Johnny English Strikes Again

When I see the Johnny English films, I can't help but think of "The Pink Panther" and its character, Inspector Clouseau played by the late, great Peter Sellers. This newer series is an amazing homage to that franchise, not to mention that this franchise is deemed a parody of the spy genre. So now we have "Johnny English Strikes Again" to continue with that 15 year long franchise.

 

This is the third installment of the Johnny English comedy series, with Rowan Atkinson returning, once again, as the much loved accident-proned secret agent. The new adventure begins when a cyber-attack reveals the identity of all active undercover agents in Britain, leaving Johnny English (Atkinson) as the Secret Service's last hope. Called out of retirement, English dives head first into action with the mission, along side his former comrade, Bough (Ben Miller), to find the mastermind hacker. As a man with few skills and analog methods, Johnny English must overcome the challenges of modern technology to make this mission a success. So between English and Bough they must deal with Ophelia (Olga Kurylenko) to get her to divulge the whereabouts of this hideous, demented hacker in order to save the world as we know it.

 

Others to round out the cast are Emma Thompson as Prime Minister, Jake Lacy as Jason, Adam James as Pegasus, Pippa Bennett-Warner as Lesley, Miranda Hennessy as Tara, Michael Gambon as Agent Five, Edward Fox as Agent Nine, Matthew Beard as P and Tuncay Gunes as Ted Guest.

 

It was competently directed by David Kerr ("Varian Fry: The Artists' Schindler" (documentary) '97, "The Harringham Harker" (TV movie) '03, "Sound" (TV movie) '07, "A Midsummer's Night Dream" (TV movie) '16) plus TV, documentaries and a TV short. What actually helped this to have the deep direction it had was the fact that this filmmaker has a ton of TV work to his credit. With the limited feature film experience, the plethora of TV experience simply served here well. I've said it before and I'll say it again, in order to transition into the feature film industry, having a strong TV resume assists in either directing or writing well when presented with a theatrical project, such as with the case with this film. It was adequately written by William Davies ("Twins" '88, "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" '92, "Ghost in the Machine" '93, "The Guilty" 2000, "Johnny English" '03, "Flushed Away" '06, "How to Train Your Dragon" '10, "Mia and the White Lion" '18) plus others and TV movies. Certainly, by his resume, Davies is an accomplished, seasoned writer and this film did showcase that to a point, however as the storyline was unfolding, there were a few inconsistencies in plot and I felt it would be a bit funnier than it was. I realize that British humor is more powder dry than American humor, and I certainly took that aspect into consideration, but I felt that I was having to force some of the laughs out of me. I usually am fond of British humor because of the dryness, but the truly funnier lines were fewer and farther apart as film progressed. Not sure what happened to Davies--bad day a the laptop? Not sure, but will there be a fourth Johnny English? Maybe, but time will tell. The savings grace of this was that as Atkinson. His ability to convey his humor is all in his expressions was near perfect. He's great at physical comedy and even better with his facial expressions which speak volumes.

 

Interesting that it's been 15 years since the first Johnny English and with this, it is remarkable how little Atkinson has actually aged. He basically looks the same today as he did in '03. Another positive aspect of this film is that the whole family can enjoy this since it isn't riddled with 4-letter words and doesn't have a ton of sex and drugs referenced throughout the film as with many of the comedies today. If you like talented physical comedy with great facial expressions with a dash of wholesomeness, this is the film for you. This certainly makes up for a script that definitely has some issues.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                    Rated: PG                                       88mins.

 

Hunter Killer

Ever since Hollywood has been making films, there has been those films about war and the fear of it. With films like "Olympus Has Fallen" '13, "London Has Fallen" '16, "Fail Safe" '64 and the like, there is a certain fascination of an apocalyptic 'end of the world' situation. This is especially evident since 9/11. So now we have "Hunter Killer" to add to that list to get our fear juices going.

