3D Ocean life is amazing

Viewers of UNDER THE SEA 3D will get the best look at ocean life that they can get without snorkels or scuba gear. This release makes full use of the IMAX format in its theatrical release, revealing the underwater wildlife of Australia, New Guinea, and the rest of the Pacific in vibrant detail. But this beautiful documentary doesn't just show the amazing inhabitants of the ocean; it also reveals the effects of climate change on them and their environment.

From the people who gave us the Imax nature documentaries Into the Deep 3D and Deep Sea 3D comes a new immersive journey, Under the Sea 3D. Director Howard Hall was the first guy to take an IMAX 3-D camera underwater with the California kelp forest documentary Into the Deep (1994), the most successful film made with the technology. This time, Hall and crew head for more exotic waters — coral reefs off the coast of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia, including the Great Barrier Reef. Like its predecessors, Under the Sea is family-friendly viewing — the great white shark swims by, as opposed to tearing prey to shreds. Its goal is to show biodiversity and offer information on how reefs grow, reminding us of threats to these environments. This is no documentary version of Finding Nemo: You can't follow a family of giant cuttlefish like you can lions, polar bears or wolves, although the dramatic feeding and mating behaviours of the odd-looking creatures make them the lead characters in Under the Sea. What we do get are captivating sequences of animal behaviour — a phalanx of sea snakes "standing" like weeds to feed on passing critters; fish that resemble lumps of colourful coral until they snatch their prey; a sea turtle closing its eyes as it chows down on a jellyfish in order to avoid getting stung. No fishy film would be complete without a mammalian cameo, in this case Australian sea lions who mug for the camera. And the filmmakers save the most delicate, alien creature for the grand finale: the Leafy Sea Dragon, which looks like a sculpted bonsai branch with tiny transparent fins. Super weird and cool. Narration is delivered by Jim Carrey, who regrettably plays it straight, although I suppose the message would have been overshadowed by smart-aleck comments. The best thing about high-quality Imax movies such as Under the Sea 3D is that they take us to the world's most beautiful and fragile places so we won't wreck them. The 3D effects are genuinely impressive, ensuring that the experience of watching the film is as close as possible to actual deep sea diving – young children in particular will be delighted and even adults will be hard pressed not to find themselves reaching out and attempting to touch the creatures as they swim in front of you. That said, it's a good thing that the film is only 40 minutes long, because it's hard to focus on some of the scenes and you might end up with a slight headache. Jim Carrey proves a surprisingly decent narrator, though, happily, he does throw in a couple of jokey comments for good measure. The film's environmental message is also hammered home with just enough force, without being over the top. The only real problem with the film is that its child-friendly certificate prohibits any exciting 3D footage of great white sharks in action. It's genuinely thrilling to be up close and personal with a great white shark, but you do end up hoping it will attack a seal during the impossibly cute seal moments. I nice little treat even if we don't get to see the sharks in action. This gets a 3 on my "Go See" scale. It's educational enough for all ages and the 3D is well worth it. 

Release Your Inner Fanboy

In this riotous new road movie from producer Kevin Spacey, a group of friends who are avid Star Wars fans travel west to see the Holly Grail of all sci-fi movies, Star Wars: Episode I. The year is 1999 and for these death star dorks, the Star Wars films are more than just movies; they are a way of life. So, after one of the group takes sick it is nothing short of a moral imperative that the friends break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to watch the seminal sci-fi picture together before its release. Enlisting the help of an estranged friend, who has traded in his Darth Vader mask for a proper day job, the adventure lays way to some extremely funny situations, including an outrageous brawl with some hard-core Trekkies.

