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Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Slow Going, but has its Moments
John Smith (Donald Glover) and Jane Smith (Maya Erskine) become Mr and Mrs Smith working for a Spy company as a (arranged) married couple who go on spy missions.
To be clear this Is not the Pitt/Jolie Smiths, but, in time, you will see certain similarities if you recall the Pitt/Jolie movie.
John and Jane admit to each other that they joined the Company because no one else would take them. They commit to a relationship with no romance, but when you get to Episode 2, you will see that falls apart.
In the beginning I enjoyed the banter between John and Jane. It was like boy meets girl and boy likes girl and it was fun seeing how they interacted with each other. They worked well going on spy type missions that the company mandated.
Yes, this is slow going and rightly so, but when you get to Episodes 6, 7 and 8 all changes. Ep 6 has them going to couples counselling; EP 7 has Jane finding out that John has been seeing someone else; and EP 8 bring everything to a head and it is here in EP 8 that you will vividly recall the Pitt/Jolie movie. Trust me.
Notables: Ron Pearlman as Toby Hellinger who they kidnap; Paul Dano as their neighbor; Wagner Moura as another John Smith; Parker Posey as another Jane Smith; And you will see Beverly Glover as Donald's real mother. (Donald Glover produced this movie)
Two things I had trouble with: 1. The sound quality was not good often as the characters often talked in low tones, and 2. We often see John or Jane looking at their phones for text messages and we see the screens, but we cannot make out the words. Not good. Bad direction here.
Yes, this is slow going and it had to be to capture the flavor of two people who needed to learn to trust each other in a very dangerous job.
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: There is a painting in their house of a naked man and woman.
Humor; Sometimes
Language: Yes.
Watched at: Amazon Prime Video. There are 8 Episodes.
Rating: B (7/10) 5 Feb 2024.
Everybody Loves Diamonds (2023)
Quite Enjoyable
This is loosely based upon a true story: The Antwerp Diamond Heist of 2003.
Leonardo Notarbartolo (Kim Rossi Stuart) a small time burglar finds a way to rob the Antwerp Diamond Center. He gathers a team to do this: Gianmarco Tognazzi as Ghigo, a friend and Alarm Specialist, Carlotta Antonelli as Sandra, a Lock Picking Specialist, Leonardo Lidi, as Alberto, and is Leonardo's brother and a Hacker.
The story will go back and forth between the Present and the Past and will show up as so many days before the Heist and so many days after the Heist. This gives all a good understanding of the characters thinking during these times.
Since this is based upon a true Heist in 2003 - (okay loosely) - it is noted that the loot of about $100 million in diamonds, gold, jewels etc was never recovered and remains missing to this day. All in all this is quite intriguing and you will learn some of the methods the Team used to gain access to the Diamond Center and confuse the authorities.
The instruments used in the robbery were put in bags to be disposed of. And it is here that an invoice was found in one of the bags in the woods, that showed Leonardo's name on it and Mertens (Johan Heldenbergh) the detective in charge of the investigation has Leonardo arrested. No, this is not over.
Notables: Anna Foglietta, as Anna, Leonardo's wife and who later joins the Team; Synnove Macody Lund as Judith, the CEO of the Diamond Center; Rupert Everett as John Lovegrove, the lawyer who acts on behalf of the people whose diamonds were stolen and he tries to convince Leonardo to talk and perhaps save his life and his wife's life.
If you want to learn more about the 2003 Heist
Go to Wikipedia and type in Antwerp Diamond Heist.
There are some twists and turns and one really big one at the end. Ha!
Violence: Not really. Sex: No. Nudity: No.
Humor: Some in places
Language: Yes.
Watched at: Amazon Prime Video. There are 8 Episodes.
Rating: A (9 of 10) 31 Jan 2024.
Role Play (2024)
A Good, but different kind of Assassin Story
Emma (Kaley Cuoco) and Dave (David Oyelowo) are happily married. Emma has a job consulting businesses and has to go out of town on many business trips or at least that is what husband Dave believes. They decide to spice up their marriage and do a role play at an upscale hotel.
Enter Bob Kellerman (Bill Nightly) who joins Emma at the bar as Dave is tied up in traffic. Bob knows exactly who Emma is and wants to make a partnership with her as they are birds of a feather so to speak.
The police want to know who killed Bob Kellerman. Dave is worried that he and Emma may be involved in something they shouldn't be. The police have a picture of all three at the bar. See?
Some have listed this as a comedy. I didn't see this as a comedy. I felt for Dave who takes long time to understand what is really happening in their marriage.
Notable: Connie Nielsen as Gwen Carver and she is the one who recruited Emma years ago and wants Emma to continue working for her.
No, this is not a comedy because something like this could have happened to some married people and one of them may have been an Assassin. (Really?) Hey, it could happen. Dave isn't given funny lines to let us know this is a comedy. No, he is scared stiff as his world is collapsing. A Comedy? Give me a break.
Okay, I liked this story, but the ending could have been better. Much, much better.
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: No.
Where Seen: Amazon Prime.
Rating: B (7 of 10) 16 Jan 2024.
