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Dean (6921 KP) rated Cold Pursuit (2019) in Movies

Dec 21, 2019 (Updated Dec 22, 2019)  
Cold Pursuit (2019)
Cold Pursuit (2019)
2019 | Action, Drama, Thriller
Luke warm pursuit
This looked OK from the trailer, didn't realise it was a remake of a Norwegian film. It looked like it would have a decent amount of action with some humour.
In reality there is a bit of action, nothing amazing, mainly some shoot outs. The humour though just didn't hit the mark for me. I'm not sure if there were trying for a Tarantino type of angle or more comic book but it just falls flat largely. Another role for Liam Neeson like his last several roles of everyday guy turned badass all of a sudden.
So just average overall, check out @6 Underground (2019) instead for tons of action and laughs.
  
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AJaneClark (3962 KP) Dec 22, 2019

Your title is spot on for this movie! Most definitely Luke warm

The A-Team (2010)
The A-Team (2010)
2010 | Action
You Can't Fly a Tank, Fool!
The A-Team- is good, i know alot of people didnt like this film, but I did. Its fun, action packed, suspenseful and thrilling.

The plot: A man who loves when a plan comes together, Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson) leads a close-knit team of elite operatives. Framed for a terrible crime, Smith and his men go rogue, using their special talents to clear their names and find the perpetrator. Hot on their trail is Charissa Sosa (Jessica Biel), who was once involved with a member of Smith's team and has sworn to capture them, no matter what it takes.

I do recordmend watching this film.
  
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)
2014 | Action, Drama
8
6.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
A Walk Within The Shadows
A Walk Among the Tombstones- is a really good movie. The drama, the thrills, the suspense, the action, and the twist.

The plot: Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson), formerly part of the NYPD, now works as an unlicensed private detective. His latest client is a drug trafficker (Dan Stevens) whose wife was kidnapped and brutally murdered, and as Scudder delves deeper, he finds that the crime's sequence is the modus operandi of the perpetrators. Before they can strike again and destroy other lives, Scudder races through the back streets of New York to catch the killers, blurring the lines between lawful and criminal as he goes.

Highly recordmend.
  
Taken 3 (2015)
Taken 3 (2015)
2015 | Action
6
6.3 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Last One
Taken 3 or Ta3en is a good film, but should of never been 2 sequels but their was. This is the final one hopefully.

The plot: Ex-covert operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) and his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), are enjoying a reconciliation when Lenore is brutally murdered. Bryan is framed for the crime and flees, with the CIA, FBI and police all in hot pursuit. For the last time, he channels his rage and particular set of skills into hunting down Lenore's real killers, taking his revenge and protecting the one important thing left in his life: his daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace).

I just recordmend watching the first one.
  
Run All Night (2015)
Run All Night (2015)
2015 | Mystery
7
7.3 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Survive The Night
Run All Night- is really good film. The action, the suspense, the thrills, the drama and the drama.

The plot: Longtime hit man Jimmy Conlon (Liam Neeson), best friend of mob boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris), has seen better days. He's haunted both by the sins of his past and a police detective who's been breathing down his neck for 30 years, and the only comfort Jimmy has is whiskey. However, when his estranged son (Joel Kinnaman) becomes a mob target, Jimmy figures that the only way to atone for his past mistakes is to make sure that his son doesn't wind up at the wrong end of a gun.

I do recordmend watching this film.
  
The A-Team (2010)
The A-Team (2010)
2010 | Action
"Still wanted by the government, today they exist as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if nobody else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... the A-Team!"

Big screen remake of the popular 80s TV show, with Liam Neeson taking on the role of Colonel Hannibal Smith, the leader of that group of soldiers that includes Face (and, yes, the original Face gets a cameo), BA Barracus and 'Howling Mad' Matt Murdoch and that takes as its primary plot point just why they are wanted by the government (to do with stolen printing press, apparently).

