"The International" Mini-Review

The International tells the story of Clive Owen's INTERPOL Agent Salinger. Like all of Clive Owen's characters, Salinger has a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow and looks like he wears his suits to bed. Salinger is on a mission to take down the IBBC (the International Bank of Business and Credit).

And we don't need this movie to tell us, but we know, big multi-national banks are eeevil. The IBBC is behind all sorts of nasty dealings and anybody with any concrete information to move against them winds up dead. 

It's rather fortuitous that this film hit theaters now. I imagine it was probably produced before last year's financial fuck-all and it's ending is surprisingly realistic with respect to what ultimately becomes of the bank. Anybody looking for a searing end where the IBBC goes up in flames will be disappointed, the ending is far more in line with what would actually happen.

But that's not to say that villains don't get what's coming to them. The International surprised me. The movies released between January 1st and May 1st tend to be where studios either dump films they know are schlock or use the time as a testing ground for potential franchises. The International is actually not bad. It's not great, but it's a decent thriller and while not super-realistic, it does have it's moments, divulging disturbing truths about the way of the financial sector.

Three stars for a decent thriller plot without too much unnecessary fluff.

"Underworld: Rise of the Lycans" Mini-Review

If your a fan of the Underworld franchise, then you'll probably enjoy this flick, a prequel to the first two films Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. If not, don't bother.

I've only ever seen the first Underworld, and I probably would have avoided this one except tickets were free. But, it seems that the most important elements of the film were covered in a brief flashback sequence in the first film (although with a different actress).

I'll be honest, I fell asleep during Rise of the Lycans, only awoken by werewolves (lycans, whatever) and vampires tearing each other new assholes.

Unfortunately, no matter how good CGI gets, werewolves continue to look weird and kind of lame. 

By the way, contrary to what you might think, Kate Beckinsale is not in this film (not that it matters), the girl in all the previews just really looks like her. 

On a final note, what is Michael Sheen still doing acting in movies like this? After playing Tony Blair in The Queen, the late Portland State alumn Art Honeyman in Music Within, and David Frost in the Oscar nominated Frost/Nixon, why is he still playing Lucian the Lycan?

I give this movie 1.5 stars for brevity, and only waking me up occasionally while I napped.