2 Guns

Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Baltasar Kormakur
Starring: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton & Bill Paxton.
Running: 109 Mins

Buddy cop movies signified 1980/90 action flicks with Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte's 48hrs, Tango and Cash and Beverly Hills Cop to name a few. While modern Hollywood tends to be more ambitious with dramatic tales featuring pretentious dialogue, a movie such as 2 Guns could be potentially overlooked by so-called movie connoisseurs as Ryan Gosling parades the fans with his good looks and facial expressions in Only God Forgives, and Johnny Depp and Tim Burton try to squeeze endless money from the passive. If you look hard enough, Denzel Washington and Mark Whalberg can be seen in the background advertising a simple movie that is well shot, ambitious and truthfully funny; it goes down as one of the most surprisingly entertaining flicks of the summer. 

2 Guns is an explosive tale of two ambitious individuals who believe they are working for the right cause only to discover loose ends that could spell the end of their careers. It was important to pair the right actors to create the necessary chemistry and that is well advertised in the opening scene as Robert "Bobby" (Denzel Washington) and Michael "Stig" (Mark Wahlberg) are in a restaurant which conveniently sits next to a bank. The story flashes back to show us the initial plan, played out by Stig. What they both know is their friendship is fake as both Bobby and Stig are working to rob the bank for different associates; Bobby is an undercover DEA agent and Stig is a Naval intelligence officer. It's the vanity in both characters that gets them into trouble following the robbery as Bobby's alliance as well as Stigs', betray the supposed plan leaving both men blackmailed and head hunted by Earl (Bill Paxton) who is determined to retrieve his money in the bloodiest and funniest ways possible.

The result of the bank robbery sees Stig sitting on 43 million with nobody to turn to. Bobby is also left out in the dirt as he is destined to investigate the motive behind his agencies portrayal; all while dodging bullets from the Mexican Cartel, the Navy and of course, Earl and his cohorts.

If 2 Guns sounds messy, it is, but all in good fashion as it supplies an endless amount of funny characters and die hard murderers. The movie focuses on two concepts; a survival premise as 2 Guns is blended with numerous "bad guys". On the other hand, its a fantastic reference to 80s and 90s "Buddy" action flicks, as Bobby and Stig come to realise the daunting task of having to work together in order to survive this mess and that's where director Baltasar Kormakur introduces a comedic ingredient that advertises great chemistry and wit about each of our protagonists.

2 Guns is the first movie to showcase Denzel Washington's humorous side. Okay, he has a certain amount of "swag" in almost all of his movies that can make him funny anyway, but he is full on this time around and bounces off Mark Walhberg's character so smoothly, you would think these two were raised in the same home!

This movie isn't trying to be perfect, with the introduction of Bill Paxton transforming it into a right cheese-fest at times, but that premise is recognisable from the off. Bill Paxton's Earl is a vicious character, playing a villainous Governor of California (Terminator free) to the extreme. While 2 Guns is explosive and funny, a movie like this can't fulfil it's buddy cop premise without an exotic female intervention that uses the clichéd fall out of two apparent friends and Paula Patton as Deb does just that.

Overall, director Baltasar Kormakur did a great job in constructing some great action scenes with dialogue of serious and humorous. While we know of Mark Walhberg's comedic side from Seth McFarlen's "Ted", nobody could have predicted the chemistry between Mark and Denzel would work so well.

7.8/10

Only God Forgives

It is almost impossible to start off this review without mentioning two things; Nicholas Winding Refn’s cinematic impact, captivating audience global with “Drive” (2009), and of course the continuity of Ryan Gosling’s on-screen success. So of course fans were looking forward to what the two can come up with next in Only God Forgives; a game of who blinks first, who can create the most tension using strictly facial expressions, in fact Refn’s latest vision is so overly pretentious, you just wonder if his ambition to match that of Drive led to sleepless nights, resulting in a very average movie.

