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Gareth von Kallenbach (968 KP) rated Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Paul Blart (Kevin James) is a man with a dream. Paul dreams of being an officer with the New Jersey police, but thanks to his hypoglycemia, and weight, he has had a difficult time passing his requirements.
After his latest failure which concluded with him passing out inches from an obstacle course finish line, Paul has hit rock bottom. His daughter and mother encourage him to get on with his life, and look for a woman who will make him happy, (It is learned that his ex-wife only wanted him in her life so she could gain citizenship), and that new opportunities will arise.
The fact that the holidays are coming up is of little consolation, as Paul focuses on his career as a security guard at a local mall where he has worked from the past ten years, With the Black Friday shopping day upcoming, Paul attempts to get closer to the lovely Amy (Jayma Mays), who works at one of the mall’s boutiques.
The fact that Paul is shy and awkward does not help his cause, but in time, he is able to form a friendship with Amy that survives some real obstacles such as a very out of character wild night out which ends in disaster for Paul as his intolerance of alcohol leads to some truly outrageous behavior which embarrasses Amy.
As Paul attempts to recover from his fiasco at the workplace party, he returns to patrol at the mall astride his ever present Segway while a group of thieves secretly plot to take over the mall and rob the various stores.
When the bad guys make their move, Paul is indisposed and is easily overlooked, which in turn keeps him in the dark about what is really happening. When Paul eventually learns what is going on and that Amy is amongst the hostages, he must muster up the courage and abilities he never knew he had in order to save the day and rescue Amy.
What follows is a madcap though slight romp which while not big on over the top laughs has more than enough smiles to keep you amused along the way.
Kevin James is entertaining as the hapless Blart, but he is not given much to work with in his first starring role as the story is very formulaic and restrained which does not allow him to fully display his comedic skills as he did in The King of Queens.
The film was produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison company and was co written by James and Nick Bakay. While it is not a bad film, I had hoped for more as the premise is rife with possibilities and the film comes across as playing it safe rather than taking chances. There is very little offensive in the film so it is appropriate for most families, which despite the flaws, makes the film a pleasant if not memorable diversion.
After his latest failure which concluded with him passing out inches from an obstacle course finish line, Paul has hit rock bottom. His daughter and mother encourage him to get on with his life, and look for a woman who will make him happy, (It is learned that his ex-wife only wanted him in her life so she could gain citizenship), and that new opportunities will arise.
The fact that the holidays are coming up is of little consolation, as Paul focuses on his career as a security guard at a local mall where he has worked from the past ten years, With the Black Friday shopping day upcoming, Paul attempts to get closer to the lovely Amy (Jayma Mays), who works at one of the mall’s boutiques.
The fact that Paul is shy and awkward does not help his cause, but in time, he is able to form a friendship with Amy that survives some real obstacles such as a very out of character wild night out which ends in disaster for Paul as his intolerance of alcohol leads to some truly outrageous behavior which embarrasses Amy.
As Paul attempts to recover from his fiasco at the workplace party, he returns to patrol at the mall astride his ever present Segway while a group of thieves secretly plot to take over the mall and rob the various stores.
When the bad guys make their move, Paul is indisposed and is easily overlooked, which in turn keeps him in the dark about what is really happening. When Paul eventually learns what is going on and that Amy is amongst the hostages, he must muster up the courage and abilities he never knew he had in order to save the day and rescue Amy.
What follows is a madcap though slight romp which while not big on over the top laughs has more than enough smiles to keep you amused along the way.
Kevin James is entertaining as the hapless Blart, but he is not given much to work with in his first starring role as the story is very formulaic and restrained which does not allow him to fully display his comedic skills as he did in The King of Queens.
The film was produced by Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison company and was co written by James and Nick Bakay. While it is not a bad film, I had hoped for more as the premise is rife with possibilities and the film comes across as playing it safe rather than taking chances. There is very little offensive in the film so it is appropriate for most families, which despite the flaws, makes the film a pleasant if not memorable diversion.
Alex Kapranos recommended track Lady Rachel by Kevin Ayers in Confessions of Doctor Dream and Other Stories by Kevin Ayers in Music (curated)
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated The Upside (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
Not the 5* French classic, but a fun and moving movie nonetheless.
So, the movie-going audience for this film will divide into two categories:
Category A: those that have seen the original 2011 French classic “The Intouchables” that this is based on, and;
Category B: those that haven’t.
2011 is just before I started “One Mann’s Movies”, but “The Intouchables” would have got 5* from me, no problem.
This movie joins a list of standout European movies – for example, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”; “Let The Right One In”; “Sleepless Night”; etc. – that have had Hollywood “makeovers” that don’t match up to the originals. And this is no exception. However, it’s still been well made and deserves respect as a standalone piece of movie-making.
