BURT REYNOLDS IN 'BOOGIE NIGHTS' STARRING MARK WAHLBERG

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQeDkkZXn6ENCiCorQMfu7jfAs3ZQ2xOUPbZODF1FbC3BTeP2j8uy9kOBgFy-mhU1B_1OXfX5NK9TGEUXr_fW-J63ISobUu2JJx42Ud0GeJctkzw4gLCyV6QW2MqC4iBD0uSBhVSupdpD4vpodoawobD3FyXY5sAmBJEVXGDl_MR0lZZzA1UH3Sb88Q/s1173/0.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="647" data-original-width="1173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqQeDkkZXn6ENCiCorQMfu7jfAs3ZQ2xOUPbZODF1FbC3BTeP2j8uy9kOBgFy-mhU1B_1OXfX5NK9TGEUXr_fW-J63ISobUu2JJx42Ud0GeJctkzw4gLCyV6QW2MqC4iBD0uSBhVSupdpD4vpodoawobD3FyXY5sAmBJEVXGDl_MR0lZZzA1UH3Sb88Q/s16000/0.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Burt Reynolds & Mark Wahlberg from BOOGIE NIGHTS Year: 1997 Rating: ****1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Basically the GOODFELLAS of the 1970's porn industry, Paul Thomas Anderson's BOOGIE NIGHTS mirrors Martin Scorsese's mob classic from similarities such as wall-to-wall groovy tunes to deliberate homages like an end-of-the-second-act death (Joe Pesci to William H. Macy) that leads to a morbidly cascading downfall of all remaining characters, suddenly thrust and exposed into the bright-lit 1980's...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Of course NIGHTS is a classic all its own — both the celebration of a porn star's life and a cautionary tale of the decadent lifestyle to get and remain there: with budding star Mark Wahlberg as porn climber Dirk Diggler... </p><p><span></span></p>

burt reynolds, don cheadle, heather graham, john c. reilly, julianne moore, mark wahlberg, nineties, paul thomas anderson, philip seymour hoffman, thomas jane

BURT REYNOLDS IN 'BOOGIE NIGHTS' STARRING MARK WAHLBERG

Burt Reynolds & Mark Wahlberg from BOOGIE NIGHTS Year: 1997 Rating: ****1/2 Basically the GOODFELLAS of the 1970's porn industry, Pa...

THURSDAY REVIEW OF 'DADDY'S HOME 2'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnkLeagwnwL-D-vOlwTWGkqaox0qK-YBR1BwaznoWAPAL3lF6cIa5FNMzwX6YMhTzCUd5Q9P2Rfq2mrxcubVFblTzqfmXYEYsa26pgQpQO-Xaa5eA64LxZ2meSN3X_wsMO_KWnVXG7MGM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-11-09+at+10.53.04+PM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="524" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnkLeagwnwL-D-vOlwTWGkqaox0qK-YBR1BwaznoWAPAL3lF6cIa5FNMzwX6YMhTzCUd5Q9P2Rfq2mrxcubVFblTzqfmXYEYsa26pgQpQO-Xaa5eA64LxZ2meSN3X_wsMO_KWnVXG7MGM/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-11-09+at+10.53.04+PM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2017 Rating: ***1/2<br></u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Ironic that the Godfather of <i>Once Popular</i> <i>Actors Shunned From Hollywood Literally Overnight</i>, Mel Gibson, peaks his head out this weekend following  several male showbiz careers being either wrecked or shamed...<br> <br> Also ironic is that his old school blunt tough guy character needed to be much more politically-incorrect in order to ruffle feathers i.e. intentionally screw up the Christmas spirit, which could have wielded more gusto from Mel, and laughs from us: He's a womanizing former astronaut butting heads with estranged son Mark Wahlberg, while super-friendly Will Ferrell cozily bonds with his even more ridiculously saccharine father in John Lithgow...<br>

2017, comedy, mark wahlberg, mel gibson, team-up, will ferrell

THURSDAY REVIEW OF 'DADDY'S HOME 2'

Year: 2017 Rating: ***1/2 Ironic that the Godfather of Once Popular   Actors Shunned From Hollywood Literally Overnight , Mel Gibson, pe...