And I have seven words to sum it up: "No. They're trying to fly a tank".
  
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JT (287 KP) rated The Grey (2012) in Movies

Mar 10, 2020  
The Grey (2012)
The Grey (2012)
2012 | Action, Drama
8
7.0 (15 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Director Joe Carnahan has a popular back catalogue. One that is considered his best to date is Narc. Of course he helmed the bat shit crazy, guns-a-blazing Smokin Aces and who could forget for a minute the over the top and some what bonkers reboot of The A-Team.

Here, Carnahan teams up with Liam Neeson once again, although it was very nearly Bradley Cooper, but we’re glad that Neeson got the gig! Neeson plays Ottway, a crack shot with a rifle whose job it is is to keep the many oil drilling workers off the menu from the local four legged carnivores.

When the plane transporting the crew back from the end of season crashes in Alaskan no man’s land, Neeson must battle the elements and inhospitable terrain to find safety – while at the same time avoiding a rather pissed off pack of hungry wolves. If there is anyone you’d want by your side in this type of situation (Bear Grylls not present) it’s Nesson. With a few choice words for his new found friends “nobody’s going to find us….and if we don’t move we’re all fucked!” They abandon what little is left of the plane and set out into the wilderness.

This is clearly not the best idea, and it’s not long before the group are picked off one by one as the race to safety intensifies. With the Alpha male calling the shots wolf side, it’s Neeson doing the same for the humans, as he battles with his own issues as well as those around him. A few nights opening up round the fire and you realise that these men have a significant reason to want to get home alive.

Neeson is level headed and cool, but then put into a situation like this you have to be. The film, lacking in any visual landscape must use the survivors to really build the story, and Carnahan delivers enough tension to the audience to keep them on a knife edge.

The action is integrated well into the emotional side of the plot and that makes the film all the more enjoyable, as by the end you feel for each and everyone of those guys. The scenes are a little more believable, no tanks shooting down planes here. Although we do wonder if Carnahan took inspiration from Cliffhanger for one particular scene.

The Grey packs an intense punch all the way through and it will play on the heart strings as well. Neeson is the stand-out but has a solid supporting cast who don’t let him carry the burden all the way through till the end.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies

Dec 4, 2019 (Updated Jan 9, 2020)  
Men in Black International (2019)
Men in Black International (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
A safe and predictable MIB sequel
MIB International is one of those films that isn't balls out awful, but definitely isn't good. It's a passable and relatively entertaining way to spend a couple of hours.

Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth star as Agents M and H, and are a fun enough leading duo. The chemistry between them is ok, but does lack something that was more abundant in Thor: Ragnarok.
Liam Neeson is fine as well, but he's not really doing anything outside of just being Liam Neeson.
I guess the issue here is that although the cast are all good, it feels like the character could have been played by anyone else, and nothing would have been lost - certainly not the case with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in the original.
Either way, in the case of MIB International, I just got the general feeling that no one involved seem to really care all that much, both in front of and behind camera.

The plot is exactly what you would expect from a MIB sequel. Aliens, a powerful weapon, saving the world...it's all been done before.
Although the over arching plot is absolutely riddled with plot holes if you think about it too much.
Some of the alien designs are pretty good and the rampant CGI is ok...ish...

I'm not convinced that the original MIB ever needed follow up movies, and I'm still not, but as far they go, International isn't the worst sequel like I'd heard...has everyone just straight up forgotten how bad the second one is!?
  
The A-Team (2010)
The A-Team (2010)
2010 | Action
Goofy fun!
Oh, good lord, this movie is just ridiculously fun. Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, and Quinton Jackson are pretty much the perfect cast for this movie. They were together so well, and watching them go in the midst of absolute chaos just had me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. The A-Team movie takes all the best parts of the original show (which I very vaguely remember), and ramps it up a notch with outrageous stunts and great special effects.

