Movie Reviews

The Call of the Wild

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  • Title: The Call of the Wild
  • IMDb: link

The Call of the Wild movie reviewThe Call of the Wild, adapted from the Jack London novel of the same name, follows the journey of a St. Bernard/Scotch Collie named Buck who ends up in the Yukon as a sled dog after being stolen from his owner (Bradley Whitford) and sold north. The CGI-enhanced mutt is the main character of the film, while making friends (Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee) and enemies (Dan Stevens) along the way with both men and dogs. CGI is used on Buck to enhance the pooch’s emotions. The effect works in most cases, but there are scenes where it does feel a little disturbing.

Adapted by screenwriter Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049, Green Lantern), the straightforward tale of a heroic dog offers an earnest family-friendly film. I will admit I found both Buck and his journey more enjoyable than I expected. Buck is easy to root while the rest of the film’s characters are mostly cast in simple terms as good, evil, or indifferent. Released by the rebranded 20th Century Studios (renamed after Disney acquired Fox), the movie will no doubt play for years on Disney+ making a suitable companion piece to something like Eight Below or any one of the various Benji films.

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It’s All Downhill From Here

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  • Title: Downhill
  • IMDb: link

Downhill movie reviewIt’s surprising to me that a film co-written and co-directed by Jim Rash could turn out to be such a joyless exercise in futility. Along with Nat Faxon, Rash attempts to remake the Swedish dramedy Force Majeure for American audiences. Something obviously got lost in the translation.

Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus star as Pete and Billie, a married spending a ski vacation in the Alps with their two sons. The family witnesses a controlled avalanche that terrifies them, but actually never put the members of the family in any real danger. Pete running away to save himself creates tension among the group, especially when he fails to acknowledge or apologize for his actions.

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Disturbing the Peace

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  • Title: Disturbing the Peace
  • IMDb: link

Disturbing the Peace movie reviewI think the story of how Guy Pearce got snookered into making Disturbing the Peace would be far more interesting than the movie itself. The story centers around a biker gang taking over a town (whose populace apparently nearly all took a field trip on the same day, making it easy for the criminals to round-up the leftover dozen or so hostages). Along with hitting the bank, the gang is also targeting an armored car carrying millions in cash… to a town where apparently very few people live? What do they need with the money? Well… that’s just one of many questions the movie has no answer for.

Taking steps to limit response by authorities outside of town, the gang must deal with the local Marshall (Pearce), a former Texas Ranger haunted by his past. The script by Chuck Hustmyre (whose only credits include straight-to-video flicks starring the likes of Steven Seagal and Dave Bautista) offers some astonishing bad writing at times (to go with some questionable acting). There’s an interesting idea buried deep, deep, deep at the heart of of the film but better hands than those of director York Alec Shackleton are called for to find it.

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Mediocre Sequel, Mediocre Sequel. Whatcha Gonna Do?

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  • Title: Bad Boys for Life
  • IMDb: link

Bad Boys for Life movie reviewHitting theaters 16 years after Bad Boys II, and 25 years after the original film, Bad Boys for Life feels about as tired as its two stars at times. The film reunites Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the latest attempt of movie studios to reboot, relaunch, or recycle any franchise they can find. There’s no real reason for the film to exist, but Smith and Lawrence provide some entertaining moments bouncing off one another to keep you mildly interested between explosions and gun fights (which, sadly, fail to reach insanity of Michael Bay at his best).

Reminiscent of the themes from Lethal Weapon 4, the script from Chris Bremner, Peter Craig, and Joe Carnahan (it really took three of you to write this?) centers mostly on the advanced age of our two leads (one of whom is aging more gracefully than the other). After breaking out of prison, a criminal from their past (Kate del Castillo) returns to take revenge through a talented assassin (Jacob Scipio) in a plot that gets a bit more convoluted than it needs to before director Adil El Arbi finally throws in the towel and decides instead to just make various things explode (whether common sense or logic says they should).

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Just Mercy

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  • Title: Just Mercy
  • IMDb: link

Just Mercy movie reviewBased on true experiences of defense attorney Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), writer/director Destin Daniel Cretton delivers a straightforward biopic that is more about one lawyer’s struggle against a broken legal system than the legal maneuverings of a crafty lawyer. After a brief introduction to the character, the film begins in earnest with Stevenson taking his Harvard education to Alabama to defend those on death row who never received a fair trial.

The film primarily deals with Stevenson’s attempts to earn a new trial for Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) who was convicted of murder on the testimony of one unreliable witness (Tim Blake Nelson) and no physical evidence thanks in large part to the pressure and intimidation of a local sheriff (Michael Harding) whose motives the film never really examines.

Just Mercy is a solid film filled with actors who have given more memorable roles in other movies. Along with Foxx and Jordan we also get Brie Larson as another member of the defense team who helped Stevenson set-up the Equal Justice Initiative offices in Montgomery, Alabama.

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