Movie: Bangkok Dangerous

Starring Nicholas Cage and set in Thailand I really wonder what the heck is was doing with this movie. It had potential but really lost the plot. Cage’s character is an assassin for hire who has some jobs in Bangkok. He normally hires a local errand runner to do the drop offs, help with sourcing information and supplies then disposes of them when he is done. This time around things are different. He takes the errand boy on side as a protege and in between falls in love with a local Thai girl who is deaf. Directed by Chun and Pang they have remade the “Hong Kong” version for the Hollywood market. Sometimes good “Hong Kong” cinema just doesn’t cross over. 1.5 out of 5.

Movie: The Duchess

I am not much of a Keira Knightley fan but the costuming and locations in this one were too good to pass by.

“A chronicle of the life of 18th century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was reviled for her extravagant political and personal life” – The Internet Movie Database

Starring Keira Knightley, a stunning Ralph Fiennes as the husband matched to Georgiana, Charlotte Rampling (of Swimming Pool) as Georgiana’s mother and Dominic Cooper as Charles Grey (the third person in the marriage).

There was much hype about the parallels between Diana and Charles’ married life but go in without any agendas, marvel at the costuming, enjoy Fiennes’ wonderful performance and the array of locations. 3.5 out of 5.

Movie: Babylon AD

As we have been travelling it has been 4 weeks since we last went to the cinema. We had seriously considered catching a movie while in France but I figured that the whole language issue might possibly limit the enjoyment of it 😉  I was pretty sure that the dialogue would consist of more than our limited french which revolves around being able to order coffee, various items of food and asking where the toilet is.

So, back in England and off to see Babylon AD starring Vin Diesel. Now if you are familiar with Vin’s past works you will know that it generally consists of action, limited conversation, limited facial expressions and a storyline that survives on lots of explosions and car chases. This was no exception.

Macho dude gets paid to escort important but freaky young chick safely out of cesspool that is Russia (many years from now). Bad dudes following them all the way, bit of martial arts thrown in with car chases, explosions and the like.

As you can tell I was rather unimpressed with this movie and in particular Vin Diesel. The dude is getting older, time to move on and actually try some acting. 2 out of 5.