Even geeks enjoy poking fun at geeks. And they really know how. In Fanboys, opening today, several real Star Wars geeks (writer, director and producer) take affectionate and pointed shots at their own kind. With the aid of some major geek heroes (William Shatner, Carrie Fisher, Kevin Smith, Billy Dee Williams) the self-aware mockery is often funny. It’s 1998. For Star Wars fanboys, it’s been 15 years in hell, waiting, waiting, waiting, for the long promised Star Wars prequels. The last of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi, came out in 1983. In 1993, Star Wars creator George Lucas revealed that a prequel trilogy was actually going to happen. Now, at last, the end is in sight: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is set to open May 19, 1999. But for small town Ohio buddies and dedicated geeks Eric (Sam Huntington), Hutch (Dan Fogler) and Windows (Jay Baruchel), there is a disturbance in the Force. A real one. Their fellow fanboy, Linus (Chris Marquette), has cancer. He may not live to May 1999. Waiting another year is not an option.  These four friends, now in their 20s, grew up on Star Wars. To them, planet Tatooine is more real than their hometown. Emperor Palpatine, not President Clinton, is the ruler. For Linus to die without seeing the new movie would add insult to tragedy. So the friends climb into Hutch’s beat-up Star Wars van for an insane cross-country road trip, geek style. They know their plan is absurd: drive to northern California and break into Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and steal an early cut of The Phantom Menace. But this is their Death Star, the impossible challenge they have to take on out of love for Linus. They may be nerds ill-equipped for the real world, but these fanboys have a guardian den mother in practical, attractive gal pal Zoe (Kristen Bell). She’s going along to keep them out of trouble and because, well, she’s a bit of a fangirl herself (and she's in love with Windows). Their trip takes them, among other places, to Riverside, Iowa, “future birthplace” of Star Trek Capt. James T. Kirk, where they have a geek-to-geek run-in with a team of Star Trek fanboys (“We’re Trekkers, not Trekkies”). The Trek leader (Seth Rogen, who plays three cameos in the movie) is dressed in full Star Fleet admiral regalia as tour guide of Riverside’s Capt. Kirk statue. Another stop is in Austin (though not actually filmed there) where they meet up with fanboy supreme Harry Knowles (Ethan Suplee), creator of Aintitcoolnews.com. Harry is rumored to have the secret plans to get into Skywalker Ranch. Along the way Zoe and the boys also cross paths with Shatner (as himself), Fisher, Billy Dee Williams (as a judge with an inside-joke name) and Clerks characters Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith). Co-screenwriters Ernest Cline and Adam F. Goldberg do a great job of blending outrageous humor with tongue-in-cheek and witty humor from the very first scene until the last, although there are a few scenes that tend to fall flat with recycled and forced humor. In one particularly outrageously funny scene, the guys accidentally end up in gay bar and strip in front of patrons. There’s no denying that avid fans of Star Wars will get a kick out of hearing all of the in-jokes about Star Wars and seeing certain special cameos, none of which will be spoiled here. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a Star Wars aficionado confronts a Trekkie to compare Star Wars to Star Trek, now’s your chance. Essentially, Fanboys feels like a tamer version of Sex Drive. The actors seem to be having a great time in their roles, so their comic energy and enthusiasm often radiates from the screen. It manages to be an outrageously zany, razor sharp comedy and a must-see for Star Wars fans young and old. If you're among those Star Wars fans, then let the LAUGHTER be with you! A hilarious 4 on my "Go See"scale.

This is how it should be done!

Against the advice of locals and police, Clay (Jared Padalecki) scours the eerie woods surrounding Crystal Lake for his missing sister. But the rotting cabins of an abandoned summer camp are not the only things he finds. Hockey-masked killer Jason Voorhees lies in wait for a chance to use his razor-sharp machete on Clay and the group of college students who have come to the forest to party.

