[The News Bot]

“You know who you are, and I know what you’re not.”

Can Denzel Washington do no wrong?

From the great (Crimson Tide, Training Day) to the very good (Book of Eli, Fallen) to the good (Deja Vu), the man makes any movie considerably better than it would be without him, even making the most routine, flimsy style-over-substance thrillers into engaging pieces of sheer entertainment. I can’t think of many films which he has done which would have made for disappointing cinema outings, and few actors really have that kind of credibility these days(though DiCaprio did have a longer winning streak until he hit J. Edgar).

...


Read the full review...

[golden phoenix]

waited for a rental on this one, denzel washington ..for me has become one of the best actors of our generation, so i always give time to his film choices...i did catch the trailer for this though, and thought they didnt do much with it, as you pointed out Caz...but as always after your recommendation I will pick this up for a look.

cheers for the review.

[mjpav]

I watched this film last night - the sound is exceptional and dialogue was extemely clear? No mumbling detected by me here?

Good film all round!

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by mjpav

I watched this film last night - the sound is exceptional and dialogue was extemely clear? No mumbling detected by me here?

Good film all round!

Tried it with mates on two separate occasions and none of us got either:

a) that they were talking about towel weight during the interrogation
b) that he was quoting a poem when he chats to his old forger friend

This is probably not just because he mumbles, but also because what he's actually saying is obscure, however I still think the sound design could have accentuated it better, rather than smothered it. Or they could have made Washington speak up a tiny bit.

Had the exact same problem at the cinema. It's not to do with volume. The sound was LOUD as hell at the cinema, but the dialogue was obscured during scenes like the ones I've described.

I'm glad you picked up on the clever chat about the significance of the weight of the towels used for waterboarding, as that scene was a lot more enjoyable for me when I understood every single word that was being said.

Thanks, Cas

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by golden phoenix

waited for a rental on this one, denzel washington ..for me has become one of the best actors of our generation, so i always give time to his film choices...i did catch the trailer for this though, and thought they didnt do much with it, as you pointed out Caz...but as always after your recommendation I will pick this up for a look.

cheers for the review.

Yep, Washington is a top actor, and I'm really hoping he goes for that Ludlum spy franchise (I'm not sure he's ever done a sequel ). Don't worry about the trailer, it's almost a good thing that it's so generic because you should be pleasantly surprised by the actual movie (rather than the other way around, which is usually the case).

Glad you liked the review, do let us know what you think when you do get around to seeing it.

Cheers, Cas

[mjpav]

Originally Posted by casharlow

Tried it with mates on two separate occasions and none of us got either:

a) that they were talking about towel weight during the interrogation
b) that he was quoting a poem when he chats to his old forger friend

This is probably not just because he mumbles, but also because what he's actually saying is obscure, however I still think the sound design could have accentuated it better, rather than smothered it. Or they could have made Washington speak up a tiny bit.

Had the exact same problem at the cinema. It's not to do with volume. The sound was LOUD as hell at the cinema, but the dialogue was obscured during scenes like the ones I've described.

I'm glad you picked up on the clever chat about the significance of the weight of the towels used for waterboarding, as that scene was a lot more enjoyable for me when I understood every single word that was being said.

Thanks, Cas

Hi Cas

How strange - we picked up on these straight away? especially the towel weight! Perhaps like you say it's just the obscurity of these things? Anyays thanks for the review - my girlfriend and I were certainly pleasantly suprised at just how good the film was : )

Thanks
Michael

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by mjpav

Hi Cas

How strange - we picked up on these straight away? especially the towel weight! Perhaps like you say it's just the obscurity of these things? Anyays thanks for the review - my girlfriend and I were certainly pleasantly suprised at just how good the film was : )

Thanks
Michael

You're welcome, glad you liked it.

Perhaps a better trailer would have better promoted the movie, but, then again, it might have set expectations too high. I was certainly very surprised (in a good way) when I sat down to watch it at the flicks, expecting just another generic buddy-buddy actioner.

Cheers for taking the time to comment,
Cas

[drummerjohn]

Great review.

Hated the shaky camera work - to me it just screams "I have to do this to make what would be a mediocre action scene look good." It's old and needs dropping as the best action sequences by the best directors never use it.

Loved the film - main character was flawed though. Such an experienced "expert" but doesn't make sure people are dead. Rule No1 you would think.

Dialogue was perfectly fine for me - understood it all.

"You need 600 weight, 600."

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by drummerjohn

Great review.

Hated the shaky camera work - to me it just screams "I have to do this to make what would be a mediocre action scene look good." It's old and needs dropping as the best action sequences by the best directors never use it.

Loved the film - main character was flawed though. Such an experienced "expert" but doesn't make sure people are dead. Rule No1 you would think.

Dialogue was perfectly fine for me - understood it all.

"You need 600 weight, 600."

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it

I see what you mean about checking that guy was dead but I guess it was as good a way as any to do the

 

ending that they clearly had to do

. It's a shame because I think more and more these kind of movies require the lead character to

 

die because he's a murky anti-hero. In fact Washington's made a name for himself playing anti-heroes who die

and it would have been nice if they'd played this one differently for once...

Hopefully the shaky-cam era will pass. Although people didn't exactly warm to Soderbergh's retro longer shots in Haywire...

Cas

[simonblue]

Thanks for the review Cas, its in a pile waiting to be watched

[Smurfin]

Its trailer made it out to be just another generic spy movie, with Denzel Washington playing the corrupt mentor to Ryan Reynolds’s naive newbie

Did we watch a different movie? - because Safe House was exactly the above. Contrived, bland, going-through-the-motions imho.

I agree on the dialogue front though

[BRW]

Thanks for the review, can't really go wrong with old Denzel. Intrigued by this new Ludlum project, if it ever comes to fruition that is.

Enjoyed Safe House much more than I expected and, as you said, the only thing that was a bit predictable was the ending. Also had problems with the dialogue, although it was a bit better at home rather than in the cinema.

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by BRW

Thanks for the review, can't really go wrong with old Denzel. Intrigued by this new Ludlum project, if it ever comes to fruition that is.

Enjoyed Safe House much more than I expected and, as you said, the only thing that was a bit predictable was the ending. Also had problems with the dialogue, although it was a bit better at home rather than in the cinema.

Well after all that he's no longer even attached to Matarese Circle, with only Cruise's name remaining. Ah well. Hopefully he'll have something else interesting in the pipeline (Flight? 2 Guns?) but Matarese Circle would have been a great project for him...

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by Smurfin

Did we watch a different movie? - because Safe House was exactly the above. Contrived, bland, going-through-the-motions imho.

I agree on the dialogue front though

Each to their own I guess. Honestly, I found it quite unpredictable.

Rather than have

 

them instantly team up, Washington spends the majority of the movie trying to escape

.

Rather than have Washington's character

 

be revealed to be secretly working for good in exposing corruption, they maintained the fact that he was still basically in it for the money right to the end

.

These were just a couple of elements that played well for me, rather than going in the direction I expected them to. Of course the ending was fairly forced and predictable, and it would have been nice to have more mind-games, but I was genuinely surprised by this movie.

Still, as I said, each to their own.

Thanks for your take on it, it's always interesting to see how other people swallowed the same movie.

Cas

[Casimir Harlow]

Originally Posted by simonblue

Thanks for the review Cas, its in a pile waiting to be watched

Lol, I know the feeling! Well do let us know what you think when you do get around to watching it.

Hope you enjoy,

Cas