 

Deep under the Arctic Ocean, American submarine Captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) is on the hunt for a U.S sub in distress when he discovers a secret Russian coup is in the offing, threatening to dismantle the world order. Captain Glass must now assemble an elite group of Navy SEALs, including Bill Beaman (Toby Stephens), Matt Johnstone (Ryan McPartlin), Devin Hall (Michael Trucco) and Paul Martinelli (Zane Holtz) to rescue the kidnapped Russian president Zakarin (Alexander Diachenko) from a rouge Russian admiral Dimitri Durov (Michael Gor), and sneak through enemy waters to stop WWIII. With the tension from American officers CJCS Charles Donnegan (Gary Oldman) and RA John Fisk (Common) to help in solving the dire need of Glass' sub, Glass has to depend on a Russian Captain Andropov (Michael Nyqvist) to guide them through those enemy waters considering they are filled with mines.

 

Others to round out the cast are Linda Cardellini as Jayne Norquist, Sarah Middleton as Liddy, Caroline Goodall as U.S. President Dover, Corey Johnson as Captain, Carter MacIntyre as XO Brian Edwards, Shane Taylor as TMC Turner and Mikey Collins as Brickowski.

 

This was intensely directed by Donovan Marsh ("Dollar$ + White Pipes" '05, "The Good Fight" (TV movie) '06, "Spud" '10, "Spud 2: The Madness Continues" (attached) '13, "Avenged" '13) plus TV. With just about every frame, this filmmaker was able to keep its audience on the edge of their proverbial seats by the intensity of what these characters were going through. It was like watching life in fast motion. This individual will continue to be wooed by producers to sit in that director's chair again. It was written by fairly new writers, Arne Schmidt ("Chain Reaction" (story) '96 + tons of assistant direction work) and Jamie Moss ("Street Kings" '08, "Ghost in the Shell" '17) based on the novel "Firing Point" by George Wallace and Don Keith. Considering these writers are fairly new to writing, especially Schmidt, this was as solid as a number of seasoned writers. The biggest flaw I could give this is the amount of choppiness this had to contend with. Mind you, it wasn't riddled with choppiness, however it was enough to keep the audience a bit perplexed going scene to scene. To give these writers credits, even with the choppiness, I was constantly on the edge of my seat and reacting in a way that any writer would want to receive from their audiences. Anything Academy Award worthy? No, but I feel this wasn't made to achieve that goal as much as to give its audience that one, two punch while their munching on their popcorn. Gerard Butler does these types of films often and he's a shoe-in mostly because his characters in these films are calm but dealing with the situation at hand because he knows he has to.

 

Personally I like these type of films. The adrenaline is like a rush that spins you in your seat and has you rooting for the good guys and booing the bad guys. And isn't this why we go see films? It's the ultimate in telling a story through intensity and high adrenaline. Enjoy this exciting yarn!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                 Rated: R                                         121mins.

 

 

 

Halloween

When it comes to film franchises, one of the most prolific ones has to be that of "Halloween". And of all the horror film franchises out there, "Halloween" is probably the most intriguing possibly because of the bond between Laurie Strode and Michael Myers or that Myers simply won't die no matter how many films have been produced.

Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers (Nick Castle), the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.

In this installment, Laurie's daughter, Karen (Judy Greer) is now raising her daughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak) in Hadonville, Illinois. It turns out that Michael Myers, being institutionalized for the past four decades, is being moved to another facility by his now doctor, Dr. Sartain (Haluk Bilginer). Along the way the transport bus crashes allowing Michael to escape in which he heads to Hadonville just right before Halloween. One by one, Michael continues to pick off his victims it now being Halloween night while Officer Hawkins (Will Patton) and Laurie continue to search for Michael before their are any more deaths. Can Laurie save her daughter Karen and granddaughter Allyson before they too fall victim to Michael's psychosis?

Others to round out the cast are Toby Huss as Ray, Karen's husband, Rhian Rees as Dana Haines, Jefferson Hall as Aaron Korey, Virginia Gardner as Vicky, Dylan Arnold as Cameron Elam, Miles Robbins as Dave, Drew Scheid as Oscar and Jibrail Nantambu as Julian.

