Jaime King – Movies of the Soul

Vampire Owl: I am sure that this is about us. We are the undead.

Vampire Bat: This is not really about coming out of death as undead.

Vampire Owl: I don’t see any other way for anybody to come out of death.

Vampire Bat: Your favourite doctor might have some plans about that.

Vampire Owl: Doctor Frankenstein is not a doctor, but a scientist.

Vampire Bat: Mr Frankenstein is a duplicate scientist, and a half-doctor.

Vampire Owl: Well, he has created undead out of nothing.

Vampire Bat: They were pretty much undead already.

Vampire Owl: There has been a difference in the two states.

Vampire Bat: An undead being killed and revived won’t make much of sense.

[Gets a paneer masala dosa and three cups of Munnar tea].

What is the movie about? :: Shannon Mathers (Jaime King), a journalist who is trying to scatter her father’s ashes on the top of a mountain witnesses Billie Jean (Lala Kent) going through a drug deal with a gangster. It doesn’t go right, as the latter is shot by the former after he is found recording their deal on the phone. After the murder, she gets rid of the body too. Shannon also has photos of the incident on her camera. At the same time, Retired cop Jack Harris (Bruce Willis) seems to be having some relaxed moments with his niece Pam Harris (Kelly Greyson). Soon enough, Billie realizes that there is someone else in the area where the murder was committed, and Shannon barely manages to run away. She calls the other corrupt police officers, Hank Rivers (Michael Sirow) and Tommy Rivers (Tyler Olson), who decide to lock all the exits from the area that leads outside, along with getting rid of the body in time. Soon, it seems that there are too many of corrupt officers out there, and they are all after Shannon.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: Shannon had also came there to prove her father wrong, that she could hike through this place unlike what her father had thought. Now, this is not what she had actually thought she would be facing. Jack also feels that it is not what he should be doing, as he comes across Billie trying to shoot Shannon, and rescues her. As they keep running, Shannon ends up stabbing Billie. As Tommy and Hank find no hope for Billie to survive as she bleeds out, they put her out of her misery, and hopes that they can pin that on Shannon, as there is the knife with her fingerprints. As she also manages to shoot Tommy, the only way out of her now seems to be with the evidence that she had captured with her camera, as she has almost become labelled as a junkie who has killed two police officers. Now, Hank won’t step back on vengeance as Tommy was also his brother. Now, it seems that the only way out for him is through Pam. But how will that work out for him now?

The defence of Out of Death :: The movie serves as a survivor thriller which is better than the other one movie with survival of a witness in the woods, Those Who Wish Me Dead which had Angeline Jolie saving the target – that one also released in the same year, and had one veteran performer trying to get into action. With Jaime King around, things only get better. There are some nice visuals of the woods, and we have some nicely planned dialogues in here too. The movie can boast about that strong female protagonist as much as the carefully picturized antagonist who seems to be the only man around there with a perfect plan which seems to work. The lesser known cast also deliver so well, and unlike what one feels in the beginning, Lala Kent is a fine surprise. The movie can also be considered as one of the least violent movies with a theme like this, as there is no more than three people who dies around here, even with so many possibilities of danger being present here – things go further away from death like the title suggests.

The claws of flaw :: There is nothing special that gets added here, and even with Bruce Willis all prepared to go big action, you don’t really get that here either. Most of the events of the movie are also predictable, and that feeling goes on with the ending too. A few twists being added here and there could have helped the film’s purpose better. The police officers being smarter and tougher would have done the trick better – the lady police officer is left to mess up thing more and more as the story progresses. The gunshots effects are badly used, and the change for some big action with guns and hands are not used. The possibility of adding some terrifying sequences is also not taken – after all this is more or less like the forest area in countryside with a vast amount of woods. The drama in the movie moves on the usual lines too, and the main characters struggles could have also been shown in a better way. After all, she is someone who could contribute more at all times. The nature does look beautiful enough, but could have added more here.

