Tag: Liam Neeson

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Silence

by MCDave

In many ways, the “passion project” is the backbone of all artistic expression. Surely, filmmakers and musical artists combat a “give and take” dynamic within their industries to advance their careers, but these special artistic endeavors are what fan the flames of creativity. In 2016, our cinematic year closes with a rare passion project from one of Hollywood’s most iconic figures, director Martin Scorsese. Silence stands as a religious tale that finally comes together after more than two decades in the making, and it’s as polarizing a film as ever.

Father Rodrigues and Father Garrpe (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) are a pair of 17th century Jesuit priests who learn of their mentor’s (Liam Neeson) repudiation of Catholicism in Japan. Therefore, they venture to the hostile island where they work to continue spreading the gospel while trying to avoid persecution from Buddhist inquisitors. Yet, as Father Rodrigues is captured and tortured by these unforgiving Japanese natives, trials and tribulations force him to question his own faith in the same god that he’s devoted his life to serving.

Silence tells a rather simplistic story in an excruciatingly drawn out demeanor, evident by the handful of viewers that walked out of the screening quite early in the process. Throughout the story, the complexity surrounding Father Rodrigues’ escalating doubt in his own faith lacks energy and intrigue, so much so that even an iconic filmmaker such as Martin Scorsese struggles to win the audience over with his glaring  technical achievements. Silence offers pristine cinematography and strong direction, yet its outstretched screenplay casts a shadow over the films few notable conquests. Scorsese’s decades-long passion project suffers from an obsessive attention to detail that ultimately creates a punishing experience for the viewer.

It becomes a chore to sit and wade through Silence‘s near 160 running time. The film’s valiant lead performance from Andrew Garfield serves as one redeeming quality and, certainly, Scorsese deserves admiration for his commitment to delivering a cerebral tale of spiritual turmoil. However, movies are meant to stir emotions and entertain their audiences, yet in both regards Silence misses the mark. Instead, Scorsese takes the viewer on a repetitive journey that fails to generate a mounting response, but rather feels like a tormenting episode of “Groundhog Day”. Consequently, the work’s intelligent and intended focus becomes watered down by such a grueling structure.

I will always look back on Silence with an appreciation for what the film sets out to achieve, yet it’s impossible to praise the manner in which Scorsese chooses to go about his storytelling. Unless you possess a deep-rooted affinity for religious tales or your fandom for Scorsese’s marvelous career proves too strong – much like my own respect for his work, which put me in my seat – then there’s very little joy in battling through the lethargic pacing of the filmmaker’s latest effort.

GRADE: 2.5/5

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Geekscape Movie Reviews: Ted 2

by MCDave

Animation guru, Seth MacFarlane, proved once and for all with his 2012 comedy hit, Ted, that he was capable of transitioning to a big screen director. And while his sophomore effort, A Million Ways to Die in the West, was an absolute disappointment, MacFarland attempts to get back to his comfort zone with the highly anticipated sequel, Ted 2. Regrettably, though, MacFarlane will have to continue trying to top his original work.

A few years have passed and John (Mark Wahlberg) has divorced while Ted’s ties the knot with his grocery store check-out co-worker, Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth). With a shaky marriage brewing between the Teddy bear and his foul-mouthed wife, they decide that having a child is the only way to reconcile. However, in order to adopt a child (due to Tami-Lynn’s drug-destroyed ovaries), Ted must prove that he’s a person in a court of law. So they enlist the help of a novice trial lawyer named Samantha Jackson (Amanda Seyfried) and take on the almighty powers that be.

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Ted 2‘s brightest moments occur when Seth MacFarlane sticks to his mantra of one-liners and merciless zingers regarding pop culture icons. The writer-director is massively effective when it comes to constructing these kinds of jokes. However, MacFarlane struggles to develop a cohesive and sensible story to help put his comedic prowess on display. He completely misses by continuing his blind loyalty to actor Giovanni Ribisi. After Ribisi’s character nearly spoiled the franchise’s first installment, there is absolutely no need to revive “Donny” in this sequel. While the blame deserves to land solely on MacFarlane’s shoulders, as Ribisi has proven that he’s a capable actor, Ted 2 suffers from an unforgivable second act that’s plagued by unnecessary subplots and an over-extended script that pushes the comedy far past its desirable limits.

