17 November, 2014

Safe House (1998)

Synopsis:
A psychological thriller; Mace Sowell, an ex-intelligence operative and whose past government activities catches up with him, faces his own mortality, in the shape of the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Holding the electronic key to secret information which implicates a Presidential front-runner, Mace struggles for his life while battling the debilitating effects of the disease.

Starring:
Patrick Stewart, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Hector Elizondo

Director: Eric Steven Stahl

Safe House (2012)

Synopsis:
A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.

Starring:
Denzel Washington
Ryan Reynolds
Robert Patrick

Director: Daniel Espinosa

15 November, 2014

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)

Synopsis:
Ninjitsu master Casey is back and out for revenge when his pregnant wife is murdered.

Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.

Starring:
Scott Adkins
Kane Kosugi
Mika Hijii

Director: Isaac Florentine

Captive (2012)

Synopsis:
The movie was based on the 2001 Abu Sayyaf kidnapping of tourists from the Dos Palmas Resort in the province of Palawan. Two of the kidnap victims then were Martin and Gracia Burnham. Gracia survived her ordeal and wrote a book about her harrowing experiences entitled "In The Presence of My Enemies." I thought that acclaimed French actress Isabelle Huppert will be playing her, but it turned out that Ms. Huppert's central character of social worker Therese is fictional. Another Caucasian couple played minor characters who seemed to be based on the Burnhams.

Starring:
Isabelle Huppert
Katherine Mulville
Marc Zanetta

Director: Brillante Mendoza

09 November, 2014

Patrick (2013)

Synopsis:
When a young nurse begins work at an isolated psychiatric ward, she quickly becomes fascinated with Patrick, a brain dead patient who is the subject of a mad scientist's cruel and unusual experiments. What starts as an innocent fascination quickly takes a sinister turn as Patrick begins to use his psychic powers to manipulate her every move, and send her life into a terrifying spiral out of control.

Starring:
Charles Dance
Rachel Griffiths
Sharni Vinson

Director: Mark Hartley

Days and Nights (2014)

Synopsis:
Reckless desire wreaks havoc over Memorial Day weekend as a family confronts the volatile and fragile nature of love. Inspired by Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull," set in rural New England in 1984.

Starring:
Katie Holmes
William Hurt
Allison Janney

Director: Christian Camargo

The Dark Hour (2006)

Synopsis:
The eight years boy Jesús has been living in a crumbling underground facility since he was born with eight survivors of an apocalyptical war: the leader Maria and her lover Pablo; the gays Lucas and Mateo; the astronomer Magdalena and the teenager Ana; the soldier Pedro and the lonely Judas. They are permanently is state of surveillance, threatened by the contaminated mutants The Strangers and once a day they have to lock themselves in their rooms without heating to protect against the dangerous ghosts The Invisibles that attack in the Cold Hour. They cannot go to the surface, destroyed by a nuclear war. When they need supplies, medications and ammunitions, they organize expeditions to a store. When the menace of The Invisibles affects the safety of the group of survivors, they need to reach the surface.

Starring:
Silke
Omar Muñoz
Pepo Oliva

Director: Elio Quiroga

Captain Phillips (2013)

Synopsis:
Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.

Starring:
Tom Hanks
Barkhad Abdi
Barkhad Abdirahman

Director: Paul Greengrass