Still A Trick Or Two Up His Sleeve.."Wild Card"

Wild Card (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jason Statham, Michael Angarano, Milo Ventimiglia, Stanley Tucci,

Directed by Simon West

The Story:

Nick Wild (Statham) is a bodyguard in Vegas with a heart of gold but with a big gambling problem. Probably not the place to run a business if you've got that kind of issue. Cyrus Kinnick (Angarano) comes into town and wants to gamble big this weekend, so he hires Nick to keep him safe. During that same weekend, Nick stops by for a little revenge session on a thug (Ventimiglia) who beat one of his friends. The bad part, that guy has connections, and now it seems all of Vegas is after Nick. Can he beat the odds and get out of Vegas in one piece?

Wild Card has a great pedigree with the cast and crew assembled, but it hits a few rough notes along the way. That's odd for a movie written by William Goldman, so it's hard to tell if it's deviating from the script or trying to stay true to the story.

It's another one where there are long stretches without action, so that might cause the usual Statham fans to start having withdrawls, but stick around, when he does go into action, it's always worth it.

There are several supporting characters that are in the movie and then disappear without much further fanfare, so it seems odd. Why even introduce them if they aren't going to play any importance in the film?

That complaint aside, I enjoyed the ride from beginning to end. A few familiar beats throughout the movie, but when you've seen a lifetime of action films, it's not easy to find something new.

Normally, you just hope that you aren't disappointed.

I'm rarely disappointed with the entries in Statham's catalog of work, and this one is no exception.

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime as of this writing.

Final Grade:  B- / C+ range

Read This Review...Or the Bunny Gets It! "Con Air"

He's got the whole world...
In his hands!

The Story:

Ex-Ranger Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) gets sent to prison for killing a man in self-defense.  He does his time, and when it's time to go home, he decides to hop a flight on Con-Air, a prison transport.  But not just any transport, this one is moving the worst of the worst, and they just decided to break free.  If Poe has any hope of getting home to see his wife and daughter, he's going to have to save the day.

If I say "popcorn movie", this is the movie that could easily be in the dictionary as the definition.

It's loud.
It's crazy.
It's fun.

In fact, while Cage is playing his best cajun-accented hero, he gets support from some of the best villains ever assembled:

John Malkovich. Danny Trejo. Ving Rhames. Steve Buscemi.

They're chewing up the scenery, and making Poe's life miserable.

Realizing that he has a sense of duty to a friend onboard, as well as a female marshal who will likely be killed if he leaves her alone, Poe passes up an opportunity to leave the plane and plots to save the day from inside the plane.

Luckily, he's got some help on the ground in the form of John Cusack who races to help Poe get to safety.

The movie is fast-paced, written by Scott Rosenberg who also helped Cusack with High Fidelity and went back for Cage once more with Gone in 60 Seconds.

Given that this was the first time Simon West sat in the director's chair, he knocked it out of the park.  He could never have made another movie, and I would have considered him a great one-hit wonder. 

West sort of disappeared, but came roaring back in the last few years with The Mechanic and Expendables 2 last year. 

Welcome back to the Popcorn Movie genre Mr. West, you've been missed!

Yes, I can pop this movie in, anytime and just lose myself in 2 hours of pure adrenaline fun.

It's not a perfect movie...

But it's perfectly fun!

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I own it. I love it. I have seen it so many times, I've lost count! :)

What's the Best Kind of Gold? "Stolen"

There's gold in them there banks...

The Story:

4 criminals: Will (Nicolas Cage), Vincent (Josh Lucas), Riley (Malin Ackerman) and Hoyt (M.C. Gainey) are pulling off a $10 Million Dollar heist under the nose of the FBI.  As they attempt to getaway, Will and Vincent scuffle over killing a janitor, Will shoots Vince in the leg, throws him in the van and goes back to get the money...and his partners drive away.  Will is caught, sent to prison, and 8 years later he returns to New Orleans.  The FBI agents (Danny Huston and Mark Valley) are watching Will to see where he stashed the money.  Vince, presumed dead by the FBI returns to steal Will's daughter, and is holding her ransom for $10 million, and if he doesn't get it in 12 hours, the girl is dead.

What would you do?

This flick gets savaged by critics, opens in about a dozen theaters and disappears onto Netflix streaming, so it must suck, right?

Not so fast...

Apparently Nicolas Cage has moved to New Orleans and is going to do nothing but star in direct to DVD thrillers for the rest of his career.  That's okay if the output is like Seeking Justice or this one, which is even better.

If the worst complaint I can muster about this one is that it's like a 90s action movie... well that's actually pretty good praise, as the 90s cranked out some great popcorn movies.

Check your brain at the door, and just have fun.

Cage (and Gainey) re-team with Simon West who helmed one of the greatest (# 61 on my Top 100) 90s action flicks: Con Air.

Is this as good?

Nope, you don't have the cast and budget to pull off that spectacle here.

But they make the most with what they've got, and that actually works.

The story tightly weaves within New Orleans over the course of a day as Will frantically races throughout a Fat Tuesday New Orleans to find his daughter before resorting to return to a life of crime to save his little girl.

The ending climax is a bit over-the-top, but forgivable.

Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B-

Would I Own It: Yes, I could get this one and watch it again.

Black Friday Review: 2 for the Price of One: The Expendables Franchise

Fans of 80s action flicks rejoiced when the Expendables came out in 2010.

In that film, Stallone leads a team on a top secret mission on behalf of the government.  Mayhem and bloodshed ensued.

In 2012, Stallone leads a team on a top secret mission on behalf of the government.  More mayhem and bloodshed ensued.


I mean, who's kidding who.  You're either a fan of action movies like this, or you're not.  There are very few fence-sitters who wonder:  "hmm...do I want to watch a kick-butt action flick tonight... I'm not sure I'm in the mood for it..."

Yeah, it's always time for an action flick. 

Stallone and company pull no punches either.  The blood spatters everywhere, and bullets, fists, knives, and anything but the kitchen sink gets used in nearly every conceivable way.

The Expendables is streaming currently on Netflix, and is definitely worth a viewing if you've never taken in the carnage.

As for the Expendables 2...

It's even better than the first one.  The romantic subplot is shelved for a tale of straight up revenge when one of their own is killed by...

Van Damme!

Turning the franchise over to Simon West (Con/Air ~ one of the 100 Greatest Movies Ever Made!) was a good decision by Stallone.  While he did just fine helming the first one, it seems like turning the show over to another set of eyes let Stallone concentrate on just having a good time in front of the camera.

It's funnier, bloodier, and just plain better than the predecessor.

Also back for a return, The Governator and Bruce Willis.  Both have extended parts in the film, and provide some fun during the final battle.

Looking forward to seeing what they've got in store with the franchise from here.

If you haven't seen the first, there is no fine points that you'll miss from jumping in on the second part of the franchise.

If you liked the first, you should love the second.