The Three Musketeers 2011

 Released Year: 2011

Directed by Paul W.S.Anderson

Casted by:

Matthew Macfadyen as Athos

Logan Lerman as D'Artagnan

Ray Stevenson as Porthos

Luke Evans as Aramis

Milla Jovovich as Milady de Winter

Orlando Bloom as Duke of Buckingham

Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu

Mads Mikkelsen as Captain Rochefort

Gabriella Wilde as Constance Bonacieux

 Story:

In Venice at the beginning of the 17th century, the Three Musketeers, Athos, Porthos , and Aramis, with the help of Athos' longtime lover, Milady de Winter, steal airship blueprints made by Leonardo da Vinci. However, they are betrayed by Milady, who gives the blueprints to the Duke of Buckingham. Upon returning to France, the Musketeers are forced to disband by Cardinal Richelieu for their failure, and they end up on the streets of Paris.

A year later, a young man named D'Artagnan leaves his village in Gascony for Paris in hopes of becoming a Musketeer as his father was, only to learn that they no longer exist. At a rural bar, D'Artagnan accuses Captain Rochefort, the leader of Richelieu's guard, of offending his horse, and challenges him to a duel. Rochefort shoots him while he is distracted but he is saved by Milady de Winter. Arriving in Paris, D'Artagnan by coincidence separately encounters Athos, Porthos and Aramis accidentally offending all three, then scheduling duels with each at 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00 pm respectively.

Athos brings Porthos and Aramis to the duel as his seconds. D'Artagnan realises they are the Musketeers he is seeking. He is prepared to continue with the duel but Richelieu's guards break it up. The three are inspired by D'Artagnan and fight together and defeat the soldiers, but later are summoned before the young King Louis XIII and his wife, Queen Anne. Richelieu asks the king to execute the four, but the queen is impressed by their bravery and the king congratulates them and invites them to an event, which to Athos' anger, turns out to be Buckingham's arrival (who comes in an airship built following da Vinci's blueprints).

Later, Richelieu orders Milady, who is actually working for him, to plant false love letters among Queen Anne's possessions, steal Queen Anne's diamond necklace, and take it to the Tower of London to frame Queen Anne as having an affair with the Duke of Buckingham. The affair would force King Louis to execute Queen Anne and declare war on England. At this point, the people would demand a more experienced leader: Richelieu himself. But Milady demands that Richelieu declare in writing that she is working on behalf of France, to protect herself in case of palace intrigue.

The false letters (saying that the necklace has been given to Buckingham) are found by a maid and are given to King Louis, who is advised by Richelieu to set up a ball at which Queen Anne would be forced to wear the necklace. If she doesn't, then her affair is real, and there will be war against England. Queen Anne's lady-in-waiting Constance Bonacieux discovers Richelieu's plan and asks the Musketeers to stop him. The Musketeers plan to sail to England and retrieve the jewels before the ball. However, at the dock, Rochefort sets up a blockade to prevent anybody from boarding the ships. Constance takes D'Artagnan's hat, cape and horse to divert the guards standing in front of the boat to allow the Musketeers to board undetected.

In London, Milady warns Buckingham that the Musketeers have arrived to take revenge on him. Milady instructs Buckingham of all their tendencies in battle, but Athos predicts this and the Musketeers resolve to do just the opposite. Buckingham captures D'Artagnan, but he was a decoy to let the Musketeers steal the airship. The Musketeers rescue D'Artagnan, demolishing the top floor of the Tower in the process. Athos points out that Milady would have fled, taking the necklace with her as insurance. As retribution for betraying them, Athos prepares to execute Milady. However, to spare him the pain of having to kill her, Milady decides to leap off the airship, dying on her terms.

