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Bad Boys for Life (2020)
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
2020 | Action, Comedy, Crime
Creaky buddy-cop sequel does feel a bit like a prison sentence. Any film calling itself 'Bad Boys' which opens with one of the 'boys' rushing to the birth of their grandchild likely has serious self-awareness issues, and it proves to be the case here. The same kind of schtick as in the other two films - Smith and Lawrence squabble a lot, shoot people, quietly actually really love each other, etc, etc. Though it has to be said that this film does favour Smith fairly blatantly (one wonders how the salaries of the two stars compare).

Putting a film this dumb, vacuous and mechanical out in January really does throw the weaknesses in its construction into sharp relief: it basically goes comedy bit, action bit, sentimental character bit, comedy bit (and so on) for two hours and then stops. Easy on the eye, but makes one of the Lethal Weapon sequels look like a classy piece of work. I would say at least it's not a Michael Bay movie, but the Prince of Darkness turns up in a cameo acting role. Scrapes an extra star for the odd vaguely funny line and one genuinely startling plot development, but the rest of it is deeply crass and equally predictable.
  
Baby Driver (2017)
Baby Driver (2017)
2017 | Action, Comedy
The music. It's not the same old stuff you hear every day on the radio it's old school classics. (0 more)
Flashback to why he's in this guys debt to begin with? I'd love to see it. (0 more)
B.A.B.Y.
I avoided this movie for a while because so far I have loved everything with Ansel Elgort in it and I didn't want to break this streak. With nothing else I fancies watching and it had been on my list on Netflix I gave in.
Firstly, fell in love with baby immediately. How he behaves at home and how he is behind the wheel kind of transitioned well I think, it wasn't complicated it just flowed.
Kevin Spacey plays a character you want to hate but because it's Kevin Spacey you just can't.
Jamie Foxx though. I love the guy in this he really makes you hate him. He's suave, dangerous, unpredictable and merciless perfectly.
The Darling and Buddy story (trying not to spoil it) is an unexpected surprise in a film such as this.
It's nice to see a film so unique in the way it all works out. One thing I did find is the Baby/Debora story progressed a little too fast but other than that, great film definitely think it's worth a watch
  
Half Baked (1998)
Half Baked (1998)
1998 | Comedy
Ironically, not even that much better while high. I liked this for the majority of the runtime but that third act really tried my patience - falls into the exact line as other late 90s/early 00s buddy comedies in vein of 𝘋𝘶𝘥𝘦, 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦'𝘴 𝘔𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘳? and the like that I just fucking hate, where the film completely gives up and a bunch of tiring 'wacky' stuff happens until it abruptly ends. Pretty typical hit-or-miss stoner comedy of the era but easy to forgive when the thing isn't even 85 minutes in length. It's agreeable enough with some seriously funny shit in it every now and again, mostly only holding its own in the sea of other similar movies due to its trio of three sharp, exuberant lead performances - Jim Breuer's final boss tie-dyed pothead steals the show with extreme prejudice (seriously, has anyone else in a movie ever exuded *more* stoner energy than this guy?). Can be lumped right in with 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 in the "kind of funny, semi-decent films written by people who are clearly above such work but also maybe that was the point of it to begin with?" pile. But Bob Saget's "I used to suck dick for coke!" bit remains as iconic and effortlessly hysterical as ever.
  
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
Bad Boys for Life (2020)
2020 | Action, Comedy, Crime
The first Bad Boys movie came out in 1995, with the second arriving in 2003. So, 17 years on and these Miami bad boys are sure to be showing signs of age, following a career of fast cars and extreme action. Thankfully, Bad Boys for Life acknowledges that fact, even if we do get to hear the phrase "we're getting too old for this shit", or variations of, on many occasions throughout. Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) is becoming a grandfather, keen to move on from being a bad boy in order to try and become a "good man" instead. Meanwhile, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) isn't quite there just yet, continuing to try and live his shallow bad boy life at full throttle, dying his greying goatee beard in denial. When Mike becomes the target for a badass Mexican drug-lord (Kate del Castillo) and her ruthless son, his past comes back to haunt him and both boys have no choice but to get back together in order to take down the bad guys one last time.

