Special: Greyhound, Artemis Fowl, Extraction Mini-Reviews

Greyhound:

Synopsis: In the early days of WWII, an international convoy of 37 Allied ships, led by captain Ernest Krause (Hanks) in his first command of a U.S. destroyer, crosses the treacherous North Atlantic while hotly pursued by wolf packs of Nazi U-boats.

My thoughts: A fast paced war movie? (Insert Allan Parish "What Year Is It" meme). Greyhound makes the most of it's 90 minutes keeping the script and pacing tight for an emotional and action driven ride considering it's a movie about boats running away from submarines. There are some annoyances, sure. Tom Hanks is great and the nicest guy in the world but at the same time how many times can he play the same character? The supporting cast is also nothing to write home about but as far as a direct streaming service movie goes you can do much worse.

Final verdict: 3 torpedo diversions out of 5.

Artemis Fowl:

Synopsis: Based on the first two books in author Eoin Colfer wildly popular children's fantasy series, Walt Disney Studios' Artemis Fowl tells the story of adolescent criminal genius Artemis, who captures a vicious fairy, and attempts to harness her magical powers in a bid to rescue his family.

My thoughts: Let's start with the good, the visuals are stunning and as far as not knowing the source material, which I don't, I had no problems with the story itself. That being said the acting was not strong, neither by the kids or the known commodities as even Josh Gad came off as "try hard". The storytelling itself was all over the place and the movie didn't seem to know what tone it wanted to take from scene to scene. Chaotic and frantic over 90 minutes is not the way to make a film, but it's hardly the giant sticker everyone makes it out to be as at least it spent it's 140 million on special effects and didn't just phone it in.

Final verdict: 2 fairies out of 5.

Extraction:

Synopsis: Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is a fearless black market mercenary with nothing left to lose when his skills are solicited to rescue the kidnapped son of an imprisoned international crime lord. But in the murky underworld of weapons dealers and drug traffickers, an already deadly mission approaches the impossible, forever altering the lives of Rake and the boy.

My thoughts: I'd like to simply tell you that this Netflix original is simply a good popcorn flick but it's much more than that. It's got some incredible action sequences (including some long ones that are sure to delight action fans). It's also got thrilling, comedic and the rare emotional element in it as well. It's not a stretch to say this is one of, if not, the best film Netflix has put out this calendar year thus far.

Final verdict: 4 mercenaries out of 5.

Special: The King, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, The Angry Birds 2 Mini-Reviews

The King:

Synopsis: Hal (Timothée Chalamet), wayward prince and reluctant heir to the English throne, has turned his back on royal life and is living among the people. But when his tyrannical father dies, Hal is crowned King Henry V and is forced to embrace the life he had previously tried to escape. Now the young king must navigate the palace politics, chaos and war his father left behind, and the emotional strings of his past life -- including his relationship with his closest friend and mentor, the ageing alcoholic knight, John Falstaff (Joel Edgerton).

My thoughts: I expected The King to be a typical Oscar fodder film and I'm happy to report that I was right. It's slow moving with incredible performances and cinematography. The plot had some twists and turns I did not expect which gave it a nice closing but there wasn't much depth to keep me entertained throughout the film. You can certainly do worst than watch The King but you could also definitely do better.

Final verdict: 3 crowns out of 5.

Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark:

Synopsis: It's l968 in America. Change is blowing in the wind... but seemingly far removed from the unrest in the cities is the small town of Mill Valley where for generations, the shadow of the Bellows family has loomed large. It is in their mansion on the edge of town that Sarah, a young girl with horrible secrets, turned her tortured life into a series of scary stories, written in a book that has transcended time--stories that have a way of becoming all too real for a group of teenagers who discover Sarah's terrifying tome.

My thoughts: August was apparently a great month for horror following up my previous review of Ready Or Not. This movie has an insanely fun plot and lots of creepy material mixed in to the individual stories. The film does a great job of intertwining those stories into 1 cohesive overarching story which is tough to do given the source material is an anthology. Good casting and good pacing. The only downfall was the lack of any true scares, relying on a creepy factor instead.

