Cinemaafficionado's Movie Portraits

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Red 2 (2013)
I don't know about you, but action comedies just don't work for me, especially this one directed by someone called Dean Parisot, who takes a super cast and turns them into a San Francisco gay parade.
Let's see: There is Marie Louise-Parker with her lips done like a female joker, Helen Miren turned anorexic and sultry assassin, John Malkovich wearing a cowboy hat and a coat out of the Long Riders and there's Bruce Willis looking uncomfortable and dumbfounded at every turn. They also managed to cast Byung Hung Lee as a totaly out of place assassin.
They've even added the beautiful Zeta Jones, who is probably the only one in the whole movie that stays in character throughout.
This movie is the perfect example of a director who is clueless in directing a stellar cast. What a waste and my candidate for the outstanding cast worst movie of the year award.

SUCKS!
Definitely one of the worst of the year. I don't even know why I watched it, when the first was nothing short of average. But at least the first is watchable compared to this piece of crap.



The Color Of Freedom (2006)

Could be a companion piece to Endgame, told with a more personal touch
and revealing conditions on Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent most of his prison years.
Billie August takes us on a tour, guiding us through the life of a prison guard ( Joseph Fiennes ), who eventualy becomes personaly responsible
for Nelson Mandela's safekeeping and transforms himself from a stereotypical South African white racist to a caring and compassionate human being, largely due to the influence and contact with Mandela, very ably portrayed by Dennis Haysbert.

Excellent



The Family (Malavita) - 2013

Now this is what I call a dramedy worth seeing.
Directed by Luc Besson and starring Rober DeNero, Tommy Lee Jones and Michelle Pheiffer, this movie is a perfect mix of comedy and drama and centers around a New York wise guy and his family, on the run and in the witness protection program, in France, of all places.

Excellent



Force Of Execution (2013)

I don't know why but I've always been a sucker for Steven Seagal movies, even though after the first 6 they kind of got progressively worse, with a few exceptions.
Unfortunately, this last movie was not one of them. If you like action, some of the fight choreography was ok but the story line was so weak and silly that I just could not stomach it.
Steven played his usual God like character ( you just can't hurt him, much less kill him ) but this time around he was the bad guy ( although he was kind of trying to be the good bad guy ).
David House played the good guy.
Frank Mir, UFC MMA fighter lurked in the background and Ving Rhames and Danny Trejo rounded off the supporting cast.

Dissapointing ( but not surprising )