Safe House: gripping!

the Poster:

the Trailer:


the Plot:

a legend to all CIA operatives

Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), an ex-CIA agent turned international criminal, acquires a file from renegade MI6 agent Alec Wade (Liam Cunningham). Attacked by the mercenary Vargas (Fares Fares), Alex got fatally shot whilst Frost escaped to an American consulate and is moved to a CIA safe house in Cape Town, South Africa.

The "housekeeper" of the safe house is Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), a low-level agent. He watches Frost's interrogation and waterboarding by Daniel Kiefer (Robert Patrick).

Weston was left alone with Frost, as the shooting warfare ensued

Weston is reminded of his duty to protect the Safe House's guest

When Vargas and his men attack the house, Kiefer and his team were executed, and Weston escapes with Frost captive.

Weston contacts his mentor, David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson), at CIA headquarters for guidance. Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga), another CIA operative, intercepts the call and orders Weston to lay low and call back later.

Linklater and Whitford assessing the situation

Weston hides with Frost and calls his girlfriend Ana Moreau (Nora Arnezeder), telling her to leave the house. Linklater later tells Weston to go to Cape Town Stadium to retrieve a GPS device with the location of a nearby safe house.

Frost is incredulous with Weston's decision to cuff him at the stadium

Weston retrieves the GPS at the stadium, but Frost creates a diversion and escapes by disguising himself as a policeman.

Weston, detained by the police, later escapes and confronts Frost only to have the latter escapes after causing injury to him.

Weston went after Frost

the experienced Frost wins over Weston

Weston is ordered to visit the nearest American embassy for debriefing by the CIA Deputy Director, Harlan Whitford (Sam Shepard). Instead he meets with Ana, where he reveals that he is a CIA agent and sends her away for her safety to Paris. Ana is reluctant to leave but Weston beseeches her to do so.

Ana is incensed for being lied to and then requested to leave Weston

He then locates the house of Frost's contact, Carlos Villar (Rubén Blades), where Frost is attacked by Vargas and his team, but escapes with Weston's help. They learn that Vargas is actually working for the CIA, which is seeking to retrieve the files Frost received from Wade. It is revealed that the files contain detailed information of corrupt activities by many intelligence agencies, including the CIA itself, and that Weston's own superiors may be implicated.

over injuries, Frost confided that being CIA operatives isn't that much fun.

bonding

Keller was caustic in his admiration of Weston's posting at the Cape Town city

Frost is taken to the new safe house by Weston, where Weston is attacked by the housekeeper, Keller (Joel Kinnaman) who got the signal through his phone. After much struggle, Weston kills Keller but is badly wounded in their fight.

Frost leaves Weston who then passes out from the wounds sustained in the fight with Keller.

Meanwhile, Linklater has arrived in South Africa with Barlow to discover who leaked the location of the first safe house, but is shot and killed by Barlow, who goes to the safe house and reveals that he is Vargas' employer.

Linklater confided that the ensuing cat and mouse chase is for a microchip holding secrets. Barlow promptly shot her

 
Barlow confirms that the file contains incriminating evidence against him, and encourages Weston to lie about what has happened. Frost returns to rescue Weston by killing Vargas and his men but is shot by Barlow.

Weston, outraged, then shoots Barlow in the chest, killing him. Frost gives Weston the file and tells him he is better than Frost before he dies from his injuries.

Back in the U.S., Weston meets with Whitford, who informs Weston that unflattering facts about the CIA must be removed from his report, and he will be promoted as a senior case officer. He asks Weston about the file's location but Weston denies having been told about it by Frost. Whitford states that whoever has those files will have many enemies. Weston leaves, then leaks the files to the Internet, incriminating personnel from many intelligence agencies, including Whitford.

Later on, Weston sees Ana across a street in Paris, France. She reads a note passed to her from him, looks up at Weston, and they both make eye contact. She slowly smiles.

the Review:
one word to describe the movie: GRIPPING. i often watched movie concurrently with other tasks, playing computer  games mostly. but for this movie, i was forced to abandoned the side activities after 5 minutes or so of the movie.

