Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is a cube-dwelling hypochondriac, with a boss who humiliates him and a cheating girlfriend. His life is going nowhere.
Wes discovers that his estranged father has been brutally murdered and finds himself thrust into a secret society of assassins, called The Fraternity. During his training, at the hands of a skilled mentor named Fox (Angelina Jolie), this once office-bound wimp develops lightning-fast reflexes and superhuman dexterity.
However, with his first assignment, Wes finds out that the only thing more difficult than ending the lives of others, is summoning the courage to take control of his own.
WOW! I'd heard this film was good, it's not, it is brilliant! I rarely give a 5, but no question this flick is up there with the best action movies of the last few years. Breathtaking pace throughout, stunning stunts, brilliant acting, awesome filming, and a mind-blowing experience. The storyline is believable, the action beyond ones imagination, all in all a step up from the action drivel that has limped out of Hollywood over the last few years. Don't buy this if you are seeking a moving, meaningful experience, this is boy's own action at it's best with McAvoy starting to look more and more a complete actor in each role he tackles. It is that good, I've now also ordered it in blu-ray
Steve Carell is in CONTROL as Maxwell Smart, the novice agent often out of his depth but never out of options in this action comedy, pitting him against the nuclear scheme of the evil spy group KAOS. Anne Hathaway partners with Max as ever-capable Agent 99. And director Peter Segal (The Longest Yard) guides his stars (including Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin) through the dangerous realm of molar radios, multifunction pocketknives, exploding dental floss and more.
The Dimeo family has once again moved to give their eldest son J.J. a chance at a new school. J.J. has cerebral palsy*, an illness that binds him to a wheelchair and makes him unable to speak (but not to express himself).
J.J.'s mom Maya is the driving factor behind this move because her entire life now revolves around J.J., to give him the best care and education possible.
But her other two kids are slowly getting fed up with getting uprooted all the time for some perceived (though sometimes not even actual) improvement of J.J.'s life.
J.J.'s new school is very tolerant and open-minded but no one can meet Maya's standards and expectations which becomes obvious when the new school can only offer the garbage ramp for J.J. instead of a proper wheelchair access at the front door.
J.J.'s dad is a laid-back guy who doesn't really care what other think about him and he manages to counter-balance his wife and not lose focus on the fact that there are two more children to be raised.
I've already seen a few more episodes and this show manages to have an interesting balancing act.
On the one hand they actually show the problems people with disabilities have to face and oftentimes the mom comes out as a textbook Social Justice Warrior who fights the fight just for the sake of fighting the fight.
But they do it so over the top (for example, the entire school wants to make J.J. class president just because he's disabled and not based on any merits) and interlaced with good humour that they manage to get their point across without appearing preachy.
It absolutely helps that J.J. himself is a very balanced kid who overcomes his disabilities with the tools he has at hand.
While Minnie Driver's (Maya) character reminds me of her role in About a Boy (the series), John Ross Bowie's dad on the other hand is nothing like The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon's foil Barry Kripke.
*Both the actor as well the character have cerebral palsy, an illness that also afflicts Breaking Bad's actor RJ Mitte.
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May 14, 2024, 01:45:17 AM