The Plot
Based on a true story, Phillip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston) is left both paraplegic and widowed by a string of bad luck. Not that money can buy you everything, but his care arrangements are substantially helped by him being a multi-millionaire (“Not rich enough to buy The Yankees; Rich enough to buy The Mets”). This is from success in investments and writing about such investments.
Depressed, cranky and with a “DNR” that his diligent PA Yvonne (Nicole Kidman) seems unable to comply with, Phillip lashes out at anyone and everyone and so dispatches his carers with monotonous regularity. Dell Scott (Kevin Hart) is on parole, with the requirement to seek work. Due to a mix-up, he finds himself in the employ of Phillip: with the suspicion that he’s been hired because he is the very worst candidate imaginable, and thus the most likely to let Phillip shuffle off this mortal coil. But the two men’s antipathy to each other slowly thaws as they teach each other new tricks.
Pin left in the grenade
Those who have seen “The Intouchables” will fondly remember the first 5 minutes of that film: a flash-forward to a manic police car-chase featuring our protagonists (there played by François Cluzet and Omar Sy). It drops like a comedy hand-grenade to open the film. Unfortunately, you can’t help but feel a bit let down by the same re-creation in “The Upside”. It has all the same content but none of the heart.
After that rocky start, the film continues to rather stutter along. Part of the reason for this I think is Kevin Hart. It’s not that he’s particularly bad in the role: it’s just that he IS Kevin Hart, and I was constantly thinking “there’s that comedian playing that role”.
However, once the story gets into its swing, giving Cranston more of a chance to shine (which he does), then the film started to motor and my reservations about Hart started to wane. Some of these story set pieces – such as the one about the art work – are punch-the-air funny in their own right. Cranston’s timing in delivering his punchlines is immaculate.
This IS what actors do
There seems to have been some furore about the casting of Bryan Cranston as the role of the disabled millionaire instead of a disabled actor. Lord save us! He’s an actor! That’s what actors do for a living: pretend to be people they’re not! It’s also worth pointing out that François Cluzet was an able-bodied actor as well.
As already mentioned, Bryan Cranston excels in the role. Phillip goes through such a wide range of emotions from despair to pure joy and back again that you can’t help but be impressed by the performance.
On the female side of the cast, it’s really nice to see Nicole Kidman in such a quiet and understated role and it’s nicely done; Aja Naomi King does a nice job as Dell’s protective ex-girlfriend Latrice; and there’s a nice female cameo as well, which I won’t spoil since I wasn’t expecting to see her in the film.
Final Thoughts
As a standalone film it has some laugh-out-loud moments, some feelgood highs and some moments of real pathos. The audience I saw this with was small, but there was still a buzz in the room and sporadic applause as the end titles came up: God only knows that’s unusual for a film!
The director is “Limitless” and “Divergent” director Neil Burger, and it’s a perfectly fun and innocent night out at the flicks that I commend to the house in this month of celluloid awards heavyweights.
Category A: those that have seen the original 2011 French classic “The Intouchables” that this is based on, and;
Category B: those that haven’t.
2011 is just before I started “One Mann’s Movies”, but “The Intouchables” would have got 5* from me, no problem.
This movie joins a list of standout European movies – for example, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”; “Let The Right One In”; “Sleepless Night”; etc. – that have had Hollywood “makeovers” that don’t match up to the originals. And this is no exception. However, it’s still been well made and deserves respect as a standalone piece of movie-making.
The Plot
Based on a true story, Phillip Lacasse (Bryan Cranston) is left both paraplegic and widowed by a string of bad luck. Not that money can buy you everything, but his care arrangements are substantially helped by him being a multi-millionaire (“Not rich enough to buy The Yankees; Rich enough to buy The Mets”). This is from success in investments and writing about such investments.
Depressed, cranky and with a “DNR” that his diligent PA Yvonne (Nicole Kidman) seems unable to comply with, Phillip lashes out at anyone and everyone and so dispatches his carers with monotonous regularity. Dell Scott (Kevin Hart) is on parole, with the requirement to seek work. Due to a mix-up, he finds himself in the employ of Phillip: with the suspicion that he’s been hired because he is the very worst candidate imaginable, and thus the most likely to let Phillip shuffle off this mortal coil. But the two men’s antipathy to each other slowly thaws as they teach each other new tricks.
Pin left in the grenade
Those who have seen “The Intouchables” will fondly remember the first 5 minutes of that film: a flash-forward to a manic police car-chase featuring our protagonists (there played by François Cluzet and Omar Sy). It drops like a comedy hand-grenade to open the film. Unfortunately, you can’t help but feel a bit let down by the same re-creation in “The Upside”. It has all the same content but none of the heart.
After that rocky start, the film continues to rather stutter along. Part of the reason for this I think is Kevin Hart. It’s not that he’s particularly bad in the role: it’s just that he IS Kevin Hart, and I was constantly thinking “there’s that comedian playing that role”.
