Grab Bag O' Movies

I have watched several movies lately that I either couldn't think of a good way to write a movie review for them or I just didn't want to write about it. So, instead, I thought I would do a quick drive-by type movie synopsis/review of these movies.

The Bank Job (2008):
From Netflix: "Based on a true 1971 event, this thriller tells the story of Terry (Jason Statham), a car dealer who becomes involved in a London bank heist only to find that the contents of the bank vault will draw him deeply and irrevocably into the city's criminal underbelly. Murder and scandal abound in this tale of corruption populated with a surprising mix of offenders, from low-level thugs to government officials and all the way up to the royal family."

This one was my favorite of the bunch. However, this had so many twists and turns that it would have been hard to do any kind of a review without really giving the movie away. I thought this would be a typical Jason Statham action movie with constant action, but it wasn't. It was much more than that and I definitely recommend this one.

Premonition (2007):
From Netflix: "A housewife (Sandra Bullock) is devastated when her husband (Julian McMahon) dies suddenly in a car crash. But when he reappears the next day as if nothing had ever happened, she realizes it may have just been a premonition. Can she prevent the horrible tragedy from happening all over again, or is she powerless to redirect fate? Amber Valletta and Nia Long also star."

I didn't really like this one. Again, I would have had to lay out the entire movie to review this one just to tell you why I didn't like it. I thought they were going a clever way with the idea of "if you knew someone had betrayed you and you had the opportunity to save them, would you still?" That was intriguing to me. However, they hinted at that theme and then twisted it again and went a different way. Bullock's performance was great - it was good to see her do something more meaty than romantic comedy. However, it was just not very satisfying with the mixed themes and confusing plot and, well ... it was just a mess.

My Best Friend's Girl (2008):
From Netflix: "When Dustin's (Jason Biggs) girlfriend, Alexis (Kate Hudson), breaks up with him, he employs his best buddy, Tank (Dane Cook), to take her out on the worst rebound date imaginable in the hopes that it will send her running back into his arms. But when he begins to really fall for Alexis, Tank finds himself in an impossible position. Alex Baldwin and Lizzy Caplan star in this romantic comedy from director Howard Deutch (The Whole Ten Yards). "

This was another one of those guy oriented romantic comedies. I really hate this trend in movies. However, this was better than "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". I had problems with "My Best Friend's Girl" because I kept finding Dane Cook charming one minute and completely irritating the next. Plus, I didn't really buy Kate Hudson's character or Jason Biggs character. Given that, they still had some funny scenes and I loved the location shoot of this in Boston. They made Boston look amazing and since I love Boston, I loved seeing a love story to the great city in this film.

Crank (2006):
From Netflix: "Hit man Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) tears through the streets of Los Angeles in a race to save his own life and his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart) in this ticking time bomb of a thriller. The freelance killer is poisoned when a mob job goes wrong, and the clock starts ticking when Chelios learns he can elude death if he keeps his adrenaline pumping. With no time to waste, Chelios rampages through the city hoping to save Eve and find an antidote."

This one was such an odd one. It was much more of the typical Jason Statham movie that is action, on time and all the time. It was odd though because the premise and the situations are so ludicrously implausible that it was more like a Wyle Coyote cartoon where Wyle falls off the cliff, but is chasing the road runner 5 seconds later. So if you can implement a high suspension of disbelief for this, it is fun at times and seriously action-packed. If you can't, you will just keep repeating "Come ON - No WAY that is possible!" the entire movie.

I admit, this is the laziest blog I may have ever done, but there you go. Enjoy the fruits of my laziness. I would rate these movies from best to worst as (best) "The Bank Job", "My Best Friend's Girl", "Crank" and then "Premonition" (worst). Anyone seen any of these and have an opinion to share?