After The Credits: Baby Driver

Usually when I go to the movies, I like to know as little as possible, so I can tap the enjoyment in full. Same goes for Edgar Wright films. There isn’t a bad movie in his resume &, even though, him not sticking through Ant-Man (admittedly, it was for the best, in retrospect) he brushed himself off and sticks to what he & a lot of indie-esque directors are good at: Passion Projects. Baby Driver is 22 years in the making from Wright. He eventually put the idea to work in a 3 1/2 minute music video that he directed for the group Mint Royale called “Blue Song” in 2009 and the concept stayed dormant until it finally came to be.

Baby (Ansel Elgort), is a driver for bank robbers taking them around Atlanta, GA taking money from as many banks as possible. When he was a child, he suffered from a ringing in his ear from a car accident. The symptom is tinnitus. In order to get that pesky ring out of his ear, he listens to music to quiet the sounds. He has tons of iPods for each day of the week, his mood & personality. Basically, his life is an assorted music video while driving dangerously. He only does this to pay off Doc (Kevin Spacey) for wrecking one of his cars awhile back. Baby works alongside his main crew of misfits: Bats (Jamie Foxx), Buddy (Jon Hamm) & Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) for the duration of his tasks. He befriends a girl named Debora (Lily James) at a diner & start to hit it off. But with his grueling job as a “chauffeur” he has a hard time trying to start a love life.

Music plays a major role here, because the tracks are used as narrative cues to drive the plot forward. It can get annoying, because it feels like overkill to give artist royalty fees after every lyric is sung scene-by-scene, but with the way the movie flows, it actually benefits the movie quite well. The songs are mostly from the 70s with other songs sporadically sprinkled in from other eras. Each song has a character, bullet, line, beginning, middle & end of its own. Some may get irritated of the themes, but it’s well-done.

The acting is first-rate by all of the players, including Elgort, Spacey & Hamm who eat up the scenery during each scene. Ansel’s is charming & fun, while Hamm plays his unconventional role with ease. Spacey’s is basically textbook Kevin Spacey, deadpan & ruthless. James is really good but there’s an argument to be had that she didn’t get more screen time, as well Gonzalez’s Darling who could’ve used more. Foxx is just crazy good in his role, being a relentless man dedicated to doing this job right.

Edgar Wright continues his streak of very good to great films by sticking with his eclectic brand of filmmaking. Baby Driver isn’t the most heist/driving of all-time, yet, it does add something refreshing to it. It’s just a fun time at the movies.

4.5 out of 5

Good: Great acting, action, narration & pace; unique use of music

Bad: The unique use of music may not be for everyone

After The Credits: The Beguiled

A feminist social commentary during the Civil War is a novel concept, if only, it was in a more modern era. The biggest problem with The Beguiled, is that what Sofia Coppola is trying to tell is hollow. During her interviews for the film, Sofia’s angle for the film is to focus on the male & female dynamics in the 1860s. All that’s well & good, until you get to the underlying truth about the Civil War: The South wasn’t shit & mainly wanted to own slaves, defying the demands of the union. (the word Confederate isn’t even used in this film once.) It’s like the whole movie sidesteps history in avoidance to hurt the feelings of white people. 

The acting is fine & it looks good, but what’s the point of having a battle of the sexes-style movie, where its own director won’t acknowledge historical context? Honestly, because the movie feels so bare, the selling point is meaningless. There weren’t good white men & women during that time, so why sugar coat if the purpose is to coddle hurt feelings? It’s not just bad filmmaking, it’s downright cowardice. 

Also, the movie was marketed like a horror film, yet hardly anything hair-raising happens (save for a compound fracture & the ending). So even that feels false. If anything, the film’s one big fake. Aside from seduction & other miscellaneous items that happen, it’s more like The Bemilded than anything else. 