This was executed well by veteran director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express" '08, "Your Highness" '11, "The Sitter" '11, "Joe" '13, "Manglehorn" '14, "Our Brand Is Crisis" '15, "Stronger" '17) plus others and TV. Even though Curtis is the only existing actor to reprise her role as Laurie, this filmmaker was able to match the characteristics of the original Laurie and this takes a keen sense of direction and the ability to observe. A lot of Green's work is in the comedy genre, but in recent years, he has directed dramas which is a wise option since it opens up far more doors in Hollywood. It was interestingly written by Green ("Undertow" '04, "Snow Angels" '07, "Prince Avalanche" '13, "Goat" '16) plus others and shorts, Danny McBride ("The Foot Fist Way" '06, "Your Highness" '11, "The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter" '18) plus TV and shorts and Jeff Fradley (TV) based on characters created by John Carpenter And Debra Hill. I really believe that this installment is supposed to pickup where the original Halloween leaves off four decades later as advertised, because in "Halloween H2O: 20 Years Later" Michael ends up being decapitated, so how could he come back? But, then again, he was actually killed in the original as well. The one thing that has perplexed me with this franchise is the fact that Michael Myers just won't die. He's human, so I'm not sure why it seems to be impossible to kill him. Even in this one, does Michael really die? Plus this is very predictable as all horror, slasher films are--I believe this is an ingredient that these films are expected to incorporate. Actually, for a slasher film, this was a better written one than I thought it would be, but it's still a horror, slasher film replete with all the knives one will ever want to see for a while. Will there be another "Halloween"? Absolutely. As long as there is a profit with this, they will make many more so they can get those 18-24 year old single males in those seats. Ca Ching!

If you like horror films, especially with a slasher specialty thrown in, you will be in horror heaven. Hey, this even still has that eerie music as with the original co-written by John Carpenter. It's a walk down memory lane except Curtis is 40 years older, but if anyone had told me that the original film would last 40 years later, I would have said they were nuts. Who Knew?

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                  Rated: R                                      106mins.

Bad Times at the El Royale

Well, it's that time of year where Hollywood offers us creepy and macabre films. They can be interesting or banal, but nonetheless, they are there to woo us. With the likes of "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th", we have the obscure "The Cabin in the Woods" or "The Strangers" to capture our imaginations and hopefully gross us out...in a good way. So now we have "Bad Times at the El Royale" to get us into that seasonal mood.

 

The El Royale is a run-down hotel that sits on the border between California and Nevada. It soon becomes a seedy battleground when seven strangers--a cleric, Father Daniel Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a soul singer, Darlene Sweet (Cynthia Erivo), a traveling salesman, Laramie Seymour Sullivan (Jon Hamm), two sisters, Emily Summerspring (Dakota Johnson) and Rose Summerspring (Cailee Spaeny), the manager of the hotel, Miles Miller (Lewis Pullman) and the mysterious Billy Lee (Chris Hemsworth)--converge on a fateful night for one last shot at redemption before everything goes horribly wrong. As these different eclectic characters are delving into their pasts, this storyline culminates into a free-for-all with many twists and turns that concludes in a way that you won't expect.

 

Others to round out the cast are Nick Offerman as Felix O'Kelly, Xavier Dolan as Buddy Sunday, Shea Whigham as Dr. Woodbury Laurence, Mark O'Brien as Larsen Rogers, Charles Halford as Sammy Wilds and Jim O'Heir as Milton Wyrick.

 

This was eerily and creepily directed by Drew Goddard ("The Cabin in the Woods" '12) plus TV and a documentary short. Even though Goddard's brunt of experience lies with writing, he is an excellent director. Surely all the TV experience has served him well. When a director has as many different characters to bring to life as with this, they have to be able to convey all these character developments to the audience where it all makes sense and this filmmaker did just that. It will be interesting to see how he handles his next project, "X-Force" which has been announced which he also writes. It was equally written well by Goddard ("Cloverfield" '08, "The Cabin in the Woods" '12, "World War Z" '13, "The Martian" '15) plus tons of TV, a video and a short. As I was watching this film, I couldn't help but think that it was like a combination of "The Hateful Eight" '15, "Identity"'03 and "Very Bad Things" '98. Both Hateful Eight and Identity contain a select number of people in which bad things happen in a contained building--a cabin and a hotel respectively and with Very Bad Things, it contains people with many issues who go through very bad things. This isn't to say that this film is a copy to those films, but rather a film, like the others, that allows us to see how these people can get themselves into such hellish situations and wonder how they will come out of it alive or not. This writer certainly likes the macabre hence his resume and will see more of his work with "X-Force", "The Sinister Six" and "Roboapocalypse" all announced. This man is one busy writer as he should be, because his brand of writing is curious, obscure and eerie as with this film as well. Other than a couple of small places of choppiness and some questionable areas of sequences, this is a very interesting and weird story keeping its audience on the edge of their seats in what weird and bizarre thing is going to happen to these characters next.

