Send to Kindle

Poor timing on a callback caused the death of a girl that haunts Halle Berry as a 911 operator until she has a chance for redemption when the killer decides to strike again in the new movie The Call.

Berry plays Jordan Turner, a woman haunted by the decision she made that resulted in her caller dying. Six months later she is now teaching the new recruits for 911 operators, until she is forced to take a call. Faced by her fear of making the same mistake over again, Berry fights through it and tries to calm down the kidnapped teen Casey (Abigail Breslin).

Casey has been locked inside a trunk and has no GPS tracking on her cellphone. With Berry’s help she is able to push out one of the lights in the back of the car, and with some handy paint in the trunk she is able to attract some attention from a nearby vehicle. This is when we are introduced to the villain Michael Foster (Michael Eklund) as he brutally beats a man right in front of Casey. Once Berry puts together a connection with Foster and the past murder she realizes he is the same killer, prompting her to get involved herself.

Hyped as a suspense thriller, this flick is more disturbing than it is on twist and turns. A lot of the twists are predictable and cliché, but the death scenes nearly push it into the horror realm. The majority of the movie focuses on Berry overcoming her fear along with Casey. Keep strong as a woman is definitely one of the messages this film presents. The ending is quite odd, it happens suddenly and it’s more about woman fighting back than it is about justice and what happens to all the characters following all the action.

Halle Berry again shows she is a great actor and can carry many movies. Only recommended for fans of Berry and twisted violence.

The Call

Rated R

WWE Studios

Run time of 90 minutes

In theatres today

Send to Kindle

Before Dorothy landed in Oz killing a wicked witch, before Scarcecrow, Tinman, and Crowdly Lion became memorable figures in movie history, The Wizard of Oz came from Kansas first bringing trickery, greed, and hope in Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful.

James Franco stars as the magician known as Oz, a man from a poor background that did not want to be like his father, a good man. Oz wants to be a great man, and he believes by doing so he must use his hocus pocus magic that at times can wow audiences, however the gate he is drawing at a carnival is far from impressive.

Cue in the hurricane taking to him out of the back and white Kansas and into the 3D colourfilled world of Oz. Immediately after his crash landing,  Oz meets the gorgeous Theodora (Mila Kunis), a witch, albeit a good one. She quickly believes Oz is the magician that has been foretolden by a prophecy who will save the kingdom from the Wicked Witch (Michelle Williams). Oz using his charm and ‘magic’ not only has convinced her of being a hero, but that he is the man she is destined to marry. While Oz enjoyed seducing her, a future with her was not his plan.

After meeting Theodora’s sister Evanora (Rachel Weiz) Oz discovers he will gain unbelievable wealth and the throne to Oz if he can kill the Wicked Witch. Despite doubt himself to be the chosen saviour, Oz’s desire to be a great man forces him into the dark woods. Along the way Oz collects companions, much like Dorothy did on her walk down the yellow brick road.

The visuals in the film are truly spectacular. The magical world of Oz has come to life like never before, and at the same time stays true to the original tale. The dedication and effort put in by Raimi pays off as the Emerald City, the munchkins, and the winged monkey army of the Wicked Witch, all are fantastic views.

Highly recommended for families, couples, and for fans that grew up idolizing the original flick. Although it is rated PG there is quite bit of violence and sexual innuedos, giving this edition a bit more of a mature feel compared to the classic.

Send to Kindle

Bodies, bullets, cars, buildings, and tons and tons of blood are flying all over Mother Russia in what you’d expect from Bruce Willis in A Good Day To Die Hard.

Willis (John McClane) “is on vacation” in the fifth installment of the classic action series as he travels to Moscow to find his estranged son Jack (Jai Courtney). Jack is awaiting trial for his involvment with former tyrant Yuri Komarov (Sebastian Koch). After the courthouse is attacked, Jack and Komarov are able to escape, expect from the eldest McClane. Following a long explosive car chase, the McClanes are forced to put their differences aside as they must team up in order to avoid Russian hitman trying to find Komarov’s hidden file.

Quite a bit of character development and setting up the plot of the film takes up the first 20 minutes, but after that you get blasted with exciting action scenes that live up to the Die Hard name. Regardless of Willis’ age he shows no sign of slowing down as he continues to deliver incredible stunts and a mean physical presence when needed. The humour is also intact as he teaches his son a few tricks along the way.

Compared to the last Die Hard, this one comes up short. Gone are the brilliant performances given by Justin Long and Kevin Smith and the wit that Smith provided with his rewrites. The R rating does allow for Willis’ catchphrase to be completely heard this time around.

Die Hard 5 is a straightforward new venture into foreign land for McClane where he gets a bit more help with his son being a great CIA operative. Their problems do not dwell deeper than the fact that John was always working. It’s a feud that can easily be resolved with a number of life saving moments.

For action lovers this delivers the Die Hard experience as the action alone is worth going to see this. Don’t expect to see the best Die Hard or the best Willis ever. The quality is the insane scenarios the McClanes have to somehow battle out of.

A Good Day to Die Hard

Rated R

20th Century Fox

Directed by John Moore

Run time of 97 minutes

In theatres now