End Of Watch review
We go rough and tumble this week on Movies Merica with a retro review of the gritty cop drama End Of Watch. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena star as LAPD cops, Brian and Mike, who patrol one of the worst, if not the worst, crime-ridden parts of L.A. This film shows the seedy world they have to protect and serve the citizens of, all while not getting killed by any number of criminal scum. Gyllenhaal’s character, Brian, takes up filming his, and Mike’s, exploits in this world with his personal camera so we get a unique take on the cop drama. Also with this distinctive perspective, it shows the brotherly bond between Brian and Mike as they bust each others chops when they’re not busting perpetrators. Alongside the rough edges and brutal violence of their job, End Of Watch also presents Brian and Mike’s personal lives and who they’re trying to protect and stay alive for. End Of Watch doesn’t hold back on the darkness of the job while at the same time infusing the movie with humor to help you make it through. Is this movie worth your time? Check out Movies Merica to find out! End Of Watch also stars Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera, Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Cle Sloan, Jaime FitzSimons, Cody Horn, Shondrella Avery, Everton Lawrence, Richard Cabral and Diamonique.
Bad Boys: Ride Or Die review
In 1995, Michael Bay made Bad Boys and introduced us to the characters of Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey, played respectively by Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Now 29 years later, they’re back in the fourth Bad Boys movie, Bad Boys: Ride Or Die. Again it brings you some more intense action than you’d expect in a comedy but also of course the slap you in the face laughs you’d expect. Since it’s all these years after the first movie, Marcus and Mike have much more complicated off-duty lives. However, that doesn’t stop them from having to deal with some serious baddies. This time the baddies are trying to frame their dearly departed Captain Howard, played by Joe Pantoliano, and Marcus and Mike aren’t having it. Plus, Captain Howard is trying to help them find the baddies involved from beyond the grave sort of speak. You get the gun fights, the car chases, the mid-air death-defying action sequences, the hard-edged comedy and some returning characters. Does it all add up to some riveting bad boy action or is the movie just plain bad? Check out this episode to find out that very thing. Bad Boys: Ride Or Die also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nunez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd, Tasha Smith, Rhea Seehorn, Tiffany Haddish, DJ Khaled, John Salley, Bianca Bethune, Dennis Greene and Quinn Hemphill.
The Contender review
It’s a retro review this week for Movies Merica with the political thriller “The Contender” that flew under the radar when it was released in 2000. It’s the story of a political figure that is going to shake things up in Washington D.C. in a way many D.C. power players don’t want. As a result, those power players launch an all-out legal and media assault on them to drive them out of D.C. Sound familiar? Joan Allen plays Laine Hanson who is picked as a replacement for the Vice President to Jeff Bridges’ President Jackson Evans. This pick causes a stir and Congressman Shelly Runyon, played by a slimy Gary Oldman, comes out guns blazing against Laine. President Evans and his Chief Of Staff, played by Sam Elliott, have to deflect the bullets coming at her especially a big one of an erotic nature from back in her college days. Will Laine withstand the massive smear campaign or will she crumble under the weight of the swamp? Is it worth finding out? Check out my review to find out. “The Contender” also stars Christian Slater, Kathryn Morris, William Petersen, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Mike Binder, Robin Thomas, Mariel Hemingway and Kristen Shaw.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga review
It’s been 9 years that we’ve been waiting for director George Miller to make another Mad Max movie. We’ll have to keep waiting because he still hasn’t made a Mad Max movie with the new movie, Furiosa. In the 2015 smash hit Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa was really a co-lead character with Mad Max ironically enough given Mad Max is literally in the movie title. As a result, the assumption by some is that the world was begging for a Furiosa origins movie and now they get it. Furiosa stars Anya Taylor Joy as a younger version of the titular character, formerly played by Charlize Theron in Fury Road. In Furiosa, we’re introduced to Furiosa as a little girl living in a “green place” in the middle of the post-apocalyptic desert Wasteland of