JCast Network

Rogue agent Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) has been off the grid for the past ten years and he’s been on the CIA’S most wanted list for the last decade.

CIA agent, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) has been posted to a remote, empty Safe House in Capetown, South Africa for over a year. He’s job is to make sure the Safe House is always ready for ‘visitors’. Weston is bored and longs for action.

When, out of the blue, Tobin turns himself in, he’s transported to Weston’s Safe House and the novice operative gets his wish…and then some…

Mercenaries attack the house, killing practically everyone in sight. Everyone except… Matt and Tobin, who manage to escape and go on the run.

Matt is determined to protect Tobin at all costs and ‘bring him in’. Tobin, however, has other ideas and what happens next is…

unfortunately, what you’ve seen hundreds of times up on the screen….

We have numerous car chases, explosive gun battles (are there any other kind?), stunts galore, lots of action and a few twists, that you can see coming, a mile away.

The best part of ‘Safe House’ are the quiet scenes between Denzel and Ryan. The two actors have great chemistry. Denzel’s character is intense, at times scary, but in the end…sympathic. Ryan conveys his usual charismatic self and you can’t help but like him.

The supporting cast includes Sam Shepherd as a CIA big shot, Vera Farmiga and Brendan Gleeson as CIA operatives and Ruben Blades as a forger. Ruben and Washington also have a couple of nice scenes together that reveal more about the Frost character.

The director, Daniel Espinosa has shot the film in a ‘cinema verte’ style and has chosen to speed up the action, so at times…it’s hard to tell who’s kicking whose butt.

If you want to see a movie, that is filled with car crashes, action, violence but has really nice performances from Denzel and Reynolds, then ‘Safe House’ is the film to see.

The ‘Two Jews On Film’ are actually almost in agreement. Check out our video to see our bagel rating…and to see our…kung fu moves.

‘Safe House’ opens in theatres, Friday, February 10, 2012.

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Every so often a film surprises me…Sometimes in a good way…Sometimes in a not so good way.

Walking into the screening of ‘Chronicle’ directed by Josh Trank, I was expecting to see a movie that I’ve seen way too many times…teenagers get superpowers and fight evil doers.

Wow, was I happily surprised…Yes…teenagers do get superpowers…It happens when they’re exposed to an alien device, but…

What these three boys do with their superpowers, is what makes ‘Chronicle’, one of the most original, exciting, entertaining, and interesting films, I’ve seen in a long time.

The guys are just your typical dudes dealing with stuff that all teenagers deal with…When they discover that they have the power of telekinesis, nothing really changes for them…They just use it…to have fun…For awhile, anyway.

Matt (Alex Russell) who likes to quote Carl Jung and Schopenhauer wants to follow the rules….Rule #1…We never use our power when we’re angry. Not so easy for…

Andrew (Dane DeHann)…He has major rage issues…But you can’t really blame him. Andrew’s daddy is an abusive alcoholic and his mother is dying a painful death from cancer.

The outgoing Steve (Michael B. Jordan) who’s running for class president, wants to help his new buddy Andrew, come out of his shell and…and oh yeah…lose his virginity.

The film is shot from Andrew’s P.O.V. (‘Cloverfield’, ‘Paranormal Activity’, etc) He’s obsessed with chroniciling his life. As his powers grow, he learns to operate the camera telekinetically, which opens up his entire world. Andrew is able to make the camera float, fly and capture action in a very unique way.

This is especially evident in the flying scenes. You can’t help but feel like you’re up in the clouds with these three guys.

Of course, the film is not just about boys being boys. There’s a very dark side to ‘Chronicle’ which leads to an exhillarating climax.

The actors are all exellent. They make their characters totally believable. And alot of that has to do with the wonderful script written by Trank and Max Landis.

The ‘Two Jews On Film’ were pretty close on this one. Check out our video to see how many bagels we gave ‘Chronicle’ which opens in theatres Friday, February 3, 2012. Don’t miss it.

Before I sat down to watch ‘Big Miracle’ directed by Ken Kwapis, I knew two things…that I was going to cry…and that I was going to love this film. And I am happy to report…that’s exactly what happened.

‘Big Miracle’ is a true story that takes place in 1988.

Regan is about to leave office and he’s worried that his spotty environmental record will hurt the chances of George Bush Sr. from getting elected.

The Cold War is on the verge of ending, but Russia and the U.S. are far from being BFF’S.

Eskimos hunt whales for food and oil companies are bidding to see who gets drilling rights to Alaska’s pristine coast. And…

Three gray whales…a mother, (Wilma) a dad (Fred) and their baby (Bam Bam) are trapped by the rapidly forming ice near the Artic Circle.