Based in the slums of Bangkok, prostitutes and drugs are extremely rife and Julian’s Thai boxing club is at the centre of it all. The club is a smokescreen to hide a family run drug operation in which Julian (Ryan Gosling) runs alongside his brother Billy (Tom Burke). We are not forced to indulge in Billy’s psychotic persona for too long as he is hacked to pieces in a brothel. The savage murder sees the involvement of Julian’s mother Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas) whose deranged character has clearly rubbed off Julian, resulting in a Norman Bates style relationship

The Bangkok area is patrolled, tortured and extremely feared by the corrupt Chan (Vithaya Pansringarm); a sergeant of the police who murders his victims in a ferocious way.

On one hand we have Crystal who seeks revenge for her son’s death, and then we have Julian who continues to mourn in the creepiest ways possible as he slowly patrols the darkly red corridors of a brothel, aimlessly looking at the walls. Julian spends his nights fantasising about sexual affection, and drifting in and out of the possibility of a showdown with the murderous Chang.

As expected, Refn hits us with a retro themed sound bite that was so significant in Drive. However, while the stage is set in the gritty visuals of Bangkok, Only God forgives fails to provide an efficient story to back up the design. While the plot is supposed to focus on vengeance, the lack of dialogue from the apparent protagonist (Gosling) is surprising as the director goes on to exaggerate his “knack” of creating tension with facial expressions in every scene. And while Julian and Chang do this very well when they match up, the Dracula style piano tune and the consistent thump of a loud drum really creates the atmospheric tempo as its consistent noise becomes a substitute for any potential dialogue.

The movie survives on small talk, strange looks, slow-motion and unnecessary violence. While Refn expressed his grotesque side in Drive previously, he also had characters to back it up. Sure, we can look at Gosling’s on-screen presence all day but the man lacked any soul this time around. Same goes for the small cast involved who spent most of the time advertising stand-stills. 

The Concept of the movie is recognisable coming from Refn's point of view. It is visually satisfying with the sound similar to that of Drive. The "artsy fartsy" clan may claim to acknowledge a sense of enjoyment from Refn's latest but what seemed obvious to me was that Only God Forgives sounds great, it looks pretty slick and while some sequences may be entertainingly weird, it is very far from wonderful.

5/10

Only God Forgives - Trailer 

The Place Beyond the Pines

As far as Ryan Gosling movies go, Blue Valentine (2010) is by far my favourite. Heck I would even throw it onto my invisible list of all time favourites. Those who have seen Blue Valentine will know that director Derek Cianfrance created an absolute gem of a movie, bringing out a riveting performance from Gosling. Derek returns with Gosling once again, showboating a frenetic drama consisting of three chapters that are pieced together over a total of 15 years.

Luke is a motorbike performer, entertaining tourists in the local circus. Walking out to an eagerly awaited crowd, Luke is clearly adored for his skills on a dirt-bike rather than his personality. Luring in the background is the beautiful Romina (Eva Mendes). Immediately we witness an evolved chemistry that spells history. While Luke is clearly fond of his own company, he can't ignore his love for Romina, considering the kid she shares with her boyfriend is indeed Luke's. Adamant to win Romina back, Luke hooks up Robin, played by the ever so brilliant Ben Mendelsohn.

Aside from Robin's generosity in offering Luke a place to stay, Robin gives Luke the chance to put his motorbike skills to good use. With the prospect of having enough money to provide for Romina and his boy, Luke agrees to rob a bank, with the assistance of Robin.

Luke's personality is bleak, with a troubled past hanging over him. This shows evidence when his hunger for more money becomes his weakness. Luke collides with Avery (Bradley Cooper); a dedicated force of the law who is struggling to cope with a level of corruptness in his department. Avery comes face to face with his morals as he is up against Ray Liotta and co, who are out to test Avery's loyalty in more ways than others. 

