2014 Movie Preview: #18 - Non-Stop

Release date: February 28

Plot summary: Global action star Liam Neeson stars in "Non-Stop," a suspense thriller played out at 40,000 feet in the air. During a transatlantic flight from New York City to London, U.S. Air Marshal Bill Marks (Neeson) receives a series of cryptic text messages demanding that he instruct the government to transfer $150 million into an off-shore account. Until he secures the money, a passenger on his flight will be killed every 20 minutes.

My take: The Liam Neeson career resurgence as a bad-ass action star continues here. Although the story in some of his films have been sub-par, he always finds a way to bring the goods. The good news here is that the story sounds promising as well. Given that the Die Hard franchise has seemingly fallen off the wheels, perhaps this film can help fill that void.

Taken for another ride

The man with a particular set of skills is back and ready to kick more ass. Here's your first look at the trailer for Taken 2

RBR: Killer Elite

Early on this movie feels like every other action film out there as we meet Danny (Jason Statham), a special ops agent who's decided that he's had enough of that life and calls it quits, only to be brought back for...everyone say it with me...one last mission. He's tasked with killing three assassins in a revenge plot. The lack of originality can be somewhat forgiven due to this being based on a true story. The scenes involving Danny's efforts to take down these killers are the best and allow this film to be watchable. This is not just pure brutality; there is some creativity to the way that he not only has to eliminate these guys but also get a taped confession of their crimes as well. Clive Owen shows up midway through as a roadblock to Danny's mission. This is a true battle of tough guys, although Owen's cheesy mustache weakens his machismo to a degree. Robert DeNiro also has a supporting role in here as Danny's partner. Even in a small role, DeNiro gives a strong performance and really elevates the film. Ultimately, I felt the film's ending was a big too drawn out with one too many finishes. For action fans, this is not the flashiest film, but should certainly provide enough bang for your buck to make it worth a rental. Rating: ***