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Hello, fellow moviegoers! The Hitman’s Bodyguard is directed by Patrick Hughes, and it stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, and Elodie Yung. When an international hitman is the only viable witness to a ruthless dictator’s crimes, it’s up to one of the world’s top bodyguards to keep him alive en route to the courtroom.  The Hitman’s Bodyguard was actually a surprisingly entertaining time at the theater that can make for a fun night out with friends. While it’s far from perfect, I believe the good definitely outweighs the bad here. It was funny, it had entertaining action scenes, and it was just an amusing, simple movie that you can have some fun with. Let’s start with the humor. While The Hitman’s Bodyguard isn’t the funniest movie of the year, it still managed to get plenty of laughs out of the whole theater. The humor in this film may not be the wittiest, the most clever, or the most original, but it worked for what it was. The point of a comedy (granted, this is an action-comedy, but a comedy nonetheless) is to make the audience laugh. The Hitman’s Bodyguard succeeded at that. Most scenes featuring Salma Hayek in prison, in particular, were pretty funny. While occasionally it does rely on toilet-humor, annoyingly so, for the most part, there are quite a few laughs to be had in this film. The action scenes also stood out as being very well shot. In its action scenes, The Hitman's Bodyguard was able to keep focus very well. It never became overly complicated to the point that you weren’t really sure what was going on. It was always very clear what was happening in the action and chase scenes, even though they could get quite complicated. At times, they reminded me of what you would expect to see from a film like Kingsman: The Secret Service. While they never got quite as violent as Kingsman, the action scenes here were still pretty bloody, so if that’s not your thing, this movie might not be for you. No film is perfect, and The Hitman’s Bodyguard does have its flaws. Primarily, it doesn’t really handle emotional or romantic scenes very well. When they happen, as they do often in this film, they come off as cheesy and cliché. In addition to that, the musical score, which is mostly very good, also gets very formulaic in those scenes. At one point, an emotional scene is undercut with a joke at the very end, and the film actually used the sound of a record scratch when it did. While record scratches can work well if used right, it felt out of place and, to put it simply, distracting in The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds definitely carry this movie on their shoulders. I actually find it hard to imagine any other actors playing those lead roles. I was concerned that all I would see was Ryan Reynolds playing the same character as Deadpool in this film. That’s his shtick, and I assumed he’d stick to it. Thankfully, his character was a little different from that. It wasn’t drastically different, but it was a little touch of a different flavor from Reynolds, which was a welcome change. I had the same concern about Samuel L. Jackson, but he also fit into his character quite well. Jackson surprisingly brought a lot of emotion and depth to his character, and he really made you empathize with this hit man, despite his attitude and all of the awful things he had done. Together, Reynolds and Jackson worked very well. It was apparent that the two of them were having fun together making this movie, and that translated onto the screen wonderfully. At the end of the day, The Hitman’s Bodyguard isn’t an amazing film, but it was pretty enjoyable. This is the type of film that you can go see in the theater with a group of friends and have a really good time with. It’s pretty straightforward. The Hitman’s Bodyguard is exactly what you’d expect an action-comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson to be, though that’s not a bad thing. If you enjoy these two actors then you’ll enjoy The Hitman’s Bodyguard. It's as simple as that. It might not be the type of movie you plan a day around seeing, but if you’re bored, it’s certainly worth your time. 7/10  So what did you think of The Hitman’s Bodyguard? Do you want to see Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds work together again? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Logan Lucky is directed by Steven Soderbergh, and it stars Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Riley Keough, Daniel Craig, and a slew of other recognizable actors and actresses. The film follows two siblings from North Carolina who decide to rob a massive vault underneath Charlotte Motor Speedway. They enlist the help of Joe Bang to assist them in pulling off this heist while a major race is going on above them.  