Repo Men (2010)

My Rating: 2.5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Two outstanding leads, one hopeless movie – bad script, average direction!”

In the future humans have extended and improved our lives through highly sophisticated and expensive mechanical organs created by a company called “The Union”. The dark side of these medical breakthroughs is that if you don’t pay your bill, “The Union” sends its highly skilled repo men to take back its property… with no concern for your comfort or survival.

Former soldier Remy is one of the best organ repo men in the business. But when he suffers a cardiac failure on the job, he awakens to find himself fitted with the company’s top-of-the-line heart-replacement… as well as a hefty debt.

But a side effect of the procedure is that his heart’s no longer in the job. When he can’t make the payments, The Union sends its toughest enforcer, Remy’s former partner Jake, to track him down.

Breaking and Entering (2007)

My Rating: 3/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “A good drama about connecting lives, making the wrong decisions!”

BREAKING AND ENTERING may lack the quality and scope of Anthony Minghella’s previous work such as THE ENGLISH PATIENT and COLD MOUNTAIN, but it’s an interesting, character-driven drama. Jude Law (CLOSER) plays Will, a landscape architect who succeeds in business but finds his personal life is tougher to navigate. He has been with Liv (Robin Wright Penn, FORREST GUMP) for years, but it’s difficult to connect with her due to her worry over her teenage daughter. When Will catches a teenage boy named Miro (Ravi Gafron) breaking into his office, he chases the thief home. He later meets the boy’s mother, a Bosnian refugee played by Juliette Binoche (CHOCOLAT).

His anger at Miro is quickly transformed into attraction to his mother, further complicating his relationship with Liv. This is Law’s third teaming with Minghella (after THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY and COLD MOUNTAIN), and their partnership rewards the audience with a typically good performance from the actor. Wright Penn and Binoche also display the talent people have come to expect, but it’s the supporting cast that shines here. As Will’s business partner, Sandy, Martin Freeman plays second fiddle to Law, but he possesses a similar charm as his character on THE OFFICE.

As a persistent prostitute, Vera Farmiga (THE DEPARTED) is one of the movie’s highlights, providing laughter in what is largely a very bleak film. Gavron is a capable young actor as Miro, but his performance is most astonishing for his skills at the sport of parkour, a kind of urban acrobatics on display throughout the film. If only these characters were half as adept at life and relationships as Gavron is at leaping from building to building….

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)

My Rating: 4/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “A perfect fantasy tale, and Ledger looks fantastic with others – May his soul rest in peace!!”

In THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS, director Terry Gilliam continues the trippy tradition he began with inventive films such as TIME BANDITS and BRAZIL.

This time, he reteams with Heath Ledger of THE BROTHERS GRIMM, Christopher Plummer of 12 MONKEYS, and Tom Waits of THE FISHER KING.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

My Rating: 4.5/5 STARS
MovieStudio Quote >> “Breathtaking performance by Downey Jr and Jude Law. Extraordinary cinematography!”

After finally catching serial killer and occult “sorcerer” Lord Blackwood, legendary sleuth Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson can close yet another successful case.

But when Blackwood mysteriously returns from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Holmes must take up the hunt once again.

Contending with his partner’s new fiancée and the dimwitted head of Scotland Yard, the dauntless detective must unravel the clues that will lead him into a twisted web of murder, deceit, and black magic – and the deadly embrace of temptress Irene Adler.