Movie Review: Eagle Eye, Splinter, Battle in Seattle, Surveillance

Hey, I’m going to start playing with the blog designs now so expect some graphical changes every now and then. First up is the easiest, the header. Also, to save myself from writing lengthy reviews, I’m going to follow the same format, cutting the useless stuff and adding interesting stuff at the end. Here goes…

Battle in Seattle (2008)
*ing: Charlize Theron, Ray Liotta, Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Carpenter, Woody Harrelson
Directed and Written by Stuart Townsend
Script: Well written and well executed, the story is obviously a documentary becoming a movie but nevertheless keeps you interested until the end.
Direction: Townsend has assembled a decent cast has managed to make a powerful movie. Editing is excellent.
Score: Nothing out of this world, but Fake Empire by The National at the end fit in well with movie.
Acting: Liotta and Theron own the movie and Carpenter gives a surprisingly excellent performance.
Noteworthy: Decent film and definitely gets the message across. Although few people will hear it, something ironically, it informs us about during the film.

Splinter (2008)
Plot: A couple and the man who has taken them hostage must fight for their survival when they stop at a gas station only to be attacked by splinter-like parasites that transform their hosts into bloodthirsty hosts.
Script: Nice idea, but nothing in the scripts goes past the obvious.
Direction: Pretty decent shot. The director manages to make a suspenseful and interesting movie all set within a gas station.
Noteworthy: Nice juicy effects and fans of gore will not be disappointed. The creature effects are also pretty good. Within a river of messy, cheesy horror movies, this one really stands out.

Eagle Eye (2008)
*ing: Shia LeBouf, Michelle Monaghan
Directed by D.J.Caruso
Plot: A single mom and a university dropout recovering from a recent loss are thrown together in a adrenalin-filled chase through the country when they both receive calls from a mysterious woman. Chasing them are half the security forces of the country not to mention the fact they have no idea who is on the other end of the phone.
Direction: Caruso did a great job with Disturbia but somehow didn’t approach this project with same enthusiasm. The chase scenes are great but seem eerily familiar to Die Hard 4.0, in fact the whole movie seems like a fresher better version of John McClain’s last outing. The idea was good, but the script was average and the whole plot-line’s been done before over and over.
Acting: LeBouf and Monaghan did a great job. The chemistry between them seemed genuine but I’m biased on Monaghan, been in love with her since Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

Surveillance (2008)
*ing: Bill Pullman, Julia Ormond
Directed by Jennifer Lynch
Script: Her first movie might have sucked but her latest (and the only one in 15 years) movie was a great debut (more or less) made off a fantastic script. The writing was good, the casting was excellent and the movie kept me at the edge of seat throughout and I didnt see the ending coming (which is very, very rare for me)
Acting: I’ve been a huge fan of Ormond for ages, ever since First Knight and Legends of the Fall, and was dissapointed she never got any major roles. Even though this one doesn’t qualify as a “major” role, she fantastic here. Pullman, as usual, is excellent.
Noteworthy: Nail-biting thriller, nice twist at the end and a twisted black script is definitely worth checking out.

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Tags: Battle in Seattle, Bill Pullman, Charlize Theron, Claire Redfield, Degeneration, Eagle Eye, Jennifer Carpenter, Julia Ormond, Leon, Michelle Monaghan, Michelle Rodriguez, Ray Liotta, Resident Evil, Resident Evil Degeneration, Shia LeBouf, Splinter, Stuart Townsend, Surveillance, Woody Harrelson, WTO

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