Chi chi chi chi.. Ha ha ha ha.. Repeat these words in a whisper around any horror film fan and they will instantly recognize the “sound” of Friday the 13th. The first film in the series was released in 1980 and featured an unknown Kevin Bacon. In spite of a run of 10 successful sequels the powers that be at Paramount have decided to go back in time and introduce a whole new generation to the world of Jason Voorhees. After a brief prologue which fills the audience in on the legend of Jason (a young boy drowns at summer camp. His mother blames the oversexed counselors for not paying attention and goes on a killing spree only to be beheaded by the last surviving counselor) the words “20 years later” hit the screen and we are introduced to five happy go lucky campers who head to the old Camp Crystal Lake grounds in search of good times and an apparently unlimited supply of marijuana, which grows wild in the woods. Faster than you can say “hold on, let me get my pants off” they are dispatched by the hulking Jason in very creative ways. Clay Miller (Padalecki) is a man on a mission. It’s been more than a month (actually six weeks, as the onscreen credit tells us) since his sister Whitney (Amanda Righetti) and her friends disappeared while camping near Crystal Lake. Unhappy with the job the local police is doing, he is traveling the area on his motorcycle putting up “missing person” notices. At the local convenient store he comes across another group of happy go lucky kids up for a visit. He earns the sympathy of Jenna (Panabaker) who takes a flier and agrees to keep her eyes open. As Clay heads to the next telephone pole to staple a flier the kids head off to their cabin for a weekend of fun. Chi chi chi chi. Ha ha ha ha. I can still remember seeing the original “Friday the 13th.” An above average horror film that set the standard for gore in a mainstream movie thanks to the genius of makeup master Tom Savini. Kevin Bacon with an arrow through his neck. Betsy Palmer’s head rolling on the ground. Pretty tame stuff now in the world of “Hostel” and “Saw,” but 30 years ago it was horrific and terrifying. As the series progressed it followed the same formula of irresponsible kids meeting up with the hockey mask wearing Jason who, despite the fact that he “died” in 1958, moved around pretty well. The new film does a fine job of capturing the terror of the original while distancing itself just enough to stand alone. Director Nispel does a fine job setting up his victims as well as the audience. Rather than use the standard camera angles (character slowly turns into the shot to reveal hulking monster behind him) he paces the scares, keeping the audience alert and on their toes. The cast, as in many films of this genre, is attractive and fun loving. Padalecki does get the chance to show some emotional range and Aaron Yoo mines some genuine laughs as the chronically pot smoking Chewie. Kudos also to Mears, who follows in the footsteps of the great Kane Hodder. Mears, though silent throughout, manages to convey the inner workings of Jason without a single word being uttered. Good job. The special effects are quite good and fairly imaginative, though really there are probably only a few ways to impale a head on something. I was thoroughly pleased. The best horror movie so far this year. A murderous 4 on my "Go See" scale.

The International Bore

In the thriller, The International, Interpol Agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) are determined to bring to justice one of the world’s most powerful banks. Uncovering myriad and reprehensible illegal activities, Salinger and Whitman follow the money from Berlin to Milan to New York to Istanbul. Finding themselves in a high-stakes chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk as their targets will stop at nothing – even murder – to continue financing terror and war.



The International scampers all over the place, but it's alternately frantic and a little slack, with a hole in the middle where some interesting characters ought to be. Screenwriter Eric Warren Singer based his script on the Bank of Credit and Commercial Intl., a Pakistan-born institution that specialized in money laundering, arms dealing and financing rebel armies, mercenaries and terrorists from the 1970s until its demise in 1991. The fictional bank in question here, the IBBC, has a formidable, ultra-sleek HQ in Luxembourg and seems to function equally as an assassination bureau and a broker for weapons sales among unsavory parties. Having witnessed a colleague drop dead in Berlin after nearly uncorking a deal for a sophisticated missile guidance system between the Chinese and some undesirables, it falls to sweaty, grubby, pushy Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Owen), formerly of Scotland Yard, to finger the bad boys, who are all well-groomed, overly serious Euros expert at hard stares and putting on airs of steely superiority. For reasons glided over too quickly to sink in, Salinger is paired with New York Assistant District Attorney Eleanor Whitman (Watts) to pursue their suspicions. European officials suddenly become extremely uncooperative when they find out who the pair is investigating, even after another high-profile murder and a political assassination in Milan bear the IBBC signature. Nearly an hour in, the action shifts to New York City for the sole purpose of staging the film's major violent setpiece on the curving ramps of the Guggenheim Museum. After a wildly coincidental chance sighting of the assassin, cutely known only as the Consultant (Brian F. O'Byrne), Frank Lloyd Wright's Upper East Side masterpiece is turned into a war zone as it gets shot to pieces by philistines wielding very heavy artillery. Taking performance art to new levels of mayhem, Tykwer moves his shooters amid ever-changing wall video installations as they maneuver up, down and around the gallery. As orchestrated chaos ensues for 14 minutes, you mostly wonder how the sequence was filmed, if a combination of the real place and sets was used and why the Guggenheim would have allowed it. The answer is that, except for some establishing shots, the sequence was entirely staged on a massive, utterly credible re-creation in an old railway roundhouse in Berlin. Salinger's spirited tag-along crimefighter Whitman is one of the few roles to which Watts hasn't been able to bring anything special, because there's nothing remotely suggested about her inner-life or past. By contrast, Armin Mueller-Stahl's titan of corruption at the center of IBBC has been loaded with a ripe former career to help explain his malfeasance, just the latest example of how much more interesting it can be to play complicated bad guys rather than one-dimensional good ones. Scripter Singer latched onto a good subject for a thriller but paid more attention to connecting the dramatic dots than to delving beneath the surface of international business or personality. Dialogue is generally mundane with functional intent. What is puzzling about The International is the way it frequently switches between being US studio-smooth and Euro-pudding awkward. It takes the trouble to set up a Silvio Berlusconi-like character with a party called Futuro Italia (in the same way as its evil arms-dealing bank is a BCCI-alike called The International Bank of Business and Credit) and swishes between Luxembourg, Berlin, New York, Istanbul, Lake Garda and Milan, but the sound quality is often 80s-murky. And the dialogue itself seems to come from Karate Kid: "Sometimes," Owen's Interpol detective tells Stasi-chief-turned-banker Armin Mueller-Stahl, "a man meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." So enamoured is Tykwer/writer Eric Warren Singer of this line, they have Mueller-Stahl repeat it back to him later. The proceedings kick off in Berlin's newly-built Hauptbanhof train station where Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Owen) has been working in an elaborate international operation with Manhattan DA Eleanor Whitman (Watts) on one of Luxembourg-based IBBC's senior officers to turn state witness. It all goes quickly awry, however, and Salinger and Whitman must now work to unravel IBBC's murderous and all-powerful network together, an obsession which has predictably destroyed Salinger's life and almost ruined his career. The International is certainly ambitious, with Tykwer introducing multiple characters, plot strands and locations on the way to a zinging shoot-out in the Guggenheim Museum. This sequence isn't exactly logically played out but it does give The International the shot in the arm it so badly needs at this point before descending again into hammy dialogue and lovely-looking locales. It's always a pleasure to see Armin Mueller-Stahl, but at this point he practically has "monster" tattooed on his forehead when it comes to English-language productions, and the denouement (again, shot in Istanbul) never seems less than inevitable. Owen's out-of-shape Interpol agent frankly doesn't seem bright enough to keep up with the international network of evil that is IBBC; his facial expression runs from puzzled to baffled to exhausted as he puffs down a Manhattan street. But it's not easy to say "sometimes bridges are better off being burnt" with a straight face. Twkyer may well find he's set a few alight here. Too bad that this wasn't as good as it could've been. A saddened 2 on my "Go See" scale.