OK, full disclaimer - I haven't seen Bad Boys and I haven't seen Bad Boys II. I probably wouldn't have been concerned about seeing this third installment either if I'm honest, but I found myself with a couple of hours to kill in London over the weekend, with Bad Boys for Life being literally the only movie that I hadn't seen which was showing at a convenient time. General opinion online so far seems to be that this is a fairly decent entry into the franchise though, and not necessarily something where you needed to have seen the previous movies in order to enjoy, so I decided to give it a shot. Consequently, there may be things about this movie that fans of the series will be happy to see or that they will be disappointed to see, but which I can't really comment on. I was heading into this like it was a standalone movie.

So, with Burnett trying to adjust to a life of relaxation at home, getting under his wife's feet in the process, it's up to Lowrey to tackle the assassin threat. However, due to him being one of their targets, he's forced to join the AMMO squad as a consultant. AMMO are Miami PD's elite team, utilising technology to track and monitor high-profile criminals, and the majority of the team are all considerably younger than Lowrey too. To them, Lowrey is just the old man that would rather shoot first and ask questions later, and it's not long before a frustrated Lowrey is disobeying orders, taking charge and introducing the team to some of his Bad Boy ways.

As far as buddy cop action movies go, Bad Boys for Life was an absolute blast. I've seen reviewers negatively describe the impact that Michael Bay had on the last Bad Boys movie with his over the top action mayhem style of film making. However, this time around, new co-directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi are in charge (although Bay does have a small cameo in the movie!) and while the action is still frenetic at times, it's also a lot more coherent too. The pacing in Bad Boys for Life felt spot on and with a good mix of humour, some decent villains and some fast paced inventive action that you can actually follow, it all makes for an enjoyable ride.
  
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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Merrily We Go to Hell (1932) in Movies

Sep 3, 2020 (Updated Sep 3, 2020)  
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
Merrily We Go to Hell (1932)
1932 | Classics, Comedy, Drama
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Pre-code (4 more)
What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
Skeet Gallagher as Buck, the sidekick
Florence Britton as Charlcie, the female sidekick
Directed by female director Dorothy Arzner
No relationship development between the male and female protagonists. (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
It was an important movie of its time. It is a pre-code movie so it was able to get away with sins such as alcoholism and infidelity of husbands AND wives without making them pay in the end.

Sylvia Sidney plays Joan Prentice, the daughter of the president of Prentice coffee and Fredric March plays Jerry Corbett, a newspaperman who wishes to be a playwright. They meet at a society party where she is trying to ignore the advances of a very handsy older man and he is on the terrace drunk and drinking even more. She somehow finds him charming and he finds her "swell." They make a date to meet up again and romance follows. I mean, allegedly follows though it seems like a huge plot point to me what they see in each other and what kind of substance their relationship has. I've never been a very romantic person but even this seems terribly lacking to me.

Skeets Gallagher plays the sidekick Buck and he's worth his weight in gold. He a drinking buddy and scenes with him often start with the camera panning him tap dancing from behind. He's sweet, sympathetic, charming, and adorable and brings so much life to the role and film. Florence Britton plays the female sidekick to Fredric March's Jerry Corbett and is a bold lady, and kind. She and Buck are so much fun and not sloppy drunk like Corbett. I would much rather watch a movie with the two of them.

Sylvia Sidney, the female protagonist was bold and determined. After her husband cheats on her with his former wife, she goes out to have a little fun, too. She gets tired of her husband's constant drunkenness and leaves him. He seems to come to his senses at the end of the movie and goes to her. Spoiler alert: she is in the hospital having delivered their baby. He didn't know she was pregnant and only learned about the baby after reading the birth announcement in the newspaper. This is a premonition of things to come once the code comes into play as any sin must be paid for with a person's ruin or death. However, it ends on a happy note that their marriage will be better and that they are hopeful for the future.

