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Reviews
The Mountain Between Us (2017)
Big potential, little fizzle
While the scenery was breathtaking, the screenplay was utterly pointless. There wasn't anything convincing about the character and the situation they are in. Everything was conveniently thrown into the scene. Two good looking people, a character who can do almost everything, a lovable dog, unlimited food apparently, unlimited fire, an abandoned cabin with great loot (a syringe of all things...). The survival aspect is basically non-existent according to how the movie was marketed. They never had to build shelter in the snow, never had to try to hunt for anything (the dog did 1 time. 1 time...). A movie like this was supposed to make us, as the audience, feel uncomfortable and as cold and helpless as the characters. Total failure in that aspect. Great cinematography while at the mountain top though.
The Foreigner (2017)
A gripping drama that fizzled away its original plot
The drama and suspense is definitely alive with The Foreigner, however, if you look at it as a whole you'll start to realize that this film didn't stand up to it's original plot. I felt unsatisfied after the film even though there were some really good action scenes with or without Jackie Chan.
The problem lies between Jackie Chan's character, Quan, and the convoluted political subplot. Half way through Quan's story became the subplot and Hennessy's (Pierce Brosnan) political mess became the main plot. Quan's character became stale and uneventful. He spends most of his time in the woods around The Farm, where he basically stopped searching for answers and just wait for Hennessy do most of the dirty work.
I was expecting this film to be more alongside Taken and Bourne Identity, where you follow the main character through a sh*t storm from start to finish and come out of it vindicated.
So to summarize, this film misses the target for a potentially great Jackie Chan movie starring Jackie Chan - a foreigner with a vengeance on a rampage out for blood, not Pierce Brosnan - a politician who tries to maintain stability.
Ong-bak 3 (2010)
Ong Bak 3 equivalent to Disney On Ice.
Ong bak 1 & 2 was great, 3 was worse than hell. Yes, I've been to hell and back, and Hell was much better. Everything about this movie is absurd. I understand the story needed to progress and close, but Ong Bak 3 completely threw out the formula that made 1 & 2 work. I wanted to see Jaa kick some serious ass, not appear on "So you think you can dance." The costumes wreak (especially the assassins with silly baskets on their head). The dialogs are childish. The acting is extremely laughable. And the special effects overly unnecessary. I know Jaa didn't have much control over this film and I have faith his future films will be better, but for Ong Bak 3 as a whole, I say skip if you can. If you can't, close your eyes. And if you can't close your eyes, then blankly stare at the screen and imagine something else better. Imagine walking your dog on a Sunday morning may be more exciting, or taking grandma grocery shopping.