RONIN (1998)

Helmed by legendary film director John Frankenheimer and boasting an even more legendary cast, RONIN tells the mildly entertaining story of a bunch of dangerous motherfuckers (CIA agents, Russian mafia, mercenaries, etc.) all trying to get a hold of a mysterious briefcase. Backstabbing, double-crossing, ambushes, explosions, gunfights, ice skating, car chases, improper lane changes…RONIN has plenty to keep the viewer entertained, but unfortunately, the characters and the overall story are not interesting enough to put this film on my frequently viewed list. Then again, JOYSTICKS is on that list, so what do I know?

I don’t want to sound too harsh though, because RONIN is a good film. Quick pace, fun shoot-outs, great car chases, strong performances. I especially like Robert De Niro's chill performance.  I was super sad that Sean Bean's part wasn't bigger.  He's a fantastic actor and his character was the most intriguing out of everybody.

Anyway, good film and definitely worth a watch for fans of 1990's action movies.

LIMITLESS (2011)

Bradley Cooper is a loser. He wants to be a writer but he sucks, his girlfriend dumped him because he sucks, even his landlord hates him because he sucks. Then one day he runs into a dubious ex-friend who turns him onto a pill that will kick start his mind into using its full potential. He takes the pill and it's fucking amazing. Suddenly he can remember everything he's ever read or heard and thinks at a million miles per hour. He's super confident and can soak up knowledge almost instantly. He's like a superhero, he can even solve a Rubik's Cube...just using his dick. No hands. In 4 seconds.  That actually didn't happen.

Then comes the crash and he's a big dummy again. A dummy that remembers what it was like to be a god. He goes to the dealer, but some bad stuff goes down and Bradley barely gets out alive...but with a whole stash of pills! Boo-yah! He starts popping pills left and right and living the life of a super genius, but who are all these mysterious dudes trailing him? Hmmm. There's a few other side stories and that's where LIMITLESS derails. Instead of going one direction and kicking ass, it goes four directions and stalls out in all four.

Personality I would have been happy just seeing Bradley go all out with the pills, but instead I was bored with the stuff about the loan shark angle, the evil corporation angle, the side effects angle and the other users angle. Hint: I don't give a fuck. I just want to see a dude be a super genius, not getting in fights with mob enforcers.

The other thing that bothered me was it's was all very tame. They briefly implied that he was fucking random women, but they never showed anything. And worst of all he never really used his new found brain power for anything cool. Yeah, he made some money on the stock market. Big deal.

Worth a single viewing, but this movie already needs to be remade into a darker, more imaginative version. Oh yeah, and please don't use that over-saturated picture effect. It looks like shit.