Cindy Prascik's Review of Deadpool 2

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas to catch up with everyone's favorite foul-mouthed hero, Deadpool.

 

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

 

The further adventures of Wade Wilson, complete with a whole lotta swearing, a fair bit of innuendo, a bucket of pop-culture references, and a pretty thin plot holding it all together.

 

Regular reader(s) may remember I've been in Ryan Reynolds' corner for a very long time. I thought he deserved Oscar consideration for Buried, and I even liked Green Lantern. (That makes one of us, right?) I'm delighted and grateful he can call the Deadpool franchise a big win, but I have to admit the abrasiveness of the first film wore thin for me very quickly. I loved it when I first saw it, but a second screening left me no desire to further revisit it...and you're talking to a person for whom repeat viewings are the norm, rather than the exception. Still, I was looking forward to this sequel, and am pleased to report that, at least on first look, it is a rollicking good time.

 

Reynolds is once again fantastic in the lead. It's a role he fought long and hard to bring to the screen, and he owns it. Josh Brolin continues his MCU takeover with an intense turn as Cable, but it's Zazie Beetz who steals the show as Domino. (*cue the cosplays*) Deadpool 2 boasts plenty of action and non-stop laugh-out-loud moments. Unlike Ready Player One, whose incessant pop-culture references made me want to put a fist through the screen, DP2 works those references to its advantage, taking genuinely funny shots at TV characters, presidents, and pretty much everyone in between, including both Marvel and DC heroes in equal measure. Musical selections such as Air Supply's All Out of Love pile on the comedy. If the plot is erratic and the story barely there, I can't say anyone in my screening appeared to mind, and a reasonable runtime helps the whole feel fresh and exciting. Stay tuned for a handful of mid-credits scenes, including one that drew an enormous round of applause from my theater. 

 

Deadpool 2 clocks in at 119 minutes and is rated R for "sex, nudity, violence, gore, profanity, alcohol, drugs, and smoking." (That's quite a laundry list, and they mean it, folks. There's barely a minute of this movie where someone isn't doing something offensive, so please, please, please leave the kids at home.)

 

Deadpool 2 may or may not stand the test of time, but on first viewing I laughed for nearly two hours straight. If you're looking for a nice afternoon of pure escapism, and you aren't squeamish about explicit content, it's definitely the movie for you. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Deadpool 2 gets seven and a half.

 

Fangirl Points: Yeah, I know he's A-List, nevermind one of the above-the-title stars of this very film, but I have loved Josh Brolin since The Goonies, and I think it's only fair to award him my Fangirl Points when I remember!

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: DEADPOOL 2

Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool joins forces with three mutants -- Bedlam, Shatterstar and Domino -- to protect a boy from the all-powerful Cable.

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, Jack Kesy

Release Date: May 18, 2018

Genres: Action, Adventure, Comedy 

R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual references and brief drug material

Runtime: 1h 59min 

Review:

Deadpool 2 is the type of sequel that improves on the original while never losing the spirit of the first film.  The meta humor is bad and stronger than the first go around even if a handful of jokes fall flat, particularly in the first act.  Once it gets going though, the film has an undeniable energy and pace.  David Leitch does fine work, picking up seamlessly from Tim Miller works in the first film, directing the sequel.  It’s never a particularly showy film but some of the set pieces are incredibly impressive and funny at the same time.  Ryan Reynolds, of course, makes the whole thing go without him and his charisma this ship wouldn’t sail.  Reynolds and Deadpool are so intertwined it hard to tell where one starts and one ends.  He’s clearly having the time of his life in these films and we get to enjoy the fruits of his labors.  

B+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Bad Samaritan

Dearest Blog: Today it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the thriller Bad Samaritan.

 

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

 

A petty thief gets more than he bargained for when he breaks into the house of a deranged millionaire.

 

Well, dear reader(s), there's no sugar-coating it: Bad Samaritan might be the worst movie I've ever seen. I actively hated it from the first scene, and I'm pretty sure I haven't checked the time as much since my friends and I made the poorly-informed decision to see Swimfan a decade and a half ago. While the movie manages to maintain a fair bit of suspense--resulting in a decent jump scare or two--it doesn't have much else going for it. David Tennant is terrific as a full-on sleazeball, the kind of d-bag who wears sunglasses in the rain, even when he’s not trying to conceal his identity. While it's true he probably hasn't been this menacing since Secret Smile, it's hard to be terrified when everything else about the film is so ridiculous. Robert Sheehan also manages to be better than the material, and, if we're being honest (shallow, but honest) I'll admit that a couple hours of his beautiful face was enough to keep me from walking out, though I was sorely tempted at times. That's where the good news ends. Bad Samaritan has the most god-awful dialogue in recent memory (remember, The Hurricane Heist qualifies as recent memory), wholly predictable twists, and a weirdly-melodramatic score that kinda dwarfs the rest of it. I think the filmmakers were aiming for disturbing, but what they got instead was gross, even though the movie isn't really graphic by today's standards. If you'd have told me I could be this bored watching one of my all-time favorite actors, I'd have called you a liar, but I'd have been mistaken. Sadly mistaken.

 

Bad Samaritan clocks in at 111 minutes and is rated R for "violence, language throughout, some drug use, and brief nudity."

 

Friends, I'll never be one to steer you away from the cinema, but if you're heading out to the movies this weekend, maybe spend your bucks on something other than Bad Samaritan. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Bad Samaritan gets one.

 

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: TULLY

Marlo, a mother of three, is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully.

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, Ron Livingston

Release Date: May 4, 2018

Genres: Comedy, Drama 

Rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity

Runtime: 1h 36min 

Review:


Tully, the third collaboration between Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, is an impressive thoughtful and raw look at motherhood.  Reitman and Cody have found their muse in Charlize Theron, the trio shined in the thoroughly unappreciated 2011 film Young Adult, who once again proves she’s one of the strongest actresses in film business.  Theron gained 50 pounds for the part to truly capture the character but it’s more than a physical transformation.  Theron has an ability to bring rawness to her character.  There’s a strong theme of melancholy throughout the film even as it moves from touching to outright funny.  Mackenzie Davis is more than capable of holding her own with Theron as the titular Tully.  Reitman and company carefully lead you down one path before the film takes an unexpected turn in the final act which totally changes the complexion of the film and story.  It’s a master stroke of direction and story telling that gives the film an emotional punch that it would have lacked if the story had played it safe.  Tully is a rare film that truly captures something real and relatable to most mothers, a real gift.

A