RR played his role convincingly. his warring emotions and battling conscience were in constant havoc and chaos as he determined the next step to take. and he was attentive, making us believe that Frost is not so hard to find.


and that brings me to the holes in the story. it was a miracle that Weston could easily pinpoint Frost at Carlos' house. and during the escape earlier at the stadium full of people. it was so easy for Weston to spot Frost. i bet he is full of luck indeed.

and talking about luck, i wonder why the mercenaries didn't pick Ana up as collateral as her connection to Weston is all too apparent to Barlow and Whitford. they could arrange for her to be ransomed for Frost. but nope, she escaped clean as a whistle to Paris.

it was also stated that by having and leaking the information on the rogue secret agents of multiple nations, Weston shall have enemies from front, back, left and right. yet, he can easily go to Paris to meet Ana, without having to disguise himself. which brought the incredulity factor in my mind, don't the bad guys have other balachis at their back and call? is it suffice to assume that the only bad guys in CIA are Whitford and Barlow? i mean, shouldn't Whitford as Deputy Director have another rogue agents on his side too? ini tidak, when Barlow is dead, as if it's ok now, the super villain is dead and CIA is now clean.

and the mercenary himself is of mistaken descent. this movie is shot at Cape Town and the super villain is of Arab descent with konco-konco Arab plus African. hmmm...

the up points of this movie however, is that you could experience the perplexing emotion running amok in Weston. and that basically he is just doing his job for his country while maintaining his conscience. with tears dripping off his quivering eyelashes, the red eyes just convey how tortured he was in his course for truth and justice.

mata-mata yang bening, ewwah :)

 DW also portrayed a convincing image of a rogue agent escaping the CIA grid as he lost his trust in the agency's backhanded ways in achieving the greater good for the country regardless of the collateral damage. when Carlos dies of honor and loyalty to Frost, it was a very touching moment...

Carlos asks Frost to not divulge the secret contained in the microchip

all in all, this film is about honor and loyalty among comrades for the right justice. and it struck a cord within me, a government officer, to question my motives in serving my country etc. ewwah. berfalsafah la pulak, he he he

just to note. i do love the clothes that Linklater wore. very nice!

among others :)

Clash of the Titans: a lecture on the Greek myths is direly needed!

the Poster:

the Trailer:


the Plot:

In ancient times, the gods led by Zeus (Liam Neeson), Poseidon (Danny Huston) and Hades (Ralph Fiennes) betrayed their parents, the Titans, and banished them to the Underworld with the help of the Kraken, a sea monster born of Hades. The gods divided the Universe among themselves; Zeus took the skies, Poseidon took the seas, and Hades, tricked by Zeus, was left with the Underworld. Zeus created the mortals, whose faith in them assured their immortality. However, as time passed, mortals began to question them.

A fisherman by name of Spyros (Pete Postlethwaite) finds a casket afloat in the sea, bearing a baby still living and clasped in the arms of his mother’s corpse. Spyros and his wife Marmara (Elizabeth McGovern) raise the baby as their own and name him "Perseus". Years later, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is fishing with his family when they witness soldiers from the city of Argos destroying a statue of Zeus.

The gods, infuriated at this desecration, unleash the Furies - flying beasts who pursue mortal sinners. The soldiers are attacked and slaughtered by the Furies. The Furies merge and take the form of Hades, who destroys the ship Perseus and his family are on. His family perishes, but Perseus survives and is found by other survivors, soldiers from Argos led by Draco (Mads Mikkelsen).

Perseus is brought before King Cepheus (Vincent Regan) and Queen Cassiopeia (Polly Walker) who are celebrating the campaign against the gods.

Queen Cassiopeia brashly compares her daughter Princess Andromeda (Alexa Davalos) to the Gods and boasts she is more beautiful than Aphrodite.

Andromeda takes pity upon Perseus and offered him a drink. But her offer was thwarted by Draco.

The revelry is cut short by the arrival of Hades, who has been given leave by Zeus to punish the mortals for their defiance.

Hades ages Cassiopeia to old age and proclaims that in the upcoming solar eclipse, he will unleash the Kraken against Argos unless Andromeda is offered as a sacrifice. Before leaving, he reveals that Perseus is a demigod, the son of Zeus.

