Here is your chance to get a little insight on which film or TV Show you may be keen on seeing or which film or TV Show you may want to miss altogether.
These are Reel Ree:views here, keeping it concrete and reel...and somewhat, unbiased...well as much as possible, that is!
First of all, I thought this was cancelled! Secondly, I thought it was trash, so it got cancelled! Thirdly, I never watched it personally, but when I heard of a TV series which would be the spin-off of Bad Boys 2, I thought "seriously?" Sydney Burnett? Who cares?" But since it had been renewed for a season 2 and obviously, had to be fairly decent to get this far, it must have been somewhat successful or are Sony doing too much?
What they should have done (unless I missed it), was mention Sydney's role in the LAPD in the 3rd Bad Boys movie as that is obviously a lost opportunity for the series and to the franchise. Also, maybe a cameo from either Will or Martin, (Martin would be better), maybe a phone call or house visit, make it a little more inclusive. Hopefully she turns up in the 4th Bad Boys should they do one. I'm sure they will, it made money and they should capitalize immediately.
It looks interesting for the most part, I'm just neither here or there with it. I might watch it since nobody is really occupied with anything right now due to this lock down. Plus I've always liked Jessica.
Directed by Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier and starring Gabriel Union, Jessica Alba, Duane Martin, Zach Gilford, Ryan McPartlin, Sophie Reynolds, Ernie Hudson
There are stories in film which have been done over and over again. One guy on a mission to save someone from the clutches of evil. I mean, Mario has even done it to save Princess Toadstool and Princess Daisy from Bowser and King Kooper! The point I'm making is, it is NOT new and to regurgitate something like this for people to watch and be fully invested in, you need to come with something different. I mean Mario always had a different trick up his sleeve or in his or some kind of hat or raccoon tail. Anyway, for an example of how this movie of an ex-soldier/marine/mercenary goes about taking this job to save this kid from the evil clutches of some guy and lead him to safety, handles the task in a very basic way, BUT John Wick style! Action, Action and ACTION! And if action is your thing, you will love this!
Tyler (Chris Hemsworth) is an ex-marine with who is asked by a friend to extract a young child of a drug lord and lead him to safety as a rival gang wants to abduct him. The plot doesn't get any more complicated than that other than a few road bumps along the way for good measure.
The movie starts off with action immediately, so you get a rough idea of what you are about to see, but it doesn't fully prepare you for the action and carnage which will ensue. The storyline is pretty much non-existent. You get a little backstory with Tyler, but for the most part, they only skim the surface with it. There is also another character in the movie in which you also get a little backstory with in which may help you with sympathising with the character, but like I said, for the most part, this movie serves the audience with action John Wick style mostly. There will be no awards for the compelling drama and character acting.
Not only is this movie lacking story like John Wick, ironically enough, but the fight/action scenes are enough to rival John Wick movies themselves. I cannot remember the first movie to achieve a long continuous shot/take, but this movie has a long shot which is a sight to see. If anyone remembers and had watched the Netflix Daredevil series, there were a few long shots which worked well. Everyone remembers the 'Hallway' fight. To the point, they repeat some kind of long continuous shot in a hallway in the other Daredevil seasons. A few movies that also did it was Gravity and Birdman, however, this movie achieved this feat akin to Raid 2 and if you remember Raid 2, that movie was just action on top of action like blocks of action piled up on top of each other, only to pull a block out and, more action.
The scene starts off in a type of Jungle, goes into a car chase (both alongside and outside of the car) leading into a hand to hand knife fight. I cannot remember if it then goes into a street chase (I feel it does), but the movie is intense and keeps the action at a height to keep you entertained.
There are some real funny moments in the movie which made me laugh out loud. I actually paused the movie and then tweeted Hemsworth because I was soo caught up in the action and the scene, I had to 1. Stop crying with laughter, 2. Stop laughing and 3. Catch my breath. The moment involved some kids in an alleyway and everything about it was superb. Moreover, the action is superb. Every action scene. What I do want to see is a shared universe of John, Tyler and Jason in a movie, together.
As this is coming from the Russo Brothers and Captain America's stunt double, it goes without saying, the directing, the fight choreography and glimpses of humour are ALL there and done well. The movie also does a good job in making things seem very real to the point where the fight scenes are very visceral. And coming from Thor himself, Hemsworth totally sells the part with his native tongue included. If a sequel could be possible, I'll be game for that as Sam Hargrave handled his business with this one. Maybe a one-off, or maybe expand the world a little.
If you like action and little story, this should be for you. You won't be disappointed. Imagine, I saw this film without seeing a trailer first! Well done Netflix.
First of all, I tried to start this show 4-5 years ago and I failed. I tried again numerous times and kept failing. Distractions. Falling asleep. Other shows. I need to get back to 'The Walking Dead' AND 'The Blacklist' but because I keep hearing of Better Call Saul and how good it is getting AND the fact that Breaking Bad had me clapping at the end in it's final season finale, I've forced myself to watch all 5 seasons of Better Call Saul. It meant that a lot of the time I rewatched episodes due to falling asleep and losing my position in the narrative, but I've got to say, Better Call Saul is such an experience, you have to push yourself through it to understand how great it is.
You see, with Breaking Bad, you are given a school teacher who is getting basic pay, but isn't enough to support his wife and family. He gets into making drugs to turn a profit and then becomes a Drug Kingpin over time. James McGill aka Slipping Jimmy (Bob Odenkirk) is the younger brother or Charles McGill (Michael McKean), a successful lawyer for a big law firm. James is a con man turned Lawyer in order to clean his life up and do whatecer it takes for his clients. James idolises his brother Chuck and inspires to be like him, but James aka Jimmy struggles with a lot of things in life due to the choices he makes.
