Harrison Ford Movie: **** Firewall (2006)

Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford) works in security in a large bank.  He and his family, his wife Beth (Virginia Madsen) and kids, Sarah and Andy (Carly Schroeder and Jimmy Bennett) are held hostage by a group of thieves intent on stealing $10,000 from 10,000 richest customers.  The thieves have studied the family for some time, opening a gambling account in Jack's name and a bill of $85,000.  The thieves are very treacherous.  They are lead by Bill Cox (Paul Bettany).  Jack's coworker, Harry Romano (Robert Forster) introduced Jack and Cox.  His boss is Arlin Fiorester (Alan Arkin). His assistant is Janet Stone (Mary Lynn Rajskub). They control Jack by threatening his family.  They try to get away but fail.  Stanfield is forced to help them get the money, erase tapes and allow cox into sensitive areas.  They also set him up as a jealous husband, making his wife record that he is leaving for Romano.  Cox visits Romano and murders him using Stanfield's gun.  

However Stanfield is able to do a double cross, having taken a picture of the account numbers where the money went.  He recruits Stone to help him.  The family after the operation was being taken to a rural area for their murder.  Stanfield overwhelmed the man sent to kill him and iill hi instead.  He lets Cox know his money is gone and won't come back until he gets his family.  The family is still alive, and the dog with a gps tracking device is with them.  Consequently they are able to track them.  

This movie is very good.  The fighting at the end had me really riled up.  Very exciting.  They bad guys are easily hated.  None of them would help the family as they were all committed.  When asked why you hate us the answer is, we don't, we just don't care about you. 

Movie Review: ***Going In Style (2017)

Going In Style (2017)

What do you do when you are old, and medical and other bills are eating your retirement.  Rob a  bank of course.  And in this case it is the bank that stole your retirement.  This is a remake of a 1979 movie of the same name.  How do three old people rob a bank.  They get the idea when one of them is at the bank during a previous hold up.  The three old gentleman are played by Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Alan Arkin.  There is some funny stuff with old men getting ready to heist a bank.  Christopher Lloyd, and almost senile old man at the senior center.  They together volunteer for senior Center bazaar as an alibi, and the alibis hold.  One uses the restroom—he has a problem and has to go for a long time.  He sneaks out the back side.  Another is singing with Ann-Margaret and makes it look like he doesn’t leave the party they are catering.  The other is helping in a group, of all yellow shirts and is lost in the crowd. 

They wear masks of the Rat-Pack.  Everything hinges though on a witness at the bank.  Morgan Freeman has an anxiety issue, and has difficulty breathing.  A little girl helps him, and sees his distinctive watch.  However, she doesn’t turn him in.  They restore their pension with over $two million from the bank.

If I could condone bank robbing I would give this movie higher marks; but I cannot.

Movie Review: ***^The Rocketeer

I remember really enjoying this movie, and Natalia and Mark really enjoying it when they were little.  However in watching it again, I wasn't as impressed.  This is a hero vs Nazi spy movie, and on that level it works.  However it lacks some of the punch and story line some subsequent movies have.  Cliff (Billy Campbell) is a test pilot, who dreams of participating in air races.  His dream goes south when his prototype plane crashes after he is shot by a fleeing criminal.  The criminal is also caught, but not before hiding his bounty in a plane in the hangar.  Turns out he had stolen a new people propelling rocket.  He and his friend, mentor, Peevy (Alan Arkin) test the prototype, and decide to use it.  This only gets them into trouble.  First the criminals who want it, and the Nazi spy, Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton) who is paying them to steal it.  Then also the federals who want to recover it.  You add to the mix Cliff's pretty girlfriend, Jenny (Jennifer Connelly) and you have the makings of a pretty fun jaunt.  It is kidnapping the girl that turns things in the Nazi spy's favor, but when they criminals discover who they are working for, things change.  This movie even adds a German dirigible, which crashes into the Hollywood sign and destroys the "land" ending.  This movie is fun, but just lacks that extra oomph.

Movie Review: ****^Wait Until Dark (1967)

This is an excellent movie which features Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman, Susy Hendrix.  Somehow she becomes entangled in a drug smuggling case, when her husband brings home a doll from an overseas trip.  They are both innocent bystanders, but still the doll is wanted by the drug lord (Alan Arkin) who is willing to kill or do whatever he needs to do to get his heroin stash.  They have searched the house, but not found the doll.  They now plan to play a intricate con game to get Mrs. Hendrix to divulge the location of the doll.  The neighbor girl has borrowed the doll, not telling anyone.  This movie has lots of intrigue and danger.  Susie Hendrix seems so vulnerable.  I keep it with our Alfred Hitchcock movies, even though it is not.  This movie does not have anything inappropriate other than violence.  It is good for a scare.