Copshop review

COPSHOP:

FRANK GRILLO AND GERARD BUTLER ARE A PERFECT ACTION MOVIE TEAM-UP, AND THIS FILM PROVES IT! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

OPEN ROAD FILMS

Gerard Butler, Frank Grillo, Alexis Louder, and Toby Huss in Copshop

 

            A con artist and a professional hitman out to get him end up in jail and the fireworks start to fly in Copshop, the new action film directed by Jon Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team, The Grey) and stars Gerard Butler (300, Olympus Has Fallen trilogy, Greenland) and Frank Grillo (End of Watch, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Purge: Anarchy/The Purge: Election Year). This is a film that pretty much flew under my radar if I’m being honest with myself, aside from seeing a couple of trailers for it before The Protégé and I believe Candyman also, so I didn’t really know what to expect when going into it. 

            While Marvel continues to dominate the box-office with Shang-Chi, here’s this little action film that was released this past weekend and isn’t getting much attention, despite being well-received critically. Well, I have to say for a movie that I’ve only seen the trailer for only a couple of times, I loved the Hell out of this film!

            I don’t even know where to begin with this, the action is exhilarating, it has a riveting plot that builds tension from start to finish, the acting is excellent, and it’s also extremely funny. The best way I can describe it is like a modern-day version of one of those gritty action films and revenge thrillers from the 1970s-80s and if you’re nostalgic for those kinds of films then you will absolutely adore this movie. 

            The film follows Teddy Murretto (Grillo), a wily con artist on the run through the Nevada desert by lethal hitman, Bob Viddick (Butler). To escape Viddick’s wrath, Murretto comes up with the brilliant idea of sucker-punching rookie cop, Valerie Young (Alexis Louder-The Tomorrow War) to get himself arrested and locked-up in a small-town police station. 

            However, Viddick schemes his own way into jail, biding his time in a nearby cell until he can complete his mission. Viddick is the least of Murretto’s problems as a competing assassin known as Anthony Lamb (Toby Huss-King of the Hill, 42, Halloween (2018)) soon arrives and ignites all-out mayhem at the police station as Viddick, Valerie, and Murretto may have to work together in order to escape, but can Valerie really trust them? 

            The film also stars Ryan O’Nan (Queen of the South) as Huber and Kaiwi Lyman-Mersereau (Hawaii Five-0, Westworld, Den of Thieves) as Barnes. 

            Overall, Copshop not only works as a groovy throwback to 1970s-1980s action films (Most notably Assault on Precinct 13 minus the assault), but it also does a brilliant job being this tension-based cops VS hitmen flick even without the nostalgia goggles on. The film pays homage to action films released over 40 years ago without focusing heavily on its callbacks or being meta about them, very natural and unpretentious. 

            The film has plenty of good old-fashioned shoot ‘em up action sequences with a body count and a lot of vengeance. While the action is a lot of fun, it also adds a layer of suspense and tension between the main characters who are stuck in a police station with assassins out to get them. 

            As exciting as the action is, the performances and characters are where the film shines the brightest. Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo are excellent in this movie and you’re not always certain which one you’re supposed to be rooting for, it adds a sense of mystery to these very eccentric characters and the banter between the two of them is brilliant and often quite funny.

            Toby Huss as this completely insane mobster is one of the most delightfully crazy villains I’ve ever seen in a movie. Every time this dude appeared onscreen, I was laughing constantly throughout all of his scenes, he’s the kind of villain who shoots a machine gun at a bulletproof window and then sings some Curtis Mayfield songs, he’s the kind of wacky villain where he doesn’t chew the scenery…he eats the whole f*cking set with all the other actors inside! 

            However, the real scene-stealer is Alexis Louder as the rookie cop, I’m not overly familiar with her other work, but she is phenomenal in this film. She has great moments where she’s bored at the station and starts dueling with another officer at a desk with empty gun chambers and a scene where she has to choose who to set free to fight the mobster and like the character herself, you’re not sure if she’s going to make the right or wrong choice. 

            All three of these actors work wonderfully together and the film takes its time to establish the characters so you can grow attached to them before some of them randomly get killed in the blink of an eye. This is an example of character development done right without overly relying on exposition dumping or excessive movie clichés.  