The Burial (2023)
Entertaining
Inspired by true events
Jerry O'Keefe (Tommy Lees Jones) is in trouble. He owns several funeral parlors, but unfortunate investments and losses connected to his burial insurance contracts he needs to find a way to insure his legacy to hand down the business to his family when he goes. Also he is under potential suspension of his insurance license by state regulators. He makes a deal to sell three of this funeral parlors to the Ray Loewen Group run by Ray Loewen (Bill Camp), but that group hasn't signed the contract yet. Jerry decides to sue the Loewen Group and hires Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx) a personal accident lawyer who has never been involved in Contract Law cases.
This is billed as a drama and a comedy. I saw no comedy in here. It is all drama and pretty good, too. Some may consider the overacting by Jamie Foxx at times as comedy. To be fair his overacting is in line with his character's persona who acts larger than life and refers to himself often in the third person.
Notables: Mamoudou Athie as Hal, the young lawyer who finds the way to win Jerry's case; Pamela Reed as Annette, Jerry's wife; Amanda Warren as Gloria, Willie's wife; Jurnee Smollett as Mame Downes the high priced lawyer that the Loewen Group hires to go against Willie Gary; Alan Ruck as Mike Alread, Jerry's original lawyer and best friend.
As the story unfolded with some twists and turns I had no idea how this would turn out. The entire cast was spot on. Hal (Mamoudou Athie) the young lawyer should have been given more credit for his part.
This was inspired by true events. You will see the real Jerry O'Keefe and Wille Gary at the end of the movie.
Violence: No.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No
Humor: Some will probably see some.
Language: Yes, but very brief
Seen On: Prime Video
Rating: A (9/10) (15 October 2023)
The Covenant (2023)
Terrific Story
Master Sergeant John Kinley (Gyllenhaal) leads a team in Afghanistan to root out Taliban soldiers, explosives, and Taliban bomb makers. His original translator was recently killed and Ahmed (Dar Salim) is the new translator for Sgt Kinley and it takes a while for Sgt Kinley to trust Ahmed.
During a fight with the Taliban Sgt Kinley is taken prisoner and we find that Ahmed comes on the scene and kills all the Taliban. He sees Sgt Kinley is wounded and does his best to treat the wounds and tries to carry him or wheels Sgt Kinley in a cart back hundreds of Kilometers to the US lines at Bagram Air Base.
Once back in the United States, Sgt Kinley believes Ahmed and his family are due Visas to the United States as per an agreement the US govt has with Afghanistan Translators and vows to go back to Afghanistan to find Ahmed, who is now considered a folk hero for bringing Sgt Kinley to the US forces at Bagram. The Taliban are constantly looking for Ahmed who they consider a traitor because Ahmed used to work with the Taliban.
Notables: Johnny Lee Miller as Colonel Vokes, who was Sgt Kinley's OIC (Officer In Charge) in Afghanistan; Col Vokes was instrumental in getting Visas for Ahmed and his family; Emily Beecham as Caroline Kinley, Sgt Kinley's wife; Anthony Starr as Eddie Parker, who was able to produce the equipment and weaponry for Sgt Kinley on his trip back to Afghanistan to find Ahmed and to bring him and his family to the United States.
The story starts out with Sgt Kinley and his men going door to door in various towns looking for Taliban soldiers, explosives and they also tried to find out where the bomb makers were. Yes, it was sort of cat and mouse scenario.
I kept looking for a line that said The Covenant was based upon a true story, but it is not. At the end of the movie, why did the screen show pictures of the real "Sgt Kinley and Ahmed" is beyond me. That is why I thought it was a true story. There was also a statement that said a little while later the United States left Afghanistan and the Taliban took over Bagram Air Base.
Violence Yes.
Sex: No
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language Yes, but not a lot
Rating: A (9/10)
John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
Worth the Wait
John Wick (Keanu Reeves) is still on the run from Assassins of the High Table because he committed the most serious crime of killing a fellow Assassin on the grounds of the Continental Hotel, a sanctuary place for members who are Assassins. Because that killing John Wick is persona non-grata and there is a bounty on his head that the other Assassins want to collect for killing John Wick.
Yes, John Wick does have few friends who are not out to kill him: Charon (Lance Riddick) the Concierge of the Continental Hotel, Winston (Ian McShane) the Manager of the Continental Hotel, and the Bowery King Laurence Fishburne.
I just finished watching John Wick, Chapter 4 and I am exhausted. There are tons of fighting: hand to hand, shootings resulting in killings, stunts I have never seen in other action movies, car crashes that not only go into buildings and other vehicles, but also into people. Who wouldn't be exhausted?
The actors who tried to kill John Wick had to be in tip top shape and that also applies to Kenau Reeves, too.
Yes, all the fight scenes, shooting scenes, car scenes etc, were in slow motion and then the director speeded up the film so it looked like they were all done at one time in an instant. Still, it was unbelievable. Not sure how much CGI was used, but WOW! You see why I was exhausted? You will be too. Trust me.
The question for John Wick it this: how to become a free man and not be hunted down by all the Assassins in the High Table who will get money for killing him. Will he find a way?
