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Posted: 03 Oct 2012 07:25 AM PDT

Liam Neeson sprung back into high-octane action in Taken 2 and enjoyed every moment.

HE'S been an actor for close to 40 years and has played a varied list of characters from that of a priest in Lamb (1985) to a Jedi master (Qui-Gon Jinn) in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. He's been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1994) and voiced Aslan, the lion, in The Chronicles Of Narnia series. He's been described as the "thinking woman's sex symbol". He has rarely taken a role, where he puts to good use his training as a boxer.

That, of course, changed when the now 60-year-old Liam Neeson took the helm as Bryan Mills in the sleeper hit Taken (2008). Who would have guessed that this 1.63m Irish man had the potential to be an action star?

Certainly not him.

Despite his refusal to call himself an action star – "I'm first and foremost an actor" – he is one. He has starred in several other similar movies since his first leading role in a commercial action movie. Most notably he played Hannibal in The A-Team, Dr Martin Harris in Unknown and Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises.

His latest movie brings him back to where his action adventure began in Taken. In the sequel simply titled Taken 2, which also stars Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace, Neeson reprises his role as retired CIA agent Mills, whose particular set of skills puts him a class above the rest.

After having killed his daughter's abductors in Taken, Mills and his family are now targeted by the father of one of the men he killed. "The beginning of this movie is a reminder that the people my character has killed in the last film are not objects. They are human beings who have family who are pledging revenge," the actor tells an entourage of international press people gathered in Seoul, South Korea.

Neeson was there to promote the movie and also because Korean movie-goers love him. "He's one of the biggest international stars here," says one of the local movie executives. In fact, she adds, Taken took in more than US$16mil (RM48mil) in Korea itself.

That's a million more than the box office receipts the movie had in the United States. Despite how big he is in South Korea, the actor manages to enter and leave the country with very little fanfare. There were no screaming fans waiting by the hotel but that could have been because Hurricane Sanba was blowing through Seoul on the same day.

"I'm glad you guys are here. Thank you for coming. What a weather, huh?" the actor says, surprised to find the grand ballroom filled with journalists and news crews from around Asia. When asked if he did any sightseeing, he says with a smile: "I went down to the lobby last night."

But he can be forgiven for not having the time to visit the many sites the South Korean capital has to offer. Neeson had flown in from Moscow, Russia, just the night before. "I've been on the go for the last few days. I was in Paris for four days, and then it was Copenhagen, Berlin, and London before Moscow. Tomorrow I fly back to New York and then to Los Angeles before returning to New York."

He admits that travelling from one country to another does take a toll on him. "I do get up sometimes wondering where I am, but otherwise it's okay."

The actor, who was an amateur boxer in his early years, keeps fit by power-walking eight to 16km a day. "I'm generally in good health. You have to be in this game," he says when asked how he's able to cope with the strenuous timetable.

His good health and his stint as a boxer helped with the action scenes too, he says. "When I was a boxer I used to go to the gym four or five times a week and I trained hard. So that actually helped by giving me the discipline to stay fit for these kinds of action films."

Neeson confesses that he enjoys the physicality of his role as Mills. "It's great to do that stuff, and we have a great stunt team. I have a wonderful stunt double, Mark Vanselow, who is my buddy. He's been in my life, professionally, for the past 12 or 13 years. He does all the hard stuff."

Despite that, the actor did do some of his own fight scenes. "I did most of the close-combat fighting with (stunt coordinator) Alain (Figlarz)'s help, but I left the big stunt stuff to Mark," he says, explaining that Figlarz is an ex-special forces soldier who has worked on several movies, including Bourne Identity where he pioneered the close combat fighting techniques.

"Alain does a whole medley of different fighting styles in this movie from Asian to European," Neeson says, singing the stunt coordinator's praises.

But the actor is quick to add that there were no serious injuries on the set. "There were the normal minor scrapes, but nothing serious. We practised the fight scenes everyday during filming so that when it came time to actually do the fight scene it was like second nature for us."

Although filming Taken and Taken 2 was physically strenuous, Neeson tells the press that the movies were also emotionally straining. The actor, who is a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, says he knows of the reality of human trafficking, a subject the first movie tackled.

"I get access to reports from Unicef of the horrors some of the girls and boys who have been taken go through. Most of them are sold as sex slaves and it's horrible. And it's still occurring, but Unicef is trying to come to the aid of these victims, but the prevalence of these crimes is still very extensive. I'm a father of two boys, so I could imagine the horror I'd feel, as any parent would, if something bad happened to my children."