 

As with "The Hateful Eight", "Identity", "Very Bad Things, "The Cabin in the Woods" and others that are eerie and obscure films, this is in the same vein as those. These films aren't necessarily for a mass audience appeal which will woo a select audience, and with this, I'm sure the writer and producers know this, but if this kind of film is to your liking, this will give that one two punch and will stick with you well beyond credits end.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                  Rated: R                                      141mins.

 

The Sisters Brothers

At a time back in the 1940's, 50's and even 60's Hollywood produced a plethora of westerns. Considering the fact they were not as costly to make as with other genres and the public simply loved them, there was a handsome profit made for the day. But then, when visual effects came into vogue thanks to films like "Star Wars", they gradually went into obscurity. As our society has gotten tougher, the newer westerns have matched the times with gritty westerns like "Unforgiven" '92, the recent "Hostiles" '17 and the like. Now we have yet another gritty western to add to that list in the form of "The Sisters Brothers".

 

This story is a reimagining of the cinematic Western as a dangerous, witty, and emotionally cathartic exploration of what it means to be a man. It is 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters (Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly) are both assassins, boys grown to men in a savage and hostile world. The blood on their hands: that of criminals, that of innocents...and they know no state of existence other than being gunmen. The older of the two, introspective Eli (Reilly) rides hard with his younger sibling yet dares to dream of a normal life. The younger of the two, hard-drinking, volatile Charlie (Phoenix) has taken charge with gusto as lead man on the duo's assignments from their boss, The Commodore (Rutger Hauer). Each increasingly questions, and quibbles with the others' methods, The Sisters brothers find themselves on a journey through the Northwest searching for a scientist with an odd chemical solution of finding gold, one Hermann Kermit Warm (Riz Ahmed) and an associate, John Morris (Jake Gyllenhaal). Through their journey, it brings the Sisters brothers to the mountains of Oregon and to a dangerous brothel in the small town of Mayfield, eventually the Gold Rush land of California--a trek that will test the deadly family ties that bind. But, can it also be the path to rediscovering what remains of their humanity?

 

Others to round out the cast are Rebecca Root as Mayfield, Alison Tolman as Girl in Mayfield Saloon, Carol Kane as Mrs. Sisters, Charlie and Eli's mother and Patrice Cossoneau as Blount.

 

This was grittily and intensely directed by Jacques Audiard ("See How They Fall" '94, "A Self-Made Hero" '96, "Read My Lips" '01, "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" '05, "A Prophet" '09, "Rust and Bone" '12, "Dheepan" '15) plus video shorts. I believe what makes the overhaul of these westerns so popular is that they seem more realistic as compared to their older western counterparts. The grit and intensity in which the directors extract out of their actors gives the audience a sense that they could be watching an historical event, such as with this story. Even the guns are more 'musket' like in that they are loud with smoke with a blast sound to them--this just adds to the realism. The interesting aspect of this is that this is a quintessential American western story directed by a French director of which he filmed it with accuracy and aplomb. It was written well by veterans Audiard and Thomas Bidegain in that, again, an incredible American story written with accuracy by one of the writers being French. Of course, the other writer, Bidegain, isn't French, but this film seemed amazingly American. Both of these writers have a ton of experience to their credit so it is no surprise that the writing was delineated well. The only one flaw to this, albeit small, is that it was a bit long-in-the-tooth--it could've been cut approximately 5-10 minutes and still had the impact it had, otherwise it was spot on perfect. This truly shows the audience how grueling our western past was and leaves us wondering how they made it through life. Both Reilly and Phoenix were brilliant in their roles as the Sisters brothers and their chemistry, although polar opposite in character, conveyed a true connection as a family.