Logan Lucky isn’t the type of movie that you need to be rushing out to see, but it’s one that if you do, you’ll probably have a fun time with it. The film is never necessarily great, but rather, consistently decent. It has some funny moments, and it can be pretty clever at times, but overall the film never became very enjoyable. It’s a slightly above mediocre film that you can have some fun with, but you won’t be missing anything if you don’t bother seeing it. Decent films are always the most difficult to review, and that’s because there isn’t a whole lot to say about them. There weren’t any major flaws that stand out from Logan Lucky that hold the film back, it just never really reaches that next level. Across the board, most things in this film were fine. There wasn’t necessarily anything wrong. It just failed to leave a lasting impression. Logan Lucky feels like the type of movie that in a couple weeks you’ll completely forget that you’ve seen. Channing Tatum and Adam Driver both gave pretty good performances in the lead roles. Even though they look nothing alike, they really sold the fact that they were brothers. They had excellent chemistry, and they both seemed to legitimately be enjoying themselves. The best performance in the movie, by far, came from Daniel Craig. I hesitate to even say that was Daniel Craig because his performance was so drastically different from pretty much anything we’ve seen him do before. He looked different, his voice was different, and even his mannerisms were different. He really committed to this role, and that really shows when watching the movie. This film has an unnecessary number of popular actors in it. Many of which are only in one or two scenes at the max. Specifically, Sebastian Stan, Seth MacFarlane, Hilary Swank, and Katherine Waterston had no purpose being in this film. In each case, either the role could’ve easily been played by a completely unknown actor or actress, or the part could’ve been written out altogether. They were basically glorified cameos. The only one that became actively distracting was Hilary Swank. She’s not in this movie a lot, but when she is, she gives an absolutely awful performance. It seemed like she was trying to simultaneously do impressions of Christian Bale’s Batman and Liam Neeson’s Bad Cop from The LEGO Movie. She was playing an agent of the FBI, and her performance reminded me of something you would see on SNL. That type of performance works fine for that show, but in a film like this, it became extremely distracting. The one thing that I’ve noticed that might be holding Logan Lucky back is a lack of energy. The film isn’t that exciting. It never really gets you emotionally invested in the characters, nor does it have very many thrilling scenes. It’s pretty straightforward. There’s nothing really unexpected that happens in this movie. From start to finish, the movie never feels inspired, which really hurts it. Logan Lucky never builds up a lot of energy, and in turn, the audience never really gets into it. Logan Lucky reminds me of caffeine-free Diet Coke. It feels like a much duller version of something that should be much better. Some may enjoy it, but for the most part, people will agree that there are better alternates. Logan Lucky is a decent film that might make you laugh once or twice, but it’s nothing too crazy. While I did enjoy the movie, it’s not one that you need to see in theaters. 6/10  So what did you think of Logan Lucky? Did you enjoy it more than I did? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this article, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Rough Night is directed by Lucia Aniello, and it stars Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, and Zoe Kravitz. It follows a group of college friends as they reunite ten years after graduation for a bachelorette party. Things go horribly wrong when they accidentally kill the male stripper they hired, and they have no idea what to do about it.  I don't have a lot to say about this film. To put it simply, Rough Night fails to have any lasting effect on its audience. It's just another generic party-gone-wrong comedy that brings nothing new to the table. It has some funny moments, and I chuckled a few times at it, but I was never fully laughing. Granted, I am definitely not the target audience for this film. I was not the type of person they had in mind when they were making Rough Night, so it doesn't appeal to me as much as it might for others. However, there were a decent amount of people in the theater when I saw it, and they never really laughed a lot either. They just had the occasional giggle, but never anything crazy. If you've seen literally almost any other "one last party" type movie, you've seen this movie and probably a better version of it. The film's lackluster vibe must've been apparent on set because Kate McKinnon is the only one that actually seemed like she was having fun in this movie. She had an Australian accent, so her fun probably came exclusively from having a blast with that. I was curious to see how Scarlett Johansson would fare in a comedy such as this. Suprise! It wasn't well. She was sleepwalking through this movie. She didn't seem to care at all about actually giving a decent performance in this film. At times, Johansson's