Notables: Chidi (Marko Zaror) who with his men invade the Continental Hotel and want John Wick turned over to him; The Marquis (Bill Skarsgard)_who is the head of the High Table and wants John Wick dead and keeps upping the bounty to get that done; Caine (Donnie Yen) a Blind Assassin who is friendly with John Wick, but sides with the Marquis; Tracker (Shamier Anderson) who is hired by the Marquis to hunt down and kill John Wick; and he also known as Mr. Nobody with his vicious dog who goes after anyone Tracker wants and he is very obedient; the Elder (George Georiou), who states the rules The High Table members and John Wick must adhere to; Shimazu (Hiroyuki Sanada) the Manager of the Continental Hotel in Japan; and Mia (Aimee Kwan), Caine's daughter.
The music throughout was very good. A toe-tapper at times.
In the Japanese Continental Hotel we see numerous glass displays and yet with all the bullets flying around only two displays are it by them (hmmm.....), another two are crashed by people flung into them.
I did read that Keanu Reeves did give all the actors who he "killed" as John Wick a generous gift.
Violence: Yes, of course. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Humor: In places.
Language: Yes, but not too much.
Rating: A (10/10) (10 August 2023)
Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
A Passive Solution to Being Given Wishes
On a business trip to Istanbul, Academic Narratologist - a student of stories - Alithea (Swinton) opens a bottle she liked in a shop and at the hotel room opens it and a Djinn (read Genie)(Elba) appears. He tells her she has 3-wishes he will grant her and once done he will finally free to live as a Djinn should. To convince her of all he says, he tells her many stories of his past 3000 years and what happened to others he granted wishes to.. She listens but is skeptical.
The stories go back to the time of Queen of Sheba, and they really don't do anything to convince us or Alithea what he is saying is true. However with the passage of time she does become convinced he is telling the truth. Mostly tired of the lonely life she lives one of her wishes is for him to love her and she to love him. It is granted and off they go to England.
The real problem with this movie is that a lonely Academic is chosen for this story. We were looking of a hot babe (or someone else) to open the bottle and release the Genie, um the Djinn. Didn't happen. So this is what we get. Truth be told the beginning of this story was quite good and the CGI seen was the Djinn out of the bottle and the dialogues between the two were quite good until they weren't. We did see some CGI within the stories the Djinn told.
Violence: Yes, in the stories told.
Sex: Yes.
Nudity: Yes.
Humor. No.
Language: No.
Rating: C.(5/10) 6 June 2023.
Jack Ryan (2018)
Season 3 Very long but Excellent
It is very long, sometimes confusing because we are not sure who are the good
guys and the bad guys, but stay with it as it will resolve itself in time. Too many
scenes are shot in the dark and it was hard to see what was happening. And yes, we
do encounter many actors mumbling their lines. Too many sub plots and not sure how
important they are.
I liked that the Russians spoke English so we could really understand what they are all
about and we didn't have to rely on sub titles.
If the story followed Jack most of the time I think we would have understood better what
was going on, but that was not the case and should have been. Toward the end we did
follow Jack and we were better informed.
The real surprise in here we see a Russian Intelligence agent helping Ryan and he turns out to
be the real hero. I did not like the last scene when he was in his apartment and a Russian Agent
Escorts him out of the building. Kind of confusing, I thought.
We have to keep in mind that Jack Ryan is an Analyst, but in here he becomes an action
hero or sorts.
Over all not bad, but could have been cut down quite a bit without losing anything.
The story covered too many aspects with the Russians, Czech president, FBI, CIA and it was
here that gave rise to too many sub plots.
The Whale (2022)
Powerful
Charlie (Brendan Frazer) is obese, okay a whale or as big as a whale. He married Mary (Samantha Morton) 17-yrs ago and they had a kid Ellie (Sadie Sink). When Ellie was 8-yrs old Charlie left them for a student he fell in love with, named Allen. Ellie, now 17-yrs old, visits Charlie and tells him he is disgusting and wants nothing to do with him. Charlie wants to reconnect with her and makes a deal with Ellie to help her with her school work. And he believes she is a good honest writer.
When Charlie thought he was dying he gets Thomas (Ty Simpkins) to read a paragraph on a piece of paper, the paragraph was the beginning review of Herman Melville's Moby Dick. Thomas reads it aloud and later when Charlie calms down he tells Thomas he really though he was dying and wanted to hear that paragraph once more before dying.
The rest of the movie has Ellie and Charlie going at it and each trying to be as honest as they can be to each other. No punches are pulled by Ellie. Ellie is really angry for Charlie abandoning her when she needed him the most and because of that she hates everyone and everything.
Charlie says the one thing right with his life was Ellie. And later he learns that Ellie did help Thomas and he says people are not capable of not caring and there is more to Ellie than she knows.
Charlie believes that Ellie could become a very good writer for he saw complete honesty in her writing and proof of that was found in that paragraph that Thomas read to Charlie as it was Ellie's review.
Notables: Hong Chau as Liz, who acts as a nurse for Charlie; Ty Simpkins as Thomas who says he is a missionary; Samantha Morton as Mary, Charlie's former wife; Jacey Sink as young Ellie.
In many ways this was very hard to watch. Brendan Fraser did a very courageous thing starring as Charlie. Word is he goes to the gym to lose the weight as he wants to do it the right way. And who knows: George of the Jungle may live again......................
Violence: No.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: Yes.
