Movie Hardmen - Riddick, The Gunman and Run All Night

In a bit of a movie update, first the belated and imaginatively titled third instalment of the Riddick series.

Our eponymous hero, having grown slipshod in his security arrangements as leader of the Necromongers, finds himself stranded on a hostile planet, pursued by two groups of bounty hunters.

Other than money, it's difficult to see why this film was made, as it's just a rehash of the first film, with bits of the second thrown in for good measure. Mr. Diesel looks like he had fun, and it's all workman-like, just... why bother?

Much better is Sean Penn's attempt at the tough-guy genre with The Gunman. Jim Terrier (Penn), a mercenary working for an NGO in Africa, searches for who sent a hit squad after him.

With a good plot, if a bit slow, and a decent supporting cast including Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance, Penn's able to hold down the hard-man role pretty well, and there's plenty of bangs and crashes. It's different enough to be an above average pizza movie.

Lastly, the latest Liam Neeson vehicle. Burn-out gangster and estranged father, Jimmy Conlon, is given a chance at redemption when his son Mike (Joel Kinneman) witnesses a murder.

Neeson seems to be picking better films to do between Taken sequels at the moment, and this is no exception. It's plot keeps a decent pace, if a little predictable, and there's a great supporting cast with Ed Harris as the former friend turned Nemesis. And just in time for Christmas.

Broken City & Glengarry Glen Ross

I received this through my LoveFilm subscription. After resigning from the N.Y.P.D. due to a shooting in suspicious circumstances, private investigator Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is asked by Mayor Hostetler (Russell Crowe) to investigate his wife's suspected adultery.

Both actors are too good to just phone in the part, but Wahlberg is outclassed by Crowe here, although the latter is somewhat miscast I think. The supporting cast is pretty top notch, especially Alona Tal as Taggarts' assistant. The thing that lets the movie down, however, is the plot, which you can see coming a mile-and-a-half away. Maybe a better scriptwriter would have introduced a few twists and turns to ramp up the tension. Not a bad movie, but an opportunity missed.

Glengarry Glen Ross I'd never seen before, despite it being over twenty years old, and I spotted it amongst the freebie's we can't sell at the shop, so I snagged it. Four salesmen (Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin) at a real estate company and their manager (Kevin Spacey) are presented with a problem when their superior (Alec Baldwin) calls with a new monthly "incentive":

Originally this was a stage play by David Mamet, which he then wrote as a film script, but it still has that feel. It's an excuse for everyone to give 150% and they don't disappoint (even Alec Baldwin shines and he's only on for twenty minutes), but it's Jack Lemmon's film, playing a worn out desperate man looking for one last success. Highly recommended.