performance felt like the type you would see in video skit put together by a group of college kids you would find on YouTube. There might have been hints of talent in it, but nothing amazing. To sum it up, Rough Night isn't that good. Actually, no, I'll say it. It's not good, at all really. It feels like a generic brand item you'd buy at Walmart for 99 cents. This is the type of movie you watch if you're in the mood for a comedy, but don't care enough to actually find a good one to watch. So, as a result, you just pick whatever is on Netflix or Pay-Per-View. The only somewhat redeeming thing about this film is Kate McKinnon because you can tell she had fun making this movie. Similar to Johansson's failed film this year, Ghost in the Shell, this film isn't actively bad, but it's bad nonetheless. Rough Night is forgettable, not very funny, and mediocre (when at its best). Why was this movie made? To try and capitalize on that summer comedy spot that usually yields big successes like Trainwreck and Neighbors? Well if that's what they aimed for, they missed, considering it came in 7th place on its opening weekend, which I would say fits the film pretty well. 3/10  So what did you think of Rough Night (if you saw it that is)? What's your favorite summer comedy of the past few years? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don't forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
Thanks for stopping by! Hello, fellow moviegoers! Going in Style is directed by Zach Braff, and it stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin. It tells the story of three older gentlemen in New York. After losing their jobs and being scammed by their bank, they decide to do something big so they can live the rest of their lives in happiness. They decide to rob a bank.  Going in Style was a pleasant little movie that I believe you can have fun with, but it’s not going to be one of your favorites of the year by any stretch of the imagination. This is one of those movies that for some odd reason you’ll randomly see on Netflix a couple years from now, and you’ll think “Oh yeah, I saw that didn’t I? That was good, maybe I'll watch it again”. The premise behind Going in Style was a very original one. The plot of this movie didn’t remind me of any other movies that I’ve seen before. That’s good because it makes this movie stand out a little bit more. There weren’t a lot of clichés or plot points to follow from previous films. By having an original plot, Going in Style was given the freedom to be a completely unique film. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this movie is a comedy. It is directed by Zach Braff, who most people will know as the main guy from the hit TV sit-com Scrubs. Most of the comedy from this film derives from the ridiculous situation that these characters are in. Most of the jokes and gags involving their heist and its preparation actually work fairly well. It’s when the film forces in unnecessary jokes that are irrelevant to the plot that the humor doesn’t work. Luckily, for the most part, the film doesn’t do that, but there are a few points where it’s extremely noticeable. The biggest surprise about this film, to me, was the heart. I couldn’t help but actually care about these three old guys. The film did a great job selling their friendship. I was convinced that these three guys were best friends and had been for quite some time. There’s a subplot in this film involving the son-in-law of Michael Caine’s character, and that story also worked pretty well. It wasn’t necessarily a key part of the story, but it added another layer of depth to the story, and at times you might be a little moved by it emotionally. An integral part of what makes this film work was the cast. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin all work very well together. They are the reason why their characters are so believable. While their performances were nothing extraordinary, they weren’t cashed in either. The actors gave enough to make the characters interesting; granted, they didn’t have a lot to work with. These characters, on paper, aren’t interesting. However, Caine, Freeman, and Arkin elevate these characters with their performances, which in turn, elevates the film as a whole. At the end of the day, your life isn’t going to be affected by Going in Style in any way, shape, or form. That being said, if you’re looking for just a fun little film to watch, this film might be the one for you. It’s got a great cast, an interesting premise, and it’s decently fun. It has a surprising amount of heart to it, and it plays up its ridiculous premise well. Going in Style is by no means fantastic, but it is good. 6.5/10  So what did you think of Going in Style? Can you imagine yourself watching this movie again? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter. It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and other miscellaneous movie thoughts!
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Kyle Kruse
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