The Italian Job---Charlize Theron, Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Donald Sutherland (2003)

This is a film about a great Italian heist which takes place in Venice, Italy by a team of proficient thieves led by John Bridger (Donald Sutherland) who is a specialist safecracker and Charlie Croker (Mark Wahlberg) who is John’s protégé and also a professional thief. 

Charlie has been with John for many years; they enjoyed a great relationship---like a father and son.

John’s daughter Stella Bridger (Charlie Theron)lives in Philadelphia with a career as a vault technician and has begged her father many times to stop practicing his profession; but to no avail---there is always one more job.

All six team members are assembled in Venice to complete their last job of stealing 35 million in gold bars from Italian gangsters that stole the gold bar themselves. The other members of the team are Steve (Edward Norton), the inside man, 

Handsome Rob (Jason Statham) their wheelman, Lyle aka Napster (Seth Green) a computer genius and Left Ear (Mos Def) their explosive expert. The Italian job as they called it would be their last job, and everyone was already dreaming about what to do with their share.

With computerized planning, proficient timing, brilliant research and a skilled team with adaptability at a minute’s notice; the job finished on schedule.

Later Rob drove the team and the gold to the Alps close to the Austrian border where they stop to celebrate with wine; and John gave a toast praising Charlie and his excellent planning of their last job together. 

Everyone agreed with the words spoken by John; however, Steve had a funny look on his face. One might even conclude it was jealousy.

John and Charlie walked away from the team to talk in private. The rest of the team shared their plans of what they would do with their share of the money.

The team traveled on the icy bridge to the Austrian border when suddenly a jeep came facing them---then it stopped on the bridge and the jeep behind them stopped. Before anyone could think what was happening Steve pulled a gun and pointed it to Rob’s head and told him to take his hands off the wheel. Then, John told Steve they would find him---Steve shot John three times in the chest, without blinking once.

Charlie told Rob to drive and he did hitting the Jeep in front of them, then going over the railings into the freezing water. When Steve is satisfied everyone is dead---he leaves with his team of killers. John is dead and Charlie hates to leave him.

After telling John’s daughter about her father's death the team started to research and track Steve, because it is payback time. Revenge is motivated by hating and the retribution race is on for the team to find Steve.  

Charlie paid a visit to Stella to let her know they found Steve in Los Angeles and an informant said he sold a couple of gold bars to a dealer. He told Stella the team would be in LA after Steve, and asked if she wanted to help them. Charlie said he needed her skill on safecracking. He told her it was not about the money that John was like a father to him too.

Stella initially said no, but changed her mind and called Charlie to tell him she was in. She wanted to see Steve’s face when he was caught; and lost his precious gold.

They arrived in Los Angeles and began to work their plan against Steve. Steve would have other issues in the end bigger than the team’s punishment; because Steve killed Yevhen (Boris Lee Krutonog) the dealer that purchased the gold bars from him. Mashkov (Olek Krupa), Yechen’s cousin would revenge his death.

Jessie Stone Series--Click Link: http://hub.me/acvQQ

© BEPH 2014 All Rights Reserved

PurvisBobbi44 is the sole author of this Blog and if it is seen anywhere else on the Internet or in print it was taken without my consent. 

Uncommon Valor---Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze & Robert Stack (1983)

Rare courage is what the men in this movie had and they went above and beyond what our own United States Government would not do to bring MIA’s home to their families.

Marine Colonel Jason Rhodes (Gene Hackman) discharged because of his adamant determination to get our government to search for the missing MIA’s that everyone knew were still being held prisoners by Vietnamese. 

Even ten years later all anyone in government would say is they were negotiating with the Vietnamese government. And, we all know they did not try, because none of their sons were MIA and it is doubtful any of them even fought in the war. 

Besides, this was not a popular war when it was going on, so they mainly just wanted to keep it quiet and not let anyone make waves to draw attention to a war that North Vietnam won.

Colonel Rhodes finally acquired evidences of where the P.O.W. camp’s location---after his son Frank was a MIA---for ten years. MacGregor a wealthy business man financially backed the mission because his son was MIA and fought with Colonel Rhodes son Frank (Todd Allen).

So he begins recruiting the guys who served with his son’s platoon. It was a slow at first, because some of the guys had families and were reluctant to give up their lives after ten years of being home in America.

Finally, he obtained the men he needed for the mission, Blaster (Reb Brown), Sailor (Randall ‘Tex’ Cobb), Kevin Scott (Patrick Swayze), Charts (Tim Thomerson), Johnson (Harold Sylvester) and Wilks (Fred Ward).

All the men had weapons experience and skilled in combat to stay alive in the war. All the men but Kevin Scott; who’s a Former Force Recon Marine and sharp shooter skilled in hand to hand fighting, but no combat experience. Kevin trained the men in a refresher course to get them ready to hit hard, fast and get out with the MIA’s.

Sailor gave Kevin a hard time at first until Colonel Rhodes told the men the reason he was helping. Kevin’s father was a MIA from the Vietnam War, his helicopter was shot down. Then a new respect for Kevin from all the men developed.

The US government spied on the group while they were being trained in Texas and listen in on their conversations; and even had the CIA take their weapons and truck away, but that did not stop them. They used the money MacGregor gave then in Texas before they left from home.

