Fear The Night (3 Stars)

Maggie Q plays Tess, a former soldier who's served in Iraq. Her younger sister Rose is having a bachelorette party in the farm house where they grew up, a remote building that now stands empty. Apart from Tess and Rose, there are their older sister Beth and five other friends.

In the evening the house is attacked by men who are looking for money hidden in the house. Tess is the only one with the skills to fight against the attackers. She takes the lead against them, but one by one the women are killed.

The film is a mess. There's no character development. With the exception of Tess and Beth, we hardly know the women. We have no empathy with them when they're killed. The story doesn't make sense. Why do the men have to attack the house when the women are celebrating at the weekend? They could have entered the house a few days earlier or later when it was empty. I would have rated the film even lower if not for the excellent acting by Maggie Q.

Die Hard 4.0 (3½ Stars)

"Die Hard 4.0", also known as "Live Free or Die Hard", is a 2007 action movie directed by Len Wiseman and starring Bruce Willis as John McClane.

The movie follows John McClane, a New York City police detective, who must stop a group of cyber terrorists who're targeting the USA's infrastructure and causing chaos throughout the country. The FBI sends McClane to pick up hacker Matt Farrell, played by Justin Long, who's being targeted by the terrorists because he unwittingly created a virus that they're using to complete their plan.

One of the strengths of "Die Hard 4.0" is its relevance to contemporary issues. The plot revolves around cyber-terrorism, a relatively new concept at the time, and the vulnerability of computer systems. The movie effectively showcases the potential damage that cyber-attacks can cause, from shutting down traffic lights and transportation systems to causing entire cities to go dark.

Bruce Willis delivers a solid performance as John McClane, portraying the character's tough, no-nonsense attitude while also showing vulnerability and humour. Despite his age, McClane remains a formidable opponent for the terrorists and is not afraid to take on the bad guys head-on. His interactions with Matt Farrell provide a good balance of humour and action.

Justin Long provides comic relief as the tech-savvy hacker. His character is initially reluctant to work with McClane, but as the two team up, they form a strong bond. Farrell's hacking skills are crucial to McClane's success, and his witty one-liners help to lighten the mood in what is otherwise a tense and action-packed movie.

Timothy Olyphant delivers a convincing performance as the movie's main antagonist, Thomas Gabriel. He's a former government agent who has turned to cyber-terrorism as a means of revenge against his former employer. Gabriel is intelligent, cunning and ruthless, and Olyphant portrays these qualities convincingly.

The action sequences in "Die Hard 4.0" are intense and exciting, with impressive stunts and special effects. Bruce Willis delivers a solid performance as McClane, portraying the character's tough, no-nonsense attitude while also showing vulnerability and humour.

The plot follows the traditional Die Hard formula of McClane being in the wrong place at the wrong time and having to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds to save the day. Some viewers may find this repetitive, but for fans of the franchise it's a familiar and enjoyable formula.

In conclusion, "Die Hard 4.0" is a solid addition to the Die Hard franchise, with exciting action sequences and strong performances from its cast. The movie effectively tackles the danger of cyber-terrorism. While the plot may not be particularly innovative, the movie still delivers an entertaining and engaging movie experience.

Success Rate:  + 1.5

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

The Protégé (3 Stars)

Sometimes I'm too impatient for my own good.

At last year's Fantasy Film Festival there were trailers for this film every day. Probably three trailers a day. The trailer interested me, because the film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Maggie Q, three of my favourite actors. I searched for the film after the festival. It wasn't available on streaming, and the price on Amazon was too high. So I left it on the list of items to buy later. Month after month went by. The price slowly dropped until it was something I was willing to pay. Only 6.50 Euros. One last check to see if it was available on streaming. No, so I clicked Purchase. It arrived yesterday.

Later yesterday I received an email from Amazon telling me there was a new film available with Prime Video. You guessed it: "The Protégé". Annoying. I'm contributing to Jeff Bezos' wealth.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Moody, a contract killer. In 1991 he's paid to assassinate someone in Vietnam. After finishing the job he hears shooting nearby. He finds a room full of dead bodies and a small girl holding a gun. They'd broken into the apartment and killed her mother, so she picked up a gun that one of the men foolishly put down. Moody recognises the girl's potential, so he adopts her and trains her to be a killer.

