Was I Entertained? (86)

Cast:

Taron Egerton                                       Robin of Loxley

Jamie Foxx                                            Yahya/John

Ben Mendelsohn                                   Sheriff of Nottingham

Eve Hewson                                          Marian

Jamie Dornan                                        Will Tillman

Tim Minchin                                         Friar Tuck

Paul Anderson                                      Guy of Gisbourne

F. Murray Abraham                               Cardinal

Cast:

Charlie Hunnam                        Henri Charriere (Papillon)

Rami Malek                              Louis Dega

Cast:

Charlize Theron                         Andy

Kiki Layne                                 Nile

Matthias Schoenaerts               Booker

Marwan Kenzari                        Joe

Luca Marinelli                           Nicky

Chiwetel Ejiofor                        Copely

Harry Melling                            Merrick

Van Veronica Ngo                     Quynh

Cast:

Tom Hanks                   Captain Krause

Elisabeth Shue              Evelyn

Stephen Graham           Charlie Cole (XO)

Cast:

Yvonne Strahovski                     Sofie Werner

Jai Courtney                              Cam Sandford

Asher Keddie                            Clare Kowitz

Fayssal Bazzi                             Ameer

Dominic West                           Gordon Masters

Cate Blanchett                          Pat Masters

Cast:

Penn Badgley                Joe Goldberg

Ambry Childers             Candace Stone

Victoria Pedretti            Love Quin

Elizabeth Lail                 Guinevere Beck

Luca Padovan                Paco

Jenna Ortega                Ellie

James Scully                  Forty Quin

Carmela Zumbado         Delilah Alves

Shay Mitchell                Peach Salinger

John Stamos                 Dr. Nicky

Cast:

Amandla Stenberg                    Ruby Daly

Mandy Moore                           Cate

Harris Dickinson                        Liam Stewart

Patrick Gibson                           Clancy Gray

Skylan Brooks                           Chubs

Miya Cech                                Zu

Gwendoline Christie                  Lady Jane

Wade Williams                          The Captain

Cast:

Denzell Washington                  Robert McCall

Pedro Pascal                             Dave York

Ashton Sanders                         Miles Whittaker

Orson Bean                               Sam Rubinstein

Bill Pullman                              Brian Plummer

Melissa Leo                               Susan Plummer 

For this week’s selection, I decided to go the route of sequels, and after perusing my stack of unwatched films I selected “The Equalizer 2” as my next choice. Ok, for those few people who read this blog on a regular basis, it is not selected, it was just the next one in the pile. But I have digressed, The Equalizer 2 is the long awaited sequel to 2014s “The Equalizer”. Apparently called the “Sequalizer” by the cast when filming, this action picture stars Denzel Washington returning to the character of Robert McCall. Of note, according to the extra’s on the disc, this is the first time that Denzel Washington has reprised a character in his career of 50 plus films. Needless to say, we are huge fans of Denzel, loved the first movie, and were really looking forward to watching this one. So, after pouring another glass of wine for me, ice water for my wife, we put in the movie for a night’s entertainment. 

What can I say about EQ2? Well, first, while it is an action film and stars one of the best actors of the generation, and, in my opinion, it is sadly not as good as the original. The original film was dark, action packed and almost visceral in its portrayal of Robert McCall, the retired CIA assassin who was just trying to rebuild his life while grieving for his late wife. In the first film, his moral responsibility to help people is his driving force for action and the tension builds and the action is non-stop. As you can tell, I just loved the first film in the franchise, however in this film, it appears like there are too many threads in the canvass, and you can get lost in unravelling them all. Yes, it has action, a few one liners, and a thin plot, but it does not deliver as much as it’s predecessor did. 

What is the storyline you ask? EQ2 starts off on a train in Turkey and McCall (Washington) is dressed as an Iman. While entering the bar car, looking for some hot water for his tea, he spies his target, along with bodyguards. His target on this mission is a miscreant who kidnapped his own daughter from the mother for the sole purpose to cause her pain, not for love. Of course, McCall is there to rescue the daughter and bring her home. He wreaks his own justice on the group, rescues the girl and returns her home. This is all within 5 minutes of the opening credits. Wow, it did grab me right away as Denzel’s trademark of calm and exacting retribution did not fail to deliver. However, right after that scene, it seemed like the threads started to unravel.

We, the audience are introduced to several story lines where McCall exacts justice for the driver seat of his “Lyft” taxi service;

• An old man who has lost not only a famous portrait as a result of WW2, but also his sister;
• A young girl who was abused by a number of well to do, narcissistic ass hats;
• His old boss who brings him soup to see how he his doing; and
• A young man who is a budding artist, but may go down the wrong path to drugs and gang violence without his support. 

While some of the threads are intertwined, some just a bit of confusion as to where it falls within the major storyline. Were they part of the plot, or just some extraneous information on how good McCall (Washington) is? Well, I guess it was a bit of both. There are really two main threads to follow here, the first is McCall (Washington) taking the young man Miles Whittaker (Sanders) under his wing, giving him purpose and support. The support or mentorship is not only morally, it is emotionally and intellectually as well. Miles (Sanders) ends up assisting McCall (Washington) in not only undoing a gang’s vandalism in the neighbourhood, but also is employed to paint McCall’s apartment. Throughout the film, we see McCall (Washington) imparting wisdom and morality to his young protégé, and also ultimately saving his life, both literally and figuratively. 

The 2^ndand actually the prime thread in this film, is that of his old boss, Susan Plummer (Leo). We first see her having a meal with McCall and talking with him over bowls of soup. One of the 3 reoccurring characters from the first film, her husband Brian (Pullman) and McCall (Washington) being the others. After this meal, Susan (Leo) travels to Europe for her work in the CIA (investigating a murder), whereupon she also gets brutally beaten and also murdered. McCall (Washington) gets involved at the behest of her husband only to discover that his former team mate, York (Pascal) is also part of the event, though he is unsure of how.  

It is at this point we do discover a little of McCall’s past. While it is alluded to before, McCall (Washington) was involved in Black Ops for the government and had lead his team in a number of missions to mete out death on behalf of the government. We also discover that McCall had staged his own death to live a new life after losing his wife and that his former team had basically gone rogue. Not only are they working for the government, they are selling their services to the highest bidder as well, regardless of the consequences. 

Trying not to give out too many surprises or plot lines, as you can surmise, McCall (Washington) confronts his former team, exacts revenge for the death of his friend Susan (Leo) saves his new friend, Whittaker (Sanders) and tries to tie up some other storylines introduced within the film.

What did we think of the film? First my wife and I were entertained, but not as much as the first one. We found this film to be very predictable, I don’t think there was one scene where we did not see where it was going to go and how McCall was going to get there. However, having said that, Denzel Washington is still an amazing actor and his lines, delivery and actions were spot-on as always. Yes, he is getting older, but the movements are believable and don’t leave you scratching your head or calling bullshit. If there is any fault of his character, I would leave the blame with the director and screenplay writer for any portions that were either not explained enough, wrapped up, or even forgotten. An actor with an amazing catalogue of film and tv, Denzel Washington can be counted on to perform any role with skill. These roles can range from a hitman/assassin with conscience, a gunslinger, a soldier, doctor, teacher or lawyer…each and every performance is always first rate. His performance in EQ2 did not fail either, as mentioned previously, any failings in this film, would lie elsewhere in our opinion, and not tied with his performance. 

However, now, with respect to the villain in this film, Dave York (Pascal), I can’t really say the same about his performance. While trying to play a government agent or mercenary/assassin for hire, I found him lacking. Even the scene where McCall enters York’s home, ingratiates himself with his family and actually leaves with them, Pascal did not deliver the emotions and actions that would be expected. Yes, he is a professional assassin etc, but I believe his verbal delivery and eyes should have been more expressive here to show the conflict. Additionally, we felt that his performance was very robotic and was lacking. If his portrayal was amped a bit, it probably would have made a better movie overall.  Maybe if his other team member’s personalities and relationships with York and McCall were expanded it would have given them more teeth, than really being nothing more than paper tigers, and ultimately targets to McCall’s weapons.   

Ashton Sanders as Miles Whittaker: I really liked his character, as the young man who falls under McCall’s (Washington) wing, he portrayed the requisite emotions for the tasks at hand. His troubled youth persona was believable, as you could see his turmoil with every decision or action. Does he go with the gangs, or does he work for a living doing what he loves, his artwork. He respects McCall, but also as the move progresses, you can see a bit of fear as well. He does not know what McCall is capable of, while at the same time, he is trying to understand the why. Why is he being protected and mentored? All of these emotions are portrayed well and the chemistry between the two is excellent. There are two stand-out scenes for them. The first, when McCall (Washington) extracts him from the gang’s lair and lectures him on what he could be, and the second, in McCall’s house during the storm. Each scene exhibits the emotion required and ensures that not only do you, the audience, feel for McCall, but you also want Whittaker (Sanders) to succeed as well. A very good performance.

