Father Knows Best..."The Foreigner"

The Foreigner (2017)

Rated R

Starring Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan,

Directed by Martin Campbell

The Story:

When his teenage daughter is killed in an alleged terrorist attack, Quan (Chan) wants answers. That leads him to the desk of politician Liam Hennessey (Brosnan) a former IRA member who is attempting to keep the peace after nearly 20 years, and trying to keep the British Isles from erupting in violence again. However, Quan is determined, and will do anything to keep pushing Hennessey to reveal what he really knows.

Acclaimed action-director Martin Campbell returns after a too-long hiatus since the doomed Green Lantern movie.

Totally not his fault, DC still doesn't know what it's doing with their movies.

Reteamed with an older, wiser James Bond, Campbell puts much more drama into this thriller and lets the action come in bits and pieces, but always turning up the pressure on the characters to find out who is really committing these bombings and how much the government did or did not really know.

Chan still has the moves that has dazzled audiences for decades, but at an older age, the sequences are dialed back a bit so it's not non-stop Kung Furious action spectacles.

If you passed on it thinking you were getting a subpar, direct-to-dvd fare, try this one again, you might be pleasantly surprised.

Final Grade: B-

Even More Sinister Than A Stephen King Novel..."I.T."

I.T. (2016)

Not Rated

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Anna Friel, Stefanie Scott, Jason Barry

Directed by John Moore

The Story:

Mike Regan (Brosnan) is a successful entrepreneur who is about to take his business (think Uber...for aircraft!) public. He has a loving wife and daughter (Friel & Scott) and a state of the art home. But when Mike invites the new I.T. guy, Patrick (Barry) over to fix a few bugs at the house, Patrick suddenly thinks he's Mike's new best friend and then gets a bit offended when he gets the cold shoulder.

Don't screw with the I.T. department, Mike!!!

This thriller is not as thrilling as it wanted to be, but it does try.

Mostly by falling on the more-than-capable shoulders of Brosnan to carry the film, Brosnan keeps the audiences sympathy as the likable millionaire who's trying to become a billionaire by taking his firm public.

Yet when Patrick interferes, he runs the risk of losing everything he's worked for, including his very family.

The ground for Patrick's motivations is really that he's just that obnoxious that he would take any slight as a personal insult, and do whatever he can to make that person's life hell.

Hmm...

I know some people like Patrick.

:)

Otherwise, Mike doesn't seem to have any skeletons in his closet or anything that would deserve the cruel fate that comes his way, other than hurting the feelings of a sociopath.

So word of warning: be nice to the I.T. folks, and don't ever invite them to come fix your smart home.
Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C+

Fight The "Urge" To Watch This One

Urge (2016)  

Rated R

Starring Justin Chatwin, Danny Masterson, Ashley Greene, Nick Thune, Alexis Knapp, Chris Geere,

Directed by Aaron Kaufman

The Story:

A weekend getaway with a group of friends on an island paradise takes a disturbing turn after a visit to a nightclub run by The Man (Brosnan). He offers them a drug that has the effect of being next to God, but the catch: you can only use it once. Everyone has an amazing night except Jason (Chatwin) who is used to getting high, so barely feels any effects whatsoever. Everyone else decides that they have to do it again... and when they do, all of their inhibitions are stripped away, and things take a decidedly dark turn.

Meh.

There were flashes of interest here and there from this movie, but overall, it was a dud.

The Man, of course, is God.

I know, spoilers....sorry...

But it seems pretty obvious throughout the movie, and there is an end-credit scene that pretty much spells it out for those that didn't figure it out the first time.

Again, given the option of free will, man will always mess up their lives.

:)

So when presented with the ultimate drug that can only be used once, naturally, most people want to take it again to feel that amazing.

But the 2nd time...well, things go horribly wrong, and baser instincts take over and people give in to any and all urges and begin to kill one another, among other things.

Thanks, but I'll pass.

