Taken (2009)
Dir: Pierre Morel
Stars: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace
This is apparently my “January of 2009” update for you today – that’s right, I neglected to see these two titles in the theaters last winter, but with the able assistance of Netflix & Cable, I’m catching up, baby! Let’s start with the better of the two, the action packed thriller, Taken. This is a fine, fine adventure/suspense picture. It is a very streamlined story in that it wastes almost no time whatsoever. That the writer found time in Act I to make a “typical job” part of the story works in the movie’s favor – you’ll see what I mean when you watch it. The film is just a hair shy of an hour and a half in length. But, if you’re willing to suspend belief and are ready for a couple of true surprises, look no further than this Liam Neeson starring movie. I won’t ruin any of the surprises for you, but let’s say I was shocked more than a couple of times at the twists the story provided.
Can you imagine, you’re on the phone with your daughter – who just arrived in Paris for a couple months vacation with her fellow 19 year old pal – and you hear her being kidnapped while still on the phone with her? I have to believe that this terribly identifiable nightmare that all parents must envision at one point or another was part of this film’s reason for doing so well – talk about a primal fear that we can all relate to! The scene itself in which this kidnapping occurs is early in the film, so I’m not ruining anything for ya: the subsequent speech that Liam Neeson’s retired-CIA character makes to the kidnappers helps sell the idea that this guy can actually rescue his daughter based on the limited info he has on this case… If I haven’t said it already somewhere in these posts, let me advise that I am a huge Liam Neeson fan: like many fine actors, I never really feel as if I’m watching him – I always feel like I’m watching whoever he’s playing (check out Darkman, Kinsey, Batman Begins or Schindler’s List if you haven’t already – and consider the varied list of Neeson films I just gave you, too!).
Taken has its weaknesses, believe me. For one, do you really think “Le Governement Francais” would let this man – who just tore up their most treasured city over a 90 hour period – just get on a plane and fly home to L.A. with his daughter? I can just see the drunken French Customs agent, with his cute little De Galle hat on, sipping wine out of a coffee cup on the sly, checking passports as Liam Neeson’s character and his daughter – both still bleeding and Neeson’s arm in a sling – nonchalantly step up to the podium:
Drunken Agent: Let me see here… check your photograph… check today’s “wanted list”… hmmm. Non, I can’t say for certain zat is you, Monsieur.
Neeson: It’s not, I assure you. Just vacationing with my daughter, yep. No menace to society here.
Drunken Agent: Wait one moment… what ‘appened to your arm, Monsieur?
Neeson: Ah, let’s see, hmmmm, let me think, ah… feel off my bike while in wine country?
Drunk Agent (handing back the passport between hiccups): Ah hahn, hahn, hahn – ‘appens all ze time! Enjoy your flight! Bon chance, Monsieur!
P.S. – For you action junkies out there… if you haven’t seen this director’s action picture District B13 (not to be confused with the alien picture, District 9), don’t walk, RUN to your Netflix account and move it to the top of the list. I don’t know if you remember the beginning of Casino Royale with Bond chasing that guy all over creation, but that is actually a martial art called “Parkour” – let’s just say District B13 has a LOT of that stuff…
Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)
Dir: Steve Carr
Stars: Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Bobby Cannavale
Did I run out and see this picture at the theater when it opened in January of 2009? Absolutely not. Did I see it listed on cable last month and whimsically decided to see what all the fuss was about? Yes. And it’s kind of interesting to me how the economy can even effect movies like Paul Blart. Allow me to explain. In an earlier entry, I made some comments regarding the frantic diagnosis of the theatrical market as suffering from “Sequelitis”. One of the examples I gave was the comparison between the summer of 2008 and this summer, specifically the fact that we had Sex & the City do very well two years ago, only to “under-perform” (by industry standards) this year. Consider for a moment the economic temperature during both Sex & the City releases. In May of 2008, the economy was up and everyone was basking in their surplus spending. So, the ’08 release of Carrie Bradshaw & Co. did well at the box office. However, now they’re back in May of 2010, and more spoiled than ever, and the economic temperature is much lower and folks are less interested. At least that’s my interpretation considering the movie hasn’t done all that poorly and they’re even discussing a prequel. Goes to show you how much a release date can play in a film’s success – or failure.
I digress. For me, Paul Blart: Mall Cop is the flip side of the economic coin: to put it simply, the economic environment surrounding Blart had to have played a significant part in its success towards a total of more than $146 million dollars in domestic box office. It is a truth of the theatrical business that in a down economy, movie ticket sales go up. I find this to be quite confusing, particularly in today’s Home Entertainment market. In other words, why folks prefer to go to the Cineplex when they can own the title and re-watch as much as they like confuses me, but it’s true. Paul Blart, along with Taken, Gran Torino and Marley & Me helped contribute box office sales towards January 2009’s record setting billion dollar month. Was Blart’s success unique to its release date and economic zeitgeist? Absolutely not! You have to give credit where it’s due. Ebert makes a good point that you have to like Kevin James’ Blart: the film had a likable character going for it. I would even argue that in addition to the physical, slap-stick nature of the comedy, you could credit a portion of its appeal to the fact he’s overweight: I found the film’s funniest moments in his physical comedy, particularly considering his size and weight.
I was not blown away by the story, nor by the extreme coincidences. And let me say this for the record: I am not tired, I am bloody exhausted of the “corrupt cop” being the (gasp!) bad guy! Who saw that coming? Well, let me count the raised hands… eighty-three, eighty-four, OK, is your hand up, sir? Thanks… let’s see… carry the four – by my count, EVERYONE saw that coming! Hollywood, if you’re listening, the “corrupt cop” is no longer a twist, unless it’s a Sidney Lumet film – he can do whatever he wants with that storyline since he virtually invented it! [I’m going to go do some push ups.]