Movie Review: Cold Pursuit

Cold Pursuit (2019)

Release Date (Theaters): Feb 8, 2019 
Release Date (Streaming): May 14, 2019

Director: Hans Petter Moland
Writer: Frank Baldwin

Cast: Liam Neeson, Laura Dern, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, Emmy Rossum, Domenick Lombardozzi, Julia Jones

Rating: R (Sexual References|Drug Material|Some Language|Strong Violence)

Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Runtime: 1h 58m
Distributor: Lionsgate Films, Summit Entertainment

Nels Coxman's quiet life as a snowplow driver comes crashing down when his beloved son dies under mysterious circumstances. His search for the truth soon becomes a quest for revenge against a psychotic drug lord named Viking and his sleazy henchmen. Transformed from upstanding citizen to coldblooded vigilante, Coxman unwittingly sets off a chain of events that includes a kidnapping, a series of deadly misunderstandings and a turf war between Viking and a rival boss.

My husband and I didn't know what to watch one night. I'm not a Liam Neeson revenge movie fan. BUT we settled on Cold Pursuit. It was a nice surprise! There is a dark comedy side not found in his other movies. There is a lot wrong with the movie, lol, but the action parts are pretty fun. Lots of unexpected moments. Weird character development...nothing deep. They just want to get you to the next action scene. The way the cast is shown in the credits is hilarious.

If you can watch it for free on a streaming platform and enjoy action/revenge movies with very little angst and a touch of WTF?! then give this one a watch :)

Husband: 4 sheep

I give it 3 1/3 "chicken wire" Sheep

SharonS

Sheep Movie Review: Deepwater Horizon

Deepwater Horizon

Directed by Peter Berg 

Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan , Matthew Sand 

Sep 30, 2016

Cast:

Mark Wahlberg as Mike Williams
Kurt Russell as Jimmy Harrell 
John Malkovich as Vidrine 
Gina Rodriguez as Andrea Fleytas 
Dylan O'Brien (II) as Caleb Holloway 
Kate Hudson as Felicia Williams

Runtime: 99 minutes 

Studio:Lionsgate

Rating:PG-13 (for prolonged intense disaster sequences and related disturbing images, and brief strong language.)

Genre: Action & Adventure , Drama 

On April 20th, 2010, one of the world's largest man-made disasters occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone's lives forever.

I remember when this happened, but I had no idea what "happened." I have a new respect for anyone working on a rig. I am not one for true story movies, especially when there is senseless life lost. I have never seen, and will never see, Titanic. The only reason I went to see Deepwater Horizon is because my 15  year old daughter wanted to see one of her favorite actors Dylan O'Brien.

I'm glad I went. There is nothing entertaining about the movie, but it is powerful. I thought the casting was fabulous...you can't go wrong with Kurt Russel and John Malchovich and Mark Wahlburg is nice to look at. I felt on the edge of my seat most of the movie...even knowing what was going to happen. They did a great job of building tension and suspense. They did go a little overboard on the foreshadowing. I don't know how much of the movie was embellished but I'm sure there was some. Some scenes were pretty hard to watch; they must have gotten that PG-13 rating by the skin of their teeth.

The people involved in the making of Deepwater Horizon gave proper respect to those who lost their lives by showing them as people and then at the end of the movie they showed pictures of the real people who died and those involved in saving so many lives. I'm astonished that more didn't die.

Hard to rate this kind of movie. My husband gives it 3.5-4 because it took a while to get to the action. My daughter gives it 4.5...not sure how much that has to do with O'Brien's character living. Knowing what this movie represents and what it means to those who survived and those who didn't, I can only go with my heart and give it 5 Sheep

5 "I want the whole 90 seconds" Sheep

SharonS

Movie Review: Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Rating: PG13 (for violence and some language)
Genre: Mystery & Suspense
Directed By: Jon M. Chu
Written By: Ed SolomonCast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Radcliffe, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jay Chou, Sanaa Lathan

In Theaters: Jun 10, 2016
Runtime: 115 minutes
Lionsgate - Official Site

THE FOUR HORSEMEN (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan) return for a second mind-bending adventure, elevating the limits of stage illusion to new heights and taking them around the globe. One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public's adulation with their Robin Hood-style magic spectacles, the illusionists resurface for a comeback performance in hopes of exposing the unethical practices of a tech magnate. The man behind their vanishing act is none other than WALTER MABRY (Daniel Radcliffe), a tech prodigy who threatens the Horsemen into pulling off their most impossible heist yet. Their only hope is to perform one last unprecedented stunt to clear their names and reveal the mastermind behind it all.

Now You See Me (the first movie) took me and my family by surprise. So we were all pumped to see NYSM2, and after seeing Warcraft (bleh) the day before, we needed something good. And we weren't disappointed. Some have been saying the second one is better than the first...I wouldn't go that far. But it was just as good. I like that they show you how the magic tricks work.

It was predictable, if you pay attention, but still a lot of fun. I like all the actors and they had great chemistry together. And for once, I didn't see Harry Potter when Daniel Radcliffe was on screen. My daughter (15) and I agree that Dave Franco is a cutie pie.

This one is definitely worth a matinee price and if you loved the first one, worth the full price.

