Action/Adventure

Ep. 41: You Kill Me

~ Jenny ~ 15 Comments

We’ve got nothing but love for this very fun, very real, very unrepentant hitman romantic comedy.

Get the podcast: [Listen here at PopD] | [Go to iTunes]

Story Analysis & Ratings:

Lucy says: 5 Pops ~ A fun story told with affection and respect for a hitman and the woman who loves him. Surprising in all the best ways.

Lucy’s rating breakdown: Craft: 5, Action/Adventure: 5, Romance: 5, Comedy: 5

Jenny says: 5 Pops ~ Finally a hitman-in-love movie that can stand with Gross Pointe Blank and Red.

Jenny’s rating breakdown: Craft: 5, Action/Adventure: 5, Romance: 5, Comedy: 5

Blog Poll Rating: TBD

Read the live chat transcript.

Movie Info:

Story: While drying out on the West Coast, an alcoholic hit man befriends a tart-tongued woman who might just come in handy when it’s time for him to return to Buffalo and settle some old scores.  Release Date: July 6, 2007 Writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Ep. 40: Mr. & Mrs. Smith

~ Jenny ~ 19 Comments

Three important things for a successful movie: Characters we care about, coherent story, consistent tone.  Mr. & Mrs. S is O for 3.

Get the podcast: [Listen here at PopD] | [Go to iTunes]

Story Analysis & Ratings:

Lucy says: 1 Pops ~ Proof that being hot doesn’t make a romance. The hot people must care, or we’re not going to. The ultimate “meh” movie.

Lucy’s rating breakdown: Craft: 1, Action: 1, Romance: 1

Jenny says: 1 Pop ~ If your reaction to a movie is a repeated “WTF?” interspersed with checking the clock, the movie is, uh, flawed.

Jenny’s rating breakdown: Craft:1, Action: 1, Romance: 1

Blog Poll Rating: TBD

Read the chat transcript!

Movie Info:

Story: A bored married couple is surprised to learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other. Release Date: June 10, 2005.  Writer: Simon Kinberg

Ep. 39: The Big Hit

~ Jenny ~ 9 Comments

Lucy thinks it’s vile.  Jenny doesn’t think it was that bad, but Lord it wasn’t good.

Get the podcast: [Listen here at PopD] | [Go to iTunes]

Story Analysis & Ratings:

Lucy says: 1 Pop ~ A weak, dumb, inconsistent hero seducing a smart but flatly written – and only technically of age – kidnap victim. A plot that meanders self-indulgently, and some of the worst dialogue I’ve ever witnessed first-hand. Not so much a story as a delivery system for male adolescent fantasies about bombs, guns, and Catholic schoolgirls. Ugh.

Lucy’s rating breakdown: Structure: 1, Comedy: 1, Romance: 1, Action-Adventure: 1

Jenny says: 1 Pop ~ I think the story had a solid opening that it immediately undercut by giving us a hero to despise.  Aimed squarely at a specific audience without pandering to any other, so it gets credit for that, but not much else.

Jenny’s rating breakdown: Structure: 2, Comedy: 1, Romance: 1, Action-Adventure: 2.

Blog Poll Rating: TBD

Read the chat here!

Movie Info:

Story: Hitman Melvin Smiley, an expert at his lucrative job, goes on a job and falls in love with his kidnapping victim, turning his world upside down. Release Date: April 24, 1998 Writer: Ben Ramsey

Ep. 38: The Assassination Bureau

~ Jenny ~ 9 Comments

The characters are great, the writing, not so much.  Leaden pacing and way too much Exposition Fairy, plus Lucy is bitter than she doesn’t get to see Diana Rigg mug a nun.

Get the podcast: [Listen here at PopD] | [Go to iTunes]

Story Analysis & Ratings:

Lucy says: 2.5 Pops ~ Some nice moments and a great premise buried under heavy layers of expositional dialogue and questionable motivation. Someone remake this the way it should have been? Please?

Lucy’s rating breakdown: Structure: 2, Romance: 3

Jenny says: 3 Pops ~ A terrific premise and solid characters kneecapped by lousy writing; a criminal waste of a great cast. This one’s ripe for a remake.

Jenny’s rating breakdown: Structure: 2, Romance: 4

Blog Poll Rating: TBD

Read the Chat Transcript.

Movie Info:

Story: A newspaper reporter hires an assassination bureau to kill its owner.   Release Date: April, 1969. Writers: Michael Relph and Wolf Mankowitz from novels by Robert L. Fish and Jack London

Ep 35.5 Red

~ Jenny ~ 25 Comments

Lucy and Jenny watched this because they were feeling tense.  Two hours later with giddy with great movie glee.  The podcast is mostly fifty-some minutes of “I love this movie!”  Don’t listen to it until you have seen this movie.  Also, you must see this movie.

Get the podcast: [Listen here at PopD] | [Go to iTunes]

Story Analysis & Ratings:

Lucy says: 5 Pops ~ It’s been a long, long time since I’ve watched a movie and thought, “I can’t wait to tell everyone about this!” I would recommend this movie hands-down to anyone. Even the violence is beautifully done, and I hate violence. Perfect, perfect, perfect. I don’t care what Jenny says about the avocado. 😉

Lucy’s rating breakdown: Craft: 5, Comedy: 5, Romance: 5 Action/Adventure: 5

Jenny says: 5 Pops ~ Very close to perfect movie.  Okay, forget the avocado, it’s a perfect movie.

Jenny’s rating breakdown: Structure: 5, Character: 5,  Adventure: 5,  Comedy: 5, Romance: 5

Blog Poll Rating: TBD

Because it was an impromptu viewing, there is no Chat Transcript for this movie; sorry!

Movie Info:

Story: When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants while protecting and winning the woman he loves. Release Date: Oct. 15, 2010   Writers: Jon and Erich Hoeber