Boston Strong... "Patriots Day"

Patriots Day (2016)

Rated R

Starring Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, J.K. Simmons, Kevin Bacon,

Directed by Peter Berg

The Story:

A beautiful morning for the Boston Marathon in 2013 gives way to chaos as the Tsaranaev brothers (Wolff & Melikidze) detonate bombs near the finish line. Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg) is pulling security and is near ground zero when the bombs explode. He helps lead the Boston Police Department and the F.B.I. manhunt to capture the suspects before they can strike again, or leave the city to strike elsewhere.

Naturally, this is based on a true story.

The 2nd true story for Mark Wahlberg to save the day is better than Deepwater Horizon.

As I mentioned in that film review, it's hard to accurately gauge the entertainment value on a movie where lives were lost and every day people step up and do heroic things.

The main argument that Patriots Day seemingly endured was the every man police sergeant who was in the right place at the right time at every step of the investigation.

Well, it's called a narrative device people. :)

It allows the story to flow a little better instead of jumping around from points A-F and introducing new characters along the way.

It's not a documentary.

It is engrossing and engaging.

It's also uplifting and poignant.

The drama of the police hunt, the emotional barrage of the victims of the bombing.

Keep a tissue handy, you might need it.

Very well done, but I've also come to expect that from Peter Berg who continues to craft very well made movies throughout his career.

While I rarely go back and watch movies like this again, I could see this as being an exception to that rule.

Final Grade:  B+

"Cop Car" Is A Dull Ride

Cop Car (2015)

Rated R

Starring Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim,

Directed by Jon Watts

The Story:

A pair of ten year old boys (Freedson-Jackson & Wellford) are running away from home. Then the find a police car with the keys in it, so they decide, why run when you can drive?

However, when the sheriff (Bacon) realizes he's been carjacked, he's going to go to any means necessary to get his car back, because, well, he's not exactly the nicest cop on the planet...

Cue ominous music!

I can't think of one thing that I enjoyed about this movie.

I'm actually surprised that I watched the whole thing and just didn't give up after 20 minutes.

Like I said, even Kevin Bacon couldn't save this Coming of Age/Dirty Cop hybrid thriller that was long on boredom, short on thrills.

If your goal is to watch every film Kevin Bacon has ever been in, then by all means, you must see this one.

The guy can play a dirty cop without blinking an eye.

Everyone else?

I'd fight the urge, and go watch just about any other film, with or without Bacon, instead.

Mmm...

Bacon.

Final Grade: D

Truth Is More Boring Than Fiction..."Black Mass"

Black Mass (2015)

Rated R

Starring Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott,

Directed by Scott Cooper

The Story:

Based on the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp), this drama attempts to show how devious he was by ensnaring FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) into making him an informant for the FBI which then gave him carte blanche to do as he pleased in the criminal underworld of Boston. Meanwhile his brother Billy (Cumberbatch) was a respected politician that helped his brother enough, but not to the point of being in the same spotlight with him.

Here you have a 2 hour drama that felt like 12 hours of your life slipped by.

Excruciatingly dull, this is a mafia drama with really, very little drama.

All we see are members of Bulger's gang confessing to this that or the other via flashbacks.

It turns out that Bulger's informant status may very have been completely fabricated by John Connolly. Bulger never ratted on anyone, a fact he holds very strongly too today. Connolly simply used testimony from other snitches to create Bulger's file.

The cast itself is a remarkable assemblage of talent. The sad part is, they are given very little to do.

Cumberbatch seems wasted in what is essentially a glorified cameo. That part could have been given to just about anyone and carried the same gravitas to the role.

Kevin Bacon seems to give the most passionate performance, too bad his screen time is likely 5 minutes or less.

I may have mocked Depp in the past for only playing the same character (Captain Jack) for the last 15 years or so, but when given a role like this...

Perhaps Captain Jack is him actually acting and doing a pretty good job, because he is stale, wooden and rather boring in this role. Of course, I have to go all the way back to Edward Scissorhands to find a Johnny Depp role I did like, so take it with a grain of salt.

:)

There is little passion, energy or excitement throughout the movie. There doesn't feel like escalating tension that Bulger is just getting away with things or people are becoming suspicious that Connolly may be helping Bulger out.

I'll give this one a "D" for disappointment.

Final Grade: D+

No Rest For the Weary..."R.I.P.D."

When there's something strange...

In your neighborhood...

Who ya gonna call?

