Pick of the Week 7/6/09

THE SAINT

Once in a while a movie drops in theaters and gets a perfectly respectable audience reaction, then goes on to become a bone of contention between movie aficionados. The Saint is one such movie.
I’m of the opinion that The Saint is a great movie in the way that action, conspiracy, humor, compelling story and competent writing make something that warms the heart and gets the blood pumping at the appropriate times. If you are looking for the best movie of the year, or a golden globe nomination, then best look somewhere else. Those awards don’t mean anything anyway. They only come about because enough subjective opinions come together to form a lopsided consensus. Anyway, enough of that.
The story revolves around legendary thief Simon Templar (Val Kilmer), that becomes embroiled in political maneuvering and the controversy surrounding renewable energy. His services are aquired to steal the formula for Cold Fusion, a new free energy source, from beautiful physicist Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue). Even back in the late 90’s screenwriter’s had already discovered that renewable energy could make for an interesting plot base. This whole thing might sound somewhat contrived, but add to the mix Russian oil patriarchs, the mafia and some well placed action, and you get a solid movie that can’t fail to make you feel like your time was used well.

Starring: Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue and Rade Serbedzija.
Released in 1997.

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PICK OF THE WEEK 10/17/07

THE FIFTH ELEMENT:
"Time is not important, only life is important."

Firstly, this is a Luc Besson film. That in itself usually merits watching. But for this movie, it went even further. Bruce Willis is perfect for this role, as it's almost going back to his DIE HARD days, but with a little spice, a little zing.
This is one of the first action movies I watched as a teenager, and surprisingly it's value has lasted and even exponentially increased over time.
Bruce Willis plays a ex-armed forces taxi driver in a futuristic city (presumably New York), when an escaped woman (Milla Jovovich) unwittingly drops into his cab; literally, through the roof. What follows is an action-packed adventure in search of a legendary weapon that is needed every 5,000 years to save the world. But wait, there's more. Chris Tucker, Gary Oldman and Ian Holm all add there special performances to make this movie outstanding.
With Willis delivering the punches, Tucker supplying us with his trademarked humor and hilarious style and Holm as the voice of reason, they battle against Mr. Zorg (Oldman) and his crew of ugly aliens to a climatic finish.
A fantastic action/sci-fi movie for anyone who has ever wanted to see the future.
Released in 1997.



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