Tag: Mark Wahlberg

Riddick / Pain & Gain

120px-Film-stripA very belated post for these two films as I’ve been so short of time, recently. Weekends taken up with Duke of Edinburgh expeditions has eaten into writing time! We saw these almost two weeks ago, I think…

Riddick

“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: see-in-the-dark ex-slave-and-planetary-ruler Riddick finds himself stranded on a dangerous planet and wonders how to get off again

See it if you like: Aliens and First Blood.

Following on from Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick, this third instalment sees our anti-hero marooned on a scary big planet, seemingly with no way off. This may have happened at the end of CoR, but I can’t remember as I didn’t like the film and may have fallen asleep partway through.

Riddick is much better, though, and more in line with the first film in the series. It’s almost two films in one. The first half documenting Riddick’s (Vin Diesel, in case you didn’t know) escape from the barren half of the planet to somewhere a little more foliage-covered; the second half his battle against bounty hunters who turn up to claim his head.

Much reference is made to the first two films, so if you’re a fan then a repeat watch may be ideal before you take on this one.

Effects are good, dialogue is suitably silly, bad guys are wonderfully over-the-top (especially Jordi Mollà‘s Santana and Katee Sackhoff‘s overly-butch Dahl), and there is a decent story going on around all the by-the-numbers character-slaying.

Don’t take it too seriously and it’s a good romp. My favourite of the three films, anyway.

Pain & Gain

“Unfortunately, this is a true story.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: based-on-a-true-story series-of-heists gone wrong comedy action where people with biceps bigger than their brains show how not to get rich quick

See it if you like: looking at men with ridiculously large musculature while having a giggle

Michael Bay is more famous for his stupidly huge films like Con Air and those ones with the robots that turn into cars. However, he has done a fair few films based more on story and less on fuelling special effects labs. This is one of them.

Based on a true story from around 1995. How close to the truth it is would require some research, but there are some key scenes which I think are documented. Best of all is that they are some of the stupidest. This is a story of success and failure. And succeeding at failure. On a huge scale.

Bodybuilder Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) decided he’s sick of other people being rich when he does all the hard work. So he decides to attempt to extort one of his customers. He enlists the aid of a friend, Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and they, in turn, draft in some additional muscle in the form of reformed ex-convict and musclebound Jesus-freak Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson, formerly “The Rock”).

And it all goes horribly wrong. With hilarious consequences. Especially when they bugger everything up and try again with another victim.

Not a family-friendly film, but one with with plenty of dark and grisly humour. There are some genuinely funny moments, and Dwayne Johnson finally proves that he’s not just got a screen career because of his bulk. He’s genuinely good in this.

Very enjoyable – surprisingly so if I’m honest.

 

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RED 2 / 2 Guns

120px-Film-stripOne sequel, one film with a “2” in the name that isn’t, and a very sore tummy from eating a landfill-engulfing quantity of jalapeños for dinner.

RED 2

“What happens in the Kremlin stays in the Kremlin!”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: the good guys from the first film are targeted by the nastiest hired killers on the planet because they apparently have some information that they don’t

See it if you like: spy thrillers with a nice edge of humour

You may recall such recent reviews as Kick-Ass 2 and Despicable Me 2. Well, RED 2 can join the list of sequels which don’t try to be the first film all over again, and which are better for it.

Whereas the original RED had some exceptionally comic book-esque scenes (the sequence in the shipping yard being the prime example), these are generally lacking in this sequel which goes more for chop-socky fast-paced combat and over-the-top scenes with guns instead. The good thing is that it doesn’t suffer as a result.

All of the central original cast are there, and this time joined by some other big names. Anthony Hopkins turns up at one point, but I can’t go into detail as it may be spoiler-some. Suffice to say he’s brilliant and shows an impressive range with a very entertaining character.

Also appearing is one of my favourite unsung actors, Neal McDonough. Since seeing him in Boomtown (a superb series which should never have been cancelled), I’d always looked forward to seeing him in things and he is spot on in this. He plays a very determined, no holds barred, whatever it takes to get what he wants operative.

