BIRDS OF PREY: (2020) – My rating: 8.5/10

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn is a superhero film based on the DC Comics team, Birds of Prey. It is the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe, and a follow-up to Suicide Squad (2016). It is directed by Cathy Yan and written by Christina Hodson. The film follows Harley Quinn as she joins forces with three powerful females to save Cassandra Cain from Gotham City crime lord, Black Mask.  Good action hero movie!

Former psychiatrist, Suicide Squad member, and girlfriend of the Joker,  Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), is determined to redefine her life.  With no place to live, she is rescued by Doc (Dana Lee), the elderly owner of a Chinese restaurant. Still recovering from her abusive relationship, Harley cuts her hair and adopts a spotted hyena, who she names after Bruce Wayne, takes up roller derby, and blows up the Ace Chemicals plant where she once pledged herself to the Joker.

After visiting a nightclub owned by gangster Roman Sionis/Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), Harley cripples Roman’s driver and meets burlesque singer Dinah Lance/The Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), a vigilante with the metahuman ability of hypersonic screams. Later, Dinah rescues an intoxicated Harley from an attempted abduction by Roman’s goons. Impressed when he sees Dinah’s fighting skills, he appoints her as his new driver. In the meanwhile, GCPD Detective Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) investigates a series of mob killings carried out by a crossbow-wielding vigilante named Helena Bertinelli/The Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a vigilante who is the orphaned daughter of gangster Franco Bertinelli. Detective Montoya discovers Harley isn’t safe without the Joker’s protection.  Sweetening the pot, Roman is pursuing a diamond necklace that is worth a fortune — he sends his sadistic right-hand-man Victor Zsaszand (Chris Messina), who retrieves the diamond but falls victim to pick-pocket and professional street thief, Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco), who doesn’t know the value of what she has stolen.  This is why these four powerful women (Black Canary, The Huntress, Detective Montoya, and Harley Quinn) joined forces to protect this young thief (Cassandra) from Roman and his thugs.

Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn has turned out to be a good solid action hero movie.  I’m sure this version of Quinn’s recovery will be followed up with some other movie where she seeks revenge on the Joker for all the wrong he inflicted on her.  This movie reveals Quinn’s deliverance from dependence to freedom in her own right.  I loved that she recited over and over that she is smart, has a Ph.D., and is crazy enough to protect herself without help from anyone.  My only criticism is the winks she wore throughout the entire movie.  She just doesn’t have the shape for the outfit.  I hope they do better choosing her wardrobe next time around.  I’m just saying.  I found Birds of Prey… to be fun, entertaining and a refreshing idea of powerfull women taking charge.  I recommend Birds of Prey to superhero lovers and then some. The film has grossed $48.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $112.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $160.7 million.  Birds of Prey has also received praise from critics for its visual style, Yan’s direction, and the performances of Robbie and McGregor, but criticism for the screenplay. I also urge viewers to beware of the “R” rating the film received, I can’t figure why but I’m sure there’s probably a good reason! Check It Out!

 

BOMBSHELL (2019) – My rating: 8.5/10

Bombshell is a biographical drama directed by Jay Roach and written by Charles Randolph. The film tells the story of Roger Ailes’ sexual harassment affairs during his reign at Fox News and the cover-up that eventually forced him to step down.

A tenacious Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) is the head of Fox News, the primary televised source of conservative politics. He runs the corporation with an iron fist that includes fear and determination. Roger is seen as an icon and only answers to Rupert Murdoch (Malcolm McDowell), who is CEO of the Fox network. The stories of Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman), and Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie), who are three political anchorwomen employed at Fox are revealed in Bombshell.

Megyn Kelly is one of the most popular anchors/commentators at Fox and is preparing to co-moderate the 2016 Republican debate. On the day of the debate, Megyn becomes sick and throws up, but nevertheless questions Donald Trump on negative comments he made about women. In retaliation, Trump sends out several tweets hurting her reputation.  As a result, Megyn is further ridiculed by reporters and others. One reporter sneaks into Meg and Doug’s home in order to take pictures of their daughter causing her husband, Douglas Brunt (Mark Duplass) to kick him out by force. When Megyn returns to work, Fox hires a security detail to protect her but refuses to go after Trump. Roger, who is a fan of Megyn, becomes paranoid with protecting her and thinks that someone poisoned her the day of the debate.