Despite the subject matter in both films, Neeson says he was glad to do the movie. "I liked the story," he explains when asked about what convinced him to do the sequel. "I thought the story worked and it seemed a worthy successor to the first one."

On a personal level, he adds, the satisfaction of finishing a film is what keeps him going. "It's always satisfying when you finish a film, especially one shot in different locations and more so when you know it was very physical and there was a lot of training, so the satisfaction of actually finishing is just terrific."

The bulk of Taken 2 was shot in Istanbul, Turkey, a locale rarely seen on screen. Director Olivier Megaton spent much of his prep time scouting locations and walking around the city for hours at a time. When principal photography commenced, he knew Istanbul's streets and passageways better than some of the local crew.

Neeson says shooting in Istanbul was like nothing he has experienced and despite filming on locations around the globe for the various movies he has done, the actor remains impressed with the city's sights and sounds. "Istanbul is where East meets West – a beautiful city full of wonderful people."

Like its illustrious predecessor, Taken 2 highlights non-stop, high-octane action. But the realities of shooting in that exciting but challenging environment meant the filmmakers had to think fast to keep the action going. "We didn't have a lot of crew members for the Istanbul shots. The merchants you see in the movie are real street merchants. They are not extras," Neeson explains.

He adds that Megaton and director of photography Romain Lacourbas have to be given credit for the authentic feel of the movie. Shooting atop landmark buildings like the roof of the Grand Bazaar was both a coup and a logistical challenge.

In a separate interview, Megaton explains: "There are only four different concrete lines on the roof we were able to step on. And you can't deviate because it's too fragile. No crane could be installed and we could only go forward or backward with a Steadicam, because going to the side is too far." Fixing a cable to hold the camera as actors ran across the roof was equally impossible, so the director came up with a brilliant idea – a toy helicopter. Megaton mounted a camera onto a small toy helicopter and flew it around Neeson as his character got shot.

"With the action, Olivier is phenomenally efficient and proficient with his camera. There would always be three or four cameras working, and that's exciting," the actor gushes, adding he's hoping to work with Megaton in the near future.

In the meantime, however, Neeson has two more action-thrillers in pre-production (A Walk Among The Tombstones and Non-Stop) and an upcoming romantic film (Third Person). But the actor is quite adamant you won't see him in any The Expendables movie. "Oh no. I think there are enough of those guys. I think they're great, don't get me wrong. I just can't see myself in there. I don't think so, no."

n Taken 2 opens in Malaysian cinemas tomorrow. For more on Neeson, as well as free movie passes to a special screening of Taken 2, go to ecentral.my.

I, soldier

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:41 AM PDT

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren 'welcome' a new protagonist in Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning.

THE success of the Universal Soldier franchise has always been attributed to the rivalry between UniSols GR44 Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and GR13 Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren).

Remember the original 1992 Universal Soldier? We learned the two were at odds because the process of genetically transforming these ordinary, long-dead soldiers into soldiers with superior combative and healing abilities inadvertently amplified the last feeling or memory the soldiers had before they died.

The two were engaged in a violent altercation before killing each other. From then on, these genetically-revived soldiers have been at each other's throat as witnessed in sequels Universal Soldier: The Return and Universal Soldier: Regeneration.

But in the fourth instalment, Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning, director John Hyams is throwing away the franchise's tried-and-tested formula which banked on the animosity between Deveraux and Scott. He takes a risk, switching things up a little by bringing in a new protagonist.

"It was my desire to take the story in a radically different direction and, most importantly, to tell the story from a different perspective from the other movies," he said in production notes courtesy of Rainfilm.

That "different direction" comes in the form of a man known only as John (Scott Adkins). The character wakes up from a coma and finds his wife and daughter dead. John has no recollection of his former life save one: moments before he was knocked out, a UniSol trooper had brutally killed his family.

With the help of an FBI agent (Rus Blackwell), John discovers that it was Deveraux. He swears to hunt the murderer down to avenge his family's death.

Meanwhile, Deveraux partners with his long-time rival (now a comrade) Scott to start a revolution that frees all UniSols from the government's deceitful clasp. They informed the UniSols that they were merely the result of a government project that sought to revive dead soldiers to produce an elite and imperishable special force.