Final Grade: D+

Awkward Title...Charming Cast... "Some Kind Of Beautiful"

Some Kind of Beautiful (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba, Malcolm McDowell, Duncan  Joiner, Ben McKenzie

Directed by Tom Vaughan

The Story:

Richard (Brosnan) happily teaches poetry to his classes at Cambridge. Of course, having an affair with Kate (Alba) who is one of his students is just another perk to the job, Richard likes to keep his options open. When he meets the lovely Olivia, he is instantly smitten, then horrified to find out that she is Kate's sister. Then he's even more horrified to find out that Kate is pregnant. He gives up everything he knows to move to America to be a good dad, but things get really difficult, really fast.

Here's a romantic comedy/dramedy that flew well below the radar last year.

It reunites Brosnan and Hayek and the two have a wonderful chemistry together, and yet they are pretty much to be kept apart for the majority of the movie.

Even though, you and I know full well how everything is going to turn out, it's still an enjoyable ride to get to it.

Brosnan gets to play a bit more frazzled than we're used to seeing, and it's a refreshing change that he employs very well. While things may not have worked out with Kate, he adores being a dad and wants to make up for what he feels was a bad relationship that he had with his father (McDowell).

I enjoyed it, and if you want a nice, enjoyable date-night movie to enjoy, this should count as a good one that neither of you have seen before.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

It's Okay To Watch "The November Man" In The Summer, Right?

The November Man (2014)

Rated R

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Luke Bracey, Olga Kurylenko

Directed by Roger Donaldson

The Story:

Devereux (Brosnan) is an ex-CIA operative who got out of the game to live a quiet life.  When an old flame is threatened, he laces up the boots one last time to get her out, but she is killed.  Devereux survives the attack which was led by his former pupil, Mason (Bracey). Now it's game on as Devereux realizes he must take down the corruption in the CIA and figure out how this all relates to the impending election of a new Russian president.

You can take the man out of the Bond, but you can't take the Bond out of the man.

Will Pierce Brosnan forever be typecast as the smooth operator who is aging gracefully but no matter how retired he is, will always be a danger to others?

And if so, is that necessarily a bad thing?

It's Bond-lite to be sure, or at least new-age Bond with less girls, less gadget and more ruthless aggression.

Brosnan does fine work as an assassin who is pulled in for one last job and then must take on the establishment to make them pay for what they've done and what they plan on doing.

If you want an action-thriller you haven't seen yet, give this one a spin.

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

More Like A Sucker Punch... "The Love Punch"

The Love Punch (2013)

Rated PG-13

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson

Directed by Joel Hopkins

The Story:

Richard (Brosnan) and Kate (Thompson) are divorced, but still get along.  When Richard is set to retire from his company, he discovers that the company is under investigation and all assets are frozen.  Looks like the boss put all of that money into a priceless diamond. So Richard and Kate decide to get the money back to the company by stealing the diamond.

It's a romantic comedy heist film.

The problem, the heist is too easy, the romance is barely there, and it simply isn't that funny.

Both Brosnan and Thompson get to flex their comic muscles in roles that are departures from their typical roles.

That would work if the situations weren't overly cliche or just poorly conceived.  Plus, the film is sorely lacking a straight man in much of the film.

You can't have both Brosnan and Thompson being the comic alone and then thrusting them together and expecting one to become the straight man role immediately.

It, like most of this movie, just doesn't work.


Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I barely got through it once, I can't do it again.

A Fun Little Heist Film... "After The Sunset"

After the Sunset (2004)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Woody Harrelson, Don Cheadle
Directed by Brett Ratner

The Story:

Max (Brosnan) and Lola (Hayek) are jewel thieves.  Really good ones.  They've been chased by FBI Agent Lloyd (Harrelson) but never caught. He knows they are guilty, but can never prove it.  When they retire to a tropical island paradise to get married, Lloyd shows up on their doorstep to let Max know that he knows the real reason Max is there is to steal the one diamond he never got his hands on.  Then local mobster Henri (Cheadle) tells Max he better steal the diamond for him.  What's poor Max going to do?