Quinton Jackson is a bit more baby-faced than the original Mr. T, but when he’s screaming in the helicopter and other places at Sharlto/Murdock? It’s enough to put an ear-to-ear smile on your face. He was probably my favorite person in the film. Liam Neeson – well, he plays a slightly more fun version of his normal characters, so there’s not much to say about him. Bradley Cooper was a treat – mainly when he was shirtless – playing Face. He’s not particularly memorable – except, again, when shirtless – but still did a great job. Sharlto? Sharlto was pure crazy in the best possible way.

In terms of the others, seeing a younger Patrick Wilson was a treat. His tantrum scene was great. Jessica Biel is, erm, a good straight shooter? Really, she was pretty unmemorable.

The action combined with the humor was perfect. I mean, I like Mission Impossible as much as the next adrelaline-driven female, but it takes itself too seriously. You need the giggles to be the icing on the cake. Hm, and a half-naked Bradley Cooper to be the cherry on top.
  
Honest Thief (2020)
Honest Thief (2020)
2020 | Action, Crime, Drama
Chemistry between Neeson and Walsh (1 more)
Great cinematography around a scenic Boston
As discussed in my One Mann's Movies review of "Cold Pursuit", Liam Neeson has had a rather rocky PR road of late. But - unlike Kevin Spacey - he is clearly not being put on the naughty step by Hollywood, since he is filming/announced for five other features at the time of writing. His latest release - "Honest Thief" - has Mark Williams directing and co-writing (with Steve Allrich), and sees Neeson back on VERY familiar territory in an exciting and sometimes violent thriller.

The nice concept behind the story sees Tom (Liam Neeson) as a hugely successful bank robber meeting the love of his life in Annie (Kate Walsh) and committing to jack it all in for love. Furthermore, not wishing to have to live with the deception and guilt of his hidden life, he determines to hand himself over to the FBI, along with the $9 million stolen cash, in return for a lenient sentence.

There's a problem though: he's about the fifteenth person calling the FBI claiming to be the "In and Out burgler", so no-one wants to take him seriously. Boston area chief Sam Baker (Robert Patrick - the "Terminator" cop!) and his deputy Meyers (Jeffrey Donovan) casually put it on the "to-do" pile of agents Nivens (Jai Courtney) and Hall (Anthony Ramos).

The best laid plans run off the rails in a big way though when Nivens and Hall investigate and find that Tom is the real deal.

The concept here works nicely for a thriller, but the rest of the script is so formulaic that it's fairly and squarely a 'park your brain in the foyer' movie. For several of the actions and motives going on here, suspension of disbelief was required . Even given the limited competition in 2020, the script is in no way going to trouble the Academy.

All that being said, Mark Williams has put together a tight and well-executed movie, not outstaying its welcome at only 99 minutes long. Even with the 15 year age difference, Neeson and Walsh make a believable couple (given that Neeson looks pretty good for his 68 years) and the chemistry between them is great. And for a pretty 'small' movie, the supporting cast is pretty impressive.

Another standout for me was the cinematography by Shelly Johnson (whose had a busy year with the latest "Bill and Ted" and "Greyhound" under his belt). Boston - always a great movie location - looks spectacular, and the framing of the car chase action impressed me.

For me, there was only one really dodgy element of the movie: the special effects used in a house explosion/fire. The budget clearly didn't stretch to using practical effects! More work on Adobe "After Effects" (or similar) was required here!

Is Honest Thief worth seeing? - My expectations for this movie were pretty low. But I'm pleased to say that they were exceeded. Is it a masterpiece? No. Will I readily remember much about it in six month's time? No. But in rather a desert of new releases, this one was at least entertaining and I think it's worth the ticket price for a long overdue night out at the flicks. I'm willing to guess that my feelings were partially influenced by the sheer joy of being back in a cinema again... so I will temper my rating perhaps by a star here.

(For the full graphical review, please check out One Mann's Movies here - https://rb.gy/9kcnr5. Thanks.)