Lone Survivor

Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.

Director: Peter Berg
Writers: Peter Berg, Marcus Luttrell (book).
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch.

Storyline

Marcus Luttrell, a Navy Seal, and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. After running into mountain herders and capturing them, they were left with no choice but to follow their rules of engagement or be imprisoned. Now Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.

User Reviews

I read some reviews about "Lone Survivor" where it was mentioned alongside to a "Saving Private Ryan" - you can throw a rock at me if this comes close to "Saving Private Ryan" which is beyond many moons and seas compared to "Lone Survivor". 

"Lone Survivor" is good action movie, with some heroic stuff (they definitely couldn't avoid that...), and i know that it's based on real events, thats why i'm giving it 8, because many of things displayed in picture were sadly true, many, but definitely not all. When someone is being killed in this movie (exept for bad guys from Taliban), it's shown in a similar way as Jim Caviezel aka.Jesus was suffering in "The Passion of the Christ" - only true American heroes die like that, not afghans who are more or less just a meat between bullets and Americans in this movie.

Overall, i liked this action picture, the sound design and sound editing were really top notch (no wonder it got 2 Oscar nominations) - you can hear every detail in the forest, every breaking bone (ye, the fall from cliffs scene was gripping). Actors were just OK, nothing special. The gunfight was terrific at least in the beginning of battle, truly terrific sound design and camera work. Later, well, when bad guys were shooting with RPG's every 2 min to our heroes, and they were suffering real good but still were able to do some heroic stuff, the tension was kinda lost.

Overall, 8/10 for me because of good production values and for that it is based on real events

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Ip Man

A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the successful martial arts master who taught the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun to the world.

Director: Wilson Yip
Writers: Edmond Wong (screenplay), Tai-Li Chan
Stars: Donnie Yen, Simon Yam, Siu-Wong Fan.

Storyline

In 1935 in Foshan, south China, there are martial arts schools on every street corner. Ip Man is the undisputed martial arts champion, yet he has not devoted himself to teaching. Despite this, it seems that all the kung fu masters of the city are eager to fight him to improve their reputation.

User Reviews

Ip Man has quenched our thirst of a real good martial art movie where we don't just watch man kicking asses but where we can appreciate the man's moral and virtues.

The movie flows well, from the view of the kungfu street of Fo Shan, to the introduction of Ip Man, and so on. Scene by scene are there in a well done play, and when someone had to display martial art act, they don't just throw bunch of minions out from nowhere to have him beating them all over. I think the scenario is well written.

Fight choreography is great. Different approach from what we usually see, people doing flashy flying kicks and sorts; since it is about wing chun, feet hardly ever leave the ground but it doesn't decrease the beauty and flashiness of the fights.

People may complain about bits that might not fit the real condition of those era. Well, I think producers have to make sure they made entertaining movies, not documentaries.

Last words, Donnie Yuen has always been a good martial art actor, he just never get the spotlight. And finally as Ip Man he gets to stand on where he deserves.

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Stander

The life and career of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber.
Director: Bronwen Hughes
Writer: Bima Stagg
Stars: Thomas Jane, David O'Hara, Dexter Fletcher.

Storyline

In the early 1980's, a white police officer (Andres Stander, played by Thomas Jane) in Johannesburg suffers a crisis of conscience due to his involvement in apartheid and becomes a notorious bank robber on the run. Then from 1983 to 1984, the "Stander gang" (Stander, Alan Heyl & Patrick McCall) rob as many as four banks a day.

User Reviews

_Stander_ was completely fascinating, from start to finish. I don't know when the last time was I saw a movie that I enjoyed so completely. It really was like some overlooked classic from the early 70s, in the styles and the composition. The colors have just the right washed-out look to make you think this film might be a contemporary of films like _Dog Day Afternoon_ or _Network_. And the settings, the costumes, the cars--all the period details bring us right back to the mid-70s. Never having visited South Africa and not really knowing that much about it, I almost feel like I've had a bit of a crash course in South African history and culture after watching the film. It's amazing that Thomas Jane, who hasn't exactly had the most memorable career to date, could so completely inhabit this character and bring him to life. This is the same guy who was the romantic lead in the insipid _The Sweetest Thing_! And the morose protagonist of _The Punisher_. He needs to keep stretching and looking for these more offbeat roles. And it's always a pleasure to see the beautiful Deborah Kara Unger in a film--here she plays Stander's wife. I won't recount the plot--plenty of other posters have already--but just urge you to rent this movie if you get the chance. It was immensely entertaining.

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