Rating: A (9/10)
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A Man Called Otto (2022)
A Touching Story about a Curmudgeon
Otto (Tom Hanks) is a grumpy old man in his 60s who lost his wife Sonya (Rachel Keller) 6-months ago and now feels he is lost and wants to be with her on the other side. He attempts suicide and fails each time either by overlooking something needed or by interruption by neighbors. He meets Marisol (Mariana Trevino) who moved into the neighborhood with husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo). Otto meets his match with Marisol.
Otto Is a retired engineer, who was retired early and not to his liking. Yes, he is grumpy but you will notice that he is usually right about his complaints with others he calls Idiots. He wants to be left alone, but his neighbors keep asking him for help and he gives it.
The most touching moments are when Otto reflects on his younger days when he (played by Truman Hanks) meets Sonya on a train, has a dinner with her, asks her to marry him, visits Niagara Falls with her and has a baby with her. Those moments show an all encompassing love. Have a box of Kleenex nearby when you watch these scenes.
Notables: Cameron Britton as Jimmy, an exercise nut; Mack Bayda as Malcolm a former student of Sonya; Peter Lawson Jones as Reuben,a one-time good friend of Otto and husband of Anita; Juanita Jennings as Anita, who takes care of Reuban and his Illness;
You will see that Otto becomes a regular person and not so grumpy when he confides with Marisol about his life with Sonya, and becomes a Curmudgeon no more.
Violence: No
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Some at times
Language: No
Rating: A (9/10)
Plane (2023)
Very Entertaining
On Trailblazer Flight 119, Pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) encounters a lightning strike in a heavy storm and puts his plane down on a dirt road on an island belonging to the Philippine government. Not knowing exactly where they are Brodie decides to follow the road and find help and hopefully a radio. He takes with him Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter), who is a prisoner guarded by an RCMP officer (Otis Winston), who died during the landing. However, the rebels led by Datu (Evan Dane Taylor) capture the remaining passengers and take them to the rebel compound. It is up to Brodie and Gaspare to rescue the passengers. This won't be easy.
Notables: Daniella Pineda as Bonnie, the Chief Flight Attendant; Yosen An as Samuel Dele the Co pilot; Tony Goldwyn as Scarsdale, the owner of the Trailblazer Airline, who is making a plan to rescue the passengers of Flight 119; Paul Ben-Victor as Tony an airline executive also helping to rescue the passengers. Brodie's daughter Daniel is not credited.
This is very entertaining with good pacing and dialogues. You will notice that the title is Plane, and that means we will see it do more toward the end of the movie. When the time comes you will find yourself in your chair urging the plane to go higher and higher. I know I did. Such fun.
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: Some, but brief
Rating: A (8/10)
The Locksmith (2023)
Very Good Thriller
Miller Graham (Ryan Phillippe) is released from Prison after 10-yrs for a crime he did commit with his best friend Kevin (George Akram). He wants to go straight and do right by his daughter Lindsay (Madeleine Guilbot). However, Kevin's sister April (Gabriela Quezada) wants Miller to help her get out of the crutches of Real Estate bad guy Garrett Field (Charlie Weber) who runs girls and abuses them.
This will keep you on the edge of your seat as you watch Miller decide what to do. His friend Frank (Ving Rhames) who owns a Locksmith shop cautions Miller not to get involved, but Miller will. You knew that, right?
Notables: Kate Bosworth as Detective Beth Fisher, who is also the former fiancé of Miller; Tom Wright as Chief Stone; Jeffrey Nordling as Lieutenant Zwick who originally set Miller up 10-yrs ago; Noel Gugliemi as Det Perez, a bad cop under Lt Zwick; Bourke Floyd as bad cop Jones also under Lt Zwick; Kaylee Bryant as Tanya, friend of April; and Livia Trevino as Sharon, Miller's Parole Officer.
This has very good pacing and for a while as you watch Miller you have no idea how he is going to get out of all this. There are a few twists and turns to make things more interesting. And, yes, you hope there are some good cops in here.
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Language: Yes, brief.
Humor: No
Rating: B (7/10)
The Old Way (2023)
Touching Western Story, sort of
One time hardened gun slinger Colton Briggs (Nicolas Cage) goes after the men who killed his wife Ruth (Kerry Knuppe) when he was not at the ranch. Top bad guy James McCallister (Noah Le Gros) knows about the Gun Slinger Colton Briggs.
Finally, a Western no matter who is in it. Nicolas Cage? Why Not. Giddi-up.
Briggs burns his house and barn and takes his daughter Brooke (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) with him. They meet up with Marshal Jarrett,(Nick Searcy) and tie him and his deputies up and take their horses. They learn from the Marshal the name of James McCallister.
In Mexico, Briggs and Brooke meet up with McCallister and his men.
Notables: all men who ride with McCallister: Dean Armstrong as Clark; Abraham Benrubi as Big Mike; and Clint Howard as Eustice.
Yes, the is slow going, but you want it that way. You will see why in time.
Do you know what the OLD Way is? Stay tuned.
Now we know we follow Briggs and his story to get the men who killed Ruth, but look again and look at Brooke, his daughter. I see it as her story too. Watch her and the questions she asks and why she cannot cry. She does hear Briggs tell her why he never cried. Also watch her expressions when Briggs talks to her and later when McCallister talks to her. She is 12-yrs old going on 22. This is a girl who has tremendous talent. Kudos!
