ARTHUR'S MOVIE RATINGS

I don't presume to tell you whether or not you're going to like a movie or not--people have different tastes and like different things. The main purpose with the ratings given for movies here is to give you an idea of whether or not you should see it in the theater, wait for it to hit DVD, or skip it altogether. So if you want to break it down...

*****: AMAZING! Everyone should see this as soon as they possibly can!
****: GREAT! Worth every cent to go see it in the theater.
***: GOOD! May or may not be worth seeing in the theater, but definitely a solid choice for a rental.
**: DECENT. Not a horrible movie, but it's not a bad choice for a rental.
*: BAD. Do not watch this movie. Well, you could, but I wouldn't advise it.

13 November 2010

Unstoppable

RATING:**** (4 stars)

Two blue-collar men working together for the first time decide to chase down a runaway freight train with dangerous materials that threatens a heavily populated area.

Starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine as our two primary leads, the star power alone almost demands a theater viewing. Luckily, we are given a tense drama with very human characters that can deliver an experience worthy of the big screen.

There really is not a whole lot of depth to the story: Frank (Washington) is a veteran of the train industry who has only a couple weeks left before his forced early retirement, while Will (Pine) is a young dad with marriage trouble who from one perspective got a nice job because he has relatives in the industry. The tension starts at the very beginning of the movie, and rides hard until the very end, so all of the character development (what little there is) comes along the way and cuts to the point--not unlike many people having normal conversation. It is in this aspect that Unstoppable really shines. We see two men that by all accounts are very "normal" people put into an extraordinary situation, and do the best they can under those circumstances.

Trailer