This is a brilliantly shot movie with dumbed down dialogue that just reels you in with every character. Watching Gosling on the bike is mesmerising, while the enormous sounds of the bike makes you feel like your sitting on the back of it!

The Place beyond the Pines is a dark focus on the choices in life and the morals you choose to take with you. While it is told over three  magnificent chapters, the final chapter is quite ordinary and strangely different. Although it is still relevant, I had to keep reminding myself that I am watching the same film.

Gosling is wonderful to watch, re-kindling an inspirational presence that will remind you of the character we adored in Drive. Bradley Cooper generates quite a serious performance this time around, in which I must admit was hard to engage in at first, but his tied circumstances helps his character to grow as you begin to love, pity and despise his presence.

While we expected nothing other than a memorable performance from Ryan Gosling, even he couldn't save the third half of a movie that was so far from what was, it became such a pain in the ass to watch.

 Its only downfall is the coincidental finale. It appeared too desperate, attempting to connect the dots over a 15 year period. Avery's jive talking son is so irritating you just wonder what on earth the writer was thinking! The extended story was still intriguing (at times), with a modern high-school step up, but was it necessary? No.  However it did stick to the generational concept of "crossing paths". The unpredictable writers of this movie continue to brag about how this "place beyond the pines" is so far from a one man show, it is willing to throw anything at you - the Eminem impersonator is proof of that, while the cheesy ending doesn't help either.

Still, the final chapter is just as watchable, and that is down to the inclusion of prospect actor Dane DeHaan,who is quite possibly the savour to what would have been a disastrous third chapter that followed an engaging first.

8/10

Look out for: Only God Forgives - May/June 2013. You can watch the trailer below

Gangster Squad

Inspired by true events; Gangster Squad's entertainment fails to hide the lack of originality.

Set in 1940s  Los Angeles, members of the LAPD join forces to align against the corruptness within Micky Cohen; a despicable kingpin of the Mafia.

In an era when doo-wop slash jazz music echoed the streets, Los Angeles is also slave to Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) and the Mafia; a no holds barred affiliation that gains its notorious reputation through laundering money and drugs. Destined for full control over Los Angelas, and with the help of the police department and local Judges, Mickey thrives on striking fear into the people of Los Angeles by way of intimidation and serious bodily harm.

On the other end of the stick is Sgt John O'Mara (Josh Brolin), an experienced cop but a rookie in LA's criminal jurisdiction. His ambition is witnessed through his "loose cannon" personality as he is hell bent on destroying Mickey, despite warnings from his department. However John gets the opportunity of his career; an off the books "guerrilla warfare" style operation that includes the gathering of LAPD cops to help crack the illegal operations of the Mafia. The humorous and serious are introduced when the pessimistic persona of Jerry Lewis (Ryan Gosling) signs up, leading the way for individuals such as Coleman (Anthony Mackie), comic book hero Max (Robert Patrick) and Ramirez (Michael Peña). The gangster squad is eventually formed and quite convinced in their plan to tackle the most dangerous man in America.

Gangster Squad gets off the mark quickly, but too quick in my opinion. The squad is formed and  easily convinced which leads to poor chemistry from all the characters because of the lack of development from each person. However the movie supplies an unexpected ingredient of comedy that takes away the seriousness and overall operation at hand. From the off the blending of cheesy one-liners from Brolin's super cop lets you know what you are in for in relation to the creation of characters. Sean Penn's presence as Mickey Cohen takes you back and forward as the movie ignites a dark premise whenever he is on screen.

Ryan Gosling gives his typical performance but surprising as it was not great, but wasn't bad either (which I have never said about his past performances). His acting credentials and his movie catalogue might be the reason he is included as the cheesy playboy as a relationship develops between him and Grace (Emma Stone). Grace brings an unbelievable level of sexiness to the film but I couldn't help but view her overall appearance as quite irrelevant. In the mix of all that is going on, and although affiliated with Mickey Cohen, she wouldn't be missed if she was removed. Okay I get it, she is a very attractive lady, but in the mist of 100 minutes of gun powder, I felt there was no room for her greatness. It came down to the exaggeration, and yet over the top action sequences that I felt led to her lack of attention and presence.

