Renny Harlin is a director whose talent seems to have diminished with every film he's made in the last twenty years. He first came to my attention with DIE HARD 2, one of my favourite movies all time, and then delivered a couple more entertaining movies during the 1990s (namely, the ones without Geena Davis: CLIFFHANGER and DEEP BLUE SEA). Since then, his once solid talent seems to be floundering: he made what might be Stallone's worst ever movie, DRIVEN, and then one of the worst films I've seen in a good while: 2006's THE COVENANT. CLEANER is his next film after that, and the good news is that it's better than its predecessor, but still a disappointing outing.The problem is that, despite a fine cast, this film looks and feels like a TV movie. The scripting is the worst thing about it, a sub-standard effort heavily derived from the likes of CSI. Although it's meant to be a thriller, this is a film utterly devoid of thrills; only the strength of the acting kept me watching. There's one good twist at the outset and then everything plays out in a conventional, seen-it-all-before way. The worst thing is the villain reveal, which is so completely expected it's actually wince-inducing, along with the whole reason for that person being the villain as well.Samuel L Jackson is a fine actor who seems to be mired in sub-standard material lately (SNAKES ON A PLANE anyone?). He gives a typically fine performance here, but his considerable talents are wasted. The same goes for Ed Harris, saddled with a nothing role. I was delighted to see Luis Guzman pop up in a larger role than he's usually given, and he's great too, although again wasted. Robert Forster delivers a cameo but the female lead is given to the horrendous Eva Mendes who never convinces for a second. This cold actress never ignites the screen and she's very poor here – although not quite as bad as she is in GHOST RIDER.Aside from the grisly death clean-up scenes (some of which left me feeling distinctly sickened) there's absolutely nothing to remember about this film – it's just another run-of-the-mill outing and nothing to get excited about.

Directed by Renny Harlin, "Cleaner" is slow moving but only 84 min or so runtime crime-drama. It doesn't brake any ground story or plot-wise, but is fairly interestingly narrated and played by protagonist Samuael L Jackson. There seemed to be too much reliance on showing blood and crime scenes as a grotesque sort of mood or setting tool. That kind wears thin being overused in the movie. However there is a decent amount of character development for Harris, Jackson, and Keke Palmer (satisfactorily playing Jackson's on-screen daughter). The main problem though I had towards the end was supposedly Mendez somehow romantically involved with a Harris character almost twice her age - didn't make sense or hold water. Still the movie manages to set a foreboding mood, and makes good of the locations. Music is serviceable as well. Give it a 6/10

I watched this on the recommendation of a friend and, to be honest, he owes me 88 minutes of my life back. It's a crime drama set against the backdrop of the world of forensic clean-up. The guys that clean up what's left after the body has been removed. I'll give you my thoughts after this brief summary (summary haters please stay behind the tape while I clean up the next paragraph).Tom Cutler is a retired cop who is now making a career out of cleaning up crime scenes. His wife was killed some years ago and he lives with his teenage daughter, Rose. He turns up to the scene of a murder to find nobody at home but a key has been left for him. Having completed the job he returns home only to find he still has the key. Going back the next day he's surprised to find the wife, Ann Norcut, at home holding a children's birthday party. He asks if he can speak to her husband, but she says he is out. At this point he tries to cover his tracks, realising that it might be a set-up. He hides the evidence he collected but things are about to turn bad for the former cop. His ex-partner, Eddie Lorenzo, gets in touch and Tom takes the opportunity to ask him about the case. He denies all knowledge, but the investigating officer, another former colleague, Jim Vargas, is slightly more forthcoming. The press have, by now, got hold of the story that Ann Norcut's husband is missing and Tom is between a rock and a hard place. Not everyone is telling the truth and this can only mean trouble.A very complicated plot does not help this film. It strikes me the filmmakers are trying a little too hard to be clever and failing to hit the mark. The performances were OK, but nothing to write home about; Samuel L. Jackson wasn't really stretched as Tom Cutler, Ed Harris had a stroll in the park as Eddie Lorenzo and Eva Mendes was nothing particularly special as Ann Norcut. Honourable mentions should go to Luis Guzmán as Det. Jim Vargas, Keke Palmer who I thought was actually pretty good as Rose Cutler and it was also nice to see Robert Forster as Arlo Grange.It was almost like watching one of those old Philip Marlowe movies where Marlowe was a crime scene clean-up guy instead of a Private Eye. It certainly has that feel, but with nothing like the style it needed to carry it off. Over all I found this one pretty disappointing and I can see why it went straight to DVD… NOT recommended.My score: 5.2/10

Saturday, January 16, 2010 The Cleaner (2007)What a movie to begin blogging on! This movie had it all - gore, Samuel L. Jackson,mystery, guts, dark but hilarious humour. I loved it. Twists and turns that had insight into characters, as the plot unravels with misdirections and smelly fish. The plot has just enough 'predictable bad-guy' balanced with 'he feels like a bad guy, but he'll probably be one of those bad-guys guys who turns out to be a good guy at the end'. With friends, you are guaranteed to be kept guessing and joking and arguing throughout the movie , or afterward if you can bring yourself to interrupt the special silent moments of the film that are dialogue-free and thought provoking moments into the humanity of murder. The mechanics of the murder mystery are sound, using plausible plot devices, realistic police investigatory processes, and genuine-feeling character motivations.One special addition to mention the astounding talents of actress, Keke Palmer, whose genuine emotive quality and deeply-thought characterisation made this movie even more mesmerizing than it already was. See me at: http://www.blogger.com/profile/09375370735809683206