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Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
7.0
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Once the night guard at the Museum of Natural History, Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is now a successful...
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
7.8
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Famed oceanographer Steve Zissou swears vengeance upon the rare, possibly non-existent jaguar shark...
Mark Mothersbaugh David Bowie Sigur Rós Criterion Collection
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated No Escape (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Full disclosure…I am not a fan of Owen Wilson. In fact, I have down right loathed him since I first saw him in Armageddon. In my opinion, he always plays an annoying, somewhat exaggerated and not very funny character. To make things worse, No Escape is a non-comedy, non-quirky, straight man Owen Wilson film. Seems like a terrible idea. Still, the trailer intrigued me because I wanted to see if Wilson had any range to be a “normal action” character for once or would he continue to live up to my low expectations of him.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed him in this performance greatly. Wilson plays a father who uproots his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two little girls and moves them to Southeast Asia to work on a project to bring clean drinking water to the country and provide a better life for his family. However shortly after arrival, the family finds themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising they do not understand nor have any idea why it is happening and must somehow find sanctuary and escape this foreign city where Americans are being executed on sight. The film is intense. As soon as the coup begins, we are taken on a ride of constant tension and emotion, broken up with quiet moments where Wilson uses “dad humor” to comfort his family. Wilson shines in these moments because his “lame Dad humor” is not only believable, but his demeanor throughout the film is realistic and loving. His chemistry with his cast mates is stellar as the family all deliver solid performances and you can believe they are an actual family.
As they are moving through the city they come across a familiar face in Pierce Brosnan who plays some kind of mercenary ex-agent type. Brosnan’s screen time is short but he steals every scene he is in. He also gives an explanation, though simple, of what is going on and how the family can find safety. Critics of this film may fault it for glossing over a real world issue of western colonialism and no attempt to humanize the plight of the locals, however for me at least, this film isn’t trying to tell a giant story, but rather a far simpler one which is about family. Additionally, the trailers for this film present it as more of an action film, which it is not.
In the end we are left with a frightening atmosphere where we constantly might ask ourselves what we would do in that situation. The strength of this film is the family dynamic and the strong performances that give them life. Though the film mostly ignores a real world issue, it delivers a thrilling fast paced ride from almost start to finish.
Surprisingly, I enjoyed him in this performance greatly. Wilson plays a father who uproots his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two little girls and moves them to Southeast Asia to work on a project to bring clean drinking water to the country and provide a better life for his family. However shortly after arrival, the family finds themselves in the middle of a violent political uprising they do not understand nor have any idea why it is happening and must somehow find sanctuary and escape this foreign city where Americans are being executed on sight. The film is intense. As soon as the coup begins, we are taken on a ride of constant tension and emotion, broken up with quiet moments where Wilson uses “dad humor” to comfort his family. Wilson shines in these moments because his “lame Dad humor” is not only believable, but his demeanor throughout the film is realistic and loving. His chemistry with his cast mates is stellar as the family all deliver solid performances and you can believe they are an actual family.
As they are moving through the city they come across a familiar face in Pierce Brosnan who plays some kind of mercenary ex-agent type. Brosnan’s screen time is short but he steals every scene he is in. He also gives an explanation, though simple, of what is going on and how the family can find safety. Critics of this film may fault it for glossing over a real world issue of western colonialism and no attempt to humanize the plight of the locals, however for me at least, this film isn’t trying to tell a giant story, but rather a far simpler one which is about family. Additionally, the trailers for this film present it as more of an action film, which it is not.
In the end we are left with a frightening atmosphere where we constantly might ask ourselves what we would do in that situation. The strength of this film is the family dynamic and the strong performances that give them life. Though the film mostly ignores a real world issue, it delivers a thrilling fast paced ride from almost start to finish.
Andrew Haigh recommended Cries and Whispers (1972) in Movies (curated)
Father Figures (2018)
6.9
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Owen Wilson (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Zoolander 2”) and Ed Helms (“The Hangover”...
comedy
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Internship (2013) in Movies
Jul 4, 2021
Look, however belligerently cringe you want to make this is your business I guess... but don't you dare bring down 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 like that, too. Listless, rambly, laborious 2+ hour Google commercial which indirectly becomes a more terrifying tech-campus nightmare than 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 simply because of how punishing it is to sit through. I'm certainly not opposed to a Vaughn + Wilson (who have such natural chemistry that they could build a picket fence together and I'd still go to see it) comedy where their trademark bullshit artistry is forced to find a workaround to Google's ubiquity - but this is packed with such hateable characters, shit visuals, and groan-worthy non-jokes that it makes you wonder how the hell they somehow stretched a *generous* 30 minutes worth of material into a 125+ minute bore. I struggle to find a time where Owen Wilson was worse than he is here, and why is every iteration of this movie's poster the worst thing I've ever seen? I would have vastly preferred the film with Will Ferrell and Rob Riggle's characters (AKA - the only funny ones in the movie) instead.
David McK (3169 KP) rated Shanghai Knights (2003) in Movies
May 27, 2023
2003 sequel to 2001's Shangai Noon.
I know I've seen that earlier movie, but don't remember all that much about it, other than it was Wild West set and starred the same two lead actors in Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.
This time around, the two end up in Victorian London in search of a McGuffin after Chon Wang's (Chan's) father - who is the keeper of the Imperial Seal - is murdered, with Wang then reuniting with his estranged sister.
As expected, they then encounter a whole host of historical characters, and get involved in all sorts of escapades, with it never really being in any doubt how it will end ...
So, yeah, family friendly fare that relies heavily on Owen's laid-back approach contrasting with Chan's high-energy slapstick martial arts.
I know I've seen that earlier movie, but don't remember all that much about it, other than it was Wild West set and starred the same two lead actors in Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.
This time around, the two end up in Victorian London in search of a McGuffin after Chon Wang's (Chan's) father - who is the keeper of the Imperial Seal - is murdered, with Wang then reuniting with his estranged sister.
As expected, they then encounter a whole host of historical characters, and get involved in all sorts of escapades, with it never really being in any doubt how it will end ...
So, yeah, family friendly fare that relies heavily on Owen's laid-back approach contrasting with Chan's high-energy slapstick martial arts.
Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Behind Enemy Lines (2001) in Movies
Feb 21, 2020
I really enjoyed this film. I think the plot was great, the fact that it was based on a true story is always a plus for me and that it was done well? Honestly, I can't really think of anything that I hated about this film. I thought that Owen Wilson was phenomenal. It's definitely a different type of role for him, as he is known for his more comedic characters, but I thought he was great and believable and I was rooting for him throughout the whole movie. I really loved the action sequences, the fact that Wilson's character isn't your typical main hero in most military films - again, I just really enjoyed this film. I was going to say that I was surprised that critics hated it as much as they did, but really am I?
Alec Baldwin recommended The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) in Movies (curated)
