This Movie Seems Vaguely Familiar... "Criminal"

Criminal (2016)

Rated R

Starring Kevin Costner, Ryan Reynolds, Gary Oldman, Tommy Lee Jones, Jordi Molla, Gal Gadot,

Directed by Ariel Vroman

The Story:

CIA Operative Bill Pope (Reynolds) is trying to stop "The Dutchman" (Molla) from his diabolical plot to do something bad. But then he winds up dead. Or at least, mostly dead. So his mind, memories and abilities are transferred into death row inmate Jerico Stewart (Costner) for him to complete the mission. Except, he doesn't really want to.

Hilarity ensues.

Okay, maybe not so much that last part, but lots of explosions, death and swearing abound during the next 2 hours.

Remember earlier this year, I reviewed a little movie called Self/Less ?

Of course you don't, I barely remember it either.

But what I do remember is that a millionaire who didn't want to die transferred his memory into the younger body of... wait for it.....

 Ryan Reynolds!

Nope, you can't make this stuff up.

So it's almost like an indirect sequel.

:)

However, what's really criminal is that this amount of star power is unleashed in such a...

bland ? mediocre ? meh ?

type of action film.

Costner Christian Bales grunts his way through the movie. I guess it shows how angry he is?

Either way, the movie sort of wears you down while it chugs along to the inevitable showdown at the end.

However, it's everything that the film lacks with tension, drama and importance that just gives us a bland thriller, through no real fault of any of the actors.

Final Grade: C...maybe even a C+

Inside Is A Good Movie Just Trying To Get Out..."Term Life"

Term Life (2016)

Rated R

Starring Vince Vaughn, Hailee Steinfeld, Bill Paxton, Jonathan Banks, Jordi Molla, Terrence Howard, Jon Favreau, Mike Epps,

Directed by Peter Billingsley

The Story:

Nick (Vaughn) is a planner. He does the research on how to pull off the perfect crime, then sells that information for a price, and everybody wins. Except this time, when the people that bought the plan are murdered, Nick finds himself on the run from the police and the mob.  And the worst part, they're coming after Nick's daughter (Steinfeld) so he has to try and protect her and stay one step ahead of everyone else at the same time.

On paper, this probably looked and sounded amazing.

Well, I suppose it really did, as apparently it started off as a graphic novel before it was adapted into a movie.

:)

But something is fundamentally amiss in the film, and it's hard to know exactly what's not clicking.

It seems to center mostly on the story itself, or at least the actions of the characters as the story unfolds.

There should be tension and energy that just doesn't come through on the screen, but on occasion, you get a glimmer of the thriller/heist this film wanted to be.

Good, not great.

That seems to sum up a lot of movies lately.

It's an amazing cast, many of whom are onscreen for but a moment, their talents kind of wasting away in the roles they were given.

And the less we say about Vince Vaughn's hair in this film, the better.

:)

Final Grade:  C

Third Time's The Charm... "Riddick"

Riddick (2013)
Rated R for language, violence and nudity

Starring: Vin Diesel, Jordi Molla, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Dave Bautista

Directed by David Twohy

The Story:

Riddick (Diesel) is left for dead on an unknown planet.  Far from dead, he heals and finds a remote outpost and sends a signal that is picked up by bounty hunters looking to collect on the reward for bringing in Riddick dead or alive.  Santana (Molla) and his crew arrive first, followed by another group led by Boss Johns (Nable) who is the father of the pilot on a previous ship that Riddick was on.  He wants answers first, then revenge.  Riddick wants off the planet and gives them a choice: give him a ship or die.

You can probably tell which option they chose.

Put me in the category of "meh" for Pitch Black and the Chronicles of Riddick.  They were okay, but nothing that I absolutely loved.

Vin Diesel, however, vehemently disagrees with that assessment.

So much so, that one of the conditions on getting him back into the Fast and Furious franchise was that he wanted to get the rights to Riddick.

Universal relented, and has more than made up for it with the last 3 installments of The Fast and Furious each being more successful than the previous.

Meanwhile, Diesel and Twohy decided to make a rated R movie on a much, much smaller budget.  That way even a moderate success at the box office would pay big dividends as opposed to the Chronicles of Riddick movie that had over a $100 million dollar budget and didn't fare so hot.

Smart move.

Aside from a bit of a slow build, this was probably my favorite of the 3 movies.  Once the action gets started, it doesn't really let up, and Riddick almost takes on a horror film as he makes his way through the crews of both ships.

I almost wonder if I should revisit the  first 2 installments again and see how the whole saga plays out.

Maybe someday...

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: If you've enjoyed the franchise before, you should really like this third installment.