HUSTLERS (2019) – My rating: 8.3/10

Hustlers is a crime drama written and directed by Lorene Scafaria, based on New York magazine’s 2015 article “The Hustlers at Scores” by Jessica Pressler. Jennifer Lopez is also a producer on the film through Nuyorican Productions, alongside Jessica Elbaum, Will Ferrell, and Adam McKay through their Gloria Sanchez banner. The plot follows a crew of strippers in New York City who begin to steal money by drugging stock traders and CEOs who visit their club, then running up their credit cards. I had no idea the New Yorker article would become a movie, they did a good job.

**** SOME SPOILERS BELOW ****

In 2014, former New York City-based stripper Dorothy/Destiny (Constance Wu) is invited for an interview with Elizabeth (Julia Stiles), a journalist working on a story involving Dorothy’s former friend and mentor, Ramona Vega (Jennifer Lopez). Seven years prior, Dorothy, known by her stripper name as Destiny, is working at Moves, a strip club, to support her grandmother (Wai Ching Ho) but is barely getting by. Mesmerized by Ramona’s performance plus all the tips she earns, Destiny meets her on the roof of the club. Ramona looks Destiny over and decides to take her under her wing thus forming a formidable team. Destiny enjoys her newfound wealth and friendship with Ramona. A year later (2007), the financial crisis strikes and both women find themselves short of cash. Destiny becomes pregnant and bows out of the stripper scene. Unable to find a regular job,
Destiny goes back to stripping at the club but Moves has changed: the financial crisis has impacted their business, and the club is primarily staffed by immigrant women from Russia willing to perform sex acts for money, a line Destiny is unwilling to cross. She reconnects with Ramona, who introduces her to a new scheme. Along with her two protegées, Mercedes (Keke Palmer) and Annabelle (Lili Reinhart), Ramona targets rich men at bars, get them drunk, then escorts them to Moves where the girls steal their credit card numbers and charge them to their limit. Destiny joins in and learns Ramona uses a mix of ketamine and MDMA to impair judgment and cause memory loss in their targets, a tactic deemed worthwhile since their victims will rarely admit to being robbed by strippers.

Hustlers is a pretty decent, indecent movie about some very hard working women who feel instant, illegal money is worth the risk of jail. I must first mention 50-year old J. Lo has done a magnificent job of keeping her body sexy, tight and presentable for any role she’s up for.  While she looked a little amazon-ish next to 37-year-old Constance Wu, she still has it going on.  However, none were a match for Keke Palmer (26 years old) who was a fantastic addition to the gang.  Hustlers is obviously not for children nor is it for sanctified worshippers who don’t need to see how some desperate women choose to live their lives for money. Hustlers pretty much keeps you intrigued and entertained.  The film has grossed $110 million worldwide and received positive reviews from critics, with Lopez’s performance singled out for praise. I enjoyed Hustlers, especially the brilliant performances by J. Lo and Constance.  I recommend Hustlers for those who don’t mind a good sexy movie.  Check It Out!

 

THE MEG (2018) – My rating: 8/10

The Meg is a science fiction thriller, directed by Jon Turteltaub. The screenplay is by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber.  The Meg is loosely based on the 1997 book named Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror by Steve Alten. The movie follows a group of scientists who encounter a 75-foot-long (23 m) megalodon shark while on a rescue mission at the floor of the Pacific Ocean.  I was so afraid The Meg was going to be another Jaws, which I have never seen.  Low and behold, it was not.

— SLIGHT SPOILERS —

Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham), a rescue diver, attempts to save a group of scientists trapped inside a nuclear submarine. As Jonas is rescuing the last survivor, he sees the hull of the submarine being rammed in by an unknown creature. When he returns to the rescue vessel, he discovers two members of his crew are stuck in the damaged submarine.  Jonas realizes if he attempts to finish the rescue, it would result in the death of everyone. Moments after leaving, the damaged sub is destroyed in an explosion. Jonas’ account of what happened, a giant sea creature was the cause of the disaster, was dismissed by Dr. Heller (Robert Taylor) who believed that Jonas was affected by pressure-induced psychosis.

Five years later, billionaire Jack Morris (Rainn Wilson) meets Dr. Minway Zhang (Wilson Chao) at the underwater research facility “Mana One”, which Morris finances. Zhang and his daughter, Suyin Zhang (Li Bingbing), an oceanographer, are supervising a mission to explore what may be an even deeper section of the Marianas trench concealed by a cloud of hydrogen sulfide, forming a thermocline. The mission is being conducted by Lori Taylor (Jessica McNamee), Jonas’ ex-wife, Toshi (Masi Oka) and The Wall (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) in a submersible. The mission appears to be going well until a very large creature hits the submersible and causes it to lose contact with Mana One.

James “Mac” Mackreides (Cliff Curtis), another crew member at the station, suggests sending Jonas down to attempt a rescue, citing the similarity to his story. Despite Heller’s objections, Zhang and Mac decide to travel to Thailand to recruit Jonas anyway. Suyin attempts the rescue herself in a submersible, but a colossal squid intervenes. Before the squid can crush the submersible, a massive shark kills it, freeing Suyin. Agreeing to help, Jonas is able to reach the trapped submersible and saves Lori and The Wall.

At this point, the adventure is just beginning.  This film will keep you on the edge of your seat all the way through.  Brilliant acting and suspense keeps The Meg very interesting.  The rock bottom ideas they had to come up with throughout their journey, is mind blowing.  I really liked The Meg, I think you will like it as well.  There is so much more to this film that makes it a far cry from the same types of movies we usually see Jason Statham appear in. He didn’t have one physical fight during the entire movie.  Check it out!