Shoot 'Em Up

Shoot 'Em Up amounts to an action packed "chase" movie. Clive Owen plays the mysterious Smith who rescues a newborn baby that he delivers himself in the middle of a gunfight. He's chased by Paul Giamatti, an ex-FBI profiler turned bad guy, trying to retrieve the baby from Smith. Monica Bellucci plays a prostitute, with her own short back story, that gets caught in the action on the side of Smith.

The action is quite stylized with a fair amount of humor, which Clive Owen plays seriously. He always has carrots, he grows himself, which he's constantly eating and using as a weapon. There are a lot of refreshing small ideas that you don't always find in this kind of action movie. Most of what you learn about Smith is from the villain, Giamatti's character as he profiles him. It turned out to be a fun and violent, carrot packed movie that doesn't make you think too much.

King Arthur

Reading "the Change" series by S. M. Stirling made me want to watch King Arthur again. It's a great sword and bow movie directed by Antoine Fuqua, starring Clive Owen as Arthur and Keira Knightley as Guinevere. It's kind of a new take on the Arthurian legend, exploring possible historical origins in the Dark Ages with the Romans, Sarmatians, Britannians and Saxons. I'm sure there are a lot of historical inaccuracies, though it's more entertaining than educational, since the origins of the legend are unknown.

Merlin and Guinevere are Britannians wearing leather and blue paint with tattoo like markings. I think this is mainly there war dress. I like that it is free of "magic", though Merlin is clever and you could see superstition leading people to think he has powers. Mostly his enemies, I think. The action is great with each of the knights having distinctly different weapons and fighting styles including Guinevere.

My favorite knight is Tristan, played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. He's the scout, falconier and expert marksman. His sword fighting is elegant and zen like using a curved backsword (single edged), reminding me of samurai. He's the silent deadly warrior with few lines in the movie.

Keira Knightley is great as a warrior Guinevere, who's not afraid to get her hands bloody. She's a great counterpoint to Arthur, trying to get him to stay and fight for his people, being half Roman and half Britannian. Visually, this is just a beautifully filmed movie. A great addition to the legend.