Matthew Liedke

2 Guns review

Director:
Baltasar Kormakur
Cast: R
Denzel Washington
Mark Wahlberg
Paula Patton
Bill Paxton
Rated:

Denzel Washington sure did make a nicer partner to work with here than in “Training Day.”

Director Baltasar Kormakur’s new film “2 Guns” follows a pair of men, Bobby (Washinton) and Stig (Wahlberg), who appear at first glance to be criminals. The two decide to rob a bank and after they do, it’s discovered that both aren’t who they said they were.

Bobby turns out to be a DEA agent and Stig happens to be a naval intelligence officer. To make matters worse, they find out that the money they stole, both doing so as part of their own investigations, turns out to belong to crooked members of the CIA. The lead CIA agent, Earl (Paxton) is now after the both of them, as well as other forces out to get the money they took.

Continue reading “2 Guns review”

The Wolverine review

The latest film belonging to the “X-Men” franchise takes place a few years after the end of “Last Stand.” Logan, played by Hugh Jackman, known as Wolverine, is now living on his own in the wilderness. He is haunted by nightmares on a constant basis and can’t seem to escape his demons. One night, when he makes his way into a town, he meets a woman named Yukio, played by Rila Fukushima, who arrived to summon Logan to Japan to meet with her employer, Yashida.

Yashida, played by Hal Yamanouchi, is an old acquaintance of Logan, the two having met in World War II. Yashida wants to meet with Logan not only to thank him for saving his life during the war, but to also offer him an opportunity to get rid of his healing ability. As Logan ponders the proposition, he starts to learn there is more going on behind the scenes of Yashida and his family than what was first let on.

Continue reading “The Wolverine review”

RIPD review

Director:
Robert Schwentke
Cast:
Jeff Bridges
Ryan Reynolds
Kevin Bacon
Mary-Louise Parker
Stephanie Szostak
Rated: PG-13

One positive aspect of the movie? It was only an hour and a half.

“R.I.P.D.” follows the story of Boston cop Nick (Reynolds) who one day gets killed in the line of duty. His soul is then immediately sent to a heavenly police station and is told by the chief played by Mary-Louise Parker that he has skills that they could use.

Nick is then officially made an officer for the Rest in Peace Department and is partnered with a man named Roy (Bridges) who died in the days of the wild west.

Continue reading “RIPD review”

Red 2 review

Director:
Dean Parisot
Cast:
Bruce Willis
John Malkovich
Mary-Louise Parker
Helen Mirren
Anthony Hopkins
Byung-hun Lee
Rated: PG-13

Willis is really starting to play the same character in his movies lately.

“Red 2” picks up an unannounced time after the first film. Retired CIA agent Frank (Willis) is trying to live a fairly normal life with his girlfriend Sarah (Parker) after being involved in a massive plot. The action seems to come back into their lives though as Frank’s partner Marvin (Malkovich) informs the two that they have all been targeted by government agencies for a mission they were involved in during the Cold War that involved a weapon of mass destruction.

From this point the three have to go on the run again and try to clear their names. During their mission they are joined by MI6 Agent Victoria (Mirren) and eventually the scientist who created the weapon, Bailey (Hopkins). The team has to watch out on their mission as they are chased by assasin Han (Lee).

Continue reading “Red 2 review”

Turbo review

Director:
David Soren
Cast:
Ryan Reynolds
Paul Giamatti
Michael Pena
Samuel Jackson
Ken Jeong
Michelle Rodriguez
Maya Rudolph
Rated: PG

What a random concept to base a film around.

“Turbo” follows the title character played by Ryan Reynolds. Turbo is a garden snail living an uneventful life with his brother, Chet (Giamatti) near a number of tomato plants. Turbo has dreams of being fast and racing in the Indy 500, however, obviously, he has little chance to do so. That is until an accident that has Turbo falling into a car engine and getting blasted with the NOS that is seen in “Fast and Furious” franchise movies.

After this happens, Turbo inherits super speed that leaves a trail of blue light behind him. Through a series of events, Turbo and Chet come into contact with a group of other snails led by Whiplash (Jackson) as well as a taco vendor named Tito (Pena) who wants to race the super snail in the actual Indy 500.