Perseus is imprisoned by Draco and in captivity meets Io (Gemma Arterton) who tells him of his origin. Many years before, King Acrisius (Jason Flemyng) also tried declaring war against the gods. To punish him, Zeus impersonated Acrisius and impregnated his wife, Queen Dänae (Tine Stapelfeldt). Acrisius, driven mad with rage, ordered the execution of Dänae and the newborn baby and cast them into the sea in a coffin. As punishment for his continued defiance, Zeus also struck Acrisius with lightning, transforming him into a monster. Io also reveals that she was cursed with immortality after she refused Poseidon's advances and has watched over Perseus his entire life, beginning with watching from ashore as his adoptive parents rescue him from the floating coffin, to the present, always protecting him, as he is prophesized to be the only one able to stand up to the Gods.

As the Cult of Hades led by the insane Prokopion (Luke Treadaway) grows in number and demands Andromeda's sacrifice, a desperate Cepheus asks Perseus to lead the King's Guard to visit the Stygian Witches in order to discover a way to kill the Kraken. Wishing to avenge the death of his family, Perseus accepts.

Perseus, Io and the guards head off on their quest joined by Anatolian monster hunters, Ozal (Ashraf Barhom) and Kucuk (Mouloud Achour).

Hades seeks out and finds a decrepit Acrisius, now known as Calibos, and promises him he will destroy Zeus in exchange for Calibos killing Perseus. Calibos promises to serve him and Hades gives Calibos powerful superhuman abilities.

Zeus is convinced by Apollo (Luke Evans) to give Perseus a chance and presents him with an enchanted sword forged on Mt. Olympus and a winged horse named Pegasus. Perseus refuses both gifts but a wise Draco puts the sword into safekeeping.

Shortly thereafter, they are attacked by Calibos. Calibos kills several men and bites Perseus on the arm, poisoning him with venom.

With Calibos holding Perseus by the head, Draco severs Calibos's hand causing Calibos to flee. The band gives chase but is attacked by giant scorpions called Scorpiochs summoned by Calibos’s blood.

Although they manage to kill some of them while losing a few men, they are ultimately surrounded by even larger scorpions until they are saved by the Djinn, a band of non-human desert sorcerers led by Sheik Suleiman (Ian Whyte). The Djinn, also wishing for the gods' defeat, lend their aid to Perseus and his band. Suleiman also cures the poison from the bite on Perseus's arm.

The group arrives at the lair of the Stygian Witches and learns from them that the only possibility for killing the Kraken lies with the head of the gorgon Medusa who resides in a temple in the Underworld.

Medusa can turn any creature made of flesh into stone that makes eye contact with her gaze, and thus using her head is the only way to stop the Kraken.

As they prepare to head into the Underworld, Perseus is approached by Zeus, who offers to make him a god, but when he refuses, Zeus gives him a golden drachma, fare for Charon, the ferryman of the Underworld.

Perseus, Io, Suleiman, Draco and his remaining men Solon (Liam Cunningham), Eusebius (Nicholas Hoult) and Ixas (Hans Matheson) cross into the Underworld with the help of the ferryman bribed by Zeus' drachma.

the men enter Medusa's temple lair while Io remains outside, unable to enter the temple as she's a woman.

Ixar

eusebios

Using her bow, Medusa (Natalia Vodianova) shoots Solon causing him to fall into lava fire, wounds Draco, and turns Eusebius and Ixas into stone.

Suleiman and Draco both wound Medusa, sacrificing themselves in the process and setting the stage for Perseus to behead her with his eyes closed.

As he is leaving the temple with Medusa's head, he witnesses Calibos appear behind Io and fatally stab her. Perseus and Calibos engage in mortal combat with Calibos having the upper hand and disarming Perseus. Finally coming to terms with who he is, Perseus picks up the Olympian sword and pierces Calibos through the chest, turning him back into Acrisius in human form, restoring him to sanity and humility for one last moment.

Before dying, Io urges a reluctant Perseus to leave her and save Andromeda and Argos before she dissolves into a golden ethereal vapor.

Perseus mounts Pegasus and hastens back to Argos as the solar eclipse begins and Zeus orders the Kraken's release.

The Cult goes to the palace and seizes Andromeda in order to offer her to the Kraken.

While the Kraken ravages Argos, Hades reveals to Zeus that while they have been surviving on the people’s adoration, he has been feeding on people's fear and his monster has been channeling even more fear.

