Pain and Gain Review

Muscle bound crimes---Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie as bodybuilders who commit extortion in Pain and Gain
                      The trailer for Pain and Gain made me unbelievably excited. It looked like an invigorating film. In fact...it made Pain and Gain my most anticipated film of the next couple of months. This took the place of Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, This Is The End and well, you get my point. Now that I've seen the film...I honestly can not say whether I loved it or hated it. It's a loud, scatter shot, ugly looking mess of a comedy. However, I also had a lot of fun with it and I found it effective and in some ways---completely brilliant.

                        The film (based on what the beginning narration calls "an unfortunately true story) follows Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg.) He runs Sun Gym in Miami, Florida and is greeted by a new member...Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub.) Kershaw is a complete jerk. He's a pretentious guy who no one can seem to get along with. Lugo notices this and decides to get his buddy, Adrian (Anthony Mackie) and recently released from prison Paul (Dwayne Johnson) to help him extort money from Victor as well as all of his assets. This leads to an incredibly hard to watch torture scene.
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                       It's almost as if director Michael Bay and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (the two of whom also wrote Captain America: The First Avenger and The Chronicles Of Narnia films) had no idea when to be funny and when to be serious. We get a subplot involving Paul's drug addiction interfering with his desire to be a good person. We get some incredibly uncomfortable scenes of torture as well as characters yelling at each other for no apparent reason. However, we also get some great comedy involving the antics of these criminals. Although they succeed at their crimes, these men do not have what it take to be criminals. This leads to some very funny scenes. There is one in particular involving a burger grill and body parts .

                      While this could have potentially made a great mix of comedy and drama...the film (for most of the time at least) mixed the two way too much. It was too self serious but at the same time very funny. This led to some strange universe of which only Pain and Gain exists. I've never seen a film that annoyed me so much and yet that I enjoyed to such a massive degree. Many of the techniques used in the film annoyed me such as the fact that most of the characters narrate the film at one point or another or that the film was incredibly in your face. However, I even found the annoying techniques effective. As well...some of the flaws of the film such as the fact that both Daniel and his crew and Victor are both incredibly unlikable people even work. Sure...this makes it so that there's no real person to root for and makes it so that you're just watching a movie about a bunch of jerks but it's also one of the reasons the film's a lot of fun.

                        I will end up recommending Pain and Gain.  There is something very charming about the performances as well as the way the film's laid out. It's not a good film but it is a very enjoyable one and sometimes that's all you need to go to the cinema.
(3 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for bloody violence, crude sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use)

The Lords Of Salem Review

Wicked weird---Sheri Moon Zombie as a radio host who gets possessed by vengeful spirits in The Lords Of Salem
                            The Lords Of Salem is by far the strangest thing that Rob Zombie has ever done. Think about that statement for a second. It is a bizarre, utterly fascinating film. However, it is also a film that mistakes a creepy atmosphere for genuine scares and it will most likely leave you exhausted rather than enthralled. This is not to say that it's a bad film...just that Zombie may have been a bit too weird for his own good this time.

                             The film stars Sheri Moon Zombie as Heidi...one of the three hosts of the town of Salem, Massachusetts's popular radio show. One day...she gets sent a suspicious box containing a record. It is from a band named The Lords. When Heidi plays the record...the violent acts of the town come crawling back to her. It is then that she wonders whether the record is from an actual band or from vengeful spirits of the former townspeople.

                             One of the main problems I had with the film is that it leaves the audience no mystery. This is not because the film is predictable. Rather...it's because they say right away what would have been great for the audience to wonder. Sure...we get a few mind tricks with Heidi imagining things that aren't really there but once the mysterious gets unraveled early on...the film is never as exciting. As well...the film is exhausting to sit through. It's as if there is too much of a good thing here as ideas are piled on top of each other to the point where it all becomes overwhelming.

                              The film is actually decent, though. Zombie gives a great performance and shows that she can be a truly intimidating  and effective actress. Bruce Davison has an excellent role as a suspicious journalist. Also...although the film never produces much in the way of genuine scares...there are a lot of scenes where the atmosphere of the story alone gives you chills. Take Heidi walking down a dark street or sitting alone in her apartment.

