The Raid 2: Berandal (2014)

Do you remember the remarkable 'The Raid: Redemption' back in 2011? This is the sequel taking it to the next level. More nasty, more dark, more thoughtful. Rama's brother finally got assassinated by a mobster called Bejo, an intelligent guy who interferes into the local underground mafia, trying to divide the two gangs into a bloody war and take it all. Rama decides to be undercover, and gets imprisoned in order to gain Uco's trust, son of Bangun, leader of the Jakarta gang. More madmen and killers with incredible skills come into the game as betrayals come over and roles always change. Is there anyone for Rama to trust or he has to end it alone?

Director Gareth Evans delivers an awesome action film once more. Everything is well done for the audience's pleasure.

 

Yeok-rin aka The fatal encounter

This is another great historical movie with an excellent storyboard. King Jeongjo rules on a divided kingdom while Noron family tries to take him down with the help of his grandmother and his general Ku. Two young children, numbers 220 and 77, taken by a brutal slave-master are brought up to become assassins but fate will play a dramatic role for them. The twist and turns actually makes this one quite immersive, despite some of the twist being quite predictable and all. It's really a film about strong characters, great battle scenes and suspense. Korean films are getting better and better through last decade and this is not an exception hopefully.

 

Pyojeok aka The Target (2014)

This is another solid action film from South Korea. A gem blending great action scenes due to its excellent choreography and stunts, fine acting and an interesting plot. ER doctor, Tae-joon, is trying to save his wife as she has been kidnapped from a mysterious guy who wants Tae's last saved patient to be delivered to him. Things get messed when gangs and other external factors show up and it becomes clear that there is a larger conspiracy at play. Yeo-hoon, the patient, manages to escape from hospital and wants to find his own solution to personal problems engaging him and his brother to an assassination based on unknown motives as well. Despite its flaws,"The Target" is still sufficiently engaging to entertain- especially since its pace is brisk and its actors easy on the eye.Its a solid and frequently thrilling cinema which should provide genre fans with sufficient entertainment and excitement.

Gun Woman (2014)

This Japanese gem was much more entertaining than I was expected and I think it really deserves your attention if you are into the dark Asian thing you know. A doctor seeks for revenge from a crazy sadistic killer, responsible for his beloved wife's death. He finds a young female junkie and trains her to be the secret weapon for achieving his goal. The mission is really difficult as he has to pass her though an underground camp where strange people fulfill their sexual fetishes. The price of completing her task for this gun woman is to gain her freedom at last. Despite its low budget and maybe its amateur cinematography, especially in the beginning, this mixture of dark beauty and action will be remembered for some years, hopefully.

Barrio Brawler (2013)

Barrio Brawler is an interesting action film about martial arts and a story about two brothers who enter a fighting competition. Carlos Castillo is a sensei, a peaceful guy trying to find money to save his dojo from bankrupt and pay for the medications of his mother. He also wants to reconnect with his family again. He decides to find back his younger brother, Ricky who works under a mobster in his bar. Gangster Morales blackmails Ricky to force Carlos to enter his illegal pit fighting tournament as he recognizes his skills. Finally both brothers participate on this dangerous game in order to earn money. So this is a classic story without any special points and script. But the sequence is good, fighting parts are realistic and the cast is creative. After all it is a quite good production.

Pacific Rim (2013)

After a year of patience I can admit that I am a little bit disappointed of this film. As a child I used to stuck with cartoons like Tetsujin 28, Voltron and even Godzilla film series. I expected more from this gem though. The story is about a war between human race and monsters, known as Kaiju, coming from another dimension through a crack into the ocean. They destroy everything and kill millions of people until the last ones fight back with their massive robots, the Jaegers. The battle is irresolute and even Jaegers can't stop the disastrous invasion. Raleigh, a former pilot who lost his brother at his last combat returns on duty alongside with the untested trainee Mako and will be the last stand of the humans against the mounting apocalypse. The effects are amazing but the development of the characters was really weak and this was a minus point to the plot. The acting was so and so but Idris Elba's performance was even worst. I hope the sequel will be better and Guillermo Del Toro shall give the appropriate attention and will give us the optimum result. Otherwise I will prefer 'Robot Jox' from the late eighties. Again.

Willow (1988)

Dwarf farmer Willow lives peacefully with his family in a small village when they find a baby girl near the river.  This little child is extremely important because it can help to the fall of evil sorceress Queen Bavmorda. The last one sends her daughter Sorsha and General Kael into a mission to bring back the child alive. Willow also is given a task to carry the baby into a safe place and join allies as swordsman Madmartigan, sorceress Fin Razel and the Brownies Franjean and Rool who will help him on this journey. As the fellowship are pursued by Queen's army, they find shelter at an abandoned castle and they fight back. Ages before 'Lord of the rings', there were a few directors that knew how to film an interesting fantasy film. Val Kilmer acts really well and the plot is rather great.