Movie Review: American Ultra

American Ultra

Directed By: Nima Nourizadeh

Written By: Max Landis
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Tony Hale, John Leguizamo, Bill Pullman 

Rating: R (for strong bloody violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexual content)

Genre: Action & Adventure, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 21, 2015
Box Office: $10.5M
Runtime: 1 hr. 39 min.
Lionsgate Pictures - Official Site

American Ultra is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike (Eisenberg), a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart), is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive. (C) Lionsgate

This is a cable TV kind of movie, folks. It was one of the weirdest movies I've seen though. First off, it wasn't a comedy. It had some funny parts, and yes, most are in the trailer, but they tried to make it a drama too and it didn't work. I also couldn't buy what they were trying to feed me with the story because the characterizations didn't match the roles. The rouge CIA agent (Topher Grace) acted like one of the three stooges, when he should have been taken more seriously. Two stoner characters, especially two played by Eisenberg and Stewart, doing drama scenes didn't work. Then the action scenes were totally kick ass with a bit of snark.

But it is worth snagging for a Redbox price or wait for it to hit cable TV because the action scenes are bad ass. And Topher Grace is adorkable. 

2 1/2 "spoon killing" Sheep

SharonS

Movie Review: John Wick (2014)

John Wick

Rating:R (for strong and bloody violence throughout, language and brief drug use)

Genre:Action & Adventure

Directed By:Chad Stahelski

Written By:Derek Kolstad

In Theaters:Oct 24, 2014 WideBox Office:$14.4M
Runtime:1 hr. 36 min.
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Adrianne Palicki, Willem Dafoe, John Leguizamo

LionsGate Entertainment - Official Site
An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled playground, JOHN WICK (Keanu Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the "assassin genre". (C) Lionsgate

Now that is how you take out the trash! No talking, just double and triple tap. I'll go ahead an confess, something about Kenau Reeves just makes me go squeee. I love his rough breathy voice...okay back to the movie...

John Wick is one big kill-fest with very little dialogue. The movie starts with John having to bury his wife of four years. Then somebody breaks into his house beats him up steals his car and...gonna give a spoiler but you need to be prepared for this...kills his puppy. Yes, you will get misty eyed. Then it is time for retribution. The action sequences have a video game feel to them as John mows down the bad guys. 

Don't get attached

Pulp action and dry wit, this movie is exactly what the trailer promises. If you are looking for character development go watch Bridget Joan's Diary. John Wick ain't about that life. He's the freaking boogieman (yeah, they actually call him that) 

You can watch it on TV and not lose much, but my husband and I agree that if you enjoy the movie experience, Keanu Reeves, and revenge films then this is worth the matinee price.

4 "Yeah, I'm thinking I'm back" Sheep

SharonS

Movie Review: I, Frankenstein

I, Frankenstein
PG-13, 1 hr. 40 min.
Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Directed By: Stuart Beattie
Written By: Kevin Grevioux, Stuart Beattie
In Theaters: Jan 24, 2014 Wide
Lionsgate Films - Official Site
Aaron Eckhart - Adam
Yvonne Strahovski -Terra
Miranda Otto - Leonore
Bill Nighy - Naberius
Jai Courtney - Gideon
Socratis Otto - Zuriel
Set in a dystopic present where vigilant gargoyles and ferocious demons rage in a battle for ultimate power, Victor Frankenstein's creation Adam (Aaron Eckhart) finds himself caught in the middle as both sides race to discover the secret to his immortality. From the creators of the hit supernatural saga, UNDERWORLD, comes the action thriller I, FRANKENSTEIN, written for the screen and directed by Stuart Beattie based on the graphic novel "I, Frankenstein" by Kevin Grevioux.

The movie came out a week ago and I hadn't heard one thing about it. I didn't know if this was a good thing or not. Maybe because it needs two ratings. One for the visual satisfaction and one for writing. I, Frankenstein gets a 4/2 split. Whether or not you will enjoy this film depends on what is more important to you. My husband loved the movie because it was pure entertainment with explosions, flying gargoyles and general bad assery. I loved the movie for the same reasons, but if you like to scratch even the tiniest bit of sense from the story then you might want to skip this one. If you like poking fun at bad scripts then this is a must see! 

The movie is based on a graphic novel, and they captured that feel perfectly, but what didn't translate was the story. It might have been better to just have the original graphic novel script used as subtitles; kind of like a live action comic. It was so bad…just so, so, so bad <G>. 

Before and after

before

after

I loved the gargoyles! They were the good guys and it was cool how they morphed from ugly gargoyle to human form…hubba hubba. Aaron Eckhart isn’t an acting genius and probably should have stuck to grunting, but he made a sexy monster once he got a haircut. I’m not just picking on him, no one in the movie will win any acting awards. But I just love Bill Nighy and his cocked eye brow…reminds me of Vincent Price for some reason.

my kind of monster!

The only special effect that left me scratching my head were the demons. They looked ridiculous. The art rendering looks great, but on screen they looked like business men in stiff, cheap Halloween masks. 

Bad ass vs WTF?

A well written movie is just as good on TV as it is on the big screen, but from a visual perspective, like this one, some are best seen at the theater. Should you see it? Depends on what you are looking for. If you can catch this at a second run theater for a few bucks then do! It is put together like one big action movie trailer with a few extra lines thrown in. Check out the trailer below. It gives me goosebumps every time I see it!

4/2 “descending in pain” Sheep

SharonS