Tag Archives: Gal Gadot

Action, Comedy, Crime, No Spoiler Reviews

RED NOTICE (2021): The Thing I Liked…

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I’m disappointed to say that ‘quite forgettable’ is the most fitting phrase for how I feel about Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds’s latest action/crime/comedy, Red Notice.

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, I had a telling ‘bad feeling’ within the first few minutes of the movie starting. The kind of feeling that let me know that Red Notice won’t be as fun and engaging as I’d hoped.

I was soon proven right when the question ‘Why am I bored?’ crossed my mind during the scenes before the forty-minute mark. The answer is, the lacking script/story edit, a Johnson/Reynolds dynamic that didn’t work for me right away, a performance by Gadot that fell surprisingly flat, and the fact that very little if anything about Red Notice played as adequately new and exciting. 

I was finally fully engaged and glued to the action taking place at around the fortieth minute. I wish I could say it was all good from that point on, but even though there were some clever/fun moments, overall, what Thurber’s film did most well for me is not what I expected. 

In addition to doing well at setting up a sequel that might be more fun, Red Notice brought to mind Daniel Craig’s best Bond films. No doubt because Craig’s films excelled in areas that Red Notice did not. Especially where great pacing, highly engaging dialogue, well-drawn characters and exciting action sequences are concerned. 

I needed Red Notice to be better. But I wouldn’t call it completely unwatchable. Give it a chance if you’re particularly curious. 

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Comedy, Crime

RED NOTICE (2021): New Trailer From Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot…

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Red Notice (2021), Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Netflix
Red Notice (2021), Gal Gadot, Dwayne Johnson, Netflix

Read my spoiler-free movie review of  Red Notice (2021).

Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson’s latest action/crime/comedy, Red Notice tells the story of an Interpol agent. One whose job it is to track the world’s most wanted art thief.

From writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber; additional key cast includes Vincenzo Amato, Ivan Mbakop and Ritu Arya.

Talk about a super generous injection of charisma in one movie! How will I stay calm when I sit down to watch this? Not so easily is the answer.

Before I realised just how great this cast is, the other thing I noticed right away is Johnson’s brown leather jacket. Perhaps it’s the combination of the jacket and his character’s law enforcement status. But, the sight took me right back to the very fun early scenes of The Other Guys (2010).

Back to Red Notice: I’m even more excited for this one because Thurber directed one of my favourite comedies. We’re the Millers (2013). And, the happy news doesn’t end there, because We’re the Millers 2 is officially on the way.

May both movies be as fun as my greedy heart desires.

Red Notice Release Dates: November 12th, 2021 (US & UK)…

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, No Spoiler Reviews

WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020): The Things I Liked…

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Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Kristen Wiig, Warner Bros. Pictures
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Kristen Wiig, Warner Bros. Pictures

The trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 didn’t fill me with as much confidence about the movie as the trailer for the first Wonder Woman film in 2017. Having now seen both films, unsurprisingly, the first one is better.

Key highlights of director Pattie Jenkins’s sequel include most of the time Gal Gadot is on screen, simply because the lady is quite magnetic. Secondly, there’s the final fight sequence between Wonder Woman and Kristen Wiig’s Cheetah. There’s also the cleverly executed moment towards the end when Wonder Woman addresses the people.

If you haven’t watched the movie yet but plan to, be sure to wait for what happens after the end credits start to roll; something tells me it may just lift your spirits. Last but in no way least, we have the musical score by Hans Zimmer. The only unfortunate thing about it is that the worst scenes had me thinking of Zimmer’s talents as wasted on this project.

I had hopes of loving Wonder Woman 1984. The problem is I kept noticing more and more things that increased my level of disappointment. Additional examples include the dreamstone element of the story which came across as silly and somewhat nonsensical. I’m also not a fan of a fair amount of the aerial work, including when Wonder Woman is ‘flying’.

Furthermore, why, oh, why wasn’t the father/son reunion dialogue more tightly edited? It was so unnecessarily long-winded. There’s also the fact that I still remain unsure about how Kristoffer Polaha’s character came to be Steve (Chris Pine). And I’m mad that this movie/story did not make Pedro Pascal look great in the villain role. As for Wiig, I liked her best once she went to the dark side. I still think that the Cheetah look is too much like Cats (2019). I haven’t seen Cats but I hear that such a comparison is not a compliment.

What good or bad things stood out most for you in Wonder Woman 1984? I really could go on about the things wrong with this movie but I have other tasks to complete today. Watch Wonder Woman 1984 if you’re curious enough.

Happy Film Loving 

G

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020): New Trailer Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro Kristen Wiig…

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Wonder Woman 1084 (2020), Gal Gadot, Warner Bros. Pictures
Wonder Woman 1084 (2020), Gal Gadot, Warner Bros. Pictures

Read my spoiler-free movie review of  Wonder woman 1984 (2020).