Not sure there is enough in here to get the Nicolas Cage Impersonators in a tizzy, but what do I know?. Let's just say this Nicolas Cage as a once hardened gun slinger named Colton Briggs did a fantastic job. Kudos. Finally, a Western. Giddi up!
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Language: Soft stuff only.
Humor: No.
Rating: B (7/10)
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On the Line (2022)
Watchable
It must be mentioned in the beginning that the music that opened the movie is totally uncalled for and extremely annoying.
Shock jock radio host Elvis (Mel Gibson) takes a call from someone named Gary who threatens to expose Elvis' sexual activities and also threatens to kill his family if Elvis lies to him. Gary also claims Elvis caused the death of a friend of his who was rejected by Elvis.to work for him at the radio station.
Elvis does everything Gary demands and is beside himself to resolve unexpected caller demands. The police are called to Elvis' home where Gary is holding Elvis' wife and daughter hostage.
Later it is determined that Gary is in the radio station building and threatens to blow it all up if Elvis continues to lie to him. Elvis sees some of the bombs and believes Gary.
Notables: William Mosely as Dylan, a British newcomer to the Elvis show Alia Seror-O'Neilll as Mary, Elvis' producer; Nancy Tate as Olivia, Elvis' boss; Yann Bean as Bruce the SWAT Officer; and Paul Spera as Gary.
Yes, this is somewhat annoying and yes, barely watchable. Is Mel Gibson as Elvis overacting or displaying real emotions and is very scared and fearful of what is happening, but needs to find a way to save his family?
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: Yes, throughout.
Rating: C (5/10)
Ticket to Paradise (2022)
Better Than Expected
Dave (George Clooney) and Georgia (Julia Roberts) Cotton are divorced, but were married for 5-yres. Dave likes to say it was 24 years as the aftermath after the 5-year counted. They hear from their daughter, Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) living in Bali and says she is going to marry a Gede (Maxime Boutier) a Bali Islander who has a seaweed business. Dave and Georgia go to Bali to stop the wedding. Dave and Georgia give a blessing to Lily and Gedde but plan to sabotage the wedding.
I wasn't sure I would like this movie, but in the beginning both Dave and Georgia don't like each other and sniped at each other all the time and that reminded me of the Bickersons Radio show with Don Ameche and Frances Langford back in the day. Look it up on Your Tube. It's quite good.
The bickering between them was quite good, and sometimes funny and always spot on and I was hooked.
All in all the acting, dialogues, bickering and scenery were all very good
Notables: Billie Lourd as Wren, Lily's girlfriend from College; Lucas Bravo as Paul, an airline pilot who is in love with Georgia.
Julia Roberts is always good and needs to make more movies. Newcomer Kaitlyn Dever did a very good job and I am sure we will see her often again.
I believe George Clooney is a good, if not a great actor. You can see he is into his role be it a comedy or a drama. I do hope that we see more of him in dramas. Just my opinion.
Yes, this one surprised me and I found it to be quite good as the dialogues made the case. Kudos.
Violence: No.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Yes.
Language: No.
Rating: B.
Savage Salvation (2022)
Cringe-worthy Thriller
Ruby Red (Willa Fitzgerald) and Shelby John (Jack Huston) get engaged and want to get clean of the drugs they were taking. Ruby Red wants to be baptized, too, and start life clean and free. But a drug dealer gets to Ruby Red. Shelby is beside himself and goes to kill all the drug dealers. Sheriff Church (Robert DeNiro and his deputy need to stop this killing spree.
Probably Bruce Willis should have played the Sheriff as DeNiro's performance looked a lot like a Wills slow walking gig in this low budget story. DeNiro had very little to do except near the end when he confronts Shelby with a gun.
No, most of the story is all Ruby Red and Shelby and later mostly Shelby as he goes gunning for drug dealers. A kind of surprising tidbit is when the movie is all Ruby Red and Shelby, we really didn't care for either of them. Whose fault is that? Yes, we wanted them to get clean of drugs, but when they were going through the withdrawals we just wanted those scenes to be over with and they went on for too long a time.
Directors these days are finding more brutal ways of killing and torturing people and this promotes unease in my wanting to watch an entertaining story. Cringe-worthy is a good word watching this movie.
Notables: John Malkovich as Peter, a supporter of the Church, but there is more to Peter as you will see; Clay Wilcox as Darius, a drug dealer; Quavo as Coyote as a drug runner.
This is watchable especially if you FF thru the killing and torturer scenes. Maybe this would have been better if the Sheriff didn't know that Shelby was the one killing drug dealers, but then again everyone knows everyone in a small town such as this was. (4/10)
Violence: Yes
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: Yes.
Rating: C.
Poker Face (2022)
takes a long while to get going
Billionaire Jake Foley (Russell Crowe) invites 4 of his oldest friends since boyhood to a high stakes poker game hoping that they will reveal their secrets to him as he felt betrayed by them in the past. He offers Alex (Aden Young), Mike (Liam Hemsworth), and Paul (Steve Bastoni) and Andrew (RZA) his lawyer the luxury cars they arrived in or $5-mllion in chips to play Texas Hold 'Em.