30 years later Moody and Anna are an unstoppable team. Moody is secretively trying to locate someone, not even telling Anna who it is. Assassins kill Moody and everyone associated with him. Only Anna survives. She realises that the attack has something to do with the person Moody was hunting, so she finds the name and carries on the search.

The search takes her back to Vietnam. She meets a man called Michael Rembrandt who works with the men who killed Moody, although he says he never approved of the killing. In theory they're enemies, but there's too much raw chemistry for them to kill one another, and they end up in bed together.

Great acting by the main cast, but the story itself is lacking magic.

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.de

Allegiant (4 Stars)

"Allegiant" is the third film in the Divergent series, based on the novels by Veronica Roth. It begins after the death of the Erudite leader Janine. Tris and her colleagues from the Dauntless faction want to go out of the city to look for another civilisation, but they are prevented from leaving by Four's mother Evelyn. Eventually they succeed in escaping. Outside the city walls they encounter a highly advanced race that claims the city of Chicago is an experiment that has been running for 200 years. The outsiders seem benevolent, and Tris trusts them completely, but Four suspects they might have bad intentions.

The lines between good and bad become less and less clear in this film. Tris realises that she has to fend for herself. The fight sequences are more exciting than in "Insurgent", making this a better film.

Insurgent (3 Stars)

"Insurgent" is a sequel to "Divergent", beginning a few days after the end of the first film. The ruling Erudite faction has blamed the Dauntless faction for slaughtering the Abnegation faction, even though it was the Erudite leader, Janine, who orchestrated the attack. Tris and the rest of her Dauntless colleagues are on the run, sheltered first by the Amity faction, then by factionless rebels.

"Insurgent" has flashier special effects than "Divergent", but something is missing. The main characters aren't pleasant enough for us to sympathise with them. In the first film Tris (Shailene Woodley) at least looked pleasant, but in the second film she cuts her hair and looks boyish, no longer feminine.

As a sequel this is a disappointment. I dread to see what the third part will be like when I watch it at the weekend.

Divergent (4 Stars)

This is a rather typical modern story. A teenage girl has to rebel against the system around her. Most of the men and boys she meets are her enemies, but there's one that she falls in love with.

I find the story's premise rather weak. The idea that everyone has to fit into one of five accepted categories is unnatural. In society there are usually only two categories, the rulers and the ruled. Nevertheless, it's a heart-warming story about a young girl who doesn't fit in, even though she wants to.

Divergent (4 Stars)

The film takes place in Chicago "100 years after the war". As far as the people of Chicago know they are the last remainders of civilization, but they also fear that something exists outside the city, because they have built a protective wall around the city. Mankind has been divided into five factions, depending on their abilities and functions in society: the Erudite (the intellectuals), the Dauntless (the police force), the Amity (peaceful farmers), the Candor (philosophers who value truth above all else) and the Abnegation (charitable people who look after others). The Abnegation are the city's rulers. There are many who don't belong to a faction, but they are treated as outcasts, having to live on the streets and not allowed to work. They would starve, if not for the Abnegation giving them food.

When they turn 16 children have to decide which faction they want to belong to. They are given an aptitude test as a guideline, but they can choose any faction regardless of the test results. 95% of the children choose the faction of their parents. Any who choose a different faction have to leave home to live with their new faction. Beatrice and her brother Caleb are Abnegations, but she chooses to join Dauntless while he chooses to join Erudite. The film follows Beatrice's training to enter Dauntless. There are 30 new Dauntless members, but they are told that only 10 will be accepted; the 20 who perform worst during training will be expelled and become factionless.

People reading this must be asking themselves if everyone fits neatly into one of the five categories. That's just the point of the film. In the authoritarian structure of the future everyone is expected to exactly fit his role in society. Those who don't fit in are called "divergents" and are executed. In her aptitude test Beatrice is found to have the traits of three factions, Abnegation, Erudite and Dauntless, but the tester protects her by not making the result public.

The film is based on the first of a series of books for young people by Veronica Roth. It seems to be yet another candidate for a film series intended to be a successor to the Harry Potter films. It's quite adequate for this. It has more action and moves faster than "Mortal Instruments". Let's see how the sequels pan out.