Tears of the Sun - 2003

Cheyenne Enterprises, Michael Lobell Productions, Revolution Studios

Directed by Antoine Fuqua

Cast:

• Lt. A. K. Waters – Bruce Willis
• Dr. Lena Kendricks – Monica Bellucci
• James 'Red' Adkins – Cole Hauser
• Ellis 'Zee' Pettigrew – Eamonn Walker
• Kelly Lake – Johnny Messner
• Michael 'Slo' Slowenski – Nick Chinlund
• Demetrius 'Silk' Owens – Charles Ingram
• Danny 'Doc' Kelley – Paul Francis
• Jason 'Flea' Mabry – Chad Smith
• Captain Bill Rhodes – Tom Skerritt

Story: A military coup in Nigeria is forcing the emergency evacuation of American citizens. Navy SEALS are being used to extract the civilians, and Lt. A. K. Waters' crew has just landed on the aircraft carrier after completing one mission to be told they are going to be sent back in. After getting a hot meal and packing for a three day assignment, they are briefed by Captain Rhodes. They will be dropped in by HALO (High Altitude, Low Oxygen) where they will locate and extract an American doctor and her staff. Once at the location, they find the doctor is not willing to leave without her patients. To appease the doctor and get her moving, he tells her only the ambulatory patients can come and they must leave immediately. Her staff, a priest and two nuns, decide to remain with the patients who cannot be moved. When they reach the extraction site, it is obvious there is not enough room in the helicopters for all the people, and the doctor is forced onto the helicopter. As they are flying away, the pass over the hospital they have just come from....the troops have slaughtered everyone. Lt. Waters tells the pilot to turn around, and commits his team to escorting the patients and the doctor to the border of Cameroon, but is unaware there is a traitor in among the patients who is transmitting their location to the rebels.

Review: While this is a work of fiction, there is a strong and powerful political message here. Bruce Willis took a chance and co-produced via Cheyenne Enterprises, and the film was not financially successful. Perhaps the message of the film was one no one wanted to hear, but I applaud Willis for making it, and Fuqua for the film's honesty and integrity. If you pick up the Special Edition DVD, take the time to look at the special features and you will understand what I mean. The extras are from Africa, real people who have lived through the atrocities shown. Because of that, and perhaps because many of these fine actors were drawn in to the plight of the people, this film presents an authenticity seldom seen in a war film. The “SEALs” in the film were trained by Harry Humphries, a former SEAL and Vietnam Veteran, for two weeks to both fight and think like SEALs for the purposes of the film, and carried actual packs and gear during the filming. While Bruce Willis and Monica Bellucci obviously head the cast, this is in every sense an “ensemble” cast and it shows. Cole Hauser, Nick Chinlund and the other members of the SEAL team never once break character, and present the personalities needed with a quiet elegance that you feel through the screen. One significant aspect of Fuqua's directing is clear, this is not a problem of race or location, but of decency. A problem that exists today. The recent attention to KONY has made that apparent, and President Obama has pledged to see to that problem. We shall see. Rated R for violence, atrocities, and language, this film is one for the adults in the house with a strong stomach. Collectible as one of Willis' finest films, and for anyone who appreciates a good war film.

The Chronicles of Riddick - 2004

Universal Pictures, Radar Pictures, One Race Productions

Directed by David Twohy

Cast:

• Riddick – Vin Diesel
• Lord Marshal – Colm Feore
• Dame Vaako – Thandie Newton
• Aereon – Judi Dench
• Lord Vaako – Karl Urban
• Kyra – Alexa Davalos
• The Purifier – Linus Roache
• Toombs – Nick Chinlund
• Imam – Keith David

Story: Riddick, the escaped murderer from the movie Pitch Black, is being pursued by mercenaries on an isolated planet. He avoids their attempt to capture him and instead strands the survivors on the planet to pursue the man who sent them: the Imam, one of the two others to escape the dark planet. When he finds him, he learns of the Necromancers, a race of conquerors traveling across the universe to convert all humanity to their faith. Riddick learns he is from the planet Furya, a planet already destroyed by the Necromancers. At first, Riddick is unwilling to get involved, but soon it becomes apparent he must fight or die. He allows himself to be captured by Mercs to rescue the girl Jack, now known as Kyra, from a maximum security prison, then returns to the planet to face the Lord Marshal to test their creedo: “You Keep What You Kill”.

