UNSTOPPABLE

Action/thriller
Based on a true story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Chris Pine: young train conductor Will Colson
Denzel Washington: veteran railroad engineer Frank Barnes
Ethan Suplee: yard shunter engineer Dewey
Lew Temple: shop welder Ned
Rosario Dawson: railroad yard manager Connie Hooper
Kevin Dunn: her boss Galvin, VP of Operations
Kevin Corrigan: Federal Safety Inspector Scott Werner

REVIEW
Anyone who has ever sat at a railway crossing watching a long freight train as it lumbers past can only be impressed with the awesome power of the engines and the tremendous bulk of the cars passing by. This movie effectively captures that display of force by viewing the train in question from various angles. The accompanying sound serves to enhance the experience.

However as with any suspense thriller, the less said the better other than to mention that the acting is terrific, the characters are convincing and by incorporating television news reports we are always kept abreast of the unfolding story. The crisp editing keeps things moving along at a good clip.

CLASSIFICATION
for sequences of action and peril, and some language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
This is one of my classic all-time favourite nitpicks: at the end of the telephone conversation Frank’s daughter hangs up and he is left listening to the dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone.

INSIDE JOB

Documentary

REVIEW
With beautiful animated graphs, insightful interviews and comprehensive voice-over the complexities of the global financial crisis of 2007 are a little less daunting. What is still impossible to understand is how so many well-respected senior company officers and government officials allowed this to happen. The producers offer one suggestion: human greed.

CLASSIFICATION
for some drug and sex-related material.

FAIR GAME

Political drama
Based on a true story

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Naomi Watts: high-ranking “non-official covert operative” C.I.A. agent Valerie Plame
Sean Penn: her husband former ambassador Joseph Wilson
Liraz Charhi: Zahraa, a physican
Khaled Nabawy: her brother Hammad
Michael Kelly: Valerie's immediate supervisor Jack
David Andrews: Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby, aide to Vice-President Dick Cheney
Adam LeFevre: White House Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove
Sam Shepard: Valerie's career military dad Sam

REVIEW
We all know “you can’t fight city hall”. How about fighting the administration of the most powerful political body in the entire world, the United States government? In a word: you ain’t got a hope in heck!

Back in 2003 there was some dispute whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or not. Anyone suggesting that the White House misled the public in its justification for going to war would have to be dealt with in the most effective manner.

With great attention to detail (except for one teeny miscue noted below) it all rings true. Both Naomi Watts and Sean Penn are outstanding but this has to be one of Penn’s very best performances ever.

CLASSIFICATION
for some language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
This is one of my classic all-time favourite nitpicks: at the end of the telephone conversation Joe hangs up and Valerie is left listening to the dial tone. In reality the dial tone is only heard after picking up the phone before dialling. That’s why it’s called a dial tone.

P.S.
I have yet to figure out how the first scene relates to the rest of the movie.

DUE DATE

Road trip

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
Robert Downey Jr.: architect Peter Highman
Michelle Monaghan: his wife Sarah
Zach Galifianakis: struggling actor Ethan Tremblay
and others no doubt

REVIEW
Right from the get-go it is pretty dull, contrived and seems to drag on forever. Desperate to inject some sort of humour in it, the producers rely upon getting laughs from such things as a man “pleasing himself” (and to garner even more laughs, his dog does it too). At that point I had seen enough so I walked out.

CLASSIFICATION
for language, drug use and sexual content.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
• Peter tells Ethan they’ll have to put in “16 to 18 hour days for three maybe four days of driving” to reach Los Angeles from Atlanta. According to MapQuest the distance is 2,176 miles and the driving time required is 32 hours not 48 to 72 hours as estimated by Peter.
• He’s also off when he says it will take 8 hours to drive from Phoenix to LA: it is only 380 miles and can easily be done in less than 6 hours.

MEGAMIND

Animated action/adventure

PRINCIPAL VOICES
Will Ferrell: evil genius Megamind
David Cross: his sidekick Minion
Brad Pitt: Metro Man, protector of Metro City
Tina Fey: TV news reporter Roxanne Ritchi
Jonah Hill: TV cameraman Hal

REVIEW
Lacking any originality and hampered with a script devoid of any semblance of humour it provides little in the way of entertainment. The story seems like a rehash of similar recently released superhero films but with the predictability of the ending a sure thing.

Speaking of sure things: this one will not win any awards. You heard it here first!

CLASSIFICATION
for action and some language.

FOR NITPICKERS ONLY
Hal’s t-shirt incorrectly reads “Error 404 … Request not found”. This HTTP standard error response code states only “Not Found”.