WRATH OF THE TITANS - aaahh!! monsters

Another mythical Hollywood epic is to be expected here. Although a usual sequel, it surprised me more than the original effort in 2010. I liked this film more, I liked Sam Worthington more and the special effects were better. 

The story comes from no extant Greek mythology text but takes bits and pieces of ideas and of course all the popular characters and thus comes to a satisfactory amalgamation of plot and endless action. There is no time for much dialogue because there are literally only about 10 minutes of rest from hyper-deranged action sequences -  subsequently the paucity of speech leaves something to be desired. Worthington reminded me a bit of his character in Terminator when I was first introduced to him and liked him - that is to say, for the first time in a while, his performance wasn't irritating.

The film comes jam packed with famous, mostly British, actors, even though many of them have short screen time. Ralph Fiennes plays his token bad guy well, however, a small surprise near the end, awaits the viewer. Also Bill Nighy as the designer of Tartaros (Hell) was a great character indeed and for me was the most interesting part of the story. I won't say who gets axed but I will say that it's slightly annoying that so many so called GODS die in this movie. I though God's were God's because they have the power to remain immortal. Whats up with that?

Recommended Viewing: Clash Of The Titans (1981) - Jason And The Argonauts - Hercules (1961)

              Bob Scale: Objective: 6.0   -   Subjective: 6.5

             MetaCritic: 37

 Rotten Tomatoes: 24

                      IMDB: 6.5

MAN ON A LEDGE - high and dry but lots of energy

Man On A Ledge was slightly better than I expected. It has your usual impossible plot line for a movie gimmick of this caliber, yet I found it enjoyable to watch. It reminded me of The Next Three Days which came out in 2010 and was a surprisingly enjoyable intense thriller also starring Elizabeth Banks. MOAL had the same kind of energy.

Sam Worthington has become for me what Michael Fassbender is and wishes he could be. The only movie I have been able to enjoy him in was Terminator Salvation in which I thought his character actually eclipsed that of Christian Bale. I thought I was really going to like this aussie but I never find myself connecting to him in all his subsequent performances including Avatar, Clash Of The Titans and Last Night. He looks a bit seedy and washed up in this film and it's hard for you to care about his problems. Not that looks should be the only influence on your opinion of character but in this instance they affected me negatively.

Worthington's costar, Jamie Bell, was very likable and however implausible the likelihood of the aforementioned and his scatterbrained girlfriend were at robbing a diamond from the multimillionaire Ed Harris's safe, they did so with an exciting dynamic. I would be surprised if the could successfully rob a candy store in real life. So if your looking to escape for a couple hours and watch a silly but enthralling spectacle unfold, then this movie is for you. It's a movie you might rent one day and be like "that wasn't as bad as everyone said."

Recommended Viewing: Rififi - The Next Three Days - A Shot In The Dark

                    Also Viewed: Underworld Awakening - I like this saga but this one was my least favorite 

                                           Redtails - a joke of epic proportions 

                                           Contraband - not bad, not great - some surprising twists

              Bob Scale: Objective: 6.5   -   Subjective: 7.0

             MetaCritic: 40

 Rotten Tomatoes: 23

                      IMDB: 6.5