While the gods have become weaker, Hades has now grown powerful enough to take on Mount Olympus and even destroy it in revenge for his betrayal so many years before. Realizing his mistake too late, Zeus can only rely on Perseus.

In Argos, Hades unleashes the Furies against Perseus and they manage to snag away from him the sack holding Medusa’s head while the Kraken causes massive damage to Argos. In an intense aerial chase with Perseus riding Pegasus, he manages to retrieve the bag and expose Medusa's face to the Kraken, making eye contact just before it is able to eat Andromeda. The Kraken slowly turns into a massive stone statue which cracks and falls apart. The falling debris kills Prokopion and Cepheus while Andromeda falls into the sea. Hades appears to confront Perseus and taunts him; Perseus raises his sword to the heavens and calling upon Zeus, throws his sword at Hades. A lightning bolt engulfs the sword which expels Hades and banishes him to the Underworld once more.

Perseus dives in to the sea and rescues Andromeda, now the rightful Queen of Argos and respected by her people. She asks him to stay by her side as King, but he declines, saying he is not a leader but simply a man.

After leaving with Pegasus, Perseus arrives on the island where Zeus's statue was destroyed, near where his family was killed. Zeus returns and offers Perseus godhood but he declines, Zeus states that if Perseus is to live as a human, he should not do it alone, and revives Io.

the Riviu:
i had to spend quite some times with wiki-wiki to learn about the Greek myths upon writing this riviu. the stories are varied from what was depicted in the movie, so much so that my head figuratively rolled with too much information.

i disapproved the term "gods" used to refer to Zeus and his lot. they're obviously NOT. with human failings and limited powers, well, they are merely deities. plus, if Zeus is so powerful, why must he delegates the dirsty job to Hades, who obviously has a bone to pick with his fellow brothers and other Olympians who reside on top of the Mount Olympus while he was supposed to be the king of the misery-fermented Underworld?

Io explained that Perseus was the son Zeus sired with Queen Danae, as a way to teach her heretic husband, King Acrisius (later known as the damned creature Calibos). this is a riot and prove how humane Zeus was. the way his teaching goes, this is clearly not. i favour the original myth, that Danae was Acrisius' daughter whom he kept hidden for fear the son she born will ultimately be the death of him.

as for Io, she was kept ageless by the curse of Poseidon whom advances she rejected. another one of the many failings of the Olympians that clearly further prove that they are far from god-like.

the story of Medusa in the movie nonetheless remains true as the myth. but it is such a sorry story, the other testimonial of the oft-cruel Olympians. too beautiful for her own good, Poseidon took a liking for Medusa that he pursued her amorously. Escaping to the temple of Athena, Medusa appealed for Athena's protection but was refused help. instead she earned Athena's scorn and was raped at the temple grounds. Incensed by what had happened in her temple, Athena cursed Medusa into a mortal Gorgon, with hairs made of venomous snakes and body of a serpent. those who hold her gaze was cursed to be dead.

it is explained that Athena punished Medusa as she was the woman whose beauty tempt the men. Poseidon holds no blame as his womanising ways are expected of a male Greek god. which proves how much twisted the Greek myths really are and the Olympians don't deserve the tagline "gods".

the movie also resurrects Io to be Perseus' wife when in fact the myth stated that he marries Andromeda whom he saved from the Kraken. i was informed that in the sequel, Wrath of the Titans, Perseus shall fight the Titans alongside Andromeda (Rosamund Pike). Yay! i'm a fan of RP, let's hope the movie doesn't dissapoint.

though i'm peeved with the whole gods and demi-gods concept, i admit that the fact Io fought together with Perseus is a redeeming point. hurrah for Feminism! (sarcastic grin)

Zeus deserves all the calamity and whatnots for being stupid, weak and definitely humane. he is not fit to be a leader and had not shown exemplary nor redeeming qualities.

the riot led by Prokopion just prove that once people lost their grip with God, they are susceptible to anything. and Prokopion is our example of Dajjal who plied with people's fear to his gains. Nau'zubillah!

in whole, the story was a bit sluggish at first but picked up its speed later on. comic relief is non-existant, except for Ixar and Esebios. i noted that Ixar is the bad guy in Sherlock Holmes.

for those who are familiar with the Greek myths, they might enjoy the movie. i found it so-so and thus the 2.5 star rating. oh well, sue me :)