Pledge of Innocence (2001)iMDB Rating: 4.6
A criminal mastermind orchestrates a scheme to have a loved one assassinated.
Shooter (2007)iMDB Rating: 7.2Bob Lee Swagger, one of the world's great marksmen and the son of a Congressional Medal of Honoree, is a loner living in the Rockies. He's left the military, having been hung out to dry in a secret Ethiopian mission a few years before, when he's recruited by a lisping colonel to help find a way that the President of the US might be assassinated in one of three cities in the next two weeks. He does his work, but the shot is fired notwithstanding and Bob Lee is quickly the fall guy: wounded and hunted by thousands, he goes to ground and, aided by two unlikely allies, searches for the truth and for those who double-crossed him. All roads lead back to Ethiopia.
Very good at illustrating the systemic aspects of Imperialism
I was quite skeptical at watching the film, and didn't even get around to watching it until just last night(5/13/08), well over a year after it came out. What I saw was a pretty good political analysis as to what the major cover ups are and the cause of this Imperialist oil war.
Yes, they do sprinkle a big ole plop of conspiracy theory, notably burying the snipers who did JFK in the desert. The line, "I still have the shovel" was quite amusing. Yes, the protagonist is a superman with the penchant for arriving in the nick of time and the ability to kill everyone. Chuck Norris isn't as bad as this guy.
What I found to be impressive though was that the movie placed the blame on a consortium of haves. It did not narrowly define exactly who the enemy is, so much as allow for a broader condemnation of capitalism and imperialism. The FBI agent sympathetic to the hero even goes so far as to wear a Che t-shirt.
So, when the aptly named Swagger tells Sarah Fenn, his buddies ex-wife, that the reason he took on the mission was because he fell for patriotism, we are given a quick condemnation of the flag waving jingoism that the US is trying to use to recruit young people for their imperialist wars. The WMD's are brought up, and are quite resonant in the context of a system without morality and only haves and have-nots.
I was impressed with the film.
Command Approved (2000)iMDB Rating: 5.7On patrol in the South Seas, British Type-23 frigate HMS Monarch receives a distress call from the merchant vessel Corona, which has been carrying gold bullion and is under attack from pirates. Responding to the call, the Captain and crew of HMS Monarch find themselves drawn into a struggle against the megalomaniac ambitions of a despotic warlord. With the lives of hostages at stake, the crew HMS Monarch races against the clock to save them... and themselves.
Tries to do too much, but gets points for realism.
'Command Approved' is the central feature of the tourist attraction 'Action Stations' at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. The film centers around the adventures of a Royal Navy Type 23 frigate on patrol in nondescript tropical waters, and covers its entanglement with a banana republic warlord and his pirates.
As part of what is effectively a navy-funded and centered theme park, the producers presumably had a bit of a balancing act in making this film; attempting to make a good film, a realistic portrayal of Britain's modern Royal Navy and a suitable recruitment tool at the same time.
This is one of the reasons why it does not quite pull off what it sets out to achieve; in general everything is okay, such as the filmography. Everything is well shot, although in fairness it can't be hard to make a Type 23 frigate look good. It also bats with the big boys in terms of the amount of stuff that gets blown up; its full of gratuitous explosions which certainly appeals to the average bloke in the street.
But problems emerge when it tries to meet its three criteria all at once. There's a cringe-worthy moment where the Captain (Jo Dow) slams his fist down and in his best Gene Hackman voice growls "I need air support!", and in the middle of a major crisis the cook offers the Executive Officer (Chris Larkin, from the Royal Navy's other favourite movie, Master and Commander) a chip butty. The former is presumably to give an insight into how the navy likes to fight its wars, the latter to show the ratings (enlisted men) are all jolly fun chaps, yo ho ho what a life it is on the sea.
They may have done better to spend more time ensuring that the plot was realistic rather than the naval portrayal; at one point characters run across a rickety bridge under close fire from about twelve others - and not one of them is injured. Similarly, the method used to get the hostages off the island is rather too convenient.