The performers of the soul :: With Bruce Willis around, this could feel like a Die Hard in the woods, even though he is not of that much of a strength here. There is also not much of a strength for fighting for him as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Escape Plan, The Expendables or the latter as The Terminator in Genisys and Dark Fate. He seems much more tired in comparison, and he also leaves to the fighting to Jaime King, as he is left with holding the gun and pointing it at people, along with some nice dialogues added to it. This is more or less the shadow of the action king whom we have seen in the past. Jaime King is left to do all the action instead, and we know her from enough action and horror movies, as she is very much capable here, outdoing herself in the second half of the movie. Lala Kent plays the next most notable character here, and the film could have actually done more with here, instead of getting rid of the character too early. Tyler Olson is fine, while Tyler Olson who is a fine antagonist could have been used better with action scenes added to her rather than limiting him to talks.

How it finishes :: As one of the most non-violent movies belonging to the survival and crime thriller genre, this one makes fine use of the available resources in a seemingly low budget setting. It never tries too hard at anything, but manages to be interesting with what it has in hand. You are not supposed to expect a full action movie, as there is the main character trying to escape from trouble all the time, and having police officers on the hunt. Even though Bruce Willis remains mostly non-violent, you have to love how Jamie King steps into this one. Having a movie without Bruce Willis beating up, shooting or injuring anyone even when there were so many chances – feels strange, but it is indeed true. Well, change is inevitable, even though we expect the same thing from a superstar all the time, no matter how old he is – well, the curse of the Indian movies, isn’t it? But this one has the superstar of the past going through the more believable path.

Release date: 16th July 2021
Running time: 95 minutes
Directed by: Mike Burns
Starring: Jaime King, Bruce Willis, Lala Kent, Kelly Greyson, Mike Burns, Michael Sirow, Tyler Olson

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@ Cemetery Watch
✠ The Vampire Bat.

Vampire Owl :: Didn’t this release long ago?

Vampire Bat :: No, there was a delay. I think the Indian censor board was concentrating heavily on this for many days, and they have finally managed to cut a lot of this movie and released it last Friday.

Vampire Owl :: They waited all these days to release this on Onam?

Vampire Bat :: Yes, as Onam has colourful flowers, they would balance it with this colourless movie.

Vampire Owl :: I wonder how much they would have cut.

Vampire Bat :: I would guess, half of it. They have very good scissors, and from what they have been doing, I shall not dare to doubt their skills.

Vampire Owl :: So, they want us to watch this movie on the computer, right?

Vampire Bat :: That should be the reason. Otherwise, I see no reason why they cut too much and still give a movie the adult rating. May be they can have a 21+ and 25+ rating for the movies too.

Vampire Owl :: My question is about that dame for whom it is to kill. May be we can collect blood for her too.

Vampire Bat :: Lets watch this and find out about her then.

[Gets the ticket].

What is it about? :: Sin City 2 has three stories, all of the happening at the same place and having relation to each other. One is the tale of Johnny (Joseph Gordon Levitt) who beats Senator Roark (Powers Boothe) in game of cards and the loser is not really happy about it. The powerful man wishes to get back to Johnny and his new girlfriend Marcie (Julia Garner) for humiliating him in the game. At the same time, Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) is seeking vengeance from the same man who had killed the man he loved. She lives an alcoholic life, being a bar dancer and at the same time, hoping to murder the evil man. The third story has Dwight McCarthy (Josh Broslin) attempting to free his former lover Ava Lord (Eva Green) who seems to be in a terrible relationship with her husband. In the middle of all these, there is Marv (Mickey Rourke) who seems to be part of the whole thing like the blood is to the veins. As things happen in Sin City, there will be blood, death and more vengeance.

