Saturday, February 16, 2013

Double Feature....

This afternoon I decided to see two movies that are just out in theatres, a bit of a double feature if you will. First, I went to a single screen theatre to see A Good Day to Die Hard. Then, I went to the theatre in the next town over to see Beautiful Creatures.  These two have nothing to do with each other, but both are entirely enjoyable.  

The opening scenes of the new Die Hard set up the exposition, which allows the story to move forward.  It also bears mentioning that the running time of this movie is really well done. I got to the theatre, sat down, and an hour had flown by before I knew it.

 This latest Die Hard installment starts with John McClane’s son, Jack, as he ends up in a prison in Moscow. Jack is in the CIA and had been living undercover in Moscow for three years on a long term mission. John gets word of his son’s arrest and imprisonment and decides to go to Russia to try and help. He didn’t know that Jack was an undercover operative.

 There are scenes of two characters being transferred from prison to a court house. One of the characters is Jack and this other Russian guy called Yuri. Obviously, this is an action movie and so it’s not surprising that all of the explosions and shattering windows start shortly thereafter. I really don’t want to ruin the story or the ending for anyone. Suffice it to say, there are ulterior motives and a lot of action sequences that run all the way through.  I have to say I really liked this movie and I would definitely see it again.

Beautiful Creatures was a different sort of movie. It begins when a boy, Ethan, from a small town in South Carolina meets and falls in love with a magical girl, Lena, who moves there at the beginning of the school year. Lena is immediately forged as an outcast in the community. The major conflict in this movie is whether Lena will be claimed by the light or the dark, as happens to the women of her family and other witches or “castors” when they turn sixteen. I really liked the mysterious quality of the beginning, and I liked that there was a mix of folklore and magical elements that is combined with the setting. I also liked that I didn’t know how it was going to end. This movie is anything but predictable and I would also see this one again.

 

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