                              Although it does get a bit too wacky and ridiculous at the end...there is something oddly appealing about The Lords Of Salem. Not everything works in it but it does strangely grip you into its story. Zombie and Davison are both excellent and the film is quite enjoyable most of the time. It's just that I was it had a bit more substance.
(3 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some drug use)

The Croods Review

Animation ancestry---Emma Stone as a cave girl and Ryan Reynolds as a more modern gentleman in The Croods

                        Ever since Pixar came along...animation has never been the same. Audiences have experience Up, Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo among others and therefore have been less accepting of animation from other companies. Us film critics are very guilt of this as well. Now we have The Croods....a sitting duck of an animated comedy that, even without Pixar around, would look pretty bad in the light of day. Sure...this film is released by Pixar's sister company Dreamworks but despite a few gorgeous landscapes and some nice voice work, the film also falls flat on its face.

                          In the film...Emma Stone voices Eep...a cave girl whose dad, Grug (Nicolas Cage) follows the rules. Eep, however, wants to defy the rules. After wandering out one night (thus defying the rules)...she meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds)...a man who is a bit more modern in the way he lives his life. This begins an adventure with Guy showing Eep and her family the new ways of life such as wearing shoes, making fire and drinking water.

                           The film may not have been so dull had it found a way to appeal to both little ones and the parents who are going to be dragged to see it in droves. This is not to say it's a bad film. It's not. It's to say that the prehistoric humor won't really appeal to either side and the bright colors will do nothing for parents.The film also has a massive amount of moments in which talk about "the new world" is in play and that talk really goes nowhere. One example of this is when Guy talks about how this world represents everything anyone stands for. Rather than build suspense as this should...it makes the conflict less interesting. 

                           The film could have also not made Eep such a nuisance of a character. Throughout the film...the audience knows where she is coming from but the way she displays her ideas are far less desirable than one might expect. Now...the voice work is surprisingly excellent. Stone, Cage and Reynolds all do a phenomenal job at bringing their characters to life as do supporting players such as Catherine Keener, Cloris Leachman and Clark Duke. A few of the colorful landscapes are quite gorgeous as well but like I said before...the parents won't be too enthusiastic about scenery because they will have already seen it all before.

                            Yes...I understand this is a kids film. That means its primary demographic won't even be reading this review. However, I wrote this review to warn the parents that The Croods is no Up and that Grug is no Marlin.
(2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG for some scary action) 

42 Review

Ire walk with me---Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson and Harrison Ford as his manager Branch Rickey in 42
                          It's been 66 years since Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. It was an amazing accomplishment brought on by some unlikely support and a lot of unneeded racism. That's why it's too bad that the first full-blown Hollywood biopic about this great man, entitled 42 isn't very, well...good. Although it has some excellent performances and tells an amazing story of endurance and perseverance...writer-director Brian Helgeland (A Knight's Tale) turns this into an amazingly thin subject for a feature film.

                          The film stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey...the Brooklyn Dodger GM who took Robinson under his wing. Along the way...Robinson gets screamed at by racist Phillies team manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk) and even has some racial conflicts with his fellow teammates.

                           Boseman, Ford and Tudyk are all terrific here. Boseman shows the anger and fear in Robinson as he has to listen to the crowd booing him. Ford plays Rickey with an edge which is a surprisingly good choice. Tudky---usually an actor known for playing a very likable character plays his role with tons of audacity and a mean-spirited personality. Chapman is definitely the hardest role to play in the film, especially in today's society and Tudyk nails it. As well---John C McGinley as the legendary announcer Red Barber and Christopher Meloni as the scandalous Leo Durocher turn in brilliant performances.

                            However, the first 40 minutes of the film are incredibly boring as are the last 20 minutes. The middle hour is pretty good but none of the film goes anywhere near above a typical sports film. It follows all the regular cliches and is way, way, way too syrupy. It gets to the point where all the schmaltz just gets to be too much.

