Seeing this movie for the first time 20 years after its release and after hearing friend after friend say to me, “You still haven’t seen Total Recall? I can’t believe that. You’ve got to see it. It’s a classic”, I expected much, much more during my viewing. To think that Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released just a year later diminishes the value of Total Recall. Whether just or unjust, I couldn’t help but compare Total Recall to the theater experience of Terminator 2: Judgment Day in 1991. While Terminator 2 had cutting-edge special effects, edge-of-your-seat action, and decent acting, Total Recall felt cheesy, worn, and clumsy. Additionally, the acting was atrocious.
Category Archives: Adventure
A Perfect Getaway (2009)
Before Timothy Olyphant (The Crazies, Dreamcatcher) was earning high praise for his role as US Marshall Raylan Givens in FX’s blockbuster television show Justified, he was making a name for himself in action/adventure movies, first in smaller character roles and then as a lead actor. Olyphant’s Givens on Justified is easily my favorite television character of the present time, distancing himself from Hugh Laurie’s Gregory House on House and Steve Carell’s Michal Scott on The Office.
Predators (2010)
My oh my, Adrien Brody, what has become of your career? Since winning the Best Actor Academy Award in 2002 for his role as Wladyslaw Szpilman in The Pianist, Brody’s career has been hit or miss. His successes were The Village (2004), the under-appreciated The Jacket (2005), and the blockbuster remake King Kong (2002). Brody has also had starring roles in such box office failures as Hollywoodland (2006 – $14.3 million box office revenue), The Darjeeling Limited (2007 – $11.7 million), Cadillac Man (2008 $8.1 million), and The Brothers Bloom (2008 – $3.5 million). In 2010, Brody had five movies set for release. Two of those films have been completed but have since been shelved. A third (The Experiment) went straight to DVD. A fourth (Splice) made just $17 million at the box office. The fifth, Predators, grossed $52 million but would have earned that money regardless of Brody’s presence.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Aside from having perhaps the worst movie title in the history of movies, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a stunning film and one that can be appreciated by anyone willing to give it its due diligence. Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe – Gladiator, Cinderella Man) is the captain of the HMS Enterprise. This British ship protected the Pacific Ocean from Napoleon’s French forces, who sought to invade England. As directed by the Queen of England herself, his job is to intercept any attacking vessel from the French fleet.
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Salt (2010)
The one thing I kept focusing on during my viewing of Salt was that this movie was written specifically with the idea that Tom Cruise would be playing the lead role. Instead, Cruise opted to co-star with Cameron Diaz in the romantic adventure Knight and Day. And while Knight and Day was pleasantly entertaining and a movie I recommend, Cruise would have preferred to have Salt in his filmography rather than Knight and Day. I believe he took Knight and Day because the role allowed him to be a quirky, jovial type of character and also because many might identify Salt as a Mission Impossible franchise movie.