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Director: Pete Travis

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Bruce McGill, Edgar Ramirez, Said Taghmaoui, Ayelet Zurer, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana, Eduardo Noriega

Novice director Pete Travis’ inaugural big screen effort is a surprisingly taut action effort that manages to juggle lots of characters, and a complex plot, in a reasonably efficient manner. This is no small feat, even for a seasoned director, so Travis may be a guy to watch. The characters are soundly developed, considering their numbers and the acting is also commendable, though, Quaid overacts in the lead role. The intriguing story uses a modified Rashomon narrative style, which focuses on five characters’ differing perceptions of events during the same time period. This style kept me riveted to the unfolding story, though some character actions didn’t always make sense (especially at the end) and this puts a strain on the film’s credibility, but it is an action movie, so I won’t judge that too harshly. The movie flies back and forth at a lightning pace, as you would expect with this story style, with each character adding something to the viewer’s understanding of the events. The action scenes are chaotically filmed in the now-familiar, close-up style and are a little difficult to follow, but are not overdone, which is always a pleasant surprise. The end result, here, is an enjoyable action picture.

Dennis Quaid is Thomas Barnes, a Secret Service hero, who returns to duty, just in time to join the detail guarding the president (played by William Hurt) during a political, anti-terrorist rally in Spain. Security threats cause a last minute decision to replace the president with a double (has this ever happened?), which is probably good, since the double is shot as soon as he steps up to speak. Explosions, confusion and panic follow, and poor Mr. Barnes has a rocky return to active duty. A Spanish police officer, a visiting American tourist (Forest Whitaker), several Secret Service agents and others all have a different take on the events and this original method of unfolding the story is effective. My attention was riveted, and only an ending that could stand improvement kept this movie from getting a higher rating. Ask yourself this: Why is this guy suddenly worried about killing someone?

Vantage Point is a satisfying, fast-paced action film that will please fans of the genre, while providing a pleasant surprise to those with low expectations. Denzel Washington’s Deja Vu from last year, had a similar pace and cleverly stretched plotline, though similarities end there. Imagine In The Line of Fire, if it were sped up and told in a twenty minute time frame, and you will have some idea of what to expect here.

Director: Nimrod Antal

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley

Vacancy is the first English language project for director Nimrod Antal who caught Hollywood’s eye with the 2003 Hungarian language, subway project, Kontrol (or Control in the US) With Vacancy, Antal has created a pretty good small-scale thriller with decent performances, good action and well-done edge-of-your-seat suspense. The story is simple and fairly believable for the suspense genre, which usually bends credibility to the breaking point. Luc Wilson, who usually does comedy, shows that he can handle a change of pace here. Beckinsale’s character has less to do, perhaps, but her performance seems flat in comparison.

A married couple on the verge of divorce after the loss of a child, is traveling off the interstate when car trouble lands them at an out-of-the-way motel, where manager, Mason, played by Frank Whaley hooks them up with the honeymoon suite at no extra cost, but they get anything but a restful night’s sleep here.

Vacancy is a decent suspense genre formula film that could have used better-developed villains and more innovation. The end result is a generic thriller with little to differentiate itself from the scores of others to choose from. It’s not a bad movie and suspense fans might like it, but with Fracture on the New Release shelf, I would go for that one first.

Director: George Sluzier

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Keifer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, Sandra Bullock,

The Vanishing plays like an 80s movie with its hairstyles and fashions. It’s story, based on a Tim Krabbe novel, is rather formulaic, and strains credibility in spots, but does have some very original ideas. There are shocking twists along the way, and the story really builds momentum as it goes on. The direction is subtle, but effective and the acting is good, although I’m not sure if Jeff Bridges was trying for some muddled French accent or a speech impediment. Keifer Sutherland, on the other hand, is nothing less than outstanding.

Jeff Bridges is Barney Cousins, a patient and methodical man, who begins the film by practicing, and preparing, for an abduction. Jeff Harriman (Keifer Sutherland) and Diane Shaver (Sandra Bullock in a small role just before her Speed breakout) are a vacationing young couple, who have the misfortune of visiting a busy highway service station where they cross paths with Cousins. Shaver vanishes and the story jumps ahead three years with Harriman still trying to find her, but instead of his vanished girlfriend, he finds a sunny waitress named Rita (Nancy Travis), who helps him to get past it. Or does he?

The Vanishing is a strong, and rather unusual, mystery film marked by a well-written story and magnificent work by Sutherland. It has a core of dedicated fans who sing its praises even today. It is a little dated, but is still worth catching for fans of the genre or if it shows up on a late night movie.

Starring: Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones,

Director: John Glen

This is one of the better Roger Moore Bond entries. This is mainly because of strong action scenes and Christopher Walken’s villainous portrayal. You will still have to suffer through Moore’s irritating mugging for the camera and mediocre performance, but you will be rewarded with Tanya Roberts looking as good as any Bond girl, and Grace Jones as unusual as any Bond henchman.

The usual, early action sequence in A View To A Kill is a gem, with Bond pulling off a spectacular skiing/snowboarding escape, before moving on to the main mission which has him tangling with a psychopathic industrialist played by Walken. The plot is reminiscent of Goldfinger, which is a good thing, but can get silly at times (a sadly common trait of the Moore Bonds) which is a bad thing.

Can anyone deduce that Roger Moore was not my favorite Bond? Still, I am a big fan of the series and a Moore Bond is better than no Bond at all and anything with Christopher Walken is worth checking out.