                            42 is not a terrible film by any means but it also never gets into the real depths of what made Robinson a truly great man. It is far too long and does not make a convincing argument for Robinson's achievements and that is an awfully big disappointment.
(3 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for thematic elements including language)

Scary Movie 5 Review

A nightmare to watch---Simon Rex and Ashley Tisdale play a couple stuck inside a bad spoof in Scary Movie 5
                           Scary Movie 5 continues to prove that the parody is truly a dead art form. This year... film goers and critics were forced to endure A Haunted House...a dreadful, laugh-free Paranormal Activity parody. Now comes Scary Movie 5 which does what I deemed impossible and actually makes A Haunted House look like 21 Jump Street by comparison. This is a true crime to cinema...an atrocity for all who are watching and a shameful act for all who were involved. This is not a movie...this is a nightmare.
             
                          In the latest installment of the once very funny franchise (it stopped being funny when the fourth came along)...films such as Mama, Paranormal Activity and Evil Dead get spoofed. However, beside Mama....the two main films getting spoofed are Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Black Swan. I wouldn't have minded that they were spoofing non-horror films from a few years ago if it were just funny. But it's not. This is the type of film where you even feel bad for Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen simply because they agreed to be in this film.

                          There is not one laugh in the entire film. In fact...the only thing I can say I was able to tolerate about the film was an Inception parody. However, this was tolerable only due to the fact that the Leonardo DiCaprio impersonator looked and sounded EXACTLY like DiCaprio himself. Other than that...even that was unendurable. The film is wrong on so many levels. The main thing it gets wrong is that if you do or say something multiple times...it's no longer funny. This is not to say that anything anyone did or said in this film was funny. Rather, it's just to say that even if something was funny...they would have ruined it by telling the same joke way too many times anyway. The lead actors in the form of Simon Rex and Ashley Tisdale as a married couple manage to be simultaneously boring and obnoxious as do the rest of the cast. It is unfortunate that the supporting cast is awful as well because it does feature some very funny people such as Darrell Hammond, Katt Williams and Terry Crews. Also...the film (not including the egregiously extended end credits) is only 70 minutes. Why would anyone pay $10 for a movie that if it were a few minutes shorter would not even be considered feature length? Furthermore...why would anyone pay anything for a film this bad?

                             I am not going to go on about this film. I am giving it way more of an analysis than it will ever deserve. Simply put....Scary Movie 5 is a crime against humanity. There will most likely be people walking if not running out of the theater before the unnecessarily long end credits roll.
(0 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content throughout, language, some drug material, partial nudity, comic violence and gore)

Stoker Review

Suspicious minds---Matthew Goode as a creepy uncle to a disturbed teenager (Mia Wasikowska) in Stoker
                              Oldboy is one of my favorite films of all time. It is a creepy, disturbing, truly bad-ass film with smarts and humor to it. It was also directed by Chan-wook Park who had never made a bad film before. That streak ends with Stoker....a dull, pointless thriller that I was so disappointed by that I actually had to think long and hard before writing this review just to make sure there was something I wasn't taking away from the film. I am sad to report, however, that despite a few moderately creepy performances (mostly from male lead Matthew Goode)...the film managed to be too weird for its own good.

                              Alluding to Alfred Hitchcock's phenomenal Shadow Of A Doubt through both plot and individual scenes...the film follows India (Mia Wasikowska.) Her father, Richard (Dermont Mulroney) has just died and her mom, Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) invites her Uncle Charlie (Goode) to stay a while with them. India is instantly suspicious of Charlie but Evelyn is turned on by his seemingly charming ways. Evelyn is so turned on by him, in fact, that India is crept out by their relationship.

                               Upon watching the film...I couldn't help but feel what India was feeling. Charlie and Evelyn's relationship is gross and creepy. I would be willing to feel dirty if it was done in a reasonable manner. Just take the twist in Oldboy, which is hands down one of the creepiest things ever to come out of any film. I was willing to sit there, feeling dirty because that twist was well done and for that matter, well thought out. Here...the relationship between Evelyn and Charlie is just a dumb, recurring theme to keep the plot going. It has no rhyme or reason other than that there would be no film without this plot. As well...the character of India, although we know what she's feeling, belongs in a mental institution. In other words...there's no one to root for in this film.  The protagonist is clinically insane and the antagonist is a complete sleazeball.