Final verdict: 4 killer ghosts out of 5.

The Angry Birds Movie 2:

Synopsis: The flightless angry birds and the scheming green piggies take their beef to the next level in The Angry Birds Movie 2! When a new threat emerges that puts both Bird and Pig Island in danger, Red (Jason Sudeikis), Chuck (Josh Gad), Bomb (Danny McBride), and Mighty Eagle (Peter Dinklage) recruit Chuck's sister Silver (Rachel Bloom) and team up with pigs Leonard (Bill Hader), his assistant Courtney (Awkwafina), and techpig Garry (Sterling K. Brown) to forge an unsteady truce and form an unlikely superteam to save their homes.

My thoughts: I'm not sure how this has such better reviews compared to the first (which has aged surprisingly well). It's definitely a step below it's predecessor, though not a huge one. The script works well enough, especially considering this is the 2nd movie they made based on a phone app with no story basis whatsoever.

Final verdict: 3.5 bird-pig team-ups out of 5.

Special: Taken 3/The Wedding Ringer/Justice League:Throne Of Atlantis Mini-Reviews

Taken 3:

Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his "particular set of skills," to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now - his daughter.

My thoughts? Although it's toned down the violence in order to get a PG-13 rating, Taken 3 is still a fun ride and it was able to avoid feeling like a carbon copy of the previous two films by not having a kidnapping plot, something that Taken 2 was hurt by as it felt like a retreaded, but worse, copy of the original. Taken 3 is a breath of fresh air for the franchise, which is still open to further entries despite the fact that 3 was marketed as the last time. My only issue with this film was about halfway through I realised Neeson hadn't actually took down a bad guy as most of the first half is stylised chases and him disarming and outsmarting cops. Taken 3 was an improvement on it's predecessor but is still a small shadow over the original and even last year's Non-Stop.

Final verdict: 3 (bordering on 4) evil Russians out of 5

The Wedding Ringer:

Doug Harris (Josh Gad) is a lovable but socially awkward groom-to-be with a problem: he has no best man. With less than two weeks to go until he marries the girl of his dreams (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting), Doug is referred to Jimmy Callahan (Kevin Hart), owner and CEO of Best Man, Inc., a company that provides flattering best men for socially challenged guys in need. What ensues is a hilarious wedding charade as they try to pull off the big con, and an unexpected budding bromance between Doug and his fake best man Jimmy.

My thoughts? I'll be honest, I don't really give Kevin Hart the time of day... Anytime people get obsessed with a comedian I always find them disappointing... Remember the Dane Cook Phenomena from 10 years ago? Yeah... But here Hart handles his role very well and opposite the equally funny Josh Gad the two have instant chemistry. It's not the most plausible movie, nor does it have the chops to hold up on it's own against The Hangover or Anchorman franchises, but it's still an extremely funny romp that warrants a watch every couple months.

Final verdict: 4 purchased groomsmen out of 5

Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis

In the aftermath of Justice League:War, the world is at peace or so it seems. When Atlantis attacks the Metropolis for the death of their king. But the Queen has different plans and requires the Justice League to find her lost son. But while they search for him, Atlantian troops lead by Ocean Master, continue their assault. Who will win?

My thoughts: Although I appreciate the WB and DC Comics listening to it's critics about these movies being too adult for kids, the violence was still there though not as bad, maybe that's because it was "trenchers" that were being decimated instead of humans as in Son of Batman, the coarse language was toned down, I heard "shit" once and there were certain dialogue where you could tell that they would usually have dropped an expletive was replaced with a more kid friendly line, it affected the story negatively. All in all Throne of Atlantis is a great comic storyline that missed the mark in the DCAU. There's been worse films made, but the DCAU's typical high standard slipped a bit here as this is easily the worst to come out since before Flashpoint. The voice acting was just okay as Batman and Wonder Woman especially continue to bug me, luckily Batman is probably one of the leaguer's that gets the least screen time which is kinda refreshing.

Final verdict: Barely 4 Atlantians out of 5