Melissa Leo as Susan Plummer: His old boss and friend, Plummer (Leo) is integral to the plot as to why and how McCall is brought in to wreak his own kind of vengeance. However, in this instance, if you did not know her from the first film, you could be lost as to their relationship. It is mentioned, but not the importance of their bond. This could have been enhanced a bit more in the film, maybe even a flashback sequence from the first film? I believe that just by adding this small scene, it could have made her death more poignant to McCall and the audience. 

Bill Pullman as Brian Plummer: As the last re-occurring character in EQ2, his role was the most wasted. I like Bill Pullman and his films, but here he was just another character that could have been written off. Actually in one aspect he actually is, after McCall takes him to a hotel room and explains that they (the bad guys) are trying to clean up loose ends, we never see or hear from him again. This is one of the threads that got lost in the film and had us scratching our head. His character was not really required, he could have passed the info in a phone call, text etc, and not even been included in the film. By having him there, and then forgetting about him, it actually made his non-relevance stand out more. 

Orson Bean as Sam Rubinstein: Here is another character that really did not need to be there, except to demonstrate that McCall is a fixer and has more heart. The only reason that this story line could have been inserted is to demonstrate that McCall not only fixes unwarranted acts of violence/aggression, he can also fix someone’s spirit. So in that light, then maybe I buy it a bit, however, what should have and could have happened is at least a scene where he does a bit of research to find out Rubinstein’s long lost sister. Just having her show up at the end, was almost kind of a cheat, yes we know that McCall is behind it, but the “how” was not revealed. C’mon, McCall is not the amazing Kreskin or the “Mentalist”, he still has to research and find out things. 

Overall, we enjoyed the film and we were entertained, but not as much as the original. Denzel was great as always, but his supporting cast was kind of uneven in their performances. We also found that there were some holes in the plot, and the reasons “why” something was done was either lost or forgotten completely. Besides the predictability of the film, the action sequences and cinematography were done very well and added to the film’s enjoyment. If you are a fan of Washington, then there is no doubt that you will enjoy the film, though, if you are a fan of films and cinema, I am sure that you will see some of the same errors or gaps that I did. But all in all, not a bad film. One final piece of advice, make sure you watch the original first, or you will get lost in this one! 

Our Rating: 6/10

If you are interested in watching any films/shows with the main cast, consider the following recommendations:

Denzel Washington                   Glory, Pelican Brief, Courage under Fire, The Book of Eli, 2 Guns, The Equalizer, Flight (pretty much any of his films!)

Pedro Pascal                             Narcos, Game of Thrones

Bill Pullman                              Independence Day, The Equalizer, Sleepless in Seattle

Melissa Leo                               The Equalizer, The Big Short, London has Fallen

Cast:

James McAvoy              Dennis/Jade/Patricia/Hedwig/The Beast/Kevin Crumb/Orwell/Barry

Anya Taylor-Joy             Casey Cooke

Betty Buckley                Dr. Karen Fletcher

Haley Lu Richardson      Claire Benoit

Jessica Sula                   Marcia

We were quite busy this weekend, so we did not get a chance to watch our weekend film till Sunday Night. In this edition of “Were we Entertained”, we take a look at the 2016 movie “Split”. This film, written & directed by M. Night Shymalan is a welcome return to quality film-making after several of his duds. I have enjoyed Shymalan’s films a great deal in the past, i.e. The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs were all great films in my opinion. But he also made some serious dud’s i.e. The Village, The Happening, The Last Airbender and After Earth, all films with great potential but lacked the requisite spark to entertain you and make you think about the film. “Split” was a return to great film-making. 

Not expecting a lot from this film when I picked it up, (Due to the previous movies mentioned), I had heard that this was actually a sort of sequel to “Unbreakable”, and a must watch if you were going to pursue the third film “Glass”, but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was this film well directed, written and acted, it kept us glued to the screen. I will try and give a synopsis with out giving out too many of the plot points or surprises away. 

The film commences at birthday party for a rather spoiled teenager at a restaurant/mall. The party is over, and she (with 2 friends) and her father are lugging a vast number of gifts and leftovers back to the car. As these kids are pretty much selfish and don’t really help the father, he is left to load the trunk with her spoils, while they proceed to wait in the car. However, the father becomes incapacitated, and a stranger (McAvoy) enters the car. Once inside he sprays the girls with a mist which knocks them all out. 

They wake to find themselves in a cell and discover that they are being held prisoner by the same stranger (McAvoy). This stranger appears to have multiple personalities and memories and each personality displays various character traits, clothes and mannerisms to delineate them. All personalities threaten them with the arrival of the “Beast” who will kill them all horribly before moving on. However, it becomes clear that really only 3 personalities are controlling the stranger at this time. Naturally, these girls are all trying to escape before the dreaded “Beast” personality awakens and kills them all. Concurrently, the stranger is also seeing a psychiatrist who is trying to help him with his 24 separate personalities. The psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Buckley), is well versed in her patient’s personalities and soon sees through the deception of the two strongest personalities. She rightfully deduces that the missing girls might be with her patient and they could be in serious danger and subsequently goes to her patient’s home to see. This leads to the climax of the film, where many other personalities are revealed and the girls, the doctor, and the personalities fates collide.

Ok, now to the meat of this blog, the movie and characters themselves. 

For a film that I was unsure of at first, specifically due to the fact that Shymalan movies had really dropped in quality, I was very pleasantly surprised. “Split” was a new take on multiple personality disorder. It was expertly presented, with a central character that was both complex and entertaining in the same breath. James McAvoy was the principal star in the film. He played no less than 8 separate characters/personalities throughout the film in a convincing, sometimes chilling fashion. Crumb was the original personality or host if you will, and McAvoy easily transitioned to 7 others in some cases in the blink of an eye. He effectively played a little boy, a stern OCD type, a flamboyant designer, an academic, a proper English lady and the fearsome beast. All acted in a convincing and stellar fashion. This film truly was a vehicle for McAvoy to show his talent in both physical and character acting. As Dennis, the personality with OCD. He was a stern, chilling, almost psychopathic character with no humour, but some very distinct twists. This was quickly followed by Patricia, an almost stereotyped English lady, who with Dennis, controlled Crumb the most. As mentioned previously, there were other characters that McAvoy played within the “Crumb” universe if you will, but my favourite was Hedwig, the little boy. In this character, McAvoy was able to give humour and also a bit of innocence that was lacking in the other characters. Barry was the flamboyant designer who was usually the personality available when meeting with Dr. Fletcher (Buckley) while only glimpses of Jade, Orwell and the host, Crumb were only present for short intervals. The last character present, the “Beast” actually seemed to physically alter McAvoy as he took on this fearsome persona whose ultimate goal were to kill and eat…and apparently not necessarily always in that order. As you can see, I felt that McAvoy’s performance was second to none, he was amazing, altering his voice, persona, appearance and character to fit each personality. If you were not a fan of McAvoy before, after watching this film, you will be!

Haley Lu Richardson as Claire Benoit: As one of the three girls that were captured by Crumb/Dennis (McAvoy), Claire (Richardson) was portrayed as the stereotypical teenager who apparently seemed to lack for nothing. The event was her birthday party that started it all off, and it seems that she invited her whole art class, even people that she did not really care for i.e. Casey (Taylor-Joy). Once she awakens in her cell, it is clear that there is a delineation between the 3 girls as Claire (Richardson) and Marcia (Sula) stay together on the same cot, while Casey is left on her own. Her main contribution seems to scream and shout ideas on how to escape. While she does effectively escape from their cell (not the compound), she is caught again and is placed in another room to await the Beast. I have not seen in her in any other show that she has been in, so I can’t really comment on her resume of work, but she was not bad, but not great either in this role. Easily forgotten in the grand scheme of the story. 

Jessica Sula as Marcia: The second girl of the trio is also new to me, she has been in a number of shows, but nothing that I had watched in the past. In this film, she is the typical follower. She agrees to everything and will follow whatever Claire says, and later, Casey. She too is separated from the others to await her demise. Marcia (Sula) does not really garner any emotion from the audience and actually after awhile I found the whining kind of annoying. Luckily she is not really a central character, but just one of the hapless trio who were captured. I hope that as she gets older and has more experience, that her roles and acting will progress. 

Betty Buckley as Dr. Karen Fletcher: Fletcher (Buckley) is the psychiatrist that is treating Crumb (McAvoy) et all. Usually dealing with the Barry character, she appears to have had some exposure with many of the personalities within Crumb. Trying to increase her own stature within the psychiatric community, she uses her patient as a case study in several forums. However, it is she, who is first realizing that some of the more “evil” personalities are at the forefront and are trying to control Crumb at all costs. Knowledgeable in dealing with cases such as this, she does manage to provide Casey (Taylor-Joy) with key information in the film’s 3^rdact which will prove to be pivotal. Fletcher’s role is extremely important throughout this film as it manages to find the missing pieces for the audience and helps (them/you) put the missing pieces together. A solid actress of many years, Buckley has been around for decades, heck, I even remember watching her as a kid in “Eight is Enough” in the mid 70’s. So she has had plenty of time to perfect her acting skills. As Dr. Fletcher, her performance was solid and the chemistry between her and Crumb (McAvoy) was believable. Her character was a great contribution to the film and story line itself and without her, there would have been several plot holes that would have been hard to fill.

