Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Shoot 'Em Up
***** Shoot 'Em Up. Action/adventure.
Directed by: Michael Davis.
Starring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci.
I really didn't know what to expect when Carl and I went to see this at the Hercules... and now I don't really know how to describe it.
Clive Owen is Smith, who just wants to be left alone to eat his carrots, but a very pregnant woman runs past and is pursued by gun-toting thugs, and he can't not rush to her aid.
He helps deliver the baby amid gunfire, and in their escape, the woman is killed. But it's not over--now the thugs are after the baby.
What follows is one over-the-top action scene after another, interspersed with Smith's attempts to relieve himself of the responsibility for the baby--he eventually gets Donna (Monica Bellucci), a specialty prostitute, to help him care for the baby--and head bad guy Hertz's (Paul Giamatti) attempts to complete his mission and placate his wife.
Smith was a wonderful reluctant hero, an irresistible blend of world-weariness and conscience with extraordinary martial skills. Hertz was the perfect foil--twisted and cold, but also a bit hen-pecked, and oh-so frustrated at Smith's spoiling his simple mission.
As you could no doubt guess from the title, Shoot 'Em Up is full of violence. It's mostly exaggerated, comics-style violence, but there were a few times I had to shut my eyes (those carrots were pretty gross). There was also a hilariously cool sex scene where Smith and Donna continue going at it while dodging bad guys.
Not for the squeamish or the anti-violence, and it definitely earns its R rating, but boy, was it fun. One of those movies where I grinned through the whole thing.
Categories: Movies, 5stars, ActionAdventure
Labels: 5 stars, action, Movies
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"I'm a British nanny and I'm dangerous"
Yup, sounds like a fun movie. Thanks, I hadn't heard of this one.
Yup, sounds like a fun movie. Thanks, I hadn't heard of this one.
I haven't seen this movie, but I think Paul Giamatti is great. Really liked his neurotic character in "Sideways"!
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