Australia. However, she sees some bad guys invading the “green place” and they take her captive. That results in her Mom giving chase to save her daughter and that sets off a chaotic chain of events that includes meeting Chris Hemsworth’s Dementus character. He’s the leader of a massive gang of Wasteland motorcycle riders and he wants to know where the green place is. This movie does include some of the same type of action scenes that Fury Road had, along with showing us more in-depth, some Wasteland fortresses we didn’t see as much in that previous movie. Does this movie miss actually having Mad Max in it? Is it worth seeing at the theater? Check out this episode to find out! Furiosa also stars Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, George Shevtsov, Lachy Hulme, John Howard, Angus Sampson, Charlee Fraser and Elsa Pataky
If review
John Krasinski is most famously known for playing Jim Halpert on “The Office.” However, he’s also a movie director. His last two movies, “A Quiet Place” and “A Quiet Place Part II”, were ones that would give kids nightmares. In his latest movie, “If”, he tries to take them, and their parents, to a happy place instead. “If” is the story of Bea, a 12 year old girl that has gone through a tragedy and is staring a potential one head on. Her Dad is going through surgery for a heart problem. However, she starts seeing mysterious figures, and Ryan Reynolds. It turns out these mysterious figures are the former imaginary friends of different children. They’re trying to inspire their former kids to remember them as their imaginary friends. Along the way, Bea decides to help them do that. Many kids have imaginary friends. Maybe you did too. If they were here they might steer you towards “If” or tell you it’s the worst movie ever. Which one is it? I give you at least my opinion about “If” in this episode. “If” stars Ryan Reynolds, Cailey Fleming, John Krasinski, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Steve Carell, Fiona Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr., Alan Kim, Liza Colon-Zayas, Bobby Moynihan, Catharine Daddario and Aubrey Hoffman.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes review
We’ve been getting Planet of the Apes movies for decades now and the latest installment is Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. This installment jumps many generations into the future after the events of the last Apes movie, 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. We meet the main character of this installment, Noa, and his friends and family. They’re part of a peaceful ape clan who raise eagles as part of their tradition. On the eve of Noa’s bonding ceremony with his eagle, murderous invaders lay siege to his clan, and those they don’t kill, they take prisoner. Noa barely survives and recovers only to find all of them gone. He begins a journey to find his clan and rescue them but finds he is being followed by a rare human. He also happens upon an orangutan named Raka and together, with the human, they form a trio for this rescue journey. They’re pursued the entire way by the murderous invaders. Will they be able to rescue the clan on time? Is it worth going to the theater to find out? Check out this review episode to find out. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes stars Owen Teague, Freya Allan, Kevin Durand, William H. Macy, Peter Macon, Lydia Peckham, Dichen Lachman, Sara Wiseman, Karin Konoval and Eka Darville.
The Fall Guy review
Movie stars are made to look heroic, awesome, tough and gritty in their movies and who makes them look that way? Stunt men and women. The Fall Guy is a love letter to the stunt community within the movie business directed by former stuntman David Leitch. It’s of course also a take on the hit 1980s Lee Majors TV show of the same name. This time it’s Ryan Gosling playing Colt Seaver as a Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a detective of sorts. Colt is the stuntman for the biggest movie star in the world up until something drastic happens. When that happens he vanishes, including ghosting his flame, a movie writer named Jody played by Emily Blunt. However, he’s called back into action when his old job suddenly becomes available again. Does he want to jump off buildings, barrel roll cars, get set on fire and do all the things stunt people do again? When he finds out his former flame Jody is directing the movie the stuntman opening is for, well that changes the game. You get explosions, car chases, gun fights, an action movie lovers dream and work that keeps plenty of stunt people employed. Is it worth checking out at the theater? Watch this episode to find out. The Fall Guy also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Ben Knight, Matuse, Adam Dunn, Zara Michales, Angela Nica Sullen and Megan O’Connell.