Dying To Work There..."The Belko Experiment"

The Belko Experiment (2017)

Rated R

Starring John Gallagher Jr., Tony Goldwyn, Adria Arjona, John C. McGinley, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Sean Gunn

Directed by Greg McLean

The Story:

An office in Bogota Colombia suddenly transforms into a prison as all the windows and doors are sealed. Then a voice (Henry) calmly instructs the workers that they need to kill a fellow co-worker in the given amount of time...or else.

So begins a twisted corporate version of kill or be killed, brought to you by the guy who gave us the fun and wholesome Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn.

It's a twisted day at the office, to be sure, and as the voice tells us at the very beginning, most of you won't survive the day.

That's an understatement.

While you have an idea of who the lone survivor might be, it's still an occasional jolt as each person meets their untimely demise.

Some pre-meditated, some accidental, some just by chance and happenstance, the movie grabs you and carries you along for the ride until the very end.

No huge stars in it, though I suppose Michael Rooker might take exception to that, but lots of familiar faces abound.

Won't go down as a cinematic classic in the horror or thriller genre, but still worth a peek.  It will likely become a cult classic like Gunn's other works (Slither).

 Final Grade: B-

Because 'Surfing Burglars' Would've Been A Dumb Name For "Point Break"

Point Break (1991)

Rated R

Starring Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley,

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

The Story:

Johnny Utah (Reeves) has joined the FBI, and his first assignment, he wants a crack at the Ex-Presidents, a gang who have been robbing banks in California. He teams with burnout Pappas (Busey) who has a crazy theory that the robbers are surfers. Utah goes undercover and meets Bodhi (Swayze), a charismatic surfer who may be the mastermind behind the crime sprees. The deeper Utah gets, the more his loyalties will be questioned.

Whoa.

Obligatory Keanu joke out of the way.

How did I not see this film in 25 years?

Easy, it didn't seem like that great of a film, so I wasn't in any hurry.

Then I saw the previews for the Point Break remake, and I thought to myself, seriously?

Let's see what all the fuss is about.

2 hours later...

I still don't see what all the fuss was about.

: )

The film is an okay action flick, and it is buoyed considerably by the charisma of Swayze and Reeves.

And say what you will about Keanu's ability to act (or not act...) looking over the resumes of several actors, I'll take his output and performance over, say, Johnny Depp, any day.

Swazye also has an effortless charm onscreen, and it makes me wonder why I've also never bothered to watch Dirty Dancing or Road House?

Perhaps when those remakes come calling, I'll be back!

Plus, you get the over-the-top crazy that is Gary Busey, plus John McGinley playing a first class tool, so what's not to love?

Otherwise, a little dated, but fun nonetheless, you can definitely do worse if you're looking for 90s action flicks.

For those that haven't seen it in the last 25 years (!!!!), maybe you'll want to revisit this one.

We'll find out how the remake fares against the original, tomorrow!

Final Grade:  C+