Death Wish gets remade with Bruce Willis

Movie Title:      Death Wish

Grade:   B

Rating: R

In a Nutshell:   With all the debate going on about guns and the 2nd Amendment in our America right now, this movie is tricky.  Timing, eh?

It’s all about arming yourself, getting revenge, defending the helpless, and not waiting around for the police to do it.  Liberals are going to really hate this movie and yell louder for more gun control. Conservatives are going to be frightened by all the crime out there and get angry enough to want to kick some bad-guy butt.  Charles Bronson fans may be disappointed that this movie doesn't live up to his original.  Revenge movie lovers are going to get a kick out of it.

I get it.  I feel it.  Sometimes I get so tired of all the scumbag thugs in the world that I want to be a vigilante too.  Obviously, I believe in obeying the law, which includes not taking the law into your own hands.  The truth is I’m not clever enough to outsmart criminals.  I appreciated the fact that there is a healthy debate about vigilante behavior by radio talk show hosts, serving as the movie’s moral compass.  

  

                                             

Tips for parents: 

• Profanity and tons of F-bombs
• Attempted rape with clothes on
• Dying deer gets shot.
• Guns, shootings
• Bloody, gory, violent deaths

Uplifting theme: 

• Consequences
• Family                                                

Things I liked:

• Elisabeth Shue’s biceps looked great.  She looked great.
• The expressions on Paul Kersey's face as he watched the YouTube video someone a witness posted of his first vigilante moment. 
• As much as I love Liam Neeson, I’m glad he wasn’t cast in this one.  I thought Bruce Willis was great.
• Dean Norris as a police detective.  What a stretch.  Ha ha
• There was a surprising amount of humor.
• Cheesy lines before Bruce Willis kills the bad guys.
• It's not a great movie, but if you like to watch a good guy kick bad guy butt, you won't mind too much.
• I like it when men aren't ashamed of being a man and protecting their family.  Our society has emasculated men so much lately that men feel like they have to apologize for their role.

Things I didn’t like:

• Eli Roth usually directs horror films, so it's not surprising that his first action movie has lots of gory deaths.
• The original book and film take place in New York, but this version is in Chicago.  I'm glad Paul Kersey ended up in New York at the end.
• Why do people think they can take what isn’t theirs?  Why are there so many scumbags in the world?

Funny lines:

• “Well, whatever you’re doing, keep it up.” – Dr. Jill Klavens (Wendy Crewson)
•  "Who the #?!@! are you?" - Ice Cream Man (Moe JeudyLamour)                                                                             "Your last customer." - Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis)

Interesting lines:

* “People rely on the police to keep them safe.  That’s the problem.  Police only arrive after the crime has taken place.  That’s like trapping the fox as he’s coming out of the hen house.” –  Ben (Len Cariou) 

• “Law abiding criminals don’t exist.” – Bethany at gun store

Things you can learn:

• Don’t put your home address in your car’s navigator written as “Home.”  
• Don't walk in dark alleys.
• Beef up the security at your house.

Want to watch the original movie?
                         

                                                   

                          

                                         @trinaboice

John Wick Chapter 2 kicks you know what

Movie Title:    John Wick Chapter 2

Grade:  A-

Rating: R, 122 minutes of non-stop action and violence

In a Nutshell:  Revenge.  Huge body count.  Cool guns. Lots of violence.  Welcome back John Wick.

If you liked the first one, you'll love the sequel.  You can tell it's directed by a stuntman, Chad Stahelski. It's a master class in hand-to-hand combat. A movie critic from the Quad City Times described the stylish, slick film as a “ballet of violence.”  Well said.

Uplifting theme: 

• Persistence, tenacity
• Honor

Things I liked:

• Cool intro scene with motorcycle image on the façade of the building.
• Rome!  I absolutely love Italy.
• At times, there are subtitles, but I have to say they’re very stylish ones.
• Common does a great job as Cassian.
• The legend says John Wick killed 3 guys with a pencil.  You finally get to see that skill play out in this sequel.
• The film actually ties up loose ends from the first movie.
• Fans will be happy to see a cliff-hanger that assures another installment in this franchise.
• The trailer doesn’t reveal much of the story.  Thank you.
• Keanu Reeves does 95% of his own stuntman.  Check out some of the many impressive Keanu Reeves videos on YouTube that show how he trained for both John Wick movies.
• You get to learn more about the criminal “organization” and its underground world.  I thought the telephone operators with all the tattoos were hilarious. 