I Should've Been Pushed Away From This Movie

Push burrows deep into the deadly world of psychic espionage where artificially enhanced paranormal operatives have the ability to move objects with their minds, see the future, create new realities and kill without ever touching their victims. Against this setting, a young man and a teenage girl take on a clandestine agency in a race against time that will determine the future of civilization.

Push should be pulled from theaters. One long mistake from start to finish, this is a film that never gets its rhythms or bearing right. It always feels off, from the often clumsy performances to its by-the-numbers plot revelations to the big action scenes that are completely devoid of thrills.  The film's one great distinction is that it stars Dakota Fanning, and she is absolutely terrible. Fanning, veteran of more than 25 films at the ripe old age of 13, has never managed to even be mildly irritating in a role, much less actively bad. In this way, Push accomplishes the heretofore impossible. Watch her play drunk. Watch her play tough. Watch her tromp around in absurd punk boots. Wait a minute -- don't actually watch any of it. It's too embarrassing. Fanning plays Cassie, a psychic, one of many-many-many people here on Earth with paranormal gifts. She teams up with Nick (Chris Evans), who can move things with his mind, to rescue Kira (Camilla Belle), who has the ability to insert thoughts and beliefs in other minds. Somehow saving Kira is going to free all the imprisoned paranormal folks our government has in a hidden cage somewhere. Because Kira has been shot full of an experimental super-drug which ups her powers. Dastardly government bad guys -- does the government ever have good guys in movies anymore? -- are of course hunting Kira, and Cassie and Nick, and they've got superpowers of their own. For reasons that are never explained but likely have to do with tax incentives, all this takes place in Hong Kong. Which doesn't help it make sense but does keep things colorful. "Movers" can fling things around just by thinking it; "Watchers" can see the future; "Pushers" put ideas into people's heads, etc. Apparently, nations across the globe have been trying to create a race of super-psychics since the 1940s, except that every attempt ends in death. Before countless rooms and buildings are smashed, Chris and Cassie meet characters who can heal wounds, track suspects by following their scent or burst people's blood vessels by screaming really loud. That last one is especially relevant, as director Paul McDuigan amps up the visuals with a hyper-annoying mind's-eye effect, though there are a few kicky fight sequences involving flying objects and hurtling bodies (guns floating through the air, alas, look as silly as they ever did). More frequently, however, there's a lot of psych-speak, clunky backstory about a mysterious briefcase and Evans' rehearsed nonchalance. Maggie Siff has an eye-catching cameo as a healing femme fatale, and Hounsou glowers convincingly, but Belle is somehow even worse than she was in "10,000 B.C.." Watching Push, the viewer is free to get caught up in the exotic surroundings; Hong Kong is shot from all angles as a gritty, exuberant world unto itself. Growing to care about the human element is a tougher sell, not because the characters aren't worthy or likable, but because there is little payoff to them or their relationships. Instead of spinning a tale with a beginning, a middle, and an end, director Paul McGuigan is distracted with the possibility of having a franchise on his hands. Thus, as a whole, Push feels unfinished, its ultimate destination accounting for nothing more than a shrug. There is a fair amount to like here, and just as much to resent for how much better it could have been. A saddened 2 on my "Go See" Scale. This could've/should've been so much better.