However, once the story gets into its swing, giving Cranston more of a chance to shine (which he does), then the film started to motor and my reservations about Hart started to wane. Some of these story set pieces – such as the one about the art work – are punch-the-air funny in their own right. Cranston’s timing in delivering his punchlines is immaculate.
This IS what actors do
There seems to have been some furore about the casting of Bryan Cranston as the role of the disabled millionaire instead of a disabled actor. Lord save us! He’s an actor! That’s what actors do for a living: pretend to be people they’re not! It’s also worth pointing out that François Cluzet was an able-bodied actor as well.
As already mentioned, Bryan Cranston excels in the role. Phillip goes through such a wide range of emotions from despair to pure joy and back again that you can’t help but be impressed by the performance.
On the female side of the cast, it’s really nice to see Nicole Kidman in such a quiet and understated role and it’s nicely done; Aja Naomi King does a nice job as Dell’s protective ex-girlfriend Latrice; and there’s a nice female cameo as well, which I won’t spoil since I wasn’t expecting to see her in the film.
Final Thoughts
As a standalone film it has some laugh-out-loud moments, some feelgood highs and some moments of real pathos. The audience I saw this with was small, but there was still a buzz in the room and sporadic applause as the end titles came up: God only knows that’s unusual for a film!
The director is “Limitless” and “Divergent” director Neil Burger, and it’s a perfectly fun and innocent night out at the flicks that I commend to the house in this month of celluloid awards heavyweights.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Pet Sematary (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020 (Updated Nov 1, 2020)
A Really Good Remake
Pet Semetary is a 2019 supernatural horror movie directed by Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer. The movie was written by Jeff Buhler with screen story by Matt Greenberg. It is a remake/reboot of the original 1989 film adaptation of the 1983 Stephen King novel. Starring Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and John Lithgow.
Moving to the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his family: wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), children, Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugo & Lucas Lavoie), and Church, Ellie's cat, Louis Creed takes a job at the university's hospital. Ellie stumbles upon a procession of children, while exploring the nearby woods of their new home, who are taking a dead dog to a pet cemetery. Their neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), finds Ellie climbing a large stack of branches forming a wall and warns Rachel and Ellie not to venture out alone as the woods can be dangerous.. The following day, Louis fails to save a student Victor Pascow (Obssa Ahmed) fatally injured from a car accident, and is left shaken. That night Louis meets Pascow in a vivid dream, where he is lead to the pet cemetery and warned not to "venture beyond". When Louis awakens he is disturbed to find his bed sheets and feet, muddy and dirty suggesting his "vision" could be more than just a bad dream.
As far as remakes go this one was really good. Especially for the horror genre. I mean I can't tell you how many remakes/reboots I've seen that just bomb and don't do the original justice. This one however seemed to keep the original in mind, while still making changes to keep it fresh and relatively different. That being said I do feel it was a bit over-hyped and didn't live up to certain expectations. To me it was a very creepy movie and had me wanting to cover my eyes in one part as memories from the original played back in my head. The sounds of the character Rachel's sister calling out to her got goosebumps on my forearms. Those parts were very unsettling to me but I didn't feel enough was "scary". I really enjoyed the twists and changes or differences from the original. They were welcome and kept it from being an exact replica and a copy of the original. As another critic stated, Jeffrey M. Anderson-Common Sense Media, the film was "...effectively unsettling, focusing on the characters and their understandable emotions rather than on overt gore and FX." I give it a 7/10.
Moving to the small town of Ludlow, Maine with his family: wife, Rachel (Amy Seimetz), children, Ellie (Jete Laurence) and Gage (Hugo & Lucas Lavoie), and Church, Ellie's cat, Louis Creed takes a job at the university's hospital. Ellie stumbles upon a procession of children, while exploring the nearby woods of their new home, who are taking a dead dog to a pet cemetery. Their neighbor, Jud Crandall (John Lithgow), finds Ellie climbing a large stack of branches forming a wall and warns Rachel and Ellie not to venture out alone as the woods can be dangerous.. The following day, Louis fails to save a student Victor Pascow (Obssa Ahmed) fatally injured from a car accident, and is left shaken. That night Louis meets Pascow in a vivid dream, where he is lead to the pet cemetery and warned not to "venture beyond". When Louis awakens he is disturbed to find his bed sheets and feet, muddy and dirty suggesting his "vision" could be more than just a bad dream.
