thomas kretschmann

Review: STRATTON Holds Its Own As Much As Its Star

Actor Dominic Cooper’s feasibility as an action star is something I wouldn’t have suspected, as unassuming as he is. Then again, recent years have shown that filmmakers can make anyone an action star and the outcome depends on how the filmmaker in question applies the necessary methods for doing so. Some are pretty lackluster in this effort while others do manage to keep things well knit and lensed in the process and this, on top of of a tight script, good drama and pacing can certainly do a film justice.

Stratton achieves this, albeit measuring about as far in its spectacle as you would presume to believe a limited theatrical and VoD run would allow. The bright side is that it largely maintains itself for worthy viewing with action fans, providing an otherwise refreshing and watchable espionage thriller from top to bottom. Taken from the published work of pennamed author Duncan Falconer, Cooper plays Stratton, a member of the British SBS who is forced to come to terms with a new partner after a botched operation in Iran. Stark revelations arise as Stratton and his team learn of the emergence of a former FSB operative-cum-terrorist thought to be dead, an airborne pathogen in his possession along with several drones, and a traitor in their midst working both sides.

Cooper surprisingly holds up very well in the title role, offering a flexibly stern and forthright personality to the character. His unassuming build lends an enriching take on action movie hero stereotypes – something slightly different from today’s bulked up Man Of Steel, the prolific Henry Cavill who left the film just several days before cameras were set to roll in 2015. The air of hero sympathy the film attempts to harness isn’t a wasted effort as we meet the roles of Marty, played by Tyler Hoechlin, and actor Austin Stowell’s Hank whose intentions almost instantly are the center of Stratton’s apprehension.

Gemma Chan provides one of the strongest performances of the film as team member, Aggy, whose chemistry with Stratton is approached with tact and poise in the course of the neccessary move for an action thriller that’s almost always moving. The crux of the story is provided by Thomas Kretschmann, no stranger to villainous or mysterious roles an accordingly, never disappoints. The action is well balanced, heavy on gun battles, explosions and vehicular demolition, with moments added in between that add further to the danger and suspense. Save for a knife fight in the third act, the editing is heavy with the action scenes, but made substantive with the aid of stable cinematography that won’t agitate viewers.

Stratton is no Bourne in terms of audience and appeal, and that’s partly and probably a good thing in some ways. West doesn’t cock up what works in an action film, thus making him as notable as he’s grown over the years having directed hits like signature 90s actioner, Con Air, and recent thrillers such as Wild Card and The Expendables 2.

Come to think of it, he probably would have done a much better job with 2016’s Jason Bourne, which, under Greengrass, nauseated me. With West’s Stratton and Dominic proving a worthy substitute for Cavill, while I’m neither here nor there on a sequel, I wouldn’t protest one, and the appeal is definitely there for one, methinks.

Review: Jang Hun’s A TAXI DRIVER Enthralls And Reminices On A Time When Getting It On Video Meant Something

Lee B. Golden III

I haven’t seen a lot of films featuring actor Song Kang-Ho, although I can assert that he has never disappointed in being the entertaining actor that he is. Films like The Good, The Bad, The Weird, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Snowpiercer come to mind, and I can certainly now add his latest performance in acclaimed filmmaker Jang Hoon’s A Taxi Driver to the list.

Reuniting with Jang since the 2010 action drama, The Secret Reunion, Song stars as Kim Man-Seob, a former soldier-turned-Seoul taxi driver struggling to make ends meet for himself and his daughter Eun-Jung. Desperate to pay the rent and keep the peace with his landlord, he jips a private cab service of its new scheduled pick-up: a high-paying customer named Peter who declares himself a missionary upon entry in South Korea.

Learning his latest mealticket happens to, instead, be German reporter from Japan covering the Gwangju uprising, Kim’s digression toward defying the local military slowly turns into reluctant cooperation. Joined by the aid of local residents fighting a losing battle, what ensues is an emotional journey for Kim, now a first-hand witness to the death, violence and tumult being filtered by propagandic news outlets, and a newfound ally to a cause worth way more than a quick paycheck.

I found it funny upon reading comments online that the poster for the film was deceiving. I personally don’t have a problem with it given the premise and so I wholly understood the nature of where a film like A Taxi Driver could possibly go. The film defintiely bodes well in its moments of lighthearted humor and Song especially contributes in that department, while further engagement into the movie will surely keep you on the edge of your seat.

Peter is played by Blade 2, Wanted and Stalingrad actor Thomas Kretschmann in a role reiterated from that of the actual journalist who recorded the events in Gwangju. Song and Kretschmann are impeccable in their perforamances together, aided by a script and direction that focuses less so on their linguistic limitations, but their growing perception of each other whether they clash or come to terms on their differences.

This also applies even after the entrance of actor Ryoo Joon-Yeol, the award-winning co-star of Han Jae-Rim’s The King. He plays Gu Jae-Sik, a student protestor part of the rebellion, and essentially the only other person who speaks English as Peter familiarizes himself with the rebellion and the local journalists facing censorship in their struggle to make their case to the world – a plea further shared by Guangju taxi driver Hwang Tae-Sool, performed pivotally by Luck-Key star Yoo Jae-Hin.

All these aside, the bulk of the film’s emphasis of perception lies heavily on the role of Kim who is an absolute skeptic from the film’s on-set. His transformation into a man capable of more empathy than he imagines is a perilous and visibly troubling one, invoked brilliantly as he goes from completely clueless to raw eyewitness to the tragic onslaught bestowed by the military and undercover soldiers who’ve fallen in line to the totalitarian state of things.