All the while, the government had suppressed memories of their past life and implanted memories of their own instead. By systematically indoctrinating them with this truth, the two assemble what could be UniSols' most powerful, enraged army yet.

But will their best laid plans be foiled when John finally manages to track down Deveraux?

In casting the new protagonist, John, the director shared that he was taken by Adkins' eagerness: "I had not had the opportunity to see any of his work, but what I liked about Scott was he was very persistent and really wanted the part. He reached out to me on Facebook and didn't stop until the part was his.

"I loved that because when writing the script and developing John's character, it was really important that the actor really wanted the part and could pull it off, Scott is both," he said.

True enough, Adkins could not have been a more perfect fit as his martial arts training lends itself nicely to the film's action stunts. The Brit first practised martial arts at the age of 10 and has since mastered the sport of kickboxing, taekwondo, wushu and various kung fu techniques.

In being a part of the film, Adkins commented: "It's really hard work, but one of the best parts of this character is that I get to kick-ass and work with one of my idols, Jean-Claude Van Damme."

Speaking of action sequences, the film is chock-full of them but instead of copping out by using CGI bomb blasts or gunshots, Hyams said that he decided "to ground the action into a more realistic style".

For instance, the director described a scene in which Adkins was faced by an axe-wielding attacker: "It was a very violent scene played out in close confines, and there were many times when the actors were performing with a real axe. I think we all realised how much trust we needed to have between each other in order to make it through the shoot without anyone getting seriously injured."

By taking a dive with a new protagonist and a refreshing storyline plus experimenting with more organic action sequences, it looks like Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning is marching to theatres to the beat of its own drum.

■ Universal Soldier: Day Of Reckoning hits cinemas nationwide tomorrow.

'Paranormal Activity' latest cult horror saga

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:54 AM PDT

Remember grisly franchises like "Friday the 13th," "Halloween" and the "Saw" movies? Now, "Paranormal Activity" is the latest horror saga to earn cult status, and on a tight budget.

Paramount, the studio behind the films, launched the fourth outing in a suitably noctural midnight screening at the Fantastic Fest for horror fans in Austin, Texas, ahead of its release later this month.

An audience which appeared to be 98 percent male -- the core horror movie demographic -- squeezed in to the Alamo Drafthouse, an arthouse movie theater strangely jammed between a yoga studio and a scooter retailer.

Bizarrely, while there was a strict cellphone and talking ban, movie-goers were offered full restaurant food service during the film, with an army of waiters zipping up and down the aisles, crouching to avoid blocking the screen.

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, the film has similar ingredients to the first three: a family terrorized by strange nocturnal activity in a darkened house, filmed in amateur "found footage" style.

"The first one really kicked back in the sort of found footage style. It revamped the thing," said Will Sullans, who traveled all the way from Casper, Wyoming to see the movie last week.

"It's doing pretty well. It seems he's got some lasting power," added Sullans, a fan of "Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Friday the 13th," the 1980s classics which he says set the bar high for the genre ever since.

"Paranormal Activity" is doing great business for Paramount. The first film in 2007 had a ridiculously small budget of $15,000, and made $183 million at the box office, echoing the success of 1999's "The Blair Witch Project."

In all, the first three movies -- "Paranormal Activity 2" was in 2010, and "Paranormal Activity 3" in 2011 -- have grossed nearly $560 million.

"I think the 'Paranormal Activity' franchise doesn't get the credit it deserves because it's always dumped in that 'found footage' category and there are lot of bad 'found footage' movies,"said Brad Henderson from Florida.

"The series is elaborating and it's much better than 'the killer dies, comes back, dies, comes back.' They actually try to build something," he added.

The first film, starring Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat and Mark Fredrichs, told the story of a couple moving into a suburban home and becoming increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

"Paranormal Activity 2" again had Featherston and Sloat, but was made as a prequel to the first film, with the family setting up security cameras around the home, while the third movie is also a prequel to the first two.

Speaking after the new movie's first screening, Henderson said: "I'm happy with it. The scares were excellent. I'm glad they kind of elaborate more on the cult, but it's still not very detailed. It keeps your adrenaline pumped in."

And, like those other franchises, in plot and character terms the way is open for a "Paranormal Activity 5" and then six, and seven.

"They didn't close anything off, they opened another portal. They had all these open things and they didn't seal anything up. They just left it all open and there's no closure for us," he said.

"Paranormal Activity 4" will be released in North America on October 19. - AFP

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Rabu, 3 Oktober 2012

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies

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