The Musketeers return to Paris with the necklace, but they are attacked by Rochefort in another airship, as Milady had given Richelieu copies of da Vinci's blueprints. Rochefort then reveals that he has Constance, and threatens to kill her if they don't hand over the necklace. D'Artagnan agrees to exchange the necklace for Constance, with whom he is infatuated, but Rochefort knocks him out and captures him as soon as the necklace is in his possession. Rochefort then proceeds to attack the Musketeers' ship, at first gaining the upper hand due to the superior weaponry and armor of his airship. However, the Musketeers lure Rochefort into a storm cloud, burst the balloon of airship and make the ship crash into the Notre Dame Cathedral. On the roof, D'Artagnan duels and stabs Rochefort, who falls to his death. Meanwhile, Constance returns the necklace to Queen Anne.

The Musketeers arrive at the ball in Buckingham's now burning airship. However, for the sake of King Louis and his people, they claim that Richelieu had it built for the king, but an attempt was made by Rochefort to sabotage it, also showing King Louis the authorization Richelieu had given Milady, pretending that it was given to them. The King then congratulates the Musketeers, and thanks D'Artagnan, who he sees as his best friend, for everything. Richelieu, impressed by how the Musketeers handled the situation, offers them places in his employ, but they refuse. Richelieu threatens them by saying they will one day regret their choices, but they laugh him off. As Louis and Anne dance, D'Artagnan and Constance kiss. The Musketeers then leave, promising that they will protect France as Musketeers when they are needed.

At sea, Milady (who survived her fall) is rescued by Buckingham, who reveals that he knows that she was working for Richelieu and says that he is going to fight against France. The camera backs away and shows Buckingham advancing towards France's shore with a massive fleet of battleships and airships.

 L² Scored: 9.5/10

L² Comment:

Love this movie, but too bad i didnt watch it on the big screen few years ago, wondering when will the sequel be out... The whole storyline and the way the film was shoot is marvelous, love the scenery and the make up as well as the costume. Looking forward on the next movie :)

Inbred

 Released Year: 2011

Directed by Alex Chandon

 

Casted by:

Jo Hartley as Kate
 Seamus O'Neill as Jim
 James Doherty as Jeff
 James Burrows as Tim
 Neil Leiper as Gris
 Chris Waller as Dwight
 Nadine Rose Mulkerrin as Sam

 Story:

Four young offenders and their care workers spend a weekend in the remote Yorkshire village of Mortlake, which prides on keeping itself to itself. A minor incident with locals rapidly escalates into a blood-soaked, deliriously warped nightmare. With all four of the young offenders and two careworkers being killed in very gruesome ways throughout the movie.

  L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

 The killing/slashing part is a bit too little and not that excited enough. If the torturing can be extended, the whole movie would be perfect...

The Whistleblower 2010

 Released Year: 2010 & 2011

Directed by Larysa Kondracki

Casted by:

Rachel Weisz as Kathryn Bolkovac
Vanessa Redgrave as Madeleine Rees
Benedict Cumberbatch as Nick Kaufman
David Strathairn as Peter Ward
Roxana Condurache as Raya Kochan
Monica Bellucci as Laura Leviani
Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Jan
Liam Cunningham as Bill Haynes

 Story:

 Kathryn Bolkovac is a police officer from Lincoln, Nebraska who accepts an offer to work with the U.N. International Police in post-war Bosnia at a U.K. company called Democra Security. Upon fighting for the trial for a Muslim woman suffering from domestic abuse and succeeding, Kathryn is made head of the department of gender affairs. She becomes involved in the case of a young Ukrainian woman named Raya, who had recently been sold by her uncle to a sex trafficking ring. She escapes and Kathryn sends her to a women's shelter specifically set up for the victims of sexual slavery. Through Raya's case, Kathryn is able to uncover a wide-scale sexual slavery and human-trafficking ring that various international personnel, including that of the U.S., have participated in. Furthermore, when she brings the scandal to the attention of the U.N., she discovers that they have covered it up in order to protect lucrative defense and security contracts. Kathryn finds allies in Madeleine Rees and Peter Ward, authority figures who support her investigation.

