Showing posts with label Jaume Collet-Serra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jaume Collet-Serra. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Unknown 2011

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

Casted by:
Liam Neeson as Dr. Martin Harris
Diane Kruger as Gina
January Jones as Elizabeth "Liz" Harris
Aidan Quinn as Martin B.
Frank Langella as Professor Rodney Cole
Bruno Ganz as Ernst Jürgen
Sebastian Koch as Professor Bressler
Story:
Dr. Martin Harris and his wife Liz arrive in Berlin for a biotechnology summit. Upon arriving at their hotel, Martin realizes he forgot his briefcase at the airport. He takes a taxicab driven by Gina, but on the way to the airport, the cab crashes off a bridge into the river after narrowly avoiding a refrigerator that falls off a delivery truck. Martin is knocked unconscious upon impact, but Gina saves him from drowning before fleeing from the scene. On Thanksgiving day, he comes to at the hospital after being in a coma for four days.

Martin returns to his hotel, only to discover another man with his wife, who tells hotel security she does not know him. He attempts to contact his old colleague Prof. Rodney Cole, who is unavailable due to Thanksgiving in the United States. Martin then heads to the office of Prof. Bressler, whom he is scheduled to meet that day. However, he sees the impostor, "Martin B" already in a meeting with Bressler. As Martin attempts to prove his identity, Martin B shows him his ID and family photo – both of which have Martin's name, only with his face replaced by that of the impostor. Disillusioned by the identity crisis, Martin falls unconscious and finds himself back at the hospital, where he undergoes an MRI to see if the accident had caused any head trauma. An assassin sent to target him kills Dr. Farge and Nurse Gretchen Erfurt, but Martin escapes.

He then seeks help from Nurse Erfurt's friend, private investigator and former Stasi agent Ernst Jürgen. Martin's only clues are his notebook and Gina, who works at a diner after being fired from the taxicab company since the incident. While Martin attempts to persuade Gina into helping him clear up his identity problem, Jürgen digs up information related to Martin and the biotechnology summit. He discovers that the summit is to be attended by Prince Shada of Saudi Arabia, who is funding a secret project headed by Bressler. Prince Shada has survived numerous assassination attempts from Islamic militants, and Jürgen suspects that Martin's identity theft may be another attempt at taking the Prince's life. Jürgen receives Cole at his office, but when he realizes that Cole is not who he says he is (surmising that Cole was a former member of a secret HVA assassination unit), he commits suicide by drinking cyanide-laced coffee.

Meanwhile, the assassins attempt to eliminate Martin and Gina, but the couple escape after a fight at her apartment and a lengthy car chase. Martin looks at his notebook and sees a set of numbers written by his wife. The numbers correspond to words found on specific pages of the notebook, which appear as secret codes. Using the schedule written on the notebook, Martin confronts Liz, who tells him that his only hope is his briefcase at the airport. After retrieving his briefcase, Martin parts ways with Gina, who sees him kidnapped by Cole and his henchman Jones. Gina steals a taxicab and chases after Cole's van. Martin wakes up at a car park and discovers the truth of his identity through Cole. It is revealed that Martin Harris is a cover name, and that he, Liz and Martin B are terrorist assassins sent to target the summit. Because he injured his head during the car crash, his memory was altered and he believed that Martin Harris was his real life identity. However, he still does not remember his own true identity. Gina rushes in and stops Jones from killing Martin as Cole hides in his van. There is a brief fight between Jones and Gina which ends when Gina drives her car into Jones and squashes him against Cole's van. The impact of the crash also sends the van plummeting down the tower with Cole still inside. Martin discovers a hidden compartment in his briefcase and finds two Canadian passports, realizing he and Liz were in Berlin three months prior to plant a bomb in the suite that is to be occupied by Prince Shada.

The duo head for the hotel to stop the assassination. They are immediately arrested by security, but Martin convinces them of his presence in the hotel three months back. He then realizes that Prince Shada is not the target, but Bressler – who has discovered a genetically modified breed of corn that is capable of surviving any climate, easing the world's food supply problem. Liz uses her own copy of the notebook's secret codes to remotely access Bressler's laptop and steal the data. After being convinced there is a bomb, security evacuates the hotel. Seeing that their assassination attempt has been foiled, Liz tries to disarm the bomb, but is too late, as she is killed while a section of the hotel is destroyed. Martin B, the last remaining terrorist, attempts to kill Prof. Bressler, but Martin stops and kills him. Bressler later announces his project to the world, and Martin and Gina, who now carry Canadian IDs (that have the same last name, implying that they are married,) leave on a train, now free from their troubled lives.
L² Scored: 6/10

L² Comment:
Film according to the French novel by Didier van Cauwelaert + directed by my Spanish fav director Jaume, this is not a bad film. The reason why i score it that low is because - Ms Kruger did not show her nice yummy body like what she did before in TROY !!! I was waiting and waiting and waiting, but no... she was fully covered !!! Gosh~ so damn dissapointed.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Orphan

Released Year: 2009
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra

Casted by:
Isabelle Fuhrman as Esther Coleman / Leena Klammer
Vera Farmiga as Kate Coleman
Peter Sarsgaard as John Coleman
Aryana Engineer as Max Coleman
Jimmy Bennett as Daniel Coleman
C.C.H. Punder as Sister Abigail
Story:
Kate and John's marriage was in danger when Kate is pregnant with their 3rd kid because of the affair that John has. The baby was lost and Kate lost herself in the drinking habit. Both the couple decided to adopt a new children to place their love with. They went for the orphanage and adopted Esther who's good in arts.

Esther was welcome by Daniel and Max who is a deaf-mute. But Kate grow suspicious when she found out Esther is different as stated by Sister Abigail. Esther was afraid that Sister Abigail will find out the secrets hide beneath her, so she bring Max together to kill Sister Abigail. Esther warn Max not to tell anyone or else she will kill the parents. But Max managed to tell Daniel about this and Daniel try to retrieve the hammer which killed Sister Abigail from a treehouse. Esther followed him and lock him in the treehouse while set fire on.

Daniel jump and broke himself. In the meanwhile, Kate discover that Esther is from a mental hospital of Russia before she was with Sister Abigail. Esther sneak into Daniel's ward and suffocated him. The death of Daniel broke Kate's heart, she slapped Esther in the hospital and everybody think Kate has a mental problem. Esther got what she wants and went to seduce John later at night. When John reject, Esther gone crazy and stabbed him to death.

Kate received a call from Russia and inform her that Esther real name is Leena and she actually suffered from an illness called hypopituitarism, which stunted Leena from physical growth and always stayed in a little girl status. Kate rushed all her way home but sad to found that John has die. Esther is chasing after Max but Kate jump off from the greenhouse and smashed on Leena. While escaping to outside, Leena is coming and fought with Kate. Both of them struggle on the frozen lake and finally Kate managed to save Max by kicking Leena into the cold deep water.
L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:
I remember i watched this movie with a bunch of bloggers at Pavilion previously. And this really really freaked me out a little of how cruel this kid can be. By the end of the story, it reveals the shocking truth which really make me feel like giving the movie a big round of applause.

Isabelle Fuhrman is definitely showing us how good she is in this age. Vera is good too. Bravo for both of them.