Luckily for them, they have Greenpeace volunteer, Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore) and her ex boyfriend, news-reporter, Adam Carlson (John Krasinski) on their side…

As well as the Eskimos, The White House, the U.S. military led by (Dermot Mulroney), an oil executive (Ted Danson), Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw and eventually the Russians. All these people, with the world watching, come together to save these magnificent creatures.

It’s fascinating to see a true story that happened in a time when I-Phones, Twitter and Facebook didn’t exist. It’s good to be reminded that even without social media, somehow we all managed to communicate with one another and get things done.

What I especially enjoyed, was the real life footage the director used. We get to see Rather, Jennings and Brokaw report on the actual event as it unfolded some 23 years ago.

‘Big Miracle’ is funny, heartwarming, thrilling and it even manages to throw in some romance. It’s a great film for the family and for anyone…who just wants to leave a movie theatre feeling good about humanity. It’s nice to see what we can accomplish when…we all come together.

Luckily for John, he liked it as well. If he didn’t, it may have been grounds for divorce. Check out our video to see our bagel rating and listen to the Two Jews On Film imitate a whale.

‘Big Miracle’ opens in theatres Friday, February 3, 2012…Don’t miss it.

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A former NYPD officer, Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) escapes from Sing-Sing. His next stop is the famed Roosevelt Hotel on 45th and Madison in the heart of New York City. Nick checks in, making sure his room is on one of the highest floors.

Nick orders a lobster and a bottle of champagne. He eats, drinks a glass of the bubbly, wipes off his fingerprints, writes a short note, takes a few deep breaths and then …

Steps outside onto a ledge…A ledge that is 225 feet above The Big Apple.

It doesn’t take long before the whole city notices would be jumper, Nick, including the police and a news reporter (the funny, Kyra Sedgwick).

First on the scene is Dectective Jack Dougherty (Edward Burns). Nick tells Jack that the only person he’ll talk to is…

A burnt out Police negotiator, Dectective Lydia Spencer (Elizabeth Banks) Lydia recently lost a jumper who was one of their own. She just wants to lie in bed and feel sorry for herself. But this is a movie so…

Cop Spencer quickly pulls herself together, arrives at the hotel and gets down to the business of saving Nick.

It doesn’t take long for Lydia and for the audience to find out…

Why Nick was sent to prison…Why he’s on the ledge…Why he hates wealthy businessman, David Englander (Ed Harris) and a great deal of other stuff. Some of it interesting…but a lot of it…not so much.

The film does have a few twists…A couple of them work, but others, you can see coming a mile away.

For me, the most contrived and unbeliebable story line has to do with…

Nick’s brother, Joey (Jamie Bell) and Joey’s hot girlfriend, Angie (Genesis Rodriguez). Don’t worry…No spoilers.

‘Man On A Ledge’ directed by Asger Leth and written by Pablo F. Fenjves opens in theatres, Friday January 27, 2012 and I’d wait for the DVD.

John and I actually almost agree on this one. Check out our video to see our bagel score.

It takes a lot for a film to truly scare me. I mean, after seeing hundreds and hundreds of movies featuring, knife wielding masked maniacs, cannablistic nuclear families preying on hot teenage girls and demon possessed embroyos, I’ve become kind of blaise about the horror genre.

So many horror films are derative of one another. But I’m happy to say…this is definitely not the case with ‘The Grey’ directed by Joe Carnahan (‘Narc’, ‘The A Team’) and starring the very tall and always excellent, Liam Neeson.

The story is simple. A group of super macho oil workers, including the heartbroken, slightly suicidal, Ottway (Liam Neeson) are travelling to a work site when their plane crashes in the remote Alaska wilderness. By the way this is a very realistic plane crash. I found myself grabbing the arm of the stranger sitting next to me. Luckily he didn’t mind. Anyway…

The survivors must find a way back to civilization before they either freeze to death or die of starvation.

Unfortunately, besides the cold (and it’s really, really cold) and lack of food, they have…one other…not so small problem…Wolves…Big, Bad, Vicious, Ugly, fierce, red eyed…Wolves.

And these furry, grey creatures are extremely…pissed off. Seems the humans have invaded their territory and and to the wolves…this is means war.

These are cunning, determined animals and here’s where the really scary part comes in.

When the men and the audience least expect it, the wolves…Well, I’m not going to tell you. Don’t want to spoil the fun. And yes, ‘The Grey’ is fun. It’s also horrific and totally terrifying.

What makes ‘The Grey’ not just another typical survival film…is the excellent script. The film is written by Carnahan and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers and they’ve created some really interesting characters.