The defence of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For :: This sequel should be a much awaited one for the fans, and it is nice to have one after nine years after the first adaptation of Frank Miller’s comics on the big screen. This was even a longer wait than one had to do for 300, and as some people might have forgotten about the same, a few others might have been still eagerly waiting. The return of the franchise is with a more powerful cast, even as Bruce Willis’ presence is minute. The style of the original continues in this movie, as there is lot of violence even as most of them are not really shown directly on the screen (can’t comment that much on the sex and violence and the censor board has been working its scissors so well with this one). The colourless world and the slight infiltration of the colours that we see in this movie, is something that I like a lot. There is a visual beauty in this absence of colours and the sudden appearance of some of it at certain point, catching our attention; may be its nostalgia or the love for such variation, for I am not sure.

The claws of flaw :: I haven’t watched the first movie of the franchise, but it seems that the original was better, as said by a number of people I know. There are problems in the story for sure, at moves on without any aim, and the inter-linking is not that awesome as one would think that it would be. There is the way in which it is presented, and the absence of colours might not be good for most of the regular viewers, and I could feel that in the theatre. The movie also dares to slow down, and at the same time not give enough for the viewers to ponder about. The action could have been nicer too, and the protagonists should have had more to do rather than moving along in predictable lines. At the end of the movie, one ends up wondering if he or she has got enough of the idea behind this movie, or did most of it go with the scissors of the censor board – it is clear that they have cut again and again in this movie, and the same has affected and disfigured this movie further at this part of the world. May be this can work better without those scenes cut, but can’t say that now.

Performers of the soul :: One can only accept that he loved Eva Green on the screen like no other. She is sensational as well as sensuous on the screen as the woman who seems to be at the centre of Sin City, creating enough to make that name sound truer as well as better for the human ear, for she was that good there. She is a wonder case of twisted evil here, and as Powers Boothe is excellent also a powerful villain, Eva takes over in a more serene manner. Jessica Alba was also impressive, but her score is more with her stunning looks and expressions rather than the rest. Mickey Rourke is perfect fit for this role, and one ends up clapping for him more than any other. Josh Brolin is also very good, and one has to admit that he is also a nice one for this movie. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is okay, but that story had nothing much. Rosario Dawson and Jamie Chung looked not that much needed for the tale. Bruce Willis wanders around as a ghost, for which there is no appropriate reason. Among the rest, I would vote for Juno Temple, even though it was rather a small presence.

Soul exploration :: Sin City 2 successfully creates its world, the monstrous city of sin and crime. The images and the colours that it uses catches our attention well, and helps us to relate well with the crime universe which exists inside the movie, and this time it is in 3D. There is too much evil going on in this movie, and the mood for the same is nicely created, the feeling is that we are really watching a very dangerous and crime infested place. It is a world to be transported into, and if you don’t want to feel that the same, it is to be avoided. There is a certain amount of admiration required for this genre as well as the action movies as a whole, and otherwise you might not want to watch this. It might be easy to choose not to watch this one if you prefer the Bollywood masala movies full of colour and music. You needn’t watch this movie if you didn’t like the first movie either. I have known many people expecting something else and watching this movie, not really liking it. I would say that you have to know what you are going to watch on the screen.

How it finishes :: Sin City: A Dame to Kill For becomes that comic on screen like not many movies have achieved before except for may be its prequel, but I haven’t watched that yet. You can watch this movie just for its variety in style and the cast, especially Eva Green, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke and Josh Brolin. It is not often that you will manage to watch such a movie, and considering the reactions and the box-office collections of this movie, as well as situation at the theatre, I would wonder if such a movie will set foot at this part of the world. There is the need for colour in this part of the world, and especially this is that week of Onam which demands colourful flowers, but this is more of a black and white movie with slight colours in between. One has to wonder if anyone other than me would watch a non-Malayalam movie for Onam; even I doubted the same myself, but decided to go for this one as timing of the show as well as the situation was more suitable for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Release date: 5th September 2014 (India); 22nd August 2014 (US)
Running time: 102 minutes
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Eva Green, Jaime King, Jamie Chung, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Juno Temple, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Lloyd, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Meloni, Alexa Vega, Julia Garner, Lady Gaga, Marton Csokas, Jude Ciccolella, Crystal McCahill