Alex Cross

Based on James Patterson's novel "Cross", we see Matthew Fox (Vantage Point) and Tyler Perry (Diary of a Mad Black Woman) playing the psychopathic sadist Picassso and the psychological profiler Alex Cross, respectively. Picasso is a hired hand assassin taking out high level banking executive, and Cross is tasked with stopping him, but after foiling one of the killer's hits and hurting his pride - it becomes far more personal for everyone involved.

My major thoughts when watching this film? It probably was a good genre book. Everything about it seemed like it was so faithful to an original text, that in places that made it a bit creeky. What works in a book in the way of dialogue and plot device can look and sound a little silly when it's seen on the screen. The same problem comes up in casting, mainly in the form of Richard Brookwell, the head of the Police Unit played by the majestic John C. McGinley (Point Break). Basically, Brookwell seems to be a well meaning, if a little naive police inspector. John C. McGinley, may be well meaning in most cases, but he's also a bad-ass. He should always be the badass.

To be fair, these are my few criticisms of the film. After the tirade of cool-psychopathy in End of Watch, I was very pleased to see some dumb, and silly action with no over pushing of crazy, horrifying agendas. This was just telling a basic police chase story, and that, for me at least, is good fun. Might have made an interesting TV series along the same vain as 24 or Lie to Me, that way we could know the characters a little more.

Finally, is this film worth seeing?
If you want to have a bit of a laugh at chunky dialogue, and genuinely quite tense action sequences - go for it. There are problems, and it's no where near a great film, but it does exactly what it says on the tin. If you like the look of the trailer, you wont waste your time going to see it.

End of Watch

Never has a film been more aptly named. I was checking my watch and begging for it to end.

Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie Darko) and Mike Zavala (Michael Pena, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done) are LAPD's finest thugs. They run riot, breaking the rules and, as they boast, killing loads of people! That's about as much plot as you need. If you watch the trailer, in fact, you'll see the entire film.

Frankly, I was disgusted by this film. This was a cynical piece of advertisement for police brutality. The message of the film seems to be, "We would just kill everyone who broke the law, if it weren't for the damn paper work!" And it portrayed two thugs in Taylor and Zavala, who are supposed to look "cool" while basically advocating psychopathy. There was even a scene where Zavala takes off his badge and gun to fist fight a gangster, while Taylor looks on, films the fight and laughs manically. And we're supposed to watch this and say "God, wouldn't it be cool if police were actually like that." No. No it wouldn't. So, that's the major message you're supposed to take away.

Awk well, at least it looks good, right? Well, no. I think there's a lot to be said for found footage films and for hand held cameras. This film wanted to use the motif, but clearly decided one or two cameras weren't enough and so went through the totally useless plot of Taylor needing to film everything, while occasionally just using auxiliary camera. It's totally pointless and ridiculous, and probably entirely for advertising purposes, as it features heavily in the trailer.

Then there was the dialogue. I've heard it praised, from the point of view of Taylor and Zavala, but did these people who spoke so highly of it hear the other characters. There was one gangster in the film who I'm sure must never have learned a single line of his script, and was told, no bother, if you can't think of what to say, just punctuate your language with any old swear word you please. CONSTANT swearing. I'm sorry, no one speaks like that. Not realistic at all. Some may say, hang on, the cops talk like people, right. Just talking about life and family and such, and that's realistic, isn't it? Yup, it was. I'll give you that. It made me hate the characters even more because they were racist, homophobic and sexist, and I wouldn't want to spend a second in any of their company, but I'm sure some people speak like that.

I'm sorry, but this film genuinely made me angry. It was horrible. I wont say this often, but do not go and see this film. You're just encouraging this type of disgusting, lazy and cynical film making. Normally I would want other people's opinions on films, and welcome people to tell me I'm wrong, but PLEASE, do not fund this horror of cinema by paying money to see it.