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Reviews
Takers (2010)
Highly flawed, but ultimately successful
The plot for this film does not need to be explained. It's basically a pastiche of The Italian Job, True Romance and melodramatic clichés.
The third element in the blender, mentioned above, along with a script short on genuine character development (You'll sometimes forget that Hayden Christensen and Zoe Saldana are in it) are distracting for a film which develops a serious tone, but there are positives, depending on your genre preferences.
The film moves along briskly, even as we deal with a cringe-worthy first half, and when the actual robbery gets going, the fun starts. Though the cinematography is modeled too much off of the Bourne-style shaky cam, the set pieces are still very well pulled off.
The extended car chases and shootouts contain a level of energy and suspense that really makes them standout, comparable to similar scenes in the above mentioned films, along with an on-foot chase clearly modeling itself off of the Madagascar chase in Casino Royale. Every car whizzing by, bone crunch or gunshot affects the audience due to mostly- proper use of slow motion, and great editing, both sound and film wise.
The melodrama may make some engaged viewers start laughing due to how it's put on screen, but as the stakes get higher, gels with the storyline.
The main cast, considering the material they are given, do the best they can, and their charisma is enough for us to care about them when the stakes get REALLY high, particularly in the case of Matt Dillon and Idris Elba.
It's highly unoriginal and contains several other elements worthy of nitpicking, but after evaluating how I had spent the past 107 minutes of my life, I think it got the job done.
B-
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
1 part witty Rom com, 3 parts Tekken and Mortal Kombat, shake well, enjoy
VERY MILD spoiler
While the film's hyper-kinetic action scenes and overall storytelling will irritate the unconverted, those in the right mood will have a lot of fun, even if you are wishing for more character development.
The cast is a riot and really tie the film up, particularly Brandon Routh (I'm sorry, SUPERMAN), who seems to be better at dead pan than the film's lead, Michael Cera.
The fight scenes are just so damn outlandish that you can't help but laugh out loud, and along the way, gives you some really nice eye candy. That's the reason why you get Bill Pope for the Director of Photography. The Matrix, baby!
The movie isn't quite as heartfelt as some of Cera's other Rom Com's, but when the film has time for it, there is some genuine sweetness and the ending ties up the adaptation nicely (please pay to see this, so we'll get a sequel!) Now I just have to start reading the comics.
Adoration (2008)
Extremely compelling film, with some production quriks
Every character is sympathetic, nobody is good or evil, instead showing everyone as a human being, no matter what our cultural differences are. The compelling performances(Bostick in particular) are slightly offset by an overuse of background music, in addition to the slightly non-linear structure taking some time to get used to. Despite the background music occasionally distracting from what's in front of you, Adoration is a compelling film, not just as a character study, but as an experience many will be familiar with.
People like me have come to expect thoughtful pieces of celluloid from filmmakers like Egoyan and he delivers once again, even with the film's minor technical flaws.