Kathryn is soon fired from her job due to her knowing too much about the scandal and her reluctance to stop the investigation. Meanwhile, Raya had been captured again and is later found dead, only pushing Kathryn even more to bring the scandal to light. She and Ward eventually capture evidence of an official admitting to the scandal, and she brings it to the BBC. It is said in the ending credits that following Kathryn's departure, a number of peacekeepers were sent home, though none faced criminal charges because of immunity laws. It is also noted that the U.S. continues to do business with private contractors like Democra Security, including ones worth billions of dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

L² Scored: 6.5/10

L² Comment:

This film received a lots of positive critics and even won Best film in some small  movie awards. For me this is not bad, but the storywise is a bit slow and dry for me. I know Weisz is trying so hard for this, but her sweet look is just not convincing enough for me to make me think that she's strong and able to defeat the mobster like how she did in the movie.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

 Released Year: 2011

Directed by David Fincher

Casted by:

Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist
 Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander
Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger
Stellan Skarsgård as Martin Vanger
Joely Richardson as Anita Vanger / Harriet Vanger

 Story:

 Mikael Blomkvist, co-owner of Swedish "Millennium" magazine, has just lost a libel case brought against him by crooked businessman Hans-Erik Wennerström. Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander, a researcher and computer hacker, has compiled an extensive background check on Blomkvist for a job that Swedish magnate, Henrik Vanger wants him to perform.

In exchange for damning information about Wennerström, Blomkvist agrees to investigate the disappearance and possible murder of Henrik's grandniece, Harriet, 40 years ago. While hunting for clues, Blomkvist uncovers a notebook filled with information that may help explain Harriet's disappearance.

Salander, who is under state legal guardianship due to diagnosed mental incompetency, is appointed a new guardian, lawyer Nils Bjurman. He abuses his authority to extort sexual favors from Salander and then forcibly rapes her. She eventually regains control of her life by blackmailing Bjurman after stunning him with a taser, raping him with a dildo, and marking him as a rapist with a tattoo on his chest and stomach.

Blomkvist hires Salander to further investigate the notebook's content, and she uncovers a connection to a series of murders that occurred from the late 1940s to the mid 1960s. During further investigation, Salander and Blomkvist become lovers. Henrik's brother Harald identifies Martin, Harriet's brother, as a possible suspect. Meanwhile, Salander makes increasingly revealing connections between Harriet's disappearance and the entire Vanger dynasty.

Blomkvist breaks into Martin's house to look for more clues, but Martin catches him. Martin brags about his crimes, but denies killing Harriet. Salander arrives, surprises Martin and saves Blomkvist. While Salander is tending to Blomkvist, Martin flees. Salander, on her motorcycle, pursues Martin in his SUV. He loses control of his vehicle on an icy road and dies when it catches fire.

As more connections are made about the Vanger family, Blomkvist deduces that Harriet is still alive, living under a false identity to hide from Martin. Blomkvist confronts Harriet, who describes the generations of abuse within the Vanger family and Martin's knowledge of her involvement in her father's death. Finally free of her brother, thanks to Salander and Blomkvist, Harriet returns to Sweden and tearfully reunites with Henrik.

As promised, Henrik gives Blomkvist the information on Wennerström, but it is not helpful. Salander responds by hacking Wennerström's computer and presenting Blomkvist with the necessary incriminating information about his activities. This evidence vindicates "Millennium" and destroys Wennerström.

Salander also hacks into Wennerström's bank accounts and transfers two billion euros into her own accounts. During this time, Wennerström is murdered. On her way to give Blomkvist a Christmas present, Salander sees Blomkvist and his longtime lover and business partner Erika Berger walking together happily. Heartbroken, she throws the gift away and rides off on her motorcycle.

 L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

 Everyone is cheering for this 2011 hit movie from Steven Zailian's novel. I have no time to read the novel even though my friend borrow me the novel for almost 2 months, so i watch the movie instead. The whole movie is nice, brutal and kinda violence... but the thing is, i feel that the movie is a bit too long and draggy... 

Rooney Mara is the shine of this movie based on her outlook and acting, Daniel Craig in another hand is as hot as before and more delicious i should say :)

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.