                                The film does get a decent performance out of Goode and Kidman and Wasikowska try their best with what they've got. However, what they've got is hardly enough to get a good performance out of anyone. Yes...even Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant would have an incredibly hard time working with such lame material.

                                 Stoker never really feels authentic. It meanders from scene to scene expecting the audience to enjoy its every twist and turn. However, how is the audience supposed to enjoy every twist and turn when they all feel so phony? The film also made me feel unclean. It is not so much a disgusting film as one that is impossible to swallow. Perhaps this is Park learning his lesson for next time.
(1 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content)

Trance Review

Sucked into a world to never come out---Rosario Dawson as a hypnotherapist and James McAvoy as her client in Trance
                             The brilliant Danny Boyle has proved yet again to be the best working director currently. His newest film, Trance is so mind-bending and awesome that it makes Inception look like Howard The Duck by comparison. It is a film that makes sure the audience never knows what's going to happen next. As I sat there watching Trance....I couldn't help but feel as if I was being hypnotized even more than the main character. Boyle's direction is brilliant and first time screenwriter Joe Ahearne along with co-writer John Hodge (who has written for Boyle 4 times before) have made an absolutely jaw-dropping screenplay.

                              The film follows Simon (James McAvoy)...an art auctioneer who prevents the theft of a valuable painting. However, upon preventing the theft, Simon gets a blow to the head by the leader of the thieves, Franck (Vincent Cassel.) When Franck discovers this...he asks Simon where the painting went but he can not remember due to the blow. It is then that Franck comes up with a simple solution. He lets Simon pick a hypnotherapist to help him remember where he put the painting. Simon blindly picks Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson) who then gets him mixed up in a web of lies and deceit.

                             By even explaining the plot this far...I may have already given too much away. Describing the sheer coolness of this film is too overwhelming. The acting is amazing by all, the direction brilliant and the screenplay phenomenal. The film also features many twists and turns and yet knows when the audience has had enough of being played with. In order to view this film, however, you must be very patient. This is the type of film that will play you like a violin and never let go for 100 full minutes. In other words...be prepared to simultaneously have your mind blown and be tricked into believing what should not be believed.

                             This is truly a remarkable feat of film making no matter what light you look at it in. As far as entertainment goes...brilliant. As far as smarts goes...brilliant. As far as from a film maker's aspect goes...brilliant. I know I have used the word brilliant many times in this review but that's the only word that can come close to even remotely describing the sheer audacity and mind-bending awesomeness of Trance. 
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for sexual content, graphic nudity, violence, some grisly images and language)

GI Joe: Retaliation Review

Call of duty---Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson must square off against a mortal enemy and his henchmen in GI Joe: Retaliation
                                                 Enjoying GI Joe: Retaliation is in the same vein as enjoying an all you can eat buffet. It's a bunch of things being thrown at you that you know you don't need and you may even regret having indulged in come morning but it's all there for a good price so why not? This is an action film without any real story or character development. It does not possess these qualities due to the fact that it knows what it is---an action film. In the wake of many action films pretending to be deeper than they are...I enjoyed seeing a film that knows it's dumb and would like to keep it that way. This is, however, not to say that the film isn't preposterous and well---not really a good film in any way, shape or form.

                                                   The film follows a group of crime fighters AKA Joes. Among them are Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Duke (Channing Tatum.) Their semi-leader is Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson) and when the President (Jonathon Pryce) ends up kidnapped and a mortal enemy disguises himself as the president...it's time for the Joes to arm up and go into battle.

                                                     While I enjoyed the action scenes in both spectacle and non-spectacle form...the film is dumb to a fault. I mentioned previously that I enjoyed the fact that the film knew it was dumb. However, I feel as if writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick and director Jon M. Chu indulged a bit too much in the ludicrousness of it all. There are far too many scenes in which a character pops out of nowhere and starts shooting up a place without any reason for being there except to crush some baddies. With this being said---I prefer this significantly when compared to an action films such as Parker or Hansel And Gretel: Witch Hunters that pretend to be way deeper than they are.

