what in the heck are you two talking about? I SAID I LIKED THE MOVIE.
what in the heck are you two talking about? I SAID I LIKED THE MOVIE.
The World’s Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins is a fish out of water story about a very pleasant but peculiar fellow who places burdens on all around him in service of his obsession. Even so, they are eventually won over by Hopkin’s character. It is an understated feel-good movie.
Drive 2011 with Ryan Gosling is a slow-paced, well-executed film noir with moments of extreme casual violence. Gosling’s character is a socio-path with a code, and some of the set pieces are genius. Bryan Cranston’s character seems to scream from the moment you see him “things aren’t going to work out for me”
Dwayne Johnson demonstrated his comedic skills in Be Cool where he holds his own with John Travolta. His characters are often of a type. Magnificent in physicality, but pretty easy going and facilitating jokes at his own expense helps even the frail people laugh a bit. Perhaps a little nervous, but still laugh. Yes, he is a tough guy, but you don’t have to be afraid, because he sort of likes you.
Take a look at Pain and Gain, and see the comedy and danger sort of meet in the middle. Pain and Gain is genius for a lot of reasons, but if you weren’t a regular gym rat in the late 8o” s and early 90’s you may not understand.
The movie Faster is a strict revenge flick, all moving forward, not much humor and any that is there is dark as hell. Dwayne Johnson is out for revenge, and he needs cash, cool cars, a Ruger Alaskan Snub nose in .454 Casull and a list of bad guys to put down. There is some very well shot speed loader work It is certainly not a perfect movie but it may make you consider what the Rock would be capable of with serious hard-core material.
Finally, re-watch Mel Gibson’s Mad Max 2: Road Warrior in the highest def you can find and the biggest screen you can manage. Then dig a bit into the stunts. Some sped up camera work is obvious, however that is a real person cartwheeling through the air after smashing his bike into a car and a real truck driver crashing the tractor trailer in the final action sequence. As it was explained to me, it worked visually because the sets and cars and equipment were made of real junk..
For action movie aficionados, Netflix has a few very enjoyable low budget ones starring Frank Grillo.
Wheelman was the most impressive given the budgetary constraints.
Boss Level with Mel Gibson as the villain is basically the action version of Groundhog Day. Ending was a bit shit, but it was a good ride.
Point Blank starring Anthony Mackie is a more of buddy cop and was the weakest out of the 3.
An older comedy I recently saw was Black Knight (2001)
"In the film, (Martin) Lawrence plays Jamal, a theme park employee who is transported through time to medieval England."
How this flopped is beyond me. Were people expecting high art? Was it not politically correct?
Well I wasn't and I still found it hilarious and brilliant. I was surprised to see Michael Bay as the director.
The Black Phone with Ethan Hawke is very well done. A often painful watch with some very uncomfortable scenes. The characters are consistent, and the end does not disappoint.
Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood is on Netflix. It’s almost a sequel in tone/vibe to Kingdom of Heaven, although not as, I don’t know, dense. Russell Crowe is excellent as usual, while Cate Blanchet continues to remind us of old Hollywood. A few knuckleheaded historical errors, however. Otherwise, a satisfying take on the mythos.