JockStein

Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock could easily have crafted this brilliantly written, incredibly riveting and intensely suspenseful thriller. Instead, the virtually unknown Canadian director Denis Villeneuve is responsible for what is without doubt the best movie of 2013. There are staggering performances from Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal,intricate plot twists that keep you on the edge of your seat and atmospheric elements that will make your heart race and interfere with normal breathing patterns. Before viewing this movie, It is recommended that you keep a brown paper bag by your side to prevent hyper ventilation and make sure to trim your fingernails as you will be biting them to the very end.

Intelligent movie-goers will be embarrassed by this latest offering from German born director, "Roland Emmerich". Renowned for several over the top movies in the past, including, ("2012", "Godzilla","The Day After Tomorrow" and "Independence Day", it was no surprise then that he continued in that fashion and gave us another movie with plenty of action and very little substance. Let's start with the casting, Jamie Fox could have played the lead role but was out of his element as the president of the United States. Channing Tatum seems to be the "flavour of the month" but he gets roles like this because of his broad appeal and not for his thespian dexterity. James Woods has made a living out of playing demented political characters and turns in the same expected performance here. Maggie Gyllenhall was the one bright spark that helped to keep the ship afloat, but there was too much water to bale out and this movie sunk fast. With preposterous action scenes, ridiculous villains, and a storyline that seemed to drag on forever, this movie was less than memorable.

Like watching a solar eclipse for the first time, or catching a glimpse of "Hayleys Comet" as it makes its rare appearance over the earth, it is quite the event when Hollywood teams up two legendary and heralded actors for the first time. Robert De Niro and John Travolta star as adversaries still conflicted by their experiences in the Bosnian war. Travoltas character (Emil Kovac) travels to the United States seeking revenge against the U.N. commander (De Niro) for atrocities committed by his troops against the Serbians. What follows is two heavyweights slugging it out with reckless abandon, each gaining the upper hand and both being knocked to the canvass on numerous occasions. Who will prevail in this intensely physical and psychological warfare being waged by the two old enemies? Will it be the last man standing or will they reach some kind of compromise and lay down their weapons? Travolta did well and was almost unrecognizable in this improbable role and DeNiro showed at the age of 70 he is still a force to be reckoned with.