Thursday, August 31, 2017

Top 10 Films of Summer 2017

Top 10 Films of Summer 2017

1.     War for the Planet of the Apes
2.     Dunkirk
3.     The Big Sick
4.     Wonder Woman
5.     Spider-Man: Homecoming
6.     Baby Driver
7.     Detroit
8.     Logan Lucky
9.     Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
10.  Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Honorable Mentions: It Comes at Night, Batman and Harley Quinn, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, My Cousin Rachel, Alien: Covenant, Resident Evil: Vendetta, Atomic Blonde, Annabelle: Creation, Cars 3, Despicable Me 3, The Hitman’s Bodyguard



The Hitman's Bodyguard review

THE HITMAN’S BODYGUARD:
RYAN REYNOLDS AND SAMUEL L. JACKSON SAVE THIS HIT-AND-MISS ACTION COMEDY!     
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in The Hitman’s Bodyguard

            Get comfortable folks, this is the closest we’ll ever get to Deadpool being recruited by Nick Fury for The Avengers. Ryan Reynolds (National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, The Proposal, Deadpool) and Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kingsman: The Secret Service) team up to stop a dictator in the latest action comedy, The Hitman’s Bodyguard.
            The film is directed by Patrick Hughes (Red Hill, The Expendables 3) and features an all-star cast and for a movie directed by the guy who neutered The Expendables with the dreaded PG-13 rating, The Hitman’s Bodyguard is surprisingly a lot of fun. It isn’t anything great and could have used more gags between Reynolds and Jackson but for my money I had a blast.
            At first my only intention of watching this movie was to see Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson being partnered together in an action comedy reminiscent of buddy-cop films like The Heat or 21 Jump Street. And yes, like the rest of the internet I’ve joked about Deadpool and Nick Fury when I saw the ads for this film.
            But I was surprised at how over-the-top and hilarious the rest of the movie turned out to be, you got bloody shootouts, wild car chases and stunts, corny one-liners, and the leads are charming and witty. Sure, not every joke works but a majority of them did for me and the appeal of Reynolds and Jackson together is worth the price of admission.
            The film follows the world’s top protection agent, Michael Bryce (Reynolds) being called in to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen, Darius Kincaid (Jackson). Michael and Darius have been at each other’s throats for years but are forced to work together on an outrageous adventure from England to Hague to stop a ruthless Eastern European dictator out for blood known as Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman-Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Dark Knight trilogy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes).
            The film also stars Élodie Yung (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Daredevil) as Amelia Roussel, Salma Hayek (Desperado, Frida, Sausage Party) as Sonia Kincaid, Joaquim de Almeida (Desperado, Behind Enemy Lines, Fast Five) as Jean Foucher, Kirsty Mitchell (The Acid House, Attila, The Leisure Seeker) as Rebecca Harr, Richard E. Grant (Gosford Park, Corpse Bride, Logan) as Seifert, and Sam Hazeldine (Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, The Wolfman, The Monuments Men) as Garrett.
            Overall, The Hitman’s Bodyguard may not be a total hit but it succeeds in summer popcorn entertainment. The movie does not take itself seriously except when it needs to and gives a jolting and wild goose chase with a body count and over-the-top cheesy fun.
            Most of the appeal of this movie comes from the chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, which is near perfection. Obviously the two of them don’t get along all the time and they bash heads with each other, Jackson escapes a few times, and one of them tries to annoy the other and it’s funny, but as the film goes you grow attached to both of them and gives them both as well as the audience a moment to breathe and learn a few things about their past.
            However, as great as the team-up of Reynolds and Jackson is there are some problems with the movie. For starters, the plot of is pretty generic action movie fare and at times it can be really predictable and it doesn’t quite give us much new outside of its leads.
            I wasn’t a big fan of the film’s pacing; the movie mostly focuses on Reynolds and Jackson which is great but when it segways to Ryan’s ex-wife or this side-plot in a courtroom it’s pretty much filler. It doesn’t ruin the movie but scenes like that just make you wish you were back with Reynolds and Jackson.
            Also, some of the side characters are pretty forgettable like Ryan’s ex-wife, it’s not that the actress portraying her was bad or anything but she could have been written better and have better chemistry with Ryan Reynolds, where’s Vanessa when you need her? Gary Oldman as the villain I’m debating whether or not it’s a good or bad performance but every time he’s on-screen it’s a lot of fun to watch him go so over-the-top.
            The humor is very hit-or-miss, I was laughing for the most part but there were a few gags in there that either felt awkward or could have used a better payoff. Fortunately, a bad joke is usually followed up with a good joke so the bad humor doesn’t destroy the movie.