Add to this Catherine Zeta-Jones who has more slap on than three women working at the Boots make-up counter, David Thewlis as a hard-to-catch seller of secrets and Byung-hun Lee as the world’s most dangerous contract killer and you have a very good cast indeed.

The story is also good, and the dialogue fizzes. In particular, and as in the first film, Willis and Malkovich play incredibly well off each other.

There’s everything a decent spy story needs. Guns, women, explosions, tension, backstabbing, cars, guns, more explosions, poison gas, things blowing up… All with a decent number of laughs thrown in.

Yup, this one’s good.

2 Guns

“Are we people?”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Uncovered undercover DEA agent his patsy find themselves hunted for stealing the wrong person’s money

See it if you like: gun-thirsty action thrillers which still make you think

Second up was this nice twist on the buddy story starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. Without giving too much away (no more than the trailer does, anyway), the two are drug-running and robbing places left, right and centre… but unknown to Stigman (Wahlberg), Washington’s character Bobby is an undercover DEA agent.

Thing is, despite this little fact coming to life at an inopportune time, the two end up thrown together in a bid to keep themselves alive and get revenge on various parties who’ve wronged them.

It’s pretty violent, but like RED 2, has some very humorous moments. The dialogue and chemistry between the two leads is great to watch with some fast-paced verbal jousting that’s either the result of a lot of rehearsal or a natural link. Either way, it makes many scenes very entertaining indeed.

Importantly, the story is good as well although it’s a little bit easy to guess who the overall bad guy is. This doesn’t steal any of the story’s thunder, though, and it rides well until a suitably chaotic and blood-soaked finalé.

 

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Ted

For the first time in a while, I went to the cinema by myself. Gillian has let her Cineworld card expire and mine only runs for another week or so. Too many gigs coming up, and one extra munchkin in the house to look after! My first solo film was supposed “gross-out” comedy:

Ted

“Death to Ming!”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Man lives with magic teddy bear who’s a bit of a bad influence on him, but has to split up his lifelong friendship to keep his girlfriend happy

See it if you like: Family Guy with actual swear words, Bad Santa with stuffing

You can see the plot above. It’s just a play on an old favourite; a well-meaning guy caught up between single life with his best friend (who in this case just happens to be a sentient teddy bear) and moving forward with his long-term girlfriend. So far, so “seen it all before” although it’s not a bad riff on the basic scenario. Beneath all the foul language and sex jokes is a decent enough story.

Seth MacFarlane directs, script-writes, motion-captures himself and voices Peter Griffin Ted. If he were a live action character he’d be played by Zac Galafikinoiwsis. Galafikinosos. Galak… the fact dude with the beard. Or Seth Rogen. You know, the other fat guy with the beard. Mark Wahlberg, complete with rather bizarre accent, plays John – a car rental employee who’s managed to land himself a rather hot and high-flying girlfriend played by Mila Kunis. She, in turn, is being hunted down by her misogynist rich payboy boss Rex (Joel McHale from TV’s Community). Added into the mix is a rather manic Giovanni Ribisi who is on a misson to capture Ted for his own little boy and you have a couple of little plot threads.

The humour is, generally, gutter-level. If you don’t like bad language or euphemisms for female genetalia (or jokes about poo, visual sexual humour, off-colour comments about race, flippant remarks about terrorist atrocities…) don’t come in. Go and see Batman again or something. Having said that, I didn’t get quite the kick out of it that I did with the aforementioned Bad Santa that genuinely did have me bent over, laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe at points.

It’s not that Ted isn’t as funny, it’s just that there’s no continuous bam-bam-bam joke after joke after slap after punch after off-colour-remark that Billy Bob Thornton‘s hastily-buried (by the studio – they hated it) classic managed. Aside from a couple of moments it also seems to lack the shock value, too. Perhaps I’m jaded. Bad Santa was very novel for its time. Since then, we’ve had the likes of Family Guy, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show on TV plus a fair number of bad taste comedies in the cinema.

What really did make Ted for me was the nostalgia and references to the 1980’s, plus all the little in-jokes and guest appearances. Without giving any plot details away (I hope): Ted Danson in a fake Cheers DVD extra; Ryan Reynolds in a non-speaking walk-on; Sam J. Jones as Sam J. frickin’ Flash Gordon Jones.

