THE GENTLEMEN Review

Given my 1987 born ass has always been a fan of writer/director Guy Ritchie's (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, RocknRolla) post-Tarantino style that pummels you with said style until you are essentially forced by submission into appreciating it one wouldn't be wrong in recognizing that Ritchie has strayed from that which made him a star in the late nineties/early aughts as his most recent, studio-centric efforts (King Arthur and Aladdin) have not only leaned toward the more conventional in their style, but also in their storytelling. 2015's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was our first glimpse at the next step in Ritchie's evolution as it was meant to be (no, I didn't see Revolver, but have heard terrible, terrible things) delivering an action/spy thriller very much in line with the attitude of his earlier work while possessing a more refined, more finessed outward style. If the Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law Sherlock Holmes films were the apex of early Ritchie style with a big studio mentality then The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was Ritchie evolving before our eyes and taking it a couple of steps further than he needed to just to ensure us he was in fact maturing. With his return to form as it were though, Ritchie's The Gentlemen finds the filmmaker striking the best balance yet between his past and his contemporary status among his contemporaries. A more subdued and self-aware English gangster romp than his first few features, The Gentlemen compiles many of Ritchie's most recognizable tropes including classic English geezer names and clever overlapping narratives, but most importantly it retains the sense of fun those early films were regarded for as The Gentlemen's pomp and wit are at full exposure more so in the characters than they are anything having to do with the double-crossing, drug-dealing plot we've seen and heard countless times before.

FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW Review

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a movie where, in the breadth of a single scene, we are witness to a character stating that, "humanity's hate for itself is greater than its self-preservation" alongside another piece of dialogue that goes something like, "genocide, smenocide." This is to say that Hobbs & Shaw very much knows what it wants to be with the question being if by the end of its mammoth two hour and seventeen minute runtime it actually has become what it wanted to be. One might interpret these two opposing lines of dialogue (spoken by the same character, I might add) for a film that wants to have its cake and eat it too by being both a serious action film that in fact takes itself seriously while injecting consistent moments of humor with the obvious outcome being that the latter then also consistently undermines the former, but what sets Hobbs & Shaw apart from its Fast & Furious brethren is that, from the get-go, it's apparent this thing doesn't take itself serious at all-in any regard-and so, when a character does begin spouting philosophical verbiage as Idris Elba's Brixton Lore does from time to time he does it with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. It only seems natural this would be the case in a movie where both Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham play what are more or less heightened versions of their own public personas whilst The Rock takes down a helicopter with his bare hands and Statham shows off his Wing Chun kung fu, karate and kickboxing skills to the extent that if he and director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) don't team-up for a martial arts-heavy film series to jump-start the next phase of Statham's career I will be sorely disappointed. As the ninth film in the series, but the first spin-off it only feels like the natural evolution for Hobbs & Shaw to be as outlandish and self-aware as it is and in following through on these instincts in every situation and not attempting to get too caught-up in plot, basing anything in anything resembling reality, or details such as logic and physics Leitch and his crew end up delivering exactly what audiences are looking for from this type of summer blockbuster. Keeping a keen eye on character and an even tone with the humor and its balance with the legit action Hobbs & Shaw maintains the emphasis on character being most important as that's what brought us here in the first place while the delivery of tight fight choreography and colossal action set pieces is what convinces us that not only should we continue to care about and invest in these characters, but that the creative forces behind the scenes care about them too...and that's ultimately what allows Hobbs & Shaw to succeed at becoming exactly what it wanted to be. 

First Trailer for FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW

A spin-off of The Fast and the Furious franchise that might have simultaneously broken-up the Furious family, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw sees Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's US Diplomatic Security Agent Luke Hobbs forming an unlikely alliance with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. The two had some electric chemistry when they were finally allowed to face one another on screen in 2017's The Fate of the Furious, but no one expected-least of all Vin Diesel and (apparently) Tyrese Gibson-said chemistry to result in an actual stand-alone movie where the hardened secret agent and former villain would team-up to fight what I can only assume is Idris Elba's baddie, Brixton, who no doubt has some nefarious plot to steal a valued piece of technology. Hot off the success of Deadpool 2, the film is directed by David Leitch (John Wick) with a script by Chris Morgan, the franchise’s screenwriting architect since Tokyo Drift. I'm going to be honest, I've kind of fallen hard for this franchise and I need a new chapter in this ever-expanding series of increasingly ridiculous films every couple of years and when I don't see as much coming to fruition it makes me very sad. I'm happy Johnson and Statham are able to collaborate further and have some fun with this spin-off and I sincerely hope it helps boost Johnson's floundering financial reputation (Rampage and Skyscraper were not great for his brand) while only continuing to prove what a global star Statham is (The Meg was no joke), but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the littlest bit upset that Hobbs' side excursions will be keeping him from the penultimate chapter in the main Fast and the Furious series of films if it is to remain true that Diesel and the gang call it quits after Fast 10. Only time will tell how as much pans out, but for now Leitch, Johnson, and Statham seem to have crafted more than a worthy distraction. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw also stars Vanessa Kirby as Deckard’s sister, Hattie, along with Eiza González, Eddie Marsan, and opens on August 2nd, 2019.