Anya Taylor-Joyas Casey Cooke: The other principle character in this thriller and third girl who was abducted at the party. Casey (Taylor-Joy) is a troubled teen who came from a dysfunctional background. Her flashbacks tell a tale of abuse by a perverted and sick uncle and the unexpected loss of her father at a young age. She is a bit of a loner, only invited to the party as she was a class mate, and not really a friend of the hostess (Claire). However, in her case, it was the prime example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Once awakened in the cell, it is Casey (Taylor-Joy) who starts putting all the pieces together, and actually comes up with several ways to confuse and even manipulate their captor(s). Casey (Taylor-Joy) comes across as a very intelligent young lady and manages to wear the mantle of heroine very well. She easily sees through the changes and character traits of Crumb’s (McAvoy) many personalities and has an excellent rapport with some of them, specifically Hedwig and Dennis. Her final confrontation with the “Beast” is thrilling and manages to close several story lines. Not wanting to give away the climax, it is safe to say that their encounter is full of tension and action. As you can see, Taylor-Joy and McAvoy make the film and it is their chemistry between them (regardless of the personality) that makes the film so enjoyable. As with the other girls, I have not watched anything that she has been in, but I will look for her in upcoming films. I think she has some great talent, and I can only imagine what the future may bring for this young actress.

Overall we really enjoyed this film. It had suspense, comedy, horror and thrills all in one. The cinematography was excellent and the 2 key players (McAvoy and Taylor-Joy) were phenomenal in their roles. It literally kept us glued to the screen for the duration of the film. If this is what Shymalan is returning to, then I for one applaud it. Overall, the film was thoroughly entertaining and I look forward to watch the last film in the trilogy, Glass. If you are looking for some quality acting and a story that will keep you glued to the screen, then I recommend “Split” to be one of your next viewing choices, I am sure you won’t be disappointed!

Rating: 7.5/10

 Till the next time!

If you are interested in films from the main actor, consider the following recommendations:

James McAvoy              Atomic Blonde, X-Men (Franchise), The Last King of Scotland, Band of Brothers

Anya Taylor-Joy             Peaky Blinders 

Cast:

Steve Carell                              General Mark R. Naird

John Malkovich                         Dr. Adrian Mallory

Ben Schwartz                            F. Tony Scarapiducci

Diana Silvers                             Erin Naird

Tawny Newsome                       Captain Angela Ali

Jimmy O. Yang                          Dr. Chan Kaifang

Don Lake                                  Brigadier General Brad Gregory

Lisa Kudrow                              Maggie Naird

Noah Emmerich                        General Kick Grabaston

Over the last few weeks, my wife and I have watched the full premier season of Space Force on NETFLIX. Space Force, NETFLIX’s newest original comedy is about the creation and early days of the current American administration’s latest military arm or command if you will. 

This little time-waster stars the comedic genius of Steve Carell and John Malkovich in the title role as the Commanding General and Chief Scientist of the newly minted Space Force. Steve Carell is General Mark R. Naird, long under the thumb of the current Chief of the Air Force, General Kick Grabaston (Noah Emmerich) is finally given his own branch of the Armed Forces, Space Force. He takes over this new command, much to his dismay, as he was desperately hoping to command the Air Force itself. In creating the new element of America’s fighting might, General Naird (Carell) must battle an inept administration, political sycophants, jealous colleagues on the Joint Chiefs, a staff that is either too stupid, too smart, too incompetent or just spies for a foreign power. On top of that, he has a failing marriage and must raise a rebellious teen age daughter.Not exactly a recipe for success for a professional or personal life. 

For it’s premier season, the story arc consists of General Naird with the assistance of Dr. Mallory standing up the Space Force itself. Naird’s (Carrel) mission, besides standing up the force is to put “American Boots on the Moon!” Naturally, when Naird (Carell) makes his speech during the inauguration of the command, his explanation of “American boots on the Moon” has his own unique spin to it, that I am sure everyone will enjoy.

From the creation of the Force, to the finale of landing on the Moon, Space Force is a light hearted romp. It is not always hilarious, though there are some scenes that are literally laugh out loud. It is amusing, sometimes very silly, and may not be for everyone. If you enjoy “The Office” or Steve Carell as an actor himself, you will enjoy this series. I also found that if you follow current politics in the United States, that there a number of subtle nuances and jokes that increase the potential for enjoyment. Additionally, if you are in the military, or have military experience, the humour and one liners will be appreciated immensely. If you don’t, there may be some nuances that will escape you.

 Now to look at the cast:

Steve Carell as General Mark R. Naird: Carell is Carell, there is no escaping his style and delivery. As I mentioned previously, if you like the Office, you will probably like this show. Carell plays the tightly wound Naird, who is just trying to do his job, amidst all the problems that he is facing. He will break out into song when stressed, has no filter, and is sometimes oblivious of his surroundings or social nuances. Pretty much a typical Carell character. This character, while not unique, provides the vehicle for lead character to deliver the many puns, one liners and innuendos. Carell does a great job in this role, and I continue to be a fan of his work.

John Malkovichas Dr. Adrian Mallory: As I have mentioned in other reviews, Malkovich is a personal favourite of mine. His penchant for a dry delivery of jokes, laden with sarcasm contribute to many of the programs laughs. An accomplished actor, Malkovich continues to add style and substance to any production that he is involved with. As for his character, the self righteous scientist, Mallory is a natural balance to Naird’s “must follow the commands” mentality. The chemistry between Carell and Malkovich is great and really adds to Space Force writ large.

Ben Schwartz as F. Tony Scarapiducci: Scarapiducci is the Space Force public relations officer, or basically in charge of Twitter and social media. Personally, I find his character kind of annoying, but then again, I find most press media types annoying anyways. So I guess he is playing the role well. His character/role, much like all Public Affairs officers always tries to put a positive spin on all activities, no matter what he does to hamper the mission itself. Schwartz is relatively new to me as a viewer, though when I checked his resume, he is pretty accomplished in the comedic realm.

Tawny Newsome as Captain Angela Ali: Newsome portrays the only other really professional serviceperson in the series. A dedicated Air Force officer, her character is serious with a MacGyver like attitude to get things done. Her competence as an officer is a nice balance to the incompetence surrounding her. As with Schwartz, I have not really seen her in anything else, but she does have a prolific Comedy background and has been in numerous programs. I like her character and will definitely look for other programs that she has done and check them out. 

Don Lake as Brigadier General Brad Gregory: The character like Scarapiducci is not up there on my “like” scale. I know he is supposed to be a comedic balance to Naird (Carell), but that is where I think they could have made that character even better. He should have been the consummate professional, trying to help Naird complete his mission. That would leave more avenues for Naird (Carell) to also demonstrate some of his comedic genius. Lake is a solid character actor who could be better employed/utilized in this program. Sometimes, a show does not need everyone to be useless. 

Lisa Kudrow as Maggie Naird: Now we get to the characters who are part of Naird’s family. Kudrow is the estranged wife of Naird and is currently in prison. This further complicates his life as he tries to deal with his wife whom he loves, and the issues of now being a single parent raising a troublesome teenager. Kudrow is ok here, but I am sorry, to me she will always be Phoebe on Friends. I can’t see her on anything else unless the character is similar. Her role on Friends has pretty much type cast her (to me) in that role/character. As Maggie, she has a little bit of Phoebe, but not enough for me to really appreciate it. I hope that as this program continues (and I really hope it does), that I will grow to like her character.

Diana Silvers as Erin Naird: This is another new actress for me, and I have not yet decided how I feel about her talents/skills. Relatively new to the small screen, there is nothing in her resume that I had seen her in before to actually judge or compare. Mind you, she does play a teenager with great angst and confusion believably, I am just not sure on how I feel about the character at this point. As with the mother, (Kudrow), I hope that I will grow to like her character as the show continues. 

There are a host of other actors/actresses in this series of various calibers to support this ensemble. All of them have varying pedigrees in television/Film and comedies specifically. Each and every one of them have brought their own talents to the show to make sure that it is enjoyable. Is this the best new comedy on television? No it is not. Is it consistently hilarious? Again, no. But, can you sit there and be entertained for 30 minutes and escape some of the worlds issues? Yes, you can. If you are looking for something light, topical and a show that while you may not always laugh out loud, you will smile at their antics, then “Space Force” is definitely worth checking out. Hell, there are worse ways to spend you time than this program. I especially recommend this program if you are a fan of Carell and Malkovich, these two are the key to the show and will make sure that you will at least chuckle every once and awhile.