If there was a sad moment, it was the realisation that – judging by the type of laughter in the theatre at the relevant moment – I was on the only person in there who’d seen the original Airplane! film. Good grief.

Having a brief review at some of the reviews (a handful linked below), some have said in harsher terms what I would agree with. As a comedy it’s just not funny enough. What jokes and situations there are do hit the mark – I don’t think there’s a single fall-flat effort in there – but there aren’t enough of them.

It doesn’t detract too much from an otherwise decent film and as I said at the start at least it’s got a decent story, so you’re not sat there twiddling your thumbs waiting for the next fart joke with nothing to concentrate on. Just don’t go in expecting to be in rib-wracking pain and you should come back out having enjoyed the ride.

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The Fighter

Only time for one film on Friday again. I am so looking forward to a return to university (hopefully) next year when I can start cramming in 7-8 a week again!

The Fighter

“That guy did not just get off the fuckin’ couch. If he did, I’m gonna get a couch like that.”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: The ups and downs of two brothers, both boxers, in smalltown America.

Very short review as I’m short of time.

Fairly run-of-the-mill rags to riches story, though based on true events. One brother (Dicky – Christian Bale) never quite made it in the ring, so he looks to his younger sibling Micky (Mark Wahlberg) to capture that glory for him. With a possessive mother (Melissa Leo) managing him, Micky never quite seems to be getting there.

Events take a turn for the worse for Dicky at around the point where the story is waning. Just as the plot seems to be stuck in the “seen it all before” rut, things do get more interesting. As ever, I’ll avoid spoilers so I won’t say what happens.

The family starts to squabble, Micky looks to other avenues and his career moves in another direction.

The Fighter won’t be remembered for its story, enjoyable though it is. It will be remembered for one of the best casts to come together for a film in some time. Bale and Wahlberg could be brothers in real life, the way they appear on screen. Leo is magnificent as the bitchy mother and their sisters are scary and mad. Amy Adams is a perfect mix of sweet and tough as the love interest, while special credit must go to Micky O’Keefe who plays himself. Not as a minor part, but as a major supporting character.

While this isn’t a great film, it contains so many excellent performances it should be seen to appreciate the acting. Also, ensure you wait a few seconds into the end credits to see a short segment featuring the real-life brothers. From that shot, you can see how well Bates and Wahlberg have captured their subjects.

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Other Guys, The Kid, Devil and Cyrus

A four-film weekend for the first time in an age. It’s awkward having to swing the car out and back into the car park between films courtesy of the limited free parking at Fountain Park, but hey.

The Other Guys

“Did someone call 9-1-holy ****!?”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: The best two cops in the city suffer a grisly fate during a crime and a couple of washouts from the precinct try to fill their shoes.

Will Ferrell is an unknown quantity. From genuinely hilarious films like Old School to complete cringeworthy crap like Anchorman, you never know what to expect from him. The Other Guys falls mainly in the former territory thanks in part to a decent script, some good one-liners and a pair of characters who aren’t actually annoying.

Ferrell, as usual, plays an off-kilter character. In this case a cop who’s opted for a desk job to keep his inner beasts at bay. His opposite number is smothered supercop Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), a gung-ho officer stuck at a desk because of an accidental shooting.

Of course, the two are chalk and cheese and they have some “bad cops” to compete with who want to prove themselves first. For a comedy, the plot running underneath has a couple of decent twists involving massive corporate fraud (courtesy of Steve Coogan‘s corrupt banker, David Ershon).

A couple of the jokes just run a little too long, and there’s the usual annoying issue of the oddball character not realising how unusual he is (endemic of most of Ferrell’s roles – and Adam Sandler, come to think of it). Despite this, it’s not too bad and genuinely laugh-out-loud funny in places. The opening action sequence is ludicrously over-the-top as well.

Oh, and do sit through the start of the credits for an interesting set of figures on how the fat cat bankers are really screwing everyone else. Don’t wait for the out-take at the very end, though. It’s not worth getting a numb bum for.