VICE Review

Doing what is right is boring. Following the rules is boring. Doing what is wrong is entertaining. Bending and breaking the rules is amusing. Movies should not be made about politicians, but given most politicians don't do the right thing rather often and tend to break and bend the rules to fit their own needs and agenda as frequently as they need to it is no surprise there are plenty of television shows and movies based around and on political figures. There is a brief scene in Adam McKay's latest film, Vice, based around the life of Vice President Dick Cheney where he is teaching one of his daughter's how to fish and she asks if the trick of baiting the fish with a live worm is right or wrong-you know, morally. Cheney replies that, "It's not right or wrong, it's just fishing." His daughter admits to not wanting to hurt the worm, but her father summarizes his justification for the sport by stating, "You find out what they want and you use it to catch them. The family gets to eat." It is with this perspective that Cheney seemed to approach his political career as well-it also exemplifies how every single line and aspect of McKay's film is integral to the portrait the writer and filmmaker is painting. "It's not right or wrong, it's just what needs to be done." What McKay is really exploring through Vice though, is this idea of how does a man go on to become who he is? The film describes life as being a series of events that contain certain moments that are so delicate, that they are akin to a stack of teacups with a saucer in between each where-at any moment-one could fall in any direction and change the course of the future forever. Unfortunately, there's no way to know the future and which way things will fall, but while McKay is keen to note that Cheney more or less fell into the roles he would eventually allow to define the purpose of his life largely due to the involvement of his wife, what he seems particularly interested in dissecting is how Cheney came to view the job of serving the country and how he interpreted that responsibility as it becomes very clear that Cheney and his staff were experts at interpreting things strictly in the way they wanted and in what would benefit their cause best. What McKay is truly attempting to do is bring about a case concerning how Cheney had his hands in so many pies, either for reasons of his own agenda or for what he truly thought was best for the country (it's hard to tell from one issue to the next), and that the result of these meddling's effectively changed the course of history. McKay wants the viewer to not only read that tagline that could easily be misconstrued as a piece of hyperbole and understand it, but to grasp it and take to heart; to truly understand the ramifications of this single man's actions in determining the fate of millions upon millions of other people's lives.

Official Trailer for VICE Starring Christian Bale

I'm not someone who delves much into or cares to delve much into politics, but I am someone who is fascinated by the ins and outs of as much. I enjoy political movies, House of Cards sucked me right in and had I been the right age when West Wing was in its prime I probably would have loved it too (I should probably go back and check that out, actually), but it does take a special something about a politically-heavy piece of film or TV to pique my interest given my general lack of interest in the topic overall and lucky for me-Vice has a lot of special somethings that make me more than eager to see it. I questioned whether or not the film might even be released this year given all we'd seen up until this point were a few unauthorized stills of star Christian Bale heavily made-up and as the film hadn't been included in any of the major fall festival line-ups it seemed unlikely to bow this year, but it now seems this will be the wild card in this year's Oscar race. Vice chronicles the rise of Dick Cheney (Bale) and how he, though his eight years as the power behind the throne in the Bush Administration, was able to reshape America. Now, of course it's interesting that Bale will be transforming once again to play the former vice President, but what makes the film all the more engaging is the fact Bale is re-teaming with his The Big Short director, Adam McKay, for the project. McKay, who has also made Will Ferrell's best films in Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and The Other Guys jumped into the big leagues in a major way with 2015's The Big Short and if this trailer is any indication it should be fascinating to see how his take on Cheney will inform the current state of our country. I also love the use of The Killers track in this spot. The enticing elements don't stop at McKay and Bale though, as Amy Adams is playing Lynne Cheney, Steve Carell is Donald Rumsfeld, Tyler Perry is Colin Powell, and Sam Rockwell will no doubt make for a glorious George W. Bush-I mean, his performance in this trailer alone is enough to garner him another Oscar. Vice is set to open on Christmas Day and one can only hope that is a wide release day.