As far as remakes go this one was really good. Especially for the horror genre. I mean I can't tell you how many remakes/reboots I've seen that just bomb and don't do the original justice. This one however seemed to keep the original in mind, while still making changes to keep it fresh and relatively different. That being said I do feel it was a bit over-hyped and didn't live up to certain expectations. To me it was a very creepy movie and had me wanting to cover my eyes in one part as memories from the original played back in my head. The sounds of the character Rachel's sister calling out to her got goosebumps on my forearms. Those parts were very unsettling to me but I didn't feel enough was "scary". I really enjoyed the twists and changes or differences from the original. They were welcome and kept it from being an exact replica and a copy of the original. As another critic stated, Jeffrey M. Anderson-Common Sense Media, the film was "...effectively unsettling, focusing on the characters and their understandable emotions rather than on overt gore and FX." I give it a 7/10.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Dolittle (2020) in Movies
Feb 26, 2020 (Updated Feb 26, 2020)
Perfect... for kids
The trailer for this didn't fill me with much confidence, and I was even more concerned after hearing about the troubles even getting it to the screen, and I'm afraid to say it lived up to my rather low expectations.
Right from the opening scene, its obvious this film has been made solely for children. The plot is basic and predictable and a lot of the action and gags are very childish and puerile. Even Emma Thompson's narration made me feel like I was watching a kids educational show. I appreciate it's difficult to make a film suitable for kids and adults alike, but Disney and Pixar have proved it's possible without being infantile - sadly Dolittle doesn't. There are a few moments that I did have a small giggle at, but most of the gags I found either too obvious or childish to be funny. Weirdly enough I found Kevin the squirrel and his logs hilarious.
The cast themselves I found underused, or rather odd choices - some of the voice actors of the animals to me seemed a little out of place. That probably wasn't helped by how distractingly odd the animals looked when they were talking, and with the CGI ranging from pretty good to decidedly dodgy. Antonio Banderas was wasted as King Rassouli and Michael Sheen was hamming it up to the extremes, but it's Robert Downey Jnr that deserves a notable mention... for how terrible his accent is. I love RDJ, but his Welsh accent ranges from ok to downright horrendous. I couldn't even tell from the trailer what sort of accent he was doing it was that bad. And the problem with this is the accent took away all of the fun and charisma you'd expect from his performance.
The one benefit of this film is that it's fairly short, so it doesnt drag too much. Your kids will love it, but as an adult I wouldn't expect much.
Right from the opening scene, its obvious this film has been made solely for children. The plot is basic and predictable and a lot of the action and gags are very childish and puerile. Even Emma Thompson's narration made me feel like I was watching a kids educational show. I appreciate it's difficult to make a film suitable for kids and adults alike, but Disney and Pixar have proved it's possible without being infantile - sadly Dolittle doesn't. There are a few moments that I did have a small giggle at, but most of the gags I found either too obvious or childish to be funny. Weirdly enough I found Kevin the squirrel and his logs hilarious.
The cast themselves I found underused, or rather odd choices - some of the voice actors of the animals to me seemed a little out of place. That probably wasn't helped by how distractingly odd the animals looked when they were talking, and with the CGI ranging from pretty good to decidedly dodgy. Antonio Banderas was wasted as King Rassouli and Michael Sheen was hamming it up to the extremes, but it's Robert Downey Jnr that deserves a notable mention... for how terrible his accent is. I love RDJ, but his Welsh accent ranges from ok to downright horrendous. I couldn't even tell from the trailer what sort of accent he was doing it was that bad. And the problem with this is the accent took away all of the fun and charisma you'd expect from his performance.
The one benefit of this film is that it's fairly short, so it doesnt drag too much. Your kids will love it, but as an adult I wouldn't expect much.
Gareth von Kallenbach (968 KP) rated Get Hard (2015) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
For high rolling stock trader James King (Will Ferrell), life is pretty amazing. Not only does he live in a lavish house in an exclusive Los Angeles community, but he is engaged to the lovely Alissa (Allison Brie). James is oblivious to many of those around him save for his future father in law Martin (Craig T. Nelson), who has recently rewarded him with a partnership at his brokerage.
Life has not been as sunny for Darnelll (Kevin Hart), a devoted family man who runs his car detailing place and looks to find a way to get the $30,000 he needs to purchase a better home in a better neighborhood for his family.
Fate steps in when James is charged with several trading violations and is sentenced to ten years in San Quentin. For the self-absorbed and highly-sheltered James this is equivalent to a death sentence and he is eager to find a way out of his mess.
With his world in chaos, James hires Darnell to be his prison consultant, as he is convinced Darnell must have done time due to his color and station in life. Although offended, Darnell hides this and agrees to spend the next few weeks before James has to report to jail training him to survive.
Although motivated to earn the money he needs, Darnell soon gains sympathy for James and in time, begins to believe he may be innocent of the charges levied upon him. In between the crude but often very funny training segments James endures, the two bond and work with one another to overcome the challenges presented to them before time runs out.
Ferell and Hart have a very good chemistry with one another and there are some very funny moments in the film. One moment had Hart portraying various prison yard characters at the same time and his frantic way of moving between characters at the same time was something to behold.
The film does tread on some racial stereotypes often but they at least mix it up and do not focus entirely upon one race or group.