                                                       The film also has enjoyable if not sometimes phoned in performances. Johnson brings his usual charisma to the screen. Palicki is good eye candy and can even kick some butt well. Pryce makes an effective villain and Bruce Willis and Walton Goggins both have fun cameos. As well---the direction by Chu (who previously did Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D) is surprisingly decent even if he still needs some advice on how to use 3D properly.

                                                         All in all....I had a good time with GI Joe: Retaliation. However, due to the flawed 3D and dumbness surrounding it all...I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a night out at the cinema. This is truly a film asking to not be seen until it comes out on Netflix. Also..as with a buffet...it's more satisfying if you only indulge every once in a while and do it with some friends.
(2 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of combat violence and martial arts action throughout and for brief sensuality and language)

Evil Dead Review

Possession obsession----Shiloh Fernandez, Jessica Lucas and Lou Taylor Pucci fend off a creepy spirit in Evil Dead
                           Evil Dead---the highly anticipated remake of the 1981 cult classic is disgusting. How disgusting? Let's just say it make every film of the torture porn genre combined look like Toy Story. Evil Dead is, however, a film that should be shown in all film classes and to all aspiring filmmakers so they can see how to make the perfect horror film. Amazingly---Sam Raimi chose Fede Alvarez to write and direct. This is amazing because Raimi obviously wanted someone who could do justice to his 1981 classic and still make it their own. Yet he chose someone who had never done a horror film or an American film for that matter. It is also amazing at how terrific of a job Alvarez actually did.

                           The film starts with David (Shiloh Fernandez) and his girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) visiting David's old friend Eric (Lou Taylor Pucci) and his girlfriend Olivia (Jessica Lucas.) David's younger sister, Mia (Jane Levy) can't give up drugs and is soon possessed by the evil spirit living inside of an ancient book that David and Eric found in the basement.

                            The element that separates this from other horror films is that these are not dumb people. Rather...each one of these characters possesses a trait that helps keep the story moving. David can't work up the nerve to put his sister out of her misery because he cares about her. Natalie is the one who helps her friends attempt to do something about the situation. Eric is the nerdy friend who helps give a back story to the book and Olivia is the nurse who knows the medical history behind all of the stuff happening. The film is surprisingly funny in a dark, twisted sort of way and it will most likely scare everyone at least a few times. These scares aren't the old, tired jump scares, either. Rather, these are genuine, down and dirty scares. The film is also effectively and originally made. There are no huge cliches and the film gets right to the heart of the matter. It doesn't wait long at all before making you look away.

                            Although Evil Dead is certainly not for the weak of stomach (even the strongest stomachs will have to look away at least a couple of times)...it is funny, clever, effective, creepy and just plain awesome. In other words...it's everything a horror film should be.
(4 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, some sexual content and language)

Roger Ebert: A Tribute

                     When news of Roger Ebert's death broke...I came to tears. This is not because I knew the man personally (I've never even met him.) Rather---this is because as someone who writes reviews on film---I owe a great debt to Ebert. "Siskel And Ebert" was the show that inspired me to persevere. Just when I was ready to give up on writing film reviews...I would go on Youtube and watch one of their classic reviews and think "That's the only thing I can imagine myself doing for the rest of my life." The major reason these two men inspired me to persevere so much is because they were so good at what they did.

                        Siskel died many years ago (1999 to be exact) at the age of 53 from brain surgery complications. We all knew he wasn't doing too well. It's sad to look back at the reviews around 1998 where Siskel could barely review a movie...something he loved doing more than anything. In 2002...Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The fact that this man was able to fight this for eleven years and love life the way he did was amazing. In 2010...Ebert made an appearance on "Oprah" in which he talked through a machine and explained how much he still enjoys life despite not being able to eat, talk and do many other basic parts of life. I've always believed it takes a bigger man to admit that he cried than to not cry at all so I'll be the bigger man and admit that Ebert's appearance on "Oprah" made me cry like a baby. Ebert was 70 when he died today (Thursday, April 4th) and I feel as if Ebert could have outlasted us all simply because of his love for life.