Much of what this film accomplishes in its narrative lies in how much it hits home with the viewer. Viral video has less an impact these days when it comes to informing the public due to the saturating nature of the internet, which makes a film like A Taxi Driver pretty essential viewing in one’s appreciation of the importance of journalism, even notably when investigative. Ryoo’s fellow cohort from The King, actor Choi Gwi-Hwa, is especially helpful in this regard as much as he is menacing in the role of an undercover military chief relentlessly in pursuit of Peter and the people aiding him, including Kim who becomes notoriously dubbed as “The Seoul Taxi Driver”.

There are some moments in the film that teeter on lagging but it’s nothing our actors can’t handle. Approaching the final third, either you’re already into the characters or simply waiting for things to pick back up. At any rate, the film does exactly what it is supposed to between scenes without missing a step; Midway in the film while in Gwangju, Kim’s taxi breaks down, allowing for some really intense nighttime events that heighten the drama and looming danger, as well as the stakes, including the narrowing window of opportunity he has to return home to Eun-Jung, played by young actress Yool Eun-Mi.

Jang is also careful not to take himself too seriously on this production; Equal parts Argo and Fast And Furious movie, the film earns this favor with several car and foot chases that make A Taxi Driver a delightful and compelling thrill ride right down to the final leg of the movie. The final chase scene adds to the spectacle with Choi in hot pursuit of Kim and Peter with guns blazing, followed by a surprising twist.

The film finishes on quite a sobering note which brings us to the original tale that culminates this movie. I can see what would draw Jang toward an historical adventure shared by two very different lives in moments like this one, imaginably as one in hundreds that have shaped the world during the last century. With this, A Taxi Driver draws a poignant and powerful presentation with every ounce of substance it carries. Whatever your take is on this project, the film does, indeed, play a little loosely on a few facts.

The genius here is that it does so without diminishing its premise or undercutting its characters and intent. Aside from winning at Fantasia this year officially representing South Korea for the 2018 Academy Awards for best foreign-language film, that the son of the actual driver who escorted the now late Jürgen Hinzpeter through the ravaged and bloodied streets of Gwangju, gave this film his blessing is a pure plus for our dear director, further making A Taxi Driver one of the most important films you’ll ever see.

A Taxi Driver is coming to VOD on November 7.

Check Out The New IMAX Trailer For STALINGRAD 3D

Lee B. Golden III

Following a press release unveiled a few weeks ago, we now have a new IMAX trailer for next month’s one-week engagement of the upcoming blockbuster World War II epic, Stalingrad 3D from director Fedor Bondarchuk. The film is written by Ilya Tilkin and Sergey Snezhkin and stars the newly cast Avengers: Age Of Ultron actor Thomas Kretschmann along with Petr Fedorov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Mariya Smolnikova and Yanina Studilina.

The film kicks off its one-week programming in IMAX theaters in North America on February 28, 2014.

SYNOPSIS:

Stalingrad is a drama set in 1942, during one of the most important battles of World War II, which stopped the progress of Nazi forces and turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Soviet army mounts a counter-attack on the Nazi forces that occupy half of Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga, but the operation to cross the river is unsuccessful. A few soldiers who managed to get to the other side take refuge in a house on the bank of Volga. Here they find a girl who didn’t escape when the Germans came. While the whole might of the German army descends onto them, the heroes of Stalingrad experience love, loss, joy and the sense of ultimate freedom that can only be felt by those about to die. They defend the house at all costs while the Red Army prepares for another attack.

Stalingrad: An IMAX 3D Experience will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology for presentation in IMAX®3D. The crystal-clear images, coupled with IMAX’s customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio, create a unique immersive environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie.

[UPDATED] Thomas Kretschmann To Double The Villainy In THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Lee B. Golden III

Reports are now circulating that actor Thomas Kretschmann has signed on to play another main villain known as Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in the upcoming film, Marvel’s The Avengers: Age Of Ultron. The report comes just a month after rumors circulated around the internet that the character, a H.Y.D.R.A. leader and former Nazi soldier whose body was augmented to the point of near invincibility and invulnerability would be brought on as a secondary villain with specific ties to the characters Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, being played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson, respectively.

The news also comes on the heels of recent updates that the film’s shooting schedule will include London, and locations in South Africa, with word that actor Mark Ruffalo‘s return as The Hulk would also be accompanied a love interest in the new film, with actor Jeremy Renner‘s character, Hawkeye, given a much larger part. Furthermore, recent reports also highlit actor, Iron Man performer Robert Downey Jr.‘s interest in bringing actor Mel Gibson and actress Jodie Foster in on the sequel’s production, whose script, written by director Joss Whedon as part of the film’s second of three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was recently described as “dark” and “dry” with an “amazing one-liner, glass-cutting sense of humor.” in a recent interview with actress Scarlett Johansson who plays Black Widow in the film.

Opening nationwide on May 1, 2015, Kretschmann will star with Taylor-Johnson, Olsen, Ruffalo, Downey Jr. and Johansson returning in Marvel’s The Avengers: Age Of Ultron with actors Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Cobie Smulders and Samuel L. Jackson with and James Spader playing the titular villain. The film opens May 1, 2015 following the April 4, 2014 release of Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with Evans, Johansson and Jackson. Kretschmann will also appear in the forthcoming one week engagement of director Fedor Bondarchuk’s bilingual biographical World War II epic, Stalingrad 3D this February in IMAX 3D.

In other Marvel news, actor and co-star of David Ayer’s upcoming World War II thriller Fury, Michael Peña and actor Clifton Collins Jr. are reported to be officially signed for roles in director Edgar Wright’s July 31, 2015 entry into the MCU for Ant-Man with actors Paul Rudd, and the newly announced Michael Douglas. Meanwhile the recently buzzed rumors of actor Johnny Depp for the role of the otherwise confirmed Dr. Strange movie remain exactly that.

Stay tuned for more info.

H/T: Comic Book Movie