Of all of the movies that have been released since the start of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Army of the Dead is the one that I Of all the films released since the start of the March 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Army of the Dead is the one I watched at home that I most wished I had seen in the theater. As I watch this movie a week ahead of A Quiet Place 2 (a movie that should truly signify a return to the movie theaters), I almost wish I hadn’t had the option to watch Zack Snyder’s (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 300) on Netflix. I intended to go to the theater this weekend to see this film, only to see it sitting there as an option to stream with my Netflix subscription. It was both a blessing and a curse. Free is excellent, as is the ability to play and pause a movie as you see fit. But it is hard to beat the in-theater experience of a film that is supposed to be watched on the big screen.
Category Archives: Action
Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Perhaps a perfect popcorn flick for moviegoers who can close off their brains and enjoy a decent action story with some pretty good cinematography that also stars one of the most marketable movie actors of the last 25 years, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a movie that fails to capitalize on its potential. Outside of Maleficent, Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, A Mighty Heart) hasn’t had the best decade in front of the camera. However, her fanbase is still tremendous. Her opportunity to return to the action-adventure drama helped solidify her career (Salt, Wanted, Lara Croft Tomb Raider, Mr. and Mrs. Smith). She may have done enough to secure future starring roles with her physically impressive performance as a Montana smokejumper named Hannah. She was the highlight of Taylor Sheridan’s (Sicario, Wind River) movie that otherwise failed to deliver.
Ava (2020)
2020 has been a year with many movies either delayed to later in the year or postponed entirely until 2021. Films considered for Oscar awards for the year are receiving an extension for when they need to be released. That extra time could be extended even longer, depending on events later this year because of the 2020 pandemic. Many movies have skipped theaters and gone straight to OnDemand. One of those movies that will need to worry about Oscar consideration this year is Tate Taylor’s (The Help, The Girl on the Train) Ava.
Training Day (2001)
Denzel Washington (Flight, He Got Game) and Ethan Hawke (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Boyhood) began their careers in 1985. Washinton has a more storied career with four Oscar nominations between 1987 and 1999 (Cry Freedom, Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane). The underrated Hawke had starred in movies such as Reality Bites, Before Sunrise, Gattaca, and Hamlet before the turn of the century. But it took Antoine Fuqua’s (Southpaw, Tears of the Sun) gritty, determined, and so far over the top that it might be believable Training Day for these two Hollywood heavyweights to meet on the big screen for the first time. The result is the crowning acting achievement in the careers of each actor.
Braven (2018)
Braven is basically On Deady Ground/Above the Law/Under Siege/Out for Justice or any Steven Seagal masterpiece of the early 1990s meets one of the best movies of all time (Young Guns) meets one meets the best Christmas movie of all time (Home Alone). And I don’t know if that sentence is a ringing endorsement or enough to get you to stop reading right now. In all honesty, it’s both. Lin Oeding’s feature-length debut, Braven, is far from a perfect movie. It is very, very flawed. But it is also highly entertaining. If Die Hard is your thing, then the Jason Momoa-led (Aquaman, Justice League) Braven will also be your thing. I can’t say you’ll love or remember much from it 24 hours later, but you will enjoy it, especially if you turn your mind off. Also, if he wants it, Momoa can be the new Segal, though he’s already proven he has more acting range than the former ever showed.