2 Guns

ACTION/ADVENTURE, SUSPENSE/THRILLER

2 Guns, More Problems

8.5 out of 10 | MOVIE OR DVD

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Rated: R Violence throughout, language and brief nudity
Release Date: August 2, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 49 minutes

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Director: Baltasar Kormákur
Writers: Blake Masters, based on the Boom! Studios graphic novels by Steven Grant
Cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward, James Marsden, Edward James Olmos, Robert John Burke, Patrick Fischler

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SYNOPSIS: A DEA agent and a naval intelligence officer find themselves on the run after a botched attempt to infiltrate a drug cartel. While fleeing, they learn the secret of their shaky alliance: Neither knew that the other was an undercover agent.

REVIEW: Contraband director Baltasar Kormákur re-teams with Mark Wahlberg acting lead, and the always fine actor Denzel Washington, to bring to life another comic book adaptation. Instead of super powered beings, screenwriter Blake Masters (Law and Order: LA) takes the source material from Steven Grant's Boom! Studios comic series.

Bobby Beans (Denzel Washington, Flight) and Michael 'Stig' Stigman (Mark Wahlberg, Pain and Gain) figure out how to break into a bank for a haul of $3 million. Selling fake passports to a drug cartel overlord Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos), the duo get shafted when their payment of cocaine is replaced by a payment of actual money. When the pair is stopped at the border crossing between Mexico and United States, they are interrogated and let go. Little does the other know that Bobby Beans is actually an undercover DEA Special Agent and Stigman Is a US Navy intelligence officer. When their bank heists becomes too successful, the pair find themselves with too much money, a Greco after them, their own government agencies hunting them down, and an unknown party trying to get his hands on them and the $41 million he says is his.

Wahlberg and Washington reinvigorate the buddy cop movie genre. Like Bullock and McCarthy the in The Heat, Mark and Denzel flip the formula on its head to make a satisfying and engrossing shoot-them-up drama. These actors are well-versed in action films, with Washington coming in as an A-Lister in impactful dramas like Man on Fire, and Waldburg burning up the screen with dramas like The Departed and action comedies like The Other Guys. While both seem an unlikely pair as actors and as opposing characters, each elevates their game to the next level for this Boom! Studios graphic novel adaptation.

Hollywood is abuzz with comic book adaptations. By this time the audience doesn't even realize that the story they are watching onscreen came from a nine colored panel a page book. While this movie doesn't have the hallmarks of superheroes with superpowers, it does have a strong dramatic story. Like Bruce Willis' RED and The Losers, the silver screen is immersed with comic generated stories that do not involve radioactive spider bites, aliens sporting capes, cosmic radiation, or billionaire playboys with crime-fighting gadgets.

As a comic book reader even I missed 2 Guns as coming from comic materials. In fact, the movie felt more like Traffic than The Losers. The director does not try to reference the comic origins of the story, staying away from split screens and 1960's or 1970s comic stills to transition between scenes. There are some snarky moments with Denzel at his ultracoolest under pressure and Wahlberg as his normal manic self on screen, but they treat the material as action drama more so than comic fluff.

The villains are as cool as the so-called heroes. Olmos is the quinessential druglord. James Marsden performs double duty as both Stigman's Commander Quince and as someone also after more than just Greco's head on a platter. Bill Paxton plays a shadowy enforcer who has a perchance for Russian Roulette and thumb tacks.

2 Guns is a slick, twisty summer action flick with strong performances and great chemistry. Wahlberg and Washington are great, doing what they do best - put on a great show. If you are tired on monsters, giant robots, and CGI-heavy spectacles, give 2 Guns a shot!

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Flight

Grounded

★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Rental

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Rated: R  Intense Action Sequence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Language and Sexuality/Nudity

Release Date: November 2, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes

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Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: John Gatins
Cast: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Tamara Tunie, brian Geraghty, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly

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SYNOPSIS:  After a veteran airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, an investigation into the malfunctions reveals that he may have been at fault.

REVIEW: Robert Zemeckis, one of Steven Spielberg's favored directors, has made a name for himself with the Back to the Future trilogy, special effect spectacles like A Christmas Carol, Beowulf, and The Polar Express, and dramatic triumphs like Cast Away. Real Steel and Coach Carter writer John Gatins takes to the skies with his script as Zemeckis returns to live action for a more grounded film involving a veteran pilot who becomes both a man of heroics and his share of secrets and struggles.

Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington, Safe House) and flight attendant Katerina Marquez (Nadine Velazquez, War) take in a booze- and drug-filled three days sabbatical before returning to active duty on a flight pushing away from a Miami terminal. Joined on the flight crew are lead flight attendant Margaret Thomason (Tamara Tunie, Missed Connections), new co-pilot Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty, ATM), and co-flight attendant Camelia Satou (Boni Yanagisawa, Bare Knuckles). When the Captain diverts the flightplan due to severe turbulence, he managed to find some calm air and let the co-pilot take over for the majority of the flight while he gets some shut-eye. When the plane starts shuttering, the tail elevator freezes, and the planes goes into a nose-dive, Captain Whitaker does the unthinkable and rolls the plane onto its back, rights it again out of the dive, and glides the bird into an open field for a crash landing that most of the passengers and crew survive. Taken to the hospital with a concussion and bruising, Captain Whip becomes an instant celebrity and hero. But as the investigation starts, the Captain's flight fitness is called into question as a select few find out about his blood alcohol level. Whitaker takes to his father's old farm to get away from the spotlight, desperate to change his ways and gain a grip on sobriety. In his corner are pilots' union rep Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood, Super 8), high-powered attorney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle, Iron-Man 2), drug peddler Harling Mays (John Goodman, Trouble with the Curve), and a just-recovering heroin addict Nicole (Kelly Reilly, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) who seems more serious about recovery than Captain Whitaker.