While at times slow and requiring some leaps of faith from the audience, the two leads make the film a funny and enjoyable distraction that will keep you laughing enough to make it worth your while.
http://sknr.net/2015/03/27/get-hard/
Life has not been as sunny for Darnelll (Kevin Hart), a devoted family man who runs his car detailing place and looks to find a way to get the $30,000 he needs to purchase a better home in a better neighborhood for his family.
Fate steps in when James is charged with several trading violations and is sentenced to ten years in San Quentin. For the self-absorbed and highly-sheltered James this is equivalent to a death sentence and he is eager to find a way out of his mess.
With his world in chaos, James hires Darnell to be his prison consultant, as he is convinced Darnell must have done time due to his color and station in life. Although offended, Darnell hides this and agrees to spend the next few weeks before James has to report to jail training him to survive.
Although motivated to earn the money he needs, Darnell soon gains sympathy for James and in time, begins to believe he may be innocent of the charges levied upon him. In between the crude but often very funny training segments James endures, the two bond and work with one another to overcome the challenges presented to them before time runs out.
Ferell and Hart have a very good chemistry with one another and there are some very funny moments in the film. One moment had Hart portraying various prison yard characters at the same time and his frantic way of moving between characters at the same time was something to behold.
The film does tread on some racial stereotypes often but they at least mix it up and do not focus entirely upon one race or group.
While at times slow and requiring some leaps of faith from the audience, the two leads make the film a funny and enjoyable distraction that will keep you laughing enough to make it worth your while.
http://sknr.net/2015/03/27/get-hard/
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated The Rising of the Shield Hero in TV
Jul 7, 2020
Shield Hero
The Rising of The Shield Hero is an anime series produced by Kinema Citrus and directed by Takao Abo with the light novel written by Aneko Yusagi. The series is licensed by Crunchroll and Funimation in North America. The series composition was by Keigo Koyanagi with music composed by Kevin Penkin and Masahiro Suwa designing characters.
College student, Naofumi Iwatani finds a fantasy book about "Four Heroes", while in the library, and is summoned to another universe, along with three others to save mankind. Each of the heroes are respectively equipped with their own "legendary" weapon. Naofumi, though, received the Legendary Shield, the only sole defensive equipment. They are expected to fight "The Waves", a series of demonic invasions that are set to occur soon. Nobody joins Shield Hero Naofumi when partners are assigned, believing him to be the weakest of the four. However, a beautiful woman named Myne, from the Spear Hero's party joins him to help him train. To his disbelief, Myne steals his belongings while he sleeps and accuses him of rape. He becomes an outcast when his denials are ignored and he is shunned by everyone from King to peasants. Enraged and embittered, he struggles to learn how to upgrade his shield, but realizes he can't upgrade without experience or strength. Desperate and alone, he finds himself at a slave market, contemplating whether he should buy a slave to gain XP (experience points) and fight for him.
This anime is great. I really like it a lot. It is also an "Isekai" genre anime, but right away it's very different from others. Beginning with the first episode, this anime had me. I've always said that actors who can get you to hate them in movies are really good actors. And man the character, Myne, really made me hate her. I didn't expect that twist, and it is very "adult" to bring up rape like that in an anime that didn't look to me like it would have something like that in it. But it plays a big part in how the character proceeds after. I also really like the character designs and art style, but the story is what gets me wanting to see the next episode every time. That and how he is a pretty smart character too, which really helps him, since his shield holds him back from being able to use any weapons. But it's not completely useless and he learns new abilities for it constantly. This anime definitely gets my "Must See Seal Of Approval" and I give it an 8.
College student, Naofumi Iwatani finds a fantasy book about "Four Heroes", while in the library, and is summoned to another universe, along with three others to save mankind. Each of the heroes are respectively equipped with their own "legendary" weapon. Naofumi, though, received the Legendary Shield, the only sole defensive equipment. They are expected to fight "The Waves", a series of demonic invasions that are set to occur soon. Nobody joins Shield Hero Naofumi when partners are assigned, believing him to be the weakest of the four. However, a beautiful woman named Myne, from the Spear Hero's party joins him to help him train. To his disbelief, Myne steals his belongings while he sleeps and accuses him of rape. He becomes an outcast when his denials are ignored and he is shunned by everyone from King to peasants. Enraged and embittered, he struggles to learn how to upgrade his shield, but realizes he can't upgrade without experience or strength. Desperate and alone, he finds himself at a slave market, contemplating whether he should buy a slave to gain XP (experience points) and fight for him.