Before the invite Jake had visited a Shaman (Jack Thompson) who had given him a truth serum of sorts and taken in small doses the truth will be revealed, but lethal in larger doses. To get them started jake tells them he poisoned them, but not in a lethal way, but in a reveal of secrets kind of way, and Jake reveals that he is terminally ill with pancreatic cancer. And that Shaman helped him with his exit.
We don't see much of the game as thieves led by Victor (Paul Tassone) enter the house intent on stealing priceless paintings hanging on Jake's walls. From a panic room Jake and friends watch the thieves.
Notables: Bad guy Victor played by Paul Tassone did quite a bit of overacting in here; Jake's second wife Nicole played by Brooke Satchwell; and Jake's daughter Rebecca played by Molly Grace.
But, yes, there is a "but" this may well have played better if we could clearly understand the Aussie accents as all the friends and Victor and his gang were all Aussies. The Director should have known the dialogues and banter suffered because of the unintelligible accents at times. Had They talked slower it may have helped, but they talked too fast. Bummer.
I kept reading that Jake's house was a mansion. I didn't see a mansion. I saw a one-story layout that was loaded with latest technology. Kind of nice, but a mansion? Where did they get that idea?
I had no idea what was going on for the first 30-minutes or so. A thriller? Hardly. Okay, maybe the thieves shooting up the place? Hmmm....... This didn't really look like too much of a story. The title was unconvincing, too. Russsell Crowe should stick to acting, but he was one of the writers of this, and he also directed it, too. (3/10)
Violence; Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: Yes.
Rating: D.
Emily the Criminal (2022)
Most Engaging
Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is drowning in debt, has a DUI from college, an arrest record for assault. She was in college as an art student for portrait drawings and had hoped for an illustrator job in an ad agency. She took non-descript jobs and it's not enough to pay bills. A colleague at work tells her how she can make a lot of money and gives her a telephone number to call.
Here she meets Youcef (Theo Rossi) who is into credit cards scams. He gives Emily fake credit card and a fake license to buy things that she gives to Youcef to sell on the black market. She becomes so good at it that Youcef gives her more responsibility.
Notables: Jonathan Avigdori as Youcef's brother Khalil who along with another cousin tells Youcef they do not trust Emily; Sheila Corsi as Theo's mother Luna; Magalyn Echikunuske as Liz, Emily's friend from college who tells Emily she will get her a job at the ad agency and Emily is all for it but the problem is that Liz didn't tell Emily all about the job.
We liked Aubrey Plaza as Emily although I had never seen her in other movies or whatever. Her character as Emily struck me as a person who gets in deep and when trouble arises (and it does) she has no choice but to react in a violent way (and she does).
The real winner in here is Theo Rossi as Youcef. He is the one you keep your eyes on to be sure he does right by Emily. He is fully charismatic and steals most scenes. You keep hoping Emily will do the right thing and will get that job at an ad agency or some such.
This is a good story about something we hardly ever see and now we have. The production was flawless and the pacing keeps you engaged, because you want Emily to do good and not become more of a criminal. Will That happen? Let's find out. (9/10)
Violence: Yes
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Not really, but some may see something in that. I didn't
Language: Yes
Rating: A.
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
What a Great Movie
US Navy Captain, Peter Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is selected to rejoin the US Navy Fighter Weapons School - top Gun, but not to fly missions, but instead to teach elite pilots to fly a mission to bomb an unsanctioned Uranium enrichment plant in enemy territory.
This movie more that lives up the hype about the sequel to the Top Gun movie of years ago. It's a movie worth keeping. Hoo Rah!! (hey, that's Marine talk)
Some have said that it is best to watch this movie in a theater, but if you have a large TV screen 50" or more you are good to go and you will enjoy it just as if you were in a theater.
Of course, there are some bumps in the road. Admiral Cyclone Simpson (John Hamm) wants to relieve Maverick of the job, but Maverick has a Guardian Angel in Admiral Tom the Iceman Kazansky (Val Kilmer) who rules the roost and Maverick stays. One other point of contention is Rooster: Lt. Bradshaw (Miles Teller) who accuses Maverick of pulling his papers at the Academy and messing up his career. This Rooster is the son of the Rooster, who flew with Maverick back in the day.
Notables: Jennifer Connelly as Penny, Maverick's love interest; Lyliana Wray as Amelia;, Penny's daughter; Ed Harris as Rear Adm the Hammer Cain; Charles Parnell as Adm Bates; Bashir Salahuddin as Hondo.
The rest are all Navy Lieutenants and the team Maverick must teach. Monica Barbro as Phoenix; Lewis Pullman as Bob - no handle; Jay Ellis as Payback; Danny Ramirez as Fanboy; Glen Powel as Hangman; Greg Tarzan Davis as Coyote; Jack Schumacher s Omaha; Manny Jacinto as Fritz; Kara Wang as Halo, and, of course, Lt. Bradshaw as Rooster played by Miles Teller.
Oh, at the end of the movie when Maverick and Penny ride in the P51, that is Tom Cruise's plane and he is an accomplished pilot.
The entire cast was perfect and the CGI is simply spectacular.