Good: Solid acting & cinematography 

Bad: Risk-averse, very revisionary, main commentary is hollow, weak characters & story

1.5 out of 5

After The Credits – Wonder Woman

Warner Bros’s start with their cinematic universe has been a bit of a struggle, to say the least. Man of Steel, while I enjoyed it, was a hit or miss with movie audiences, with it’s dark tone & overuse of Jesus symbolism. It’s follow-ups were much worse with BvS & Suicide Squad, due to those movies bad writing (Martha!) & bad story threads. Zack Snyder has a cinematic universe that is dark and menacing, which doesn’t allow for the characters or movies to break out of his monochromatic vision. Even with Patty Jenkins helming Wonder Woman, I feared that because of that, she would be hamstrung by the limitations of this DCEU. It’s feels good to be wrong.

Wonder Woman is set in the present world with Diana (Gal Gadot) telling what happened before & during World War I. This is a different Diana from the one near the end of Batman v. Superman, where she fought Doomsday alongside her male opposites. Determined & skilled but not a polished fighter compared to her Amazonian counterparts. Her mother and queen of Themyscira, Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) doesn’t want her to fight out of fear of losing her, while General Antiope (Robin Wright) is willing to train Diana to the point of perfection in order to be the best, if she’s to be great against foes like Ares. As she’s going through her training, she discovers a man, Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) has infiltrated Themyscira (No man is ever to be on that island at all times). Trevor is evading the German army after he stole something important from them to stall their plans for the War. Only it led him into the island against his will. After the fight on the island, Steve’s confession & Diana’s perservance, Diana decides to join Steve to end the war & stop Ares.

The biggest difference this movie has from the other three films in the DCEU? Simple. It’s not monochrome like it’s predecessors, which may not seem like much, but for a woman as optimistic as Wonder Woman, it’s definitely helpful (thanks, Geoff Johns). It’s a rich world with the right touches in the world. While grim things happen, it’s never overwrought like past films. Jenkins, I think, gave Gadot more range with her character than Zack Snyder, because she’s able to add more things to her character. Again, Gal did fine in Dawn of Justice, unfortunately, she hamstrung by Snyder’s limitations with story and subtlety. Being that Jenkins has directorial pedigree with 2003’s Monster & other television work, you can see why this feels different from other DC films. Chris Pine’s really good here & I’m glad the studio didn’t try to shoehorn him in to take the moment away from Gal. 

More than anything, I’m glad this was the one DCEU to go on without slipping up to the masses. Man of Steel is still a favorite of mine, but it lacks WW’s subtlety, hope & humanity. While I have no hope for Justice League, this is a trajectory the DCEU should follow. 

4.5 out of 5

Good: Gal Gadot & Chris Pine’s chemistry, Patty Jenkins, Colorful! (No muted colors) 

Bad: Final Act underwhelmed, So-so villains

After The Credits: Rough Night

Jillian Bell’s character mentions in the second of Rough Night that basically answered my question I wasn’t enjoying this movie:

“Someone tell me what to do & I will do it”.

     Yeah, pretty much sums up this mess of a movie. They threw everything at it & just nothing. Who’d knew that a film with this much female comedic talent with Bell, Kate McKinnon & IIana Glazer, could be such a missed opportunity. They had elements of Weekend at Bernie’s & found a way to foul it up, which is astounding, really. That alone is only one atrocious accomplishment. I don’t know whether to be impressed by this film’s futility or ashamed, to be honest. Oh & Scarlett Johannssen’s in it & is bad on her own, even with a terrible script.

Appearances by Eric Andre, Hasan Minhaj, Ty Burrell, Demi Moore & Dean Winters couldn’t save this film. Yet, I didn’t feel bad for them like I did Zoe Kravitz being the token black woman in this movie, who goes through a scene that’s pretty jarring. She was used as bait to aid the other female leads to do something & she had sex with Burrell & Moore’s characters, only to be told that they didn’t even use the camera surveillance device. Pretty violating, right? No wonder Sony Pictures is hemorrhaging so much cash with film’s like this (and those damning emails, too).