First Trailer for MOWGLI from Director Andy Serkis

While it always seemed odd Warner Bros. would craft their own take on Rudyard Kipling's 1894 collection of stories that spurned a 1967 animated Disney film that was recently re-made by Jon Favreau it is becoming all the more clear that Warner Bros. take on the material couldn't be more different than the light, largely comedic tone Favreau and team took with their realistic-looking 2016 feature. In his second directorial effort, following what was the rather standard, but kind of terrible Breathe last awards season, Serkis has gone fully over to the blockbuster realm of filmmaking of which he has had plenty of experience. When putting it in perspective, the guy has worked with a for directors ranging from Peter Jackson to Steven Spielberg to J.J. Abrams and of course, most recently, Ryan Coogler, and so it is natural for Serkis to have segued into crafting his own visual wonders while exercising his storytelling skills as well. And to be honest, Mowgli looks more impressive than I was anticipating with what is clearly some work left to be done on the CGI, but with as killer a cast as Warner Bros. has assembled to bring this to life and the tendency to lean more into the source material it will be interesting to see how this similarly inspired, but what is so clearly a vastly different finished product varies from the other iterations of Kipling's work. Watch the first trailer below along with a behind-the-scenes featurette. The film stars Serkis as Baloo, with Rohan Chand in the titular role as well as Christian Bale as the cunning panther, Bagheera; Cate Blanchett as the sinister snake, Kaa; Benedict Cumberbatch as the fearsome tiger, Shere Khan; Naomie Harris as Nisha, the female wolf, who adopts the baby Mowgli as one of her cubs; Peter Mullan as the leader of the wolf pack, Akela; Jack Reynor as Mowgli’s Brother Wolf; Eddie Marsan as Nisha’s mate, Vihaan; and Tom Hollander as the scavenging hyena, Tabaqui, and Freida Pinto. Mowgli opens October 19th, 2018.

DEADPOOL 2 Review

What if I told you the best parts of Deadpool 2 had nothing to do with the antagonist 20th Century Fox has been psyching everyone up for since last November? Or furthermore, since the post-credits scene in the first movie? I'll do you one more even-what if I told you the least interesting parts of Deadpool 2 in fact featured the same guy who was so charismatically devious three weeks ago in Avengers: infinity War? Well, for my money's worth-I'd much rather watch the Deadpool 2 that deals with the titular character figuring out how to balance his sarcasm and wit with that of being a part of something bigger-whether that be with Morena Baccarin's Vanessa or his newly formed X-Force family-but for the movie to go on for long stretches pretending as if Josh Brolin's Cable is a traditional villain in the sense that this is as much his movie as it is Deadpool's and that it is he who we will come to see the merc with a mouth clash with in the unavoidable climactic third act is a disservice to the movie in general as Deadpool 2 is simply better than that. It's better than this because, for a lot of its running time, Deadpool 2 (which is really a missed opportunity in terms of a title, guys-Untitled Deadpool Sequel is where it was at) balances so well the kind of irreverent humor that is the character's trademark and upending the expectations and conventions of the super hero genre in ways that aren't as obvious as one might imagine or as easy as it could be for writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland) to default to, but rather Reese and Wernick as well as star Ryan Reynolds, who gets a writing credit on this follow-up, insinuate from the get-go that this isn't just going to give you what you want while upending those expectations, but rather that it's going to do this in a way you don't necessarily see coming. The writers as well as new franchise director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde) stick to this main idea, this thesis if you will, throughout and layer in a genuine emotional pull so as to not hang their main character out to dry with little more than the same shtick we've come to expect. That said, there are plenty of laughs to be had here and viewers won't be longing for more of the old because this isn't completely more of the same, but rather there is a more intense satisfaction to be had from the bigger ambitions Reese, Wernick, and Reynolds have for the character this time around. Still, I'd be lying if I said those ambitions don't get away from them throughout the course of this neXt-level adventure.