 

Anyone who likes westerns will be in western heaven with all the grit, intensity and hardship that would make any fan squeamish. But even if westerns don't necessarily do it for you, the acting, directing and writing will certainly make up for a genre that may not be your favorite. This was as entertaining of a story as it was crafted with expertise. Enjoy! I know I did.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                            Rated: R                                       122mins.

 

The Old Man & the Gun

In the last decade, I would be willing to guess that we've seen more films based on true stories than we've seen in the last fifty years. If one leans on the old adage, "truth is stranger than fiction", it's no surprise. There's been so many of these films that the maker's of "The Old Man & the Gun" actually, in a humorous reflection emblazed at the beginning of the film, "This story, also, is mostly true".

 

Based on a true story of Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), from his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public. Wrapped up in the pursuit are detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who becomes captivated with Forrest's commitment to his craft, and a woman Jewel (Sissy Spacek) who, after meeting him, subsequently loves him in spite of his chosen profession. What makes this different than most films of this type is that when Forrest approaches the one's he intends to rob, he's actually charming and nice about it. And with his assistance from buddies Teddy (Danny Glover) and Walter (Tom Waits), how could this thief go wrong?

 

Others to round out the cast are Tika Sumpter as Maureen, John's wife, Ari Elizabeth Johnson as Abilene and Teagan Johnson as Tyler, John and Maureen's children, Gene Jones as Mr. Owens, John David Washington as Lt. Kelley, Keith Carradine as Captain Calder, Isaih Whitlock Jr. as Detective Gene Dentler, Daniel Britt as Sherrif and Lisa DeRoberts as Helen the Teller.

 

This was seriously yet whimsically directed by veteran David Lowery ("Deadroom" '05, "St. Nick" '09, "Ain't Them Bodies Saints" '13, "Pete's Dragon" '16, "A Ghost Story" '17) plus many shorts and TV. Although Redford is and has been an accomplished actor, dating back decades, the subtleness of the character he played as Forrest was delineated with perfection and this is talented directing. The emotion of Forrest came across serious, but he was able to put those he was robbing in an almost accepting mood and this is difficult to convey without expertise directing, and acting for that matter. If this is the brand of directing that wins you over, his rendition of "Peter Pan" is in pre-production. It was also wonderfully written by Lowery ("It Was Great, But I Was Ready to Come Home" '09, "Pit Stop" '15, "The Yellow Birds" '17, and the aforementioned films he directed) plus shorts, which is based on the New Yorker article by David Grann. Based in the year 1981, this man had a very busy one, what with robbing banks, meeting Jewel and planning his next heist, along with evading the police. All of this was written in a concise, thorough and cohesive way. By the way it was written, the storyline almost had you rooting for Forrest knowing that he was basically breaking the law. Lowery has an extremely distinct style which we will undoubtedly see in his rendition of "Peter Pan".

 

If small independent films are your thing, this just might fill the bill, however if you are into big-budget, high adrenaline, explosive films that are something exclusive to your taste, this probably won't be the film for you unless you would want to branch out and try something a bit different. I hear this is supposed to be Redford's last film, but then I've recently heard different. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy his effortless acting style for years to come.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                    Rated: PG-13                                       93mins.

 

First Man

One area of film that is always a crowd pleaser is that of space travel by astronauts. We've seen a number of them: "2001: A Space Odyssey" '68, "Marooned" '69, "Capricorn One" '77, "The Right Stuff" '83,  "Apollo 13" '95, "Moon" '09 plus others--I'm only surprised that there aren't more of them. But considering the fascination, Hollywood felt it was time to produce another in the form of "First Man".

