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Kevin Phillipson (10072 KP) rated Bad Boys for Life (2020) in Movies
Jan 23, 2020

Kevin Phillipson (10072 KP) rated Bad Boys (1995) in Movies
Jan 3, 2021

Awkwafina recommended Blue Streak (1999) in Movies (curated)

Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Bad Boys (1995) in Movies
Jun 18, 2019 (Updated Nov 3, 2019)

Jason Mewes recommended House Party (1990) in Movies (curated)

David McK (3505 KP) rated Bad Boys for Life (2020) in Movies
Aug 7, 2022
Bad boys, bad boys / what you gonna do ...
Third entry in the Will Smith / Martin Lawrence sweaty action comedy series, which very much reminded me of Lethal Weapon in that the older cop wishes to retire before agreeing to 'one last mission'.
I don't really remember parts 1 or 2 (from, apparently, near enough 20 years ago), but that didn't seem to matter all that much: I guess what I'm saying is that, while seeing the previous may have helped, it's not really a prerequisite!
I don't really remember parts 1 or 2 (from, apparently, near enough 20 years ago), but that didn't seem to matter all that much: I guess what I'm saying is that, while seeing the previous may have helped, it's not really a prerequisite!

RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Bad Boys (1995) in Movies
Feb 25, 2019
What ya gonna do
What a surprise, a pleasant one mind, this film was. Michael Bay's first feature and collaboration with the late Don Simpson and the very much alive Jerry Bruckheimer, I've never really been interested in this franchise. But in the effort to complete the Bay cannon, Bad Boys and Bad Boys II are hot on my watch list.
This was funny, sharp and reasonably action packed, a real 90′s blockbuster. This was, by today's standards, 'Michael Bay light', or toned down, with much less action than today, but what was there, was classic, with ridiculous explosions, slow motion and magic hour all day!
Very enjoyable, with good performances all round, even from Martin Lawrence who I'm not fan of. Looking forward to Bay Boys II and have yet to find a Michael Bay film which I actively dislike.
This was funny, sharp and reasonably action packed, a real 90′s blockbuster. This was, by today's standards, 'Michael Bay light', or toned down, with much less action than today, but what was there, was classic, with ridiculous explosions, slow motion and magic hour all day!
Very enjoyable, with good performances all round, even from Martin Lawrence who I'm not fan of. Looking forward to Bay Boys II and have yet to find a Michael Bay film which I actively dislike.

BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Bad Boys for Life (2020) in Movies
Jan 18, 2020
Entertaining "shoot-em-up" with 2 charismatic leads
Okay - I gotta admit, I never saw the first two BAD BOYS films starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, but I pretty much got the gist of it through the advertisements, so when these 2 re-united for a 3rd film (set 17 years after BAD BOYS II), I figured I would skip this one as well. But...as life would have it...I ended up attending this film - with a giant attitude of "this is gonna stink" to accompany me.
And...I was wrong. I was really, really entertained by this film.
BAD BOYS FOR LIFE presents Martin Lawrence's Det. Marcus Burnett and Will Smith's Det. Mike Lowry still "in the game". One wants to keep working and the other is looking to retire (if you take a look at the picture, you can figure out which one is which). The two battle like an old married couple while taking on some crooks in "shoot 'em up" action scenes.
And...what's not to like about that? Smith and Lawrence still have strong chemistry on the screen and the action scenes - staged by new (to me) Directors Adil and Bilall - keep things moving at a quick enough pace, not too fast that you get a headache, but not too slow that you start punching a hole in the plot.
And...as is typical of these types of films...the plot is paper thin and just is a reason to have these 2 banter and to have shoot-em-up scenes.
But that doesn't matter.
Ably helping the boys out is their put-upon Captain (the always watchable Joe Pantaliano reprising his role from the previous 2 films) and the members of the "AMMO SQUAD". These are young cops who are set up to replace our 2 heroes. Normally, this band of youngsters would be arrogant a-holes who end up being too cocky and are outwitted by our heroes, but this film puts that convention on it's ear and the "Ammo Squad" are actually a pretty good addition to this film series.
The filmmakers left the door wide open for BAD BOYS 4 and...I can't believe I'm saying this...I'm actually looking forward to it! Certainly not an Oscar contender, but an entertaining "blow-em-up" with 2 charismatic leads that play off each other well. Everyone involved knew exactly what type of film they were making - so they made that movie, with no apologies.
Letter Grade: a solid B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
And...I was wrong. I was really, really entertained by this film.
BAD BOYS FOR LIFE presents Martin Lawrence's Det. Marcus Burnett and Will Smith's Det. Mike Lowry still "in the game". One wants to keep working and the other is looking to retire (if you take a look at the picture, you can figure out which one is which). The two battle like an old married couple while taking on some crooks in "shoot 'em up" action scenes.
And...what's not to like about that? Smith and Lawrence still have strong chemistry on the screen and the action scenes - staged by new (to me) Directors Adil and Bilall - keep things moving at a quick enough pace, not too fast that you get a headache, but not too slow that you start punching a hole in the plot.
And...as is typical of these types of films...the plot is paper thin and just is a reason to have these 2 banter and to have shoot-em-up scenes.
But that doesn't matter.
Ably helping the boys out is their put-upon Captain (the always watchable Joe Pantaliano reprising his role from the previous 2 films) and the members of the "AMMO SQUAD". These are young cops who are set up to replace our 2 heroes. Normally, this band of youngsters would be arrogant a-holes who end up being too cocky and are outwitted by our heroes, but this film puts that convention on it's ear and the "Ammo Squad" are actually a pretty good addition to this film series.
The filmmakers left the door wide open for BAD BOYS 4 and...I can't believe I'm saying this...I'm actually looking forward to it! Certainly not an Oscar contender, but an entertaining "blow-em-up" with 2 charismatic leads that play off each other well. Everyone involved knew exactly what type of film they were making - so they made that movie, with no apologies.
Letter Grade: a solid B
7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Game of Thrones in Books
Nov 13, 2019
I've been reviewing books online for nearly a year now... and in that time I have finished every book I have started and more-or-less enjoyed every book and given positive reviews.
But this book has put an end to that. As a fan of writers such as Joe Abercrombie who cite this series and George R R Martin as a big influence, I thought I should give this a read. After all, with so many plaudits and a hit television show it couldn't be that bad, could it.
Unfortunately it could. I liked the prologue - that was interesting to read and had some good writing and interesting characters in it. The one star is purely for this part of the book. Treat it as a short story and ignore the rest of the weighty tome and you won't go far wrong.
From this point forward nothing works. I can see that Martin was trying to inject a bit of reality and grit into fantasy, though it could be argues it had not exactly been all sunlight, dancing elves and heroes with rippling muscles for several decades so I don't see it as the massive change in direction it has been touted as in some quarters.
What we have is a succession of dreary, uninteresting characters taking part in a series of dull and stilted conversations attempting to create some sort of dramatic tension simply by existing. And then quite often there will be sex, not for any reason other than it seems this is what Martin thinks makes characters interesting. And the sex scenes are really, really awful. They read as if an over-excited 15 year old boy has written them.
The structure - where each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character - probably sounded really good on paper. But the end result is almost impossible to read as there is no continuity between sections that are dealing with the same characters, So for the first half of every chapter the reader is trying to get to grips with the new main character while also working out which kingdom they are in and how they related to the many, many other characters. It's just plain too confusing and exhausting as an actual narrative device.
And the characters themselves... I was expecting Martin to try everything possible to avoid any of the usual tropes, but no. Accepted there are no magicians, elves or pure-hearted swashbuckling heroes. But what is left is just the usual supporting cast - the bastard half brother with a grudge, the scheming dwarf, the wronged heir to the throne... there is absolutely nothing new or inventive in any of the characters.
What this book reminded me of most was the Harry Potter series. Completely derivative, averagely written and heavily marketed fantasy stories eagerly consumed by people who don't actually read fantasy. To those who do read fantasy this is such a poor relation to the other fine works that have been published in the last 30 years it's not even worth considering.
If you have never read this, don't bother. Instead do yourself a favour and pick up something that actually has something to say and contains some truly interesting characters and worlds. Joe Abercrombie or Mark Lawrence, for example.
But this book has put an end to that. As a fan of writers such as Joe Abercrombie who cite this series and George R R Martin as a big influence, I thought I should give this a read. After all, with so many plaudits and a hit television show it couldn't be that bad, could it.
Unfortunately it could. I liked the prologue - that was interesting to read and had some good writing and interesting characters in it. The one star is purely for this part of the book. Treat it as a short story and ignore the rest of the weighty tome and you won't go far wrong.
From this point forward nothing works. I can see that Martin was trying to inject a bit of reality and grit into fantasy, though it could be argues it had not exactly been all sunlight, dancing elves and heroes with rippling muscles for several decades so I don't see it as the massive change in direction it has been touted as in some quarters.
What we have is a succession of dreary, uninteresting characters taking part in a series of dull and stilted conversations attempting to create some sort of dramatic tension simply by existing. And then quite often there will be sex, not for any reason other than it seems this is what Martin thinks makes characters interesting. And the sex scenes are really, really awful. They read as if an over-excited 15 year old boy has written them.
The structure - where each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character - probably sounded really good on paper. But the end result is almost impossible to read as there is no continuity between sections that are dealing with the same characters, So for the first half of every chapter the reader is trying to get to grips with the new main character while also working out which kingdom they are in and how they related to the many, many other characters. It's just plain too confusing and exhausting as an actual narrative device.
And the characters themselves... I was expecting Martin to try everything possible to avoid any of the usual tropes, but no. Accepted there are no magicians, elves or pure-hearted swashbuckling heroes. But what is left is just the usual supporting cast - the bastard half brother with a grudge, the scheming dwarf, the wronged heir to the throne... there is absolutely nothing new or inventive in any of the characters.
What this book reminded me of most was the Harry Potter series. Completely derivative, averagely written and heavily marketed fantasy stories eagerly consumed by people who don't actually read fantasy. To those who do read fantasy this is such a poor relation to the other fine works that have been published in the last 30 years it's not even worth considering.
If you have never read this, don't bother. Instead do yourself a favour and pick up something that actually has something to say and contains some truly interesting characters and worlds. Joe Abercrombie or Mark Lawrence, for example.