Were there things I liked about it? It’s short, which I definitely appreciate because I saw this after I finished my night job & I was somewhat tired, yet, unfortunately, the jokes & innuendo were a lot more tired than I was. Rough Night had an opportunity to be this year’s Bad Moms (though, I think Girls Trip can pull it off) which was really good & made $113 million (on a $20 million dollar budget, like this film). But with tone problems, a dull script, outdated (and corny) jokes & no chemistry with the cast, it’s hard to find anything good here. I tried to laugh, really, I did; but, all I heard throughout the film, was writing that would make a bad Brett Ratner film proud.

1 out of 5

Good: Zoe Kravitz tried & it’s short

Bad: Where the hell do I even start…….

After The Credits – Baywatch

Baywatch, as a TV series, was a dumb beach drama with bad dialogue, lame scenarios & bland character development. All of it was held together by Dirk Nowitzki’s favorite singer: David Hasselhoff. Good or bad, I have a lot of respect for his hustle, regardless of the franchises he’s inherited, especially Baywatch Nights So, when I saw the film, I didn’t take it seriously, since the actual show was a farce. No way you could remake it today as a forgettable action-adventure drama, that takes itself with such importance; it’s why I like this film for cutting through the show’s nonsense.

The Rock plays Mitch Buchanan, who notices a pouch what looks to be pouches of Crystal Meth going around Emerald Bay. Buchanan is a highly respected lifeguard (he’s a lieutenant, y’all. A damn lifeguard) who goes beyond his own bounds to protect the “bay”, but protecting comes at a price, when his boss, Rob Thorpe, played by Rob Huebel, who wants him to recruit the most irredeemable Olympian this side of Ryan Lochte in Matt Brody (Zac Efron) to improve the image of Baywatch & dealing with Priyanka Chopra’s Victoria Leeds, who’s a thorn in the side of Baywatch.

What can you say about The Rock, at this point. Charisma’s there, so is his energy & timing. He carries a movie like this as he always does. Chopra’s effective & is smooth in her role. While I did wish she had more to do as a foil, she plays her part as the script says. Efron is fine, as he usually is in these movies, but sometimes I wonder, if he’s as good as people says he is, since High School Musical was a big stepping stone for his career. His lack of range does show up here, at times. Alexandra Daddario plays her role as Summer Quinn. I didn’t love her acting, but she was fine. IIfenesh Hadera was a little bit better, but was given little to do, save for a couple of scenes. Now, Jon Bass’s Ronnie was really funny. His introduction was hilarious. Been saying that word a lot to describe this movie: fine. Not great or very good, but fine. While I did do a lot of laughing at it, the movie falls short of, perhaps, not putting in more cameos to assist it. Even though Hasselhoff & Pam Anderson play their allotted parts, I would’ve liked to have seen Carmen Electra, Alexandra Paul, and others. It also a little too long, as well. Worth a look, but I would probably matinee it. I wouldn’t rush out to theaters to see it.

Good: The Rock, Self-aware of its source material & Priyanka Chopra

Bad: Runs a bit too long (nearly 2 hours long), some jokes don’t land, could’ve used some more cameos from Baywatch.

Baywatch Nights Season 2: Worst. Syndicated. Show. Ever.

3 out of 5

After The Credits: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

On my third viewing of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, I payed close attention to the face of Kurt Russell, who plays Ego. If you’ve watched Michael Douglas in Ant-Man or Robert Downey Jr in Captain America: Civil War, they de-age those actor to depict a pass era to represent what they used to look like in the 1980s. Same thing with Kurt, but unlike those two actors, something was different. Rather go with CGI, they used practical effects & makeup to add more realness to him. Having read it, it blows my mind how the people at Marvel Studios pulled that off. Hell, even getting him as a key role in this movie & he killed every scene, humorous and/or emotional. I’ve never seen a guy at his age just have the time of his life, like he did in this movie.

Vol 2 feels like an individual story compared to the first movie, where there’s more of the central characters, discovering their roles. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) want to rekindle his relationship with his father, Gamora (Zoe Saldana) being less of a hardass, Drax (Dave Bautista) learning not to be so literal, Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) learning how to be a better dancer & Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper). Each person’s story feels like their own “origin” story, where in the first film, it was the team’s “origin”. And while the villain is very threatening to save not just a planet, but civilization, itself, everyone, especially some unlikely characters have to come together and stop it.