Their is a huge cast including Giovanni Ribisi who takes charge of the communications within the squad; as well as many more who showed their face and left.

Gangster Squad is highly enjoyable, with Sean Penn leading the way supporting an imitation of Guy Pearce's character in Lawless (Pearce is also the reason I praised Lawless). The antagonist stands out once again, and really, with the cast at hand, he shouldn't have. A story inspired by events as we know, Gangster Squad supplied some great shoot-outs and car chases, it just lacked a plot with depth and a shortage of character development. We have seen it before in The Untouchables as it supports all the nostalgic cliche's that gangster movies had thought us in the past.

Overall: Nothing we haven't seen already, Gangster Squads' rushed plot appears weak; however the graphic content, consistent gunpowder, car chases and fist fights are enough to keep you entertained.

6.5/10

My Top 5 movies of 2011

Well it is nearly that time a year again. The time when an over weighted, old pensioner with a white beard shows his strange love for kids by delivering them everything they ever wanted! People celebrate Christmas by getting drunk and fat as we make our way into the year that will be 2012. I have decided to celebrate this years movie releases by reflecting back on what I felt were most enjoyable.
It is fair to say most will not agree with me, although most I know have called 2011 a horrific year for movies. I fail to agree. It has been tough choosing on what I believe was a great year for our cinemas.
(In no particular order)

X -Men: first class: An extraordinary return to the X - Men series. A return that led us back in time if you like. 1962 was the birth of the first hybrid of mutants. Besides from the plot, which was brilliantly based around the brink of world war 3, the addition of James Mc Avoy as the young Charles and Eric Fassbender as Magneto turned out to be the back bone of the movie. We got an amazing insight into the friendship that once was, and how a clash of personalities led to Charles Xavier and Magneto creating the X-Men saga, as archenemies. The movie also gave us an exquisite insight into the characters of teenage mutants, such as storm, mystique, and Beast. My favourite addition to X-Men origins was Kevin Bacon, who plays a Sebastian Shaw. Sebastian was your typical bad guy. Who better could you have chosen to round of what turned out to be a fantastic movie!  

Rise of the planet of the Apes: Judging from the breathtaking release of the first official trailer, this was a movie that could have went horribly wrong...or surprisingly good. My verdict? was certainly better than good, Rise of the apes was an amazing creation of a saga that critics were waiting so eagerly to slate. Honestly I never did have much knowledge of the original trilogy. An to be honest again, they look terrible. My first introduction to planet of the apes was when Mark Wahlberg found himself unwanted by a bunch a angry apes back in 2001. I discovered even that version failed to get the best of reviews. I enjoyed it. I mean Tim Burton made the huge step up from what was clearly monkey clothes to full on costumes and make up. In fact, my opinion? he made the apes look ten times as real! So without going off subject, like I kind of did already, Rise of the Apes starred James Franco and John Lithgow and Andy Sekis (Caesar the Ape). A fantastic movie which gave us mind blowing CGI. It was brilliant and original to have the star of a movie be an Ape. We got a class insight into the mind of Caesar and the intelligence that comes with it after he learns of the experimental drug supplied by owner Will. The drug, intended to cure alzheimers', finds the hands of some mistreated apes, that leads to serious, yet entertaining consequences.

