January Movie #5: The Last Stand

Sunday, January 20, 2013

January Movie #5: The Last Stand

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Luis Guzmán, Jaimie Alexander, Rodrigo Santoro
Run Time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Directed By: Jee Woon Kim

Ah, Oscar season. It's what propels me to certain movies. Since I've seen a lot of "good for me" movies in the past couple of weeks, I opted to see a "bad for me" movie this time around. When the previews started, I giggled to myself because I knew I wasn't going to be seeing any for independent movies or serious (and often boring) dramas. I loved each preview. I have a huge list of movies I'm going to see once Oscar season is over. Interestingly enough, hmm.... why did they show previews for a Stallone movie and a Bruce Willis movie (two, in fact, and both take place in Russia...)? Ah, the Planet Hollywood connection is alive and well.

The Last Stand is about a small town in Arizona that's about to get some big trouble from an escaped convict, a ruthless drug kingpin. When every bit of outside help that's en route to help this small police staff gets killed by the escaped drug lord and his team, the local sheriff and his deputies band together to stop the convict themselves before he crosses the border.

Okay. Whoever would have thunk that Forest Whitaker and Arnold Schwarzenegger would ever be in a movie together? An Oscar winner and Schwarzenegger. Very interesting pairing. But I think casting Johnny Knoxville evened it all out.

This movie has a lot of heart and is very well done. And you'd never really know that this is Schwarzenegger's first real movie in, what, almost 10 years? He's a fairly decent action actor, really he is. And he wasn't that rusty. He did seem a lot slower. There were several scenes where they'd cut away from him when he started something (like getting out of a car) and then cut back to him when he was finished so that you didn't notice how slow he was. That made me giggle. But his acting was fine. It surprised me. It made me happy.

This movie has a lot of cute, funny little lines. The humor adds to this movie's heart. And the humor is very much needed because there's a lot of gore. If there's an action movie quota for number of exploding heads, this movie exceeded it. Everybody's head exploded. Nasty. I turned away several times. There weren't that many violent scenes, thank goodness. Perhaps a half dozen, and each one many people exploded. Body parts were flying.

I think this movie played very well to the strengths of the actors. Schwarzenegger was tough and unyielding, with a quiet, commanding "take-charge, kick-butt" presence. Johnny Knoxville shined as the eccentric gun aficionado. Really Johnny Knoxville shined. He was funny. He was quirky. He provided a lot of comedic fodder. Luis Guzmán was a great sidekick, another source of humor.

All in all, this was a great little diversion of a movie. No thinking required (because the one time I did think, it was out of annoyance - um, why were there actual ears of corn left on the stalks in that dried up corn field? That's just not right!). Good action scenes. Well done. Good story. Acting was more than decent for an action movie. It moved well. A little gory for my taste but the humor removed that uneasy memory. So, if just want to watch something that allows for some escapism, this movie certainly does that trick.

