Good, Clean, Family Fun..."Deadpool 2"

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Rated R

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, Julian Dennison, T.J. Miller

Directed by David Leitch

The Story:

Wade Wilson (Reynolds), for reasons unknown to even him, is trying to save a kid (Dennison) from being killed by a time traveling mutant named Cable (Brolin). However, to tackle this latest obstacle, Wade's going to need a little help, so he decides to make his own team of X-People...

X-Force!

Now playing in theaters, so I'll be cryptically vague to the point of being totally nondescript about anything in the movie so as to not sway your opinion one way or another as to whether you should bother to even see it or not.

Because apparently, that's my mutant power!

:)

IF you enjoyed the first Deadpool film...

then the odds are already in you favor that you've already seen the sequel.

The odds are also considerably high that you enjoyed this second coming of Deadpool as much, or possibly more than the original.

Hey, it happens.

Josh Brolin isn't the first actor to play double duty in comic book movies, but he's a welcome addition to the film and plays the perfect Cable.

There is even... gasp... some character development for Mr. Wilson between the start of the film and the end credits.

You'll laugh... you'll cry... you'll laugh some more.

Not sure if we'll get a Deadpool 3 first, or an X-Force movie, but either way, I'm in!

Final Grade: A-

A Review With No Spoilers..."Avengers: Infinity War"

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Everyone Else! :)

Directed by The Russo Brothers

The Story:

Thanos (Brolin) is on his quest to unite the 6 Infinity Stones and wipe away half of the universe. Can the combined forces of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy stop him?

The answer may surprise you!

Buckle up true believers for the 19th installment in a 10 year ride that is the biggest emotional roller coaster of them all.

It comes out of the gate swinging and doesn't let up until the screen goes dark and the house lights int he theater come up.

You'll laugh.

You'll cry.

You'll repeat as necessary.

When it's over you'll want to see it again, and you'll also feel like the wait to get to Infinity War was nothing compared to the wait to see what happens next. 

As fans, we have invested 10 years of our lives in these characters.

So too have the actors invested nearly as long in portraying them on the screen.

We've been lucky to have them, and however this all ends, I'm glad to have had the chance to see all of these films with my kids.

I said at the start of the year that barring some surprise, I would be penciling in Avengers: Infinity War as my favorite movie of 2018.

I think we can put the pencil down, and grab the big black Sharpie.

Don't miss this one.

Final Grade: A+

Be Bored By Those Thrilling Days Of Yesteryear..."Hail, Caesar!"

Hail, Caesar! 

Rated PG-13

Starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johannson, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton,

Written and Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen

The Story:

Eddie Mannix (Brolin) is a "fixer" for Capitol Pictures in Hollywood in the 1950s. He makes problems for the stars...go away... As he is dealing with a usual day at the office, one of their biggest stars, Baird Whitlock (Clooney) goes missing.

This is not the fun, farcical tone that the movie trailer suggested. It's a dramedy, to be sure, but if you're expecting a comedy, expect to be disappointed.

If you're expecting a movie with Clooney as the focus, also prepare to be disappointed.

Neither of these issues really bothered me.

If you're expecting a good movie, prepare to possibly be disappointed.

And that is the camp that I fall into.

This loving look back at Hollywood in the 1950s lacks really...everything.

The stars are present.
The scenery is magnificent.

You will believe the 1950s live again!

But really...nothing happens, and everything happens, all in the span of about a day.

A really long day, but you get the idea.

Ah, but it's a Coen Brothers film, so it's probably not about Hollywood at all, but is an allegorical tale about Christianity.

Oh.

Well that changes everything.

Except the part about it being a good movie.

B-O-R-I-N-G.

I do believe I made it through the whole thing, all the while wondering if there was a point to any part of it.

Weeks later, I don't believe I can look back and find the point.

I would have preferred a movie that focused more on Mannix, and maybe less sideshow stories and make a bigger case or two for him to try and solve.

As it was, it just seemed like a whole lot of loose ends that are vaguely tied together by his role.

But, I will award points for the look of the film.

And a reminder that if you want a better film about 1950s Hollywood, do yourself a favor and watch Trumbo instead.

Final Grade:  D+

Not Worth The Risk..."Everest"

Everest (2015)

PG-13

Starring Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Emily Watson, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, Josh Brolin, Jake Gyllenhaal, Robin Wright

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur

The Story:

In 1992, Rob Hall (Clarke) started a service to bring ordinary hikers of all abilities to the summit of Mt. Everest. In the ensuing 4 years, they never lost a climber. By 1996, many other upstart companies were looking to make money by doing the same thing. Just to avoid the logjam, Hall proposed taking two groups to the top with rival Scott Fischer (Gyllenhaal). Unfortunately, one of the worst storms in the history of Mt. Everest was just hours away.