If you are interested in watching something from the key cast members, consider some of the following recommendations: 

Steve Carell                              40-Year-old Virgin, The Office, Dinner with schmucks, Dan in real life

John Malkovich                         RED, RED 2, Billions, Burn After Reading, Con Air, In the Line of Fire

Lisa Kudrow                              Friends, Analyze This, Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion.

Cast:

Ryan Gosling                             Neil Armstrong

Claire Foy                                 Janet Armstrong

Jason Clarke                              Ed White

Kyle Chandler                           Deke Slayton

Corey Stoll                                Buzz Aldrin

Ciaran Hinds                             Bob Gilruth

Pablo Schreiber                         James Lovell

Shea Whigham                          Gus Grissom

Lukas Haas                                Mike Collins

After having a busy week looking for a new vehicle, we finally got a chance to put in a movie on Saturday night. For this week’s selection, or ok, next in the pile… is “First Man”. This film is a biopic of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong. “First Man” has a solid cast and tells the extraordinary journey of mankind’s foray into space, which culminated in the fantastic achievement of landing on the Moon. Ryan Gosling plays the title character (Neil Armstrong) and is supported by a great cast of actors/actresses. 

Does “First Man” live up to the hype and billing as advertised? Yes, and no. My wife and I always enjoy films that are based on a true story, person, and/or event. Primarily, as we have found that Hollywood is continually churning out variations of the same plot all the time, and if it is a true story. We kinda know how it is going to end beforehand. We just want to see how the film will depict it, and if it was worthwhile to spend the 20 bucks for the ticket, or blu-ray. “First Man” while a good movie, about a historic event, is not a great movie if you know what I mean. The cinematography was excellent in the launch/space/flight scenes and at times almost took your breath away. The Director (Damien Chazelle) expertly interspersed file footage with film footage to make you feel like you were watching it for the first time! The scenery, props, costumes etc were first rate. Being a child of the 60’s I remember many of the items fondly and it brought me a back to a simpler time, where my only responsibility was to pick up the toys (If I got around to it) and make sure I finished my dinner. However, I have just digressed, the props and supporting materials were excellent and fit the scenes and era. I looked for some out of place technology while watching and could not find any. (Not saying that there wasn’t any in the film, just that if there was, I did not see it). However, I did find the characters to be wooden and unemotional for most part and lacked chemistry between them, especially Gosling and Foy. 

I have read that Armstrong’s children stated that Gosling and Foy portrayed an accurate portrayal of their parents, however, I found the on-screen presence of these actors lacking. Also, some of the integral portions of their lives were missed. We know that their daughter is sick and sadly passed away, but it was not really mentioned why. There were other holes in their own life that seemed to be missing, also, why were not the other children included in more scenes, as this was about him (Armstrong) would there not have been a little more of his family life? Additionally, why did the director not include the flag planting ceremony on the moon? We see it up in later scenes, but not when he actually planted the flag. I also read that this was a conscious decision by the director, but I firmly believe that this is an important scene that should have been included. Is the movie about Armstrong or NASA and the race to the moon? In either case, I believe it should have been included as it was important to both the agency and the individual. Also, I believe that the backstory of Armstrong should have been included more, even though he was a civilian within NASA, he was a former Navy pilot…easily could have been mentioned or alluded to. These aspects were missed. 

This biopic only takes a small portion of Armstrong’s life. Basically starting with a test flight on Bell X-15 where Armstrong (Gosling) experiences technical difficulties before returning to land, and then culminating on the historic landing on the moon. Even if you are not a history buff, the average person will be aware of the first Moon landing and have heard the names Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. So really not much to add to that synopsis.

As you may have garnered, while I liked the film, I found that there were aspects that could have been better. Primarily, portions of the story line and the chemistry between the main characters. While I am on the subject of the actors, lets take a look at some of the main ones. 

Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong: Gosling, a young Canadian actor who is making a name for himself with certain films, delivers (in my opinion) a very wooden and unemotional performance. There were so many aspects of the mans life that should have generated far greater tension or emotion than what was portrayed. However, if, as I have read, this is an accurate portrayal of the man himself, then so be it. But it did make the film seem slow at times, and almost drag on. Personally, I am not a fan of Gosling’s films as I find he always portrays pretty much the same type of character, and the film choices he has made have not actually been my type of films. I even found Blade Runner 2049 to be a slow film, and I was a huge fan of the original. Additionally, there was very little chemistry between Gosling and Foy. The bond that would be between such individuals who experience such hardships and time apart would be more evident then what was portrayed. 

Claire Foy as Janet Armstrong: Continuing with the above thoughts, I found Foy’s portrayal of Janet Armstrong to also be wooden and unemotional. I enjoyed her in “The Crown” as Queen Elizabeth, but here it was just slow. Even at times of tension I could not get the feeling from her that it was tense and emotional. She is not the queen here; she could give more to the role. 

Jason Clarke as Ed White: I like Clarke as White, he can easily play an astronaut, crooked politician, scientist or soldier. I first noticed him in the series Brotherhood, and as time went along he has been part of the cast of many more films that I liked, i.e. Zero Dark Thirty, White House Down, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Everest to name but a few. He easily fit into this role and the scenes with him were well done. As this is a historical film, his contributions were vital to the storyline and interaction within the film. 

Kyle Chandler as Deke Slayton: Chandler always gives a solid performance in any film or show that he is part of, “First Man” is no exception. As with Clarke as White, as a historic film his contributions are integral to the story, and ensured that factual continuity was pretty much maintained. When on screen, he was value added and actually managed to convey intensity or emotion when required.

Corey Stoll as Buzz Aldrin: Every time I see Stoll on screen, I immediately can’t stand him. Either he is extremely talented, and picks roles that bring out the worst in him, or he really is that way. Either way, I cannot find a part or character in his resume that I liked the character portrayed. I actually had to stop the film to make sure that he was playing Aldrin. I had seen Aldrin on several shows and documentaries and he did not come across as such a douche. Regardless, Buzz Aldrin was a key character in the first landing on the moon, and maybe a bit more screen time and interaction between the two men would have been better for the film. If there was tension between the two, demonstrate that further, if they were buddies, give the audience that feeling. As it stands, because Aldrin was played by Stoll, and he came across as a bit of egomaniac and ass-hat, I could not get the feel of what the real person was.

Lukas Haas as Mike Collins: He actually had very minimal screen time in this film, and his only contribution was to play Collins. I am fully aware that most people only remember Aldrin and Armstrong, but Collins was part of the team and could have received at least some character development. He was pretty much a cardboard cut-out and the few lines he utters in the film could have been relegated to someone off screen. While historically Collins has a great deal to contribute, in this film, Haas was found lacking.

Pablo Schreiber as James Lovell: while Schreiber did not have much screen time, minimal dialogue and was most often seen as part of the ensemble, I found that I could not associate him as James Lovell. As Hanks had played Lovell in Apollo 13, that is what he looks like to me, and now that he looks more rugged, 5 inches taller and more of an action actor, he did not fit the character that most people will now associate with the real individual. Not really an issue, but when a lesser known actor plays a role that was already represented by an iconic actor, he or she will have some pretty big shoes to fill, and will undoubtedly fail in that representation. 

Overall, we found the movie entertaining, though not necessarily due to the characters or the acting itself. It was the subject matter, cinematography, attention to detail of the era that drew us in. While you would think that this film is an action film as well as a biopic, it was slow and long. Especially as there are only a few scenes of intensity throughout this film, and while awesome, it was almost too little, too far apart. The opening sequence was amazing, as well as the launch and landing. Everything else was very slow. Would I recommend this film? Yes, if you have 2 ½ hours to kill and were looking for some authentic shots and great cinematography. But, if you want a more entertaining tale of the journey to the moon, check out The Right Stuff and Apollo 13. Both films had far greater tension and action than the First Man. 

Rating: 5.5/10

If you are interested in other films or shows by the key actors/actresses. Consider the following recommendations. 

Ryan Gosling                 The Ides of March, The Big Short, Murder by Numbers

Claire Foy                     The Crown

Jason Clarke                  Everest, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, White House Down, Brotherhood, Zero Dark Thirty

Kyle Chandler               Game Night, Manchester by the Sea, The Wolf of Wall Street

Corey Stoll                    Ant Man, House of Cards, The Romanoff’s, The Bourne Legacy

Cast:

Jennifer Garner                         Riley North

John Gallagher Jr                       Det. Stan Carmichael

John Ortiz                                 Det. Moises Beltran

Juan Pablo Raba                        Diego Garcia

Annie Ilonzeh                            FBI Agent Lisa Inman

Jeff Hephner                             Chris North

Cailey Fleming                          Carly North

Well, here we are again with a review for the Notinhalloffame.com website, blog section, “Was I entertained”. Even though, it is the end of May and spring is supposed to be here, back home in Canada, we had a cold snap over the weekend so it was time again to try a few different shows. After perusing NETFLIX for a bit and watching another episode of Wentworth (Great show), we decided to put in a film. So, after looking at the stack of unwatched Blu-Ray’s, I grabbed Peppermint (2018) to be the next movie to watch. 

