Sabotage - 震撼殺戮

Sabotage (震撼殺戮) is an 2014 film. The movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger. The big supporting cast include Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Harold Perrineau, Josh Holloway, and Mireille Enos.



Arnold plays the leader of a special unit that takes out the drug cartel's big bad guys. When their last bust, money goes missing, the whole team is put on suspension and disbanded. They are under the radar for many months. The investigation starts to piece together the story, but there are many twist and turns. In the middle of it all, Arnold's trying to keep his old team from killing each other.

The movie was well made. The direction, camera angles, acting, and locales were great. You can tell its professionally made in comparison to say like Pompeii. Both big budget films, but Sabotage looks and feels slick. For doing so bad at the box office ($10.5 million vs. a budget of $35 million), it was a really well made film. The acting was stellar. Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Joe Manganiello, and Mireille Enos all put together some of the better performances of their careers. Yah, in this action film.

Its too bad the marketing for this was so bad, because the movie is a good fun watch. Go see it, its a fun watch and the twist and turns will keep you engaged.

The Last Stand - 重擊防線

The Last Stand (重擊防線) is an 2013 film. The movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger. Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzmán, Eduardo Noriega, and Jaimie Alexander round the supporting cast members. This is also the debut of Kim Ji-woon in Hollywood. Kim Ji-woon is known for directing Korean classic such as "I Saw the Devil", "The Good, the Bad, the Weird", and "A Bittersweet Life", all of which I've seen and reviewed.

In a sleepy town that is very close the border between the USA and Mexico, lives Arnold as Sheriff Ray Owens. Owens is a former narcotics cop from the LAPD whom longs for the peaceful life in Sommerton Junction, Arizona. A mexican drug cartel leader, Gabriel Cortez, is sprung from a FBI envoy and headed for the border. Sommerton has a narrow valley where a military style bridge can be erected. Cortez has a mercenary group sent to Sommerton to set things up. Owens gets wind of this and starts to take down the hire goons. All heck breaks loose as Cortez races to Sommerton and Owens tries to stop them.

This movie was interesting in that it was the return of Arnold to marquee. Arnold's films have been pretty hit and miss since his 1980s heyday. This turn out to be a miss at the box office. How did it fare in my blu-ray player? Pretty good. I enjoyed the movie partly because I though it would suck. But Kim as director was too intriguing to pass up.

Be prepare for a lot of mindless action. Don't think too much, just enjoy the madness of action!

The Expendables 2 - 浴血任務2

The Expendables 2 (浴血任務2) is an 2012 film. The movie stars Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham. The rest of the ensemble cast include Jet Li, Yu Nan, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Wow, what a cast. Did will enough at the global box office that a second sequel is in the works.



The movie is much like the first one. Sly plays the leader and has to recover something from a far away land that has no stable government. Lead by JCVD, this rouge terrorist group is looking to do something bad with a black market weapon. Enter Bruce Willis asking Sly for a favor. Off they go to this country to get this thing. Insert all the craziness of all these cast members.



This movie was entertaining. Fun to see all these old skool action heroes try to make it look good. Some did, some didn't. Arnold is passed his prime. I just watched the Running Man the other day. Classic 1980s movie. Not classic in his cameo in Expendables installment.



Jet Li only see action in the first 5-10 minutes of the film. After that, he's not even on the team. They left the Asian representation to Yu Nan, the government liaison. For some reason, they were trying to play Yu and Sly in some "love" relationship. Didn't work and it was just awkward. Please don't do that again.



If you liked the first one and are as old or older than me, you may enjoy this. Lots of fighting, shooting, and explosions.

Total Recall 2012 - 攔截記憶碼

Total Recall (攔截記憶碼) is an 2012 film. The movies stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel. The supporting cast include Bryan Cranston, John Cho, Bill Nighy, and Bokeem Woodbine. This movie was a remake of the 1990 version starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 2012 version did not fare as well as the 1990 version and has been lambasted as one of the biggest flops of the 2012 blockbuster films.

The movie follows Douglas Quaid played by Colin Farrell, a android robot assembly line worker. Feeling a little off, he visits an fantasy joint called Rekall. Rekall can implant adventures into your system for a nominal fee. The Rekall center is run by Bob McClane, played by John Cho. However, before the Rekall can truely happen, gov't agents bust in and try to take him alive. However, Quaid remembers his a lean and mean killing machine and goes on the run. At home, he confinds in his wife Lori, played by Kate Beckinsale. However, Lori starts trying to kill him. Quaid is now on the run form the gov't and now Lori. Confused and on the run, he's rescued by Melina, played by Jessica Biel. Quaid finds out he's really Carl Hauser, a top brass with the gov't but has defected to the resistance. Can he stop the gov't take over?

This movie was actually a fun ride, but they totally mis-cast the main lead. Collin Farrell is compelling sometimes, but he's mostly confused looking and of his role in the movie. Someone like Tatum or even Liam would have been a better fit. They can pull off the dazed and confused look and feelings without looking stiff.

If you like sci-fi movies a la the original 1990 version, you should watch this one.