Friday, November 17, 2006
****½ Crank. Action.
Directed by: Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor
Starring: Jason Statham
OMG. I had no idea what to expect from this movie. Carl had seen reviews in Entertainment Weekly (it comes free with my YourMusic subscription, which is only $5.99/month--damn good deal--but I don't bother reading it), but all I knew was that it had Jason Statham in it--which is an excellent selling point.
From the very beginning, it was a bit "artsy." Quick cuts, odd camera angles, speeding up, slowing down. Sometimes this works, sometimes it's just annoying. This time, it worked.
Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is an assassin, and his rival has injected him with a poison. The only thing keeping him alive is keeping his heart rate up--Chev figures this out on his own, by the way, which I liked, and it was confirmed later by his doc friend.
So he's on a quest to 1) save himself, if possible, 2) protect his girlfriend, and 3) get back at the rival who's killing him.
It's fast-moving, extremely violent, and surprisingly funny in spots. The... (I need to learn some film vocabulary--maybe take a beginning film class or something to learn the words for various effects) cinematic effects kept the tension high, and showed visually how the character was feeling.
In addition, the soundtrack was amazing. It was loaded with pop songs from a variety of musical genres and eras, and every single song fit its scene perfectly. I know music is supposed to be a part of a film, to help evoke moods, but this soundtrack was practically a character in itself.
And of course, you have Jason Statham, who's perfect in the role--cold-blooded killer, patient and sweet with his girlfriend (Amy Smart, who was nicely subtle as a woman whose boyfriend has just told her he's an assassin--she wasn't the bimbo I'd have expected, nor did she steal her scenes).
It's kind of like... Kill Bill meets Speed. Stylized violence, comic effects, and non-stop action. The premise is a little hard to swallow, but I didn't have any time to dwell on it before I got yanked into the action.
One thing it's not, is for kids. I'm always appalled at people who take little kids to extremely violent movies. Tonight, the theater was pretty empty, but there were still a couple families there with kids--kindergarten-age kids. I wouldn't let my 12-year-old see this.
The DVD will be out in January--I think it'll make a good addition to our collection.
...more
Categories: Movies, 4.5stars, ActionAdventure
Labels: 4.5 stars, action, Movies
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Darla - I been so looking forward to see "Crank" because I knew it going to have lot of actions in them. And I love action/ non-stop action movies. And too see you give this a high rating, give me good hope :)
And I always love Jason Statham, he was perfect in "Transportation 1 & 2".
By the way, I love Kill Biils and Speed too *wink* :)
And I always love Jason Statham, he was perfect in "Transportation 1 & 2".
By the way, I love Kill Biils and Speed too *wink* :)
I want to see this for the blow job scene :) Saw a bit of it on YouTube -- looks, um, different.
# posted by 
: 11/18/2006 4:46 AM
: 11/18/2006 4:46 AM
*LOL* Doug, you just crack me up with your remark! *grin*
Didn't know this been seen on YouTube...hmm...better check it out there. Any different than what I saw on commerical preview?
Didn't know this been seen on YouTube...hmm...better check it out there. Any different than what I saw on commerical preview?
Julia, I thought of you when I saw this--I think you'd really like it.
The blow job scene was hilarious. Especially the end of it.
The blow job scene was hilarious. Especially the end of it.
Darla - Thanks for thinking of me...that sweet...hehehe. Thank for the head up, I know I will enjoy Crank! :)
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