2.5 Razors

Guilty Pleasure – Coyote Ugly

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Coyote Ugly
  • IMDb: link

Coyote Ugly DVD review

Throwback Thursday takes us back to… wait, has it really been 19 years? Piper Perabo stars in 2000’s Coyote Ugly as aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford who leaves the comfort of her sleepy New Jersey suburb to move to New York City and become a singing barmaid at a trendy bar known for its attractive waitresses dancing on the bar.

While not what one would call objectively good (sappy and predictable are both apt descriptions), the movie does work as a guilty pleasure mostly for Perabo’s lead performance, the high energy from her often scantily-clad co-stars (Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, Tyra Banks), and the film’s soundtrack sporting four songs written by Diane Warren (which proved more successful than the film itself).

The larger supporting cast includes Maria Bello as the bar’s gruff owner with a heart of gold, Adam Garcia as Violet’s love interest (who is thrown together with Violet in a sickeningly-sweet meet-cute), and John Goodman as Violet’s disapproving father, both of her move to New York and how she spends her nights.

…

Guilty Pleasure – Coyote UglyRead More »

Guilty Pleasure – Coyote Ugly Read More »

Batman: Hush

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Batman: Hush
  • IMDb: link

Batman: Hush Blu-ray reviewThe latest DC Comics animated feature is an adaptation of the hugely popular twelve-part mini-series by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee. The film takes quite a few liberties with the source material, even going so far as to change the identity of the villain named Hush who the arc introduced as a mastermind attacking both Batman (Jason O’Mara) and Bruce Wayne from multiple angles prior to revealing himself. Although some cutting may be necessary to fit within the structure of the movie, the script still oddly keeps an excessive amount of the (mostly unnecessary) thread involving Superman (Jerry O’Connell) and Poison Ivy (Peyton List).

Fitting into the existing storyline of the Son of Batman movies, with only a cameo from Damian, the script does take steps to push Batman into more of a classic costume for most of the film to more closely resemble the look of the comic (if only the those in charge of the project had done the same with the plot).

…

Batman: HushRead More »

Batman: Hush Read More »

Hobbs & Shaw

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
  • IMDb: link

Hobbs & Shaw movie reviewThe Fast & Furious franchise has produced a series of films over the past two decades that range from fairly okay (Fast Five and Tokyo Drift) to largely forgettable (see everything else). Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw may not have a lot going for it but it does have Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham who take their bickering to the next level when forced to work together on a joint CIA and MI6 assignment (despite neither one working for either agency).

The plot steals more than a little from M:I-2 when an agent (Vanessa Kirby) injects a deadly virus into herself rather than let it fall into the hands of terrorists. Hobbs is tapped to find the agent, who our suped-up super-villain (Idris Elba) and his super-secret villainous organization have framed for the theft and deaths of her team. Ryan Reynolds gets a fun, if largely unnecessary, cameo to bring the hero onboard. Shaw‘s motivations are far more personal.

The film offers plenty of chase sequences but far less muscle cars and heists than the usual Fast & Furious flick. In fact, other the the forced family theme shoved down the audience’s throat at every turn, Hobbs & Shaw feels like a rather purposeful departure from the franchise which spawned it.

…

Hobbs & ShawRead More »

Hobbs & Shaw Read More »

Batman & the Outsiders #3

/ / Comics

Batman & the Outsiders #3 comic reviewBatman & the Outsiders #3 is all about tests and loyalty. After taking Sofia Ramos, Ra’s al Ghul begins to condition the young woman and slowly bend her to his will. At the same time, rather than hunt for the girl, Batman puts the Outsiders through a test of his own whose true purpose is force Signal to face his guilt and stop running from it.

The lack of urgency on Batman’s behalf to rescue Sofia is highly perplexing, as is the fact that none of the Outsiders question the Dark Knight Detective taking them off the case for a training exercise while the young woman they failed to save is being brainwashed by a delusional madman.

…

Batman & the Outsiders #3Read More »

Batman & the Outsiders #3 Read More »

Street Hawk – Pilot

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Street Hawk – Pilot
  • IMDb: link

Street Hawk - Pilot television review

Throwback Tuesday takes us back in time to when a motorcycle cop turned vigilante helped keep the streets of Los Angeles safe on an experimental bike known as Street Hawk. Created by those who apparently thought Knight Rider and Airwolf were too realistic, Street Hawk introduces us to motorcycle cop Jesse Mach (Rex Smith) who is injured, and whose partner (Robert Beltran) is killed, in the “Pilot.” Reassigned to desk duty as part of the Police Deartment’s public relations office, Mach is also secretly recruited for a top secret project by the Norman Tuttle (Joe Regalbuto) to test-drive his experimental motorcycle known as Street Hawk. The reckless Mach is far from Tuttle’s first choice, and Mach takes some convincing to agree to the project (experimental surgery to repair his damaged knee is certainly a selling point), but by the end of the show’s first episode the odd couple find a way to work together.

…

Street Hawk – PilotRead More »

Street Hawk – Pilot Read More »