Things I didn’t like:

• Some of the scenes take place in dark catacombs, so this film will be hard to watch on a computer screen when it comes out on DVD.
• It’s ridiculous how many fight scenes there are in large crowds, yet the people around hardly bat an eye, let alone move out of the way or scream.
• John Wick has an excellent aim, yet so many of the other professionals keep missing their shots.

Interesting lines:

• “I’m not that guy anymore.” – John (Keanu Reeves)

“You’re always that guy, John.” – Santino D’Antonio

• “Rules.” – John

“Rules.  Without them, we’re like the animals.” – Winston (Ian McShane)

• “So, you have a choice.  You want a war or do you just want to give me a gun?” – John
• “Remember, you owe me.” – Bowery King

“You don’t want me owing you.” - John

 Funny lines:

• “Does he have a name, Sir?” – Charon (Lance Reddick) asking about John's dog.

“No.” – John

• “Never one to waste words.” – Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio)
• “I’d like a tasting.” – John (as he tests out various weapons)
• “And the lining?” – tailor

“Tactical.” – John

• “I’ll make it quick.” – Cassian

“I’d appreciate that.  I’ll try to do the same.” – John

• “7 million!  It’s Christmas!  We going to Applebee’s after this.” – Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne)  It was fun seeing Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne in some scenes together again after the Matrix 

Tips for parents: 

• This is very, very violent, as expected.
• Lots of blood and head shots.
• F-bombs and other profanity.

  

@trinaboice 

Hell or High Water presents a great character study

Movie Title:  Hell or High Water

Grade:  B+

Rating:   R, 102 minutes

In a Nutshell:  Director David Mackenzie present us with rich characters to study in this modern Western flick.

Uplifting theme: 

• “I’ve never met nobody who got away with anything, ever.” – Tanner (Ben Foster)
•  Family, sacrifice, brotherly love
• 
  

Things I liked:

• Chris Pine is so awesome.  I love him in everything.
• Jeff Bridges has really been hitting the Big Screen hard the last few years.  He’s perfect at playing a crusty old guy with a thick Southern drawl.  He does a great job in this film.  My only complaint is that half of the time you can hardly understand what he’s saying because he grumbles and mumbles so much.
• Ben Foster does an excellent job.
• It’s not smart to rob a bank in Texas where so many people have a conceal/carry license.  Ha ha   Tanner laughs, “These conceal carry permits sure complicate a bank robbery, don’t they?”
• I had just learned what Pemmican is and they actually mentioned it in this movie.”  Check out this video to see for yourself what pemmican is and why it's the perfect survival food.
• There is a surprising amount of humor.
• The T-bone waitress (Margaret Bowman) conversation was pretty funny.
• The weathered faces and attitudes of the poor Texans was believable. 
• You just don't mess with a good, ole boy Texan sherriff

Things I didn’t like:

• Marcus makes lots of racist comments about Mexicans, native Americans, and Christians.
• Big banks as the enemy is certainly not a new idea.
• I just really wanted the brothers to take a shower. 

Interesting lines:

• “You never understood that fighting back makes the beating last longer.” -  Toby (Chris Pine)
• "You know what Comanche means.  It means enemies forever.” – Bear (Gregory Cruz)

“You know what that makes me?  A Comanche.” - Tanner

• “You tell me not to be like you and then you offer me a beer.  Which is it?” – Justin Howard (John-Paul Howard)

Funny lines:

• “Why are you always dressed like me?” – Marcus (Jeff Bridges)

“This is our uniform.” – Alberto Parker (Gil Birmingham)

• “You want to hear about these robberies or just sit there and let Alzheimer’s run its course?” – Alberto
• “Could you tell their race?  Black?  White?” - Marcus

“Their skin or their souls?” – Elsie (Dale Dickey)

• “Tweakers don’t sleep.  They just tweak.” – Alberto   (“Tweaker” is slang for drug addicts.)
• “You Rangers are an odd bunch.” – Bank Manager (Joe Berryman)

