Wild Target

When veteran hit man Victor Maynard (Bill Nighy) finds himself unable to kill his latest target, Rose (Emily Blunt), he winds up with an unexpected sidekick, Tony (Rupert Grint), who thinks Victor is a detective in this action-packed comedy from Britain. Now, with Rose and Tony tagging along, Victor tries to deal with the dual forces of his overbearing mother (Eileen Atkins) and a very angry client (Rupert Everett) who wants Rose dead.

Kyle
6 out of 10

As with many straight-to-DVD comedies on the shelves at Blockbuster, I grabbed it wondering if it was worth my time. When I put it in, though, and started to watch, I found myself more entertained than I thought I would.
Bill Nighy plays a professional assassin hired to kill a thief, played by Emily Blunt. This woman is stunning beyond the realm of my comprehension. My eyes were glued to her throughout the entire film. She could just wear a carpet as a dress with holes cut out for her arms and make it look sexy. As for Bill Nighy, he was great as the mother-respected assassin. I can’t really say anything good or bad about Rupert Grint’s performance. A lot of his character reminded me a bit of Ron in the Potter films, as Ron always provides the dimwitted comic relief, not so much now in the franchise. Hopefully this is a good transitional film for him. I’m not quite sure where his potential stands.

All in all, I thought this was a pretty decent flick. It had the typical reconciliation ending, but it was appropriate. The funny assassin films seem to be coming about more now, however, this doesn’t really compare to the others. This would be a good film to pop in with your boyfriend or girlfriend if you don’t feel like going out.

Rango

Johnny Depp lends his voice to the portrayal of the title character, an adventurous family pet who leaves home to learn more about himself, in this family-friendly animated adventure directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean). The star-studded cast of vocal talent also includes Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Alfred Molina, Ray Winstone, Harry Dean Stanton, Ned Beatty, Stephen Root and Bill Nighy.

Matt
Rating: 8 out of 10

This is a storyline we’ve seen before. It’s classic mythology. Weak protagonist is thrust into being a hero, meets girl, loses girl, faces tough times only to rise again as the hero and get the girl in the process. But it works.

Rango thinks he’s an actor. Right from the beginning, while living in his safe aquarium, Rango lays out the exact story arch that’s about to happen while creating a play. He thinks he’s an actor. When he’s thrust into the desert after the car he’s riding in has an accident, he pretends to be a gunslinging bad-ass in a Western town he finds called Dirt.

The aforementioned storyline unfolds, but it works because we get lost in the characters and the world that drips with detail we seldom see in animation. It’s an old west town inhabited by desert animals. But they aren’t just cuddly bunnies wearing ten gallon hats. Their teeth are yellow and chipped, their boots worn to the soles, the buildings are made with splinter-filled wood, and the animals feel real from each scale and feather. It’s a tough life in the desert, and lack of water and death are central themes. It’s rare in animation targeted at children where characters and creatures regularly die throughout the film, but without it, we wouldn’t get the depth and breadth given to this world.

The film also has an excellent cast, led by Depp, who keep the film fun, fast, with some emotion when needed. This film will bore very young children or maybe scare them. But 10 and older should be just fine.

Valkyrie

Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer. Bill Nighy and Eddie Izzard co-star in this drama based on actual events. Directed by Bryan Singer (Apt Pupil, Superman Returns).

Matt
Rating: 6 out of 10

The core of the story is a great one: German soldiers who rebel against Hitler’s tyrannical leadership that lead to the holocaust and WWII by attempting to kill him and form a new government.

It’s all based on a true story, and it’s one that is celebrated every year in Germany with a memorial as a testament to those who rebelled against Hitler. There are some great elements to the movie, too, which embraces the spririt of the original story and pays respect to their cause and character.

There are some thrilling action sequences and intense moments as the attempt to assassinate Hitler unfolds and we truly root for the main characters, despite knowing how it all turns out. The only thing that drags this film down is all the main characters are German, yet they have a mixed bag of American, English, German and Scottish accents. It doesn’t feel like you’re watching Germans — and this is a very patriotic film for Germans. Tom Cruise is as American as pork rinds and I never lost site of that. It was sort of silly to have only one German actor in the film and no German spoken, which doesn’t help build the believability in the movie. It’s an enjoyable action/adventure movie, just don’t expect “Inglorious Basterds.”