My Review: Escape Plan (6/10)

"You hit like a vegetarian."

I was surprised that I actually ended up enjoying this film so much considering I was expecting this to be another Expendables 2 fiasco. Directed by Mikael Hafstrom (1408, The Rite), Escape Plan had an interesting premise, but the truth of the matter is I was drawn to it because I wanted to see the Italian Stalion and the Governator sharing leading roles for the first time. If this film would've taken place in the 80's or early 90's it would've been a box office hit and an instant classic. I'm sure that I at least would've given this film a much higher rating considering I was a huge fan of these cheesy and brainless shoot-em-up films during the 90's, but now my taste for this genre has cooled down and I found several flaws within the story. Despite those flaws, I still had a great time watching these two legends play off each other sharing some great chemistry and charisma together. My enjoyment of Escape Plan might be influenced by a high degree of nostalgia, but I'd still recommend this film.

The screenplay written by Miles Chapman centers on an eminent authority on structural security, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone), who enters hundreds of prisons as an undercover prisoner and uses his skills to escape from it unveiling its flaws in the process. After accepting his next assignment he's framed and sent to a maximum security prison run by the warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) which has been designed based on Ray's own recommendations. Ray teams up with another prisoner named Emit Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and together they begin searching for flaws in the system in order to escape, but Hobbes keeps a close watch on them once he realizes who Ray really is. It won't be an easy task, but Ray has managed to find flaws in every system and he will need to do it once more if he wants to leave this place.

In general prison break movies appeal to me (I was a huge fan of the first two seasons of Prison Break) so this film presented an interesting premise. There were several flaws and twists that didn't work, but in general I had a good time with this suspenseful thriller (and when I say suspenseful I don't mean it in the way Paul Greengrass delivers tension, but in a much lighter but enjoyable way). The film does reach a point where it begins to feel overlong and a bit ridiculous (mostly around the third act), but I still thought it was worth it and that Arnie stole the show with his usual gags and one liners. The villains were underdeveloped and a bit over the top, but I was still glad to see Caviezel back in an important role. Escape Plan is an entertaining film that will quickly be forgotten, but works as an escapism from a dull and boring day.

My Review: The Vow (7/10)

¨Life's all about moments, of impact and how they change our lives forever. But what if one day you could no longer remember any of them? ¨

The Vow is a very predictable romantic chick flick, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. I had a good time with this film and was choked up during some of the emotional scenes as well thanks in great part to the two leads, Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum. You can`t go wrong with these actors and the chemistry between them is pretty strong. The Vow won’t be considered amongst the best romantic films, it might not be very memorable, but it will provide you with an enjoyable hour and a half escape. McAdams is probably at her best in these types of romantic roles although she has proved herself in different genres. This is not nearly as good or emotional as The Notebook because the story isn’t as good, and of course Tatum might be good, but let’s face it he`s no Ryan Gosling either. This is Michael Sucsy`s first feature film after winning a Golden Globe for his direction in the made for television movie, Grey Gardens staring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore. The script is pretty predictable and some of the characters are really one dimensional, but there are some emotional lines and funny moments as well. I thought the pacing of the film was also pretty smooth, and I never felt the film drag. I was hooked with the story from the beginning and was actually surprised I ended up enjoying this film. I like romantic films, although usually it has been difficult to come across a really good one. After so many bad romantic films, I guess The Vow will do for me.

Leo (Channing Tatum) and Paige (Rachel McAdams) are happily married as we see them walk out of a theater together. On their way home they have a car accident and Paige is left unconscious. Leo begins narrating the story of how they met through flashbacks claiming that life is all about moments and how they impact us. He happened to meet Paige at the right time and the two of them clicked from the beginning. It only took him two weeks to win her heart. Paige wakes up from her coma, but has no idea who Leo is. She has lost her recent memory and only remembers her life up to when she was engaged to Jeremy (Scott Speedman) and was studying law school. Paige has a hard time adapting to her life with Leo and decides to move back with her parents (played by Sam Neill and Jessica Lange) with whom she used to be estranged with before the accident and seem delighted to have her back. Leo is crushed because he begins to feel he`s losing his wife and decides to try to win her love back, but everything he does seems to fail. It only took him two weeks to win her heart before, but now Paige seems to be a different person because it`s probably the wrong moment for them. Paige isn’t the simple vegetarian art student he met, but a high class girl who wants to study law. She seems to have gone back in time and forgot an important event in her life that later changed her. Will Leo win her love back?

The premise of the story is pretty interesting. At first when I saw the trailer for this movie I thought it was ridiculous. If McAdam`s character really loved Tatum it would be simple to regain her love, but the truth is that most of the time we really are impacted by moments and if the impact doesn’t occur at the right moment then nothing will really happen. In other words, it might be possible that two people who are meant for each other don’t realize it because one of them is hooked with something else, but once the time is right then the impact can have its effect. Paige and Leo found each other at the right moment because she matured into the independent woman she really wanted to be, but when she loses her memory and goes back in time this love isn’t easily met because she is hooked with another person and other goals. That is what I found interesting about this film that at first I thought would be ridiculous. Although I don’t think any girl would wake up from a comma and complain about being married to Channing Tatum. I don’t think it would be a problem with most girls. The Vow is interesting enough and I think most people who like romantic films will enjoy this. For people who really don’t like these sort of movies then they will want to stay away from this one because it is sentimental and cheesy at times, but I think love is this way most of the time. I had a pleasant enough experience to enjoy and recommend this movie.

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