The Critics Aren't That "Bright" After All

Bright (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, Edgar Ramirez, Lucy Fry

Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

In a world where humans live side by side with the creatures of fairytale legend, Daryl (Smith) is an LAPD cop who is saddled with the first Orc recruit, Nick (Edgerton). When the pair stumble upon Leilah (Rapace) and her magic wand, they must put their differences aside once and for all if they hope to survive the night and all of the different groups that are coming for them to get that wand.

I'm not sure if the critics want to savage this movie because they don't like the inroads that Netflix is making by releasing movies directly onto Netflix and bypassing the movie theater with their Netflix Original movies, but this was hardly the worst movie of 2017, or any year for that matter.

It's Netflix's first true "big budget blockbuster" or "popcorn movie". Is it a great movie?

No, I don't think anyone will put it into that movie.

Is it totally watchable?

Absolutely.

It checks off all the marks for a big budget buddy cop action flick. The two cops that don't get along, but then get along just fine when the chips are down and they realize they only have themselves to rely on if they are going to survive.

It also serves an underlying message on racism in America, without trying to get too preachy and letting the action carry the movie.

I've read that many critics felt that the storyline was too confusing and people couldn't follow along with all of the backstory.

What?

I'm pretty sure that those opening billboards that show that this is a world where we coexist with the Lord of the Rings was pretty straightforward, if you ask me.

Guesstimates put those of us that watched Bright during the opening weekend at 11 million Netflix users. As there are no box office receipts to gauge whether this was a success or a mega flop, I'll do the math:

11 million times $ 8.00 a ticket (averaging a matinee and a full ticket price) puts the weekend box office for this film at $88,000,000.

Yeah, that pretty much justifies any price Netflix spent on the film, and shows why they already said yes to a sequel.

Trust me, I've seen a bad Will Smith movie (After Earth).

This isn't even close.

Final Grade: C+

The Thin Blue Line..."End Of Watch"

End of Watch (2012)

Rated R

Starring Jake Gylenhaal, Michael Pena, Anna Kendrick, Natalie Martinez, David Harbour, Frank Grillo, America Ferrera,

Written and Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

Brian (Gylenhaal) and Mike (Pena) are officers in the LAPD. They're partners. They're brothers. When they uncover crimes being committed that are well above the street thug level that they are used to, they draw the unwanted attention of a Mexican cartel that orders them killed.

Your feeling about the police will likely color your desire to even see this film.

It's brutal and unflinching in portraying life on the streets of California and the dangers that are out there for citizens, criminals, and the police.

Shot in a documentary style for Brian's college class, you'll be up close and  personal as the personal and professional lives of Brian and Mike play out before you.

The rest of the supporting cast is great, and used sparingly.

Again, this is about the partners and the bond they share.

It's also what gives the film the extra heart and soul and may likely lead you to tears by the film's conclusion.

It's a film that had been sitting in my queue for years, and I'm finally glad I got around to seeing it.

Final Grade:  B

Our First DC Premiere..."Suicide Squad"

Suicide Squad (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Viola Davis, Jared Leto, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Karen Fukuhara, Adam Beach, David Harbour

Written and Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

Amanda Waller (Davis) has decided that in a world with more and more metahuman activity, she needs to assemble a team that is able and willing to do whatever it takes to protect National Security. After all, the next Superman might just be a hostile. So she rounds up the worst of the worst, implants them with a transmitter that doubles as a bomb, and under the leadership of Rick Flag (Kinnaman), the Suicide Squad is born.

Or...

The Story:

A group of scoundrels we've never met before team up to save the world while tossing off one-liners during action sequences set to a cool soundtrack.

Sound familiar?

Yes, Marvel Studios did that 2 years ago with Guardians of the Galaxy, and earlier this year with Deadpool from Fox.

Sorry folks, in the world of superhero movies, comparisons are inevitable.

But let's make this perfectly clear up front, don't compare Suicide Squad to the Avengers, at that point we move from comparing apples to oranges to apples and bananas. Save that comparison for when they finally roll Justice League into theaters.

So, is this movie as bad as Rotten Tomatoes claims, and rabid fanboys have decried that since this is the second DC movie in a row with low scores, that site should be shut down?

No.

It's totally watchable.

Is it rewatchable, either in theaters or at home?

That's debatable.

