Jason KingRED DVD GIVEAWAY with Review
April 3rd 2011 01:36
:
Helen Mirren is HOT
Category: Reviews, Interesting
Red (6/10)
Thanks to the amazingly kind people at Icon Film Distribution I have two copies of RED to giveaway - details at the bottom of article. First read my review of the film and this is where you might find your answer to the question to let you win the DVDs
Based on the cult D.C. Comics graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, RED is an explosive action-comedy. Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA's top agents - but the secrets they know just made them the Agency's top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.
This is basically The Expendables getting spliced to The Losers and being made starring seniors.
The acting cast in this film is a dream list of people. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Ernest Borgnine, Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss - my god - that is so impressive - the budget should have been about 3 Billion Dollars to cover those actors. And I do have to say thank god for those actors as without them and their familiar faces and splendid presence the film would be an absolute stinker. Perhaps it did not help I went straight from Saw 3D into this one but the movie is very mediocre and it is only the scenes of brilliace with splendid actors of high calibre that drag it back out of the slums.
Robert Schwentke who directed Flight Plan and, yawn, The Time Traveller's Wife does a decent job but I think the film was let down by the screenplay written by Jon & Erich Hoeber (Whiteout and upcoming Battleship). It is just a bit ludicrous in sections and cannot decide whether it is an action film or a comedy. Sure you can have both but people running through machine gun fire and not getting hit is a bit odd, it works way better as a comedy than as an action film but then they take the action scenes way too seriously. I did love Bruce Willis having a slug fest with Karl Urban, who is doing so well. I can see Urban becoming a great presence in Hollywood, if we all ignore Pathfinder then he has skills and has done some impressive roles, Lord of the Rings and Star Trek always look damn fine on a resume.
There are a few people that save this film.
1. Helen Mirren - she is a bloody champion and does not appear onscreen until after the half way point - by this time I was getting fidgety. She had been onscreen for about 2mins and Sammy lent to me and stated matter of factly "she has already stolen the movie" - it took her two minutes to outdo an hour of the film. This ladies presence is just outstanding and to see her with a machine gun nearly gave this gay reviewer a woodie - she is just so damn sexy.
2. John Malkovich - although you see quite a lot of his scenes in the trailer you just can't help but crack up at the insanity of the character and Malkovich himself - he does insane so well.
3. Mary-Louise Parker - if you don't know who she is she is the mum and leading lady on TV show WEEDS (one of the best TV shows of all time). She is also very loopy and slightly insane - her reaction to most things is always different from the norm and this is what makes her such a damn fine actor - she lifted a lot of the boring Willis scenes.
The rest of the acting is as you would expect, Morgan Freeman is barely in the film so doesn't rate very high and Bruce Willis is a bit too deadpan for me in this - it was like he was on valium half the time, inflection always helps Bruce! But I do love him walking out of a car doing a 360 without batting an eyelid - although I am sure we thank CGI for this - it does look cool.
TRIVIA OF RED:
* John C. Reilly was set to be in the movie but dropped out and was replaced by John Malkovich. Thank GOD!!
* While filming in Toronto, the police received several phone calls reporting machine gun fire after local residents mistook the movie's gunshot effects for the real thing.
* Meryl Streep was considered for the role of Victoria. It could have worked, Street can play any character in the universe and make it cool.
* The business jet shown in the movie is Dassault Falcon 900EX. Registration number N900EX is used by Dassault as a corporate number and it is canceled after the aircraft is sold to a client.
* When entering Frank's weapon container, Marvin picks up a submachine gun and comments that it's a "Swedish K". The weapon is a Kpist m/45, used by the Swedish military up until 2007. It was also made under license by Smith & Wesson with the designation "mod. 76". It was used by US Special Forces due to its durability under harsh conditions and it's therefore not unlikely that Marvin has used it as a service weapon.
Brian Cox, who has a cameo in this, also starred in the movie Red (2008).
Brian Cox and Helen Mirren play a Russian and British spy, respectively. In real life, their ancestry is reversed: Brian Cox is British and Mirren, though born in England, has Russian ancestry.
This film will work so well with the older viewer, seeing all these awesome actors onscreen and having fun. I know my mum will love it and rate it very high as will my stepdad but besides watching Mirren with a machine gun the film didn't do much for me. Out now and worth 6/10.
OK - to win one of these two dvds care of the kind folks at ICON Film Distribution be one of the first two people to email me at jkdigitaldesigns@gmail.com your POSTAL ADDRESS and answer to this question:
Who did John Malkovich replace in the film that was originally playing the character or Marvin?
