Yowazzup: A Directory of Happening Things

A Perfect Getaway is a thriller about two couples on a vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii but discover that psychopaths are killing tourists on the islands.

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Milla Jovovich, Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Kiele Sanchez in "A Perfect Getaway"

Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are a newly wed couple and celebrates their honeymoon in Hawaii by hiking to a faraway beach. Along the way, they meet Cleo (Marley Shelton) and Kale (Chris Hemsworth) and later, a group of hikers who discuss about a couple who murders another couple in Honolulu. Feeling unsafe, Cliff and Cydney decide to join another couple Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez) to continue to hike towards the remote beach.

Throughout the journey, Nick and Gina display brutal actions that show they could be the killers. At one point, Cleo and Kale are arrested by the police and it is revealed that Kale’s bag has a Dentyne Ice box full of human teeth. When the couples finally reach the beach, Cliff invites Nick to kayak to a distant cove. Gina begins going through the Cydney’s wedding video and finds a slide that reveals that Cliff and Cydney are actually impostors. She hurriedly waves to Nick to ask him to come back, but Nick cannot hear her and tell her he’ll be back by sunset. Panic, Gina runs along the beach towards the cove, while Cydney, knowing something’s wrong, pursues her.

Then, there are a series of flashbacks that show Cliff and Cydney are the killers — they kill newly weds, pull off all their teeth, cut off their fingers, take their rings and impersonate as them. And it was Cliff who planted the teeth in Kale’s bag.

Gina arrives on top of the cove and sees Cliff is about to shoot Nick. Cliff, who’s actually Rocky, shoots Nick in the head as Nick’s boat capsizes and fires a few shoot at Gina too but he misses. Cydney reaches the top of the cove and wrestles with Gina but she trips and falls into the water. Gina’s phone rings and it appears that an Indian telemarketer is calling from AT&T. Without hesitation, Gina asks for help. When Cliff and Cydney find that out, Cydney quickly rows the kayak back to the beach while Cliff pursues Gina. As predicted, Nick’s alive as he’s saved by his titanium skull plate and continues to run after Cliff. Cliff kills a group of hikers but is surprised that Nick’s still alive as he slices Cliff’s hand with a knife. Cydney manages to flag down a police helicopter and convinces him that she is the victim.

Although in the beginning, Cydney tells the police’s sniper that Nick is the killer, in the end, when Nick drops his weapon, Cydney reveals to the cops that Cliff is the actual killer as he tries to reach for the gun. The sniper shoots and kills Cliff instantaneously.

In the helicopter, Nick proposes to Gina but the two agrees not to have a honeymoon simultaneously.

Overall, A Perfect Getaway is a cheap thrill despite the fact that it is predictable. Sometimes, the movie seems to be written by a eleventh grade student with all the twists and turns. Still, it is fun and entertaining to watch. At one point, Cliff displays his frightened self as he googles for the “Honolulu murder” whereas he turns out to be the actual killer. This only shows how deep he has embraced himself with a new identity. How fun.

My ratings: 7 out of 10.

Popularity: 1%

A Perfect Getaway is a thriller about two pairs of lovers (Zahn & Jovovich, Olyphant & Sanchez) on a Hawaiian vacation discover that psychopaths are stalking and murdering tourists on the islands. A Perfect Getaway opens on August 14, 2009.

Popularity: 1%

Hitman is a movie based on the popular video game by Eidos with the same title. An assassin known only as Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant) is always on target and almost cold-blooded. Trained since he was orphan by a secret society only known as “The Organization”, Agent 47 has killed many victims from all over the world. For that, Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott who plays Ian, Susan’s lover in Desperate Housewives), an Interpol officer keeps pursuing Agent 47, wherever he goes.

Agent 47 is the Hitman

SPOILER WARNING: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In one of Agent 47’s assignment in Russia, 47 is assigned to kill Mikhail Belicoff, a newly assigned Russian President. However, after killing Belicoff almost 4 kilometers away, 47 realizes he is set up when he receives an order to kill Nika (Olga Kurylenko), a Russian prostitute who is said to have witness the assassination of Belicoff. 47 does not manage to kill Nika because he feels that Nika has not even seen him before. Thus, 47 is ensnared in a political conspiracy which involves the Russian military.

Along the way, he kidnaps Nika before he soon realizes Nika is Belicoff’s toy whom he has used to set up 47. And Belicoff himself is the hirer. Nika tells 47 that Belicoff has a double and that’s why he’s not dead yet. Along the way he encounters numerous other hit men assigned to take him and Nika out. Nika offers him sex numerous times but 47, being a true killer, declines her offers.

Nika attempts to seduce 47

Instead of killing Nika, 47 sees something different in her as Nika is also an orphan and a slave who does not want to live the way she is living. She also has a tattoo on her head like him – a dragon tattoo on her left cheek.

In many instances, 47 cleverly deceives the Interpol and the Russian military. Along the way, he has killed many Russian military men, and numerous other hit men. Often, he hides his weapons in other places and when the need arises, he knows where to find his guns.

Though the movie is one of the best video game adaptation movies, it lacks a certain subtlety which otherwise would have been a good movie. Olga Kurylenko, a Ukrainian model and actress, played her role well. Whereas, Timothy Olyphant is the perfect man for Agent 47 as he’s suave and simply cold-blooded but yet has the look of an innocent orphan who has no choice in choosing his own destiny. No one else would have played Agent 47 better than Timothy. Perhaps the executive director of the film, actor Vin Diesel would excel as Agent 47 but that is a different story altogether.

My rating: 5.5 out of 10.

Popularity: 6%