Maniac-9

Guy Pearce evidenced by his performances in movies like LA Confidential, Memento and others is arguably one of the most talented actors in movies today and he's basically just cashing a paycheck in a by the numbers action vehicle. I guess the reason he did this movie was while a talented actor he's not a huge box office draw and hoped an action movie would help broaden his name value to be able to get even better roles down the line but it doesn't seem like this has accomplished that goal. This seems like it was a retooling of what would've been the third part of the John Carpenter's Escape from ... series. That type of movie works with a character as iconic as Snake Plissken but this screenplay leaves Pearce nothing to work with here.

Ron Howard's Rush is by far the best auto racing movie I have ever seen. It really captures the feeling of what it feels like to be in the world of an auto racer. The previous auto racing movies like Days of Thunder, Talladega Nights and Driven just don't capture the feel of what it's really like to be a professional auto driver. Part of it is probably since it's based on a true story and not a fictional story with overally sappy or comedic moments that are totally unbelievable in comparison. The race scenes are very intense and totally captures your imagination.

I like Chris Hemsworth in the Thor role but he was way more to sink into as an actor in this role. Daniel Bruhl is great also as the other lead character, both should get serious Academy Award consideration.

Snitch might be the best overall acting performance to date for Dwayne Johnson. I think that Dwayne is great in his Fast & Furious and G.I. Joe type of roles but this is probably his most realistic performance of his career to date. He has to play a father who's trying to get his son out of prison after his son made a huge boneheaded decision. And while his son did make a bad decision he got punished way more then he deserved to be punished.

The casting of this movie was flawless with every actor perfect for their respective roles. Dwayne as the father as said above. Jon Bernthal from The Walking Dead as the guy working at Johnson's trucking business who helps introduce the father to his former drug contacts. Susan Sarandon as the US Attorney, Barry Pepper as the DEA Agent, Michael K. Williams as the mid level drug dealer, Melina Kanakeredes as the mother and Benjamin Bratt as the drug kingpin are all fantastic in each of their roles.