* Watch for Cary Grant in one of his earliest roles as the male lead in the period drama play towards the end of the film.
  
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Jon Bernthal recommended GoodFellas (1990) in Movies (curated)

 
GoodFellas (1990)
GoodFellas (1990)
1990 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

"""Alright, I’d say the first would have to be Goodfellas. I know that’s probably one you get a lot, but I remember it came out, and I was probably in about the 8th grade. Me and my buddy Dougie Thornel probably saw that at the theaters 30 times. I mean we would just go, and we would watch it, and then sit in the theater and watch it again. I can’t say enough good about it. It’s horrifying, it’s hilarious, it’s so unbelievably honest. Look, I mean, Scorsese is my favorite filmmaker. You know, the fact that I got the chance to work with him [on The Wolf of Wall Street] was sort of the mountaintop, the kind of crowning achievement of my career, and I don’t mean that in sort of how I’m perceived by the world. I just mean in terms of experience. My brief time on that movie really changed the way that I work as an actor. He’s one of these guys that makes you feel that anything is possible. I’ve studied in the Russian theater, and one of the main ways that we study was you get a scene and then you do a big improvisation about the scene and what the scene could be. That’s precisely how he worked. Each one of these scenes, you create this unbelievably vivid reality, you really take yourself to the place, and everybody feels like they are one hundred feet tall. It doesn’t matter whether you are background or whether you are craft services or anything, but everybody is so full of ideas. You make it on the day, and then he just sort of takes what he wants from that. I feel like that method of filmmaking that’s so Scorsese, so uniquely his, shines brightest in that movie. That sense of anything can happen at anytime, it’s happening right there in the moment. I think it really, really just shines brightest in that film, and that’s why it’s my favorite film."""

Source
  
Baby Driver (2017)
Baby Driver (2017)
2017 | Action, Comedy
Baby Driver is simply the epitome of cool, and if you’re looking for a fun and frisky thrill-ride of a movie, this is sure to be the ticket!
Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver is a pulse-pounding, jukebox-jamming blast! In this wildly entertaining crime thriller, a young man called Baby is the perennial pedal-pushing getaway driver for an Atlanta crime boss known as Doc. The two of them have worked countless jobs together, and in Doc’s mind, Baby is the only one worthy behind the wheel. Unbeknownst to Doc, however, Baby plans to wipe his hands clean and hit the road for good as soon as the opportunity arrives. Tensions steadily rise as this perfect getaway driver tries to find a way out and get away from his life of crime.

The premise in Baby Driver is a familiar one, although the movie itself is anything but. Sure, it features the cliché of one last job, but the motives here are a bit different and morality is a big focus. I’ll spare the details, but this crime movie has a heart and a conscience, and at its core, it’s really more of a love story, as Baby tries to make a daring dash for freedom all in the name of romance. After meeting a nice girl named Debora at a local diner, Baby has finally found a reason to want to break free from his past so he can live a life of love. With its romantic drive, its high-octane action, and its fresh and funky soundtrack, Baby Driver is an action thriller that would make for a perfect date night movie.

While I did very much enjoy Baby Driver, it did leave a worrisome first impression. One of the earliest scenes verges on the borderline of being a musical, and as well-crafted as the one-take scene may be, it sort of rubbed me the wrong way by making Baby look like a goofball. It was trying too hard to be cool and to me it ended up feeling pretty pretentious. Really what got me engaged in the movie was the film’s stellar supporting cast, led by Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, and Jon Bernthal, all of whom play bank robbers working for Doc. By the time the film’s second robbery rolled around, all else was forgiven, and I was eagerly strapped in for the ride.

