Safe House (2012)

This brief exchange between Ryan Reynolds and the delectable but wasted Nora Arnezeder remains the most interestin bit from the whole film.

At a glance:

You saw the trailer and thought this was Training Day (2001) in a room, except with Denzel Washington standin over Ryan Reynolds instead of Ethan Hawke. You expected menacin charm from Denzel and you wanted boyish nervousness from Ryan, punctuated by high speed car chases and some government suits with fancy secret agent talk and cool weapons.

Bad news on the doorstep:

Barely two elements of originality to rub together (so that's probably why Ryan Reynolds and Nora Arnezeder had to rub on each other), in yet another overeager action-thriller retread. Not a surprise considerin it's written by a former US Weekly editor who obviously watches too many movies. David Guggenheim apparently managed to quit his job after successfully pitchin Safe House to Universal, says the official website. Let's hope for better stuff in his already sold projects - 364, Stolen, Narco Sub and Puzzle Palace. Meanwhile, two wasted token performances are turned in by the milfy Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air, 2009) and the adorable Nora Arnezeder (Paris 36 @ Faubourg 36, 2008). The story? Oh I don't know, it might as well have been The Viral Factor (2012) for all I care. Denzel and Ryan might have kicked, jumped and drove one another across Langa (Cape Town's oldest township) but they carried and limped with this movie to the finish line. Simply too frenzied and ultimately shortchanged us for investin in their characters.

Perennial wonderment:

"What kind of villain goes with the name Tobin Frost?"

[Spoiler ahead] Nobody dies like Denzel. He's got the best die in the business! All that mucous and choke. When it's our time, we should all go out like Denzel in the movies - bloodsoaked with grime (cigarette optional) and coughin over some badass line about somethin terribly inconsequential yet beautiful about life. He's so cool that we forgive him for playin a villain with such a silly name in this movie - Tobin Frost.

Reminds me of:

A thousand other action-thrillers before it.

Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?

Enormous presence from Washington and a more interestin turn from Reynolds for once but that's about it. Okay, some decent brawlin. Otherwise, skip it because the best parts are already in the trailer.★★1/2

Up In The Air (2009)

At a glance:
Commitment-phobia never looked sexier than when skirt-chasin extraordinaire George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, the cocksure, jet-settin elitist who spends all his time flyin, as the movie title suggests. For a drama with many depressive elements, Up In The Air is surprisingly just as upliftin as it sounds, as Thank You For Not Smoking and Juno director Jason Reitman predictably followed up those two thematically similar films with this one. No surprise then that it's in the runnin for Best Pic at the 82nd Oscars. Adapted off the 2001 Walter Kirn novel of the same name, we follow the globe-trottin Mr Bingham as he travels from city to city to fire people as a specialist consultant hired by bosses too gutless to drop the axe face-to-face when downsizin companies. He may call it 'career transition counsellin' but make no mistake, it's a dirty job of having to tell people they've lost their jobs. The story is enriched by his chance meet with an equally self-centred traveller who becomes his romantic interest (Alex Goran played by a delectable Vera Farmiga, The Departed) and also the introduction of a young, overly-idealistic, go-gettin colleague (Natalie Keener played by Anna Kendrick, Jessica in the Twilight movies) who has persuaded the boss (Jason Bateman) to try out a new semi-confrontational video conferencin method of firin people.
Most memorable line:
Some animals were meant to carry each other to live symbiotically over a lifetime. Star crossed lovers, monogamous swans... We are not swans. We are sharks.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Four stars. A refreshin, cynical take on our name brand society. It's only natural that Americans in particular warm up to this picture all too easily. While it isn't a morally punishin film, it is one with clear and sharp ideas on lifestyle choices and their correspondin consequences, with some very interestin scenes that play on a more sociological wide angle rather than a private behavioural breakdown. Followin the character arc of the very dislikeable Ryan Bingham is an engrossin prospect, as his values are tested and he even has the option of redemption. The film finishes strong and leaves you as a rather intimate, though wordy movie that entertains and rewards nevertheless. Very strong performances by the main cast will go some way to make this a worthy Best Picture contender.