Here Kitty Kitty... "Cat Run"

Cat Run (2011)

Rated R for gratuitous violence, nudity and language

Starring Paz Vega, Janet McTeer, Alphonso McAuley, Scott Mechlowicz, Christopher McDonald

Directed by John Stockwell

The Story:

Cat (Vega) is a high priced call girl who is brought in for a night of debauchery for a U.S. Senator (McDonald).  However, when the night goes terribly wrong, security eliminates all of the ladies, except Cat who escapes with a disc filled with evidence that the Senator is a naughty boy.  Meanwhile, two Americans (Mechlowicz and McAuley) decide to start a private investigator business, and their first assignment is to catch Cat.  Little do they know that a ruthless assassin (McTeer) is hot on her trail.

:: whew ::

That's a lot of exposition for this little B movie!

This is an odd-duck of a film.

Is it trying to be a hip, ultraviolent thriller.  Or does it want to be a cheeky comedy.

Oddly, it tries to be quite a bit of both, sometimes alternating between tones, sometimes blending those two movies into one.

The movie is one that alternates between splattering blood across the camera lens and one that is trying to make you laugh.

Then, some of the bloodshed squirms dangerously close into the horror genre, so this film is really all over the place.

Yet, it remains interesting enough throughout to keep your attention.

Of special note is McTeer's steely assassin.  Imagine a younger, more violently ruthless Helen Mirren from Red, and you've got this down pat.  That they named her Helen, well I just chalk that up to a worthy homage.

Also nice to see Mechlowicz on screen again.  Haven't seen him much since EuroTrip. :)

Naturally, a sequel is in the works.  Scheduled to be released this year, I'm sure I'll give it a try when I find it on Netflix.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this moment.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: A good one and done, subject content is just too much for any replay factor around here.

Further Proof That Sequels Are Rarely As Good As The Original..."RED 2"

So close...

The Story:

Frank (Bruce Willis) is enjoying a quiet life with Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) when Marvin (John Malkovich) comes calling.  He tries to warn them that danger is heading their way, but Frank wants to lay low and keep Sarah safe.  Oddly enough, Sarah is actually itching to see some action again, even though she is ill-prepared for it.  Then before you know it, trouble hits and the guys are on the run again, trying to figure out how to save the world and clear their names before they are killed.  This time however, it looks like Victoria (Helen Mirren) has been  hired by the British to make sure that Frank doesn't succeed.

Uh-oh!

I loved the first film.

One of my Best of the Year films, and one that I can watch at just about any time.

Was it the Morgan Freeman factor?  Hard to say.

They also had a much better 'bad guy' who was just doing his job, Karl Urban.

Here...

Not so much.

It's a muddled mess as they jaunt to Europe trying to evade nearly every government and assassin that is trying to take them down.

Including Frank's old flame, Katja (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

Here's a piece of advice for successful movies that want to franchise:

Don't hire Catherine Zeta-Jones for your sequel.

Ocean's Eleven rocked.
Ocean's Twelve...not so much.
Ocean's Thirteen thankfully regained much of the original swagger.

So I guess, that bodes well for Red 3!

:)

Instead, you've got Neal McDonough tracking the team, and he's great, but no Karl Urban.  Then you throw in an Asian assassin (Byung-hun Lee) plus everyone else after Frank...

And now you have to find time to squeeze in "The Package" (Anthony Hopkins).

They went with an "Everything But the Kitchen Sink" approach when they should have tried to dial it back a few notches.

Ah well, it wasn't a complete waste, but it was unable to capture the lightning in a  bottle of the first film.

Better luck next go round.

Final Grade: B- / C+ range.

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Like I said, it wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as the first one.  I'm sure I'll get it though. : )

100 Greatest Movies of All Time...That I Own. # 17 ~ Red

Back to back old folks movies?

If I didn't know better, that would mean Sunday would be Cocoon, by Ron Howard.

But alas, no such luck.

Today, we shave off a few years from our Driving Miss Daisy leads and look at Red.

Retired.
Extremely.
Dangerous.

Genius acronym, by the way.

Would you believe it's another comic-book movie?  Okay, graphic novel movie...

Yeah, me neither, but apparently it is.  Maybe that's what makes it so good?

Naturally, I was in it for Bruce Willis.  Because there are few finer things in life than watching Bruce Willis kicking butt on the big screen.

The story:

Frank Moses (Willis) is a retired covert ops kinda guy.  His only real happiness lately is chatting with the government pension worker, Sarah(Mary-Louise Parker).  But when the bad guys come to take Frank out, he finds that black ops is like riding a bicycle... you never really forget.  He knows that Sarah will be in danger, so he's off to rescue the damsel in distress.  Finally, Frank assembles some similar pals who have been out of the game for a while (Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich) to help him save the day.

Considering there looks to be  a sequel in the works... you can probably guess that for the most part, Frank succeeds!

The movie is filled with great action sequences and fun dialogue.  Helen Mirren is probably the coolest revelation of the movie.  She's a great actress, who knew she'd make a great action star!?!

Enough has been said about Morgan Freeman over the several movies he's been on the list with.

The other returning actor is John Malkovich.  3 movies... 3 insane characters.  This time, however, he's an insane GOOD guy.  The man is showing his range.

: )

It was also great to see Ernest Borgnine on the big screen one last time.  It's a shame he won't be there for the sequel. : (

Fun movie, if you're ever looking for a great action flick to enjoy and can't decide on one, this is a can't miss choice!