Crazy Stupid Love: Without being hugely convinced of Steve Carell's talent on screen? a movie that involved himself and Ryan Gosling was a genius creation. Cal, played by Carell is suddenly heartbroken after his wife (Julian Moore) confesses to cheating. Cal eventually gives himself no option but to leave the home, with the possibility of divorce. Obviously heart broken, he is discovered down in the dumps by Jacob (Gosling). Jacob is a hotshot. A ladies man who knows nothing other than playboy language and offers to teach Cal how to talk the talk, and the walk. The movies genius comedy arouses when it is clear Cal knows absolutely nothing about women after being married for a whopping 20 years. Crazy stupid love avoided full on slapstick comedy which made the movie ever more brilliant. It's touch of drama and every day incidents gave it that feel good factor, with some heartbreaking scenes. The comedy was never full on and succeeded in bringing out the true talents in Steve Carell. A cast of Kevin Bacon and Emma stone gave the movie a fantastic touch.

Warrior: A movie, based on the fasted growing sport we have today, MMA. Tom Hardy plays Tommy, the younger brother of Brendan played by Joel Edgerton.The two brothers, both struggling in different ways, see the light when an MMA tournament is advertised, offering the biggest purse in the history of the sport. The father, played by Nick Nolte arrives on the scene to discover both brothers have manged to avoid each other since Tommy's return from the army. Warrior just might be my favourite movie this year. This was a fantastic movie that blew previous fighting movies out of the water. The acting from Tom Hardy and Joel was amazing, not forgetting a brilliant performance from Nick Nolte. A movie based on broken family's, dream chances, and extraordinary events, makes Warrior a peach of a movie. The plot, besides from the obvious, feeds us with real in dept stories to the lives of the fortunate, and the not so. Director Gavin O' Connor made a wise decision in developing a fighting movie away from boxing. I believe with the UFC growing every year, it has finally taken over what once was the home of the great Muhammed Ali, that was boxing.

Drive: Every once in a while an actor comes along with great ambition and imagination, one who clearly has that wise choice of movie. He knows the trick to successful acting and wouldn't hesitate to spit in the face of someones idea of a poor movie. Ryan Gosling, possibly the greatest actor of our generation stars in Drive.  To be honest, Drive had as much a plot as Bambi did. That was the genius concept we were greeted with. Gosling plays a hired driver, taking on any kind of job ( illegal of course) an he is sure to get you outta there before the cops arrive. If not, " He is all yours". Driver (Gosling) is a quiet, tense character. His driving at night is a secondary job to his stuntman work during the day. Things do get nasty after the introduction to Nino (Ron Pearlman) and Bernie Rose (Albert Brooks), as well as the accidental involvement of Irene (Carey Mulligan). A strange movie that can't be described in words. The trailer on it's release was quality. It gave away a different movie that viewers initially intended to see. The violence came as a suprise but the viewer will leave afterwards relising it blended well with the tension in the storyline. Drive is accompanied by a nice 80's retro soundtrack that made it all the more enjoyable as we watched Driver do his work. Ryan Gosling is by far my favourite actor today, who starred in two of my favourite movies this year. Brilliant.

(I wanted to add a plus 1. The simple reason being the lack of great horror movies over the years made this one an instant classic I just couldn't avoid adding to my favourites of 2011)

Insidious: Insidious is a a gripping horror based around the family of a young boy who suddenly falls into a mysterious coma. Patrick Wilson plays the father Josh, and wife Renai is played by Rose Byrne. The young boy Dalton is led into the coma after exploring the attic of their new home only to find himself struck by what seems to be a paranormal demon. The terrifying story begins from there as a demon seems to stalk the boy seeking to capture him from the coma he lies in. Without saying too much on the events, this was, by far my favourite horror of the past few years. The last great horror that made me jump from my skin was "Drag me to hell", a remake by Sam Raimi. Those who love the old school style of the horror genre would adore that movie, released in 2009. Insidious was successful in touching off that old school, spine-tingling experience. Honestly? I was shook for a good two nights. The fact that I failed to stop thinking about Insidious clearly told me that this was a quality horror movie. The future of horror movies does not seem to hold anything like Insidious. My advice to you is see this, embrace it with enjoyment and chills as it will be a long time before anything will scare you like Insidious!