Premium Rush (2012)

1/5

Premium Rush is one of the most ridiculous movies I've seen recently. The story is not only ludicrous on its own merits, it is also told in an unnecessarily convoluted fashion. It goes backwards and forwards and every which way, with its only purpose seemingly to keep certain plot points hidden from the audience so that they can reveal it as a big surprise at the end. I have no problem with non-linear storytelling so long as it adds some sort of value instead of just existing for the sake of being different. The plot, as in all action movies, is pretty underwhelming: a guy rides a bike around NYC while being chased by cops in cars and on bikes. That's about it. There were way too many 1) chase scenes in which cyclists get terribly injured, 2) irrelevant side characters, and 3) not-so-subtle racial stereotypes. All in all, it's a pretty middling action flick with nary a redeeming factor and lots to dislike.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1547234/

Ghost Town (2008)

4/5

Ghost Town was more hilarious and more touching than I thought it would be. Now, normally, the second sentence of my review consists of a short, simplified version of the plot, but even that would be giving it too much credit. Just imagine The Sixth Sense with Greg Kinnear as Bruce Willis, Ricky Gervais as Haley Joel Osment, and Téa Leoni as Liv Tyler. And now imagine it written with nonstop jokes delivered flawlessly by Ricky Gervais. Despite the hackneyed storyline, it was still able to surprise quite frequently with emotional moments and side-splitting laughs. There were also a number of quirks and details that I loved seeing, such as the misanthropic health professional and the BlackBerry addict. All in all, an exquisitely fine-tuned comedy with the requisite amount of moving romance to appeal to just about everyone.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995039/