The new trailer for director Patty Jenkins’s Wonder Woman 1984 is here.

This time we get to meet the two new villains Diana Prince, a.k.a. Wonder Woman has to face; Pedro Pascal’s Max Lord and Kristen Wigg as The Cheetah.

I’m very excited to see Gadot in action one more time. She really does shine during the combat action sequences.

As for Wiig’s The Cheetah character, so far I’ve tried and failed at not thinking of Cats (2019) when I saw her in full The Cheetah costume. There’s a chance I’ll completely forget about Cats when I get into the the movie of corse. Let’s hope.

Kristen Wiig, Connie Nielsen, Spencer Trinwith, Jamal Alkhaldi, Chris Silcox, Rick Kelvin Branch, Justin Sisk and Thomas Clay Strickland also star.

Wonder Woman 1984 Release Dates: December 25th, 2020 (US)…

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

WONDER WOMAN 1984 (2020): New Trailer Starring Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Pedro PascaL, Robin Wright…

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Wonder Woman 1084 (2020), Gal Gadot
Wonder Woman 1084 (2020), Gal Gadot

Read my spoiler-free movie review of  Wonder woman 1984 (2020).

Patty Jenkins returns to direct the sequel to Wonder Woman (2017), Wonder Woman 1984.

Pedro Pascal, Gal Gadot, Chris Pine and Robin Wright are among the key cast.

Interesting…

How is Steve alive? Why 1984? This trailer isn’t bad but why did I think it would be as thrilling as the fantastic trailer for Wonder Woman (2017)?

Right now I only have the answer for one of those questions.

Kristen Wiig, Connie Nielsen, Spencer Trinwith, Jamal Alkhaldi, Chris Silcox, Rick Kelvin Branch, Justin Sisk and Thomas Clay Strickland also star.

Wonder Woman 1984 Release Dates: December 25th, 2020 (US)…

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Adventure, Fantasy, No Spoiler Reviews

WONDER WOMAN (2017): Good…

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Wonder Woman (2017), Gal Gadot
Wonder Woman (2017), Gal Gadot

As good a film as Wonder Woman is, I’m quite sure that I adore the trailer more.

This is probably the first time I’ve said I love a trailer more than I love the film, but without really meaning that the film is bad. The pace of this movie was OK and the humour was fun but there’s something about the film’s initial trailer that I just cant forget about – because it was super.

Of course the exceptionally chosen, perfectly rousing trailer music coupled with great editing, storytelling and visuals had much to do with it. Yet Wonder Woman’s crime, for me at least may be that the wonderful high I experienced as I watched the trailer simply wasn’t constantly present throughout the film. Not that I’m saying that would have been a great idea, mind you.

It’s just that there’s just no denying, for me, the noticeable absence of said high by the end of this movie. Instead of taking my hands to the air whilst silently yelping, so as not to annoy my neighbours – as I did the first time I saw the trailer; at the end of this movie, all I could say as teh credits started to roll was ‘It’s not a bad film‘.

Gadot is really great. She’s beautiful, strong, very capable and in my mind remains my big sister. You probably already have but I’ll still say it all the same, watch it because it’s good.

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

JUSTICE LEAGUE (2017): New Official Trailer Starring Jason Momoa, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck…

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Justice League (2017), Jason Momoa
Justice League (2017), Jason Momoa

Starring Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck and Jason Momoa, the official trailer for DC Comics’s Justice League has arrived…

I’m intrigued and most curious about Aquaman and Wonder Woman.

Justice League Release Dates: November 17th, 2017 (US & UK)…

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES (2016): The Thing I Liked…

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Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher
Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher

I sat down to watch Keeping Up With The Joneses without any grand expectations and that’s probably the best way to go into it, should you choose to do so. Starring John Hamm, Gal Gadot, Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher, I found this Greg Mottola directed action / comedy only mildly funny.

There are indeed a couple of moments that made the experience less regrettable. The first being the nicely executed snake scene in the Chinese restaurant. The second is when Galifianakis’s character makes a joke at the expense of the British. It could be that I found it particularly hilarious because the United Kingdom is home. It’s more likely though that it’s Galifianakis’s excellent comic timing and delivery. Beyond these two scenes, everything else about Keeping Up With The Joneses just felt like cheap filler because it wasn’t that good.

Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Gal Gadot, John Hamm
Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Gal Gadot, John Hamm

One last good thing Mottola’s movie did is remind me that Wonder Woman (2017), my most highly anticipated movie of 2017 will be here in not too many months. I for one cannot wait to see its star Gal Gadot do her thing.

Happy Film Loving

G