Peppermint stars Jennifer Garner and is Directed by the same director (Pierre Morel) who also was involved with the movie “Taken”. After watching Peppermint, this was really no surprise as the style, dialogue, etc was pretty much the same. Peppermint is a standard revenge flick. It adheres to the formula of likeminded films (i.e. Death Wish, Kill Bill) with no surprises, extremely predictable, and plot holes large enough to drive a Mack Truck through. However, it was still good enough to keep us entertained throughout the film.

Peppermint starts off with a pitched battle in a car between Riley (Garner) and some thug. After getting wounded, she gets the upper hand and manages to dispatch this miscreant and leave the car and corpse behind. The next scene starts 5 years earlier where we find out that she is a young mother with a small child, about 10 years old. Rilery (Garner) and her husband are trying to make ends meet, as all young families do. She works in a bank, and he in garage. However, as tight as the money is they still want to have what’s best for their child. In that light, Chris (Hephner) is approached by a colleague at the garage to be a driver in a planned robbery against the local gang, which is led by Garcia (Raba). After a change of heart, Chris tells his colleague no, and goes out with his wife and child to celebrate the daughter’s birthday. This is especially important as a local PTA villainess has destroyed Carly’s (Fleming) birthday party as a revenge tactic for encroaching on her daughter’s turf for selling cookies at the local mall. Actually pretty pathetic, but I understand that stuff like that happens all the time in some schools.

While at the fair, Garcia’s gang does a drive by and kills both Chris (Hephner) and Carly (Fleming), while leaving Riley (Garner) wounded on the ground, and watching her family die in front of her eyes. Detectives Carmichael (Gallagher) and Beltran (Ortiz) arrive, pick up the pieces and put Riley (Garner) in an ambulance and commence their investigation. 

Riley (Garner) identifies the assailants in a line-up and they are brought to trial. However, because the legal system is so crooked, the killers get off, Riley (Garner) goes crazy and gets subsequently sentenced to a mental hospital for actions. Typical movie justice. En-route to the hospital, Riley (Garner) escapes and goes underground. 

Surfacing 5 years later, Riley is back to extract revenge. She has learned new skills, and can handle a weapon or use her fists with equal dexterity. Bent on a path of revenge she commences to track down each and every person who has wronged her family and exacts her own particular style of justice. Detectives Beltran (Ortiz) and Carmichael (Gallagher) join forces with FBI agent Inman (Ilonzeh) to find out who the vigilante killer is that is hunting down all these ne’er do wells and executing them. Of course, as this is extremely predictable, they figure out it is Riley (Garner) and try to catch her before she can finish what the police force cannot do. I will let you watch the film to get the rest of the story line, but needless to say, this film follows all the formula’s for a film of this genre to bring it to a “no-surprise” ending.

Did we enjoy this film? Did it entertain? I would say yes, even though we knew exactly what would happen throughout most of the film, there were still a few surprises and red-herrings to throw us off a bit along the journey. As with the movie “Taken”, this film was full of action, the odd one liner, and some great fight scenes. Yes, there were plot holes, and a few WTF instances when certain things/events occurred, but they were easily shrugged off as Riley (Garner) caught another person on her list to exact her brand of justice. 

Now to look at the cast. 

Jennifer Garner as Riley North: Garner was in fine form for this film, coming back to action roles from a long hiatus while doing RomComs and family friendly films, Peppermint returned Garner to some of her action roots. The first time I remember watching her in a program was in Alias, where she was an international spy. Alias was an enjoyable tv program that lasted for 5 years and was no doubt instrumental in getting her a part in DareDevil and her own spinoff film, Elektra. While these films were panned critically, I found them enjoyable and full of action. Most importantly, it gave her the basic skills for an action film that were needed in Peppermint. What helped make this movie, was that Garner did her own stunts and fight scenes to add to the realism. There were no “face-fade” scenes where the action star would fight, but the face would be blurred to hide the stunt person. Garner has been in enough action films over the years to learn enough skills to make her action sequences believable (Elektra, Alias, DareDevil). For Garner, revenge was the key motivator throughout the film and it was effectively portrayed. While some of the other characters were lacking in development or motive, hers was strong throughout and kept us interested in what the outcome would be (even though we already surmised what it would be). My only problem with Riley’s(Garner) story in this film was that her back-story was not developed enough. It showed clips of Riley (Garner) learning how to fight hand to hand, but a mastery of automatic weapons was never mentioned. This could have been covered very easily with a montage of her at a range or something. Also, I think a scene or two of her researching where everyone who wronged her family would have helped the plot along as well, she seemed to find everyone to easily. Planning sequences would have helped out the continuity portion of the film.

John Gallagher Jr as Det. Stan Carmichael: He did a fair job as the ideological/burnt out (depending on the scene/time period) detective. It was believable, but not over the top. He projected his own inner turmoil well as he handled the drive-by shooting case. His burn-out, alcoholic tendencies come out later in the film, and you think it is for one reason, only to find out the impetus for these actions were another reason entirely. Well done in my opinion. Having watched him in 10 Cloverfield Lane, Newsroom and now this film, I look forward to other roles that he is in.

John Ortiz as Det. Moises Beltran: Ortiz is a solid supporting actor and has made his career doing just that. In Peppermint, there is no difference to his performance compared to his previous roles. He can be the tormented soul or disheveled policeman at the drop of a hat. In this film, as Carmichael’s partner, he gave us just enough confusion in his role to make it interesting. Was he a good cop, was he crooked, or was he just a coward. The finale of the film will give you the answer and it was actually the only real thing in the film that I did not predict in the end. A good performance that reminds the audience that any star, no matter how big, requires a solid support cast to make a successful film or program. 

Juan Pablo Raba as Diego Garcia: While the antagonist of the film, his screen time was limited and his performance very wooden. I think a good “bad guy” would be more menacing and not be named after an island in the Indian ocean. His whole performance was lackluster and even though he was the main “bad-guy” it could have been played far better. John Leguizamo (Waco, John Wick 2, The Infiltrator) would have been a more menacing character than Raba played here. The character required more dimension and exposure, as well as better back story. Sometimes being the feared drug lord is not enough in a movie, the why, what and how have to be included as well. 

Annie Ilonzeh as FBI Agent Lisa Inman: As a supporting role, Ilonzeh did not do much to add to the overall movie. Her main contribution to the plot was actually to start putting the pieces of Riley’s (Garner) actions together, far ahead of Carmichael and Beltran. While she looked familiar, I actually had to look up what other shows I had seen her in. However, after looking at her resume and remembering her roles (finally), I can see that her roles and talent will only increase in time. 

Overall Peppermint was not a bad film, not great, but entertaining nonetheless. Garner does well in the action genre, delivering solid punches (if you will) and even some good one liners (If you watch the film, remember this when the bitchy PTA mother comes on screen, made for a darkly humorous scene). The plot, while predictable still had the odd twist and turn that will keep you watching till the end. If you can get by these factors, and the odd plot holes then you will enjoy the film.

Rating: 5.5/10

If you are interested in seeing other films with the main cast, consider the following recommendations.

Jennifer Garner             13 going on 30, Alias, Draft Day, Ghosts of Girlfriends past

John Gallagher Jr           Newsroom (Excellent show), 10 Cloverfield Lane

John Ortiz                     Messiah, Kong: Skull Island        

Juan Pablo Raba            The 33  

Annie Ilonzeh                Person of Interest, Arrow, Hatfields and McCoys

Cast:

Jason Statham              Jonas Taylor

Bingbing Li                    Suyin

Rainn Wilson                Morris

Cliff Curtis                     Mac

Winston Chao               Zhang

Shuya Sophia Cai           Meiying

Ruby Rose                    Jaxx

Page Kennedy               DJ

Robert Taylor                Heller

Olafur Darri Olaffson     The Wall

Jessica Mcnamee          Lori

Masi Oka                      Toshi

As we are all still locked down and there are limited choices of activity for us all due to the epidemic, my unwatched movie collection is starting to dwindle down. After having a dinner from a local take-out establishment (we do have to support local business’s at this time) I grabbed the next movie in the pile. This week, it happened to be “The Meg”. I had seen bits and pieces of this movie a few years ago when returning from a conference in Europe, but as with all trans-Atlantic flights you never really get to appreciate a film, or even watch it completely due to the many interruptions. Anyways, with a full belly, full glass of wine in hand, I put “The Meg” in the blu-ray player for this weekends entertainment. 

What is “The Meg” about you ask? Well “The Meg” is a quasi action/horror/sci-fi/comedy film that rips-off or pays homage to (depending on your perspective) several movies in Hollywood history. In essence this film is a Shark flick, with a hint of Jaws (plus sequels), The Abyss, Leviathan, Deep Rising and Piranha. I saw elements of each film in this action/comedy/horror/sci-fi romp starring Jason Statham. Before I start outlining the good/bad of the film, I will give a bit of a plot summary.

