It's The (Dead) Rozzers Part 2! R.I.P.D. and Non-Stop

Two from my Amazon film subscription. First the latest Liam Neeson film. Struggling alcoholic U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) sets off on a trans-Atlantic flight, but is being sent mysterious messages threatening the safety of the passengers and crew:

With a ridiculous plot, bad pacing (there's are some very tedious moments) and small details that let the whole thing down (why would RAF Typhoons be anywhere near Iceland?), the only saving grace is the action scenes, special effects and the cast, although wasted. Better than nothing, but not much.

Marks might have been better off dead, which brings us to my next film, R.I.P.D. Having being shot and killed by his partner (Kevin Bacon), Boston Detective Nick Walker (Ryan Reynolds) is teamed with a former western lawman (Jeff Bridges) and tasked with returning "deadoes" back to the afterlife:

From a comic book of the same name, this is an enjoyable hybrid of Ghostbusters and Men in Black, let down only by Bridges trying to lampoon his own version of Rooster Cogburn. The effects are good and the supporting cast, especially Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker as their boss and Robert Knepper as their first suspect (much underused). Good fun and a decent pizza movie.

True Grit

Happy New Year, everybody.

While seeing in the New Year with my Aunt and Uncle in the wild and wooly North West, I brought over the remake of True Grit to watch. Fourteen year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires aged Federal Marshal Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to bring her father's killer to justice:

Although the original is considered a classic, I was never that enamoured of it. This improves on it slightly, and definitely has the weirdness of a Coen brother's movie, which can be a little arresting in places, although I imagine it stays very true to the book. The support is good, too, if a little underused (with the exception of Matt Damon reprising Glen Campbell's role as the Texas Ranger LeBoeuf). Not a bad little pizza movie, but requiring a little patience.