The Kid

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Small child grows up abused and battered by parents, gets involved in crime, eventually stands up for himself and becomes a best-selling author. All based on a true story.

Nick Moran is perhaps best known as an actor than as a director. However, if he can keep pumping out stuff like this then it’s a good job he’s spread his wings. Based on the autobiographies by Kevin Lewis, who wrote the screenplay.

The films begins towards the end with a battered Kevin being thrown out of a van. The story then backtracks to his life as a child.

Kevin grew up in a crappy council house in London. His father a drunken epileptic. His mother a serial child beater. The council uncaring until a school nurse spotted the bruises, cuts and burns and had him removed into care.

As years pass, Kevin is played by a succession of actors (William Finn Miller, Augustus Prew and finally Rupert Friend), all of whom do a superb job with a very difficult role. Hell, thoe whole cast is fantastic from Natascha McElhone as the hateful mother, Gloria, to Ioan Gruffudd as the teacher who tries his best to help the outcast Kevin through school.

Not only does the story focus on the family life, it also highlights how badly “the system” can work. Kevin’s return home being one example, and uncaring teachers who treat the odd kid as just another troublemaker.

Call me a bit over-analytical, but watching the film through newly qualified “teacher goggles” made a difference for me, especially the parts during Kevin’s teens where Mr Smith makes such an impact on his life. Trying to spot what went wrong, who did things they shouldn’t have – or should have done things they didn’t.

To use a trite phrase, it’s a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. Things keep looking up for Kevin, and then he’s dropped right in it again. Time after time. You do wonder how anyone could cope.

It is not an easy film to watch. Abrasive, abusive, hard-hitting and brutal. The worst thing being that so much of it portrays violence to – and by – children. However, that’s not reason not to watch it. It’s a superb piece of film-making. The use of sound, music in particular, is very well done and if I have a criticism it’s that the punches thrown in the fight scenes don’t often look like they connect. Acting and drama-wise there is no fault to be found.

Definitely one to see if you have the stomach for it.

Devil

Plot-in-a-nutshell: Five people stuck in a lift and, apparently, one of them is Lucifer incarnate.

M. Night Shyamalan came up with the story for this one, apparently part one of a trilogy of tales. It’s a nice, short (under 90 mins) thriller/horror with some good pacing that doesn’t push the brain too much.

Five people get into a lift in an office building. The lift gets stuck… and then strange things start to happen. A religious security guard monitoring the situation details a childhood story where the devil appears in human form and punishes the guilty before killing them all and taking their souls to hell. Of course, he’s treated as a mad case while the police try to deal with the jammed lift.

The claustrophobic main set doesn’t keep the action in one place as apparently those who try to help will be struck down as well. The film has a 15 rating so death scenes aren’t that grisly, and you don’t actually see anyone killed or injured… just the effect afterwards. This doesn’t make it any less scary – Tobe Hooper did the same with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Devil is no classic, but it is a well put together thriller. The ending isn’t quite as unpredictable as it could have been, but it’s an enjoyable movie nonetheless and doesn’t waste much of your time if you don’t like it.

Cyrus

“Plan B – get more drunk”

Plot-in-a-nutshell: A man’s attempts to win over his new girlfriend are sabotaged by her scheming 21 year-old son.

This one was recommended by one of the staff at school and the trailer did make it look good. Don’t be fooled. I was bored senseless. Yes, it’s darkly comedic. Yes, it has a few good scenes. But overall I found it frustrating and empty.

John C. Reilly plays John, a man divorced for seven years who finally meets someone new that he likes (Marisa Tomei as Molly) at a party. She lives with her 21 year old son Cyrus (Jonah Hill) who’s somewhat attached to his mother and resents the intrusion of a new person into the fold.

John thinks he’s going mad until he figures out what’s happening, Cyrus and he eventually lock horns and Molly remains oblivious. In the meantime, the audience shuffle their feet. It certainly wasn’t just me – the half dozen people behind me proclaimed “that was ****” as they filed out at the end.

I guess I just didn’t get it as some of the reviews I’ve seen have been fairly positive. Just not my cup of tea I’m afraid.

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