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roammd
Reviews
Erased (2012)
Nothing new here
This is yet another "super secret spy gets targeted for elimination by his own organization" movie. The only twist is that he drags his 16 year-old daughter through all of the shootouts and neck breaks because, yeah, clearly that's the safest place for her.
The plot is very predictable, none of the characters are interesting or like-able and the performances are average. Aaron Eckhart gives a rather one-note performance, but I believe the fault lies with the script rather than his ability.
If you've watched all the "Bourne", "Mission Impossible", "GI Joe", Denzel Washington and Liam Neeson movies and just have to have a spy thriller fix it's watchable, but keep your expectations low.
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
No interesting characters
A complete waste of talent. Solid performances from Hoffman and Tomei(who looks gorgeous for any age) can't save this predictable over-edited nightmare.
Firstly, it abuses my least favorite narrative device where it starts at the climax and then keeps jumping around (2 days earlier, one week later, 4 days earlier) the story. Unless there's a very clever reveal a la Usual Suspects the only point seems to be to distract from a weak plot.
The characters are all petty, whiny users and I honestly didn't care what happened to any of them. When things do unravel in fairly predictable ways you will find yourself wanting people to get killed just so you don't have to endure any more screen time from them.
For Hire (1998)
Terrible
Nothing redeeming about this movie.
The "twist" is obvious from the first 5 minutes and it's been done better hundreds of times. A man of means somehow needs a loser to do his dirty work, or does he?? The plot is so thin and the production values so low it could pass for an '80's made for TV movie.
The main character is unlikeable and there is no tenderness between him and his pregnant girlfriend--the supposed pathos driving his motivation.
Too slow, poorly filmed, unhumorous, shallow characters, poor performances.
Watch Fletch (yes, again) or Strangers on a Train instead.
Prince of Jutland (1994)
Disappointing waste of talent
There is no reason for this movie to exist outside a film school senior project. I get that it's the original myth for Hamlet, but it wasn't the basic story that makes Shakespeare's Hamlet so great. The effect is like replacing the dialog in Romeo and Juliet with text of actual teenagers fighting with their parents and friends.
The performances are solid but as others have pointed out the dialog is awful, the "battle scenes" are amateurish and confusing and the costumes and set are dreary. I understand that drab costumes are more authentic but so is someone dying of cholera--that doesn't mean it belongs in the movie.
I was fooled by the cast--they can't save the film.