Very, very enjoyable and entertaining and you wish more movies were like this. Oh, well we can hope. (10.10)
Violence: Plane dog fights, bombs hitting and explosions.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: We do hear some good lines.
Language: Mostly soft stuff, but one F-bomb was heard near the end of the movie
during a dog fight.
Rating: A.
Bullet Train (2022)
Too Much Violence, Killing and Gore
Five Assassins board a train to deliver a silver attaché case to its owner.
Many will see the name Brad Pitt and think they will see a pretty good movie.
Well, if those people like way too much violence and gore go on all the time, this is for them. Not for me.
I will admit I did fall asleep many times when the violence came on which was all the time and same with the gore, which was really bloody.
There is no point telling more about the story. I have never watched a movie with so much killing, violence and gore until this one. And yes, I did sleep through a lot of that. And....... for me, that was the good news.
So you have been warned. I just hope there are no future movies like this one with one with way too much violence and gore. (1/10(
Violence, killing and gore: Non Stop
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: No.
Language: Yes.
Rating: F.
Bandit (2022)
Very Enjoyable
This is based upon a true story
Very Enjoyable
In 1985 Gilbert Galvan Jr (Josh Duhamel) escapes from a minimum security prison and heads to Canada, where he tries to get a job and pays a homeless man for his identity to get a job and realizes that he would get more money by robbing banks. The homeless man's identity is Robert Whitman and Gilbert is now Robert Whiteman. Robert notices the banks in Canada don't use much security and robbing them is an easy task as he uses disguises and is very friendly with the bank clerks and there is never any violence.
Detective Snydes (Nestor Carbonell) notices all the bank robberies and is set to catch Robert, but he doesn't know who he is. Det Snydes is also after Tommy (Mel Gibson) who runs a nightclub with pole dancing girls and Det Snydes believes Tommy is into criminal activities but can't prove it. Robert meets Tommy who becomes a partner and stakes him for the robberies.
Notables: A very pretty Elisha Cuthbert as Andrea, Robert's love interest, but tells her he is a security representative and needs to fly all over to advise various companies.
The newspapers in Canada called him the Bandit, and Robert Knuckle used the title The Flying Bandit in his book.
There are some surprises along the way and you will be curious to find out what is coming next.
This is a fun movie and laughs are spread around as Robert goes on robbing banks. We see the first one Robert does and the clerk gives out the money, but Robert had forgotten to bring a bag for the money and the clerk gives Robert a bag to help out.
Very Enjoyable story and cast. (9/10)
At the end of the movie you will see the real Gilbert Galvan, Jr and what happened to the major players.
Violence: No.
Sex: No.
Nudity: Yes, briefly the pole dancing girls.
Humor: Yes, at times
Language: Yes, maybe too much in the beginning.
Rating: A.
Elvis (2022)
Very Good Outline of Elvis Presley Life Story
We see the story, at times, from the perspective of Col Tom Parker (Tom Hanks) as he is the narrator most of the time, and this is probably the first time we have seen this kind of story. Col Parker says he is a promoter and no matter what the health of Elvis is, he finds a way to get a doctor to revive Elvis for an up-coming show. He is always all about the money as you will see.
I found it difficult to see Tom Hanks in Col Parker as the prosthetics blurred Hanks' face. Still Tom Hanks is very good as Col Tom Parker. Best supporting actor? Hmmmm........maybe.
I do not know if Austin Butler actually sang the Elvis songs, but however it was done all of it worked. The gyrations Butler performed were excellent and we were reminded of the real Elvis and his gyrations. Butler has good acing ability too. Kudos all around.
We will see how Elvis was portrayed negatively in the general public and it didn't look good for Elvis to continue his singing career. So Col Tom Parker decided to have Elvis enter the US Army and hopefully, he would come back as the All American Boy. And that was the good outcome for Elvis, and of course, for Col Tom Parker.
I say this is an outline of Elvis' life and it continually hit the high spots pointed out by Col Tom Parker. There was so much in Elvis' life that only an outline would do a complete job for the limited time for a movie. Was somewhat disappointed in that the Jordanaires, Elvis's first back-up group wasn't mentioned. Was waiting for the Elvis Special in Hawaii. Wasn't shown. Bummer.
Notables: Olivia DeJonge as Priscella, Elvis's wife; Helen Thompson as Gladys, Elvis's mother; Richard Roxburgh as Vernon, Elvis's father; David Wenham as Hank Snow; Alton Mason as Little Richard; Chaydon Jay as the young Elvis.
At the end we see Elvis sitting at a piano singing one of his last songs. This was a very touching moment for we Elvis fans. And it kind of reminded me of the hoax of a dentist, who said he was caring for Elvis and would soon make an appearance. Never happened. Like I said a hoax. Sad. Cruel too.
After Elvis died (1977) a book came out titled: Elvis is dead and I don't feel too good myself. As Elvis fans we all probably felt that way, too.
As for the Elvis music, it was, of course, the best ever and it still is. This movie is thoroughly enjoyable. (10/10)
Violence: Not really
Sex; No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Some, at times
Language: Brief, but no hard stuff
Rating: A.