“No, just him.” – Alberto

• “Only A-holes drink Mr. Pibb.” – Tanner
• “In your last days in the nursing home, you’ll think of me and giggle.” – Tanner
• “Anything a 5 year old can do ain’t a sport.” – Marcus
• “This is what they call ‘white man’s intuition.’” – Marcus

“Sometimes a blind pig finds a truffle.” – Alberto

Tips for parents: 

• Lots of profanity, including lots of F-bombs.
• Some people get shot and killed with some blood and gore.
• You'll want to make sure your kids understand that just because someone needs money or has a sob story, it doesn't mean it's OK to commit crime.

The 5th Wave mixes elements from every dystopian teen movie you've seen before

Movie Title:  THE 5th WAVE

  5th Wave, The

Grade:  C

Rating:  PG-13, 1 hour 52 minutes

In a Nutshell:    I think this is the 5^th wave of teen dystopian movies.  Unfortunately, it’s nothing you haven’t seen already with elements from Red Dawn (I loved the first one), Independence Day (loved the first one), Divergent (liked the first one), and even The Walking Dead (horrified and then addicted to the first one). 

Those drones aren’t the ones from Amazon.  It’s another teens vs. grownups movie….um…teens vs. aliens movie.  Of course, the teens are smarter than both grownups and aliens. 

Cassie asks rhetorically, “How do you rid the earth of humans?  First, you rid the humans of their humanity.”  Or…you make really dumb movies so they want to kill themselves.

Uplifting theme: 

• “Love’s not a trick.  It’s real.” – Evan Walker (Alex Roe-Brown)
• “The others see our hope as a weakness, as a delusion, but they’re wrong.  It’s our hope that lets us survive, that lets us bend, but remain unbroken.  It’s our hope that will let us win some day.  It’s our hope that makes us human.” – Cassie (Chloe Grace Moretz)

Things I liked:

•  I’ve always liked Chloe Grace Moretz, who plays Cassie, the heroine in the story.  She has quite a long film history, considering how young she is.
• Some of the transitions were cool.
• I always like a good twist.
• I liked the version of “I was born in a thunderstorm” song at the end.

Things I didn’t like:

• Some of the special effects look pretty lame.
• Some of the acting was really terrible.  Black eye-linered Maika Monroe’s character, Ringer, was so clichéd and stiff that it was laughable.  So was Maria Bello’s character, Sergeant Reznik.
• Cookie-cutter romance scene where someone accidentally stumbles upon a good-looking person bathing in a lake. 
• Zackary Arthur sure is adorable, but needs time to develop his acting skills.
• There are a lot of really dark scenes that make it hard to see what’s happening.
• SPOILER:  Unfortunately, the movie ends with a wink to a sequel.  Uggg.  Please don’t let there be a 6^th wave.
• The trailer shows scenes that don’t actually play in the movie.  Odd.  Did I blink and miss them?
• Did you see the poster for the movie “Big Fish”?   Was it a random ad placement or is there some reason behind it?  Does anyone know?
• An awkward love triangle made me laugh out loud.  Are the directors hoping to spur on a fan debate like we saw with the Twilight series?  I mean, why would you choose Ben Parish when Evan Walker is an option?   (wink)
• Dumb character names like Dumbo, Fintstone, Poundcake.
• The first act was actually pretty compelling, but then it turned into every other dystopian YA movie you've ever seen.  What a shame.

Funny lines:

• “Are we still alive?” – Teacup

“I think so.” – Zombie

• “You want me to shoot you?” – Ringer

“Don’t pretend you haven’t thought about it.” - Zombie

• “I was named after Ben & Jerry’s.  Truth!  Nothing made him happier than ice cream.”  - Ben Parish/Zombie (Nick Robinson)

Interesting lines:

• “No more everything we took for granted.” – Cassie
• “I thought we were safe here.” - Cassie

“Pumpkin, there’s nothing safe anymore.” – Oliver Sullivan (Ron Livingston)

• “We’re not fighting the 5^th wave.  We ARE the 5^th wave.” – Zombie

Tips for parents:   

• Some profanity, shooting, and blood.
• Lots of guns and shooting.  LOTS.