"2 Guns" Are Better Than One.

2 Guns (2013)
Rated R - Violence/Language/Nudity

Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg

Directed by: Baltasar Kormakur

The Story:

A DEA Agent (Washington) and an undercover Naval intelligence officer (Wahlberg) are working together to take down a drug lord (Edward James Olmos).  Neither realizes the other is an undercover agent until after they rob a bank they think contains his money.  It turns out it holds a lot of money from the CIA, and they want it back.  Can the two put their differences aside and work together to save their own lives?

I remember watching the trailer for this movie and thinking, "that looks like it will be a pretty fun movie."

Yay!

I was right.

The chemistry between Washington and Wahlberg makes this film an enjoyable buddy cop/action flick.

Someone Is Going To Be Shot

They play very well off of one another, and I have to admit that I really enjoy seeing Denzel Washington play a little more humor with his character than he normally does.  Wahlberg coasts through his part with a wink and a smile, literally, and both are engaging throughout.

As each of their single stories unfolds, the mystery and intrigue to the plot deepens.  Layers of who do you trust? are revealed as both men find out that they cannot trust the people they work for any longer.  However, it's when they are onscreen together that the movie really shines, and the film wisely keeps them partnered up through most of the screen time.

Plus, with the bank robbery and the shenanigans that ensue with double and triple crosses, it's a heist film.

I think I've been pretty clear on my love for the heist film.

:)

Let's Play A Game...

The layers of bad guys includes the Navy (James Marsden) and the sinister head of the CIA (Bill Paxton) who want the money that has been stolen.

Based on a Boom! Studios graphic novel, it does play very much like a well-made comic book.

I approve!

Final Grade: B+

Would I Watch It Again? Yes, I would happily watch this one again.

Would I Buy This Movie? Yes, I'm adding it to the Christmas List of 2014.

Blockbuster Weekend Continues: "World War Z"

Mother Nature's a Serial Killer!

The Story:

Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) is a former United Nations...MacGyver... who has left the U.N. and is enjoying life with his wife and daughters.  Unfortunately, some virus is spreading around the world, and once infected, 12 seconds later, the infected have become a raging... zombie!  Gerry must attempt to save his family, and once he manages to pull that trick off, his next assignment:

Save the world!

If he doesn't, then he and his family will be kicked out of the safe haven.

So much for choices?!

Wow.  I was not expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did.

Perhaps I set the bar low going in, but I was impressed.

First, yes, the zombies are fast.  And I've gone on record as saying I hate, hate, hate, fast zombies. 

But for this film, it works.  In fact, it's the only way this film would work.  Slow and lumbering, the virus would never have spread.

Directed by Marc Forster, who helmed the "disappointing" Bond film Quantum of Solace and the highly underrated Stranger Than Fiction, he is very competent at what he does.  In fact, the gore is kept to a very minimum making World War Z one of those "family zombie flicks" that can be shared with the older kids... if they dare!  It's scary and suspenseful without worrying about the buckets of blood being tossed around the screen.

The movie made great use of the Navy for isolation from the plague.  That was very clever and well thought out.

Then of course, there's Brad Pitt.  One step below superhuman, but really, at the end of the day, this is a tale of a husband and father who will do anything to save his family.

That he's also going to attempt to save the world comes in a distant second.

I've seen and heard negative comments that this film had a lousy ending, but I'm not buying that for a second.  Something that spread globally as fast as the epidemic did cannot possibly be resolved by the end of the movie.

There's more work to be done, and that may mean sequels, with or without Pitt.

I'm fine with that.

Enjoyed the movie, and it's an action film that just happens to have zombies in it.  Worth a viewing!

Final Grade: B+/A- range

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I actually would not be opposed to watching it again, or owning it.