....If He's Not Calling You...

A group of interconnected, Baltimore-based twenty- and thirtysomethings navigate their various relationships from the shallow end of the dating pool through the deep, murky waters of married life, trying to read the signs of the opposite sex--and hoping to be the exceptions to the "no-exceptions" rule. Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin) just wants a man who says he'll call--and does--while Alex (Justin Long) advises her to stop sitting by the phone. Beth (Jennifer Aniston) wonders if she should call it off after years of committed singlehood with her boyfriend, Neil (Ben Affleck), but he doesn't think there's a single thing wrong with their unmarried life. Janine's (Jennifer Connelly) not sure if she can trust her husband, Ben (Bradley Cooper), who can't quite trust himself around Anna (Scarlett Johansson). Anna can't decide between the sexy married guy, or her straightforward, no-sparks standby, Conor (Kevin Connolly), who can't get over the fact that he can't have her. And Mary (Drew Barrymore), who's found an entire network of loving, supportive men, just needs to find one who's straight.

Based on the wildly popular bestseller from Sex and the City scribes Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo, He's Just Not That Into You tells the stories of a group of interconnected, Baltimore-based twenty- and thirtysomethings as they navigate their various relationships from the shallow end of the dating pool through the deep, murky waters of married life, trying to read the signs of the opposite sex... and hoping to be the exceptions to the "no-exceptions" rule. If you've ever sat by the phone wondering why he said he would call, but didn't, or if you can't figure out why she doesn't want to sleep with you anymore, or why your relationship just isn't going to the next level... he (or she) is just not that into you. When Gigi (Goodwin) -- who might as well have "desperately needy" tattooed to her forehead -- doesn't get a call back from Conor (Connolly) in the requisite 20 minutes after their date has ended, she has to go into counseling with her friends/co-workers, Beth (Aniston) and Janine (Connelly), and eventually with Alex (Long), the bartender in the joint where Gigi goes to stalk Conor. While Gigi's friends talk her off the figurative ledge, it's Alex who lets her in on a few things, such as how to tell if a guy is never going to call, even though Gigi has a hard time getting any of this through her pretty little romance-ladden skull. It's all a matter of expectations, and perhaps fear of fulfillment: Mary (Barrymore), for instance, is the ad manager for a gay Baltimore magazine whose guy-pals help her through one love trauma after another, most of them virtual. She's got unanswered emails and voicemails and MySpace and Facebook friends, but love is elusive. And so is Mary, if you count face-to-face encounters. There's far more insight into the female characters, but they, too, are full of foibles. Gigi doesn't know when to back off. Neither does Janine, whose marriage to Ben (Cooper) seems OK at first, although she's a freak about his smoking -- which upsets her even more than what transpires between Ben and an overripe tartlet named Anna (Johansson), a would-be singer who's also been leading Conor (remember Conor?) around by the nose. Beth, meanwhile, learns that her sister is getting married, which throws her seven-year relationship with Neil (Affleck) into disequilibrium: Is he ever going to marry her? No. So she leaves him. And another planet spins out of control. Despite its layer of darkness (Connelly gives a really rich performance as a woman whose principles back her into a corner), "He's Just Not That Into You" is a fantasy. No one has a problem except romance. Neil sails a yacht. Ben and Janine are giving their Baltimore apartment an overhaul that would embarrass Architectural Digest. Perhaps that's the point. yesIt isn't quite an ensemble piece; it feels as though Goodwin and Long are the frontmen; Aniston, Connelly, Cooper and Connolly are the backup band; and Barrymore and Affleck are the chick singers. Johansson, as usual, is in her own movie. But the pic may also be the first contemporary escapist comedy that feels fully aware of its place in the economic vortex. The lushness, the leisure, the vicarious wealth are all balms to soothe our savaged selves as we look away from the news and onto the screen. Given the state of things, such a movie almost seems like an act of charity toward the public. It's not screwball comedy, but the underlying sentiments are the same. This one gets a 3 on my "Go See" scale. It's not great, but it's good enough. 

