All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Well, "House of the Rising Sun" proves to be no grand thespian experience. I mean, just look at the cast ensemble, and you essentially know what you are in for.The story is about former dirty police officer Ray who is now working security detail at an illegal casino and brothel. After a robbery Ray finds himself framed for the robbery and murder and must go to extreme lengths to clear his name.It should be said that the movie is entertaining enough for what it was; a somewhat bland action movie that was running on autopilot and offering nothing to challenge the intellect of the audience.Now, I mentioned that this is not a grand thespian experience earlier, and with names like Dave Bautista and Dominic Purcell at the lead, well, enough said. Bautista moves about with the grace of a bull in a China shop, and Dominic Purcells hair just gets taller and taller with each movie.There were a couple of adequate action sequences here and there, but it was not sufficient to lift up the movie and bring it above mediocrity.If you enjoy action movies, then your money is better spent elsewhere if you want a movie with just an ounce of content. However, if you enjoy pointless and predictable movies that are devoid of anything to stimulate your intellect, then by all means spend an hour and a half on "House of the Rising Sun".

Nighttime shots of Grand Rapids, Michigan in winter. Huge Hulk talks to other people, then fights with them. Some fights he wins, others he loses. Then he talks to someone on a pay phone. (Where the hell did they find all those pay phones? I don't think there are that many pay phones left in all of the Midwest, much less Grand Rapids, Michigan. I swear they had to go buy some and tie them to streetlights with coat hangers.) Then he drives. Then there's some more nighttime shots of Grand Rapids, Michigan in winter. Then Hulk talks to some other people, then fights with them... repeat for 90 minutes. There, I just saved you the necessity of watching this dreadful movie. I watched this one late insomniac night on HBO because I noticed right away it was shot in Grand Rapids, and I'm a West Michigan guy. But the location is all it has going for it. There are just flat out ridiculous occurrences in the script -- the hero goes from driving a 1980s Oldsmobile from driving a 1990s Firebird or Camaro; no explanation given for the vehicle switch. Another time, he takes punches that would leave an actual human's face looking like lasagna, pro wrestler or no. He goes to visit his ex- girlfriend, who remarks that he looks like crap. Camera cuts to his face, and he has one tiny smidge of blood on his chin. Yeah, that's just awful. Finally, I'm a little surprised the city fathers in Grand Rapids didn't complain about the portrayal of their city -- who knew there was a gigantic four-story illegal casino and whorehouse in the middle of downtown, and the entire police force was among its best customers??

I watched this movie because, based on the name, I was expecting it to be set in New Orleans. So I was a bit disappointed when it was set in Michigan, but I couldn't hold that against the film. However, there was still plenty else I could legitimately hold against the film.Unlike every other reviewer on here, I had no idea who Dave Bautista was and that he was a wrestler. What the other reviews don't mention is how distracting Bautista's size is throughout the movie. Because he is so huge, dwarfing every other actor, I kept expecting him to hulk out and start smashing things. I didn't understand why they would have cast someone with that ENORMOUS size if it wasn't a requirement for the role (à la early Schwarzenegger as Conan). I also couldn't understand why any serious, dramatic actor (and this is a serious role) would do that to his body as I kept wondering how many steroids it took to get that big. Finding out he was a professional wrestler at least explained that apparent contradiction. I suppose the producers thought they were cashing in on Bautista's "fame."I'll give Bautista credit for trying and trying very, very hard to act this part which was reminiscent of a film noir detective. Unfortunately, he just didn't have the acting skills to pull it off. (Just because someone like a wrestler, model or singer "performs" as part of their job doesn't mean they can act. News flash: Acting is its own unique specialty. It takes talent and practice to be able to act well.) Instead of restrained, he comes across as wooden. Maybe they thought they'd cast against type by putting Gigantor into a role where he's supposed to be low key, intelligent and only resorts to violence when he's forced to instead of just grabbing the bad guy by his shirt, lifting him off the ground and threatening to pound him back into the ground with his ham-sized fist. As the noose draws tighter and tighter around Bautista's character, you're supposed to feel sorry for the guy, but it's nearly impossible to feel sympathy for the biggest guy in the room. (The one character I did feel sympathy for was the hit-man friend.) To make things worse the script was bad. Tedious, predictable except where it didn't make any sense at all, and far too slow moving in spots --- deadly dull even. Great acting can salvage a thin script. But this wasn't great acting from anyone. It was mediocre acting with performances as flat as the pages of the newspaper comic strip it felt like the story came from.The nicest things I can say about the movie are at least it was shot on location in Michigan (and didn't take the usual cheap route of Vancouver, British Columbia) and I somehow made it to the end of the movie. But I don't recommend you make it to the end of this movie or even to the beginning. Just do yourself a favor and skip this one.

In the very beginning, say, maybe 10 minutes, the movie seemed to be quite promising and I really thought at that moment, Bautista might pull through like Stone Austin or the 'Rock' to become the next WWE superstar turned movie star. But after ten minutes, I have realized that this was a very hollow boring movie due to a very weak elementary level screenplay so boring, so clichéd and so contrived. What I saw was a chain-smoking down-and-out ex-cop and ex-con who could not find a decent job after a 9 years sentence and was released from prison. So of course he became a mob's night club's doorman+bouncer+floor manager, got the authority to give credit to gambling loser. And of course, lousy things always happened to bad luck chain smoker, the night joint was robbed by a bunch of ....then, of course....then, "you lost my money on your watch, and my son was killed during your watch. I want you find out who did this, who killed my son and, I want my 300G back!" Wow, what a junior high school script. The only thing I liked in that movie is the leather coat that Bautista wore and some of the pretty night scenes of the city. That's all.