This is their story.

And boy, is it a lousy one.

First, it's beautiful. The location, the scenery, all amazing. What's real and what's fake are pretty hard to differentiate, and that's great in a movie like this.

However, there really isn't a lot of suspense.

You know the storm is coming, and you know just about everyone in the cast is going to die.

And if...IF.. the way the story unfolds is the honest to goodness truth...

Well, okay, I hate to speak ill of the dead...

BUT...

This wasn't the storm's fault.

Look at the number of climbers that survived the trek up and back.

No, this was the fault of the professionals who decided to shrug their shoulders and say, well, okay hiker, we'll get you to the top instead of sending your butt back to base camp.

That's infuriating.

None of them "deserved" to die, but if you were to say this was a movie and not based on real life, then yes, several of them got exactly what was coming to them.

And several others died because of the stupid choices that were made along the way.

Ugh..

The more I type, the angrier I get.

Which is not what I want from a movie-going experience.

So, I can't fail the movie on those terms, as it's technically competent and has a phenomenal cast.

Instead, I'll just advise you to spare yourself 2 hours of misery and annoyance.

Just watch the trailer, that's where all the excitement is, and know that pretty much everyone dies.

The end.

:)

Final Grade: C-

I Really Don't Get All The Fuss... "Sicario"

Sicario (2015)

Rated R

Starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

The Story:

Kate (Blunt) is a great member of the FBI hostage situation team. So impressive, Matt Graver (Brolin) wants her to join his anti-drug task force. She volunteers and rides next to the mysterious Alejandro (Del Toro). However, when they begin to do whatever it takes to get the bad guys, Kate begins to have a crisis of conscience. How far should we go to win the war on drugs against the cartels?

Okay, seriously, I don't get all the hype about how great this movie is, or more importantly, how great Blunt's performance in this movie is.

She does about 2 things in this movie:

1) Smokes
2) Whines quite a bit about not doing things by the book.

Repeat ad nauseam.

You want her as a hard as nails character in an action thriller? Go watch Edge of Tomorrow again. That movie was pretty darn entertaining.

Her character seems much like an afterthought about how can we show a cool war on the cartels...oh, I know, get a new person on the team and show what they do through her eyes and the conflict and tension it brings.

She was actually my least favorite of the three main characters in this film.

Josh Brolin did a better performance as the man who is trying to make a difference, regardless of what it takes to do it, and if they have to bend, break or flat out pretend the rule doesn't exist, so be it.

However it's Del Toro who makes the most of his role as a consultant who is much more than meets the eye and is not to be trifled with.

He steals the movie from everyone in any scene he is in, and is really the star of the film.

So if anyone in the film got robbed for an award from this film, you're looking at the wrong gender.

Final Grade: C+

Return To "Sin City: A Dame To Kill For"

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014)

Rated R

Starring Mickey Rourke, Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jessica Alba

Written and Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez

The Story:

Marv (Rourke) is back along with many of the other denizens of Sin City. Using an original story interwoven with Miller's A Dame to Kill For, the two stories intertwine as new characters cross-over with some returning characters.

As it is crime noir, I don't want to mention who does what, or who gets killed...

But if you saw the first one, you know that pretty much anyone is going to be fair game for shooting someone else in this movie or getting shot before the film concludes.

Still, great direction and camera work by Rodriguez and Miller, but not quite as strong of a narrative as the original film.


It probably didn't help much that they waited almost a decade between installments of this franchise.

That said, if you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one.

Possibly just not as much.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: It was okay, and like the original, worth a watch, but no reason to revisit for me.

Celebrate Friday By Doing The Truffle Shuffle! "The Goonies"

The Goonies (1985)
Rated PG for Language and Sheer Awesomeness

Starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey

Directed by Richard Donner

The Goonies: Mikey (Astin), Chunk (Cohen), Mouth (Feldman)and Data (Quan) are facing the end of their stay in Astoria Oregon.  The bank is foreclosing on their houses to create a  big money making deal and there is no room for these houses.  But when they discover a treasure map, the boys embark on one last mission: to uncover the lost pirate treasure of One-Eyed Willie.  However, when they cross paths with the dangerous Fratelli family, they may lose more than just their homes if they aren't careful.

I Think This Review Will Go Well!

There are very few movies I would classify as "Perfect" or "As Close to Perfect As You Can Get".

The Goonies makes either of those lists, all day, every day.

A well-written story by Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus, it was helmed by Richard Donner who I have mentioned often that he is one of my favorite directors of all time.

