LONE SURVIVOR (Theatrical Release USA 2013)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 4.4|5.0 Starsìììì

Lone Survivor—one of the best war movies of the year—details a Navy Seal teams’ infiltration of Afghanistan to capture Ahmad Shah. Script Writer Peter Berg based the story on the book written by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson. The film is a classic, a truly great story.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Navy Seals infiltrate Afghanistan to capture Ahmad Shah, a Taliban leader. The team gets caught in unknown mountainous Afghanistan woods with no rescue in sight and a small retreat area.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Peter Berg for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers Braden Aftergood, Brandt Andersen, Tamara Birkemoe, Remington Chase, Grant Cramer, Mark Damon, Simon Fawcett, Kerry Roster, Kerry Foster, Louis G. Friedman, George Furla, Ron Lynch, Stepan Martirosyan, Jeff Rice, Steven Saxton, Laren Selig, Adi Shankar, Jason Shuman, and Spencer Silna for making the film possible. Music Composer Steve Jablonsky’s “Explosion in the Sky” is outstanding. Cast include: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch , Ben Foster, Eric Bana, and Alexander Ludwig.

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

Yes. No time or money lost on this flick. It’s outstanding from its start to its finish.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

THE MECHANIC (Released to Theaters USA 2011)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì  The Mechanic—Jason Statham—has good interpretation of the original movie, 1972's The Mechanic with Charles Bronson. This film works for its watch, but know that the original Bronson film is better.  Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images  Storyline  A mechanic (assassin) takes an old friend's son as a student in training.  Additional Thanks Thank you to Director Simon West for directing effort. Thank you to Executive Producers Robert Chartoff, Boaz Davidson, Danny Dimbort, Marcy Drogin, Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, John Thompson, and Irwin Winkler for making the film possible. Cast includes Jason Statham, Ben Foster, Tony Goldwyn, Donald Sutherland, Jeff Chase, Mini Anden, James Logan, Eddie J. Fernandez, Joshua Bridgewater, and John McConnell.   Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Maybe. It's adult content seems to hamper the quality of film. The violence can be shocking at times. Jason Statham and Ben Foster serve as a suitable team for the two mechanics working together. Know that the original Charles Bronson film, of the same name, is much better. Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers

INFERNO (Theatrical Release USA 2016)

 Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.2|5.0 Starsìììì 

Inferno—complicated, but not unintelligible—is the third and final film of the Dan Brown book series. Director Ron Howard shows his mettle as a director who plumbs the depths of the story to accent its highlights as well as demanding the most from his casted actors. The movie relies on a series of flashbacks, always a difficult presentation to work with because it requires extreme dedication to continuity and deep audience engagement to follow the story. Director Howard pulls both story requirements off well. It’s a good movie to watch when an audience desires that deeper level of engagement and easily earns its right to sit in the home video library along with the previous Dan Brown movies. 

Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images 

Storyline 

An amnesiac has difficulty putting together scattered memories. 

Additional Thanks 

Thank you to Director Ron Howard for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Brian Grazer and Ron Howard for making the film possible. Cast includes: Tom Hanks, Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, and Sidse Babett Knudsen. 

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? 

Yes. This movie works at the complicated level and earns its watch.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers

PANDORUM (Theatrical Release USA 2009)

Ben Meyers’ rating: 3.3|5.0 Starsììì

Pandorum—not relevant—seems loosely written and slightly jarring from scene to scene at times, due to poorly executed transitioning. This movie gets complicated and hard to follow at times also. It relies on the 'big reveal' at the end to carry the whole story.

Film Poster Courtesy of Wikipedia

Storyline

Sixty thousand humans are sent to Planet Tanis. They are sleep-induced for the journey, but some awaken unscheduled and due to the influence of Pandorum, a deep space challenge that disturbs mental processing capabilities, develop curious survival methods including cannibalism and violence against those of their own species.

Additional Thanks

Thank you to Director Christian Alvart for directing efforts. Thank you to Executive Producers for making the film possible. Additional characters/cast include: Payton (Dennis Quaid), Bower (Ben Foster), Gallo (Cam Gigandet), Nadia (Antje Traue), Manh (Cung Le), Leland (Eddie Rouse), Shepard (Norman Reedus), Hunter Leader (André Hennicke), and Evalon (Friederike Kempter).

Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?

No. It could be skipped for better sci-fi films like  2001: A Space Odyssey or Europa Report. Pandorum has a weak story and an okay portrayal.

Video Critique Available Here:

Ben Meyers