This anime is great. I really like it a lot. It is also an "Isekai" genre anime, but right away it's very different from others. Beginning with the first episode, this anime had me. I've always said that actors who can get you to hate them in movies are really good actors. And man the character, Myne, really made me hate her. I didn't expect that twist, and it is very "adult" to bring up rape like that in an anime that didn't look to me like it would have something like that in it. But it plays a big part in how the character proceeds after. I also really like the character designs and art style, but the story is what gets me wanting to see the next episode every time. That and how he is a pretty smart character too, which really helps him, since his shield holds him back from being able to use any weapons. But it's not completely useless and he learns new abilities for it constantly. This anime definitely gets my "Must See Seal Of Approval" and I give it an 8.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Rambo: Last Blood (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Rambo's Last Hurrah, Decent Action Flick
Rambo: Last Blood is a 2019 action movie directed by Adrian Grunberg, with screenplay written by both Sylvester Stallone and Matthew Cirulnick and story by Stallone and Dan Gordon. It was produced by Millennium Media, Balboa Productions and Templeton Media and distributed by Lionsgate with producers Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, Yariv Lerner and Les Weldon. The film stars Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, and Adriana Barraza.
In Bowie, Arizona on his father's horse ranch John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) lives with his old friend Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela (Yvette Monreal), eleven years after the events in Burma. Against Rambo and Maria's wishes, Gabriela ventures to Mexico to find her estranged father when her friend Gizelle finds his location. In Mexico she is drugged and kidnapped by a Mexican Cartel and now Rambo must do everything he can to save her.
I have to say that before I saw this movie I was hearing bad things from reviewers and critics. That made me lower expectations before I saw it but what I took away from it was that it was going to be lacking story wise but definitely shouldn't be lacking in action. Then I was very surprised to learn that the creator of Rambo said that the movie wasn't good. Now I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the movie. After watching it, I have to say that this movie was good. I have to be honest and say that usually I'm a sucker for revenge movies but this movie was better than what I thought it would be. The plot, of course was very simple but for the story it was trying to tell, it didn't need to be complicated. The acting was alright, some actors could have done a better job. Stallone did a decent job reprising John Rambo. The setting when they travel to Mexico was pretty realistic and I really liked his ranch in Arizona that was the backdrop for the third act of the movie. The action was really brutal and gory which was expected as the last installment in the franchise Rambo was also equally brutal. All in all I thought this movie was pretty good, I give it a 7/10.
In Bowie, Arizona on his father's horse ranch John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) lives with his old friend Maria (Adriana Barraza) and her granddaughter Gabriela (Yvette Monreal), eleven years after the events in Burma. Against Rambo and Maria's wishes, Gabriela ventures to Mexico to find her estranged father when her friend Gizelle finds his location. In Mexico she is drugged and kidnapped by a Mexican Cartel and now Rambo must do everything he can to save her.
I have to say that before I saw this movie I was hearing bad things from reviewers and critics. That made me lower expectations before I saw it but what I took away from it was that it was going to be lacking story wise but definitely shouldn't be lacking in action. Then I was very surprised to learn that the creator of Rambo said that the movie wasn't good. Now I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the movie. After watching it, I have to say that this movie was good. I have to be honest and say that usually I'm a sucker for revenge movies but this movie was better than what I thought it would be. The plot, of course was very simple but for the story it was trying to tell, it didn't need to be complicated. The acting was alright, some actors could have done a better job. Stallone did a decent job reprising John Rambo. The setting when they travel to Mexico was pretty realistic and I really liked his ranch in Arizona that was the backdrop for the third act of the movie. The action was really brutal and gory which was expected as the last installment in the franchise Rambo was also equally brutal. All in all I thought this movie was pretty good, I give it a 7/10.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Flatliners (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
The undiscovered country… which they shouldn’t have returned to.
The movies have depicted the hereafter in varied ways over the years. From the bleached white warehouses of Powell and Pressburger’s “A Matter of Life and Death” in 1946 and Warren Beatty’s “Heaven Can Wait” in 1978 to – for me – the peak of the game: Vincent Ward’s mawkish but gorgeously rendered oil-paint version of heaven in 1998’s “What Dreams May Come”. Joel Schmacher’s 1990’s “Flatliners” saw a set of “brat pack” movie names of the day (including Kevin Bacon, Julia Roberts, William Baldwin and Kiefer Sutherland) as experimenting trainee doctors, cheating death to experience the afterlife and getting more than they bargained for. The depictions of the afterlife were unmemorable: in that I don’t remember them much! (I think there was some sort of spooky tree involved, but that’s about it!)
But the concept was sufficiently enticing – who isn’t a little bit intrigued by the question of “what’s beyond”? – that Cross Creek Pictures thought it worthy of dusting off and giving it another outing in pursuit of dirty lucre. But unfortunately this offering adds little to the property’s reputation.
In this version, the lead role is headed up by Ellen Page (“Inception”) who is a great actress… too good for this stuff. Also in that category is Diego Luna, who really made an impact in “Rogue One” but here has little to work with in terms of backstory. The remaining three doctors – Nina Dobrev as “the sexy one”; James Norton (“War and Peace”) as “the posh boy” and Kiersey Clemons as the “cute but repressed one”, all have even less backstory and struggle to make a great impact.
