Man on a Ledge

I'm not big on heights.  I could not watch Man on a Wire....so I had a tough time seeing a guy teetering for hours on a ledge high above Manhattan!  However, if you can stomach the many shots intended to give you vertigo, you might enjoy this action flick!

No spoiler, of course.  Suffice it to say that a man stands on a ledge and announces he will jump.  New Yorkers who enjoy a good street show gather below hoping for a bloody spectacle.  Good thing the beautiful blonde officer gets out there and tries to stop him!

Why does he threaten to jump?  Well, that's where the plot gets a bit convoluted.  See, he's an ex-cop and it appears he needs the audience to get folks to take him seriously!  The female cop, played by Elizabeth Banks, believes him...we think!

But there's more.  Can't give the plot away, but I can say that a very large amount of viewer "suspension of disbelief" is required to appreciate the twists and turns of the story.  Subplots take us inside a prison, a bank vault, and high up on rooftops!

I'd have to say this film is mostly mindless action, in spite of efforts to make it something more sophisticated.

Grade of A-.   It's a nail-biter if you don't throw up your popcorn!

Fahrenheit 450

This is my homage to Mr. Ray Bradbury, writer extraordinaire, whose contributions to American literature include The Martian Chronicles, Twilight Zone, and Something Wicked This Way Comes, and whose life ended this week at age 89. Of all his works, my favorite remains Fahrenheit 450, a horrifying (to this English teacher) look at a futuristic society that burns books. O.k., I trust you know this whole story. I had the pleasure of teaching the novel for many semesters, and showing this 1966 film, directed by Francois Truffault, with Oskar Werner and Julie Christie. Bradbury's sobering warning to us about the dangers and consequences of censorship and the squelching of individual thought, shocks the reader/viewer into a new appreciation, even reverence for intellectual and creative freedom. Heavy stuff. I also had the privilege of meeting Mr. Bradbury following a talk he gave in Scottsdale years ago. I treasure my signed copies of The Martian Chronicles and F450. Do yourself a favor this week: watch this film. It's a goodie. RIP, Ray.

Safe House

Check out the two major stars in the picture above, Ryan Reynolds and Denzel himself (he needs no last name!)  With these two power hitters in a flick advertised as an action movie, you'd think I would have rave reviews...NOT!

OK, before I turn critical, I'll try to be positive:   The film has lots of action sequences, including state-of-the-art car chases, shootouts, running pursuits, and more.  You'll get to see lots of cars squished and more than fifty baddies taken out....fun!  You'll no doubt enjoy Denzel's solid acting, which never disappoints.

But every film needs some kind of interesting plot, and scripting, and dialogue.  There was just very little story to support all the gunfire.  I am often one to view mindless violence...some of the really stupid films make no pretense about a good tale and just take you into back alleys for solid, old-fashioned violence with no redeeming value...I can handle, and enjoy, these works of "art!"

Safe House purports to be something else.  No spoiler, of course.

Basically, you've got good-guy CIA agent chasing allegedly bad guy CIA agent, and both on the run for their lives.  From whom?  How?  Why?  We eventually get our answers.  But the whole plot is so unbelievable that we feel hey, just give us violence and don't try to be so sophisticated!

Was it entertaining?  Yes.  Was it profound?  No.

Should you see it?

Ummmmmmm......