Meanwhile, Gretchen Carlson is the co-anchor of the popular program “Fox and Friends”, but is taken off and demoted to a less popular show and position. Often Gretchen faces sexist comments by others, on and off the air. Gretchen decides to escalate her situation by hiring legal representation. The lawyers mention that Gretchen should not engage with these newfound enemies then tells her the story of Rudi Bakhtiar who was fired for coming out against her employer who she accused of sexual harassment. The lawyers explain their plan to file a harassment suit against Roger Ailes personally and inform Gretchen that she will need to have other women come out and tell their story.

Kayla Pospisil is the newest hire at Fox, a young conservative from a religious background. She starts off working for Gretchen but is soon offered a position to work for “The O’Reilly Factor”. Gretchen asks Kayla to stay with her and warns her to be careful, but she refuses and questions why she shouldn’t take the job. On her first day, Bill O’Reilly (Kevin Dorff) yells at her and she is consoled by a coworker, Jess Carr (Kate McKinnon). Jess becomes a good friend while Kayla’s situation becomes pretty ugly at Fox.

I thought Bombshell was well laid out, conveying to the audience how one of the biggest sex preditors was caught with his pecker in the mouth of babes.  I think the movie was well-acted and the make-up was phenomenal.  It seems Trump got away with a lot more than just the Iranian crisis.  I’m glad women are coming out and stopping these preditors.  The film received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the performances of the cast, particularly (Theron, Kidman, Robbie and Lithgow) however they criticized the screenplay and inaccuracies in the storytelling. The film received two nominations at the 77th Golden Globe Awards for Theron and Robbie, four at the 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards for Theron, Robbie and Kidman, as well as Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and three at the 73rd British Academy Film Awards. I really liked Bombshell, Check It Out!

 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019) – My rating: 7/10

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a comedy-drama written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Produced by Columbia Pictures, Bona Film Group, Heyday Films, and Visiona Romantica and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is an international co-production between the United States and the United Kingdom. I was really looking forward to seeing this movie — I am neutral as to the quality of the movie but I feel it is worth seeing.

****  SOME SPOILERS  ****

In February 1969, Los Angeles actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), star of 1950’s Western television series, Bounty Law is now a struggling has-been. Realizing he is no longer the young budding star he was in the 50s, Rick shares this revolution with his best friend and former stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), that his career is over. Cliff, a war veteran, lives in a trailer behind a drive-in movie with his pit bull, Brandy.  He drives Rick (whose license is suspended) around town and relies on him for work because there have been rumors circulating that Cliff got away with killing his wife.

Meanwhile, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her husband director Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha) have moved next door to Rick’s house, causing him to have dreams of befriending the couple in order to restore his failing status.  Charles Manson (Damon Herriman) stops by Polanski and Tate’s house looking for record producer, Terry Melcher, who used to live there but is turned away by Tate’s ex-boyfriend, Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch). Cliff later picks up a young hitchhiker he’d seen around town, named Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) while driving Rick’s car. He drops her off at the Spahn Movie Ranch, where Cliff shot Bounty Law. She tries to persuade him to stay, but he is suspicious of the large number of hippies squatting on the property.  Worried that owner George Spahn (Bruce Dern) is being taken advantage of, Cliff insists checking on Spahn despite Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme’s (Dakota Fanning) objections; Spahn dismisses Cliff’s fears. Returning to his car, Cliff discovers that Steve Grogan (James Landry Hébert) has slashed his front tire; Cliff brutally beats Grogan and forces him to change the tire. Manson girl, Sundance (Cassidy Hice) goes to fetch Charles “Tex “Watson (Austin Butler) but Cliff is driving away by the time Watson arrives. Meanwhile, Rick lands the role of a villain in a new series called Lancer. He strikes up a conversation with his young co-star Trudi Fraser (Julia Butters), a method actress. During one of his scenes, Rick struggles with his lines due to his alcoholism and later has an emotional breakdown in his trailer. He returns and gives a powerful performance that impresses the director and Trudi, bolstering Rick’s confidence. After watching Rick’s performance as a guest star on an episode of The F.B.I., director Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) offers Rick the opportunity to shoot a Spaghetti Western in Rome.

