Speed (1994)

One of the most entertaining all-time classic action film.  Speed was also the film that resulted in Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock rekindling their on-screen chemistry in The Lake House (2005) almost a decade later.

The city was terrorised by a retired police officer, Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper), who specialises in explosives.  After being injured on-the-job, he was forced into retirement and decides to get paid what he deserves.  After years of planning, he held an elevator in an office building full of passengers for ransom.  After his plan was foiled by Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves), a LAPD officer, he sets his next plan in motion, playing a "game" with Jack right in the middle of it.

A bus is rigged with explosives that gets activated once the bus hits above 50 miles an hour and goes off when the speed falls below it.  It is being closely monitored by the bomber and no one is allowed to get off.  And so the story goes, Jack, the all-action cop, sets off to defuse the situation, trying to gain the upper hand to get the bomber apprehended.

I believe first-timers will be kept at the edge of the seat throughout the film (I've watched this film for more than 10 times and still find it enjoyable though less exciting of course, I could almost quote the characters' lines =.=).  There were definitely flaws in logic for certain parts of the film but as mentioned right from the start, it is a classic action film worth watching.  Enjoy!

The Rock (1996)

A group of renegade marines under the command of Brigadier General Francis X. Hummel (Ed Harris) took over Alcatraz with 81 hostages and threatened to strike San Francisco Bay with biological weapons, demanding a ransom to be paid out to soldiers under his charge who sacrificed their lives in some of the covert operations but were never recognised for their efforts with a proper military burial and whose family benefits were never paid out.

In an attempt to neutralise this threat, FBI chemical weapons specialist Dr. Stanley Goodspeed (Nicholas Cage) was called in to help.  In order to infiltrate Alcatraz, the FBI was also forced to rope in a former British intelligence, John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery), who was previously incarcerated on Alcatraz and the only person to have ever escaped from the prison successfully.  He had been held in prison without trial for almost 30 years due to the intel he has gathered about some of the major historical events that have occured in the US.

With a group of Navy Seals, these two men were sent to Alcatraz and with much at stake and the possibility of Mason abandoning the mission, this was a simple, no-frills action-packed film that was thoroughly enjoyable.  Do watch it! =)

Michael Clayton (2007)

Happy New Year ppl!  Hope 2009 was awesome and 2010 will be legend-aaary, hahaha (You guys get the joke if you watch How I Met Your Mother). Yah, I promised it would be older films but this one definitely caught my attention when I rewatched it haha.   I usually rewatch the films if time permits before I blog about them here.=P

The film proceeds in a non-linear fashion, with Michael (George Clooney) having just left a high-stakes poker game and being called in to "fix" a problem for one of his firm's long-time clients.  From there he drove back towards New York at dawn, and he stops along the way having spotted three horses just standing there peacefully up by a hill.  He walks towards them, his gaze transfixed on them, which leaves the audiences wondering what he was thinking, what was the significance of the three horses (I couldn't figure that out).  It gave a very dark and mysterious feeling, teasing my curiosity.  Just when everything seemed to be heading nowhere, his car blows up, and the flashback begins from four days ago.

In what I thought were sterling performance put up by George Clooney and Tom Wilkinson, the film revolves around a $3b class-action lawsuit Michael's law firm is handling for their client, U-North, that was sued for manufacturing and using pesticides that had a significant impact on human health.  Michael, who has a job known as the "fixer" in the company, gets called in to fix the mess that his good friend and a partner of the firm, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), created when he's determined not to work in favour of U-North anymore.

Tom Wilkinson's awesome performance was best depicted at the point when Michael finds Arthur at a backstreet.  Arthur, who was manic depressive and behind on his medication, showed his brilliance as a litigator when his conversation with Michael made everyone knew he still wasn't someone you'd wanna go to court against, a moment of genius shown in a hazy mix of craziness he's been portraying most of the time. 

The story is about the redemption of the melancholic life of Michael Clayton, who besides being well-known to be really good at what he does, does not have any other achievements in life that he can be proud of.  He's a divorced dad with a son, and is closing down a restaurant, an unwise joint-venture with a druggy brother which leaves him flirting with bankruptcy. His misery was well acknowledged when they were alone in the car and he tells his son, "You're not gonna be one of this people, that goes through life wondering why shit keeps falling out of the sky around you."

A good, serious, down-to-earth kind of show that shows you how life really is.  A must-watch!

The Peacemaker (1997)

For an action-packed movie, TAKE THE SHOT! Look no further than The Peacemaker, starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman.  Special Forces Intelligence Officer Lt. Col. Thomas Devoe (George Clooney) was tasked to assist anti-smuggling official Dr. Julia Kelly, a civilian, in investigating a train accident in Russia involving the transportation of nuclear warheads

What was initially thought of as a accidental detonation of the nuclear warhead due to the crash of the train was quickly spotted by Dr. Kelly, who believed the warheads were intentionally set off based on evidence, as being an act of terrorism.  This thinking was again being brought into question by Lt. Col. Devoe, who suspected it as a cover-up of a hijack of the nuclear warheads, and the stakes were raised tremendously.

Throughout the movie, Dr. Kelly's ability to understand the mentality of the terrorist and her expertise in bombs and Officer Devoe's quick-thinking and on-the-field experience, came in handy at different points in time that allowed them to successfully track down the hijacked warhead.  What remained uncertain until the end was the perpetrator and his intentions.  Not a bad show to watch with some twists in the story along the way, the mystery and excitement building up to a climax at the end. 3/5!

A Few Good Men (1992)

In this very first post on Dusty and Nice, I will recommend you my favourite film which in my opinion is the best movie of all time, A Few Good Men (1992) starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore.

Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is an inexperienced Navy lawyer who has never seen a courtroom and was tasked to defend two Marines, Pfc. Louden Downey and Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson, who were charged with the murder of their fellow Marine, Pfc. William Santiago down at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Initially planning to plea-bargain for this case, he was convinced to investigate further by Lt. Cdr. JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) who suspected a cover-up given the hushed-up nature of this case.

This film follows the investigation conducted by Lt. Kaffee that uncovers the harsh reality that soldiers down at the border face, and how while Col. Nathan Jessep's (Jack Nicholson) order to perform an illegal disciplinary action termed "Code Red" against Pfc. Santiago is unethical, his actions weren't totally wrong given his responsibilities.

The film was very intriguing and really kept me on my toes all the way. Col. Jessep was one tough nut to crack and the only way Lt. Kaffee could do it was to put his career on the line, accusing Col. Jessep in court, and then using Col. Jessep's low tolerance for disrespect against him. The film title, "A Few Good Men" sums things up pretty nicely. Everyone in the courtroom was a "good man" performing his duties to the best of his abilities. Col. Jessep definitely embodied the type of "necessary evil" that although unethical, gets things done. This is one show I would never ever forget. 5/5!