Review: Once again Vin Diesel brings to life the vicious, calculating anti-hero Riddick, the convict who prefers to kill instead of negotiate. Riddick is living a life of arduous survival, preferring the isolation of the frozen planet to the company of humans. When he learns the Imam is the man who has set the bounty for him, he journeys to discover why. Keith David recreates the Imam from Pitch Black as if he had never left the role, and introduces us to Aereon, the elemental being in the form of Judi Dench, whose powerful acting and presence adds both drama and authenticity to the film. Nick Chinlund excels in a role custom made for him, and Colm Feore is magnificent as the Lord Marshal, the holy half-dead who has seen the Underverse. Linus Roache, in one of two films he has worked on with Diesel (the other, Find Me Guilty, perhaps led to his role as the Assistant DA on Law and Order), and while his role is not as big as I would have liked, his presence and eloquence as the Purifier adds significantly to the film. Karl Urban, who has appeared in other fantasy roles (Priest, Star Trek), presents a more powerful, controlled soldier of the faith, while Thandie Newton as his ambitious wife provides the right balance to the struggle for power within any authoritarian regime. Alexa Davalos is excellent as Kyra, defiant and deadly to the last. Even the extended version is rated PG-13 for language and violence, but little sexual content. Since Vin will be recreating Riddick in a third film next year, I would say this is a collectible if you are a fan of the first two, or just a fan of good science fiction.

Con Air -1997

Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Kouf/Bigelow Productions

Directed by Simon West

Cast:

• Cameron Poe – Nicholas Cage
• Duncan Malloy – Colm Meaney
• U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin – John Cusack
• Baby O – Mykelti Williamson
• Billy Bedlam – Nick Chinlund
• Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom – John Malkovich
• Garland Greene – Steve Buscemi
• Diamond Dog – Ving Rhames
• Pinball – Dave Chappelle
• Guard Bishop – Rachel Ticotin
• Johnny “23” Baca – Danny Trejo
• Swamp Thing – M. C. Gainey
• ”Sally Can't Dance” Martinez – Renoly Santiago
• Tricia Poe – Monica Potter

Story: A U. S. Army Ranger is released from his tour of duty, but on the night of his return, three men at a local bar attack him and he is forced to defend himself, killing one of the men in the process. He is sentenced to 7-9 years in a federal prison, and is being transported by a U. S. Marshall flight to his point of release. The flight he is on is packed with some of the most notorious prisoners in the system on their way to a supermax prison, and as soon as the plane is in the air, the prisoners take over the flight. Cameron Poe, the released prisoner, must find a way to protect a female guard from being raped and keep his diabetic cellmate alive while trying to foil the plans of the prisoners, led by Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom, a sociopathic murderer who claims he has killed more men that cancer.

Review: The plot is thin, and I mean almost anorexic. No way would any court convict a decorated veteran in a three to one fight of anything other than self defense, especially with witnesses in the bar testifying the three men started it. The “well oiled machine” of the U. S. Marshall's service would never employ a guard that taunts prisoners or uses ethnic slurs to address them. Every character is overblown, every scene charged with organizational and procedural errors, and the lack of intervention by higher authorities is outrageous. All that being said, Con Air is a true action-adventure thrill ride, one of those Jerry Bruckheimer films you can't stop watching. Casting alone is worth the watch, with Cage, Malkovich, Cusack and the rest providing for intense moments, dialog, and entertaining quips sure to delight. Emphasis on the Action part of the genre, this film is rated R for violence and language, and deserves it. All the right elements for a great fun film, and collectible for all the Bruckheimer fans.