I really didn’t dislike Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, I thought it was a bit slow at times and downright boring at times.  I wasn’t sure where this movie was trying to take me or what the moral of the story was until the end.  Tarantino rewrote a story everyone knew and made it the way he wished it had ended.  This twist was a big surprise that made the movie worth seeing.  The acting was absolutely brilliant. FYI: This was the last film to feature (Luke Perry who played Wayne Maunder) and died in March of 2019. This also became the first Tarantino film not to be associated with producer Harvey Weinstein, after Tarantino cut ties following sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein in October. The Hollywood Reporter wrote that critics had “an overall positive view” of the film, who called the film “Tarantino’s love letter to ’60s L.A.” and praised its casting choices and setting, though some were “divided on its ending.”  Bounty Law is based on Wanted Dead or Alive (1958–1961). Rick Dalton’s relationship with Cliff Booth is based on that of actor Burt Reynolds and his longtime stunt double Hal Needham. Once Upon A Time… isn’t for everyone however, I highly recommend it to those who like a good fantasy ending.  Check It Out!

I, TONYA (2017) – My rating: 8/10

I, Tonya, is a biographical film directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers.  There has been so much publicity and research into the Tonya Harding Saga, I wanted no parts of any future stories depicting the ups and downs or the rights and wrongs of the haves vs. the have none.  Because of the Oscar nominations, I was destine to see I, Tonya.  I’m glad I did.

I, Tonya, opens in 1970 when Tonya (Maizie Smith [age 4] / Margot Robbie [older adult]  / Mckenna Grace [young adult]) was 4 years old.  Taken to an ice skating rink by her abusive mother Lavona Fay Golden (Allison Janny) who  also took Tonya out of school to persue ice skating full time and employed a full time coach for Tonya, Diane Rowlinson (Julianne Nicholson).  Before long, Tonya becomes one of the best ice skaters in the US.  By the age of 15, she starts to date 18 year old Jeff Gillooly (Sebastion Stan) and despite his abusiveness and her mother’s disapproval, she marries him anyway.  The abuse gets worse but Tonya forges on becoming the first and only skater to accomplish a 2 triple Axel jump in competition.  Tonya hires a new coach for the 1992 Winter Olympics after a fight with Diane but comes in 4th.  Tonya’s status is viewed by the judges as White uneducated trash with a challenged wardrobe and a loud mouth.  Her husband, Jeff cooks up a scheme to scare rival skater, Nancy Kerrigan (Caitlin Carver) but the plan backfires, Nancy is badly injured and Jeff ends up arrested.  Tonya and Jeff divorce as Tonya is banished from ice skating for life.

While I, Tonya is a true story, this version goes more into the details as they actually happened, giving the audience a more descriptive account and timeline than any of the previous movies about Tonya I’ve seen.  If the motive here is to drum up sympathy and understanding into the plight of Tonya’s life and circumstances, I think I, Tonya accomplished that goal.  The movie managed to be entertaining as well as clear up any questions you may still have about the whole Nancy/Tonya saga.  The problem is, at this point you just might not care.  I still highly recommend this movie.  Check it out!

[I, Tonya received Oscar nominations for Best actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Editing]

 

SUICIDE SQUAD (2016) – My rating: 6.5/10

I tried really hard to like Suicide Squad because I’m into the whole super hero thing.  I have to admit, as much as I like super heroes and meta-humans, Suicide Squad was suicide.  Some of the most deplorable meta-humans you can imagine are housed in Belle Reve Prison for their hideous crimes.

INTELLIGENCE OFFICER – Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), the government official who gives out the Squad’s orders.  Ambitious and devious, she has big plans and intends to let no meta-human or military protocol get in her way. Davis stated she is fascinated by the character, singling out her psychology and strength and describing her as a “powerful black woman, hard, ready to pick up a gun and shoot anyone at will.” She described Waller as “relentless in her villainy” and noted that her powers are “her intelligence and her complete lack of guilt.” Davis read M.E. Thomas’ autobiography Confessions of a Sociopath to prepare for her role.

