he has a good character here. Demi Moore plays a fairly good detective, though I was not overly impressed. Emma Brooks played by Marg Helgenberger was a behind the scenes kind of character. Jane Brooks was the key daughter role played by Danielle Panabaker. She does a good job in this movie, sort of a mysterious character. I see a little bit of Juliette Lewis in Natural Born Killers in Danielle's character. She seems sort of innocent at times, but then maybe she is a crazy killer. Who knows? All in all some great performances.

Delivery

This is the section where I talk about the directing and cinematography. This was some beautiful directing. I loved the way that Mr. Brooks and Marshall have conversations, but they are really just in Mr. Brooks's head. That was a nice touch. Also, the flow of the movie was quite good. Things happened that were somewhat unpredictable and at the same time you kind of saw it coming. There were a few surprises that were worth the watch for sure. The different story lines were meshed together well. Great use of lighting and music throughout the movie. Sometimes the viewer is almost pushed away from what is going on by the music and sometimes the music draws you in. This is very important to a great film. You need to have music that fits the movie and sets the mood and that is certainly what happened here. Great directing, but not the best I've seen.

The Real Deal

You should go see this movie if you want something offbeat and refreshing. There are thrills, laughs, gore, and some drama even. An interesting mix of emotions and moods. $19 for two tickets on opening night, and it was worth it.

The Skinny Version

Raw Score: 802,341
Sharon Movie? No

Dave's Movie Reviews

This is a blog designed to share my opinions on movies. I guess you could say I am a movie critic, but isn't everyone. Anyways, you can check in to see what I think about new movies coming out and movies that are already out. I will try to do at least one movie review a week. Please let me know if you disagree with my reviews, as this is normal.

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