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What Women Want (2001)
What Women Want (2001)
2001 | Comedy
This film was so profoundly bad, I am so surprised I managed to sit through the whole thing. I watched its counterpart (?) or maybe it's a reboot, who knows, "What Men Want" last year with Taraji P. Hensen and it made me eager to watch the original that it was based on.

The best thing about this film was the cast and it wasn't even the main characters I was impressed with - Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The ones that surprised me and I was happy to see were Ashley Johnson, Marisa Tomei, Judy Greer, Sarah Paulson, Lisa Edelstein, Brooke Elliot made an appearance, really just great women popped up in this film from left to right and I was really impressed. I've followed their careers down their various paths and it's always cool to see them trackback to films together.

Overall, I think the plot of this movie is interesting, I just think that it was done badly and the ending was literally the worst. Am I glad I watched it? I don't know. I don't think I'll ever watch it again either. Maybe it was a waste of time. Hmm.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Edge of Darkness in TV

May 5, 2020  
Edge of Darkness
Edge of Darkness
1985 | Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Age shall not dim its brilliance, nor dodgy big-screen remakes with Mel Gibson: Edge of Darkness remains a landmark piece of TV drama, of enormous scope and ambition. The pitch - grieving detective hunts his daughter's murderer - sounds straightforward enough, even if the plot rapidly becomes ferociously convoluted. The key thing is that the conspiracy-detective storyline is in many ways the least important thing about the series.

Lengthy theses could and probably have been written about all the things that Edge of Darkness touches upon in the course of its six episodes: Anglo-American relations, the military-industrial complex, nuclear power, secret societies, ecology, the future of the human race, and much more (the original script ended with the main character mystically transforming into a tree). Strong performances and great direction keep it engrossing even when it's not entirely clear what's going on (you can generally get a sense of the direction of travel, though, and episode five works as a terrific mini-action movie even in isolation). Martin Campbell went on to successfully relaunch the Bond franchise twice, but this remains his magnum opus.
  
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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) in Movies

Jul 10, 2020 (Updated Jul 10, 2020)  
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
1992 | Action
8
6.8 (10 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Perfect Trio : Mel, Danny and Joe
Lethal Weapon 3- i love the chemistry between Mel, Danny and Joe. Its the perfect trio, their bounce off of each other. The comedy is excellent. The one liners are good. The action is good, the plot is good.

The plot: Veteran police detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is only days away from retiring when he and his tough partner, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), are roped into an important internal affairs case. Working with the beautiful, no-nonsense Sergeant Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) and aided by the shifty informant Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), Murtaugh and Riggs begin to close in on a black-market weapons operation involving corrupt cop and arms dealer Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson).

Director Richard Donner is an animal-rights and pro-choice activist, and placed many posters and stickers for these causes in the film. Of note are the T-shirt worn by one of Murtaugh's daughters (the actress's idea), an 18-wheeler with an anti-fur slogan on the side, and a sticker on a locker in the police station.

Director Richard Donner demanded some big changes on the script which included changing the original character of Lorna (who had a different name in earlier drafts) into a woman and turning her into Riggs's girlfriend. He also re-worked the script to be less story-oriented and not focus on the main villains but instead on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh. He also toned down action scenes from the script and brought back Leo Getz into the story. All of his scenes were written in afterwards. In the original script Leo had left L.A. for New York. Boam had some disagreements with changes that Donner made but he was not against them. Boam was fired after he wrote his first two drafts of the script. One of the reasons for this was because Donner wasn't interested in the script and he disagreed with some parts of Boam's original draft.

Carrie Fisher was an uncredited script doctor on the film.

Several versions of a Lethal Weapon video game were released in conjunction with this sequel's release, appearing on the NES, SNES, Game Boy, Amiga, Atari ST, and Commodore 64 platforms. Also released was a Lethal Weapon 3 pinball game.

Its a funny entertaining movie, on to the last one in the franchise. I've loved the franchise so far and hopefully the 4th one is good.
  
Mad Max (1979)
Mad Max (1979)
1979 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Mad Max (1 more)
Dystopian Future
The Man Who You Dont Want To Mess With
What a great way to start of a franchise. The action, the suspense, the drama, the adventure, the dystopian, the revenge and of course Max. You dont want to mess around with him. Cause he will find you and when he does he will kill you. He sets his target on you, and when he does you better run or hide, cause like i said he will kill you.

The plot: In a not-too-distant dystopian future, when man's most precious resource -- oil -- has been depleted and the world plunged into war, famine and financial chaos, the last vestiges of the law in Australia attempt to restrain a vicious biker gang. Max (Mel Gibson), an officer with the Main Force Patrol, launches a personal vendetta against the gang when his wife (Joanne Samuel) and son are hunted down and murdered, leaving him with nothing but the instincts for survival and retribution.

I really like dystopian films, and just the idea of a post apolcyptic future, where survival is the key. And this film is one of them.

Its a must see film, if you haven't seen it.
  