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The third feature from Seth MacFarlane isn’t all doom and gloom, however. Just like the original, Mark Wahlberg gives a fully committed performance once again and demonstrates his natural ability for eliciting laughs. Yet, despite Wahlberg’s fine work in the film, trading Mila Kunis for Amanda Seyfriend is ultimately a bit of a loss. While Seyfriend is merely serviceable, Ted 2 uses a long list of cameos from Liam Neeson, Jay Leno and Tom Brady to keep the jokes fresh. But in the end, all of these shining bright spots become inevitably overshadowed by a flimsy story that provides a brittle foundation for the comedy.

Of course Ted 2 will make you laugh, much like anything MacFarlane has his hand in. Nevertheless, you’re honestly better off revisiting the first film or soaking in some classic Family Guy episodes. This latest effort from Seth MacFarlane is by no means a complete bombshell, but it’s definitely a long-winded affair that offers very little more than a solid barrage of first-half laughs and a steady stream of second-half yawns.

GRADE: 3/5

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Saint Mort’s Nostalgia Nightmare – Vampire’s Kiss/High Spirits Blu-Ray Review

by Saintmort

Welcome Back to Saint Mort’s Nostalgia Nightmare. Glad to see you enjoyed it enough last week to revisit. Continuing in my Scream Factory Blu-Ray reviews I’ve got another double feature. Today you can own their double feature release of Vampire’s Kiss and High Spirits. Let’s dive in!

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Not only have I never seen either of these films prior to this Blu-Ray appearing on my doorstep, I’ve never even heard of one of them. I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. Over the course of 5 hours I watched Vampire’s Kiss twice (once normally and once with commentary) and High Spirits.

Let’s start with Vampire’s Kiss. I’d heard many things about this movie, specifically that it’s one of the most Cage-iest of Nicholas Cage movies. I was not lied to in the least. The movie is bizarre, confusing, unintentionally funny at parts and a chore to watch at others.

The movie tells the story of Peter Loew, a womanizing literary agent who spends all day in the office and all night at the clubs and having one night stands. One night he takes home a vampire named Rachel who begins feeding on him nightly. Or does he?

Vampire’s Kiss is all about questioning what is reality while following an unhinged businessman that’s wrapped up in all the sleeze, culture and status of the 80s. Basically it’s American Psycho if Nicholas Cage played Patrick Bateman.

It’s got some fantastic moments in it and has notoriety for a infamous still which has become a meme (Scream Factory was smart to include that still on the back of the Blu-Ray). The commentary track between director Robert Bierman and Nicholas Cage is interesting to say the least. The two think highly of the movie and Bierman makes a few references to stylistic choices but then saying things like “I think I did that consciously”.

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If you can get past Cage’s awkward accent choice (he sounds like he’s doing a bad Keanu Reeves impression) and the dark comedic cruelness it’s not a bad film to watch… once. You’ll most likely never watch it again (unless you listen to the commentary track)… the same can’t be said for High Spirits.

I had a lot of fun experiencing High Spirits for the first time. I’m willing to believe that if I saw this movie when I was a child I’d hold it with the same level of nostalgic praise that I hold movies like Monster Squad and The Goonies.

Looking at this cast it’s amazing that I’ve never heard of this film. It’s a fantastic ensemble featuring such infamous actors as Peter O’Toole, Daryl Hannah, Liam Neeson, Jennifer Tilly, Steve Guttenberg and Beverly D’Angelo.

The movie follows Peter Plunkett who’s about to have his castle repossessed. In order to keep his property he tries to claim it’s haunted to scare the Americans that are visting the castle (including the daughter of the man repossessed the castle). When their fake ghost stories are discovered, real ghosts begin haunting the castle including Mary and Martin.

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Many centuries ago when Mary and Martin were married, Martin murdered Mary for infidelity. Every night the two are forced to re-enact that night. That is until one of the Americans Jack (Guttenberg) stops Martin, putting an end to cycle and causing Mary to fall in love with him.

I hope this film finds a decent resurgence from this Blu-Ray, as it’s a fantastic Halloween movie with ghosts, romance, comedy and a handful of good jump scares.

The most baffling thing about this film is that it’s written and directed by Neil Jordan, a man known for films of more adult nature like The Company of Wolves, The Crying Game and Interview with the Vampire.

Doing research to do these reviews/writeups I can’t understand how Vampire’s Kiss was more critically well received. It’s an interesting film but for very unintentional reasons. High Spirits is a much more enjoyable film overall.

Pick up a copy of the Vampire’s Kiss/High Spirits Blu-ray Today!

