Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Beautiful, moving film.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

'Ronin (1998)' features some of the best car chases ever committed to film, with insanely fast choreography making you squirm on the edge of your seat and furious practicality compounding the intensity and danger of every moment. The usually wide frame also captures an unspoken but uneasy camaraderie, brought about by a group of disparate hired guns coming together to do their disreputable work, and a sense of 'lost soul' melancholy, aided by the wonderfully wistful but appropriately eclectic and exciting score. The picture does have its problems, though, including a generally poor pace and a late-game revelation that threatens to tear some slight holes in the plot, as well as make the already questionable thematic symbolism essentially moot - as does an exposition scene that only serves to further push the piece's already heavy-handed conceptual metaphor. Overall, though, this is an old-school action-thriller that feels pulpy and palpable and has quite a bit of meat on its bones, especially when the tyres start to spin and those chases, which are literally some of the best I've ever seen, tear across the screen. 7/10

This movie is solid. The actors, especially Deniro, Reno, Natasha and Sean all play their role to perfection. A well written action movie in France. You will have to pay close attention to the dialogue and its subtext to fully understand the movie. Of course it is not perfect and yet I have watched it several times.

In the early 2000s a string of horror films were made in Japan that has been referred to as "J-horror". These films were huge hits there and made their way to the US where fans were fascinated with them. So much so that Hollywood took notice and began remaking them left and right. Probably most famous of these are THE RING and THE GRUDGE. Another early entry was PULSE starring Kristen Bell but it wasn't as well received. Now Arrow Video has released a great version of the original film on blu-ray for fans to enjoy.The story involves two separate groups of friends experiencing paranormal encounters that are leaving a mark on them, some literally. The first group works together in a business that supplies plants to buyers. When their tech guy fails to show for work or answer his phone, they check up on him. While there, he walks into another room and hangs himself. Gruesome enough but then they begin to look at a disc he left behind which shows ghostly images from his apartment. A return visit has them exposed to his ghost as well.The second story involves a college student who finds something odd going on as well. When he asks a professor to help, they too discover ghostly images online. These images have an effect on some that view them and they begin to disappear. As someone hypothesizes what happens to souls when they leave here? Do they go to another dimension? And then the question is raised what happens when, after the millions that have died over time, that dimension begins to fill up? Do they try and make their way back? Eventually the two stories intersect with the leads of both uniting to try and discover the answer to these questions. It is their journey and what they discover that makes the film more chilling than you would expect.Some will be turned off to the way this story unfolds. The back and forth between tales, the dismal look of the entire landscape and the somber tone that it emits start to finish. This is not an in your face or jump start scare style film. It is one that creeps into you, crawls under your skin and makes you look over your shoulder even though you know nothing is there. It takes the ghost story we've become acquainted with and melds it with the world of computers, even if these computers look cumbersome since the movie was made in 2001. The pace is slow as the horror unfolds before your eyes. This makes for a movie that deserves attention.Arrow Video, as always, presents this in the best form possible with a hi def 1080p transfer. The extras include a new interview with writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, a new interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi, THE HORROR OF ISOLATION a new video appreciation featuring Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, an archive making of documentary, premiere footage from the Cannes Film Festival, cast and crew introductions from the opening day screenings in Tokyo, trailers and TV spots and a reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork.

John Frankenheimer's 1998 action opus pretty much slipped under the radar on release – I'm lucky to find someone who's heard of it, let alone seen it. That's a real shame because this is definitely in the top five action movies of the last ten – maybe even twenty – years. Packed from beginning to end with twists, double-crosses, triple-crosses, tons of action from shoot-outs to car-chases, effortless cool and a great cast, this is a superb movie. David Mamet's uncredited influence is clear in some of the wicked spy stuff that De Niro indulges in – like the photographing, for instance – and the script crackles with electricity throughout. Sean Bean also turns in an extended cameo and has some brilliant fireworks with De Niro near the start – it's a definite shame that his character shortly disappears, never to be heard of again.The film is set in France (and what with THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE TRANSPORTER, and MAXIMUM RISK also being set in those shores, it's a safe bet that France is the place to be for any aspiring action flick) and deals with a band of hired men, required to retrieve a suitcase from unknown villains. Only problem, its heavily guarded and never leaves the wrist of an important businessman. Soon enough the film is chock full of shoot-outs at Roman ruins and two flamboyant, amazingly powerful car chases, full of stunts, incredible driving, and some quite brilliant smashes and pile-ups. The cast is great; De Niro doesn't seem to make an effort yet his charisma shines through, and this is my favourite performance of his even over the likes of TAXI DRIVER. Jean Reno is underused but effective. Add to this the beautiful but icy Natasha McElhone, the sinister-eyebrowed Pryce and a subdued turn from Starsgard as a businessman type, and you have a heck of a film well worth the watch. Extraordinarily underrated, this is one of my favourite action thrillers ever and one of the best films of the 1990s.