13th Warrior

I found this troubled production to be hugely entertaining and it is one I enjoy watching time and again. The basic idea is that Ibin (Antonio Banderas) is a wealthy Arab. A well educated man whose elitist (he walks palatial halls) and scholarly (he describes himself as a poet) lifestyle comes to a steady halt due to him being exiled by the Caliph for being a little too "friendly" with a married woman.

Exiled far to the North with a small entourage including (Omar Sharif) he happens upon a camp of Vikings or "Northmen" where he witnesses the ritual burial of a king and the rather swift and violent election of a new leader! A messenger arrives at the camp and 13 warriors are called for to travel back to their homeland to a kingdom besieged by beasts. As one of the warriors must not be a Northman, Ibin is coerced to join this "magnificent 13".

I enjoyed the visual poetry as well as the musical score, I found each to be very rich and whilst there wasn't much time spent on character development I found I could engage with and care for what was on offer.

During the arduous journey (a lengthy passage of time condensed for movieland) Ibin passes the time by watching and listening to his compatriots; we see that these north men are a fairly robust but amiable bunch as they poke fun at each other and talk about their wifes and lives. As an educated fellow, skilled in language and writing, Ibin manages to communicate with his compatriots and at the end of the long journey he learns to speaka de lingo (so to speak).

Upon arrival at the homeland the 13 warriors find that they are up against a bear worshipping tribe which they can only stop by killing the Witch / Mother and the tribal Leader. Whilst achieving their goal we are given a mixture of myth, legend, action, and adventure, all wrapped up in great cinematography and music.

That said, the film undoubtedly has flaws, the unfinished plot line concerning the King's son is unforgivable for a major studio and I echo those comments calling for a directors cut.

Even with its flaws, it beats many other films hands down and is a welcome addition to the genre.

Doomsday - perfect!

This thing has it all. Can't think of a genre I like which isn't included. Neil Marshall knows his stuff and can pull off a decent action flick. This is one for all us action fanatics and it makes no apology for crashing head first into the mayhem. The basic premise is that an incurable plague decimates Scotland and a giant wall is erected to contain the victims in and leave them to die.

Years later the plague appears beyond the wall and there still isn't a cure. The authorities have suppressed evidence of survivors in the "hot zone" and dispatch a special forces team led by Rhona Mitra to find out how the survivors haven't perished.

What follows is a roller-coaster of action and adventure as the intrepid team look for a cure and make their way through the wasted cities encountering flesh eating tribes and medieval warlords.

This movie is what happens when Escape from New York and 28 days later have a party with King Arthur and Mad Max; almost the perfect movie.

Haywire - Gina Carano, lady in a dress lioness in a fight!

The hunted spy genre is a well worn path and given his body of work I hoped Soderberg would pull it off with nobs on. The film works fine in many respects but to my mind the overall pacing is a little lack lustre. Gina's physical prowess is undoubtable and her action scenes are a visual treat. She really is a lady in a dress and a lioness in a fight.

Her acting range is better than other stars who have made the transition towards the big screen; indeed, alongside Channing (less charisma than a block of wood) Tatum her performance is oscar worthy. Apart from Michael Fassbender, none of the 'A' listers bring an ounce of star quality to the proceedings and it's entirely left up to Gina Carano to carry the movie along. Ewan McGregor seems hideously miscast in this movie and I'd rather have seen more of a relationship develop between Mallory and the Michael Angarano character. It's an action romp trying to be an espionage tale and you never feel that Gina (as Mallory) is in any real danger. Oh...and unlike Segal she doesn't run like a girl.

Having said all that, it is a decent action movie and miles better than many of its contemporaries. I hope Gina is offered more.