THE EQUALIZER

Sony Pictures

Rated R

Running time: 132 Minutes

Click below to watch a movie trailer of The Equalizer.



In Sony Pictures The Equalizer, hardware depot manager Denzel Washington takes it upon himself to protect a hooker Chloe Grace Moretz from her pimp David Meunier  - and soon goes up against the Russian Mafia.

Living an ordinary life as a hardware manager, at a hardware depot that is based on Home Depot and Lowes, Washington works closely with his fellow hardware workers, including security guard applicant Johnny Skourtis. Washington soon makes friends with Moretz who is interested in Washington's books. After Moretz is beaten by Meunier, Washington goes after Meunier - who happens to be with the Russian Mafia.

Based on the TV show The Equalizer that starred Edward Woodward, and Directed by Antoine Fuqua, The Equalizer is about a former government operative who offers his services in helping people who have the odds against them. In the movie, Washington meets with his former government colleagues Bill Pullman and Melissa Leo about Marton Csokas, a Russian enforcer who was assigned to find out what happened to Meunier. The adversarial relationship between Csokas and Washington was most interesting to me. It is interesting that Washington's character had no real back story in the movie so Washington created his own back story for his character, with the character having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

While a popular TV series, I had never watched The Equalizer at the time. I have a feeling that the movie took on more of the style of the TV show in that the movie was more of a suspense thriller - rather than an action film, which some people might think the movie would seem to be. But make no mistake that the violence in the movie is fairly graphic.

At the end of the movie, I was pleasantly surprised to read that The Equalizer was Written by someone I used to work with at Showtime, Richard Wenk. Sony Pictures plan on doing a sequel to The Equalizer with Richard writing the script. I hope they keep Richard, not just because I know him, but so that there will be more of a coherent consistency to the next movie. Fuqua hopes the sequel to be more international.

Rated R for graphic violence and language. Running time: 132 minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

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OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN

Film District

Rated R

Running time: 120 Minutes



Click below to watch the Olympus Has Fallen trailer.



In Film District's Olympus Has Fallen, disgraced former head of Presidential Detail Secret Service agent and former U.S. Army Ranger Gerard Butler is on his own - when terrorists attack the White House and kidnap Aaron Eckhart, the President of the United States.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, this is an action-packed political thriller that was a lot of fun for me to watch. It was basically Die Hard at the White House, although there were worldwide implications that were shown for the events that were happening in the White House. You got to see the security of the White House at work as well as Camp David as the Presidential family, including Ashley Judd and Finley Jacobsen, relaxes there. This is the most that I have seen Camp David in a movie, although I still would like to see more of Camp David in a movie some day.

While President Eckhart is having a meeting with the South Korean Prime Minister, a cable of North Korean terrorists, led by ex-North Korean terrorist Rick Yune invade the White House by air and ground. Working at the Treasury Department within eyesight of the White House, Butler rushes in to help to defend the White House - and winds up being forced back inside the White House. Butler then uses his Ranger skills as he goes up close and personal amongst the terrorists, while President Eckhart is trapped inside the White House bunker.

Angela Basset once again is the head of a government organization, this time she has a more meaty role to apply to an organization such as the Secret Service. Speaker of the House Morgan Freeman, as an actor also once again - due to the Presidential Line of Succession - acts as President. It has come to the point that I like these two worthy actors in these roles and I look forward for Basset to be an action hero in a similar role some day. Melissa Leo was great as the Secretary of Defense and reminded me that she is a lady I would not like to piss off.

Before North Korea became a topical enemy, the producers choose them because of their political mysteriousness years ago - as well as because the Middle East has been done to death as an enemy. As a result, I accepted North Korea as the enemy as well as being less obvious a security threat to the Secret Service.

What I did not like was that there were no U. S. Marines on Presidential Guard Duty at the White House, everyone was all Secret Service. It also appeared that there was only one anti-aircraft weapons system in place. You would think that there would be at least two anti-aircraft systems. I liked the fact that the civilian District of Columbia Metropolitan Police tried to back up the White House personnel and that the local military forces were sent in to back up the White House. Although you do not see what happened to the heavy terrorist forces that were outside. I also liked the fact that Butler's wife Radha Mitchell is a nurse and was dealing with the civilian victims of the attack at her hospital as the aircraft that attacked did strafe the surrounding territory around the White House - showing that there were consequences to the events, rather than just shooting up everything.

Rated R for violence and language. Running time: 120 Minutes.

Pancho 
All people smile in the same language.

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