Cindy Prascik's Reviews of The Predator & White Boy Rick

 

 

Dearest Blog: After a two-week hiatus, yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for The Predator and White Boy Rick.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

 

First on my agenda: The Predator.

 

They're baaa-aaack...

 

I have sometimes been accused of using too many words, so today I'm going to tell you in not very many words, dear readers, that this movie is very stupid and I didn't like it. I love the original Predator. It is the only film in cinema history that has ever actually scared me. The latest entry in the series features hokey effects, lame dialogue, and action sequences that are frequently too dark to see much of anything. The tone feels wrong from the outset, with crass, unfunny stabs at humor. I fell for the entire cast quickly and against expectations, which was enough to provide the occasional briefly-entertaining interlude, but it was far too little to redeem the whole.

 

The Predator runs 107 minutes and is rated R for "strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references."

 

The Predator exploits a popular franchise for a cash grab, an all-too-familiar Hollywood tale. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Predator gets four.

 

Next on the docket, White Boy Rick.

 

In the Just Say No era, a young man from a troubled family says yes.

 

White Boy Rick is the disturbing true story of Rick Wershe, Jr., a Detroit-area teen who, seeing no other escape from his family's dismal existence, begins dealing drugs and ends up an FBI informant. The grimy reality of 1980s Detroit is the perfect backdrop for this depressing tale. It's difficult to watch, but outstanding work by the cast makes it worth your effort. There were some spots where I felt the film moved too quickly (such as explaining Rick's initial acceptance by his gang), but it's a petty quibble with a well-done picture that you'll be thinking about long after you leave the theater.

White Boy Rick clocks in at 110 minutes and is rated R for "language throughout, drug content, violence, some sexual references, and brief nudity."

 

White Boy Rick is a dark tale buoyed by superb performances across the board. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, White Boy Rick gets seven.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: THE PREDATOR

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biologist can prevent the end of the human race.

Director: Shane Black

Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Sterling K. Brown

Release Date: September 14, 2018

Genres: Action, Adventure, Horror

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, and crude sexual references

Runtime: 1h 47min

Review:

The Predators is an odd film that can never figure out what it ultimately wants to be.  Shane Black directs this 6^th screen appearance of the Predator and gives it a strange infusion of comedy.  The violent space hunters face off vs. a ragtag group of misfits who have a quip for every occasion.  The comedy is enjoyable but it feels out of place in the Predator franchise with long sequences veering incredibly close to self parody.  The actors are all fine even though some seems to be hamming it up, like Sterling K. Brown, while others are playing it straight like Boyd Holbrook. It makes for a choppy tone which makes the film just feel off.  It’s a shame because the film has potential particularly if they’d focused on the band of misfits.  The characters are all interesting enough but the film just doesn’t spend much time with them.  Instead we get Oliva Munn who just doesn’t fit in the film; it’s particularly glaring since the film also has Yvonne Strahovski but decides to use her in a throwaway role.  The Predator isn’t the return to form most fans were hoping and with the level of talent assembled you’d be remiss to think if it’s even possible at this point.

C

Cindy Prascik's Review of The Nice Guys

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for one of 2016's best offerings thus far, The Nice Guys. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. 

 

When a mismatched pair of sleuths goes looking for a missing girl, they find something far, far bigger. Well, dear Reader(s), THIS is how it's done. The Nice Guys wraps a clever mystery in some great comic bits, and fleshes it out with outstanding performances throughout. 

 

Co-leads Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are terrific together, with Crowe reminding us why he's one of the world's best-regarded actors, and Gosling displaying some excellent comic chops. 

 

A particularly strong supporting cast includes 15-year-old Angourie Rice, who is precocious but not in the annoying way of so many child actors, and Matt Bomer, no less great for being somewhat under-used. 

 

The mystery at the heart of The Nice Guys will keep you guessing right to the end, and the film features some great action sequences as well. The humor ranges from subtle verbal exchanges to broad physical comedy. 

 

Gosling's bathroom-stall scene, partially featured in one of the trailers, is one of the funniest things you'll ever see, and not at all in a crass "bathroom humor" way. Set in 1977 (for the record, my favorite year of my favorite decade), The Nice Guys displays the music and fashion of the 70s in all their glorious disco majesty, a treat to behold. Finally, the picture is well paced and smart enough not to wear out its welcome, a true cinema home run. 

 

The Nice Guys clocks in at 116 minutes and is rated R for "violence, sexuality, nudity, language, and brief drug use." The Nice Guys is a smart, funny, all-around excellent picture. With Summer Blockbuster Season kicking in, it probably won't hang around long, so I strongly encourage you to get out and see it while you can. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Nice Guys gets eight and a half. Until next time... 