Continue reading “Turbo review”

The Conjuring review

Director:
James Wan
Cast:
Vera Farmiga
Patrick Wison
Lili Taylor
Ron Livingston
Rated: R

Finally some smart characters in a haunted house movie.

“The Conjuring” follows the Perron family, that includes Carolyn (Taylor) and Roger (Livingston) and their daughters. The family moves into a house out in the country and as time goes on they begin experiencing some strange phenomenon. Things start moving on their own and it appears that there is a spirit of some kind that haunts their new home.

Enter Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine (Farmiga) Warren, two specialists in the super natural who the Perrons seek for help. These two, who are actual specialists in real life and which this movie is based around, come to the house and begin their investigation.

Continue reading “The Conjuring review”

Grown Ups 2 review

Director:
Dennis Dugan
Cast:
Adam Sandler
Kevin James
Chris Rock
David Spade
Salma Hayek
Maya Rudolph
Rated: PG-13

You can tell a comedy is bad when it produces more sighs than laughs.

“Grown Ups 2” picks up some time after the first movie, and follows Hollywood man Lenny (Sandler) now living with his family in his home town. The movie follows Lenny and his friends Eric (James), Kurt (Rock) and Marcus (Spade) through a day where they plan on having an 80s theme party that night.

That short paragraph is, in truth, the only story going on in “Grown Ups 2.” The movie is more or less connected by a string of subplots that go nowhere and random hijinks between the four leads and their families.

Continue reading “Grown Ups 2 review”

Pacific Rim review

It has monsters. It has robots. And it is awesome.

“Pacific Rim” starts off with an introduction that leads the audience into a setting taking place about 12 years into the future. The intro shows how huge monsters, called Kaiju, begin to appear from portals deep in the Pacific Ocean. The Kaiju consistently attack the coastal cities on Earth and because of this, the planet comes together and builds giant robots, called Jaegers, to fight the menaces.

Once the movie gets to its present time, the audience meets Stacker Pentecost, played by Idris Elba. Pentecost is a military commander who is in charge of the Jaeger program, and he has a growing problem on his hands. The Kaiju are getting more and more dangerous and the world government is getting less trusting of the strength of the Jaegers. To try and strike a significant blow to the Kaiju, Pentecost recruits ex-Jaeger pilot Raleigh Becket, played by Charlie Hunnam, for a special mission. Becket, who has a troubled past, has to work with an inexperienced, but talented rookie, Mako Mori, played by Rinko Kikuchi, to pull the whole thing off.

Continue reading “Pacific Rim review”

The Lone Ranger review

Director:
Gore Verbinski
Cast:
Johnny Depp
Armie Hammer
William Fichtner
Tom Wilkinson
Ruth Wilson
Helena Bonham Carter
Rated: PG-13

I could have earned the title of the Lone Watch Checker seeing this movie.

‘The Lone Ranger,” based on the character from the TV show that started in 1946, follows the character John Reid (Hammer). Reid is a prosecutor traveling to the wild west and eventually meets up with his older brother who is a Texas Ranger. Reid’s brother, Dan, is after a criminal named Butch (Fichtner). John joins a posse with Dan and go to get the criminal, however they are ambushed and all killed.

However, John ends up coming back from the dead and becomes a spirit walker. He meets with an Indian named Tonto (Depp), and the two of them have a common enemy in Butch. They decide to team up and bring the villain to justice. To do so, John puts on a mask and becomes the Lone Ranger.

Continue reading “The Lone Ranger review”

Despicable Me 2 review

Director:
Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud
Cast:
Steve Carell
Kristen Wiig
Benjamin Bratt
Russell Brand
Rated: PG

The two “Despicable Me” movies are similar, except that the sequel doesn’t have as much NBC product placement as the first did.

“Despicable Me 2” picks up not long after the end of the first film. The former super villain, Gru (Carell), is now trying to go into more legitimate business, mostly because of his adopted daughters, Margo, Agnes and Edith.

Gru is taken back into the world of villainy though by a secret agency that stands against evil doers. The Anti-Villain League recruits Gru to go undercover and take down a new dangerous threat. Gru eventually agrees and teams up with one of the league’s agents named Lucy (Wiig).

Continue reading “Despicable Me 2 review”