(film review) - Gladiator II

When I first heard of the Gladiator 2 movie, I was not sure how to felt about it. This is a sequel to an old film and the premise they had at the time was something about Maximus coming back from the dead or something weird. It might have been a fake rumour or something else but eventually, the story started to circle around the son of Maximus and a similar premise to the previous movie. Then I started to hear that Joseph Quinn was joining the cast along with Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, so it was starting to get meaty, you know. A nice healthy cast. The addition of Denzel threw me a little but, whatever, let's see what this is all about. The next thought I had was, do I watch the first movie before I watch this sequel or do I go in clean? You see I have not seen Gladiator since I saw it all those years ago in the cinema. I remember it being a long film and I also remember enjoying it. But then my thoughts started to circle the idea of comparing how the sequel should go and how it should make me feel based on the first one. So I wondered, should I watch the first movie for an update on the story? But would that ultimately put my mind in a place where I will constantly compare the sequel to the first movie. I was not sure what to do, so last night, I wanted to go cinema, I decided on Gladiator, I did not watch the first movie beforehand and upon coming out, "Are you not entertained?" Yes, I was.

The film picks up with Hanno (Paul Mescal), spending time with his wife Arishat before the Roman Army invades their city led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) ordered by the corrupt twin emperors. Once captured Hanno is tested as a fighter to become a potential gladiator only to build up his notoriety to take revenge on Acacius.

I enjoyed this movie. A bag of popcorn, drink, action, loud music, a wonderful score, really good acting, but a decent storyline, not a great one. The storyline is not anything groundbreaking at all and may even mirror the first movie but for what it is worth, I enjoyed the storyline even though it is definitely not one of Ridley's best. A few gripes I had with the movie were the special effects as they were not great and some of the set pieces and the things they did in the movie, due to using the special effects heavily, are the reasons why some of it just did not work and stood out like a sore thumb. I was very entertained by the end of the movie, which is the main thing as that is what we do as movie-goers; we are out trying to be entertained by stories that transport us from our reality. The special effect hinders that experience just a little. Some elements of the movie also made zero sense and were not explained but you simply run with it, it's a movie...relax and enjoy.

The acting was good and Denzel was also really good. Not his best work but a little different from some of the roles he has played previously. It was great to see Connie Nielsen and Joseph Quinn was ok, again nothing special about his character although his performance was good, but I do feel he was wasted, slightly (he's a good actor). I really liked Pedro Pascal's character as he had layers to him which as an audience you begin to understand later as the movie goes on, his motivations and reasonings. I will say Ridley did a great directing job with this movie but I do wonder if this movie was 20 years too late or if the execution is the issue or was it the writing? because Top Gun: Maverick has an even larger gap between the two movies but everything about that movie was written, acted and directed well.

I am going to watch the first one again and I am sure it is going to look dated in comparison since it came out 24 years ago, but without comparing the two (hopefully), chances are, they are both the same (for now) until I watch the first one again, which is still considered a classic, might I add. Paul Mescal is ok, but Russell Crowe had more weight on his performance and owned the role more than Paul. There was a level of gravitas Russell carried but Paul didn't seem to carry that in his performance. This is not saying he was trash, but maybe miscast, or swallowed and drowned out by Russell's performance. He had some pretty big shoes to fill, and that is the only comparison I can really make at this time. Go watch it, you will enjoy it.

(trailer review) - The Equalizer 3

"Do I look like a killer?"

It is at this point in life, no matter who you are, providing you have watched at least 8 movies with Denzel Washington, he is Uncle Denzel. Uncle Denz. Unc Denz. He has been doing his thing for a while and Denzel has always been great. From time to time, you might see a dud movie, but Denzel always delivers, he has always been excellent. Strangely enough, I remember seeing The Equalizer 2 trailer but I just did not get around to seeing the movie. However, this trailer looks great and I would like to know, while this is the final film, could we get more?

This trailer looks solid. I remember watching the first movie and thought, the thinking about the moves before he does them was great. It's cool. It's calculated. It tells you everything about Denzel's character, who is the kind of person who steps into the lion's den and does not even try to sweat as he knows exactly how he will take out the lion once he is inside, but will only step inside if absolutely necessary. Scope out the threat, figure out how you are going to take them out and bish, bash, bosh, everyone is either dead or maimed or both. However, whilst that last scene was great to watch, realistically, the guy with the shotgun would have shot him, no? Anyway, I can not wait. Let me go and find the prequel to this trailer's movie so I can gear myself up for this one.