Over the course of the series though, through season 1 to 5, we start to see the formation and change in James McGill to becoming the character he is in Breaking Bad as well as the characters around him and in his world, such as Mike, Hector and Gus (also characters in Breaking Bad). As this is a prequel, you begin to bridge the dots in Breaking Bad from this show (of you have already watched Breaking Bad), however this show stands on its own two feet than relying on the predecessor.
We get a more in-depth look at Jimmy's personal life and his relationship with his older brother who has a condition leaving Jimmy to look after him and care over him. What's funny though, I believe it was THIS relationship and the things which were said by Jimmy's friend, Kim (in which I'll get onto next) regarding his relationship with his brother is what caught me offguard and had me fully invested at this point.
Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) was a strange one for me. She is Jimmy's friend and they really get on. It's like an on-again off-again situationship where her character eventually grew on me, especially after what she had said in relation to Chuck and Jimmy's relationship. It was at that point, I saw her differently because she saw Jimmy differently and that really mattered to me. I didn't like how she would sometimes treat Jimmy, when he would have given her the world, but at the same time, Jimmy's influence is what makes Kim ultimately the tragedy of this story.
The earlier seasons focus more or Jimmy, Mike, Chuck and Kim but as their stories expand, the more the world opens up and more characters get introduced as well as story points, ie Gus Fring, a drug lord from Breaking Bad and his beef with the people he is in business with, the Salamancas or at least, their rivalry.
Needless to say, Better Call Saul is about the characters and the writers do an absolute amazing job in giving every single character some depth with scenes these actors can chew on. Bob is amazing and I loved his voice acting work in The Incredibles 2, but where he takes his character and what he does with him are excellent. Imagine I disliked Kim near the start, but she grew on me and Rhea does a real good job especially when she has those moments to shine. I didn't really care for the relationship between Jimmy and Chuck, but then I started to dislike Chuck and felt sorry for Jimmy. I mean, two brothers who are brothers but don't really see eye-to-eye, but one would do anything to help the other whilst the other just wouldn't.
Everything about this show is great and at times, moved me emotionally. The way they build these storylines and the tension is nothing short of great. If you have seen Breaking Bad, you'd be familiar with the odd usage of camera angles and extreme close-ups of ants on an ice-cream cone or a bird's eye view shot with a character doing multiples things in different locations within the scene over time, but it all adds to what Better Call Saul is. The flashbacks and Flash Forwards can be confusing at times, but with the different levels these guys are playing on in telling us James' story, you will get there in the end and you will appreciate how they get you locked in.
Try not to compare or think too deeply about Breaking Bad though, as this show is just a prequel to it, but stands on its own two, neatly. I believe what Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould do more than anything, is make you sympathise with specific characters and if anything, I could really relate to Jimmy. Sometimes, things can be all messed up and nothing works, but you still put on that brave face and face the world.
When it's all said and done, I'd like to see the future of this character, if there is one, because the black and white Cinnabon moments must be after Breaking Bad and if you have seen that, you know what happens to Jimmy.
Usually they would drop a Trailer the very next day when they do something like this, so, I'm guessing one is coming real soon.
In a bid not to do multiple posts on trailers because Hollywood like to drop 26 trailers before the movie is out and effectively, YOU'VE SEEN THE ENTIRE MOVIE! In Teaser trailers, I will add the follow up Trailer to the pre-existing post, then separated posts thereafter.
This trailer though doesn't do enough for me. I love the fact that the wording is red or has a red highlight to it, I love that! I also like the sub-text "Let There Be Carnage" as it states exactly what the film will be about...Carnage. Hopefully this IS the name of the movie and what they will go with. I think the only thing I feel is missing, is...what they should have done, had the word "Venom" Morph into an "Axe", "Knife" or "Blade" (of some kind) in which Carnage usually changes his appendages into.
A reservation I have though, as Carnage it an absolute nutbar AND psychopathic killer, I'm concerned (and have always been concerned) on how he would be portrayed especially if this movie is not Age appropriate for the things Carnage girls known to do. We shall see when the first trailer drops.
Let there be Carnage!
Directed by Andy Serkis and starring Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Reid Scott, Naomie Harrison
What is wild, is that THE WORLD has soooo much time, yet I'm still finding it hard to find the time to review things. It's not like I don't want to but where is the time going? I'm catching up on soo many shows, starting new ones, it's all a mess. My sleeping pattern is all over the place and this NEW normal is just not working for me currently. But I'll tell you what is, although I have seen an earlier trailer before, THIS Trailer works!
I'm going to definitely dedicate some time to watch this and review it promptly straight after as this film looks a little bit like some "mindless" fun trying to clear names and catch bad guys with a little love story involved AND it was making me laugh/chuckle. Two people in a blossoming relationship where they are tested as they are now labelled murderers. Maybe a lighter heart version of Queen and Slim? Maybe not actually, now that I think about it. Not even remotely the same. I think I'll have a fun time with it regardless as it has Insecure star Issa Rae and comedian Kumail Nanjian, I would be interested as to see how it all pans out. I'm not expecting Oscar worthy performances so I'm up for it when it drops. I am at a bit of a loss since it states 4th April though, but considering all what is going on...
Directed by Michael Showalter and Starring Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjian, Paul Sparks, Anna Camp, Kyle Bornheimer
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