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List O' Movies Watched

2016 Movies
16). Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
15). Suicide Squad
14). Star Trek Beyond
13). Ghostbusters
12). The Legend of Tarzan
11). The Secret Life of Pets
10). Finding Dory
9). Central Intelligence
8). X-Men: Apocalypse
7). Captain America: Civil War
6). Zootopia
5). Deadpool
4). Kung Fu Panda 3
3). Norm of the North
2). Spectre
1). Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
2015 Movies
45). Peanuts Movie
44). Goosebumps
43). Scouts Guide (to a Zombie Apocalypse)
42). Suffragette
41). Burnt
40). Last Witch Hunter
39). Crimson Peak
38). Bridge of Spies
37). The Martian (3D)
36). The Intern
35). Hotel Transylvania 2
34). Everest
33). Man from U.N.C.L.E
32). Vacation
31). Terminator: Genisys
30). Ant-Man
29). Pixels
28). Minions
27). Jurassic World
26). San Andreas (3D)
25). Spy
24). Inside Out
23). Ex Machina
22). Tomorrowland
21). The Age of Adaline
20). The Avengers: Age of Ultron (3D)
19). Danny Collins
18). Fast and the Furious 7
17). Home
16). Cinderella
15). Focus
14). Kingsmen
13). Paddington
12). Whiplash
11). The Imitation Game
10). American Sniper
9). Selma
8). Birdman
7). Theory of Everything
6). Boyhood
5). Jupiter Ascending (3D)
4). Night at the Museum 3: Secret of the Tomb
3). Taken 3
2).The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (3D)
1). Into the Woods
2014 Movies
20). Big Hero Six (3D)
19). Gone Girl
18). Dracula Untold
17). Boxtrolls (3D)
16). A Walk Among Tombstones
15). Frank
14). Expendables III
13). Guardians of the Galaxy (3D)
12). Chef
11). X-Men: Days of Future Past
10). How to Train Your Dragon 2 (3D)
9). Maleficent
8). A Million Ways to Die in the West
7). Transcendence
6). Captain America: The Winter Soldier
5). Muppets Most Wanted
4). The Grand Budapest Hotel
3). The LEGO Movie
2). Non-Stop
1). Saving Mr. Banks
2013 Movies
52). Philomena
51). Delivery Man
50). Frozen (in 3D)
49). Homefront
48). Hunger Games: Catching Fire
47). Thor: The Dark World (in 3D)
46). Free Birds (in 3D)
45). About Time
44). Escape Plan
43). Gravity (in 3D)
42). Don Jon
41). Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (in 3D)
40). Riddick
39). Planes
38). Red 2
37). Despicable Me 2 (again)
36). Turbo
35). Despicable Me 2 (in 3D)
34). The Heat
33). Monsters University
32). This is the End
31). Now You See Me
30). What Maisie Knew
29). The Hangover III
28). Star Trek: Into Darkness
27). Fast and the Furious 6
26). Gatsby (in 3D)
25). Iron Man 3 (in 3D)
24). Disconnect
23). Pain & Gain
22). Place Beyond the Pines
21). Side Effects
20). G.I. Joe: Retaliation
19). The Croods
18). Jack the Giant Slayer (in 3D)
17). Oz the Great and Powerful
16). A Good Day to Die Hard
15). Snitch
14). Zero Dark Thirty
13). Life of Pi (3D)
12). Beasts of the Southern Wild
11). Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films
10). Warm Bodies
9). Parker
8). Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (3D)
7). Django Unchained
6). Amour
5). The Last Stand
4). The Impossible
3). Les Miserables
2). Silver Linings Playbook
1). Lincoln
2012 Movies
42). Wreck it Ralph
41). Skyfall
40). Argo
39). Hotel Transylvania (3D)
38). Looper
37). Taken 2
36). ParaNorman (3D)
35). Ice Age 4: Continental Drift
34). The Expendables 2
33). The Odd Life of Timothy Green
32). Total Recall
31). The Amazing Spider-man
30). Brave(again)
29). Magic Mike
28). Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (3D)
27). Brave
26). Prometheus
25). Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
24). Snow White and the Huntsman
23). Men in Black III (3D)
22). Battleship
21). Dark Shadows
20). The Pirates! Band of Misfits
19). The Avengers
18). Mirror Mirror
17). The Hunger Games
16). Titanic (3D)
15). Coriolanus
14). The Lorax (3D)
13). The Artist
12). Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud
11). The Help
10). Hugo
9). Journey 2: Mysterious Island (3D)
8). Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts
7). Oscar Nominated Animated Shorts
6). Safe House
5). A Dangerous Method
4). My Week with Marilyn
3). The Grey
2). The Descendents
1). Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
2011 Movies
56). Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
55). The Muppets
54). Arthur Christmas (in 3D)
53). Puss in Boots (in 3D)
52). In Time
51). Martha Marcy Mae Marlene
50). Margin Call
49). Real Steel
46). Dolphin Tale
48). 50/50
47). Ides of March
45). Killer Elite
44). Moneyball
43). What's Your Number?
42). Drive
41). Winnie the Pooh
40). Fright Night
39). Crazy, Stupid, Love
38). Captain America: The First Avenger
37). Cowboys and Aliens
36). Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
35). Cars 2 (again)
34). Zookeeper
33). Midnight in Paris
32). Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon (in 3D)
31). Bad Teacher
30). Cars 2
29). Mr. Popper's Penguins
28). Green Lantern
27). X-Men: First Class
26). Kung Fu Panda 2
25). Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides
24). Bridesmaids
23). Thor
22). Rio
21). Hanna
20). Source Code
19). Fast Five
18). Hop
17). The Adjustment Bureau
16). Limitless
15). Rango
14). Beastly
13). The Housemaid (Ha-nyeo)
12). I Am Number Four
11). True Grit
10). The Kids Are All Right
9). 127 Hours
8). Unknown
7). Oscar Nominated Live-Action Short Films
6). Oscar Nominated Animated Short Films
5). The Fighter
4). The Mechanic
3). The King's Speech
2). The Green Hornet (in 3D)
1). Black Swan

Robin's World - Movie Valley

Movie Reviews

Sunday, January 20, 2013