Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Red Notice

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What were you expecting out of a movie with Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne Johnson, and Gal Godot? Well, you won’t be disappointed, for that is exactly what you’re going to get!! Ryan Reynolds (Booth) plays his usual wise-cracking, Deadpool-ish character who describes himself as the World’s Greatest Art Thief. Dwayne Johnson (Hartley) is the intrepid FBI agent out to bring him to justice, and Gal Godot is the mysterious “Bishop,” who is beautiful, smart, and kicks butt like Wonder Woman. Yes, you have seen these characters in these same parts before, but that does not detract from the fun. The ludicrous plot has much to do with possessing all three of the ancient golden eggs said to have been given to Cleopatra by Marc Anthony. Two of these eggs are in private hands, but the third has been lost to time. Booth claims he knows where it is. The person who can deliver the lost third egg to a rich Egyptian collector – so he can give it to his daughter, yep her name is Cleopatra, on her birthday – will be $800 million richer. I advise you to forget the plot and just enjoy the banter, chases, escapes, and surprises. The action is virtually unending, the twists and betrayals many and surprising, and the effects are awesome. Look for a delicious cameo by a famous English singer-songwriter. This movie won’t win any Oscars, but it’s a fun ride, and will certainly entertain you for a few hours.

A WHOLE LOTTA MOVIES

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It has been quite a summer! Even though I have been busy taking trips (one to Vermont and one to Disney World), I still found time to see movies. So here it goes, a whole bunch of reviews in the order that I liked the movies.

FREE GUY – This is my favorite movie in this group. It is mindless fun and I really enjoyed it. Ryan Reynolds (the Deadpool guy) stars as a wimpy bank teller who discovers he is actually a background character in a video game. His journey to rise above his coding and gain control of his own life is funny and entertaining. Reynold has a great supporting cast; including Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi and Lil Rel Howery (and Joe Keery from Stranger Things). Watch for couple of very funny short cameos!

STILLWATER: Now for something completely different. Matt Damon is a down on his luck oil rig worker who travels to Marseille, France to visit his daughter, who is serving time in prison for murder. She claims innocence and while he had been an indifferent failue as a dad, he supports her all the way. He spends a lot of time in Marseille proving her innocence, and connects with a single mom and her daughter. Things get rather complex. It’s a very different role for Damon, and he pulls it off well. The setting is in the seedier side of town, and gives an interesting perspective quite different from the more touristy environs of many movies. If you were expecting a Liam Neesem “Taken” story with a happy ending, this may not be the movie for you. However, if you want to see top level acting and something to make you think, you might want to check this out.

THE PROTEGE: This one reminded me a little bit of Atomic Blond. It stars Maggie Q as Anna and Samuel L. Jackson as Moody, a paid assassin. Anna is his protege. But they have no particular political or criminal agenda and only go after people who deserve it. You can plainly see in the trailors that Moody is murdered and Anna must bring the killers to justice. Ah ah ah, not so fast. Be ready for a few twists. And look for Michael Keaton in a role as a somewhat honorable, if unmerciful, professional of his own. If you love Samuel L. Jackson (and I do) you will not think you wasted your time watching this one.

SUICIDE SQUAD: I apologize ahead of time to all the Suicide Squad fans out there. The first movie was okay, but this one didn’t do a thing for me. I didn’t find it funny, thought the Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn tiresome, and the plot weak, confused even. We watched it on television, and felt we wasted a few hours (though at least we didn’t waste our money on movie tickets). I guess if you love the first one; you will enjoy this one, but honestly,there are other movies out there worth more of a view.

Deadpool 2

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Deadpool 2 is exactly what you were expecting – no more and no less.  It is full of ‘wink wink’ jokes and exagerated gruesome violence, just like the first one.   Ryan Reynolds is fantastic again as Deadpool, the reluctant super hero.  In this outing, Deadpool joins forces with – among others – Domino, Shatterstar and Bedlam, to save a teeneage boy from Cable, who is from the future and wants to prevent the boy (who has X-Men like powers) from growing up and killing Cable’s family.  He plans to do this by killing the boy.  Along the way, Deadpool gathers other super heros to help him; creating his own team he calls X Force.  Success for the team is NOT an option.  He and TJ assemble an interesting assortment of ‘heroes.’  My favorite was Domino, whose super power is that she is extremely lucky!  This is not a spoiler, but if  you look carefully you can spot Matt Damon in a cameo as an old man; and some of the newer X-men, including James McAvoy.  The best cameo in my opinion though is when Brad Pitt shows up.  You have to look quickly though because if you blink, you will miss it.  Deadpool 2 is a follow on to the first in story line; and doesn’t deviate from the things that made the first such a success.  It may not be quite as entertaining as movies like Infinity War or Black Panther, but it is definitley funnier.  Oh, and I wouldn’t bring younger kids to see it, this isn’t an R-rated movie for nothing!

The Hitman’s Bodyguard

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I must admit that when it comes to Samuel L. Jackson, I will see him in just about anything.  Even a movie on a plane with a bunch of snakes.   For a teacher about to go back to work, this was a good diversion. He plays the hitman of the title, and he needs a bodyguard because he is the only surviving witness who can testify against bad Eastern European President Gary Oldman.  Ryan Reynolds plays the down on his luck Grade A protection agent who is tasked to guard the life of this world’s most notorious hitman. It turns out they have met before and both have tried to kill the other. Plus, Sam knocked off one of Ryan’s clients in the past, which caused him to go downhill. And…there are more little plot quirks!  As you might expect, this summer buddy comedy is full  of action packed car chases, witty banter, menacing bad guys and even a little pathos.  Gary Oldman is fine as the villain, but I think you will be surprised by Selma Hayek’s character, who is married to Jackson’s character and  possibly uses even  more profanity than Jackson does. So if you like Ryan  Reynolds and Samuel Jackson and want to see them in an amusing fluff of a movie, you won’t be disappointed.

 

L I F E

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Astronauts aboard an international Space Station discover the first evidence of life on Mars while looking at samples in their research laboratory-a unicellular organism.  It is also dormant until they wake it up and start to nurture it.  It is a wonder…extraterrestrial life!  And it even seems cute at first, they name it “Calvin.”  But apparently, this organism is smarter, faster growing and far more dangerous than they first realize.  It inevitably escapes and runs amok, with not unexpected devastation.  Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds and Rebecca Ferguson are three of the astronauts who realize the danger and try to destroy the life form before it continues to grow and, perhaps, pose a threat to earth itself.  Sounds a lot like the Alien movies, doesn’t it?  This sci-fi, horror movie isn’t up to the same standard of suspense and terror as those movies, and not simply because this one lacks a hero like Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley.  There was too much gut wrenching gore and not enough character development or plot for my tastes.  SPOILER ALERT:  The ending of this movie is a big cop out and not what I want to see in my movies.  I would say skip this one and find a rerun of Alien or Aliens.