Cindy Prascik's Review of The Contractor & The Gray Man

 Say, there, dear reader(s), did'ja miss me? Probably not, but I'm back with a couple reviews for your eager-ish eyes.

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

First movie on today's agenda: The Contender.

A Special Forces sergeant, involuntarily discharged from the service, finds work (and trouble) with a private contractor.

The Contractor has been bouncing around the buy/rent streaming circuit for several months. I wasn't interested enough to pony up any cash, but, when it turned up for free, the time was right.

The Contractor lays its groundwork slowly. The first half-hour really feels like it's going nowhere, and there's nothing so complicated that the movie couldn't have cut to the chase in half the time. Chris Pine (my favorite of the Hollywood Chrises!) portrays James, a brooding hero trying to stay afloat in a post-military life that owes him better than he gets. Ben Foster steals the show (as Ben Foster always does) as a fellow ex-soldier who gets James into the contract business. Kiefer Sutherland, Gillian Jacobs, JD Pardo, and Eddie Marsan flesh out cookie-cutter supporting roles that could have been handed to lesser names and been none the worse for it. The story twists and turns rather nicely, if somewhat predictably, but seems to rush to its end. Cutting 15 minutes from the setup and devoting it to the payout would have served the picture well, but ultimately it maintains tension and ties up its story nicely enough that we'll call it a win.

The Contractor clocks in at 103 minutes and is rated R for "violence and language."

The Contractor is a generic but serviceable way to pass a late summer afternoon. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Contractor gets four and a half.

The Contractor is now playing/streaming on the Showtime family of networks, and is available to rent or buy from all the usual outlets.

Next on my Saturday schedule was the Gray Man.

After discovering some of the agency hierarchy's dirty secrets, a CIA dark operative finds himself on the run from a psychotic former colleague.

The Gray Man is another by-the-numbers thriller salvaged by a reasonably talented, good-looking, and likeable cast. Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans face off in the leads, with Evans' performance reminding me of nothing more than Jason Patrick's turn in my personal favorite Chris Evans movie, the Losers. The entertaining pair, along with some unique action sequences, combine for a good enough time, but the movie's attempts at humor are painful, and it overstays its welcome by a solid 30 minutes.

The Gray Man runs 122 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of strong violence, and strong language."

The Gray Man is a passable thriller elevated by a solid cast. Of a possible nine Weasleys, the Gray Man gets five.

Fangirl points: Shea Whigham!

The Gray Man is now streaming on Netflix.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: BODIES BODIES BODIES

 

A party game leads to murder when young and wealthy friends gather at a remote family mansion.

Director: Halina Reijn

Cast:  Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha'la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Comedy, Horror, Thriller

Rated R for violence, bloody images, drug use, sexual references and pervasive language.

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Bodies Bodies Bodies is a fun pitch black whodunit that effectively captures a moment in time for millennials including all their worse tendencies much like the slasher films from the 80's and 90's. Halina Reijn's film has a chaotic energy about it which persist throughout the film's lean runtime.  The script is sharply written with dialogue that skewers millennials on multiple levels.  It's aided greatly by a strong cast who lean into their characters with impressive aplomb.  Amandla Stenberg and Maria Bakalova are the film's central duo with each delivering strong performances as the party interlopers.  Stenberg gives her character an unsteady, unreliable feel that makes you question her motivations at various points.  Bakalova delivers a believable sense of naivety as she watches the gaslighting descend into more extreme madness.  Rachel Sennot who plays Alice, an airhead people pleasing podcaster, steals practically every scene she in especially in the final act.  Lee Pace and Pete Davidson have smaller supporting roles with each making the most of their screen time.  Bodies Bodies Bodies plays like a modern version of the 80's cult slasher April Fool's Day as it shares that film's basic premise and it's fun but dark sense of satire.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: PREY

 

A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, fighting against wilderness, dangerous colonisers and this mysterious creature to keep her people safe.

Director: Dan Trachtenberg

Cast: Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Michelle Thrush, Stormee Kipp, Julian Black Antelope, Dane DiLiegro

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rated R for strong bloody violence.

Runtime: 1h 39m

Review:

The Predator franchise has been a difficult nut to crack in terms of delivering satisfying follow up after the second Danny Glover entry from the 90s.  Dan Trachtenberg's prequel takes a back to basic approach which results in a lean and efficient film paired with a strong script that makes us care about the central character's arch.  Trachtenberg avoids the pitfalls of recent entries by keeping it simple and smartly focusing on establishing the central character before unleashing the carnage everyone knows is coming.  Amber Midthunder carries the film with a believable focused performance as Naru.  The script smartly sets her up as a somebody that's still trying to find her place as opposed to introducing her as fully formed warrior.  This measured approach allows the audience to connect with the character and makes her journey more believable once the film reaches it's final faceoff.  Trachtenberg takes advantage of this to set up some tense moments while still delivering the kind of bloody violence you'd expect from this franchise.  The supporting characters are more thinly written with most coming off as fodder for the fray.  Some surprisingly shoddy animal CGI detracts from some of the Predator action in the first act which is a shame because the cinematography takes full advantage of the Canadian landscape.  Small issues aside, Prey is the Predator sequel a lot of fans have been waiting for which makes the streaming only release even more confounding.      