The film opens with a submarine that is disabled on the ocean floor and a rescue team and mini-submersible are on site trying to save everyone. The rescue team is led by a stone-faced Jason Statham, who instead of fighting a number of bad guys is now fighting the elements. During the rescue, we see a submarine that is taking on water and a hull that is crumpled up in sections (The Abyss?). This tension is further heightened (?) when the sub is shaken around a bit and a portion of the hull commences to be crushed in a way that resembles a large bite…hmm dramatic foreshadowing perhaps? Jonah (Statham) can’t save them all, so he releases the docking clamp and surfaces with only a portion of the crew, leaving a number to die to an unknown fate.  However, it appears that Jonah (Statham) is the only one who believes it is a sea creature and the rest of the world perceives him as a coward who lost his nerve and that he left people to behind to die. Cashiered out of deep sea rescue (or whatever he was in, Navy, Coast—guard, who knows, it is not really mentioned), he moves to Thailand (?) and commences a stereo typed life of a burn-out who is just drinking his life away. 

Meanwhile…. a company owned by Billionaire Morris (Rainn Wilson) creates a huge state of the art Ocean lab. This Lab is located in the South China sea (somewhere) and its purpose was to prove that the ocean was even deeper than imagined. The theory was that the sea bottom was actually beyond a thermal layer of cold water, and they were going to prove it. Enter a new group of intrepid travellers, Lori (Mcnamee), The Wall (Olaffson) and Toshi (Oka) are in a mini-submersible who penetrate the layer, and discover a whole new undersea world. Supporting this submersible is a whole cast of characters, the team leader Zhang (Chao) his daughter Suyin (Li) and granddaughter Meiying (Cai), Mac (Curtis) Jaxx (Rose) Kennedy (DJ) and the doctor Heller (Taylor). Observing the whole experiment is the wacky owner Morris (Wilson) who actually has his own agenda beyond that of the team leader Zhang (Chao). Now back to the submersible, while exploring, their mini-sub is attacked by a giant squid, followed by a save and subsequent attack by the Meg. The submersible is disabled, and the crew wounded. The Lab’s crew and owner watch this on their monitors and realize that there is no way to save them. Mac (Curtis) knows that his friend is lounging around on a nearby island goes to retrieve him (Jonas/Statham) and he is the only guy who can save them…even drunk. (Note: Maybe Toshi (Oka) should have used his special powers like he had on Heroes to save them…but that is just my imagination running wild here as the story could not quite keep me completely tuned in!)

The ever drunk Jonas (Statham) at first refuses to help, until he finds out that the damaged submersible is captained by his ex wife Lori (Mcnamee), and he naturally sobers up and signs up for the dramatic rescue. Jonas (Statham) and Mac (Curtis) return to the lab, Jonas meets the rest of the crew and owner. Finds out the doctor on the lab is the same one who called him a coward in the navy/coast guard/rescue team or whatever and still does not trust him and think that he is a coward. This results in some poorly acted tension between Jonas (Statham) and Heller (Taylor). Concurrently Suyin (Li) has taken matters in her own hands and has launched a “glider” to rescue the downed submersible and pull them back to safety. However, this is only a failed attempt at rescue and tension. Sober and full of action, Jonas (Statham) now has 2 submersibles to save. Needless to say, Jonas saves the two submersibles (but not everyone) returns to the lab and is thanked by all, not quite all… he does get some blame for leaving someone behind. However, unknown to the crew, due to their incursions a leak in the thermal layer is created and has allowed “The Meg” to escape to our waters. “The Meg” scares a few people in the lab, and then commences to wreak havoc in the surrounding waters. This “Meg” is a shark that is upwards of 70 ft long, approx. 70 tons and has a bite more powerful than a T-Rex. As all sharks are, the Meg is continuously hungry and searching for food, and just scary enough to make you jump every once and a while!

Jonas (Statham) and crew take it upon themselves to save the world as we know it and commence to track the “Meg” down to kill it. This is pretty much a foregone conclusion, as what would the movie be if the intrepid hero was not successful in this quest. They have some great adventures, a few laughs and some half decent special effects finding the Meg, tracking it and subsequently taking it down. Concurrently, some characters find love, themselves, inner strength, or even find out that they are destined to be lunch for the “Meg” itself. I glossed over the last part of the movie to not give out too many parts away if you have not yet seen the film.

Now to look at the Good, Bad and Ugly of this film. 

The Good: The CGI was actually pretty good and the chemistry between the main characters flowed satisfactorily. It was nice to see Statham in an action film where he did not have to fight 500 bad guys at once, but actually had to fight the elements, the “Meg” and actually his own fear. His dry humour was an added bonus as well as that of Morris (Wilson). There were numerous one-liners that did not make you laugh out loud, but at least give you a smile or even a slight guffaw. The interaction between Jonas (Statham) and Suyin (Li) was not bad. The acting was good enough for their flirtation to be somewhat believable (as believable as you can be with Statham trying to be romantic). Also, we found that the child actress who played Sunyin’s daughter Meiying (Cai) was adorable and added the right touch of “cuteness” you could say to the action movie. Additionally, either the intentional homages or blatant rip-off’s of other films were also not bad. We especially enjoyed the beach scene when the “Meg” was swimming around the crowded bay, looking for snacks. There were several instances that were right out of Jaws and it immediately too me back to that film, when I saw it as a kid. If you watch the film, you will see varied aspects of the previously mentioned films, Jaws, Piranha, Abyss, Leviathan in there as well. I will leave it to you to decide if they wanted pay respect to previous films, or just planned to rip them off! (Actually a side comment with respect to Statham, it is clearly evident that he is no stranger to water as his dives and swimming are smooth and fluid. For readers who are not aware, he was once a member of the UK diving team and participated in the 1990 Commonwealth games!)

The supporting cast of characters were also enjoyable. Morris as the idiot billionaire was humorous and added levity right until the moment his character was an active participant of the Meg’s dinner requirements. 

The Bad: There was a touch too many cliché’s in the film. Statham playing the burned out drunk who is looking for redemption. Heller (Taylor) being angry when Jonas (Statham) first shows up but then apologizes as he sees the error in his ways, and then seeks his own redemption. This is just an example of too many “stereotypes” that could have possibly been written better and with a little more imagination. However, I must add, that these factors did not overly detract from the film, it became what was expected. 

The Ugly: Many reviewers will have varying viewpoints on this with respect to “The Meg”, but for me, I would actually say the dialogue was the ugly, it struck me as very clichéd, and at times stilting. Yes, there were a few jokes and one liners that I found amusing, but nothing really imaginative or new here. Also, some of the supporting characters and even Jonas himself could have had more character development to show the “Why” or purpose of their contribution to the film writ large. 

Did I enjoy the film and was I entertained? Yes, I was entertained, but the film is not something that will win any awards or make you call for more. It was just good enough for me to watch it all, laugh a bit and enjoy the special effects. Would I recommend it? Only if you are a fan of Jaws type films and quality acting and dialogue is not a must. I have seen better films with some of the cast, and also some worse ones. But it will kill the time if you are so inclined to give it a try.

My Rating: 4.5/10

If you are interested in other films with the main cast, please consider the following

Jason Statham              Transporter, Expendables, The Mechanic, Spy, Fast and the Furious (Franchise)

Bingbing Li                    Transformers: Age of Extinction, 1911

Rainn Wilson                Juno, The Office, Six Feet Under

Cliff Curtis                     Fear the Walking Dead, Fracture, Training Day, Whale Rider

Till next time!

Cast:

Dwayne Johnson                       Will Sawyer

Neve Campbell                         Sarah Sawyer

Chin Han                                   Zhao Long Ji

Roland Moller                           Kores Botha

Noah Taylor                              Mr Pierce

Byron Mann                              Inspector Wu

Pablo Schreiber                         Ben

Mckenna Roberts                      Georgia Sawyer

Noah Cottrell                            Henry Sawyer

Hannah Quinlivan                     Xia

As the world and our nation is still under “quarantine” due to the COVID virus, we still look to films and tv’s for a chance to escape. For this week, we selected the blu-ray “Skyscraper” as our means of escape from the doldrums of confined life. Skyscraper stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Neve Campbell in the principal roles. This is the 3^rdfilm that I have reviewed with “The Rock” as the lead, not that his films are the best in the industry, just that he makes a lot of films, and they are entertaining in almost every case. After watching the film, Skyscraper is probably on the lower end of the “The Rock” entertainment spectrum. It has loads of action, fantastic special effects, but a cast of characters that lacks chemistry and a plot with more holes and gaps then a brick of swiss cheese. 