 

 

Cindy Prascik’s Review of Iron Man 3

Dearest Blog, yesterday I braved the fanboy throngs for Iron Man 3's opening weekend.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you haven't seen in the trailers.

When billionaire Tony Stark's world is torn apart by a terrorist, he sets out to save "the one thing (he) can't live without"...and, you know, maybe the rest of us too.

If one of those realistic movie description sites took on Iron Man 3, its tagline would undoubtedly be "Go big or go home." The movie is in constant competition with itself to be bigger and bigger and BIGGER, to the point it sometimes feels like nothing more than a series of ever-growing explosions. Regular reader(s) will know that's a concept I firmly support, but the runtime's pretty bloated for so much filler.

Robert Downey, Jr. is, as always, magnificent in a role tailor-made for him. The brilliant Don Cheadle is underused 'til the movie's last act, and Guy Pearce is marginally less ridiculous than he was in Lawless. (That's meant as more of a compliment than it sounds.) Gwyneth Paltrow is her usual pasty, unbearable self--why can't all films take a cue from Contagion and kill her off right away??--but my beautiful girl Rebecca Hall more than makes up for it. Oscar winner Ben Kingsley does what he can with what I'll call a curious role.

As mentioned, the action and destruction in Iron Man 3 are HUGE; the digital surround-sound on this one almost necessitates earplugs. The effects are pretty terrific, though, and I daresay the bigger the screen, the better they look. I'm not invested in Iron Man lore, so any affronts to the core fandom would have gone straight over my head. The story's nothing to write home about, but some of the dialogue is amusing enough to showcase Downey's comedic talent. Overall it's pretty entertaining, but the film definitely over-labors some points and would have been a lot better with a half-hour edited out.

Iron Man 3 runs a very unnecessary 135 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Iron Man 3 earns six.

Until next time...




Well, hellooooooo Iron Man!

MOVIE REVIEW: IRON MAN 3

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) wrestles with inner demons while contending with monsters of his own creation in this sequel from writer\director Shane Black. The story in Iron Man 3 picks up shortly after the events of The Avengers. Having previously entered another dimension in order to save New York City, Tony remains deeply haunted by the experience. Tony has only started to appreciate the gravity of his problems when an enigmatic terrorist named the Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) hijacks the airwaves and threatens to bring America to its knees with a painful series of "lessons". ~ Rovi

Director: Shane Black

Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall

Release Date: May 03, 2013

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence throughout, and brief suggestive content

Runtime: 2 hr. 20 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure

Review:

Picking up after the Avengers was going to be a bit of a task, thankfully Iron Man 3 handles it fairly well lead by new director Shane Black. A slightly more focused, albeit kind of silly, plot than the overstuffed 2nd entry breathes life back into the franchise. Black and Robert Downey Jr. have a tangible chemistry together. Black is capable of keeping RDJ from going into cruise control and the script forces him to explore the effects of the events in The Avengers. It’s a solid logical choice, it would have been terribly easy to just breeze past it and keep him feeling invincible. There are still plenty of laughs and tons of massive summer movie level action set pieces that are thrillingly staged such as the attack on Starks home and a mid air multi-person rescue. That being said there are a few blemishes on the film. It’s not as overstuffed as Iron Man 2, which was too busy serving as a sequel to Iron Man and prequel to The Avengers, but it’s still too busy. The villains are a bit too cartoonish with Ben Kingsley going a bit too overboard (with good reason though). Sadly, Guy Pierce’s character never feels like a complete creation, simply functioning as a plot mechanism. Paltrow and Cheadle are given some extra bits of characterization but nothing earth shattering. As the film, wraps the film starts to feel like it’s tying things up in case RDJ decides to retire from the superhero business (this films marks the last film on his contract with Marvel). While a bit of streamlining and trimming would have made this more efficient summer film, it still manages to trill and excite so maybe it’s not time to throw this franchise on the scrap heap just yet.

B

[Trailer] Iron Man 3

The newest trailer for Iron Man 3 is out and it looks pretty impressive. The Avengers kind of made you forget about the overstuffed 2nd film.

This new trailer looks like it really ups the ante and gives us hope we’ll have a better entry this go around. Lots of wonderful tidbits offered throughout, check out the trailer and enjoy.

[Trailer] Iron Man 3

First trailer for Iron Man 3 has been released and it looks to take the series in more serious and darker direction.

Shane Black takes over the directorial reigns and these early bits of footage look more impressive than expected.

Since Iron Man 2 fell into a lot of the traps that big sequels suffer from, including the extended set up for The Avengers, so it’d be nice to see a more focused entry from Marvel.