 

This is the riveting story of NASA's mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and the years 1961-1969, a visceral, first person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost on Armstrong and his wife Janet (Claire Foy) and on the nation of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

The film starts with Armstrong's position as a test pilot with less than effective results back in 1961. He then realizes NASA is looking for astronauts for the Gemini program in which he interviews and lands it as a civilian along with Elliott See (Patrick Fugit). As they grope their way through the program, they do meet and befriend fellow astronaut Edward White (Jason Clarke). Finally, Armstrong's supervisors Deke Slayton (Kyle Chandler) and Robert Gilruth (Ciaran Hinds) gives him his own Gemini mission: Gemini 8, only a year after the doomed Gemini 7 mission killing three astronauts including his buddy Edward White. This turns out to be a success--so much so that he, Buzz Aldrin (Corey Stoll) and Mike Collins (Lukas Haas) are given the Apollo 11 mission--the first one to actually land on the moon in 1969.

 

Others to round out the cast are Pablo Schreiber as Jim Lovell, Christopher Abbott as Dave Scott, Shea Whigham as Gus Grissom, Ethan Embry as Pete Conrad, Olivia Hamilton as Pat White, Edward's wife, Cory Michael Smith as Roger Chaffee and Brady Smith as Butch Butchart.

 

This was brilliantly directed by Damien Chazelle ("Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench" '09, "Whiplash" '14, "La La Land" '16) plus a short. This filmmaker is as diverse in his material as he is talented. His directing resume isn't exhaustive, however where that lacks, the quality in which he performs is amazing. The emotion he was able to extract from his actors and eye for detail for this period piece was spot on--I actually looked for errors. This only being his fourth film as director, I am very curious of what film he is going to tackle next. It was equally well written by Josh Singer ("The Fifth Estate" '13, "Spotlight" '15, "The Post" '17) plus TV and a video short, based on the book by James R. Hansen. By Singer's very resume, this writer is definitely passionate about message topics, which makes this interesting considering this film doesn't exactly fall into the message category. Although back in 1969, the attempt to travel to the moon was certainly controversial, it still wasn't considered message oriented. Singer's ability to appropriately chronicle the events from 1961-1969 was cohesive and it was riveting. For a 2 hour-21minute running time, this storyline simply sailed right along. Other than the majority of the visual effects seamlessly executed by Double Negative, the real treat here was the use of an IMAX camera which was used for the lunar sequences. It just gave the terrain that much more of an eerie feeling. I remember when the landing on the moon occurred. In fact, the launch was on my birthday, July 16th and then they landed on the moon on July 20th. The event gave one an awesome feeling--it was a whole new thing never done before. And, of course, Armstrong gave his iconic statement when he set foot for the first time on the moon: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

 

Certainly if you were alive and viewed this event in 1969, you will be able to relive this story again, but even if you are too young, this is a well delineated, historical event chronicled with expertise in the directing, writing and acting categories. Enjoy this gem!

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                      Rated: PG-13                                  141mins.

 

Venom

I really believe that Marvel Studios has made the vast amount of money because they have tapped into potential storyline material that continues: comics. With this, those comics continue allowing many films with many characters to tap into. No surprise that Marvel has a vast majority of franchises. With all their other films based on their comics, they now have offered us "Venom" to sink our teeth into--pun intended.

 

Investigative journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) attempts a comeback following a scandal, but accidentally becomes the host of an alien symbiote that gives him a violent super alter-ego: Venom. Soon, he must rely on his newfound powers to protect the world from a shadowy organization, headed up by Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), looking for a symbiote of their own. Although Brock's alter-ego, Venom assisted him in his search to uproot the corrupt organization, Brock's ex-girlfriend, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) and her newer boyfriend, Dr. Dan Lewis (Reid Scott) attempted to help Brock as much as they could.

 

Others to round out the cast are Scott Haze as Security Chief Roland Treece, Jenny Slate as Dr. Dora Skirth, Melora Walters as Maria, Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady, Peggy Lu as Mrs. Chen, Malcolm C. Murray as Lewis Donate and Sope Aluko as Dr. Collins.

