(film review) - Bad Boys for Life

I've dumped on Michael Bay a few times and it isn't that he is a terrible director because I absolutely loved Pain & Gain, but he often drowns the audience in loud brash sights & sounds.  Don't get me wrong, when it's necessary, it works, but for the most part, it doesn't.  It's dated and he really does need to up his game when it comes to the action shots and story because he is a very competent director.  Nobody wants to see a fire hydrant blow up in huge flames when a dog pisses on it.  Pretty much his style of action, because it "looks cool".  And some of his "Comedy" is questionable, not to mention the stereotypes he sometimes portray in some of his movies, i.e The Transformers franchise.  Moving forward, the irony of watching THIS movie which was NOT directed by Michael Bay like the first two, is that Michael Bay could actually learn from these directors Adil and Bilall because I believe they did an excellent job of directit a Michael Bay movie, better than Michael Bay using Michael Bay-isms.  I'll explain.

Bad Boys 4 Life picks up 17 years later and Mike (Will Smith) and Marcus (Martin Lawrence) have continued to be the Bad Boy super crops that they are, but time is ticking on and they are getting old.  For Mike, he wants to be a Bad Boy until the wheels fall off, where Marcus has had enough and wishes to pack it all in.  However, when specific people start dying around Miami and disrupt their flow, these detectives, must investigate, but the past can always come back to bite you and push you to the limit.  Mike and Marcus have to stop this imminent threat that threatens their lives.

I really enjoyed the first movie and the Second movie was really good too.  However, the second movie was a little too long and Michael Bay had his trademark signatures all over it.  Yeah, it made it entertaining, but it was really annoying at times and a departure from the original. However, this movie incorporated some of the Michael Bay-ism, but with more class.  It's weird but when you see it, you will see it.

The action was great, the story was even better, but the comedy was soo much better than I would have expected, especially when you think about how old this franchise is.  At they past it or are we over it? And the chemistry of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, do they still have it.  An action comedy as it is labelled, but the dramatic scenes were very touching.  A benefit this movie also has, is the history behind it.  If you grew up with this movie back in the day, you feel for the characters and what they are going through.  There are some moments where you WILL question, "How old are these guys, STILL doing what they are doing?", but as they also address that in the film, the story moments give you more of an insight into these great characters where this movie is practically 25 years deep and still going strong.  Well it was a little wobbly after the Second one but this one brings the bar back up and if I'm honest, I NEED to see more of these two.

Will Smith's acting is great, but who would have thought any less...but Martin...Martin Lawrence is soo good, he literally carries the film on his back and you completely get his character, Marcus.  The main antagonist was a little one note, but the villain was pretty decent overall and not as mustache twirling like how other villains have been.  A little fleshed out but it would have been nice if we get some more depth with future movies as the film definitely lends itself to a sequel especially as they introduce a handful of new characters.

Overall, just a really good and feel good movie.  It is possible that Bad Boys has finally hit it's stride like the Fast and Furious franchise.  Imagine if they were in the same universe...makes sense, no?

If you are a fan, you should love this!

(trailer review) - Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Season 7

A Friend was telling me about The Clone Wars cartoon for a while and even stated how good it was.  I am a Star Wars fan, as well as Star Trek, but for me I like them both for very different reasons.  Star Trek, the ships and tech, Star Wars for the ships and story.  With both, but more Star Wars, I like to go deep with the lore, so watching The Clone Wars was great.

I only jumped in from around season 4 (I think), but the shows got better and better until they were cancelled a few years back.  But this last and final season, season 7 looks great!  The only problem with this trailer is, some of the well know characters we have been following in other shows since season 6 will not hold much weight, but with that said, the animation looks amazing and to hear that they will be covering 'Order 66', I am, down!!!  I'm here for Ahsoka, really.
It's a pity Disney+ is talking FOREVER to come out in the UK!!!

Directed by Dave Feloni

(film review) - Just Mercy

I didn't know anything about this movie or the true story this movie was based upon.  Thinking about it now, maybe I heard about a passion project Michael B. Jordan was interested in and was producing, but for the most part I either forgot or I just never knew.  This film carries soo much weight and off the back of Oscar Winning actors like Brie Larson and Jamie Foxx, Michael B. Jordan stood on the shoulders of giants and held his own.  I'll explain.

The year is 1989 and Harvard law graduate Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) sets out to help fight for poor people who cannot afford legal representation.  He travels to Alabama and focuses on Deathrow inmates in which he meets Walter "Johnny D" McMillian, (Jamie Foxx) a man convicted of the murder of Ronda Morrison 3 years prior.  Noticing the inconsistencies among other  problems with Walter's case, Bryan gets a team together including Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) to fight for Walter only to be met by barriers, blockages and an undertone of racial hatred.  To make matters worse, when other cases do not go well for Bryan, he is left with not many options, but does everything he can to help seek justice for Walter, an already disheartened man waiting for his death knowing he will die in prison for a crime he did not commit.

I almost cried twice.  Just before I wrote this review, I saw something about Jamie Foxx telling Graham Norton that this movie was personal for him which made me think of the movie and had to fight back tears again.  As I said earlier, this movie is very weighty and packs a punch that struck a cord with me.  I could hear people in the cinema sobbing and I was almost apart of the wrecked crew.  I could relate to some of the things Walter was going through and I felt the anger.  Maybe nearly 3 times I was almost drawn to tears.

The acting.  The acting was phenomenal.  I mean, we cannot really expect anything less from Oscar winner Jamie.  I got, The Soloist vibes from him and if I'm honest, even though Brie Larson was great too, my hat comes off to Rob Morgan and Tim Blake Nelson.  It was like every character in this movie were played by actors who were on top of their game. Even O'Shea Jackson Jr. was really good, soo good I didn't even recognise him.  But Rob Morgan, Turk from the Netflix MCU and an officer in Ozark, his character and storyline was one of the smaller moments that had me.  He played his part soo well and his story was soo good.

Destin Daniel Cretton did such an amazing job with this movie that even a day later, the movie has stuck with me and also still upsets me due to knowing there are hundreds, if not, thousands of innocent people in prison and a huge majority of them on or have been through the Deathrow process having been innocent.  It is a good idea to stay for the after credits moments and information.

Sometimes I would go into the cinematography and the lighting and this and that, but if I'm honest, I loved everything about this movie from the clothing to the props used showing the passage of time.  Destin did an incredible job with Rob's scene and to have all those black people (I've never seen before) was a sight for sore eyes as not many of the actors were very well known and I loved that.  I mean, there ARE more black actors, acting.

I'd definitely say that even if you do not like legal or courtroom drama movies, you should still watch this with a box of tissues.  Not only is it true to life in every aspect of the movie, the movie also comes across as refreshing for the palette although it may weigh you down emotionally.

Go have a watch and support this great true story