It's not just one of the best 80s movies of that generation, it can stand toe to toe with the best of any decade.

Hard to believe it's going on 30 years old.

The great thing about The Goonies, and what helps make it timeless?

Before There Was Twerking...

It's a wonderful thrill ride/coming of age/fun/adventure story that is great for kids, and kids of all ages. 

When those kids grow up and have their own kids, they introduce them to the magic of this movie, and the bond between family and movie grows stronger with each passing viewing.

Or at least, that's what's happened in our household.

There are scenes that are burned indelibly into the pop culture consciousness...

The Truffle Shuffle?

Chunk's blender confession?

Data's pinchers of peril?

Heck, Mouth's "You're Ruining My Joke" gag gets used around the house all the time whenever someone stomps on someone Else's punchline.

Still A Better Pirate Movie Than Anything With Johnny Depp In It.

Any plot holes you can find within the movie are minor and don't detract or distract from the film.

Heck, about the only thing I would like to see is the octopus scene that was mentioned at the end but apparently removed from the film.

If you have never seen it, run, don't walk to your nearest capability to view this film.

If it's been awhile, dust it off and play it again, especially if you have any kids now and they've never had the privilege of seeing the movie.

It is currently streamable if you are an Amazon Prime member.


Final Grade: A+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it and it gets watched at least once a year, if not more than that. :)

You Don't Bring Ryan Gosling to a Sean Connery Fight! "Gangster Squad"

To keep the City of Angels clean... someone's going to have to get dirty.

Dude, that's actually a pretty good tagline...


The Story:

Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is a former boxer turned gangster.  Instead of being part of the eastern syndicate, he's setting up shop in LA, and running out any competition and keeping Chicago at bay.  So, his operations means that back in 1949, he had cops and judges on his payroll, and this irritates the Chief (Nick Nolte) so he asks a no-nonsense homicide detective (Josh Brolin) to form a badge-less group of cops (Ryan Gosling, Robert Patrick and Giovanni Ribisi to name a few), to make Cohen's operations start to fall apart.  He recruits his squad, and they go after Cohen...

But not everyone is going to walk out of this unscathed on either side.

I couldn't tell you why this one didn't do that great at the box office.  It's a little long, and slow.  Actually, I would use methodical.

Everything builds, slowly, surely, until the final confrontation.

I was engrossed in the story for the most part.

Recreating Los Angeles circa 1949, it is a beautiful movie to watch.  The clothes, the cars, the set pieces... all wonderful to see and very well done.

There isn't nearly as much squad interaction as there should be... or for that matter, much of the squad's mucking up of Cohen's operations gets glossed over very quickly.

Perhaps they could have trimmed some of the exposition and early scenes that don't really do much except to reinforce what we have already gathered.

Plus, while eventually she is important to the story, the love interest (Emma Stone) can be some of the cause for the slow factor as well.  Love stories in action films are often unnecessary, but added I think solely to increase female interest in a guy's movie.

It's no Untouchables, but it's not Unwatchable, either.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again if it was on, but nothing screams for me to run out and buy this one.

The Third Time's a Charmer... "Men in Black 3"

Proof that sometimes you can go home again...

The Plot:

A dangerous alien breaks out of prison, goes back in time, and kills Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), thus changing the future.  Only his partner, J (Will Smith) seems to remember the way things were supposed to be.  That leads him to time jump back to 1969 to save his partner (Josh Brolin)...oh yeah, and the entire world!

Some franchises churn out films to cash in on their name brand.  Some wait, and present films that help remind us of why we fell in love with the original movie in the first place.  If you had any misgivings on seeing the 3rd film because the 2nd film didn't live up to the original Men in Black, set those apprehensions aside.

This third entry into the series is worth a viewing, and you'll likely enjoy it enough to add it to your DVD library.

For the most part Tommy Lee Jones is not in the movie.  But Agent K is never for one moment NOT reminding you of Jones.  Brolin does a dead on channeling of Jones' Agent K, it's impressive.  He has the instant rapport and chemistry with Will Smith that this movie just unfolds as a nice trip down memory lane.

The movie spends a majority of time, back in time.  That allows for Will Smith to again play the fish out of water that worked so well for the first time.  Yeah, this time he knows all about aliens, but the 60s?  That's a whole different animal.

Not sure that we'll ever see a 4th Men in Black movie.  But that's okay.  This brings a nice closure to the series, and goes out with a bang, not a whimper for the franchise.


One of the best films of the year, that got overshadowed in a busy summer at the box office.  If you enjoyed the first movie, you should enjoy this one as well.