The cast in this movie is outstanding. Foxx steals the show in every scene he’s in, playing a violent loose-cannon thug known as Bats. His intensity, wit, and strong distrust of others make Bats a character you won’t want to take your eyes off of. Hamm’s character Buddy is less abrasive, but no less intimidating when he’s angry. I really loved watching his nice guy façade crumble away when things got personal. Ansel Elgort, the teenage heartthrob from The Fault in Our Stars, has enough charm and coolness to make Baby an easy character to root for. Meanwhile, Kevin Spacey does a wonderful job balancing the complexity of his character, Doc. Eiza González is lovely and cool as Buddy’s girlfriend Darling, and Jon Bernthal truly makes the most out of his limited screen-time. All in all, I have nothing but praise for the actors as well as their well-written characters.

A big part of what makes Baby Driver so cool is its killer soundtrack, and it’s not just the music, but the way that it’s incorporated into the movie. The music itself is practically a character in the movie, as Baby is always playing songs through his iPod to drown out the ringing in his ears caused by a condition known as tinnitus. It’s used to great effect in terms of both plot and action. The movie’s eclectic music mix features over 40 songs, and much of the action is brilliantly synced up to the beat. The timing really ratchets up the fun factor and makes for a uniquely wild experience. I don’t know a good half of the songs in the movie, but this diversity helps give Baby Driver an identity of its own, and I look forward to taking the soundtrack for another spin.

Baby Driver is so fresh, fun, and entertaining that you’ve really just got to go see it for yourself. Edgar Wright has really made something special with his upbeat, funky crime thriller. The characters are compelling, the action is superb, and the comedy is hysterical. It’s one of the most laugh-out-loud funny movies of the year, but also full of edge-of-your-seat excitement. The movie builds tension so well, and it rarely takes its foot off the gas. I particularly loved the final act when Baby propels the intensity to new heights by taking charge of his own destiny, bringing forth an exciting and unpredictable turn of events. It puts an exhilarating and frantic twist on what is already a wild movie.

That’s not to say it’s a perfect movie, though. The ending itself left me feeling pretty unsatisfied. It forgoes the predictable ending for something different, and as respectable as that may be, it went on for too long and was a little too hokey and hard to believe for my taste. After riding high on Baby Driver’s adrenaline for so long, the ending botches the film’s momentum by devoting too much time to unnecessary explanation. While I even like the way the story concludes, I wish it could have gotten there a little more smoothly.

Bumpy start and finish aside, I really had a great time Baby Driver. It is an incredibly fun and energetic experience that the whole audience seemed to enjoy. It’s rhythmic, it’s stylish, and it’s not like any other film you’ll see this year. Baby Driver is simply the epitome of cool, and if you’re looking for a fun and frisky ride in theaters this summer, Baby Driver is sure to be the ticket.
  
Bumblebee (2018)
Bumblebee (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
It really is the Transformers film we all wanted
I had heard this called "the Transformers film we all wanted" and wasn't quite sure what that meant - I knew the recent few films had been slated but didn't think I was that big a fan as a child in the 80s. How wrong I was, I was almost instantly transported back to being a child again! Not only a true Transformers film, but an authentic 80s buddy movie as well!
The film opens with a battle scene between the Autobots and the ... bad ones. At this point I thought "oh not more of this CGI head-ache inducing nonsense". But within a few minutes we are back on Earth and there is a real Goonies/ET vibe about the film. Bumblebee has escaped ... the Transformers planet (meh) and made it to Earth, where he was pursued and badly damaged. After a few years he is taken from a salvage yard and meets his new owner. The next hour or so was good, honest family action film fun - gone was the overly complex, pseudo-science nonsense that most films have now, just simply disbelief-suspending funny action.
The plot was kept simple and it is to the film's credit - Bumblebee is tracked down and hunted by both the US Army and the ... bad robots
Simply and honestly, good family fun. It has been years since I have enjoyed taking the kids to see a film like this.


DECEPTICONS, THAT'S IT!!!
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) rated 1917 (2020) in Movies

Jan 27, 2020  
1917 (2020)
1917 (2020)
2020 | Drama, War
Beautifully made
I've been dying to see this film since it was released, and finally had a free afternoon off today to go and see it, and I am so glad to say it was definitely worth the wait.