ARMY SPECIAL FORCES COLONEL – Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), a West Point graduate who leads the Suicide Squad in the field. He is all business and executes Amanda Waller’s orders but does not always agree with her goals or methods.

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In the aftermath of Superman’s death, Amanda Waller assembles Task Force X, which is placed under the command of Rick Flag, to be used as disposable assets in high-risk missions to rid the world of other deplorable rejects for the United States government. Each member has a nano bomb implanted in their neck, designed to detonate should any member rebel or try to escape.  Task Force X is comprised of the following dangerous meta-human, criminal rejects:

ELITE HITMAN – Deadshot aka Floyd Lawson (Will Smith), an expert marksman and assassin. A mercenary by day and a concerned father by night.  Deadshot is a conflicted criminal who enjoys the hunt, but is still trying to do right by his young daughter.

FORMER PSYCHIATRIST – Harley Quinn aka Harleen Quinzel (Margot Robbie), a crazed supervillain and former psychiatrist. Producer Richard Suckle describes this character as “a fan fave. Funny, crazy, scary. … You can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe all the different things you see her do.” Robbie describes Quinn as one of the Squad’s most manipulative members, and her relationship with Joker as “incredibly dysfunctional”, adding that Quinn is “mad about him—like, literally, mad. She’s crazy. But she loves him. And it’s a really unhealthy, dysfunctional relationship. But an addictive one.

PYROKINETIC EX-GANGSTER – El Diablo, aka Chato Santana (Jay Hernandez), a former Los Angeles gang member who has powers that allow him to summon flames, and transform himself into a monstrous horned demon-like entity. He has squelched his fire-conjuring powers to a solitary flame as penance for the horrors he inflicted on those he loved. Hernandez set his character apart from his teammates as he “just wants to stay out of the fight”, while “most of [Task Force X] are happy to get out there and kill people”.

OPPORTUNISTIC THIEF – Captain Boomerang aka George “Digger” Harkness (Jai Courtney),  a thief who utilizes deadly boomerangs, described as rugged, unpredictable and mouthy. About his role, Courtney stated, “he is an absolute bogan, in the purest sense”.

SPECIALIZED ASSASSIN – Slipknot aka Christopher Weiss (Adam Beach), A mercenary specializing in tactical grappling and scaling, who is the first member of the squad to be killed.

The following are significant characters who were not part of Task Force X:

The Joker (Jared Leto), a psychopathic supervillain and major love interest of Quinn. Leto described his role as “nearly Shakespearean” and a “beautiful disaster of a character”.  Leto never broke character throughout filming, with Smith going as far as stating he never met him.

Some FYI on the Joker:  In preparation for the role, Leto spent his time alone, listened to gospel music from the 1920s—commenting he senses “Joker may be much older than people think”—and read literature on shamanism. Influences for the character’s appearance include Mexican cartel bosses and the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Leto stated that he spoke with doctors and spent time with psychopaths in preparation for his role. The character’s tattoos were added by Ayer, who believed it gave a modernized gangster look to the Joker.

Dr. June Moone / Enchantress (Cara Delevingne), an archaeologist who is possessed by an ancient evil force that transforms her into a powerful sorceress. Unleashed after a long period of imprisonment, the entity draws the attention of Waller who intended to recruit Dr. Moone for the squad, Enchantress instead seeks revenge against mankind for imprisoning her and her brother’s souls in artifacts after years of worshipping them. Delevingne described Moone as “an adventure-seeker who’s always wanted some excitement” and Enchantress as “a feral being.”

Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana (Karen Fukuhara), an expert martial artist and swordswoman who mourns her husband’s death. She serves as Rick Flag’s bodyguard and wields the mystical Soultaker blade, capable of trapping the souls of its victims. As she is a volunteer, not a criminal, she does not have a micro-bomb implant. Fukuhara stated that Katana “has morals and codes. She can also slice through hundreds of people without taking a breath.”

GQ Edwards (Scott Eastwood), a Navy SEAL who assists Flag during the squad’s mission.