Still struggling to get the high score on Angry Birds: from left to right Ray (Diego Luna), Sophia (Kiersey Clemons), Marlo (Nina Dobrev), Courtney (Ellen Page) and Jamie (James Norton).
Also putting in an appearance, as the one link from the original film, is Kiefer Sutherland as a senior member of the teaching staff. But he’s not playing the same character (that WOULD have been a bloody miracle!) and although Sutherland adds gravitas he really is given criminally little to do. What was director Niels Arden Oplev (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) thinking?
In terms of the story, it’s pretty much a re-hash of Peter Filardi’s original, with Ben Ripley (“Source Code”) adding a few minor tweaks to the screenplay to update it for the current generation. But I will levy the same criticism of this film as I levied at the recent Stephen King adaptation of “It”: for horror to work well it need to obey some decent ‘rules of physics’ and although most of the scenes work (since a lot of the “action” is sensibly based inside the character’s heads) there are the occasional linkages to the ‘real world’ that generate a “WTF???” response. A seemingly indestructible Mini car (which is also clearly untraceable by the police!) and a knife incident at the dockside are two cases in point.
Is there anything good to say about this film? Well, there are certainly a few tense moments that make the hairs on your neck at least start to stand to attention. But these are few and far between, amongst a sea of movie ‘meh’. It’s certainly not going to be the worst film I see this year, since at least I wasn’t completely bored for the two hours. But I won’t remember this one in a few weeks. As a summary in the form of a “Black Adder” quote, it’s all a bit like a broken pencil….. pointless.
But the concept was sufficiently enticing – who isn’t a little bit intrigued by the question of “what’s beyond”? – that Cross Creek Pictures thought it worthy of dusting off and giving it another outing in pursuit of dirty lucre. But unfortunately this offering adds little to the property’s reputation.
In this version, the lead role is headed up by Ellen Page (“Inception”) who is a great actress… too good for this stuff. Also in that category is Diego Luna, who really made an impact in “Rogue One” but here has little to work with in terms of backstory. The remaining three doctors – Nina Dobrev as “the sexy one”; James Norton (“War and Peace”) as “the posh boy” and Kiersey Clemons as the “cute but repressed one”, all have even less backstory and struggle to make a great impact.
Still struggling to get the high score on Angry Birds: from left to right Ray (Diego Luna), Sophia (Kiersey Clemons), Marlo (Nina Dobrev), Courtney (Ellen Page) and Jamie (James Norton).
Also putting in an appearance, as the one link from the original film, is Kiefer Sutherland as a senior member of the teaching staff. But he’s not playing the same character (that WOULD have been a bloody miracle!) and although Sutherland adds gravitas he really is given criminally little to do. What was director Niels Arden Oplev (“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) thinking?
In terms of the story, it’s pretty much a re-hash of Peter Filardi’s original, with Ben Ripley (“Source Code”) adding a few minor tweaks to the screenplay to update it for the current generation. But I will levy the same criticism of this film as I levied at the recent Stephen King adaptation of “It”: for horror to work well it need to obey some decent ‘rules of physics’ and although most of the scenes work (since a lot of the “action” is sensibly based inside the character’s heads) there are the occasional linkages to the ‘real world’ that generate a “WTF???” response. A seemingly indestructible Mini car (which is also clearly untraceable by the police!) and a knife incident at the dockside are two cases in point.
Is there anything good to say about this film? Well, there are certainly a few tense moments that make the hairs on your neck at least start to stand to attention. But these are few and far between, amongst a sea of movie ‘meh’. It’s certainly not going to be the worst film I see this year, since at least I wasn’t completely bored for the two hours. But I won’t remember this one in a few weeks. As a summary in the form of a “Black Adder” quote, it’s all a bit like a broken pencil….. pointless.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Jojo Rabbit (2019) in Movies
Jan 15, 2020
Inventive, funny and poignant
Writer/Director/Actor Taika Waititi is one of the most original voices working in Film/Television today. He skewered the Vampire flick (at the height of the Twilight craze) in WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. He revived the sagging Thor saga (and some would say the Marvel Cinematic Universe) with a comedic approach to the material in THOR: RAGNAROK, and now with his latest film, JOJO RABBIT, he takes his sense of humor to a subject that is difficult to satire - Adolph Hitler and life in Nazi Germany during WW II.
And, darn it all, if he doesn't pull it off.
As seen through the eyes of a zealous 10 year old Hitler Youth named JoJo, this film follows Jojo's journey from an idealistic follower of all things Nazi Germany to the harsher realities of the world - and what the 3rd Reich means to the world.
Young Roman Griffin Davis does a marvelous job as the titular character slowly changing his character from an all out innocent devotion to Hitler (his imaginary friend as played by Waititi) to a somewhat less innocent soul. His journey is at the heart of this film and he is a winning personality to follow along with. I was drawn into his struggles and was rooting for him to "come to his senses" throughout the course of this film.