Taken by surprise

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) has only recently given up his government career as what he calls, a "preventer" to be near his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), who lives with Bryan's ex-wife Lenore (Famke Jenssen) and her new husband. To make ends meet, Bryan joins some former colleagues for special security details (like guarding a pop diva), but most of his time and energy are spent re-connecting with Kim. But, when Kim requests his permission to spend time in Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy), he reluctantly consents. Bryan's worst fears are realized when Kim and her friend Amanda are suddenly abducted - in broad daylight - from the Paris apartment at which they've just arrived. Moments before Kim is dragged away by the as yet unseen and unknown assailants, she manages to phone Bryan, who begins to expertly piece together clues that will take him to the darkness of Paris's underworld, and to the City of Light's plushest mansions.

Taken suggests we should never underestimate what a father would do when his daughter is in peril -- especially when that father is a retired government black-ops CIA agent who knows he has only 96 hours before his recently kidnapped daughter will disappear into the sleazy Parisian underworld, a slave to the thriving sex trade. Throw in the fact that this highly efficient operative is played by Liam Neeson, an actor we’ve always considered in a class above the Hollywood action stars typically featured in genre pictures like this one, and Taken ends up being a highly entertaining action piece. The film opens as we meet Bryan Mills (Neeson) who recently retired from his super-spy government job and now occasionally moonlights as security detail for various events, the most recent of which finds him in charge of a threatened pop diva (Holly Valance). A bit melancholy but not yet ready to dedicate himself to building birdhouses for the rest of his life, he’s just plodding through the days pondering what could have been. Seems his devotion to a career that found him on covert assignments all over the globe not only cost him his wife (Janssen), but also robbed him of a relationship with his teen-aged daughter Kim (Grace), for which he hopes to atone by reentering her life. The worst fears of a father who has seen the world’s dangers first hand come true when Kim and her friend Amanda (Cassidy) are almost immediately kidnapped from their hotel room upon arriving in Paris. Knowing the police will offer very little hope for finding the missing girls, Mills jumps into action mode and learns that an Albanian prostitution ring is at the center of the tragedy. He also learns that 3 or 4 days is about all the time he has before they’re gone forever. Things get fun for the audience when Neeson quickly morphs from sappy father figure to no-nonsense killing machine. His list of worldly skills get put to good use when he coolly and calmly tells the kidnappers, via Kim’s stolen cell phone, “I will look for you, I will find you. And I will kill you.” Despite his cuddly father-figure looks and almost sheepish demeanor, we believe him. But apparently the Albanians don’t. Where Neeson excels -- and what really makes the whole movie work for that matter -- involves how seamlessly he handles both ends of the action hero spectrum needed here. It’s important that we’re drawn into his character by the gravity and complexity he lends to the role. We must understand what drives him and care about his plight. But on the other hand, he must also convincingly deliver on the martial arts sequences. It works… and we’re convinced. Once the action movies to France, the film’s frenetic pace keeps us from thinking too much about what’s believable and what isn’t. Language barriers only become an issue when important to getting out of a corner, and the baddies must be using bulletless machine guns. But Taken is a great ride for action junkies and those who like to see the enemy get the raw end of a deal. It would have been nice to see what the filmmakers could have done with an “R” rating, but even so, for a “PG-13” feature, brutal savagery and guiltless violence are on high display, even though blood, guts, gore and sex aren’t. This movie will get the blood pumping for any action movie fan. I really enjoyed this movie. Definitely a must see. A hardcore 4 on my "Go See" scale.