Thanks to the amazingly kind people at Icon Film Distribution I have two copies of RED to giveaway - details at the bottom of article. First read my review of the film and this is where you might find your answer to the question to let you win the DVDs
Based on the cult D.C. Comics graphic novels by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, RED is an explosive action-comedy. Frank (Bruce Willis), Joe (Morgan Freeman), Marvin (John Malkovich) and Victoria (Helen Mirren) used to be the CIA's top agents - but the secrets they know just made them the Agency's top targets. Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.
This is basically The Expendables getting spliced to The Losers and being made starring seniors.
The acting cast in this film is a dream list of people. Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Ernest Borgnine, Brian Cox and Richard Dreyfuss - my god - that is so impressive - the budget should have been about 3 Billion Dollars to cover those actors. And I do have to say thank god for those actors as without them and their familiar faces and splendid presence the film would be an absolute stinker. Perhaps it did not help I went straight from Saw 3D into this one but the movie is very mediocre and it is only the scenes of brilliace with splendid actors of high calibre that drag it back out of the slums.
Robert Schwentke who directed Flight Plan and, yawn, The Time Traveller's Wife does a decent job but I think the film was let down by the screenplay written by Jon & Erich Hoeber (Whiteout and upcoming Battleship). It is just a bit ludicrous in sections and cannot decide whether it is an action film or a comedy. Sure you can have both but people running through machine gun fire and not getting hit is a bit odd, it works way better as a comedy than as an action film but then they take the action scenes way too seriously. I did love Bruce Willis having a slug fest with Karl Urban, who is doing so well. I can see Urban becoming a great presence in Hollywood, if we all ignore Pathfinder then he has skills and has done some impressive roles, Lord of the Rings and Star Trek always look damn fine on a resume.
There are a few people that save this film.
1. Helen Mirren - she is a bloody champion and does not appear onscreen until after the half way point - by this time I was getting fidgety. She had been onscreen for about 2mins and Sammy lent to me and stated matter of factly "she has already stolen the movie" - it took her two minutes to outdo an hour of the film. This ladies presence is just outstanding and to see her with a machine gun nearly gave this gay reviewer a woodie - she is just so damn sexy.
2. John Malkovich - although you see quite a lot of his scenes in the trailer you just can't help but crack up at the insanity of the character and Malkovich himself - he does insane so well.
3. Mary-Louise Parker - if you don't know who she is she is the mum and leading lady on TV show WEEDS (one of the best TV shows of all time). She is also very loopy and slightly insane - her reaction to most things is always different from the norm and this is what makes her such a damn fine actor - she lifted a lot of the boring Willis scenes.
The rest of the acting is as you would expect, Morgan Freeman is barely in the film so doesn't rate very high and Bruce Willis is a bit too deadpan for me in this - it was like he was on valium half the time, inflection always helps Bruce! But I do love him walking out of a car doing a 360 without batting an eyelid - although I am sure we thank CGI for this - it does look cool.
TRIVIA OF RED:
* John C. Reilly was set to be in the movie but dropped out and was replaced by John Malkovich. Thank GOD!!
* While filming in Toronto, the police received several phone calls reporting machine gun fire after local residents mistook the movie's gunshot effects for the real thing.
* Meryl Streep was considered for the role of Victoria. It could have worked, Street can play any character in the universe and make it cool.
* The business jet shown in the movie is Dassault Falcon 900EX. Registration number N900EX is used by Dassault as a corporate number and it is canceled after the aircraft is sold to a client.
* When entering Frank's weapon container, Marvin picks up a submachine gun and comments that it's a "Swedish K". The weapon is a Kpist m/45, used by the Swedish military up until 2007. It was also made under license by Smith & Wesson with the designation "mod. 76". It was used by US Special Forces due to its durability under harsh conditions and it's therefore not unlikely that Marvin has used it as a service weapon.
Brian Cox, who has a cameo in this, also starred in the movie Red (2008).
Brian Cox and Helen Mirren play a Russian and British spy, respectively. In real life, their ancestry is reversed: Brian Cox is British and Mirren, though born in England, has Russian ancestry.
This film will work so well with the older viewer, seeing all these awesome actors onscreen and having fun. I know my mum will love it and rate it very high as will my stepdad but besides watching Mirren with a machine gun the film didn't do much for me. Out now and worth 6/10.
OK - to win one of these two dvds care of the kind folks at ICON Film Distribution be one of the first two people to email me at jkdigitaldesigns@gmail.com your POSTAL ADDRESS and answer to this question:
Who did John Malkovich replace in the film that was originally playing the character or Marvin?
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Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by AmyHuang
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Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
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Watch it for Mirren and Malkovich
DVD will be fine - nothing amazing requires a big screen.
Amy - hahahaha. Younger people may enjoy it but I just know this is something my mum would love - I wanted more out of it. But there are moments of greatness that get a good laugh. There was one over-enthused senior that clapped her little hands off when the credits started.
Thanks for reading ladies and gents.
Comment by K @ the Lair
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness
Comment by Jason King
Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness