TAKEN 2 (Rated PG-13)

Liam Neeson is now an action hero, and as such, he’s practically required, as a condition of membership in this elite fraternity of players, to do a repeat performance.

In “Taken,” Neeson proved he could wipe out a lot of Eurotrash bad guys while hardly working up a sweat. “Taken 2” is really, in so many ways, just more of the same.

Arguably, the basic premise is still in play. A kidnapping occurs. Neeson seeks revenge. Plenty of villains get killed in the process.

But, at least, “Taken 2” offers a few twists.

This time around, Neeson’s Bryan Mills, a retired CIA operative who now provides private security services, is the target from the outset.

The film opens with a graveside mass burial ceremony in Albania, where criminal boss Murad Krasniqi (Rade Serbedzija, reliable bad guy character actor) mourns the death of his son and others.

Murad’s son was the Albanian thug who had kidnapped Bryan’s daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) in the original film so that she would be forced into the sex slave trade.

Of course, none of this matters to the amoral Murad, who only cares that the brutal death of his son, at the hands of Bryan, should be avenged in a most horrific way.

In any event, Albania is a mere road trip from Istanbul, where Bryan has completed a job protecting a certain Arab sheik and his retinue from unseen threats.

Back on the home front, Kim is dating a new boyfriend, though her dad barely hides his suspicions.

Meanwhile, Bryan’s ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen), the mother of Kim, is now separated from her second husband.

Hence, a family reunion, of sorts, takes place in Istanbul, when Bryan mistakenly believes good times loom with a sightseeing tourist adventure in a city that is truly unique.

Indeed, Turkey’s most populous city makes for as much scenic backdrop as did Paris in the original “Taken.” Yet, Istanbul offers opportunity for plenty of exciting roof top action, such as has occurred in a couple of “Bourne” films.

When Murad and his thugs arrive in Istanbul, they learn that they just might get a hat trick for abducting the entire Mills clan.

Instead, Bryan and Lenore are snatched, while Kim stays behind at the hotel to enjoy the pool. Lenore is tied up and left hanging upside-down, while Bryan is chained to a pipe nearby.

The resourceful ex-spy manages to dial Kim on a cell phone while his hands are still bound together, and then proceeds to work with her on plotting their location on a map using a complex process.

At this point, I should mention that hand grenades and an assortment of other weapons that Bryan keeps locked up in a special metal suitcase come in handy.

Eventually, Bryan gets free but not in enough time to save Lenore from being moved to another secret hiding place. Suffice it to say, Murad and his goons never have a chance in this lopsided battle.

Taking over from co-writer Luc Besson, French director Olivier Megaton stirs up the kind of suspense that made the first “Taken” such a big hit.

“Taken 2” makes great use of the exotic Turkish locales, using the narrow streets for plenty of car chase action, though we’ve seen much better chases in the “Bourne” films and even the original “Taken.”

To be sure, the first “Taken” was more imaginative and had better character development (primarily for the more diverse villains) and even more innovative stunts and use of weaponry.

However, “Taken 2” is a capable, solid action picture that delivers the goods that just about fan of the original could expect or desire.

If you walked into “Taken 2” having loved the original, I would find it hard to believe that your feelings won’t come close to being the same this time.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Dean Martin, a member of the Rat Pack, never seemed to take himself too seriously, and as a result, he was always fun to watch.

The versatile actor starred in all kinds of film genres. His best Western was probably “Rio Bravo,” in which he starred with John Wayne.

Now coming to DVD is an old Western in which Dean Martin played a notorious bandit. In “Something Big,” Martin’s Joe Baker has a dream to do “something big.”

The running joke is that everyone believes Joe is up to something, but no one knows what or even how big it actually is.

As part of his adventure, Joe seeks out a Gatling gun from a black marketer, but the price for this weapon is an exchange for an attractive woman.

So Baker kidnaps a female traveler off of the stagecoach, only to find that she’s the wife of the commandant (Brian Keith) of the local Cavalry detachment.

The kidnapped woman is Honor Blackman, who gained fame for her role of Pussy Galore in the James Bond classic “Goldfinger.”

Fans of Dean Martin (and count me in this group) should enjoy this classic Western film about an outlaw’s journey of love, deceit and violence.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Sherry Harris’ work will be featured at The Art House Gallery, 15210 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, through mid-November.

The gallery’s Third Friday Gala will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 19.

For the past 30 years, Harris has worked with natural plant materials to create three-dimensional forms and baskets.

She has seen her work evolve as she incorporates local materials into her art: Sea kelp when she lived in Baja, Calif.; palm fronds in Southern California; and mulberry branches in Lake County.

For now, though, baskets, jewelry and gourds have captured her imagination – as well as the occasional hut, which she currently has on display through Oct. 13 as part of the Lake County: EcoArts Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park in Middletown.

The Texas native feels that she was lucky to be influenced family. Her mother was a professional artist and her husband, Derek Harris, has been a painter under the name Rojax for 42 years. Their son, Diego Harris, is an multitalented artist who owns Diego’s Gallery in Upper Lake. Both also contribute their work to The Art House Gallery’s shows.

Formerly a Realtor in Lake County, Harris – who now lives in Clearlake – has more recently dedicated her full attention to art and is a promoter of Lake County art tourism.

Her goal is to see art become more visible in Lake County. She has a radio show on KPFZ 88.1 FM called “Big Art” and she puts together regular Lake County Art email newsletters from information gathered from artists and art organizations to help connect and inform Lake County artists and art supporters about art events and art classes.