Last Looks (2022)
Last Looks (2022)
2022 | Mystery, Thriller
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Charlie Hunnam (1 more)
Mel Gibson
Interesting side characters that don't pay off (1 more)
Ultimately a boring mystery
"Last Looks" (2022) Review: A Bland, Overstuffed Mystery
In Last Looks, Charlie Waldo (Charlie Hunnam) is a retired cop and former LAPD officer. He ghosted everyone he knew, parked a trailer on the top of a mountain, got rid of nearly everything he owned, and now lives a life of solitude off the grid. Waldo seems genuinely happy surrounded by nothing but nature and his chickens until his new simplistic life is interrupted by his on again and off again ex-girlfriend Lorena (Morena Baccarin) asks for Waldo’s help on a new case.

Alistair Pinch (Mel Gibson) is a talented and accomplished actor whose drinking pushes him to erratic behavior. Pinch is the prime suspect when his wife is murdered. It’s up to Waldo to come out of retirement to prove Pinch’s innocence despite his reluctance to take the case.

Based on the 2018 crime, mystery novel of the same name, Last Looks is written by Howard Michael Gould (who wrote the book and the screenplay) and directed by Tim Kirkby (Action Point). The film attempts to be quirky and funny while offering its audience something intriguing and entertaining; something along the lines of Rian Johnson’s Brick, Shane Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, or David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake.

The biggest draw is that Waldo literally just gets his ass kicked the entire film. It’s repeatedly mentioned that Waldo is rusty in all aspects of investigating, so that likely plays a part of it. But he is knocked down and knocked out more times than you can count throughout the film. One of the only interesting aspects of the film is that Waldo is consistently given signs that he shouldn’t take this case. He’s threatened by gangsters, Pinch is arrested almost immediately after Waldo shows up in Los Angeles, and Lorena disappears without a trace. It may be as simple as Waldo still having a thing for Lorena, but you like to think that it’s also because she’d only ask him for help with a case that deserves his attention.

Last Looks is an odd film. The performances from Charlie Hunnam and Mel Gibson are relatively solid, but it’s as if they’re wasting all of their talent being trapped within the walls of a trampled and soggy paper bag. Waldo encounters all of these eccentric characters as you follow his investigation from his perspective, but it feels like it goes nowhere once it’s all said and done. In the grand scheme of things, Last Looks is boring. There’s no real humor here. The entire film can be summed up as watching Charlie Hunnam stand around and talk and get punched in the face consistently over the course of two hours.

There are some peculiar cameos in Last Looks. Method Man mostly appears in internet videos watched on a mobile phone while Dominic Monaghan shows up as a vape smoking lawyer only to never be seen again after one brief bike rack encounter. Jacob Scipio has a great introductory sequence as a gangster named Don Q who is troubled by deciding whether to get a Kindle or a Nook and then his character kind of fizzles out after that despite being featured prominently in the supporting cast. Don Q has a connection to Lorena that starts off as intriguing with a disappointing payoff.

Jayne White (Lucy Fry) is Gaby Pinch’s, Alistair’s daughter, preschool teacher and her inclusion in the story is a complete mess. White flirts with Waldo from the start, so you know where that’s going but her connection to Alistair and what that branches off into seems overly complicated for the grand scheme of things.

Last Looks is a mysterious stew that experiments with flavorful ingredients throughout its two hour duration. The film ultimately collapses under its own potential resulting in a bland and flavorless concoction. Every side character is just interesting enough to pique your interest and the film is written in a way where it seems like everyone is a suspect, but every potentially exciting aspect fizzles out before it has a chance to light up the sky; like a really expensive firecracker that turns out to be a dud. The film may be worth a look for Mel Gibson’s flashy, boisterous, and drunkenly absurd performance. The mystery in Last Looks is essentially comparable trying to discover the expiration date on a can of mystery meat that has lost its label; it may be life threatening but is otherwise a bore to experience by others.
  
Fatman (2020)
Fatman (2020)
2020 | Action, Comedy, Thriller
7
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) is a very spoiled, entitled, and sadistic young boy. He has the advantages of privilege and lives with his wealthy Grandmother but is rude and condescending to the staff. Billy is also very arrogant and petty to the point that a Runner Up finish at his private school Science Fair after a string of wins motivates him to hire a Hitman (Walton Goggins) to intimidate the victor to falsely admit to cheating so he can claim victory.

This is not the first time Billy has hired the Hitman and when he gets a lump of coal for Christmas from Santa (Mel Gibson) he is enraged and hires the Hitman to take out Santa.

Santa has his own issues as a decline in revenue has forced him and his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) to take on a project with the government to not only restore his fully stipend but to pay additional funds that will ensure financial stability.

The fact that the Hitman has his own reasons for having issues with Santa further motivates him to take the job and rushed north to face Santa on his own turf.

“Fatman” is a dark and entertaining new holiday entry that gives a contemporary take on Santa and his Elves as they must contend with the issues, politics, and changing world that face many companies.