 

This was cleverly directed by Ruben Fleischer ("Zombieland" '09, "30 Minutes or Less" '11, "Gangster Squad" '13, "The List" (TV movie) '13, "Spaced Out" (TV movie) '17) plus TV and shorts. I say cleverly because when Brock became the host of this parasite, he was a regular joe, albeit a reporter, but a regular guy--not in the military or the like. So when he's trying to deal with this thing inside of him, there were almost some comedic moments of Brock's disbelief of what was happening to him and this is talented directing. The emotion and Hardy's facial expressions were priceless even though the film was quite violent. If you liked the film "Zombieland", his "Zombieland 2" is in pre-production for a 2019 release. It was adequately written by Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel based on a story by Pinkner and Rosenberg which is based on Marvel's Venom character created by Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie. This was certainly a screenplay that kept me riveted, however there was a certain amount of choppiness and a certain lack of continuity. Some areas weren't expressly delineated well. What actually made this film was Hardy. The ensemble cast was effective, but it was Hardy that was amazing in this role of an anti-hero who has a severe problem with accepting and melding in with his alter-ego Venom. The visual effects predominantly created by Double Negative and SPI (Sony Pictures Imagery) were seamless as they were a creative aid to the storyline.

 

With all the Marvel franchises out there, this one will find its audience as the others have done. Oh, and there will be another one. Com'on, is that really a shock? Marvel, like other companies will keep making installations of franchises as long as the money keeps rolling in. You can see this in IMAX, 4DX and 3D which all should look good in whatever format you choose.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                 Rated: PG-13                                       112mins

 

A Star Is Born

Typically, when Hollywood produces remakes, they have a tendency to end up becoming two-dimensional, rehashed versions of an original film that was fresher and compelling. However, in the case of this rendition of "A Star Is Born" the opposite was clearly spelled out. This latest incarnation was acted, directed and written with a freshness and originality that practically allows this film to stand alone from its predecessors.

 

Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers--and falls in love with struggling artist Ally (Lady Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer--until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally's career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. Even though Jack and Ally have the support from family--Bobby Maine (Sam Elliott), Jack's brother, Lorenzo (Andrew Dice Clay), Ally's father, and friends--Ramon (Anthony Ramos) and George 'Noodles' Stone (Dave Chappelle), their relationship, with moments of connection, continues to deteriorate.

 

Others to round out the cast are Rafi Gavron as Rez Gavron, Ron Rifkin as Carl, Marlon Williams as Himself, Brandi Carlie as Herself, Michael D. Roberts as Matty and Michael Harney as Wolfie.

 

Have I mentioned films that have been directed by naturals with the innate ability to make a film look as though it was effortlessly executed? Well, this film being directed by Bradley Cooper (video short) definitely would be worthy to be placed in that category. There have been a handful of actors that have been able to make the transition from acting to directing: Clint Eastwood, Ron Howard, Peter Berg, Denzel Washington, so now we can clearly add Cooper to that impressive list. I would say that these filmmakers' ability to direct well has everything to do with the fact that they have/are actors and realize what it takes to be in front of the camera--basically they can empathize. This was brilliantly well directed where Cooper was able to effortlessly extract the correct amount of pathos and emotion from his actors with aplomb. Luckily, we will be able to see his brand of directing soon since his "Bernstein" has been announced. It was equally well executed by writers Eric Roth ("The Nichel Ride" '74, "The Concorde: Airport '79" '79, "Suspect" '87, "Forrest Gump" '94, "The Horse Whisperer" '98, "Ali" '01, "Munich" '05, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" '08, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" '11) plus others, shorts and TV, Cooper and Will Fetters ("Remember Me" '10, "The Lucky One" '12, "The Best of Me" '14), based on a story by William Wellman and Robert Carson, which is based on the 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart and based on the 1976 screenplay by John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion and Frank Pierson. Certainly both Roth and Pierson have the lion's share of the vast experience here, but Cooper was integral with his contribution--Cooper is slated to write "Bernstein" to add to his writing resume. This running time exceeded a two hour time slot and it simply moved effortlessly. I typically can become fidgety when a film exceeds that magical two hour running time, however because this screenplay was concise, cohesive and was able to meld the dialogue and originals songs with freshness, the 2 hour and 16 minute running time moved quick. The original songs predominantly written by Lukas Nelson, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper were incredibly well executed. Both Cooper and Gaga's chemistry was as magical as it was easy to watch. The cinematography by Matthew Libatique, asc was done so in a gritty way to give the audience that feel the film needed.