Flight has been touted by most of the critic as 'terrific', 'riveting', and 'inspiring'. The visuals from the trailer of the daring save of the full flight, and the aftermath of a man who risked trusting his instincts to pull off the nigh-impossible save and suffers with his own share of secrets with the risk of exposure to the world media, would seem to make for a superior dramatic film worthy of Denzel Washington's stature and caliber of acting. I thought this could be the next Leaving Las Vegas. And in some ways, it is.

The first act is about the luxury and status that veteran airline pilots enjoy as commanders of their own vessels. Although divorced with a son, Whitaker enjoys copious amounts of booze, hard drugs, and the affections of a beautiful flight attendant. Even so, his experience and calm in flight saves the day and most of the crew and passengers. The visuals are stunning and the minutes leading up to the crash are intense. The rest of the film centers around Denzel's Captain Whitaker recovery, the atfermath of the crash and the ensuing investigation, and the decisions Whitaker must come to grips with concerning his own mortality and sobriety. Can he give up abusing legal and illegal substances for good - or at least as long as the investigation hearing?


With roaring rhythms of The Rolling Stones, Denzel Washington's Whitaker swaggers onto the jetways and tarmacs, exuding the confidence that only the indestructible can have. Even after the crash, his survival just reinforces the fact of his own immortality. Also notable in the film is Kelly Reilly's Nicole as the recovering addict who befriends Whitaker at his worst moments at risk to herself. Don Cheadle and John Goodman steal every scene they touch, whether sharing screen-time with Denzel or not. Cheadle is amazing as the reserved attorney with as much confidence as Denzel's Whitaker. Goodman's turn as Whitaker's drug contact is both hilarious and inspired. Taking a page out of the book of The Big Lebowski, Goodman switches from Walter Sobchak directly to The Dude.

With high hopes for Flight, I was somewhat disappointed. I will never say that Denzel, Reilly, Goodman, and Cheadle are not superior craftsman. They are always brilliant! Their performances are what get this story off the ground. But after the plane crash, the intensity of the story nose-dives into something more akin to a Lifetime Movie of the Week. Zemeckis has proven he has the directing talent with Cast Away and Forrest Gump, but something in Flight is missing that keeps it from completely pushing back from the narrative terminal.

Flight may be touted as a phenomenal film by others, but there is something missing from the flight plan to may it truly soar from beginning to end. A solid film, Flight will win on performances but may end up as memorable a tale as an in-flight movie.

Safe House

Safety in Numbers?

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Rated: R  Some language and strong violence throughout.
Release Date: February 10, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

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Director: Daniel Espinosa

Writers: David Guggenheim
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Robert Patrick

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SYNOPSIS: Young inexperienced CIA agent Matt in charge of a safe house in Cape Town suddenly plays host to ex-CIA fugitive Tobin Frost. When the safe house is breached in attempt to assassinated Frost, Matt finds himself on the run protecting the man he is supposed to keep under guard.

REVIEW: Easy Money (2010) director Daniel Espinosa and Exit Strategy writer David Guggenheim team up with A-listers Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds for a fast-paced cat-and-mouse, spy versus spy, keep-you-guessing, tale of survival. 

Cape Town, South Africa CIA safe house keeper Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds, Green Lantern) spends his shifts in a bored state, wondering when he will be reassigned to a real case officer position elsewhere on the globe. Even his CIA Langley contact David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1) can't guarantee Matt any change in his current post. Soon, though, the U.S. Consulate receives a visitor, Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington, Unstoppable) as he turns himself in. Transferred to Matt's safe house, the CIA sends an interrogation team to extract whatever information Frost has gained since turning traitor nine years ago. When a heavily armed team led by a man named Vargus (Fares Fares, Easy Money) breaches the safe house after Frost, Matt makes the decision to move off-site with Frost in an attempt to protect him as an intel asset for the Agency. In Langley, senior analyst Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga, Source Code) and Barlow square off against each other to bring Frost in, while deputy director Harlon Whitford (Sam Shepard, The Notebook) orders them to work together to flush out both Weston and Frost before either or both are killed in the field.