The Story:

Nick (Ryan Reynolds) is a cop who gets killed by his partner (Kevin Bacon).  Suddenly he finds himself landing a new gig in the Rest in Peace Department.  He is teamed with Roy (Jeff Bridges), a wild west lawman who's been doing this for years, but hates having partners.  Too bad, so sad, because the boys are going to have to learn to work together, and fast, if they want to prevent the impending apocalypse!

So, why does everyone hate this movie?

I don't know.

The trailers made it look like Ghostbusters meets Men in Black.

Mission accomplished.

The premise is fun: the dead that refuse to leave this world are hunted by the spirit world's best cops. 

It's a supernatural buddy cop film!

The cops of course look different to us humans: Nick is a Chinese man (James Hong) and Roy is a woman (Marisa Miller).  The effect is used to amusing potential throughout the movie.

However, therein lies the problem with a film with so much promise to its premise.  There was a lot of great potential to this story to live up to Ghostbusters or Men in Black...

And it never quite makes it.

It's fun, but not FUN! It's good, but not GREAT!

When you aim to be an amalgam of two science fiction/comedy classics, you've got to pull out all of the stops and not just rely on upgraded special effects to wow the audiences.

That said, the leading men, especially Bridges though, seem to enjoy what they are doing and give a fun performance as lawmen from the other side of the pearly gates.  Reynolds is shoehorned into the straight man role, and maybe that's part of the problem.

His mouth and sarcastic wit are his selling points, and when you have him playing the straight man reacting to the new crazy world that he's thrust into, he doesn't get to react as cleverly as he should, or at least, as audiences expect him too.

While it's not the greatest movie of the year, it is nowhere near the worst movie ever to grace the multiplex as many people seemed to think this year.

It's a movie with unrealized potential that could have been much better, but the bar maybe was set too high going into it.

The trailer told us too much, and made the comparisons inevitable.

Sometimes less is more, that would have been good advice for the trailer.

Sometimes less is less.  That might just sum up the movie.

Final Grade: C+ish

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I picked it up from Blockbuster sight unseen, not having done that in ages.  Don't regret the purchase, just wish there had been more for me to like.

You Say You Want an Evolution... "Tremors 2: Aftershocks"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the desert...

The Story:

A few years have passed since the original Graboids invasion.  Earl (Fred Ward) is trying to run an ostrich ranch when the Mexican government comes calling.  It seems they've got some Graboids on their hands, and they need them removed.  Earl agrees, at $50K a pop, and gets the assistance from an eager fan named Grady (Christopher Gartin) who head south.  Complications arise as the Graboids seem to outsmart the boys, so they call in Burt Gummer (Michael Gross) to bring in some more firepower.  Everything is going fine...

Until evolution kicks in!

I'm going to assume this was direct to video back in the day.

Gone is Kevin Bacon, too dignified to sully his reputation with this film. 

Thankfully, Fred Ward and Michael Gross don't feel it was beneath them, and they return.

It's fun and harmless, and rather amusing throughout.

The evolution of the worms into land roaming critters is a nice turn to change the pace of the film.

Again, this is what you want from a Grade B movie, it has fun never taking itself too seriously, and never mocking the movie that it's trying to create.

If you liked the first one, give this one a whirl, it's not too bad!

Final Grade: B-

Would I Own It: Again, probably not... although if they put all the films on one disc.... never say never!

The Worm Turns...Evil! "Tremors"

The early bird gets the...oh my goodness!


The Story:

In the desert town of Perfection, something evil lives underground.  Worms!  Worms with attitude.  And apparently they are going to eat anything that moves.  It's up to the local townsfolk to save the day...

Or die trying.

: )

I had seen bits and pieces of this film over the years, and finally saw the whole thing from start to finish.

Enjoyed it.

A lot.

It's the perfect B movie.  Has an ensemble cast of competent actors who never take the movie too seriously, but seriously enough to lend an air of credibility to the production.

It may very well be Kevin Bacon's finest hour.

Alongside the always stellar Fred Ward, this movie saw the big screen debut of Reba McEntire as the spunky wife of a survivalist, Michael Gross, coming off Family Ties and onto the silver screen.

I have seen none of the sequels, but as most appear to be streaming, it may be time to see if this franchise kept up the level of fun and scare tactics of the first, or like Lake Placid and tons of other franchises, ran themselves quickly into the ground.


Now available for streaming as of this writing on Netflix.


Final Grade: A Solid B for a solid B movie!

Would I Own It: Not sure I would need to purchase this one, but I could definitely watch it again.