Bad Boys: Ride or Die
NOT BAD
PRAISE: The formula of these BB movies still works for the most part as the characters are dealing with multiple personal issues the Bad Boys are set up and while on the run must clear their names.
There's still a lot of fun and funny moments because of not only the fact that the characters Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Miles (Martin Lawrence) knowing each other so well but also the bond between the two actors shines through. The banter between the two was very funny at times.I liked how the movie leans heavily into some dramatic threads in the story and how there are some truly involving moments. I think Eric Dane did pretty good as the sadistic McGrath. I think he should be considered to take on the role of Deathstroke if WB ever gets around to really using the character. By now I'm used to the side characters being sidelined in these movies but there are a couple of moments when they pick up the slack. I appreciated that the movie took the time to explain away a couple of things to avoid plot holes. There are multiple action sequences with kills but one particular kill was outstanding.
PROBLEMS: While I didn't mind some of the call backs,the film goes to repetitive mode several times, in which scene from a former BB movie is just tweaked a little with a bit of different dialogue. A character was thrown in with absolutely no development. I kept saying are they going to give this character something to say aside from a few lines? The cameos felt forced to me but I did like the outcome of one of the quick appearances. A character shows up and I immediately knew they were up to no good ten minutes into the movie.
Scale of 1 to 10 a 7½
HIT MAN
Fake it & Make it
PRAISE : I thought the trailer for this movie was kind of bland and i wasnt going o give it a minute of my time but then i heard it was based on a few true stories i had read about a few years ago. Glen Powell portrays Gary Johnson, a college professor who has been assisting the police department with menial tasks but has to step in as a fake hitman to lure people into hiring him and basically getting them to talk about murder set ups. Powell has charisma and then some and is pretty funny as he alters his appearance and voice throughout the movie. His romance in the movie with Adria Arjona as Maddy Masters works not only because of the chemistry between the two but the rules they set up for each other that sounds like they're going to work.Writers Richard Linklater & Glen Powell wisely place a The Town thread in the movie that adds to the this is going to be a problem factor.Plus there's another complicated twist that worked partially. There's a good amount of clever writing in this that adds up to some fun and involving moments in the movie.Nice nods to Hit Man movies and T.V shows
PROBLEMS: I do feel like the climax of the film felt a bit abrupt,and they throw something in to easily eliminate a problem,just a little to neat and clean for me.
Scale of 1 to 10 an 7½
The Watchers
Woods Weirdness
PRAISE: ♪♫ I always feel like somebody's watching me♪♫
The movie starts off well enough with an off balance woman named Mina (Dakota Fanning) who takes a simple bird delivery trip but finds herself right in the middle of the woods and in something very mysterious. Following in the footsteps of her father director and writer M Night Shyamalan,Ishana Shyamalan directs this story that pulled me in mainly because of trying to figure out how and why things are happening. Fanning does well as Mina trying to figure out just what is going on as the audience is. I liked that she didn't want to sit around and play along like the other three characters housed behind a glass window in the woods.As Madeleine Olwen Fouere is always a welcome unflinching presence.Theres also Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and Daniel (Oliver Finnegan) who are jittery and seemingly in a trance.
Shyamalan provides some cold and creepy moments. Several scenes standout visually as the story unfolds and I think that they're the most effective scenes in the movie, actually made me think of Guillermo del Toro SFX and practical effects work. Ishana has that similar eye and I'm hopeful to see what she does next with it.
PROBLEMS: The plot holes disrupt a lot of the good things about the movie. I even sat there trying to rationalize about why certain actions weren't taking by a character because it would have been the most logical thing to do. Even the excuse i came up with was washed away. Sure I can also give the movie the excuse that they had budget limitations but there should have been a lot more in the setting in which the movie is placed. The movie aims to be multiple things but in the end it just becomes jumbled.
Scale of 1 to 10 a 4
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