            Flaws aside, this is dumb fun and the charm of the leads shine through and make it enjoyable. The Hitman’s Bodyguard probably won’t be an action-comedy classic but for my money I’m glad I saw it.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Logan Lucky review

LOGAN LUCKY:
STEVEN SODERBERGH’S COMEBACK FILM IS HIGH-OCTANE FUN AND OUTRAGEOUSLY FUNNY!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4
BLEECKER STREET
(From left to right) Channing Tatum, Riley Keough, and Adam Driver in Logan Lucky

            From director, Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s trilogy, Contagion, Magic Mike) comes Logan Lucky, the first film he’s directed since Behind the Candelabra in 2013. Imagine Ocean’s Eleven but replace all the characters and casino with rednecks and NASCAR, that’s pretty much this movie and it is awesome.
            Thanks to some talented lead actors and a smart and witty script the film takes the heist movie genre and makes it feel new and very humorous. I’ve seen a lot of heist and crime movies before but Logan Lucky was unique because it blended the traditional heist movie tropes with a good sense of humor and it didn’t feel forced or overshadow the crime movie portion, pretty much a smarter version of Tower Heist by a better director.
            The film follows a blue-collar laborer named Jimmy Logan (Channing Tatum-G.I. Joe, 21 Jump Street, Magic Mike) whose once-promising football career was ruined by an injury, being laid off from his construction job at the Charlotte Motor Speedway due to liability issues. After a night at a bar run by his brother, Clyde (Adam Driver-Lincoln, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Silence) Jimmy explains a plan to access the Speedway’s pneumatic tube system for transporting money during an upcoming event and steal it in hopes of reversing a family curse.
            Jimmy and Clyde recruit convicted safecracker, Joe Bang (Daniel Craig-James Bond franchise, Defiance, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), his dimwitted brothers, Sam (Brian Gleeson-Love/Hate, Snow White & the Huntsman, Assassin’s Creed) and Fish (Jack Quaid-The Hunger Games 1 and 2, Vinyl, Workaholics) and their own sister, Mellie (Riley Keough-Magic Mike, Mad Max: Fury Road, It Comes at Night). They plan to break Joe out of prison and return him as soon as the heist is over without anyone noticing, sounds complicated but with their skills they might be able to pull it off.
            The film also stars Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, American Dad, Ted) as Max Chilblain, Katie Holmes (Dawson’s Creek, Teaching Mrs. Tingle, Batman Begins) as Bobbie Jo Logan-Chapman, Katherine Waterston (Being Flynn, Inherent Vice, Steve Jobs) as Sylvia Harrison, country singer and songwriter, Dwight Yoakam as Burns, Sebastian Stan (Hot Tub Time Machine, Black Swan, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Dayton White, Hilary Swank (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Insomnia, Million Dollar Baby) as Sarah Grayson, David Denman (ER, The Office, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi) as Moody Chapman, Jim O’Heir (Parks and Recreation, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Life After Beth) as Cal, and Macon Blair (Hellbenders, Green Room, Small Crimes) as Brad Noonan.
            Overall, Logan Lucky is a lot of fun and quite possibly one of the best heist movies I’ve seen in a while, it’s easily the funniest. It encompasses everything that made Steven Soderbergh a great filmmaker and even has a few funny references to his other work thrown in here.
            What makes most of the humor work in the film is the chemistry between the characters, Channing Tatum and Adam Driver are very convincing as the two brothers and neither one of them is made out to be a bad guy despite both of them trying to rob a racetrack, the film gives plenty of reasons to care about them and you want them to succeed in the end.
            But who really steals the show is Daniel Craig, Good God this is probably the best I’ve ever seen him in a movie. Whenever I think of him I immediately picture James Bond but his character in Logan Lucky is pretty much the complete opposite and every time he’s on-screen I’m laughing and I’m laughing hard.
            I honestly don’t know what else to say about this movie, it’s a crime movie that’s funny and has great characters and smart writing. I haven’t seen The Hitman’s Bodyguard yet but judging by the reviews and that this movie is more of an independent film Logan Lucky is probably more worth your money and something I urge movie-goers to see before it gets overshadowed by more Hollywood stuff.

            If you’re a fan of Steven Soderbergh, Channing Tatum, and/or Daniel Craig as well as heist comedies, Logan Lucky would be your “Lucky” pick for a movie night. I can guarantee a lot of laughs on top of clever storytelling and a welcome return for Soderbergh as a director.