Harris has a bachelor of arts degree with a major in art from California State University at Long Beach. She was a member of the Palos Verdes Art Center’s co-op gallery and The Artist Studio Gallery in the Los Angeles area where she was their director before moving to Lake County.

MENDOCINO, Calif. – The Fort Bragg Center for the Arts will present an unusual opportunity to hear the gorgeous Elgar Piano Quintet performed by the Yokayo Chamber Players on Sunday, Oct. 21.

The concert, presented by Fort Bragg Center for the Arts Music Series, will be held in Preston Hall, Mendocino, beginning at 3 p.m.

The Yokayo Chamber Players, a group of five top musicians – all of whom are soloists in their own right – have banded together to present this seldom performed quintet.

Audiences are familiar with Elgar’s “Enigma Variations,” the violin and cello concertos, and they may have marched to “Pomp and Circumstances.” But the quintet isn’t often heard because it is so difficult to get five fine players to steal time from their other professional commitments for rehearsal.

The concert will feature the performance of Roy Malan, concertmaster of the San Francisco Ballet, and known locally as the concertmaster of the Mendocino Music Festival, along with Claudia Bloom, principal second violin of Opera San Jose; Elizabeth Prior, principal violist for the Santa Rosa Symphony, and Ukiah favorites cellist Joel Cohen and pianist Elena Casanova.

Besides the Elgar Quintet, the group will perform Dohnnyi’s “Serenade For Strings” trio and the Vieuxtemps “Sonata for Viola and Piano.”

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and are available at Fiddles and Cameras and Harvest Market and in Mendocino at Moore’s Main Street Books.

For more information visit www.fbcamusicseries.com or call 707-937-1018.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lightning Rod Gallery is pleased to present the paintings of the late Shela Bowen, with a reception planned for the show this Saturday, Oct. 13.

The reception for the 25 cat portraits will take place from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the gallery, 9475A Main St., Upper Lake.

Bowen is represented by her work and will be there in spirit. Anyone interested in the indomitable power of art should see the show, which is on display now and will be up until Nov. 1.
     
Bowen’s 25 cat portraits currently showing at the gallery exemplify the genre of  “outsider art.”

The portraits range from highly observed to semi-abstract and each one captures the spirit of the individual cat. Together they have a presence that is marvelous in its description of one woman’s devotion to cats and to painting.

The paintings are framed in an eclectic manner that only enhances the total impact of the group. Each painting is titled with the name of the cat and each signed by Shela, using her maiden name of Bowen.

The simplicity and flattened space that is typical of outsider art, coupled with her devotion to a single subject, imbue Bowen’s paintings with a strong emotional impact.

Bowen took up painting in the 1980s and learned from her sister, Carolyn Hawley, an accomplished painter, pianist, composer, and writer who lives here in Lake County and has shown widely in the area.

The sisters were two of four born in La Crosse, Wis.

Bowen is described by her sister as having been a gifted ballet dancer, music lover, hard worker and, needless to say, very fond of cats.

Bowen married Jon Soderlund and together they made their permanent home in Jacksonville, Ore. She and Jon owned an antique and collectibles shop there and she enjoyed running the shop and purchasing and refinishing their finds while living a quiet life among their many cats.

Hours at Lightning Rod Gallery are Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call Susan Saunders at 707-275-8018 or 415-254-1846, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

You can also “like” the gallery on Facebook or visit out the gallery at www.lightningrodgallery.tumblr.com .

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Second Sunday Cinema presents a double feature for Sunday, Oct. 14 – two excellent documentaries that help viewers understand far more clearly just how the financial crisis of 2008 occurred, and what is needed to stop the next one coming down the pike.

“The Flaw” and “Capitalism Hits the Fan” will be shown at Second Sunday Cinema’s usual venue, Clearlake United Methodist Church, located at 14521 Pearl Ave., Clearlake.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for snacks and socializing, with the films beginning at 6 p.m. Together, the films are two hours, 15 minutes long.

As ordinary citizens, we are not encouraged to learn about economics, the so-called “dismal science.”

Further, those who play with our money make up strange and difficult to understand terms so we won’t get a clear picture of just what they do at work every day.  

These two films together, “The Flaw” and “Capitalism Hits the Fan,” create a great amount of clarity.  

While Second Sunday Cinema has shown many fine films on the economy, none have shown quite the breadth or friendly lucidity of these two.

The first that will be screened, “The Flaw,” explains the underlying causes of the crisis in more depth than any documentary to date. While it does so, it is also truly gripping and compassionate.  

The second film, the hour-long “Capitalism Hits the Fan,” is a dynamic lecture by economics professor Richard Wolff, who builds his case that nothing will change for the better until the underlying structure  of our – and the world’s – economic structure is fundamentally changed.  

He points to the creative, from-the-ground-up entrepreneurship of Silicon Valley as a good model to follow.  

The filmmakers and Second Sunday Cinema believe that we need to understand the system that controls almost every aspect of our lives. These two free films are a big help.

Second Sunday Cinema also will have a local speaker or two who closely follow economic matters to introduce the films and lead a question and answer session afterwards.  

The films are free, as always, and all are welcome.

For more information call 707-889-7355.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Polecat Rodeo will perform in a concert hosted by the Lake Community Pride Foundation on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., with the show taking place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lower Lake High School Little Theater, 9430 Lake St., Lower Lake.

Tickets cost $10 each.

All proceeds go to support youth performing arts in Lake County.

For more information or for tickets call 707-331-8445 or visit www.aneveningwith.org .