(film review) [STREAMING] - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

I'm reviewing this movie now because I only began watching this movie LAST NIGHT!!!  Yes, I know the movie came out in 2020 and days before Christmas, but I'm going to be real with you...I just wasn't ready.
Viola Davis is one amazing actor and having watched the entirety of 'How to get away with Murder' (a great show might I add), this woman has a lot of range.  But also starring the late and great Chadwick Boseman who is also in this movie, meant that, not only am I forced to watch him play this character by watching it, I am forced to watch his craftsmanship as an actor and the last movie he would ever physically act in and character portray.  Granted there are some Marvel 'What If' storylines in which he had lent his voice before passing but, to physically see him acting in all his splendour in his last film, I knew it was going to break me and I wanted to savour the moment.
But was the film any good you might ask? Yes, yes it was!

In 1927 Jim Crow era, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is a black successful and highly regarded Blues singer.  She is well known in the black community and is at the height of her fame.  In a world where racism is high towards black people, she understands her talent and her worth along with what she brings to the table with her singing talents.  Ma Rainey and her Jazz band turn up for rehearsals at Paramount Recording studio in Chicago where Ma's manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) has set up a session to record Ma Rainey's song "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom".  However on the day of recording, events unfold surrounding the band and one of their members Levee Green (Chadwick Boseman) who is an overconfident Trumpeter with a very dark past.  On this very hot day, characters are tested, banter turns to anger and with the looming presence of racism and trust ever present, this day of recording does not go as smoothly as it should have.

I will say, I didn't cry like I thought I would have.  I legit thought that seeing Chadwick performing would make me cry, but it was the 30 minute featurette which was obviously done after his passing that got me.  Hearing Denzil and Viola talk about how talented this young man was broke me and I weeped a little.  The exact reason why I didn't want to watch the movie.  That aside, literally...Ma Rainey was a very small production with a small budget which was a very well thought out and acted "stage play" of sorts.  It reminded me of 'American Son' where most of the movie takes place in one area.  Movies that do this tend to be very intimate and when done well, it works, but when executed poorly, it completely crashes and burns.  What I will say is that, this movie is carried by two completely talented actors, one of which GAINED WEIGHT for the role and NOBODY has spoken about her dedication to the craft and the other, who gave his life and soul to the performance, in which would end up being his last acting role ever, due to death.

Music, hair, wardrobe, accents, set design...everything looked amazing.  At a point I thought it was the same lady who was wardrobe designer for Black Panther (possibly due to Chadwick's involvement), but everyone looked the part.  At times I laughed because Ma Rainey depicted in this movie was a character.  She knew her worth and took no shit from anyone.  She was big (some may say butch), a mouth full of gold teeth and she wasn't scared of anybody.  She had a presence.  She had control or demanded control and structure her way.  She stood up for herself and looked out for her band members.  Levee was a character that not only carried the movie, but you could argue that this movie is more about him than any other character.  Like all the characters, we know very little about them, but the film unpacks Levee's past and ultimately sheds a light on the behaviour of the times and how Black people were treated without beating you over the head with it.  It was great to see Glynn Turman in whom I recognised from 'How to get away with Murder' and also Colman Domingo from 'Fear the Walking Dead' (not that I ever kept up with it after the first season, but I do need to go back to it).

I have heard about Chadwick's performance in the last few weeks since this Netflix movie came out and I hope he receives an award.  Not because he has died, but because his performance was outstanding.  Because he deserved an award when he was alive.  If you have not seen Spike Lee's 'Da 5 Bloods', him and Delroy Lindo will have to fight it out for Best Actor, but if he doesn't win for supporting actor in 'Da 5 Bloods', he should definitely win it for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom because he is THAT good.  Not to make this review about Chadwick Boseman and his accomplishments, but to overlook this man's talent in the 15 movies he filmed, 3 of which were biographical, 4 of which were as King T'Challa of Marvel's Cinematic Universe as the character Black Panther, in his solo movie and ensemble cast movies such as The Avengers, a role in which a lot of people know him for, this movie is just another showcase of this man's talent who was taken from us too soon and which of course, makes this movie a must watch.

(film review) - Flight

I almost cried. Like, very almost cried. I was slightly on the verge of crying watching this film and I'm not too proud to admit that. Damn, I'm a grown man and I have feelings too. I understand. I have empathy. And I've got to say, I left the cinema thinking, "That was a Brilliant Movie". Someone asked me if it was Denzel's best performance, hmmm...I don't know. But the story for me was great.

The film is about an Airline Captain named William "Whip" Whitaker (Denzel Washington) who on one day, flies a plane which eventually crashes and he gets knocked out from the impact. However, upon waking up from his state in a hospital, he is crowned a national hero as he was able to saves some lives. But as investigators look into the crash and who or what caused the catastrophe, they say that Whip was flying a plane under the influence of toxins in his blood stream in which they took samples when he was out cold and it also meant that he could spend a lot of years in prison for manslaughter.