At first, the men hide behind their macho facade, going out of their way not to show any fear. But as the story progresses, their facades peel away and we get to see what’s really underneath.

The supporting cast including including, Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Nonso Anozie, Joe Anderson, Ben Bray and James Badge Dale are all excellent.

The wolves are a combination of giant puppet animatronics, CGI and real ones…that are trained of course.

Make sure you stay past the credits…there’s a surprise you don’t want to miss.

I gave ‘The Grey’ 4 and 1/2 bagels out of five. Check out our video to hear John’s wolf imitation and to see how many bagels he gave this film.

‘The Grey’ opens in theatres, Friday January 28, 2012. Don’t miss it.

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I knew I was going to love ‘Haywire’ directed by Steven Soderbergh from the first scene.

A girl walks into a coffee shop in the middle of nowhere. She sits down…blows on her hands to warm them. The waitress takes her order.

A few seconds later, a man comes in, sits down opposite her. They briefly chat…and then SUDDENLY…

It’s wham…bam…pow-kick-punch….Translation…Girl and Guy get into a very, very exciting, take no prisoners, fight with each other.

And this is no ordinary movie fight…because the girl is…Gina Carano…a mixed, martial arts, champion who uses a combination of Muay, Thai, Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, wrestling, boxing, Sambo, kickboxing, and Kung Fu to take down her opponents.

That’s right…this lady can kick butt.

In her first acting role, Gina plays Mallory Kane, a highly trained operative working for a government security contractor in some of the most dangerous parts of the world. And at the moment, Miss Kane is in alot of trouble.

After wiping out the floor with the guy…who we find out is her former partner, Aaron (Channing Tatum), Mallory knows she needs to get out of town, fast. So what’s a girl to do?

Ask some random guy for a lift of course. The guy, Scott (Michael Angarano) is only too happy to help. I think he got slightly turned on by Mallory’s extraordinary moves. I mean who wouldn’t? She’s hot!

Anyway Mallory and Scott start to head out of town muy rapido…Unfortunately, they run into several road blocks. Luckily our spy’s driving skills are equal to her fighting skills. Mallory easily evades all the people trying to kill her and at the same time, manages to tell Scott a little story…

Through a series of flashbacks, we find out that Mallory’s last assignment was in Barcelona, where she freed a Chinese Journalist that was being held hostage. She discovers that the man has been murdered and all the evidence points to her as the main suspect. Isn’t that always the case?

Now Mallory has to not only evade local SWAT teams that her boss, Ewan McGregor has sent after her, but find out who’s doublecrossed her and why.

This takes Mallory on a journey across the globe from Washington D.C to Barcelona, Dublin and back to the United States with a stop in upstate New York and finally, the mountains of New Mexico.

‘Haywire’ is filled with great twists and turns…It’s exciting and sexy…Very sexy actually…Thanks to this actor named Michael Fassbender. (You might recognize him from the hundreds of films he did this past year). Okay. I exaggerate. But one thing I’m not exaggerating about…this guy breathes sexy…And the scenes between him and Mallory are definitely some of my favorite.

Rounding out the excellent cast…Antonio Banderos, Michael Douglas, Mathieu Kassovitz and Bill Paxton as Gina’s father.

Of course, John and I have begun the new year, the same way we ended it…Disagreeing…Check out our video to see how many bagels, we gave ‘Haywire’.

‘Haywire’ written by Lem Dobbs (Kafka, The Limey) opens in theatres this Friday, January 20, 2012.

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Second Annual YouReviewers Awards

2011 was a year filled with very eclectic films…

We had movies about the end of the world…(‘Melancholia’ and ‘Take Shelter’) travelling back in time…,(‘Midnight In Paris’) homages to the early days of filmmaking,..(‘The Artist’ ‘Hugo’) as well as movies about some of our favorite sports…baseball (‘Moneyball) and wrestling (Win Win).

We found ourselves laughing hysterically at a comedy about girl bonding…(‘Bridesmaids’) had our hearts touch by a few family films…conventional ones…(‘We Bought A Zoo’ ‘Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close’) and a couple…anything but..(‘Tree Of Life’ ‘Hesher’ ‘We Need To Talk About Kevin’)

There was even a wonderful film about illness and friendship (‘50/50’) and a lesson about screwing with Mother Nature (‘Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes’).

And of course we had the wonderful end to a series of films that we’ve all come to love ‘Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows Part 2’.

Oh and we musn’t forget Michael Fassbender’s wonderful portrayal of a sex addict in Steve McQueen’s excellent ‘Shame’.

All the films on our top ten list shared one thing…A very high Bagel Award…and they’re ones, that we think…you should definitely not miss.