Helping him in this journey is his Mother, played in an Oscar nominated turn by Scarlett Johannson. This character has an idealism all of her own and is willing to let her child "get there in his own time". It is a strong turn by Johannson...but Oscar nominated worthy? I'm not sure.
Also joining in for fun, frolic and (by turns) seriousness is the always great Sam Rockwell (Oscar winner for 3 BILLBOARDS...)as a disillusioned German Officer, comedian Stephen Merchant (LOGAN) in an unlikely mostly serious turn as a Nazi who likes to say "Heil Hitler" and Alfie Allen (GAME OF THRONES) as a devoted German soldier (at least devoted to Rockwell's character). Waititi also uses Rebel Wilson sparingly - as she should be used - as another devouted-to-the-cause German citizen.
Adding heft and pathos to this film is Thomasin MacKenzie (THE KING) in a role that would be a spoiler to say what she is playing, but...I WILL say that she needs to succeed in this role for the film to succeed (and she does).
Also, special notice needs to be made of the performance of cherubic Archie Yates (soon to be Kevin in the reboot of the HOME ALONE franchise) as JoJo's friend Yorki - who keeps getting knocked down and steps back up over and over again. I would LOVE to see the film that would have focused on this character (in addition to this film).
And, finally, there is the Writer/Director himself, Taika Waititi as JoJo's imaginary friend, Adolph Hitler. He is all fun loving and gay at the beginning becoming more and more frantic as the film progresses - mimicking the real life events that are happening around him.
Waititi's style in this film is reminiscent of Wes Anderson in such films as THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and MOONRISE KINGDOM and this works well here, giving this film more of a "fable" than a "realistic" look - and that is important to help set the tone for the events that follow. Waititi has a sure hand on the material (that he wrote) as the Director. He knows the tone he wants to strike and knows how to get there. He is nominated for Adapted Screenplay for his script (deservedly so) and was NOT nominated for Best Director - but his work in this area is just as good.
I did not know what to expect from this film when I walked into it, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. Give this little comedy/drama a try - I think you will be glad you did.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
And, darn it all, if he doesn't pull it off.
As seen through the eyes of a zealous 10 year old Hitler Youth named JoJo, this film follows Jojo's journey from an idealistic follower of all things Nazi Germany to the harsher realities of the world - and what the 3rd Reich means to the world.
Young Roman Griffin Davis does a marvelous job as the titular character slowly changing his character from an all out innocent devotion to Hitler (his imaginary friend as played by Waititi) to a somewhat less innocent soul. His journey is at the heart of this film and he is a winning personality to follow along with. I was drawn into his struggles and was rooting for him to "come to his senses" throughout the course of this film.
Helping him in this journey is his Mother, played in an Oscar nominated turn by Scarlett Johannson. This character has an idealism all of her own and is willing to let her child "get there in his own time". It is a strong turn by Johannson...but Oscar nominated worthy? I'm not sure.
Also joining in for fun, frolic and (by turns) seriousness is the always great Sam Rockwell (Oscar winner for 3 BILLBOARDS...)as a disillusioned German Officer, comedian Stephen Merchant (LOGAN) in an unlikely mostly serious turn as a Nazi who likes to say "Heil Hitler" and Alfie Allen (GAME OF THRONES) as a devoted German soldier (at least devoted to Rockwell's character). Waititi also uses Rebel Wilson sparingly - as she should be used - as another devouted-to-the-cause German citizen.
Adding heft and pathos to this film is Thomasin MacKenzie (THE KING) in a role that would be a spoiler to say what she is playing, but...I WILL say that she needs to succeed in this role for the film to succeed (and she does).
Also, special notice needs to be made of the performance of cherubic Archie Yates (soon to be Kevin in the reboot of the HOME ALONE franchise) as JoJo's friend Yorki - who keeps getting knocked down and steps back up over and over again. I would LOVE to see the film that would have focused on this character (in addition to this film).
And, finally, there is the Writer/Director himself, Taika Waititi as JoJo's imaginary friend, Adolph Hitler. He is all fun loving and gay at the beginning becoming more and more frantic as the film progresses - mimicking the real life events that are happening around him.
Waititi's style in this film is reminiscent of Wes Anderson in such films as THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL and MOONRISE KINGDOM and this works well here, giving this film more of a "fable" than a "realistic" look - and that is important to help set the tone for the events that follow. Waititi has a sure hand on the material (that he wrote) as the Director. He knows the tone he wants to strike and knows how to get there. He is nominated for Adapted Screenplay for his script (deservedly so) and was NOT nominated for Best Director - but his work in this area is just as good.
I did not know what to expect from this film when I walked into it, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. Give this little comedy/drama a try - I think you will be glad you did.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)