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Taken 2 (2012)
Taken 2 (2012)
2012 | Mystery
7
5.9 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Today, we’ve got a review of “TAKEN 2” … YES …. believe it or not, they made a sequal to “TAKEN”.
You’d think that after all the bad guys Liam Neeson’s character, former C.I.A. operative Bryan Mills,
killed in the original “TAKEN” there would be none left …. WRONG …. I guess even in action
movies, the bad guys have families, friends, and fellow criminals who would want revenge and despite the fact that they are villains and deserve whatever sort of punishment the protagonist can dish out.

It is a year after the events in “TAKEN” and retired intelligence agent Bryan Mills (Neeson), is trying to

adjust to life as a civilian security expert working in the private sector while dealing with the fact that his daughter is dating and attempting to pass her driver’s test (for the third time). After Maggie’s step-father walks out on Maggie and Lenore, Bryan invites them to spend time with him in Istanbul after completing a job there.

However, before the vacation begins the happy reunion is ruined when Murad Hoxha (Rade Serbedzia)
the father of the main antagonist in “TAKEN”, kidnaps Lenore and attempts to kidnap
Maggie as well in retaliation for the death of his son.

The film does require some at times absurd leaps of faith and knowledge to drive the story but If you are

coming for acting, a complex story, and such, your simply in the wrong place.

If a fresh batch of bad guys just itching to get their collective butts kicked by Neeson is what you want,

then it will deliver. At the end of the screening the crowd at the theater stood up and gave the film a standing ovation while coincidentally the audience screamed ‘AWESOME’!
  
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Juame Collet-Serra recommended Die Hard (1988) in Movies (curated)

 
Die Hard (1988)
Die Hard (1988)
1988 | Action

"I have to mention this as one of my favorites. I’ve been lucky enough to work with [producer] Joel Silver. It rewrote the rules on the modern thriller. It set the stage for the expectation that every question needs to be answered, and it has to be big, fun, and emotional, and a movie that can do everything. I try to do Die Hard in every movie that I do, by fulfilling that promise of delivering from the first frame. Obviously many more movies have done that — like Hitchcock — but as a movie that potentially could have gone many ways, it became a masterpiece. Before this movie, you could potentially believe that the bad guys are just bad guys; they don’t have motivation or are dumb. This guy had smart plans and dialogue, and set the bar high. Other movies have met it, but this was one of the first ones and I was blown away when I saw it. As much as I’ve liked other movies, at that time, Die Hard has had more of an influence on my work than the other ones of the time."

Source
  
American Girl on Saturn (Saturn, #1)
American Girl on Saturn (Saturn, #1)
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The start was a little iffy for me, it didn't flow smoothly and I got a little confused but when the boys of SAS showed up I didn't care so much anymore.

I enjoyed the gentle romance of Chloe and Milo. It was sweet and I loved the fireflies and treehouse and midnight meetings... sigh. I also enjoyed reading the cammeraderie between the guys and by the end, the girls and guys together. Like an extended family.

There was just a point about 65% where I started to lose interest. It seemed to be a lot of the same stuff going on and I got a little bored and then the drama hit--the one where boy and girl have a big misunderstanding--and I wanted to hit both of them. I know something had to happen but it was just so cliché.

I was pretty happy when they resolved the matter but by then I'd sort of lost interest in the story and was just skimming the text, looking for interesting bits.

Not a bad book but one not quite to my tastes.