Speaking of the plot, what is Skyscraper about? In this film, The Rock is Will Sawyer, a Veteran and former Hostage Rescue team member who is now employed as a security consultant. His job is not really defined at this point (or really throughout the film). Is he a risk assessor, Rent-a-cop security, or in charge of a burgeoning security firm? It was kind of hard to pin down. However, his career choice is a result of a hostage negotiation/rescue gone wrong, where he and the team were either killed or wounded. In Sawyer’s case (Johnson), he lost a leg. As a Risk assessor or security specialist for his own company, his close friend and former team-mate Ben (Schreiber) sets him up with this lucrative job. In that light, Sawyer and family travel to Hong Kong to provide a security assessment of the tallest building in the world, and I think hired on as head of security (not really defined here). The Pearl, as the skyscraper is called, dwarfs anything else on the planet for it’s design, height and opulence.  Will (Johnson), his wife Sarah (Campbell) and children Georgia and Henry are also the first occupants of this monstrosity. 

Will (Johnson) gives the Pearl a passing grade, the owner Long Ji (Han) is very happy and presents Will with a tablet that is keyed to his face and gives him full control of the building and all its safety features. With the “golden ticket to the chocolate factory” in hand, Will (Johnson) and Ben (Schreiber) head out while the family goes to the zoo to see some Panda’s, the tickets which were a gift from Ben. While departing the skyscraper en-route to the off site security/control facility, Will and Ben are accosted by a thief who steals Will’s man-bag, with the hope that the tablet is contained within. A chase and scuffle ensue, however, Will (Johnson) is slowed down by his artificial limb and the miscreant escapes. During the scuffle, Will (Johnson) did not escape unscathed, and both Will (Johnson) and Ben (Schreiber) return to Ben’s place to discuss. It is at this time that the nefarious plot is revealed. Ben (Schreiber) who is working for Botha (Moller) aka the movie “bad guy” discovers that Will still has the almighty tablet that controls all and a knock-down drag out fight between the two behemoths commences. I gotta say, that these guys do a great fight sequence, both huge guys, they totally trash the place and even though Will (Johnson) is an amputee, it does little to slow him down in the fight. 

To quickly speed up with the plot summary, after finding out the Ben (Schreiber) is a bad guy, and that he (Will/Johnson) has been set up, he rushes back to the Skyscraper to see that it is on fire around the 90^thfloor. Unfortunately, Will’s (Johnson) family returning back early from the Zoo are situated above the fire along with a team of nefarious individuals led by Botha (Moller), and his boss, Long Ji (Han) with his own personal staff and security. Will (Johnson) goes into “Rock” mode, battles police en-route to the Skyscraper, the bad guys, and of course the burning skyscraper itself. Along the way, we find out the cheesy reason why it was taken over and the reason behind everything that has happened to him and his family. Ultimately Will (Johnson) saves the day, his family, his boss and the building itself. 

That is Skyscraper in a nutshell without giving out too many spoilers or hints. As I mentioned before, this movie was entertaining, but not really good if you know what I mean. Of course with the Rock in a film, you will have large explosions, larger than life stunts, raised eyebrows, Bicep flexes and incredible stunts. This is what we expect in one of his films, and he delivered as always. But, and I have to say a rather large but, the plot, character development and dialogue was weak. Will Sawyer (Johnson) is what he always is, you are introduced to the reason he has all the skills in the first 5 minutes of the film (Hostage/military etc) and why he has lost one leg. The remainder of the characters are only glossed over. For example, his wife Sarah (Campbell), she is the doctor who saves him, so of course they fall in love and have a family. But that’s not all, information is later provided that she was a military doctor and did several tours of Afghanistan. That must explain her fighting skills later. The remainder of the cast is also very one-dimensional, right from the billionaire building owner (Long Ji), to his children, Ben, Botha and the Police Inspector Wu. Dialogue is pretty stilted and even kind of simplistic. 

Dwayne Johnson as Will Sawyer: As I have mentioned not only in this review but in others as well. The Rock pretty much always delivers entertainment in any film. Even when the character development is lacking or the dialogue is weak, he can still carry the film enough so that you feel that you were entertained in the end. In this film, being an amputee was another hurdle for him to battle along with the fighting etc. Some of the stunts were a little far fetched, but hey, it is the ROCK, so just shake your head, take a sip of whisky and keep watching. The stunts only get better and more far fetched, but you will have fun. Overall, he was the Rock and as always carried the film (in this case he had a lot to carry), so that you were not too disappointed, and as mentioned earlier, not one of his better films.

Neve Campbell as Sarah Sawyer: Campbell did not really have much to play with here as far as a character. As the wife and mother protector of her children she was OK. She can present a tormented face with a touch of weepiness at all times, and if required scream repeatedly. Since her heyday in Party of Five, The Scream Franchise and Wild Things, she does more guest appearances in various television shows instead of carrying a film on her own. As previously stated she was OK in this film, nothing spectacular here, but then again, she was playing against a burning skyscraper and the ROCK…kinda hard to outshine them. Overall, she is not a bad actress and I really liked some of her earlier work, and I hope to see her in more feature films as time progresses. I believe that now that she is a bit older and mature she can play a variety of roles that were previously unavailable to her. 

Chin Han as Zhao Long Ji: Not much of a character here, he is the multi-billionaire with an inferiority complex (hence the huge building). His character is one-dimensional, there is no real depth to him. He has info on the bad guy to save his building, and it appears that he would cut corners to make sure his dream was built. But other than that, not much else to him. He was far better in supporting roles, for example Dark Knight and Contagion.

Rollan Moller as Kores Botha: speaking of one dimensional characters, Moller as Botha was pretty much a cardboard cut-out of a bad guy. He had no depth, and very little screen presence. For a rip-off or homage to Die Hard as this film was, the villain could have been more like Hans Gruber to give the audience something to bite into, and maybe even cheer for the bad guy (I do this sometimes if the villain is extraordinary!).  If you watch the film, Botha (Moller) does not really do much but grimace, shoot his weapon and demand the USB key. Other than that, he is pretty useless and ends up just being a punching bag and target for Will (Johnson). 

Pablo Schreiberas Ben: A former team-mate, friend and colleague Ben is the trigger for what happens to Will Sawyer, his family and the building. Provided very little screen time, there is very little time to learn about his character besides what was just mentioned. It appears that he does have a soft spot for the family and tries to arrange an excursion for them so that they will not be present when everything goes pear-shaped. But, that is about it. His great contribution to the film is the fight that he has with Will (Johnson) in his apartment. However, as would be expected when you watch a film with the Rock, there is no chance that he will win. Not really contributing much else to the film, Schreiber’s performance definitely did not leave a lasting impression after the film was completed. 

Mckenna Roberts as Georgia Sawyer and Noah Cottrell as Henry Sawyer: As the spawn of the Sawyers, they add little to the film except prove that parents will take care of their children. I don’t remember seeing the kids in any other films, they did ok, especially with some of the action sequences, but really nothing extraordinary.  It might prove interesting to see what else they star in as they get older. 

Overall, the storyline is a melange of other films, specifically Die Hard and the Towering Inferno. However, in this case, Will Sawyer is no John McClane, Botha is not Hans Gruber, but I must say, the effects and the building itself are much better than the (1974) Towering Inferno’s office building.  Action was paramount in this film, the CGI and the stunts were great. If you are a “Die-Hard” fan of movies starring the Rock, then I would recommend this for an evenings entertainment. But only if you don’t mind a weak story line or characters, if you are not a fan…then I would move onto another film to while away your time.

Our rating: 4.5/10 (only because we are fans)

If you are interested in other films starring the main cast, please consider the following:

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson               Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, San Andreas, Rampage, Fast and Furious franchise

Neve Campbell                                     Wild Things, Scream (Franchise) The Craft

Pablo Schreiber                                    13 Hours

Chin Han                                               Contagion, The Dark Knight

Till next time!

Cast:

Bruce Willis                              Paul Kersey

Vincent D’Onofrio                     Frank Kersey

Elisabeth Shue                          Lucy Kersey

Camila Morrone                        Jordan Kersey

Dean Norris                              Detective Kevin Raines

Kimberly Elise                           Detective Leonore Jackson

Beau Knapp                              Knox

For this week, I decided to try a re-make from a classic that I watched in my childhood. In 1974, Charles Bronson was coming into his own as an action star, and the movie Death Wish was the vehicle that he used to achieve it. In a nut-shell, Death Wish tells a story of revenge. In the original, Charles Bronson, a successful architect has his life destroyed when a bunch of robbers break into his apartment, kill his wife and rape his daughter. In his grief, Kersey (Bronson) becomes a one-man vigilante squad and wreaks havoc on the underworld of New York, desperately seeking vengeance for the crimes that had befallen his family. Death Wish (1974) was a great movie for the day, it established Bronson as an action star and marketable in Hollywood films of the time. Sure, he had a few other successes as the lead prior to Death Wish, Mr. Majestyk and the Mechanic to name a few. However, he was seen more in ensemble movies (The Great Escape, Magnificent 7, The Dirty Dozen) as an added bonus to these action movies, where others had to carry the weight of the film. Death Wish started a franchise for Bronson that spanned 5 films and 2 decades. 