But I find it difficult to dislike Command Approved, really. It restores a bit of faith in the image of the Royal Navy and the footage of the frigate storming through the sea to sort out the bad guys and the Marines shooting the hell out of the pirates - all to the thumping soundtrack - are pretty sexy. You can let it off for being a bit corny because, well, the guys up on the screen are pretty close portrayals of the guys you know and love who really are serving at sea. There's none of the unrealistic, Hollywood heroism here. No Steven Seagals or Arnie Schwartzneggers. No one person is the hero-with-a-hard-bitten-attitude, but, like in real life aboard warships, everybody is working as a team to pull off the result and everybody is at the end of the day, pretty normal.
That is missing from many movies (except, ironically, Master and Commander). And thats why you secretly like Command Approved. Its like watching your buddy in the navy at work.
All right, Captain, you can have your air support.
Raghavendra (2003)iMDB Rating: 4.6Totally filmy entertainer
Suresh Krishna knows the mass pulse. If given a good script, he can show the undercurrent heroism to the maximum extent. Likewise, he maintained the tempo till the flashback is narrated. But he missed that mass touch in flashback and meandered through the love episode of Anshu-Prabhas, which slackened the pace of the film and interest among the audiences. He got the grip again on the subject when the flashback completed. Suresh Krishna used his strength of narrating mass story in this film. However, he has not succeeded in conveying the main point of the film. First half of the film is good. But the flashback part in the second half is boring. But the director got back the grip when flashback is completed. It's a stylish mass film that might be appealing for the masses. The main complaint about the film is that there is no story. 'Raghavendra' is definitely worth a look to see Prabhas's performance! Watch it if you're bored watching critically applauded movies
Kumite (2000)iMDB Rating: 5.2Michael Rogers, is an inspired American with a passion for the martial arts and a dream to fight in Kumite. His desires for a disciplined way of training take him to Japan. There he trains with Master Yoshima, an instructor for a group of international martial arts students. It's not long before Michael falls in love with a beautiful Japanese girl by the name of Sun Ying Mitusu, nicknamed Butterfly. However, Butterfly's brother, Kasu, disagrees with Michaels' intentions to court his sister, and as always tries to control Butterfly's life. Kasu, is not just Butterfly's brother, but the leading champion in Kumite with the record of 15 years. But nothing, even Kasu, could stop love from coming together. Michael and Butterfly married and Butterfly gives birth to a son named Ben. But Kasu's hatred headed only in one direction, and Butterfly's death through the hands of her possessive and angry brother was unfortunately Kasu' only way. Saddened and depressed by her death, her husband and ...
Lady Samurai (2007)iMDB Rating: 4.4After her master is killed, a rogue FBI agent goes under cover into a world of violence, motorcycles, and deceit to discover the truth behind her samurai master's death. Not only does she find answers to her questions, but also finds her self in the middle of a power struggle between the DA and the head of a crime family.
Nafrat Ki Aandhi (1989)iMDB Rating: 4.5In his attempt to curb criminal activities in his area; an honest police inspector Ravi Kapoor gets into the bad books of two wrong-doers: one is an alcoholic named Sonu who run a seedy joint and the other is a hardcore criminal by the name of Chandidas Khurana. Ravi manages to convince Sonu to give up his present way of life in which he agrees and together they manage to trap Chandidas and his brother Shakti Khurana alias Chotu. The case is tried in a court of law with both proving guilty and is granted 7 years imprisonment. Then all is settled for Ravi and Sonu and they get married to two young ladies, Ravi to Geeta and Sonu to Radha; soon both are proud parents to boy child. Years passed by and then Chandidas and Shakti jail term comes to an end when they kidnapped the children of Ravi and Sonu. Sonu child gets killed and his wife Radha dies of shock. Here is where Sonu becomes thirsty for revenge but Ravi will not permit him to take matters into his own hands and wants to punish ...
