  Jesus. Sick as a dog last weekend. Went in to school on Friday, the other teachers took one look at me and told me to go back to bed. I'm thinking, come on! 3 day weekend, until I realised just how sick I was. It liyterally took me 4 hours on Saturday morning just to muster the strength to get a glass of water, which I promptly threw back up after drinking. Feelin' fine now, mind. So... didn't get much done this weekend, save a lot of movie watching.
So how 'bout some film reviews? It was a choice in the shop between this and Once Upon A Time In Mexico , and I wish I hadn't chosen this. Not that it's a bad movie, it just isn't all that great. But as the box office will tell ya, put two of the coolest actors in Hollywood (Jackson and Farrell) together on the poster looking mean, and you've got a hit, regardless of whether it's good or not. Is it me, or has Samuel L Jackson not done a really good film since Unbreakable ? This is also comfortably the worst film I've seen Colin Farrell in.
The problem with the movie is that it clings so tightly to Hollyowood Summer Blockbuster conventions that it just leaves you bored, your only thoughts of interest being "Hmm, I wonder which of the gang will die / turn evil next". Let's go down the checklist, shall we? Maverick / "loose cannon" cop? Check. Farrell & partner disobey police orders in the first scene, leaving them in the unforgiving hands of.... Arsehole "can't wait for you to fail" Chief of Police, who everyone hates? Oooh yes. Thus we get lots of "You play by the rules, or you're off the force" style arguments. Yay! Woman cop? Fo' sure. Woman SWAT cop, no less (Michelle Rodriguez, aka Hollywood's top scowler). And of course, everyone is surprised everytime they meet her. Because she's a woman. Do they not go to the fucking cinema?
Eurovillain? D'ya even have to ask? This time we get Olivier Martinez (best known for shagging Kylie), who does little else but reek of Gallic arrogance in every scene. Ridiculously over the top end sequence? They land a plane on a bridge. Then admit on the DVD extras that there is no fucking way that could ever happen in real life. Big Long Punch-Up? Yes, between Farrell and ex-partner turned French bloke's rescuer. Decent fight, not very well shot though.
Basically, the movie's star power saves it from going down the shitter. Jackson looks cool whatever he does, even in terrible 70's cop flick remakes, and Farrell is one of only three actors today that I'd pay to watch, whatever he did (Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott being the other two*). The action sequences are generally well done, though nothing out of the ordinary (and certainly nothing that warrants the $100m budget the movie had - Three Kings had better action sequences for less than half that amount). It's just a dumb, fun action movie. Better than Revolutions , but then what isn't? *just kidding. I meant Brendan Fraser and Ben Affleck. 