            I guess a minor nitpick would be maybe the film’s ending could have been trimmed down a little, the film is just under two hours and there is a bit of a fake-out of when the movie ends by cutting to black, but then it shows a character driving on a road and the film keeps going for a few more minutes. This is extremely minor as I was completely engrossed and entertained by this film from beginning to end, never bored and smiled ear to ear as the film played…which is already a step up from Cry Macho where the only emotions I had were mild interest and sleepy. 

            Copshop is a film that deserves all the attention it can get and is something I urge people to go see right away. Whether it’s in theaters, digital rental, or on Blu-Ray, this is an absolute must-watch if you’re a fan of action films or especially if you’re nostalgic for 1970s-1980s action films like Assault on Precinct 13, Lethal Weapon, or the original Mad Max, this Copshop guarantees a bloody, good time for all. 

Cry Macho review

CRY MACHO: 

CLINT EASTWOOD SHINES IN THIS WELL-MADE ALBEIT FORGETTABLE FILM!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Clint Eastwood in Cry Macho

 

            Veteran Western actor, Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry franchise, Unforgiven, Gran Torino) returns to the genre in Cry Macho, the new neo-Western film starring and directed by Eastwood and based on the 1975 novel of the same name by N. Richard Nash. I’m not familiar with the book so I will not be doing comparisons to it and instead do my usual shtick by judging it as a film. 

            And as a film, Cry Macho is…okay, not terrible but far from being one of Eastwood’s best works. It’s less Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Million Dollar Baby and more along the lines of The Mule and The 15:17 to Paris where it’s just instantly forgettable. 

            The film follows Mike Milo (Eastwood), a former rodeo star who now spends his time breeding and training horses. After losing his job, Mike is hired by his former boss, Howard Polk (Dwight Yoakam-Sling Blade, Panic Room, Logan Lucky) to travel from Texas to Mexico and find his son, Rafo (Newcomer, Eduardo Minett) who lives with his mother, Leta (Fernanda Urrejola-My Best Enemy, Drama, Blue Miracle) and has turned to a life of crime by participating in cockfights with a chicken he calls Macho. 

            Being forced to take the backroads to Texas, this unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which this weary horseman discovers his own sense of redemption. 

            Overall, Cry Macho is a perfectly serviceable neo-Western drama that has some impressive cinematography and production design as well as an excellent Clint Eastwood performance, but the plot isn’t all that interesting and the pacing at times is very sluggish. It’s one of those slow-burn movies which you’ll either appreciate or get bored by. 

            There have been plenty of slow-burns in the past that kept my interest, but unlike films such as News of the World, Nomadland, or The Green Knight, Cry Macho doesn’t quite have an interesting-enough story or even that many compelling characters to warrant such a slog. I was with it enough, but there were a couple of times while watching it where I felt like I was about to doze off. 

            However, when it was interesting, it was interesting; I liked the chemistry Eastwood has with this kid he’s tasked to pick up, I dug the cockfighting sub-plot, and there was an exhilarating albeit brief car chase during the film’s climax. Unfortunately, you have to go through an equal amount of uninteresting stuff to get to those moments. 

            One of the positives I addressed was the chemistry between Eastwood and Minett, which is very strong and probably the best thing to come out of the film aside from the scenery. You got a washed-up former horseman who reluctantly agrees to go to Mexico and a kid with a rough life who participates in illegal cockfighting, both of them play their parts well and while I don’t think their chemistry is quite as powerful or moving as Eastwood and the Hmong kid from Gran Torino, it is the emotional highlight of the film. 

            The dialogue, however, is pretty bad and most of it consists of random banter and talking to make the film sound more interesting than it actually is. But they ultimately end up leaving you scratching your head thinking “What is the point of this conversation?” and Minett in particular gets some of the worst dialogue in the entire film which is unfortunate because he is trying his hardest to work with it and most of the scenes with him and Eastwood work (With a couple exceptions), had the script been written better, I think it would have greatly improved this film. 

            Cry Macho at best is a perfectly average modern Western film with charismatic performances by the leads and some nice scenery that do look great on the big screen. However, it’s one of those movies that you might enjoy as you’re watching, but you’ll likely forget about it the moment you leave the cinema or when the film lands on HBO Max. 

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