The single shot cinematography is possible the most beautiful and impressive bit of filmmaking I've ever seen. Aside from one noticeable cut, it's astounding to see how they've made this in one single shot and in such a smooth and sleek manner. Pairing this with a haunting score and some rather tense and heart wrenching scenes makes for a stunningly made film. Mendes has done a brilliant job.

And then there's the performances. The pairing of Schofield and Blake almost begins very much like a buddy movie, with a few laughs and a lot of heart warming moments, and there are great performances from Dean-Charles Chapman and George MacKay. MacKay especially is outstanding and is surely one to watch. I also enjoyed the rather brief encounters with the rest of the stellar cast of Colin Firth, Andrew Scott etc and they fit in well with the tone of the film.

My only negative is that there are a couple of what I thought of as silly decisions that seem to pop up in a lot of war films, which is mostly why I've decided to dock this down to a 9 as I groaned a little. But despite this, 1917 is definitely an outstanding film that would be very deserving of any awards it wins.
  
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Darren (1599 KP) rated 48 HRS (1982) in Movies

Jun 20, 2019  
48 HRS (1982)
48 HRS (1982)
1982 | Action, Comedy
7
7.2 (9 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: 48 Hrs starts as Ganz (Remar) gets broken out of jail while on work detail by Billy Bear (Landham), he heads off to clean up old debts leaving cops bodies in his path of destruction. It doesn’t take long for Ganz to clash with detective Jack Cates (Nolte), where Ganz forces Jack into a difficult situation.

Jack must go to prisoner Reggie Hammond (Murphy) a wise cracking con man to help track down Ganz using his street knowledge. In what is an unlikely partnership turns into something special as the two find a way to get to the bottom of the crime.

 

Thoughts on 48 Hrs

 

Characters – Jack Cates is a grizzled cop, he gets the job done with his experience keeping him in high regard. He must stop the killer using criminal Reggie Hammond as the best chance to catch this killer. Reggie Hammond is a criminal near the end of his stint in jail, he is wise-cracking fast-talking meaning he can bullshit his way out of any situation he finds himself in. He uses this chance of time out of jail to settle a few scores. Elaine is the girlfriend of Jack who is tired of not making things serious between the two. Ganz is the killer on the loose, after his break from prison, he has a short-temper which causes his itchy trigger finger to fire on any enemy he comes across.

Performances – Nick Nolte is a great choice for a seemingly warn down cop, he takes the non-sense style needed for the role and goes with it. Eddie Murphy was one of the most popular stand-up comedians at the time, this was his film debut and he handed it very well, bringing his own energy to the role which could have been something we have seen before. James Remar is good as a villain because it is a character we have seen before, but he really convinces in this role. There is a negative here, that is Annette O’Toole, which to be fair isn’t her fault because the character is written so poorly

Story – The story follows a cop and a criminal work together to stop another criminal, yes this is a buddy cop movie. We have unlikely partnership which must work together to get the common goal. This is a story we have seen plenty of times since and it seems to be a hit or miss through the years, but this does keep things simple enough to enjoy not looking to throw us any surprises along the way.

Action/Crime/Comedy – The action is by the book for cops and criminals, nothing is over the top and mostly comes off like you would expect. The crime world is the cop needing to work with the criminal that is the best chance to catch a cop killer. The comedy comes from the odd pairing that must work together.

Settings – The film is set in San Francisco which always seems to be a great location for any crime comedy world to unfold.


Scene of the Movie – Settle this with fists.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Ganz seems a lot easier to catch.

Final Thoughts – This is a good buddy comedy that bought us Eddie Murphy to the big screen. We get the action and comedy without being buried with one too often and most importantly we are entertained.

 

Overall: Great fun action comedy.

https://moviesreview101.com/2018/05/26/franchise-weekend-48-hrs-1982/