They hired a guide with horses and he brought his two daughters with him to help. The trip was not always easy going through the jungle; but they never complained.  They just made their way until they reached the P.O.W. Camp.

This is an amazing movie---but any movie Gene Hackman is in---is always special. These actors are the “Cream of the Crop” of action actors and some of my very favorites.

© BEPH 2014 All Rights Reserved

PurvisBobbi44 is the sole author of this Blog and if it is seen anywhere else on the Internet or in print it was taken without my consent. 

Faster---Dwayne Johnson and Billy Bob Thornton

Driver (Dwayne Johnson) was sent to prison for ten years for being involved with his brother in a bank heist. His brother (Matt Gerald) was the only one in Driver’s crude upbringing who really loved him. His step-father beat him and his mother (Annie Corley) never tried to intervene at any time. Only his brother tried to protect him and showed him what brotherly love was all about.

So when his brother’s driver for the bank job backed out---Driver offered to drive for his brother. Although Driver was never in the bank and never had a gun---he was still involved as the driver---making him an accessory.

Driver proved to be an excellent driver as he eluded the police cars that chased them all over the city. So the good news is they got away. The bad news is another gang decided to rob Driver’s brother’s gang of the bank money.

Five men were involved---but only four broke into the house and shot two of the gang then tied up driver and his brother. They demanded to know where the money was---but the brother would not tell them. One of the guys threatened to shoot the brother several times if they did not tell them where the money was hidden.

Driver was afraid for his brother’s life---so he told them where they hid the money. So everything was fine they found the money so Driver thought they would leave. His brother kept telling Driver everything would be alright.

After they found the money the big black guy with the tattoos on his hands and arms grabbed Driver’s brother head and cut his throat. Driver was screaming---as he watched his brother fall to the floor bleeding out before his eyes---and he could not do anything. One of the men had a camera and told Driver to smile---and that was when Driver looked into the camera and said---I will hunt you down and kill every one of you.

The 5^th man a dirty cop (Billy Bob Thornton) who was the leader walked into the room and pulled his gun and shot Driver in the head. Driver was left for dead---but he had an Angel looking out for him that day. The surgeons saved his life---then implanted a metal plate in his head to replace what was blown away by the bullet. The bullet went through his head and out his cheek---leaving a nasty scar.

Driver finally got out of prison and he was on his way to avenge his brother’s death. He paid a guy with contacts to make a list of the four men and to find out where his girlfriend was so he could find them all.

Driver did not realize the man in charge was the 5^th man---a dirty cop---who did not care who he hurt as long as he got his way.

Driver hunted down each and every one of them---and while this was happening the dirty cop hired a hit man to kill Driver. Driver was now the hunted by a professional killer (Oliver Jackson Cohen) as he hunted for revenge---the killer hunted Driver--- because he was paid to do so. The movie is filled with action, crime, drama and is a thriller to say the least.

© BEPH 2013 All Rights Reserved

PurvisBobbi44 is the sole author of this Blog and if it is seen anywhere

else on the Internet or in print it was taken without my consent. 

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Kevin Costner & Susanna Thompson in---Dragonfly

                                                                       

                                              

Dragonfly is one of my favorite movies, and my old video still looks great after all this time. And I have played it over and again.

Kevin Costner stars in this as Dr. Joe Darrow, and he is madly in love with h
is wife, starring Linda Hunt, with Kathy Bates as their neighbor.

This is a Supernatural Shocker, one that hits the abyss of one's spiritual belief, and touches the heart. We all hope that something wonderful can come from a terrible loss of human life, and in this movie it happened to Dr. Joe Darrow.
Dr. Joe Darrow's wife, Dr. Emily worked at the same hospital as her husband, and she was a doctor to terminally ill children. Children who claimed that while the doctors had to resuscitate them; they died and come back with a story to tell of their experience in the after life. 


A very pregnant Dr. Emily left the USA for a tropical jungle in a third world country, she felt badly because she had words with her husband about leaving---because he did not want her to go. But she could not turn her back on these people, who needed medical attention.


The day of the bus accident, it started to rain hard, as the bus had to maneuver over muddy slippery roads, which lead around a mountain, when suddenly a rock slide slid down the mountain hitting the bus and throwing it into the river.

Dr. Joe got the word that Emily and her baby had died; he lost his balance in life for a long time. He could not think or feel, and all he would do is stay in their Victorian home with Emily's pet parrot. Joe was on a long leave from the hospital, his friends watched as days melted into weeks as he just sit in their home, still numb, a walking dead man.


His next door neighbor played by Kathy bates, was a good friend to him, and she tried to understand what he was going through. But no one could understand what was to come next---he didn't understand it and it happened to him.


Emily loved dragonflies, and one day he decided to visit Emily's patients, and each child had drawings of dragonflies taped all around their rooms. When he questioned one child he said Emily sent him a message, she said she is waiting for you under the rainbow.


Joe didn't think much about it until he got home and was looking at some pictures Emily had sent him. In one picture Emily was sitting by a waterfall under a rainbow, holding a parrot.



This is a good movie, one that you will remember for a very long time, and will want to watch it over again and again. But I do not want to tell you the best part--so rent or buy the DVD, you will enjoy it.  BEPH  2011