Matt Kelly hosts The Saint Mort Show and the Reddit Horror Club as well as writes for Geekscape and his blog Every Damn DVD. He’s also going to spend Valentine’s Day night in the basement watching horror movies while his roommate has sex. He’d love it if you bought him something on his Amazon Wishlist to convince him to take that shotgun barrel out of his mouth. 

It’s Liam Neeson vs. Ed Harris in ‘Run All Night’ Trailer

by Eric Francisco

Who would have thought just ten years ago that there would be a profitable subgenre of action films of old dudes kicking ass and that it would regularly star Liam Neeson? I’m sure there’s some cultural interpretation you can make of it that it’s the baby boomers’ backlash as they refuse to acknowledge their fading light and can still throw down like they used to back when men were men and were great, or something.

From Warner Bros., Liam Neeson’s next “I am Liam Neeson and you will die” movie is Run All Night, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra who previously worked with Liam Neeson in another, also so-very Liam Neeson movie Non-Stop. This time, Liam Neeson is mob hit man Jimmy Conlon, who went by the name “The Gravedigger,” and he’s pitted against his former boss Shawn Maguire (Ed Harris). With a nickname like that he should have tried independent wrestling.

It’s tit-for-tat when Jimmy kills Shawn’s son who in turn tried to kill Jimmy’s son (Joel Kinnaman). A vengeful Shawn then sends all his soldiers to hunt down Jimmy and his son and to escape they will run all night. Oh, I get it now! But can’t they just use their words? I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding.

Run All Night is in theaters April 17, and unlike the title you should probably just sit down.

‘Taken 3’ Is Actually (And Unfortunately) Called ‘Tak3n’, Watch The First Trailer!

by Derek Kraneveldt

Briefly: So Taken was cool. Taken 2 on the other hand, was so bad that I don’t remember a single thing about it… except for that it was bad. Taken 3 probably takes the concept a little too far, but at least there’s no possible way that it could be as bad as its new title, Tak3n.

Yep.

Today marks the debut of the film’s first trailer and poster, and after watching the preview I can definitely say that I’m down for the film for a couple of reasons. First, Liam Neeson’s voice alone makes it worth watching. And second, the first film was really, really cool, so maybe everyone involved can recapture some of that for this third outing.

I mean, Neeson can’t just be doing this for the paycheque, right? Right!?

In any case, take a look at the poster and trailer below, and let us know what you think! Tak3n hits theatres on January 9th!

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Geekscape Movie Review:s ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West’

by Dennis Finocchiaro

Seth MacFarlane’s newest film, A Million Ways to Die in the West, is absolutely hilarious and covers every single persons’ sense of humor. Need a laugh? You should definitely see it.

Of course, like his show Family Guy, it has over-the-top, crossing-the-line humor throughout. Dumb laughs? Of course. Physical comedy? Quite often. Funny song? Check. Pop culture references? Duh! Sarcasm galore. Dirty humor. High brow laughs. And of course, it has its fair share of poop and fart jokes. This movie has laughs for everyone’s sense of humor, no matter what.

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What else really made the movie were the piles of cameos, both those that were spoiled for me (thank you so much, Internet) and the ones I somehow avoided by ignoring the trailers and spoilers. Some were random, others were completely planned out and precise, but overall each and every star who appeared in the film made it even funnier.

Even better? Sure I’m telling you to avoid the trailers, but much like those of Bad Grandpa, the Million trailers show parts of the funny scenes, but not the whole moment. The ice block scene? The shooting gallery? These are so much better in the film. Luckily, this is not one of those movies where all of the funny parts are given away in the trailer.

The actors were hilarious as well. Seth MacFarlane is always funny, but Charlize Theron doesn’t always get to be comedic and does an excellent job. Plus, with the likes of Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman and Neil Patrick Harris, you know it will be jam-packed with laughs.

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Plus, I have a feeling it has many “How did I miss that?” moments when watched a second time. Since I’ve only seen it once at a sneak preview, I can’t be sure…but I have a feeling that kind of humor was there too.

My only advice is to try your best to avoid spoilers. Don’t watch the extended trailers that are sure to start coming out. Don’t cross the “spoilers below” line in articles. And definitely don’t talk to your loud mouth friends who saw it before you. A lot of the humor relies on the surprise.

Overall, this movie gets 5/5 on the humor alone. See it as soon as possible! A Million Ways to Die in the West hits theatres on May 30th!

Brick Yourself Over The Trailer For The Lego Movie

by Shane O'Hare

Hot off the presses and blowing up the internet is this brand new trailer for the upcoming Lego movie. Now you’re probably thinking to yourself ” A movie…. about Lego?”. Yeah I was thinking the same thing, then I watched the trailer. If you’ve ever played a Lego game, that genuine funny you feel when you play is perfectly captured in this trailer.