Besides the main cast, I have to say that I walked away very impressed by the roles of Michael Rooker’s Yondu & Karen Gillian’s Nebula. Yondu’s a lot more important here than he was in the original, in that, there’s more empathy with him & you tend to feel bad for the things that he did or went through during the course of his journey. Nebula has more depth here too, especially with her scenes with Gamora, which goes further into their sibling rivalry. I reference these two characters, specifically, due to their redemption and each character has their individual moments of that. Same for Pom Klementieff’s Mantis, who’s adorable & interesting in every single way

However, the movie’s story isn’t as tight as it predecessor. With all of the stories going on, you might get a little lost trying to solve most of them, but, since this movie is more character-driven than the first in many aspects, it’s understandable, but I did had moments trying to figure out the movie’s core motive for the main villain. Also, while classic tunes like “Never loved me again” or “Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) are still great listens, the musical nostalgia can get a bit grating, at times.

Despite those small nitpicks, in my opinion, this is a tier 1 Marvel Cinematic Universe film through & through. It’s funny, emotional, action-packed & heart-warming, all in a Two hour & fifteenth package. While the first is a bit better, because the story was more straight-forward, this one is still able to hold its own anyway. Oh & stay for the five credits, it’s well-worth it. What a blast.

4.5 out of 5

Good: It’s bigger, funnier & heartwarming, Kurt Russell is fantastic, Visually alluring

Bad: Plot can feel stretched out, at times

Cameos: I bet so many people got payed!

After The Credits – Fate of the Furious

Two years after the bittersweet ending of Furious 7, we’ve all pondered if, perhaps, after the death of Paul Walker, if the franchise could still survive without one of its stars who’s been in the series since the original. Walker aside, the thing that has impressed me about this series, is how they took their street racing formula, retool it into a spy-action film & excel after that. This series was headed for “direct-to-video”-ville, at one point, putting a once-promising series in the scrapheap. F8 isn’t my favorite in the series (that honor goes to Fast 6), but there’s enough here to keep you satisfied. The film starts in Cuba with Dom (Vin Diesel) & Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) enjoying their honeymoon and races his cousin’s raggedy car. Dom wins the race backwards (yep, if the series couldn’t get anymore insane) & earns the respect of his competitor. Things take a turn when he encounters a woman named Cypher (Charlize Theron) who forces Dom to turn on his family to ad her in her conquest.

Before I get into my positives, I had a couple of issues with the film, particularly in the motivations of the main villain. I really loved Charlize in her role & is up there with F6’s Owen Shaw, but the difference between their intentions are night & day. Owen Shaw’s agenda in his villanious role, was to steal a device to sell it to a valuable bidder (and break many international laws doing it), while Cypher’s isn’t that clear cut. It’s made worse, when the movie attempts to humanize her. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work, yet, Charlize made it fun enough I was able to forgive her character’s weird writing. Also, the movie isn’t as fun as Fast 5 & 6, because there were so many high points in those movies & while Fate does indeed have its fair share of crazy moments (Like The Rock moving a torpedo to a different place was insane), something’s missing. Granted, there’s a lot of fun to be had with this film, I don’t think I’d want to watch it again for awhile. Think of an arcade shooter that you’ll have a lot of fun with the first time, but after you’ve tapped out all of what you’ve experienced, that’s it. Also, I can’t deal with the Dom-Letty romance plotline. Two actors who can’t sell romance & affection & it’s rough to watch. While not as excruciating as Furious 7, it’s still hard to watch when they try to sell it.

While my complaints seem significant, I really did enjoy this movie a lot more than the seventh installment. Everyone isn’t bogged down with the death of Paul Walker & are doing what they were doing before that messed up the chemistry with the cast. Jason Statham & The Rock are a hilarious tandem. If Universal goes through with a spinoff with those two, I’m in. Vin’s OK, as he’s the only one who’s treating this seriously, while Tyrese, Ludacris, Kurt Russell & Natalie Emmanuel are just living it up. This installment is my third favorite in the series after F7, while I have issues with it, it’s a good time. Oh, & I should’ve covered this earlier in this review, Gary F Grey did a solid of directing this film. Also, he’s a $1B dollars richer to boot due to the movie’s appeal overseas. Good for him. 

