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

MOVIE REVIEW: AVENGERS INFINITY WAR

Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet -- the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.

Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin, Chris Pratt

Release Date: April 27, 2018

Genres: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.

Runtime: 2h 29min
 

Avengers Infinity War is the culmination of a massive and unprecedented shared universe.  The biggest question is does this huge ensemble of A list actors work, the answer is mostly.  Infinity War is an intensely busy film that carries multiple story lines throughout the film.  Most directors would easily get lost but Anthony and Joe Russo have steadily been prepping for this moment.  They expertly juggle everything while avoiding most of the pitfalls that could easily pop up and don’t make it a chore to watch.  The film has a strong verve to it mainly due to the collection of characters which have such wonderful charisma.  The interplay between all these characters makes the whole thing chug along.  Familiarity helps since we’ve been exposed to these characters in the past, so even if a particular role is small in this film, we’re invested.  The actors and actresses are all on their game, so it’s fun to watch all these top level talents appear onscreen like some sort of cinematic red carpet.  The biggest surprise though is Thanos, the CGI super villain voiced by Josh Brolin, who has far more depth than expected.  It’s a strong cog to the entire film which delivers epic action and iconic moments.  There is only a tad bit of fatigue that starts to set in before the final act starts.  It’s not surprising with so much happening and the finale is a somber closer but it’s hard not to see the set up for the next installment.  So while the film delivers real deaths, some of them do seem like they’ll be reversed as soon as the next film starts.  

B+

Cindy Prascik's Review of Avengers: Infinity War

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for Avengers: Infinity War.

 

Regarding spoilers: Because it's essential to my overall impression of the movie, I have to drop a pretty consequential "what" without giving away the "who," "how," "where," or "when." If you are overly concerned, by all means, put this aside until after you've seen the movie.

 

Onward to the review that's nearly as long as the film...........

 

The Avengers & Company face their (and the universe's) greatest threat yet in the mighty Thanos.

 

As regular reader(s) may remember, I'm often a little vexed by Marvel. On the one hand, there's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, second only to The Dark Knight as a benchmark of excellence for the superhero genre...or any genre, really. On the other hand, there's Age of Ultron and Civil War, a.k.a. "the eight-dollar naps." Spoiler junkie that I am, I knew a lot about Infinity War going in, and I was prepared to be both bored and annoyed by it. Thanks to a great cast and some spot-on humor, I was neither.

 

Infinity War is a jumble of plotlines that share a common endgame, but that never really feel like the same story. Marvel has thrown just about everyone in its existing cinematic universe at the screen for this one, the exclamation point at the end of the MCU's first decade. While it's iconic seeing them all (sort of) together, in many ways it makes a mess the film can't quite clean up, even with its ... erm ... "considerable" runtime. There are some eye-popping special effects, yet there's some wonky CGI as well, which I never understand in movies that cost this much to make. Alan Silvestri's score, much like the picture itself, reaches for epic without ever quite getting there. I think most everyone expected consequential deaths in Infinity War, but the movie goes for quantity rather than quality with the cull. So safe is it to assume most of what's done will be undone in part two that it's impossible to invest in any of it. It's easy to become frustrated with a film that's not much more than a setup for the next one and that doesn't achieve much of consequence (at least not much you can expect to stick) in its own right.

 

The good news is Infinity War is a supremely enjoyable two and a half hours. Credit first goes to its extraordinary cast, which is a delight almost to a person, both individually and in tandem. Whoever your favorites are, it's a fair bet they won't have enough screen time for your liking, but, really, everyone works together so well it's hard to complain. Being aware of real-world considerations like how many films certain actors have left in their Marvel contracts or the Marvel rollout schedule through 2022 may keep fans from taking the film's mammoth losses too seriously, but such complacency is entirely absent onscreen, and the cast proves itself more than capable of the emotional heavy lifting. Special shout-outs to Benedict Cumberbatch, a boundless genius; Tom Holland, the picture's heart and soul; Robert Downey, Jr., who is as good here as he's ever been; and Sebastian Stan, who expresses more with a single word or look than most actors do with a franchise. It's also worth saying again (and again and again) that Bradley Cooper doesn't get half enough credit for what he achieves with a CGI raccoon. It's easy to write off that character as comic relief, but Cooper's evocative work always gives Rocket real depth. Amidst the high stakes and great losses, Infinity War also has some legitimately funny stuff. The humor is organic and well placed, and not once did I feel my usual annoyance with Marvel shoe-horning in jokes and wisecracks that are ill-timed or ill-advised or sometimes both. As the end credits rolled, I was delighted and not just a little surprised to realize I'd hardly felt the passage of two and a half hours. The last time I could say that about a Marvel movie was never.

 

Avengers: Infinity War clocks in at two hours and twenty-nine minutes, and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language, and some crude references."

 

Avengers: Infinity War is a big, fat mess and a tremendously good time, proof that a movie doesn't have to be technically great to be wholly worth seeing. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Avengers: Infinity War gets eight.

 

Until next time...