Whip's old friend Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) who has been recently appointed to represent the airline pilots union comes to his aid and gets attoney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) to help Whip in any way possible, which includes escaping jail time and to get the NTSB off his back. As simple/difficult as this sounds, Whip has his own personal demons he needs to battle as well as trying to stay out of the media and public eye.

Like I said earlier, this is a very good film and I almost cried. I felt for the character Whip, not that I could relate, but the story was very compelling. I can't say I have experience or a lot of knowledge in the area, but the acting, the story, the direction, it was all just excellent to me. I've also said that it is hard not to like Denzil, especially when he does performances like this and from a director like Robert Zemeckis, I can only say this is a quality film. Go and watch the film. It is A LOT. I'm sure during the film, you will think about a Holiday...and then some.

(film review) - Safe House

You can't actually say to a stranger, friend or family member that you dislike Denzil Washington. You'd probably get slapped. I mean what is there not to like? Dude chooses his rolls well and you can't say he doesn't. Not only does he have good roles, he is a phenomenal actor. I can think of a few films and everybody remembers Training Day. Damn, didn't he get an Oscar for that? I've got 'The Hurricane' at home and that's a good film and so is the 'The Manchurian Candidate' and 'The Book of Eli', 'Man on Fire', 'Deja Vu', 'Inside Man', the list honestly just goes on and on.

Now as usual as I don't do spoilers, I'm not going to give the film away. But as I remember from the trailers, Tobin Frost (Denzil Washington) is on the run and is brought to a Safe House under the care of Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds), but as soon as he is transferred, things start going haywire and not only does Tobin try to escape his "captors" and keep himself alive, it is a battle of mind games between Tobin & Matt and who can and can not be trusted especially in their line of work.

This film is a great watch. I'm not saying this because I'm a fan of Denzil, I think he's ok. Yeah I said it, JUST OK! But It was great to see Robert Patrick in there (you know, Liquid Metal Man from Terminator 2) and the action was very consistent. There were no dead moments where you kind of thought, "sigh, why hasn't this film finished yet or c'mon, i wanan see some action". But like most Denzil films, or possibly of more recent times, there are some twists and turns. Denzil does play a good Villian.

Have a watch, I'm sure you will like it.

(film review) The Book of Eli

As we love these, this is another Post-Apocolyptic film for my reviews, however this one isn't about rabid Zombies pulling limbs and flesh off and trying to eat people alive, this is about a book. Sounds a bit boring really. I mean who wants to see a film about a book? But then again, they made a film about a ring and that was around 9hrs long AND they are doing 2 prequels. I digress.

Watching this film, I couldn't help but think of Mad Max mixed with something else...I just can't think of the other film right now, but the desert, the vehicles (a little), you know. The action was decent, in fact, the action was excellent if you watch the whole film and think about all the action again.

It all starts with 'The Walker' (Denzel Washington) who basically shows you how it is like without McDonalds, KFC, Wimpy, Ihop or Wendy's being around. We also see how he basically survives from night to night and how he keeps a cool head with a no-nonsense attitude letting nothing get in his way while he 'WALKS' West. He is a man on a mission and so is Carnegie (Gary Oldman)who plays 'The Bad Guy' in the film, who sends goons that cannot even read to look for a specific book. Pointless, I know.
The point of the whole film is that, The walker protects the book while he is trying to get to somewhere and Carnegie wants the book as it is believed by him to hold such a significant "Power" that, the town he already oversees, he is able to construct more and gather more people and, well, basically rebuild the world since the last World War basically destroyed much of it, so it is believed.

The Walker walks into Carnegie's town and realising that The Walker can read and has a book in his possession, all hell breaks loose while Carnegie stops at nothing to retrieve this book.

The pacing of this film isn't that bad. If your tired, you might just fall asleep. Not saying it's boring but the action isn't consistent. So in a moment when a bird is flying in the air or the walker is ransacking buildings, you might fall asleep as it's not THAT interesting, but if you watch carefully, tells a lot about the film.

A lot of things were said about this film before I saw it. I heard it's good, I heard it's rubbish and well, it's one of those films you'll need to watch it again. What makes me laugh, is that at the end of the film, it throws in a huge 'WTF' in your face which makes you rethink the whole film. I mean the twist compels me to watch it again, but unfortunately, this isn't a GREAT film in which you can watch over and over and over again, so I'm not in a hurry. Maybe once or twice....maybe 3 times at max, but then that's about it. Not a grammy award winner or a film that will stand out in Denzel Washington's career. Although in saying that, his acting was good and he may go to do more films in which he does more fighting, but other than all that, The Book of Eli is a decent watch.
I'd say watch it and don't listen to what other people think of the film. Watch it with a clear head, expect anything and be very observant. Out Now!!!

Trailer: