New digs

So been really busy with work, especially these past few months as we are moving lock stock and barrel.

OUT FROM LEFT FIELD: EVERLY or, WTF DID I JUST WATCH?

Man, 2014 was seriously lacking in the hard action dept. I mean, aside from the very cool Marvel movie romps (Love them GUARDIANS, baby!), there really wasn't that one action flick that satisfied my craving for car chases, blowing stuff up, gun and fist fights and just your general mayhem.
Seemed like 2015 was headed the same route. That is, until I saw...

After seeing the very pumped-up action trailer I was VERY interested. Plus we haven't seen Salma in a badass role since DESPERADO, I believe. But she's front-and-center as the title character Everly (First name or last? Who knows?) and she's not taking crap from anyone.
The movie STARTS off with a naked (back to the camera shot, so no free show) Everly clammering into a bathroom, shivering fiercely like a drug addict with withdrawal symptoms. We hear people in the other room so we know she's not alone. She goes to the toilet and pulls the lid off and retrieves a plastic bag with a cellphone in it. She uses it to call someone but gets voicemail instead, so she leave a message. She also pulls out a gun that was in the same bag as the cellphone. She dresses herself in some clothes already in the bathroom, Suddenly there's banging on the door...the guests are requesting her presence once again. Gathering all her courage she lifts the gun up in front of her, opens the door and starts blasting away. The guests, all male, are taken by surprise as they are cut down one by one. One guest manages to get a shot off and rips into Everly's hip but the bullet exits into a wall behind her. Once the dust has settled, we she's taken out all 5 guests...but one is alive...barely,
And that's just the first 10 minutes or so, folks! I was a happy camper!

The lone surviving guest, crippled by Everly's wild shooting spree.

Well, Everly seems to be a high-demand call girl and is the pet of an Asian crime lord known as Taiko. This night she has taken her life back by killing Taiko's henchmen (guests). Said crime lord is informed of her behavior and puts a contract on Everly, which brings out all sorts of characters such as the hookers who were working on the same floor as Everly..

"Nothing personal..."

...to policemen who basically trap her in the apartment (they are on Taiko's payroll, don'tcha know), to - and this was really f'ed up - a sadist and masochist with 4 masked and kimono-ed servants. I kid you not!

Sadist and masochist...WTF is going on??????

The Sadist is very true to his word and this is probably the most gruesome part of the flick, even though the body count was largely due to gunfire. The use of acid is VERY unappealing...
So the movie is basically Everly trying to survive the night and protect her mother and her child from the crime lord by giving them the money she "embezzled" from the crime lord and telling them to escape. Ultimately, Everly has to step up to the plate for her daughter, but at what cost?

Probably my favorite scene,,,she took out at least 8 guys...including the ones in the elevator!

The action is at a decent pace and the characters aren't anything really new (except that S&M thing..still trying to un-see that) and the story can be a bit goofy sometimes. There's just enough dark humor/sarcasm to keep the mood light but when it gets dark, it gets DARK. The showdown with the crimelord was a bit strange but I guess there really wasn't any other way to resolve it.
The direction was pretty good, with a final camera move that would make David Fincher proud.
Would I buy it on bluray? Probably...but not when it first comes out.
It's a great action to pass the time and fill in the gap that Hollywood didn't.
Oh and there's another action flick that was WICKed....