The dialogue was slick, ultra modern and a little strange in some places.  The special effects were absolutely brilliant and the plot was really out there with multiple routes to follow.  Most of Suicide Squad was too congested and overshadowed with too many crazy plots.  It was hard to follow however, despite the busyness, bits of entertainment shone through. If you are a fan of the comic book series you will probably get more out of the movie than a novice who doesn’t have a clue what they’re walking into.  I did like the movie but it’s definitely not for everyone.  Suicide Squad is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.

[Suicide Squad WON the 89th ANNUAL OSCAR AWARD for Makeup and Hairstyling]

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THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (2016) – My rating: 7.5/10

Just how many times is Hollywood going to remake Tarzan?  I can’t come up with what motivates one to take on a project that’s been done so many times.  The first Tarzan movie was a silent film called “Tarzan of the Apes” and was released in 1918.  The ninth was called “Tarzan the Ape Man” and was a motion picture released in 1932.  All in all, there were 57 Tarzan movies made between 1918 and 2013.  Several books were written, starting in 1912, by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who created the character.  There were also many Tarzan television series through the years.  Having said that, it seems Tarzan continues to be a fascinating subject that never grows old and never stops making money at the box office.  With a huge budget of $180M, The Legend of Tarzan finished #2 on the weekend box office behind “Finding Dory” grossing $46.5ååM after being released less than a week.  Go figure!  The story basically stays the same.  A young boy is brought up in the jungle by apes after his parents are killed.  Upon his return back to civilization, (England) Tarzan, who has fallen in love and married to Jane Porter, has acclimated to life in England having discovered his true identity as Lord Greystoke.  Under King Leopole’s rule, Tarzan is asked to scout out his old digs in the Congo for signs of the Kings improvements to the land.  Instead, something else is uncovered that includes a plan that Captain Rom intends to use the diamonds to pay for a massive army to subdue the Congo and allow Belgium to mine its wealth for Leopold’s benefit.  Of course Tarzan being ruthless and powerful, will stop at nothing to rescue his family, the Congo and the slaves, along with the right to live free.  The claim to fame in this version of Tarzan is eye-candy,  Alexander Skarsgård as Tarzan / John Clayton III / Lord Greystoke, the beautiful Margot Robbie as Tarzan’s wife / Jane Porter Clayton / Lady Greystoke, the charismatic and clever, Samuel L. Jackson as George Washington Williams, an American envoy who suspects the king of several atrocities, Academy award winner, Christoph Waltz as Captain Léon Rom, a corrupt merciless Belgian captain, sent by King Leopold of Belgium to find diamonds and control the region and the handsome hunk, Djimon Hounsou as Chief Mbonga, the leader of an African tribe who controls the diamond region, and wants revenge against Tarzan for the death of his son.

While The Legend of Tarzan was basically the same old story, I found it fun and interesting to watch.  Being a huge fan of Alexander Skarsgård from the days of True Blood and Christoph Waltz from Django Unchained and Inglorious Basterds and Djimon Hounsou from Countless movies like Gladiator and In America, I enjoyed their flawless performances, the absolutely beautiful scenery, the special effects, the countless animals and I loved seeing the bad guys get what was coming to them.  I think Tarzan is worth going to see on the big screen in 3D or standard.  It was an entertaining movie!

 

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FOCUS (2015) – My rating: 7.5/10

I go back to my statement a few weeks ago about Hollywood running out of new ideas for new movies.  I think if you’re going to do something that’s been done a million times before, you had better be two steps ahead of everyone else.  The trouble with Focus is, I started feeling like every word spoken was part of a con.  First, let me explain what Focus is about.  A con man Nicky (Will Smith), with a crew of cons has made his career about conning people out of their money, valuables and sometimes, even their dignity.  A wanna be con women Jess (Margot Robbie) tries to pull a scam on Nicky but fails.  She then persuades Nicky to teach her the tricks of the trade.  Together they manage to con half of New Orleans before it’s time to move on.  It’s interesting to see what and how scams and cons are pulled off.  Focus makes a person want to stay at home, forever.  In this world, there’s no trusting anyone.  I liked Focus but it’s nothing new.  So, is it okay to take an old concept and try to make it entertaining and different?  It’s absolutely okay to try but not easy to achieve.  Focus was entertaining for the most part but predictable.