Day of the Falcon 2011

     This film is set in the Arab states of the 1930’s.  Nesib, the emir of Hobeika and Amar, the sultan of Salmaah both claim ownership of the Yellow Belt.  This is a vast area of land separating land of the two men.  They strike an agreement, Nesib adopts the two sons of Salmaah and the Yellow Belt will remain a no-mans land.  Peace remains until a Texas oil prospector reveals to Nesib that there is black gold in the Yellow Belt.  This find will mean unlimited wealth and power for Nesib, if he claims the land.

     This is terrible!!  The casting is unbelievable!!  Banderas is from Spain, Pinto is from Bombay, Strong is from London, Rahim is from France, Ahmed is from London.  How did they suddenly get to be Arabs?  1 ½* (I really didn’t like this movie) 

130 min, Drama directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud with Antonio Banderas, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed, Akin Gazi, Liya Kebede, Lotfi Dziri.

Note:  Blockbuster 1 ½*, imdb 6.6 out of 10, 13% critic 49% audience on

Rotten Tomatoes.

The Mysterious Death on the Underground Railway 1973

     A young woman hurriedly gets on a London subway train and hopes she will not be late upon arriving at her stop.  A gentleman reading a newspaper is already seated in this compartment.  Just before the train departs, another man joins them.  When the train arrives, the conductor finds the young woman is dead.  No one knows her identity and the police set up a room for people to sign in to see if they know her.  A young man and woman look at the woman and realize she is their missing wife/sister.  It’s very distressing for both of them to find she has not just disappeared but is dead. An inquest is held to determine how she died and if there is a need for a trial.

      This is very good, a young woman reporter is a friend of a policeman and they are determined to get to the bottom of this case.   The prosecutor is very funny, he seems to be constantly eating?  4* (I really liked this movie) 

50 min, Mystery directed by Graham Evans with Judy Geeson, John Savident, Richard Beckinsale, James Cairncross, Anthony Higgins, Cyd Hayman, Frank Wylie.

Note:  Imdb 7.3 out of 10.

The Blackheath Poisonings 1992

     This film is based on a 1978 novel by Julian Symons and set in the Victorian era of the 1890’s.  The head of a toy company dies suddenly and then his mother dies soon after.  Two families, the Collards and the Vandervents own the company.   They also live together in spacious Albert Villa near the London suburb of Blackheath.  To outsiders, it appears they have the perfect life but there are many secrets.

      I enjoyed watching this with it’s twists and turns.  I was not able to pick out who committed the murders because final clues are not revealed until the last segment.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

180 min, Drama directed by Stuart Orme with Christine Kavanaugh, Ian McNeice, Zoe Wanamaker, Judy Parfitt, Patrick Malahide, James Faulkner, Christien Anholt, Julia St. John, Nicholas Woodeson, Ronald Fraser.

Note:  Blockbuster 2 ½*, imdb 6.9 out of 10.

A Cat in Paris 2010

     Zoe is a seven-year old girl and she hasn’t spoken since the death of father.  He was a police detective and he was killed by a powerful underworld boss.  Zoe has a black cat that lives a double life.  By day, Dino is her precious pet and in the night the cat accompanies Nico.  He is a Paris cat burglar making his rounds along the rooftops.  Zoe’s mother, Jeanne is also a detective and she has been working hard to track down Victor Costa.  This is the man behind the killing of Zoe's father.

     This is very good, the animation, the characters and the background scenery of Paris.  The characters are hand drawn, not done by computer and with a different style.  4* (I really liked this movie.

62 min, Animation directed by Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli with the voices of Oriane Zani, Jean Benguigui, Dominique Blanc, Bruno Salomone, Bernadette Lafont, Bernard Bouillon, Jacques Ramade.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 6.7 out of 10, 81% critic and 73% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Chasing Ice 2012

     James Balog is a photographer for National Geographic, he was once a skeptic about climate change and global warming.  Once he started on his Extreme Ice Survey, he discovered photographic proof through time-lapse cameras that glaciers are rapidly changing.  When ice falls off of a glacier it is called calving and this process is tracked through multi-year recording.

     The photographs provide undeniable proof that there is climate change and global warming.  It’s alarming to see the glaciers moving back to nearly nothing.  Glacier National Park will need a new name.  4* (I really liked this movie) 

74 min, Documentary by Jeff Orlowski with James Balog, Svavar Jonatansson, Adam LeWinter, Tad Pfeiffer, Jason Box, Louie Psihoyos, Kitty Boone, Jeff Orlowski, Sylvia Earle, Dennis Dimick, Suzanne Balog.

Note: Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 96% critic 83% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Left to Die: The Sandra and Tammi Chase Story 2012

     Based on a true story.  Sandra Chase is encouraged by her daughter Tammi to take a surprise birthday trip to Ecuador.  She goes with her boyfriend that she has recently started to date.  They have a wonderful time and Sandra is very glad she listened to her daughter about going on the trip.  Everything changes and becomes complicated at the airport when the couple is detained.  Sandra cannot understand what is going on when two packages of drugs were found in her luggage.  Of course, Sandra doesn’t know anything about the drugs or how they got there.  She is taken to an Ecuadorian prison where life is very different from anything she has known before.  In addition, she has medical problems that require treatment and medications.

     This is good even for a TV movie.  Barbara Hershey and Rachael Leigh Cook do a good job with a very believable portrayal of a mother and daughter.  Plus, Hershey is not afraid to show herself looking grim without makeup and hairstyling.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

90 min, Drama directed by Leon Ichaso with Barbara Hershey, Rachael Leigh Cook, Vincent Irizarry, Nicholas Gonzalez, Michael Hayatt, Derek Ray, Emily Foxier.

Note:  Imdb 6.0 out of 10, 67% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Special Note:  This could be a tutorial on what not to do after a trip to South America!

The Numbers Station 2013:

     The numbers station broadcasts codes to CIA agents, there is a code book as the guideline and the codes change every day along with the changes of the broadcasts.  Emerson Kent is a black-ops agent and he is discredited when he doesn't make a necessary kill.  His partner hits him in the head in order to take out a witness himself.  He’s reassigned to protect one of the code broadcasters.  They arrive for work one day at the station and everything has gone wrong.

     This could have been good and different but many things are not explained clearly enough and they just become more espionage mumbo jumbo.  Cusack plays his character with the constant same grimness and he looks terrible with overly dyed black hair and eyebrows.  2* (I didn’t like this movie)

 

89 min, Mystery directed by Kasper Barfoed with John Cusack, Malin Akerman, Liam Cunningham, Richard Brake, Bryan Dick, Finbar Lynch, Lucy Griffiths, Joey Ansah.

Note:  Blockbuster 1 ½*, imdb 5.3 out of 10, 29% critic 28% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.