The Good:

I got to hang out with some of my kids at the movies. Can't ever go wrong with bonding over popcorn and a movie, am I right?!? :)

Viola Davis owns her role as Amanda Waller. She might actually be more frightening than Batman. :)

Will Smith returns to form in his first action flick since 2012's MiB3, and it's a welcome return. It's like an old suit that he slips right into, and watching this film makes me ready for his return as Mike Lowry in Bad Boys 3 (and apparently 4!)

Margot Robbie owns Harley Quinn. While I would have preferred her actual outfit, well, this is the revamped Harley costume they want to go with. Still, when these two are onscreen, the movie picks up tremendously.

The rest of the crew?

When they are given anything to do, it's quite enjoyable. Bonus points to Jai Courtney for actually putting some charisma into a role for a change, his Captain Boomerang is one of the high points as well.

The Bad:

Everyone else is woefully underused and underdeveloped. It seems like most are there simply to give Deadshot and Harley a breather in the action.

The villain? Also falls into the meh, who cares department. But, it was pretty much that way too when they used her in Ghostbusters. :)

The Joker. Totally could have done without him. Aside from the backstory with Harley, which is necessary, he actually becomes a distraction as the film wears on. As for him channeling both Nicholson and Ledger as his inspiration, I found it seemed to channel more of Jim Carrey's Riddler.

Setting scenes to music can be effective.

Setting nearly every scene to music can be overdone.

They decided to dial it up to 11 and introduce everyone to their own killer beat, when it might have been more effective to stagger all of the team introductions out through the film versus one after the other after the other.

Ah well, not my film, not my universe.

: )

That said, of the 2 (or is it 3?) films from the DC "Shared Universe", this is easily my favorite.

I've yet to see Batman vs. Superman (and the kids still don't want to see it!) but it's coming next week on Netflix.

And Man of Steel sucked.

Though I don't think it's considered part of the shared universe, or at least probably wasn't before it tanked.

Finally, you can tell the film was meddled with, even without reading all of the reports about the reshoots after Batman vs. Superman was given a resounding thumbs down upon reception.

We'll see where DC goes from here, but you have to hope, at least for their sake as well as the audience, that they are correcting the ship and if not trying to outright copy the Marvel movie formula, at least copy the part where we like seeing their movies.

:)

Final Grade: C+

The "Fury" Of War

Fury (2014)

Rated R

Starring Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal

Written and Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

Army Sergeant "Wardaddy" (Pitt) takes his Sherman tank and his crew deep into the heart of Nazi Germany during the end of World War II on a daring mission.  Everyone dies.

The end.

This is one of the most disappointing war films I've seen in quite some time.

It's bloody.
It's violent.
It's...

boring.

Didn't care for this one in the least.

At least Saving Private Ryan had interesting characters to care about as they were picked off one by one.

This one, you knew they were pretty much all cannon fodder early on, and they just drug it out to the end of the film.

They kill lots and lots of people along the way, but after awhile, even killing Nazis gets old.

That's a sentence that I never imagined typing.

I expected more. Or better. Or something.

Maybe next time.

Final Grade: C-

A Review To "Sabotage" Your Labor Day Holiday

Sabotage (2014)
Rated R for language and bloodshed galore

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway, Terrence Howard, Mireille Enos,

Written and Directed by David Ayer

The Story:

DEA Agent Breacher (Schwarzenneger) leads his team on a raid.  During the raid, they decide to steal $10 million off the top of a stack of cash.  However when they go to retrieve it, it's missing!  They are suspended and investigated, but nobody on the team admits to stealing (and losing) the money, and eventually they are put back together as a unit.  Then, one by one, they start getting murdered by the drug lords they stole from.
Will they be able to find the murderer before it's too late?

Indifference.

That's what this movie ultimately ended up being for me.

It was a great cast, given not a whole lot to do except shoot, bleed and curse a lot.

In fact, some of the bloodshed and ways they were killed, this movie seemed like it wanted to crossover into borderline horror movie territory.

Any intrigue on who took the money, who is going to die next on the team erodes as the film moves along.

When the ultimate villain is revealed, it comes as more of a "well duh" moment, than a twist of the knife reveal to the team.

It could've been something special.

Instead, it was just something.

I'll take The Last Stand any day over this one as proof that Ah-nuhld can still make a fun movie.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No fun...no reason to see it again... I'd have to pass on seeing this one again.