As Death Wish (1974) was a classic, I can see where Hollywood would like to try and re-invigorate the franchise, especially as it seems that is all Hollywood can do at this time, revive ideas and scripts, dust them off and try to modernize them for a new generation. Death Wish (2018) is another example of the latest Hollywood fad of re-imagining classics. 

The plot is almost identical to the original except it is now in Chicago vs New York, and Kersey (Willis) is an Emergency Room Surgeon vs architect. Other than those minor differences, the general idea and plot line is extremely similar. Kersey and his family (to include his brother, a new character compared to the original) go out for a family dinner. The Valet, hears a discussion that the family will all be out together the following week for Paul’s (Willis) Birthday and takes a photo of the on-board GPS family address when returning the car. Naturally, the valet is a bad guy, he gives the details to a few thugs. Meanwhile, on the birthday date in question, the celebration is curtailed as Paul (Willis) is called to work at the hospital. As the would-be robbers expect the house to be empty, they break in to rob the family of all the belongings. Enter wife and daughter (Shue and Morrone) returning from a trip to the supermarket. They encounter the robbers, a scuffle ensues and Lucy (Shue) is killed and Jordan (Morrone) is wounded and ends up in a coma. 

Paul (Willis) is distraught, Detectives Raines and Jackson (Norris and Elise respectively) who are assigned to the case have no leads and Paul (Willis) is spiralling further down. This all changes when during an emergency room scene, Paul (Willis) encounters the same valet, who is now wounded and requires assistance. A pistol drops on the ground, and one of Paul’s expensive watches is visible on the Valet’s arm. He puts 2 + 2 together and realizes that this is a key to his recovery…ok, I mean revenge. He grabs the pistol, his watch and the valet’s phone. From this point forward, Paul (Willis) starts his path as a one-man vigilante squad. He learns how to fire, clean and aim his pistol (all done by today’s teachers – Youtube!) and goes out looking for the bad guys who messed with his family and life. Along this journey he encounters several incidents where crimes are committed and takes action, killing all the bad guys, saving the day and carrying on. However, this is the 2000’s and everyone has a cell phone camera and he is recorded and uploaded to the internet for all to see. 

Coined online as the “Grim Reaper”, and looking like a slightly older version of the main character in Unbreakable (Willis as David Dunn) he stumbles around till he finds out who messed with him and exacts justice in a fashion that John McClane from Die Hard would be proud of. Throughout the film, Detectives Raines & Jackson (Norris and Elise) continue to search for the criminals in question, suspect Paul (Willis) is the Grim Reaper. However, as the “Grim Reaper” is now gaining cult-like status in Chicago, and is admired by many, (including the Detectives), Paul (Willis) gets away with murder – literally. This pretty much sums up the movie, I know that some spoilers were given, but hey, this is a remake of a 46-year-old film and does follow a typical revenge formula. Nothing is new here.

What did I like about this film? The use of Chicago as the scene instead of New York was a nice touch, specifically due to the fact that the New York of yesterday is far more violent then that of today. Chicago has replaced New York for the title of cities with the most murders. So for realism sake, this was a solid change to the plot. The movie was updated to include various changes to technology and cultural norms. For example, getting the home info from the on-board GPS on the car, photo’s/video from the phone and even the ability to learn skills from youtube. All of these enhancements helped to move this film to present day, and were done well enough to entertain yet not take away from the story. Especially if you (like me) were comparing this film to the 1974 original.

Bruce Willis as Paul Kersey: of late, Willis’ films have been rather hit and miss. When he sticks to his tried and true method of being the sarcastic hero, with one liners shooting out just as fast his guns, he is in his comfort zone. However, playing a doctor in this case, he seemed to struggle to get the feel of the role. It was not until he started playing the “Grim Reaper” that he really started to come back to normal and be the Bruce Willis that fans want to watch. Overall, he had a pretty uneven performance, but there was just enough of regular roles/mannerisms in the film to make it entertaining enough to watch through. I did like the part where in his first shoot out, he managed to get cut by the Pistol’s slide across the web of his hand. This can occur very easily with in-experienced shooters and I have seen it on several occasions at ranges myself. A little bit of realism that did cause me to laugh a little. 

Vincent D’Onofrio as Frank Kersey: This was a new character compared to the original. I have liked D’Onofrio in films ever since “Full Metal Jacket”. He is a diverse actor who can add to any film or show that he is in. In Death Wish, D’Onofrio is the brother with actually no real role. You could take him completely out of the film and it would not change one iota. With some small dialogue tweaks, his contribution to the film could be completely wiped out. One scene that D’Onofrio shares with the Detectives Rains and Jackson (Norris and Elise) is somewhat out of place. We know that he is a bit down and out on his luck and has little cash (he is the family sponge), but where was it mentioned that he was bad enough to be considered as a criminal and suspect for the vigilante (Grim Reaper) murders that were conducted. The Detectives zoom in that he is left handed and that he made him a suspect. But why? Where was the background info that would have and should have been presented to lead them to it? Maybe it was on the cutting room floor, I don’t know. I felt that his contribution to the film was minimal and his talents were wasted. He would have played the robber/scumbag far better I believe than having a down and out brother who is just hanging around the family as a sponge. 

Elisabeth Shue as Lucy Kersey: Shue pretty much had a minimal part, much like her acting roles of late.  Popular when she was much younger (Back to the Future 2 and 3, Adventures in babysitting, Karate Kid), her career kind of floundered around for years, participating in middle of the road films. As the mother Lucy (Shue), does a fair job in the short time that she has on screen. Her role is important to the motive of the vigilante and the character’s importance cannot be understated. However, with the limited on-screen time she has, it did not really leave a lasting effect. If you are a fan of Shue, consider watching “The Boys”, an amazon original where she does an excellent job as the harpy CEO who is controlling all the superheroes. 

Dean Norris as Detective Kevin Raines and Kimberly Elise as Detective Leonore Jackson: They do an fair job as police detectives who are trying to find the killers/thieves and also the “Grim Reaper”. Their characters were pretty much 1 dimensional and had no real depth, but however, in this case they did not really require it either. Norris plays pretty much the same character he plays in all films/shows. Whether he is a cop, soldier, or mayor, he often plays roles of authority, and leads/directs with a bullish attitude that he can carry off very easily. Elise played the 2^ndfiddle detective as well as can be expected with the limited time she had. Nothing dramatic here, I have not seen her in too many films/shows before, but do remember her in John Q which was a great movie. 

Camila Morrone as Jordan Kersey: This was the first movie I have seen her in, and from what I have gathered, modelling was her previous profession. Her character while critical to the story (as her mother Lucy/Shue was) required very little acting or dialogue. Heck, for the most part of the film she was in a coma and just had to lie there. Mind you, the rest of her scenes were not too bad. 

Beau Knapp as Knox: Knox (Knapp) is the ringleader who set the whole ball in motion for Kersey (Willis). His portrayal of a slime ball was pretty bang on, and while watching the film you are rooting for Kersey (Willis) to make short work of him and ensure that gets smoked in a most memorable fashion. I checked his resume on IMDB, and while he has been in some shows that I have watched, he has not left an impact with either his portrayal or characters for me to remember. While no Hans Gruber (Rickman in Die Hard), Knapp in this role, and in this movie, was OK. Like I alluded to before, slimy enough to dislike him and want him gone, but nothing like some of the other villains in Bruce Willis movies of days gone by.

To sum up, Death Wish (2018) has a number of actors who have seen better days, a few fair co-stars and maybe a potential up-and comer. The film was entertaining enough to watch to the end, and did not make you think too much. Was it as good as the original…I don’t think so. It is not often when a remake out performs the original anyways. Has Bruce Willis seen better days? I think so, lately many of his movies have gone straight to video/streaming and do not even hit the theatre. In my opinion, his last good film was RED 2..and even then the first one was better. As I mentioned earlier, films where he can shoot off his mouth as fast his gun is his wheel-house. That is where his best performances are. At 64, he should be looking more at the “mentor” roles, instead of the man-of-action. But he would still be able to deliver his signature style. Of that I am sure. 

Were we entertained…yes we were, but not greatly. Would I recommend it? Hmmm..only if you are a huge fan of his and could overlook some of the issues mentioned earlier. Remember, this is no Die Hard, RED or Sin City, but you can sit there with your bourbon and pretzels and waste a few hours. However, if you liked the premise, I would recommend the original first!

Rating: 4/10

If you are looking for films with the main cast, please consider the following recommendations:

Bruce Willis                  RED, Sin City, Die Hard (1, 2 and 3), 16 Blocks, Surrogates and Looper

Elisabeth Shue              Back to the Future 2 and 3, Hollow Man, Karate Kid, The Boys, and Leaving Las Vegas

Vincent D’Onofrio         Full Metal Jacket, The Magnificent Seven (2016), and Men in Black

Dean Norris                  Under the Dome and Breaking Bad