This week, I actually saw three movies that starred three children — one drama, one lighthearted comedy and one scary thriller.
“Man on Fire” starred 10-year-old Dakota Fanning as Pita, the precocious daughter of Samual (Marc Anthony) and Lisa (Radha Mitchell) Balletto. When the family, who lives in Mexico City, receives kidnapping threats, they hire ex-U.S. Marine Creasy (Denzel Washington) to be Pita's bodyguard.
At first, Creasy remains distant from Pita, saying that her parents hired him to protect her, not to be her friend. But, Creasy soon falls victim to Pita's innocent charm and the two form a solid friendship.
When kidnappers come for Pita, Creasy tries to protect her but is shot and left for dead.
Upon waking, he vows to track down and kill every person involved in the kidnapping.
This was a great movie. It was full of action and kept you on the edge of your seat. It even offered up a few surprises.
Like every revenge-style movie, “Man on Fire” had its share of cheesy lines. At one point Creasy's friend, Rayburn (Christopher Walken), says “I believe every man is an artist. Creasy's art is death, and he's about to paint his masterpiece.”
Even Creasy falls victim to the odd cheesy line: “Forgiveness is between you and God. It's my job to arrange the meeting.”
But, all that aside. It was a very good movie and is definitely worth seeing on the big screen.
It is rated R “for language and strong violence,” so isn't recommended for younger viewers.
Another movie I saw this week was the fun-filled, feel-good movie “13 going on 30.” It starred Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink, a girl who just celebrated her 13th Birthday, but is unhappy with herself and wishes to be “thirty, flirty and fun.” She wakes up the next morning to find she's gotten her wish, but things haven't turned out exactly as she planned.
“13 going on 30” was a very fun movie. It was literally impossible to not enjoy it. The film is rated PG-13 “for some sexual content and brief drug references,” so is only recommended for mature viewers.
The last movie I saw was “Godsend.” It starred Robert DeNiro as Dr. Richard Wells, a stem cell researcher who approaches a grieving couple with a deal to good to refuse.
Paul (Greg Kinnear) and Jessie (Rebecca Romjin) Duncan thought their lives were over when their 8-year-old son, Adam (Cameron Bright), was killed in a tragic accident. Dr. Wells gives them a new lease on life by offering them the chance to give birth to the genetic duplicate of their son through a highly illegal cloning procedure.
The couple must sever all ties to friends, family and everyone who knew their son, and begin life anew in a remote town centered around Dr. Wells' medical facility, called Godsend.
After the second Adam celebrates his eighth Birthday and crosses the age after which he died, things start getting weird. The boy suffers from night terrors and starts to develop some really weird habits and blank stares.
“Godsend” was rated PG-13 “for violence including frightening images, a scene of sexuality and some thematic material,” so is only recommended for the maturest of viewers.
I've gotta tell you … there were some scenes that really creeped me out, so prepare yourself if you decide to see this movie. If I were you, though, I'd opt out of this one and go to “Man on Fire” or “13 going on 30.” It's not that this was a bad movie, it's just that the other two were better.
Hitting GKC Varsity Cinema in the Sault over the next couple of weeks are “New York Minute,” “Van Helsing,” “Breakin' all the Rules” and “Troy.”