The Book of Eli (2010)

A wanderer, Eli, travels along deserted States for the last thirty years. The earth is an empty place now after a nuclear war that ruined the planet. He feels he has a special mission to complete. Going west and reach a safe place for his precious item he has with. The last Holy Bible that keeps him sane and gives him a supernatural power to protect himself from scums and gangs who kill for fun and survival in this chaotic environment. Carnegie is the gang leader in a small town and as Eli arrives there, he realizes that something strange happens and looks forward to find out about newcomer's secret. Carnegie presses his blind lover Claudia to send her daughter, Solara, to look over the situation but Eli is always one step beyond. This post apocalyptic film is just beautiful. It's development is solid, the cinematography is intriguing and Denzel is the right guy to perform the messenger of God in this ruinous world. Even if the ending is a little far fetched.

Dabangg (2010)

Chulbul is a fearless cop who has been raised with his mother Naini, stepfather Prajapati, and younger half-brother Makkhi. His relationship with the other two male members of his family are not the best instead of his pure love for his ill mother. His manners also are not good and he is not the typical inspector. But this is not a problem for him on his fight against crime. Chedi is a corrupted official of the government working on a secret plan to eliminate a local commissar and set himself as a new candidate. But Chulbul discovers his evil plans and he is getting ready for some action. This is an interesting example of Bollywood action cinema with great cast, lots of beautiful choreography, fun and famous Indian actor, Salman Khan starring again on another cool gem.

Smokin' Aces (2006)

Special agents Messner and Carruthers are investigating the biggest case in the history of Italian Mafia at the States. Mob boss Primo Sparazza takes out a contract on Buddy "Aces" Israel, a snitch who betrayed his organization. Now various hit men from around the globe are ready to rip out Aces heart. From violent Tremor brothers to sexy ebony killer duo of Georgia and Sharice. There are also two more specialists, Soot and Acosta, specialized in disguise and tortures, participating in this deadly rush. Another crew of three ex cops are responsible for Israel's transportation from Lake Tahoe hideout. Chaos will rise with the arrival of the first hit men and an old secret will change agent's Messner faith to its service. An incredible action film, maybe one of the best of the past decade, full of excellent performances from a serious cast as Liotta, Reynolds, Piven and Garcia. 

Gallowwalkers (2012)

I could say I always liked Snipes's films. But this time it didn't get so well as usually. The problem with this film is the editing. The story is about a colored gunman who seeks for revenge for the rape and death of his wife. We really don't know enough about his roots except he was abandoned from his mother, a witch or something like that. He grew up at the orphanage and then found a shelter at a woman's butcher house. He will find Fab, a young brave man in chains, and he will hire him to help him eliminate the responsible gang for his drama. But there is a curse on him that everyone he dies from his hands shall return to life. This strange mixture of western and undead is just a mess because the director seems to have forgot the lines of cinematography. The sequences are not following the correct order and the whole thing is a violent movie that could be a horror classic but instead of that stays another gem that will fade into oblivion. It's a pity for Snipes though because he acted well again.

Oblivion (2013)

Jack works as a drone technician on the abandoned Earth, after the war of humans with the alien Scavs. With his wife Vica at the control station, they complete an effective team. But he dreams of a past life years ago before he even lived. With the arrival of female astronaut's  Julia, Jack is going to reconsider about his life and his purposes. Julia is not the only link to his peaceful past though and soon many secrets are going to be revealed and change everything. This is a stunning science fiction gem from the director who filmed Tron Legacy back in 2010. The specifications are about the same and the complete work is amazing. Cinematography is excellent and the whole cast is performing really well. This is a very interesting amalgam of past sci fi movies as Space Odyssey 2001, I am Legend and so many other to mention.
Another good choice for Tom Cruise's filmography.

The Colony (2013)

In the future, humans have to live underneath the ice due to a climate change that left the planet as a cold desert. One day it started to snow and it never ended. Briggs is the leader of Colony 5, a place where some survivors live and work in an experimental lab in order to find a new place to move and change the temperature of the environment. After a call for help from another colony, he decides to do a rescue mission but what he will find there, it will change the fate of everyone back in his base. Because the real problem out there is not the freeze but the hunger who transform people into beasts. This could be a great film because the intense was real until the first part of it. Dark cinematography and convincing performances from the cast showed that something good could be happened. But after that you will find another cliche end with cannibals running and screaming around. My question is why all the cannibals and the zombies or the mutants have always supernatural powers, who said that if you are a monster you have to be a champ at sprints or can escape from bullets? It's a pity indeed.