 

When I saw the first trailer of this film, I felt then that it had potential Oscar awards written all over it. Well, after viewing it, it will undoubtedly be nominated for best actor, directing, original song and possibly best actress, supporting actor (Elliott) and cinematography. Time will tell--as usual with anything. Suffice it to say, this is one film you must see, however you might want to bring a half box of Kleenex.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                     Rated: R                                          136mins.

 

Night School

Since comedies are my favorite genre, I am constantly subjecting myself to watch a comedy periodically hoping I'll come across a gem. As years go by, the fewer and farther between are there a great amount of quality comedies. Even though the trailer didn't wow me, I decided to go and see "Night School" for myself and it was a little better than I expected, however still not a good film.

 

Teddy Walker (Kevin Hart) is a successful salesman whose life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally blows up his place of employment. With this situation, he loses his job only to have an extremely difficult time gaining further employment, especially since he hadn't even finished high school. Forced to attend night school to obtain his GED, Teddy soon finds himself dealing with a group of misfit students including Mackenzie (Rob Riggle), Theresa (Mary Lynn Rajskub), Luis (Al Madrigal), Mila (Anne Winters) and Bobby (Fat Joe), his former high school nemesis, Stewart (Taran Gillam) and a feisty teacher, Carrie (Tiffany Haddish) who doesn't think he's too bright.

 

Others to round out the cast are Romany Malco as Jaylen, Ben Schwartz as Marvin, Megalyn Echikunwoke as Lisa, Teddy's fiancé, Keith David as Gerald Walker, Teddy's dad, Yvonne Orji as Maya Walker, Teddy's mom, Bresha Webb as Denise, Teddy's sister and Owen Harn as Randy, Theresa's husband.

 

This was executed well by seasoned director Malcolm D. Lee ("The Best Man" '99, "Undercover Brother" '02, "Roll Bounce" '05, "Welcome Home, Roscoe Jenkins" '08, "Soul Men" '08, "Scary Movie 5" '13, "The Best Man Holiday" '13, "Barbershop: The Next Cut" '16, "Winning Ugly" (TV movie) '16, "Girls Trip" '17) plus TV and a short. The eclectic characters simply were made fluid by the way Brown was able to stage and pace his actors strategically in order to emit reality and believability. Although every project he's been attached with isn't always the best film overall, his direction is certainly spot on with this. It was adequately written by Kevin Hart, Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells, Matthew Kellard, Nicholas Stoller and John Hamburg. First of all, who said this film would be written the best having six, count them, six writers with their hands in the pot? Secondly, all but two of the writers have limited feature film writing experience. Point being, if a production has to have six writers, the majority should be seasoned, lest you end up with a disjointed, choppy screenplay as with this. Interesting that both Stoller and Hamburg have the lion's share of the experience yet they are listed last on the billing. Could it be that they were attempting to give the other writers a 'leg up'? Not sure, but this definitely needed polish. Was it a total wash? Absolutely not. It had potential and was certainly better than the trailer--it did not sell this film, but still had issues. The best thing about this was that after the film got going, which took a while, was the message that these misfit characters had to learn in order to live a decent and happy life. Trials. We all need them in order to be that person we all strive to become. And there were some funny lines and moments which surprised me. I'll tell you, if this was rated R, I wouldn't have given this film the time of day, because the R rating, in comedies, virtually bumps up the level of sexual and drug references and the amount of four-letter words used, which cheapens any comedy in my book.

 

Is this worthy of viewing? Well, if you're a Hart fan, you'll probably love this, but in my opinion of this is to Netflix it. It's a fair comedy, but not a well written one. Personally, the producers should've left the writing up to Stoller and Hamburg. Two seasoned writers would've given this otherwise funny premise the kick it needed.

 

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                                  Rated: PG-13                                  111mins.