The at times dark nature of the film is an interesting contrast to the usual overly sweet films that are commonplace this time of year and Gibson and Goggins backed by a strong supporting cast turn in memorable performances.

While not one for the kids; “Fatman” is a solid piece of entertainment and Eshom and Ian Nelms keep things moving at a steady pace and provide an interesting and contemporary look at Santa in the modern world and combine it with a story about finding a way through adversity.
  
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
1985 | Action, Sci-Fi
Where No Man Has Gone Before
Critics have said that this movie is best one out of the oringal three. That this one, is one of the best movies of all time. And im not sure why. It is a good movie, but that good no. The first one and the second one are the better ones. This one feels less action and more adventure. Also i felt board watching it. I almost feel alseep during it couple of times. I love the action in both the first and second one, this one had little to no action, and more adventure. I still like the post apocytpic setting, but im not sure if i will reccordmend watching it.

The plot: In the third of the "Mad Max" movies, Max (Mel Gibson) drifts into an evil town ruled by Turner. There he becomes a gladiator and gets dumped in the desert where he is rescued by a band of feral orphans who have been looking for help for years. When several of them take his appearance as a sign and go off into the desert, he follows them back to the town.

Like i said i not sure if i will recordmend it, i would recordmend the first and second one. This one has decent action, okay adventure and a nice send off for Max's journey.
  
Payback (1999)
Payback (1999)
1999 | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Get Ready To Root For The Bad Guy
Payback- is a intresting revenge action thriller. Maybe its me, but i fell like this movie is boring. Its good, but some what boring, like nothing going on. Also its kinda of confusing, again it might just be me, but i fell like its confusing as well. Like i said before its good, but in the end its both boring and confusing.

The plot: Porter (Mel Gibson) is a thief betrayed by both his wife, Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger), and his partner, Val (Gregg Henry), when he is shot in the back after a heist. Slowly, Porter recovers from his wounds and begins a search for Val, intent on recovering his share of the money they stole together. With the aid of prostitute Rosie (Maria Bello), Porter captures Val but still cannot find his cash. For this, Porter will have to challenge an imposing crime syndicate called the Outfit.

Although credited as director, Brian Helgeland's cut of the film was not the theatrical version released to audiences. After the end of principal photography, Helgeland's version was deemed too dark for the mainstream public. Following a script rewrite by Terry Hayes, director Helgeland was replaced by the production designer John Myhre, who reshot 30% of the film. The intent was to make the Porter character accessible. The film's tagline became: "Get Ready to Root for the Bad Guy." A potentially controversial scene between Porter and Lynn which arguably involves spousal abuse was excised and more plot elements were added to the third act. After 10 days of reshoots, a new opening scene and voiceover track also were added, and Kris Kristofferson walked on as a new villain.

The Director's Cut version features a female Bronson, that is never seen only heard over the phone voiced by Sally Kellerman, does not include the voice-over by Porter and several Bronson-related scenes. During their scuffle (which is longer than in the theatrical version and was the main source of controversy), Porter earlier tells Lynn that his picture with Rosie was taken before they met, thereby rendering her jealousy unjustified. This version has an entirely different, ambiguous ending where Porter is seriously wounded in a train station shootout and driven off by Rosie.

A June 4, 2012, look at "movies improved by directors' cuts" by The A.V. Club described Payback: Straight Up as "a marked improvement on the unrulier original.

Mel Gibson stated in a short interview released as a DVD extra that it "would've been ideal to shoot in black and white." He noted that "people want a color image" and that the actual film used a bleach bypass process to tint the film. In addition to this, the production design used muted shades of red, brown, and grey for costumes, sets, and cars for further effect.

Like i said its a good revenge action thriller but to me its both boring and confusing. Maybe i have to watch the directors cut.
  
What Men Want (2019)
What Men Want (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
What men want... but is it what moviegoers want?
In keeping with the growing trend of gender-swapping reboots, What Men Want is a re-envisioning of the classic rom-com, What Women Want, with Mel Gibson replaced with the charismatic Taraji P. Henson, and a toaster in the bathtub replaced by a drug-dealing psychic.

Yeah...


The premise remains the same: fate intervenes and gives a headstrong, intimidating woman who thinks she's doing a good job of making it in a man's world the power to hear men's thoughts... which quickly shows her she knows nothing at all.

This R-rated comedy has a few laughs, but falls into cringe territory more often than it needs to. It's predictable, which was to be expected, really, given the genre. However, I confess to being pleasantly surprised by it. Certainly not the best comedy I've seen by a long way, but on a par with the Baywatch remake in terms of the level of humour and the assumed target audience.

Taraji P. Henson is great in the lead role, with the supporting cast all doing a solid, if not a little routine job of backing her up. It's the kind of film you go into understanding what you're getting - a few laughs, a few cringes, a lot of inappropriate and suggestive themes and, ultimately, something that makes you forget the real world for a couple of hours. Nothing more, nothing less.

Overall, it's not bad, but it's far from great. This is something you watch on a Friday night when you've had a hard week and your brain needs a rest.