Part Man on Fire and The Bourne Identity, Safe House is a white knuckle ride that doesn't let up until the very end. The story begins slowly and innocently enough as we watch Matt mindlessly throws a ball against an empty safe house wall listening to language lessons on his headphones and wishing for more adventure in his CIA career. Across town Tobin Frost meets with an ex-MI6 spook with possible incendiary information on a microchip to be sold to the highest bidder. Once Frost arrives at the safe house a 'walk-in guest', Matt unwittingly gets his wish as all hell breaks loose with automatic weapons fire, flash bangs, double-taps, and a high body count. But while the safe house ends up being anything but safe, the streets and bergs in and around Cape Town are no more safe as Weston and Frost take part in brutal high-speed chases on the run from relentless armed thugs desperate to reacquire Frost. But while Vargus and his men are on the hunt for the mysterious microchip, we soon realize that something more shadowy and covert is afoot.

The action is fast-paced and relentless. But even when the story slows down, Reynolds' Weston and Washington's Frost pace each other like coiled cobras. Every move Frost makes or statement he utters is a calculation he uses to further his own ends. The young Weston, anxious to prove his worth to the Agency he has dedicated his adulthood to, learns quickly that he has to up his own physical and mental game to go toe-to-toe with Frost, as well as unravel the tightening noose created by their pursuers and, possibly, his own Agency. Can Weston be a superior agent to the dangerous Frost? Can he trust the Agency as he continues to try to bring Frost in? Will he start questioning the directives of the Agency as Frosty burrows deeper into his psyche? Guns, chases, fights, conspiracies, and unavoidable and more difficult obstacles - all have a place in Safe House. Simmering and boiling over, the entire film is a lesson in kinetic and forward momentum.

Somewhat safe in their Langley, Virginia bunkered command center, Catherine Linklater, Davis Barlow and Harlan Whitford also master their dance of half-truths, office politics, and real or imagined conspiracies against the Agency and each other. Is there a information leak in the bureaucracy of the business, or are the men pursuing Weston and Frost just that lucky each time they catch up to the pair?

Shot in a grainy, washed-out, contrasted style, Espinosa makes the most out of the Cape Town, South Africa locales. From the center of downtown and a crowded soccer stadium, to a dirt road and isolated villa in the shadow of picturesque mountain ranges, Safe Town is a rock solid story cast against a exotic diverse landscape. The mix of rigged and handheld camera styles finish off a feast for the eyes, jostling around the cityscape during downtown high-speed automotive escapes and settling in close and steady between Frost and Weston as they glare at each other in distaste, adrenaline and testosterone.

Safe House is a high-octane thrill ride, covering all of the bases of the typical actioner. Some parts of the story work on all cylinders, some other could have been done better. As a conspiracy, some points are obvious to the genre initiated. But all in all Safe House will entertain and please, resting on the talents and on-screen presence of Washington and Reynolds, as well as as some great ass-kicking!

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WORTH: Primetime and DVD

Unstoppable

Steady Rumble

[Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee, T.J. Miller]

image from onlinemovieshut.com

RANT: Just a shout out to everyone who helped out this weekend. 'Nuff Said!

SYNOPSIS: When a train carrying hazardous cargo turns into an unmanned “coaster” out of the depot and into populated areas, a veteran engineer and a rookie conductor attempt to bring the runaway train to a stop with their own locomotive engine before the runaway train derails and kills a population.

Are you familiar with the slow rising rumblings of a freight train you feel as it approach unseen, then the explosion of sound and blur as the train as speeds by in front of you at the crossing? This film feels that way. Knowing that the plotline deals with a multi-ton freight train “missile the size of the Chrysler building”, the film slowly idles along just until the aforementioned train leaves the train depot on its own power due to human miscalculation and stupidity. Once the train is gone, the slow rumblings of suspense and tension resonate and build until the “unstoppable” conclusion.

Director Tony Scott re-teams with his favorite go-to actor Denzel Washington, 28-year veteran train engineer Frank, to bring to life a story based on true events of a runaway train in Pennsylvania. Chris Pine, the new Captain James T. Kirk, comes aboard as well as rookie conductor Will, assigned to Frank for a training haul. Both Frank and Will come to the locomotive with their own baggage and issues. The older engineer tries to pass down some knowledge to the rookie, even though the rookie’s “yellow vest” is a symbol of the corporation trying to force him and his kind into early retirement. The young conductor deals with an deteriorating marriage, a restraining order and a job that was handed to him by his industry connected family.

Adding to the cast is Rosario Dawson as Connie, Ethan Suplee as the depot engineer Dewey who starts the triple 7 running as a crazy train, and his sidekick Gilleece who wanted to connect the air brakes, but didn't. Kevin Dunn stars as corporate operations manager Galvin whose days in the front office had made him soft.

The most important character in the story is the Triple 7 itself, a menacing "unstoppable" force of steel and diesel. Although inanimate, it moves beyond just a machine. All attempts to slow its march of destruction through Pennsylvania are merely annoyances as it barrels down the rails at 70 to 80 miles per hour with 8 cars of toxic materials on its back. Choppers trying to drop an engineer onto the Triple 777 meets with injury, the so-called "Derailer" set out by the corporation fails to live up to its name, and eventually all hope ends up resting on the shoulders of Frank and Will. How will their "little engine that could" even make a mark against the out of control goliath locomotive? As the tension builds, so does the excitement. "Unstoppable" is a wild ride on the rails!

Worth: Matinee and DVD

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!