San lau sing woo dip gim aka Butterfly and Sword (1993)

Sing and Ko have met during childhood and they became partners and co fighters in the known martial arts world. Now Sing is a hidden assassin at the services of Ko and he keeps his secret to his beloved Butterfly. Meng wan is another master who works with Sing and he is love with Ko but the last one can't hide her feelings towards Sing. The team has a difficult mission to destroy Suen's martial arts school and kill Suen and his assistan Li Shu Tin. A battle for the survival of the toughest has begun and the trio will challenge extreme situations in order to stay alive and achieve their target. Donnie Yen and Michelle Yeo in great performances at an interesting mixture of drama, action and romance film. Specially recommended at the fans of the old HK productions, this gem will give you the thrills as you will find that this stunning gem paved the way for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Dead man down (2013)

Beatrice is a mysterious woman who watched Victor killing someone in his apartment. After that she threatens to expose his crime unless he helps her paying back another man for her own tragedy that transformed her face with scars making her feeling ugly and having psychological issues. But Viktor's past is even darker while seeking vengeance from his boss, Alphonse, a mobster who tries to find who is behind this evil plan unsuccessfully. Together they will join forces and they will devise a violent and cathartic plan that could change their worlds forever. An atmospheric thriller with great action scenes and excellent cast including Farrell, Rapace and Howard giving emotionally spilling performances. Danish director Oplev still has it and he proved it again. Thumbs up!

After Earth (2013)

Will Smith's last appearance on cinemas deliver a dramatic science fiction gem where a father and a son try to reconnect. The planet Earth has been evacuated one thousand years ago and all mankind has been moved now to Nova Prime planet. But another alien nation is at war with the humans and they send Ursa, hunters to eliminate every human. The only thing that can save someone is to forget fear and be calm, something like an inner power that is not for everyone. Legendary General Cypher Raige takes his 13-year-old son, Kitai, into a routine mission but everything goes wrong when their spaceship crash over planet Earth, an unknown planet and totally different from what we know this era. Cypher gets injured and sends his son into a quest to recover their rescue beacon. This mission will be another way to the transformation of the youngster to an elder character, taking decisions that may cost their lives. So the result is quite good, we have some action but the effects sometimes are not working well. I found the acting of Smith so and so maybe because of his character. Jaden Smith gave a better performance and I think he has it. A good film from director Shyamalan after a long period.

 

Java heat (2013)

This is another cool film that should have been deserved a better rating on Imdb. The reason is obvious as it has an interesting plot, good direction, enough action and Mickey Rourke of course. The last one has a cult appearance though depending on a few scenes as the story runs about the Sultan's dead daughter in Java, Indonesia. An American history teacher teams with a Muslim detective in order to find the responsible terrorist for a number of bombings around the country. The motives are not clear as more proofs come out to the light. The two men are not trusting each other as  they actually work under different nations and cultures but their passion and courage will give them more confidence to continue and finally find the real imposters. Loved this mixture of international action style film.

Serenade to Miette (2011)

This is a great work of illustrator Toniko Pantoja from Los Angeles. A street magician messes with some mobsters on his way to help a young beautiful acrobat. A small animated film with excellent script, full of action, romance and fun.

Serenade to Miette from Toniko Pantoja on Vimeo.

Assault on Wall Street (2013)

Jim is working whole day as a security guard in order to save money for the cure of his beloved wife Rosie. The last one suffers from cancer and the cost of therapy is high. The couple lives in anxiety as the economic crisis affects their budget and more problems appear soon as Jim looses his funds due to a bankrupt of his financial investment and later his job. The irresponsible behavior of the real culprits makes him angry and he manages to take the law into his hands with disastrous results. This is a really interesting gem with good performances from the starring duo. You can find that Dominic Pursell acts really well and gives us a satisfying performance with dramatic and realistic points. A film about crisis and how people are determined to live with it or not. The solution is in our hands though.

 

Dredd (2012)

I can say this is the best adaptation of the legendary comic book 'Judge Dredd' for sure. In a dystopian America after a world war that ruined everything, population has moved into huge Mega City One. Life is extremely difficult as outnumbered gangs rule over the place and the only one force that combines judge, jury and instant executioner are the urban cops, called ''Judges''. Dredd is one of them and he makes himself up a serious impact for the outlaws. Now with rookie Cassandra, a psychic mutant woman with ambition to join the force, they enter into a huge building of two hundred floors in order to find and eliminate drug lord's Ma-Ma clan. The war begins but the enemies are outnumbered. Will Dredd succeed into his mission and stay alive alongside with Cassy? It is a bleak film, a superior action movie with excellent cinematography, dark atmosphere and a faithful attribution to the original story. Actor Karl Urban gives a more convincing performance as Dredd instead of Stalone's attempt through the nineties.