The Lego movie comes out February 7, 2014 and stars Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman.

A Third ‘Taken’ Is In The Works

by Derek Kraneveldt

Just a few days after Taken star Liam Neeson (and director Oliver Megaton) said that Taken 3 wouldn’t happen, the studio has decided otherwise (the franchise did pull in nearly 50 million in that time, so the announcement is not too surprising).

Neeson recently spoke to Empire, and stated the following about a third film:

“I don’t see it,” came his reply. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I really don’t. I can’t see a possible scenario where audiences wouldn’t go, ‘Oh, come on…! She’s taken again?'”

This is exactly how I’m feeling about the announcement. I’ve yet to see Taken 2 (that comes tonight, against my better judgement), but even a second film seems a little too far from realism.

Writer Robert Mark Kamen says to expect something new however. He today spoke to hollywood.com about the Taken franchise, and the newly greenlit third film:

“We didn’t start talking about [Taken 3] until we saw the numbers,” says Kamen. “But then we said, ‘Oh, okay. I think we should do a third one.’ And Fox wants us to do a third one.”

In the first Taken, Neeson’s character Bryan Mills’ daughter was taken. In Taken 2, he and his wife were taken. In Taken 3…. “We’ve taken everyone we can take — it’s going to go in another direction. Should be interesting.”

What did you think of Taken 2? Are you interested in a third film?

Check Out A New Clip From ‘Taken 2’

by Derek Kraneveldt

We’re just a couple weeks away from Taken 2 and promotion is beginning to ramp up! 20th Century Fox today released a new clip for the upcoming action flick.

Taken 2 hits North America on October 5th: Liam Neeson returns as badass Bryan Mills, and much of the other cast will be reprising their roles as well.

Taken was a great and unexpected surprise in my opinion. I just hope the sequel offers a similar experience! Taken 2 comes from the same writers, Olivier Megaton (Transporter 3) however has taken the directors chair!

Check out the clip below, and let us know what you think!

If You Don’t Watch This New ‘Taken 2’ Trailer Liam Neeson Will Find You

by Shawn Madden

Let’s keep it real here and admit that we didn’t need a sequel to Taken. However,  we are all going to see this. Because if we don’t Liam Neeson will find us…and we all know what happens when he does.

Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge, and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape, and uses the same advanced level of special forces tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers one by one.

Taken 2 hits theaters October 5th.

Chuck Norris Won’t Be Back For ‘The Expendables 3’

by Shawn Madden

Work on a third chapter in The Expendables series is already underway. However, there will be one lone wolf not returning for a third outting of blood and carnage. There is currently no reason given for his departure, but Chuck Norris will not be back for The Expendables 3. Maybe they told him they were contacting Liam Neeson and he feared for his own life? I am fully prepared for the repercussions of that statement.

Norris told Access Hollywood (via The Playlist):

“Nope. Just number 2. This is it for me…Oh, yeah. This is very special. Just to be able to do the film with guys I’ve known for many, many years. To get a chance to get in and fight with them, it was a lot of fun. Plus getting a chance to meet Terry Crews, who I hadn’t met before. And Jason Statham, whom I hadn’t met before. It was fun just to do that.”

The team behind The Expendables series has currently got their sights set on bringing Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes into the franchise with Nicolas Cage reported to have already signed on. But can these actors fill the void that Norrs will leave? Probably not. You know who can though? Liam Neeson. Oh, and can we get a little more Jet Li this time around? He was totally wasted again this time around. Cue the internet memes!

Joe Carnahan WILL Be Directing Mark Millar’s ‘Nemesis’!

by Shawn Madden

Well, while it looks like Joe Carnahan’s ideas for a Daredevil movie have gone up in smoke he still is getting his at bat at a violent comic book adaptation with Nemesis. This project has been in development for quite some time now with Carnahan rumored to direct. However, sometime back in January, Carnahan tweeted that the project wasn’t happening. But then it seemed the project was happening again later that month when Carnahan and Liam Neeson did an interview for The Grey and the movie came up. Also during this interview Carnahan expressed an interest in casting Liam Neeson in the role of Blake Morrow, the Chief Inspector who Nemesis sets his sights on. Rumors also spread around that Michael Fassbender may be in talks to play as the title character but nothing was ever confirmed. But since then there has not been much word on the project. Well, that is until now. This morning Mark Millar made a post on the Millarworld forums offering a bit of an update on the project that confirms that Carnahan will indeed direct and that the project definitely is not dead.