                       There is no man who has inspired me as much as Ebert did. His love for film, life and people in general is truly remarkable. Although I did not always agree with Ebert on film (I personally loved The Hitcher and Blue Velvet)...he was the type of man who was both good at defending his opinion and who understood that an opinion was one that everyone should have. He was never afraid to speak his side of the matter but he always knew that his side wasn't going to be looked at as right by everyone because after all---it's his opinion.
                   
                      I feel as if it would be rude not to mention Richard Roeper in all of this. Roeper took over for Siskel after he died. However, Ebert had to go through many trial runs with other film critics such as Boston Globe's Wesley Morris and New York Times's Elvis Mitchell. It came down to Roeper as the final choice. He was a great replacement for Siskel and soon became an equally great partner for Ebert. When Roeper stepped off the balcony and E!'s Ben Lyons and TCM's Ben Mankiewicz took over..it just wasn't the same. They were adequate enough film critics but it was too much of a transition. Finally...Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips and New York Times's A.O. Scott took over and filled that empty gap. They finally took off  in August 2010. Then came Christy Lemire and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and it was never the same again. Soon enough...the balcony was closed for good and the world lost the last great film review show.
                   
                   Anyone who has ever written a review on a film, tweeted about their opinions on a film or spoken to a friend about a film they saw owes a gargantuan debt to Roger Ebert. He was the definitive film critic of our time. He is to film criticism what Neil Armstrong is to walking on the moon. He was the first of his kind. Although Ebert has reunited with Siskel in Heaven...neither of these men's legacies will ever be forgotten. They were the best of their kind and made their own style of reviewing films. Now I am extremely sad to say we will never get the pleasure of hearing these two great men discuss film again.

Olympus Has Fallen Review

My fellow Americans---Gerald Butler as an ex-presidential guard who must save the current president (Aaron Eckhart) from terrorists in Olympus Has Fallen
                                   Olympus Has Fallen is the newest bit of proof that it's kind of hard to not enjoy a film with so much action. Hell---even The Expendables 2 had many fun moments splattered throughout. Olympus Has Fallen is also the definitive example of a film that never lets up once the action starts. In other words---this new action vehicle starring Gerald Butler may be the most cliche film you'll see this year but there is never a dull moment in it.

                                     In the film---Butler plays Mike Banning...a presidential guard who is able to save President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) from a terrible accident on a bridge but not the president's wife. Now...he's  no longer a guard for the president but when a group of terrorists led by an extremely dangerous man named Kang (Rick Yune) takes over The White House and kidnaps President Asher...Mike steps into action.

                                      Yune is great here. He brings a convincing and effective dangerous side to a bad guy who plans to destroy the world. Also...the character of Kang is not some idiot terrorist...he knows exactly what he's doing. As well...Eckhart is convincing as the kidnapped president while Morgan Freeman does an excellent job as the acting president for Asher. Also..I have to admit that, despite my former gripes with him, Butler does make a pretty convincing action star. Hell....he's even pretty damn charming throughout the whole thing. This is Butler like you've never seen him before...bringing in a good performance. The movie's exciting with its big budget gun play and high budget explosions but the quiet moments are the ones that really bring you to the edge of your seat. There are many moments in which Kang will be asking someone a question and you are thrilled because you have no idea what he's going to do next.

                                      However, the film is also very, very, very cliche. Director Antoine Fuqua made the very original and refreshing cop drama Training Day. Here...it feels as if Fuqua just wants to make a dumb, ludicrous, nothing no one hasn't seen before action film but hey---it's entertaining so who cares?

                                      While there are problems with the film and perhaps it does get a bit offtrack sometimes...Olympus Has Fallen is about as entertaining of an action film as you can get. So far this year...there has been way too many turkeys that have come to local multiplexes so it's refreshing to see something that is actually quite good.
(3 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong violence and language throughout)