                                   4 out of 5

Good: Crazy stunts, Charlize Theron, not as depressing as the last film

Bad: Michelle Rodriguez & Vin Diesel can’t sell romance, too long for a Fast & Furious film, some of the female characters feel underwritten (*cough Ramsey cough*)

After The Credits: The Belko Experiment

Imagine working for a company that is an ordinary business with TPS reports, mortgage deals, etc, only that it’s an excuse for a SmashTV-like experiment. The Belko Experiment is what a dystopian world looks like, just only in a building, where the objective is simple: Kill as many people as you can or the makers of it will do it for them. John Gallagher Jr, Tony Goodwin & John C Mcginley are all caught up in this mess of either working together or may the top dog win the grand prize. The grand prize, which is unknown. Oh, and the film is brutal to watch. There were moments where I was cringing in my seat awaiting the next bout of violence. People got executed, as a way of survival for the others, while others try to hide out, so that they can live to see the end. The story is OK, at best, but I realized that wasn’t the point of the film. Rather, that the film was a commentary for humanity being such savages every day with women. The angle of it is rather basic. It’s worth a look, maybe if you have netflix or hulu, once it’s available for streaming. Not for the faint of heart, though, if your heart can’t take the bloodshed.

      3.5 out of 5

Good: Fast-paced, Tony Goodwyn’s craziness, good effects for a $5M film, good commentary on current climate.

Bad: Despite being $5M, that Belko building looks cheap on the outside, you’ll forget about it after seeing it.

3.5 out of 5

After The Credits – Before I Fall

You know a movie is predictable when you can figure out the ending at the beginning. There’s nothing severely wrong with Before I Fall, in my opinion. However, having never read the book or knowing where the film’s direction, it still felt like there were little chances taken with the story. Zoey Deutch plays Samantha Kingston, a teenager living out the same day over and over again. Just like Groundhog Day, the protagonist relives the same day until that person has to change something significant for the greater good. Despite this, the movie doesn’t take huge swings at getting one over Harold Ramis’s 1993 classic & for the most part, things play out as predicted. The ending might be unexpected for some; Yet, I saw it coming way before at the beginning, which I have to take points off for this film. Jennifer Beals is in as Sam’s mom & she does a fine job with what she was given. It’s ok, but that’s about it.

2.5 out of 5

Good: Zoey Deutch’s best role to date, Jennifer Beals

Bad: Predictable, overwrought & safe

After The Credits – Sleepless

Funny that this movie is titled “Sleepless”, since much of the film feels like it lazily slogs through the film with zero character development or plot direction to force you to care about the movie or its characters. The movie centers around Jamie Foxx’s Vincent Downs, who does a drug heist to get those drugs for a heist with Sean Cass (T.I). Downs eventually loses the drugs to a robbery and loses his son as a bargain. He spends the whole day trying to get him back. Now, take what I explained here with the plot and throw it away. Reason? The whole thing is disjointed, starting with the characters & their individual motivations. Nothing here was crafted to create a narrative that flourished & we have a movie with disjointed scenes in an order that’ll put the narrative imbalances of Suicide Squad to shame. There’s some redeeming factors in Gabrielle Union’s performance playing Foxx’s ex-husband & Scott McNairy plays one of the leading bad guys and despite his under-cooked role. Now, that’s not to say that McNairy’s role is good, but he tries, if that’s a worthy consolation. This could have been a competent film, even a solid one; but, Sleepless is so poorly made, that the people who made it, seemed to nap their way during the completion of this movie.

1.5 out of 5

Good: Gabrielle Union (the moments she’s in anyway), some decent fight scenes

Bad: Terrible plot, bad writing, subpar direction, boring bad guys