First Teaser Trailer for DEADPOOL 2

In the lead up to this week's Justice League it was always promised there would be some kind of onslaught of new trailers vying to get in front of the latest super hero team-up and naturally, as a  result, we are beginning to get our first look at what blockbusters will be hitting theaters next summer. Granted, this is nothing compared to what we'll see in a months time when everyone studio and their cousin will be dropping trailers prior to The Last Jedi, but it's admittedly nice to spread things out a bit. Furthermore, what is also nice is the reminder that Deadpool has to play by no rules whatsoever. This is made clear by this first trailer for the sequel to Ryan Reynolds crown jewel to his career as rather than release a traditional teaser in the vein of what we get a solid minute and a half into this just over two minute trailer is instead a take on "The Joy of Painting" and that otherwise innocent show as hosted by the always gentle Bob Ross. That said, this works unbelievably well (maybe too well, even) in terms of how much I'm sold on more Deadpool despite not really having seen anything from the actual movie which is great, but doesn't excuse the fact I'm a sucker for trailers and now really want to see a trailer for this thing! That said, Reynolds continues to make the most of this character as I genuinely laughed out loud twice during his Ross impersonation and couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head throughout the rest of it. Of what we know of Deadpool 2, Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson alongside Josh Brolin as Cable, Zazie Beetz of Atlanta as Domino, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, T.J. Miller as Weasel, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder. John Wick co-director and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch takes over for Tim Miller this time around, but both Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have returned to pen the screenplay so count on more of the same, but you know...bigger and probably more irreverent than ever. Deadpool 2 also stars Eddie Marsan, Jack Kesy, Julian Dennison, and opens on June 1st, 2018.

ATOMIC BLONDE Review

From director David Leitch, one half of the team that brought us the refreshing and uniquely packaged John Wick as well as the guy who is spearheading next year's Deadpool 2, comes Atomic Blonde-a female version of John Wick set in the eighties, with tons of eighties music, action, action, and starring Charlize Theron as the titular blonde who doesn't mind messing up her make-up as long as a cool soundtrack is laid over her walking away from her fights. Yeah, I'd love to see that movie. Who wouldn't, right? It would seem anyone who loves having a good time while sitting in an air conditioned auditorium eating food that's not going to help you look like the people you're watching on screen (at all) and staring up at an expansive screen would be thrilled by the combo of Theron, eighties, and action. I was certainly psyched. And then...please! No "and then"! And then it happened. Yes, it happened. After an equally ecstatic and moody introduction to this world in which we'd be existing for the next two hours the movie rapidly descended into a rather slow-moving, narrative heavy slog that would only intermittently bring us a sequence where Theron's Lorraine Broughton was allowed to let loose. But boy, when Leitch and screenwriter Kurt Johnstad (300) allow their leading lady to show off she certainly doesn't disappoint. This is also what is ultimately so frustrating about Atomic Blonde as it rather frequently gives us glimpses of what it could have been, what it was advertised to be, and what it seemingly wants to be as the action scenes are inspired, the backing tracks to Theron kicking ass are killer, and the film generally looks great-capturing the tone of late eighties Berlin by coating everything around our main character and her exploits in drab shades of gray to emphasize the burst of energy Broughton brings with her when she walks in a room. And yet, for one reason or another, Leitch decided to allow long stretches of his movie to become overly involved in Johnstad's plotting when what made both the original John Wick and its sequel so much fun was the simplicity of the plot and the building of an interesting world. Atomic Blonde doesn't build a world as much as it recreates one; Atomic Blonde doesn't keep the emphasis on the action, but wants audiences to take its twisting plot as seriously as Leitch no doubt takes his stunt work, but while Atomic Blonde feels carefully constructed and as precise in all aspects a director could hope it also never feels as fun or entertaining as it was meant to be.

Red-Band Trailer for ATOMIC BLONDE Starring Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron, who never had that solitary break-out role it seems she was always destined to have (an Oscar winning role is a different kind of thing), seems to have found her John Wick after coming the closest she's ever been two years ago in Mad Max: Fury Road. While Imperator Furiosa may yet lead to a series of films in which the actress becomes a definitive symbol of a single character the lady leading the war against Immortan Joe may now have some competition in the form of Lorraine Broughton. Speaking of John Wick, Atomic Blonde comes from stuntman and co-director of that Keanu Reeves rejuvinator as well as the upcoming Deadpool 2, David Leitch. Leitch, who along with Chad Stahelski both directed and choreographed the fight scenes in John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2 has seemingly taken a screenplay by Kurt Johnstad (300, 300: Rise of an Empire) who adapted the graphic novel and done very much what he and Stahelski did with the first John Wick. Granted, I have no idea the popularity, tone, or story of the source material and thus can't interpret how close any of this hues to that, but nonetheless this looks pretty freakin' awesome. Though I'd hoped for a little more of a hook in the opening action set piece the trailer itself goes on to provide plenty of these. Whether it be in James McAvoy seemingly turning in another unique performance, Sofia Boutella turning up the heat between her and Theron's lead protagonist or Theron herself jumping out of a multi-story building with only a man's neck serving as the anchor-Atomic Blonde has a prime end of summer release date and all the markings of a breakout original action hit that, if well-received and profitable, could end up serving as the first thing that comes to mind when we think of Theron from now on. Time will tell. Atomic Blonde also stars John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Toby Jones, and will actually debut at the SXSW Festival in Austin this Sunday, March 12, before arriving in theaters on July 28, 2017.  

