Directed by Chad Stahelski, Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry and Jason Mantzoukas are among the stars of John Wick – Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
This time the Super-assassin has has become the target of hit men and women everywhere, thanks to the $14 million price tag on his head. That sort of thing tends to happen when you’re on the run because you killed a member of the international assassin’s guild…
I can’t wait to see just how fun Stahelski can make this instalment because I’m expecting lots of badass fight sequences, as well as bullets flying around at all times.
There’s also the cinematography; I love the colours, the moment on the horse, Halle Berry’s entrance and how well her character teams up with Wick towards the end.
Anjelica Huston, Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Robin Lord Taylor and Lance Reddick also star.
Co-written by Eddie Murphy and directed by Reginald Hudlin, 1992 comedy / drama Boomerang centres arounda successful executive / womaniser named Marcus. Marcus finds that his lifestyle choices have turned back on him following the arrival of his new female boss.
Starring Murphy, Robin Givens, Halle Berry, Chris Rock, Grace Jones and Martin Lawrence, Boomerang is a movie I enjoyed today as much as I did when I first saw it as a teenager. The film is funny. It also features one of the most memorable versions of a player / womaniser that I’ve ever seen on film.
Hudlin’s movie is beautifully produced; from the clothes, location(s), lighting, humour and more. Another highlight is the fact that most if not all of the women in this movie are empowered and powerful. I also couldn’t help but notice that Givens is truly one of the most beautiful women ever. Her character is fun, stunning and very much in charge.
The one thing I noticed that perhaps isn’t particularly great about this film is Martin Lawrence’s acting skills. Beyond that though, it’s fun, funny and quite the visual feast – in more ways than one. Watch it, I say!
Kingsman – The Golden Circle (2017), Taron Egerton, Mark Strong
This isprobably unsurprising since Kingsman – The Golden Circleis a sequel but I did not enjoy this movie as much as the original. In director Matthew Vaughn’s sequel, the Kingsman head offices are blown up and the kingsmen must team up with an allied spy organisation in the US.
Not that Kingsman – The Secret Service (2014)was super realistic, but something about this follow-up felt quite ridiculous. Starting with the opening scene; somehow it just didn’t feel as thrilling as I’d ordinarily expect. Part of the problem is that I found myself immediately disappointed with the story’s choice of villain, the one we meet in the first few minutes. There’s also the fact that everything happened so suddenly in the first few minutes, whereas I somehow wanted or perhaps expected to be eased into the action, as odd as that may sound.
This movie has one or two fight sequences that harked back to the first film. These scenes played a little too ‘the same’, for my liking. In this way they reminded me of part of the reason why Quantum Of Solace (2008) was such a terrible follow-up to the brilliant Casino Royale (2006). It tried too hard to almost repeat so much of what worked so very well in the first movie.
As for the matter of the main villain of vaughn’s movie, let’s just say that I have officially found a Julianne Moore performance I do not like. In the role of the villain, I did not fully buy into her evil. Is her face simply far too angelic for the kind of evil required? Maybe. What I know for sure is that I didn’t see it in her eyes or feel it through her words and I needed to.
Luckily, there is some good news here; namely the beautifully executed ‘singing scene’ towards the end. I was moved. Overall though, my favourite scene in this film has to be the ‘infiltration’ of Poppy’s compound. That’s the moment I saw a fight scene that truly felt as though it belonged to Kingsman – The Golden Circle. Rather than something borrowed from Kingsman – The Secret Service and as a result, felt quite tedious.
My favourite thing aboutKidnap, the new thriller in which Halle Berry plays a mother who stops at nothing to get back her kidnapped son is what happens between 5 and 10 minutes into the film – before the actual kidnap.
Directed by Luis Prieto, the trailer for this movie was edited well enough to have me excited. It did a good job of tapping into all the empathy I have for mothers. Particularly when their children are in real serious danger. It’s just unfortunate that some of the writing and acting had me thinking of other films where I was far more engaged and completely absorbed by the story.
During the scenes where Berry’s character is in her car, in pursuit of the kidnappers and she’s alone with nothing but her thoughts – some of which she really didn’t need to verbalise, I confess that she lost me a few times. I couldn’t help but recall Tom Hardy’s brilliant work in Locke (2013); I bought absolutely every single moment of what happened in Locke and the entire film is Hardy’s character in a car with his thoughts, emotions and telephone conversations with other characters we never get to see or meet. My point being, I wish I could say I bought all that happened in Kidnap especially during the in-car scenes.
On summary, Kidnap is by no means the worst Halle Berry movie I’ve ever seen. It’s just definitely not the best. Watch it if you’re so compelled. Otherwise stick to the trailer, probably.
Kingsman – The Golden Circle (2017), Taron Egerton
In Kingsman – The Golden Circle, the Kingsman headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage. Upon discovering an allied spy organization in the US. The two elite secret organisations must work together to defeat a common enemy…
Before the First Kingsman movie, Kingsman – The Secret Service, I mostly knew the film’s director Matthew Vaughn as an excellent producer to one of my favourite British directors, Guy Ritchie.Look at him now! I can’t wait to see what looks yet another very welcome and thrilling festival of style, action and adventure.
I don’t actually recall how things were left with Sofia Boutella’s very cool ‘Gazelle’ character in the first movie, but my hope is that this new instalment will be so good that I barely miss her, if at all.
I wanted Kevin Hart – What Now? to be great, but to my surprise and disappointment, I spent very little time laughing. In trying to figure out why, I’ve reached the conclusion that as someone who’s been a fan of Kevin Hart’s comedy since the days of his earlier standup specials; I’m a Grown Little Man (2009), Seriously Funny (2010) and Laugh at My Pain (2011), I’m at the stage now where I find myself overly familiar with a lot of his jokes. Particularly the ones that reference his father, children, height and the way his vertically challenged status makes him far from a hero whenever his physical wellbeing is threatened. Even though in Kevin Hart – What Now? Hart talks about a few other things including his then fiancé (now wife), I found myself reminiscing about his earlier work. It’s possible that part of the problem is, like any comedy film that could have been better, many of the good jokes and punchlines were heard and laughed at during the promotional phase.
Hart’s use of digital visual aids to help paint a picture for the audience as he delivered his jokes is a refreshing addition to his routine. Unfortunately though,I found it mostly distracting. I went in hoping for new jokes that didn’t rely too much on all the traits I already knew about Hart’s comedy persona/ topics, but it wasn’t to be. I guess things can get stale when you and those close to you are the main source material instead of new and potentially more interesting topics. I.e., what’s happening in the wider world.
Kevin Hart – What Now? (2016), Ed Helms, Halle Berry
Besides the less than expected number of jokes I did laugh at, what I enjoyed most of all was the fifteen minute intro to the main event. Kevin Hart, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, David Meunier and Ed Helms made it fun and funny. Watch Kevin Hart – What Now? if you’re curious enough and / or you’re a very serious Hart fan. I still love Hart. I just much prefer his earlier work.
Halle Berry’s latest movie, Kidnap is a thriller in which her character stops at nothing to recover her young son who has been kidnaped in broad daylight.
Berry’s emotional performance in this trailer is so good that I got ‘dewy-eyed’ at the sheer horror of her predicament. Especially at 00:46 seconds. I of course must give some of the credit to the trailer editor for a job well done.
I’ve wanted to see Berry in another movie I can really love ever since Monster’s Ball (2001). It would be fantastic if Kidnap could be that movie. My fingers, toes and everything are crossed.
Directed by Luis Prieto; Robert Walker Branchaud and Dana Gourrier – an actress I last saw in Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight (2015) also star.
The Movie My Life 