Music! Yeah. All good in this one.

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No rest for the wicked, huh? Cop killer John Shaw (Dean Ambrose) is back at the station - his first day of the work after a long session of therapy, and suddenly evidence lands in his hand that'll flip his whole world around.

In a cat and mouse chase through police HQ he confronts a whole gang of corrupt cops, all the while SWAT prepare to storm the place. At least they used to call him a cop killer because his partner was killed in action and they all blamed him. That's about to change now...

Cue the unlikely hero! He's good, and it's a pretty tense movie, but the loose ends and action choreography inconsistencies are a bit much. Too much focus on the rounds too. 12, 9, 6, 2...

Is using his own gun really more important than having enough bullets? More than once he could have picked up one of the others. It does look bad-ass at the end, but until that point it just looks like flawed reasoning. Incompetence. Overconfidence if nothing else.

Then there's his vague comments - on the phone, to the junior officer - that really don't make it easier for him. And when he spins around to attack the one guy, or manages to escape Burke in the hallway the first time, or is backing up behind the shield with his feet clearly visible - under a rain of gunfire, he could've been hurt so easily. Also when he hands over the evidence it doesn't really feel compelling enough. Not enough to suddenly make everyone aim their artillery at the other guy and let him walk out of there without question. It's little things like that, that ruin this a bit for me.

Overall he is one tough cop! And this is one tough movie. If you can avoid stressing the details it's definitely worth a watch. Solid action, tough characters and a suitable soundtrack. But not flawless.

I did like the John Cena round a bit better.

 rated 2/5: decent

Liam Neeson is at it again! Playing the working class hero.

This time he's a commuter with a story, stuck on a train which just so happens to hold a witness who a certain someone wants him to find. He doesn't know this at first, but as the train rolls on you wouldn't believe the things he uncovers, and you start to wonder how far this ride will really go.

Apart from some hazy fast-pace special effects (laziness seems to be the trend) this was not bad! The final twist was a predictable one, but it's all presented in such a great way. I love the tension, the weight of the mission, and all in a refreshingly new milieu too.

It's fun to see what American commuter trains look like as well. Though that initial point of interest soon turns to the passengers, and who might be that one mystery witness.

It's a bit like Murder on the Orient Express. Both are great in their own way. Also props on the train-line ending credits! They've got style.

The movie's well-stocked on grit and finesse both. Somber, sometimes beautiful sceneries mix with dead officers hidden under the floorboards, punchline tickets and card games where the stakes are high.

If you like the Liam Neeson type of movies you'll probably like this! Good cast. Good setting. Good watch.

 rated 3/5: not bad

If only they'd gotten the special effects right from the start of this movie it could've been awesome! The ending scene: pure awesome. This'll be the one that goes down in history as that one with the line of cars. So brutal.

It's a gritty cops and robbers movies similar to Takers, or more so the movie I last compared to that one - the classic Heat (1995). Unfortunately lack of notable destructive force on objects and scenery when they wield their often heavy weaponry brings the score down a bit. It looks fake, sometimes, and the characters feel a bit more forced than their classic counterparts. The dialogue's not quite as poetic either.

Everything else: from the chases to the action exchange, to the coupe itself in all its meticulous planning, is impressive. Some moments come off as improbably successful close calls, but when it's done... woah.

Gerard Butler puts on a great tough guy role, and the bad guys aren't bad either (there's 50 Cent too! He's starting to get some good roles).

I was going to say it needed a little more, that it tried to match up to the aforementioned classic and didn't quite cut it, but when it's over... so close to a five!

The key element here is authentic toughness. No mercy. No compromise. The only thing that bugs me - apart from the lacking special effects, is how some characters come off as a bit naive when it's all over, as in: where's their contingency plan?! They really went into that bank looking like they had nothing to lose. Though we know they did. And they do.

But it was still awesome. Might be the best action thriller this year.

 rated 4/5: fo shizzle

Here's a movie about a Mexican boy (Miguel) who loves music, yet whose family want to do (and him to do too) nothing but shoes. He traces the steps of his ancestors back to the famous Ernesto de la Cruz, who ventured off into the world to become a musician - shunned by the family as he abandoned them in favor of his fame and fortune.

As Miguel's parents refuse to understand him he becomes all the more determined to follow in Ernesto's footsteps, so he steals his ancestor's guitar on the Day of the Dead to participate in a music contest and prove his worth, but little does he know stealing from the dead on this day brings him to the world of the dead, where he needs one of his ancestor's blessings to get back.

The dead side of his family also do not share his passion for music, and so he's pitted against time in a raffling adventure of music, and family, and a search for the famous Ernesto de la Cruz to give him his blessing to he can return to the land of the living again - before the sunrise when the bridge between their worlds is closed.

It's a beautiful movie! Wonderfully animated. Uplifting. Emotional. It's everything a Disney movie should be, complete with colorful settings, characters full of life (doesn't seem to matter so much that they're dead) and overall just great vibes all the way through.

It keeps the pace all the way, and though certain moments are a bit predictable that doesn't make it any less worthy. The last moments too... there's so much feeling.

The title might not make much sense at first, but it all ties to one particularly important person, and the fading memories she holds within her heart. I don't know about the two Oscars, but it definitely deserves the high score IMDB gives it! Pixar done did it again.

 rated 5/5: friggin awesome

For a B-movie this one really wasn't bad! It grows on you the further it goes, has some jazzy Noir music, a true Max-Payne like flashback, and even a few characters that remind me of that old cast. The official movie version of Max Payne may have looked like Max Payne, but ten years later: this is the movie that really feels as close to that game as it gets.

Peter Stormare plays the Assassin, the mob family feels pretty authentic, and the cops and robbers intrigue is spot on. There's not much action, but good suspense, atmosphere, and some scenes that really build things up before they tear it down. It started a B-movie but ended up... all G.

Close to a 4 but...

 rated 3/5: not bad