Shot straight from a wedding in Manchester last week to the City of Angels and plunged straight into some studio biz on the Nemesis movie. Mighty Joe Carnahan is directing (from a script by he and his brother Matthew), but this much you already know. Fox wanted us to get in the same room for the first time and really hash this out, which was exciting. Joe has a really brilliant take on this and Matt and he are going to take things from here so I’m really happy. Absolutely no casting has been done formally although you can google the MTV interview from last January where he and Sir Liam Neeson are chatting about it. More news as it happens

I, for one, definitely loved this mini-series and cannot wait for the second one to come. If you’ve never read it at all I am not going to try and explain it to you but instead post a quote from Mark Millar himself explaining the story.

Marvel President Dan Buckley sort of paid me a compliment, saying, “This is such a stupidly simple and obvious idea. I can’t believe nobody’s ever come up with it before. You are the master of the stupidly simple idea.” Which I suppose is kind of flattering because everyone said that about “Kick-Ass” too. It’s almost too simple.

But, yeah. “Nemesis” is a reversal of the Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark archetype. What if this genius billionaire was just this total ****, and the only thing that stood between him and a city was the cops? It’s Batman versus Commissioner Gordon, in a weird way. Or maybe a super-villain version of “Se7en.” A billionaire anarchist up against ordinary people. The Joker’s the best thing in the Batman movies, so this guy is a bit of an amalgamation of all the stuff we like.

After seeing Carnahan’s sizzle reels for Daredevil I can’t help but get pretty excited for this film and hope it really does happen. We’ll be sure to keep you updated as more news develops on Nemesis. The project has been rumored to go into production sometime next year but for now in the meantime you should go out pick up and read the comic…just sayin’.

New ‘Taken 2’ Theatrical Trailer!

by Shawn Madden

We got an international trailer not too long ago and now the domestic one has hit. Liam Neeson is back to unleash his certain set of skills! With this and the two Skyfall trailers earlier…I don’t know if the site can handle any more bad-ass for the day.

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills who stopped at nothing to save his daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape, and uses the same advanced level of special forces tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers one by one.

Taken 2 unleashes into theaters October 5th.

New ‘Taken 2’ Featurette Shows Off Liam Neeson’s Particular Set Of Skills!

by Scott Alminiana

Taken 2 doesn’t hit theaters until October 5th but here’s a ‘making of’ featurette to hold you over until then!

 

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA operative who decimated an Albanian slave-trading ring to rescue his kidnapped daughter. A year later, on a trip to Istanbul, Mills gets a surprise visit from his daughter, Kim, and his wife, Lenore. The happy reunion turns sour when Lenore is taken by gangsters serving Murad, father of one of the fallen Albanian criminals. With his wife held hostage and Kim on the run, Mills must once again use his lethal skills to track down his wife and eliminate all who stand in his way.

 

Mark Wahlberg And Liam Neeson Eyed For Roles In ‘Neuromancer’

by Shawn Madden

Mark Wahlberg and Liam Neeson are both being eyed for roles in the upcoming adaptation of William Gibson’s 1984 novel, Neuromancer. Gibson’s first novel is considered to be a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction “triple crown”: the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. While no one has signed on for the project Moviehole has reported that the offer is currently on the table.

Wahlberg, who has a solid working relationship with the film’s producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, has been offered the role of the anti-hero Case. Neeson would be playing the role of the twisted tool Armitage.

The film will be directed by Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) and see a 2014 release date. The only downside to this so far is that Natali is also attached to direct the Swamp Thing reboot so it looks like it will be quite some time before we get that one.

Check Out The Trailer For ‘Taken 2’!

by Shawn Madden

I loved ‘Taken’. When I first heard about this movie I was scared that it was going to end up bad but it looks great.

Liam Neeson returns as Bryan Mills, a retired CIA operative who decimated an Albanian slave-trading ring to rescue his kidnapped daughter. A year later, on a trip to Istanbul, Mills gets a surprise visit from his daughter, Kim, and his wife, Lenore. The happy reunion turns sour when Lenore is taken by gangsters serving Murad, father of one of the fallen Albanian criminals. With his wife held hostage and Kim on the run, Mills must once again use his lethal skills to track down his wife and eliminate all who stand in his way.

‘Taken 2’ hits theaters October 5th. Go see it. But if you don’t, Liam Neeson will look for you, he will find you, and he will kill you.