Ah yes, the heist film.

I love them.

This one is also a lot of fun.

It plays up the humorous aspect, which is something you should expect from a Brett Ratner film.

As I am an unabashed fan of Ratner's films, I have no problem with that.

The movie barrels along nicely, very little drag at all through the proceedings.

The scenery is stunning, and all of the actors seem to be having a great time with the movie.  Some great chemistry between the three leads makes for a very engaging story.

Like the gem Max is coveting, this film is an overlooked gem that has aged gracefully over the last decade.

Final Grade: B+ maybe even A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do own it, and sadly it's been out of circulation for far too long.  I forgot how fun it was.

"I Don't Know How She Does It"... Well, I Know, But I'm Not Telling!

Hectic doesn't begin to describe it.

The Story:

Kate (Sarah Jessica Parker) works in a financial firm.  She has two kids and a wonderful husband (Greg Kinnear) who has been trying to get his business off the ground.  A pitch that Kate made to the execs is approved, and she pitches it to Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan) and it is approved, but it's going to require lots of extra travel and more hours than she's already putting in.  Couple this with the fact that her husband finally lands his dream gig at the same time...

Something's going to have to give.


Here is a nice, mostly likeable comedy about the perils of the working mother.

Naturally, as with any film, they will play up the exaggerations to the hilt, almost to the point of ridiculousness, which takes some of the charm out, and puts in some of the sting.

For example, any movie family with lots of kids, lots being often more than one, always makes me cringe because they make big families look bad.  Or stupid.  Or both.

So in this film, the mother is harried and hurried, often portrayed as disheveled and unorganized, but boy is she spunky and has a can-do attitude!

This again does a disservice to moms, whether they work outside of the home or not, because it is a difficult job to manage, and here the ability to get it done seems almost by accident more than design, and that just doesn't sit well with me.

I do try and give these movies the benefit of the doubt.  They aren't the real world, it's entertainment...  But sometimes it seems like the people in charge just can't conceive that people would want to have a few kids, and that their kids aren't evil.

Your mileage, of course, may vary.

:)

Going in, you know there will be some sort of romantic entanglement between Kate and Abelhammer, but thankfully they decide not to wreck the family and Kate remains strong!   It could easily be a Lifetime movie, except for the star-studded cast.

The cast of course does a great job, they are all old pros who know how to make the movie work.  That includes bit players like Seth Meyers and Kelsey Grammar who make the most out of their minimal screen time.

Like I said, it's breezy and fun enough, and aside from the issues I had, there are worse chick flicks to endure...though I'm not sure this fully qualifies as a chick flick.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again, but I won't be rushing out to purchase it.

"Everything or Nothing" ~ 50 Years Behind the Scenes with Bond

Happy Anniversary Mr. Bond.

This documentary focuses on the overall relationship of bringing Bond from the book to the big-screen and the turbulent ride that franchise has taken and endured over the last 50 years.

The movie itself focuses  on the behind the scenes of Fleming's life and how he came to know Saltzman and Broccoli and their desire to bring their favorite literary hero to the silver screen. 

50 years in 90 minutes, so there is a lot to gloss over, but the majority of the triumphs and downfalls that the series has endured are touched on.

Just about everyone who is still around is interviewed for some portion or another.  Notably absent is Connery, however they use archival footage of his comments so you don't miss out too much.  Otherwise, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig are all interviewed with their desire and trepidation of following in Connery (and then each preceding Bond!) to take over the franchise.

It's well worth the viewing, especially if you are a fan, hardcore or casual, of the 007 franchise.

Looking forward to the next 50 years!

Available for streaming on Netflix or Amazon Prime as of this writing.

http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70256292?strkid=1372494473_0_0&trkid=222336&movieid=70256292

http://www.amazon.com/Everything-Nothing-The-Untold-Story/dp/B00AW73FH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358005114&sr=8-2&keywords=everything+or+nothing