It's A Rough Job..."The Hitman's Bodyguard"

The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

Rated R

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Elodie Yung, Gary Oldman,

Directed by Patrick Hughes

The Story:

Michael Bryce (Reynolds) used to be the best Triple A rated bodyguard in the business. After a disaster he couldn't have seen coming, he's now striving to keep himself employed and working to get back to the top. Hired to escort international assassin Darius Kincaid (Jackson) to testify in court to put a war criminal (Oldman) behind bars, the two have to survive countless assassination attempts and each other if they hope to make it out of the situation alive.

If you saw the trailer and thought it looked like a silly, fun action flick, well you were right.

Ryan Reynolds is back to doing his usual routine of playing himself/Van Wilder/Wade Wilson.

It's worked for his entire career in most movies, so why stop now?

Paired with Samuel L. Jackson, the two get to enjoy the camaraderie that comes in the usual buddy comedy/mismatched dynamic duo genre and all the trappings and cliches that entails.

I happen to looooove that genre, so I'm a fan.

Fun film that with a few tweaks along the way could have been even better than it was.

Your mileage of course can vary.

Final Grade: B-

Lukewarm Pursuit Would Be The Better Title..."Hot Pursuit"

Hot Pursuit (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Reese Witherspoon, Sophia Vergara

Directed by Anne Fletcher

The Story:

Officer Cooper (Witherspoon) is a by-the-book cop trying to live up the legend of her father. However she's a little too by-the-book sometimes, and it often comes back to bite her on the backside. When she is selected to escort a couple into witness protection, everything falls apart when the house is attacked by masked assailants who kill just about everyone except Cooper and Daniella (Vergara). Now the two must attempt to make it to safety, but that's going to be difficult when the bad guys and crooked cops are closing in fast. They've got nobody to trust, not even each other.

It's hard to say that this is a comeback vehicle for Witherspoon, because she's never really left the movies.

It is the first time she's done a comedy in a long time though, and it's good to see her back.

However, something just never quite clicks in this movie, whether it's her character or the lack of chemistry between the leads, or the fact that Vergara is simply a really bad actress.

I'm sure her fans of Modern Family will take umbrage with that statement, but since I don't watch that show, this is the first time I've seen her in anything that I can recall, and I am unimpressed.

Oh wait, I've actually seen a few other things that she's been in, where she was a background actress and not carrying half the movie.

Yes. That would explain why she's not that memorable to me, because she is better as a supporting character than a star.

Or maybe if they both would have been given stronger material, my opinion on this movie would be different.

A few laughs, but nothing spectacular to add to the buddy comedy genre.

Final Grade: C