Paradise Highway (2022)
Worth Watching
Sally (Juliette Binoche) is a trucker who is asked to transport a package across state lines. She is very surprised to learn the package is a young girl, Leila (Hala Finely) who is condemned to a sex trafficking ring. Sally is not happy with taking the girl. Later the problem is that Leila kills the man she was supposed to meet and now Sally and Leila need to keep an eye out for the two smugglers Claire (Christine Deidel0 and Terrence (Walker Babington) and let's not forget the FBI led by Sterling (Cameron Monaghan) and Gerrick (Morgan Freeman) who got onto the case due to the murdered man. Sterling likes to think he is in charge and not Gerrick's assistant, but it doesn't work that way as you will see. Sterling likes to call Gerrick an A-Hole.
Sally is also concerned about her brother Dennis (Frank Grillo) who is about to be released from prison and the concern Sally and Frank have is that they need each other since they had non-supportive parents.
The rest of the movie has Sally and Leila keeping ahead of the FBI and the smugglers who still want the girl. And Sally, at times, uses her fellow female truckers to run interference to confuse the FBI who think they have Sally dead to right. To be fair the FBI now just want to make sure the girl is safe.
Notables: Veronica Ferres as Rose, a trucker; Jwaundace Candece as Tesia, a trucker; Jackie Dallas as Deborah, a trucker.
A special shout out goes to Hala Finely who gives a fine performance as Leila the young girl wanted by the Sex traffickers, and who comes of age quickly and learns to trust those who want to keep her safe. She becomes the adult When she helps a drunken Sally escape harm.
This is slow moving but it needed to be. We do get a superficial glimpse into how young girls are treated before being condemned to sex traffickers. Slow moving but riveting because you never know what will happened next. (7/10)
Violence: Yes
Sex; No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Not really
Language; Yes
Rating: B.
Rampage (2018)
Very Entertaining
The company Energy owns a space station and is conducting animal experiments under CEO Claire Wyden (Malin Ackerman) with her brother Brett (Jake Lacy). The objective is to weaponize these animals via gene manipulation for the government and make big bucks in the process.
Then a rat gets infected and mutates and grows many times its size and wrecks havoc on the station and the Station blows up and the debris is scattered in the San Diego area.
At the San Diego Wildlife Sanctuary George, a silverback gorilla, is infected from the debris and grows many times his size and escapes. Other animals are infected too and CEO Claire needs them to come to Chicago where she is so her company can continue the gene manipulations for the government.
Davis (Dwayne Johnson) a Primatologist, had taught George some hand signals to communicate with him, but since the infection George cannot respond and is completely out of control.
Davis aligns himself with Dr. Caldwell (Naomi Harris) who had once worked for Energy and she believes she can control the animals with the antidote somewhere in the company.
The onslaught of the oversized animals in Chicago is totally unbelievable and the CGI shows all the damage the animals can do. Let's hope this never happens in real life. More than scary.
Notable: Jeffery Dean Morgan as Harvey Russell a government Agent from we are not sure where he is from, but he uses the OGA designation (Other Government Agency) and he eventually helps Davis and Dr. Caldwell.
This was very entertaining and may be better than Jurassic Park. (9/10)
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity: No.
Humor: Yes, at times
Language: believe only one F-bomb was heard, but mostly small stuff
Rating: A.
Samaritan (2022)
Enjoyable, Satisfying
20 years ago in Granite City super-hero vigilante Samaritan (Stallone) was reported dead in the fire in his battle with his evil twin Nemesis. Still many believed he was still alive. Young Sam (Javon Wanna Walton) believes he saw Samaritan hiding in plain sight. When he confronts Samaritan he is told his name is Joe Smith and he collects garbage. When Sam witnesses a car hitting Joe Smith he is convinced that he is Samaritan as Joe is still alive.
Bad guy gang leader Cyrus (Pilou Asbaek) finds Nemesis' hammer and decides to complete Nemesis' mission to create anarchy and chaos. He discovers that Samaritan is still alive and wants to kill him.
From this point on we see extreme hand to hand fighting with Samaritan and Cyrus' men. The CGI in these fights are almost unbelievable as we see men being twisted into shapes we have never seen before. Really brutal and we hope no human beings were hurt in the making of this movie.
The rest of the movie is one big battle with the forces of good via Samaritan and evil. We do see Samaritan being bombarded with bullets that seem to have no effect on him. This was not addressed anywhere in the movie. Did they all miss with machine guns? Hardly.
Notables: Dascha Polanco as Tiffany, Sam's mother; Sophia Tatum as Sil, Cyrus' girlfriend; Moises Arias as Reza, who bullies Sam; Martin Starr as Albert, who runs a book store and doesn't believe Sam when told he knows Samaritan Is alive; Aria Seymore as the little girl at the end of the movie who tells everyone Samaritan saved her life.
For some like me, the violence against Evil is like a big relief and we (okay I) found the violence against evil satisfying. Stallone's look gave us (okay me) confidence he could handle anything that came his way. Young Walton as Sam played an excellent part of a boy who wanted to believe Samaritan was still alive.
I found this movie very satisfying (9/10)
Violence: Yes.
Sex: No.
Nudity No.
Humor: Not really
Language: One f-bomb was heard. Small stuff briefly the rest of the way.
On: Prime Video
Rating: A.