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: BULLET TRAIN

 

Ladybug is an unlucky assassin who's determined to do his job peacefully after one too many gigs has gone off the rails.

Director: David Leitch

Cast: Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Benito A Martínez Ocasio, Sandra Bullock

Release Date: August 5, 2022

Genre: Action, Thriller

Rated R for strong and bloody violence, pervasive language, and brief sexuality.

Runtime: 2h 6m

Review:

Bullet Train doesn't deliver much in terms of story or characterization, instead it relies on spurts of hyper stylized violence and its cast endless charisma.   David Leitch's film is choppier than his last two film, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde, making the lulls in between the action set pieces much more noticeable and jarring.  When those action set pieces kick in though they do offer some colorful and gleefully violent choreography that gives the film a boost of adrenaline.  The biggest issue being that the remainder of the film's story and character backgrounds are told via flashy slow motion flashbacks with nearly every single character in the large ensemble getting a vignette.  The majority of the character's themselves are incredibly thin with a handful popping up and off the screen with little more than a few lines of dialogue.  The saving grace of it all is the cast who are clearly having a ball hamming it throughout the film's runtime.  Brad Pitt leads the group giving a light, but fun turn as an operative who's looking for deeper meaning in his overly lethal life.  Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry prove to be standouts together with each of them bouncing dialogue off each other with incredible ease.  They provide the most consistent and energetic characters making their time on screen some of the film's highpoints.  Joey King looks the part but doesn't really add much to her character outside of what's written onscreen even though we're lead to believe she's smarter than nearly everyone.  Hiroyuki Sanada and Michael Shannon have small supporting roles with both punching well under their class but providing the film some credibility even though Shannon is sporting a ridiculously impressive wig and accent.  Bullet Train is the type of film that would have been more effective in a smaller package since it never earns it's two hour runtime and starts to sag noticeably in its final act.  It's still a fairly fun throwback of sorts to those late 90's early 2000 Pulp Fiction knock offs like 2 Days In The Valley, Go or Smoking Aces with a dash of John Woo for good measure.     

C+

MOVIE REVIEW: VENGEANCE

 

A journalist and podcaster travels from New York City to Texas to investigate the death of a woman whom he hooked up with.

Director: B. J. Novak

Cast: B. J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Dove Cameron, Issa Rae, Ashton Kutcher, J. Smith-Cameron

Release Date: July 29, 2022

Genre: Comedy, Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for language and brief violence

Runtime: 1h 47m

Review:

B. J. Novak's Vengeance is a dramady that's disarmingly funny even though its dissecting some heady and timely themes.  Novak wrote and directs the film and you get the distinct feeling that the story and idea are something very personal to him.  The script has an easy flow to it as you meet the assorted cast of characters who start off as clichés before being revealed as three dimensional people.  Novak's main character plays as a your standard narcissistic coastal elite who's clearly outside of his bubble.  The comedy that comes from the fish out of water situation is solid and delivers some solid laughs.  Boyd Holbrook and Novak have some solid chemistry together and deliver some of the film's funnier moments.  J. Smith-Cameron provides a strong maternal performance that's more subtle than a lot of the other characters but packs a punch by the end of the film.  Ashton Kutcher also delivers a surprisingly subdued but incredibly effective supporting turn as a small town record producer who like most people in the film have much more to them than meets the eye.  Vengeance has a slightly choppy tonal feel that makes it uneven in parts but ultimately it does a solid job of capturing the current state of our divided country.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: DC LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS

Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime side by side in Metropolis. However, when the Man of Steel and the rest of the Justice League are kidnapped, Krypto must convince a ragtag group of animals to master their own newfound powers for a rescue mission.

Director: Jared Stern

Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna, Thomas Middleditch, Ben Schwartz, Keanu Reeves

Release Date: July 29, 2022

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Rated PG for action, mild violence, language and rude humor

Runtime: 1h 45m

Review:

DC League of Super-Pets is the type of family film whose sole purpose to exist could be simply to sell cute plush toys.  While its sure to accomplish that the film itself is a pleasant surprise.  Writer/director Jared Stern's film is breezy, fun and wittier than you'd expected.  The setting borrows from Bruce Timm's classic DC animated shows with its art deco style while the character designs are reminiscent of Pixar's The Incredibles.  Its a visually appealing film that's filled with Easter eggs and visual cues that long time fans of the DC universe will surely enjoy.  The voice cast does excellent work throughout lead by a steady and sincere performance from Dwayne Johnson.  Johnson brings a palpable sense of  earnestness and authenticity that makes the character much more endearing than you'd expect.  Kevin Hart is more of surprise with a measured, funny but thoughtful turn as Ace.  The supporting cast of Vanessa Bayer, Natasha Lyonne, Diego Luna and Keanu Reeves are all clearly having a ball voicing these characters with Lyonne and Reeve's Batman getting some of the film's best lines.  The story itself plays out like most superhero films only with a furrier facade.  There's plenty to keep kids and adults entertained for the better part of the runtime even though you get the sense it could have been trimmed by 15 or 20 minutes.  Its humor occasionally veers outside of it's kids corner into more adult fare that will likely go over most of the younger kids heads.  As a whole, DC League of Super-Pets is a surprisingly fun animated offshoot that works far better than it should

B