THE WORLD'S END Review

It's almost as if Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright were sitting around listening to Soup Dragons, reminiscing and thought what if that were the basis for the characters in the final installment of their Blood & Ice Cream trilogy. So lovingly referred to as this due to the recurring appearance of the Cornetto ice cream treat in each of the films that all began with 2004's Shaun of the Dead. That hilarious send up of the zombie film that was still able to function as a legitimate zombie film in itself surpassed any expectation or American satire that had come about recently. The same could be said for Hot Fuzz, doing for big, over the top, action movies what Shaun did for Zombies. With the third and final film in their trilogy Director Wright and stars Pegg and Nick Frost have not necessarily landed on another genre to spoof, but instead have mixed the formula up a bit while still holding true to the values that made the first two not just funny and enjoyable, but solid films in their own regard. The World's End comes to us in a time when we've had more than our fair share of apocalyptic ventures on the big screen and even this year what will likely end up being the second best comedy of the year (after this one, of course) is This Is The End. While The World's End isn't necessarily dealing with the end of days and is more a reference to the final pub at the end of a pub crawl that exists as a central plot device the name surely wasn't going to go to waste, not when this team of sci-fi loving writers, directors, and actors could layer on a level of the genre in their own film. And yet, while there are elements of those kinds of hokey, early sci-fi epics here the film never makes it its mission to pick up the tone or character traits from these films, but instead use them as a metaphor, a way to re-enforce the heart of the story they are trying to tell. In the end, this way of thinking is what has made these films and the people involved with making them so beloved by fan boys. Not because there are necessarily memorable laughs, but because they create characters we care about and tell stories we can relate to.

First Trailer for THE WORLD'S END

There has been much talk around Edgar Wright, Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost's final chapter in their Blood & Ice Cream trilogy that began with Shaun of the Dead and continued with Hot Fuzz. Though many fans have been anxiously awaiting this film for many years it also seemed like it might be out of the question from time to time as well (seeing as it took the gang twice as long to follow up Fuzz than it did Dead), but alas we now have the trailer for The World's End. The film chronicles an infamous pub crawl by five friends (Pegg, Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, and Paddy Considine) who attempted this once before in their younger years but were unable to make it to the final pub appropriately titled The World's End. Ringleader Gary (Pegg) is a a bit of an oddball and likely the most outlandish of the bunch as the trailer indicates he is the one gathering up his old group of now grown up business-type men who don't really care to try and make such an epic pub crawl. These characterizations only add to the humor as Pegg seems to simply be chewing every scene he gets and Frost is playing the opposite of what we've seen him do before in Dead, Fuzz, and even Paul. After grabbing the lead in The Hobbit I hope the comic talent of Freeman is also given a chance to shine here as I've enjoyed Freeman's work since seeing him as the original "Jim" in the British version of The Office. The only piece of bad news about this film is that the UK will be getting the film on August 14th while we here in the United States will have to wait an extra two months when the film will drop the week before Halloween. This is a bit of a let down as I originally thought this would be the late summer comedy that would break out as Will Ferrell and Adam McKay were pushing their's to December. Still, I can't wait to see the film, just upset we'll have to wait so long on this side of the pond. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER Review

After being postponed nearly a year for post production reasons that involved more time for the special effects (where were the results of that?) as well as for a bigger marketing push we finally have the first new film from director Bryan Singer in four years. A retelling of the classic fairy tale, Jack the Giant Slayer (formerly titled Jack the Giant Killer) is another in a long line of Hollywood attempting to capitalize on a trend that never made it past the first lap. You can't completely fault them as this film was greenlit in 2009, well before Tim Burtons Alice in Wonderland began the trend of bringing old fairy tales to the modern audience with gigantic budgets.Though this trend hasn't exactly proved a winning one it will surely continue far past this fun, forgettable film that brings nothing new to the genre of fantasy and pure escapism but does nothing to harm it either. It is a perfectly acceptable two hours of amusing and imaginative storytelling that plays out exactly as we imagine it might, but the keyword is imaginative. Director Singer has always had a fun imagination and has incorporated it into both his stories and filmmaking techniques. Whether it be The Usual Suspects, X2, or even Superman Returns and Valkyrie I have always found something about the guys films to be endearing and impossible to dislike (yes, I liked Superman Returns, so sue me). This feeling continues with this film and whether it be the fact I have a soft spot for Singer or that I am more easily convinced in a pure fantasy world that everything is fun, I had a good time watching this movie. I didn't love it and it certainly has room for improvement in several areas, but it was enjoyable nonetheless and I'm not too upset about that outcome.