FERRELL & WAHLBERG IN DADDY'S HOME

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiO16P1W1Q1OmJFOPFTefIy_NZZJ_rplgvrCsHaqc_KXyUDm0Nqqb7xU4m1EihqxlqqblumKe3xR_oU0IgQx2gJcJfXiFwljcP3PKsIdorUyY9qxEMvJUySxQB6QdYjFDQOS5KwdSo4NI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-12-24+at+8.23.49+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiO16P1W1Q1OmJFOPFTefIy_NZZJ_rplgvrCsHaqc_KXyUDm0Nqqb7xU4m1EihqxlqqblumKe3xR_oU0IgQx2gJcJfXiFwljcP3PKsIdorUyY9qxEMvJUySxQB6QdYjFDQOS5KwdSo4NI/s640/Screen+Shot+2015-12-24+at+8.23.49+PM.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2015 cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Scarlett Estevez</td></tr> </tbody></table> In the underrated cop comedy THE OTHER GUYS from 2010, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg had pretty good chemistry as polar opposites stuck together and not getting along. Now with the family-oriented DADDY'S HOME, the entire concept relies on how perfect-looking Wahlberg is compared to the obliviously-naïve, everyman Ferrell. In a nutshell, the boys are playing (i.e. doing an imitation of) themselves, or at least how they're perceived by audiences. The flawless stud verses the funny dud.<br> <br> While low on outright, gut-wrenching hilarity, the plot is breezy enough: Ferrell's put-upon yet extremely patient step-father competes with muscular Wahlberg's returning real dad for the love (and respect) of the kids while mom Linda Cardellini is caught in-between. And right when the realistic premise gets underway... an exaggerated version of what a lot of men actually suffer through... Ferrell's Brad becomes a death-proof Wile E. Coyote as Wahlberg's Dusty kind of just sits around, watching the poor guy fail at everything until, at one point, the tables turn... but not for too long: Within the sparse 96-minutes, very little actually occurs outside the box until an 11th hour situation that not only creatively ties loose ends together, but you'll forgive and forget being somewhat let-down since the overall theme-oriented experience, mostly spoiled in the trailers, isn't altogether terrible.<br> <br> RATING: ***<br>

2015, comedy, family, mark wahlberg, team-up, thomas haden church, will ferrell

FERRELL & WAHLBERG IN DADDY'S HOME

year: 2015 cast: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Scarlett Estevez In the underrated cop comedy THE O...

WEEKEND REVIEW OF TED 2

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGywEFhqXYlxviDiXLy96xCgVr_Q26L3so-3dozHUA7foPC9FYYkGQiHncBU4LnOd4K8dPci3iGyBJRoHvUniaoNDKxu-7JokJXqYw5tNaYNOp-VZUZPPO5RgwNLiiIp2nHNe6BhywtI/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoGywEFhqXYlxviDiXLy96xCgVr_Q26L3so-3dozHUA7foPC9FYYkGQiHncBU4LnOd4K8dPci3iGyBJRoHvUniaoNDKxu-7JokJXqYw5tNaYNOp-VZUZPPO5RgwNLiiIp2nHNe6BhywtI/s320/1.png" width="134" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: *1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> For what's considered a silly stoner buddy comedy, TED was pretty philosophical, taking on everything from pop culture to relationships to religion. Through the safety net filter of a foul-mouthed, pot smoking Teddy Bear, Seth McFarland could channel everything he loathed without restraint and, providing the voice of the titular doll turned human-like sidekick of Mark Wahlberg’s sweet-natured Boston slacker John, the sky was the limit.<br /> <br /> Like any comedy sequel, the main agenda here is to go so overboard, fans will forget the past. Right off the bat is a dance number opening credit sequence, as if Seth’s Oscar gig inspired an extravaganza that might lead to something maybe not better, but definitely bigger this time around... Nothing doing.<br /> <br /> With a semi-serious plot about Ted going to court to prove he’s human enough to have a baby with his wife; a new love interest for the divorced John in cool chick lawyer Amanda Seyfried; a pointless road trip and a handful of lazy cameos seeming like guests at a stranger’s funeral, TED 2 doesn’t try for anything, really, that would push the envelop any further in this bland vehicle, too contained to be extemporaneous, too restrained to be raucous, too reserved to be controversial, and using the same lame villain, can’t even die with dignity.<br /> <div> <br /></div>

2015, comedy, mark wahlberg, sequel, seth mcfarlane

WEEKEND REVIEW OF TED 2

2015 rating: *1/2 For what's considered a silly stoner buddy comedy, TED was pretty philosophical, taking on everything from pop cul...

REMAKE OF 'THE GAMBLER' (2014)

<div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s1600/1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s200/1.jpg" width="127" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>THE GAMBLER 2014</u>: Certain iconic movies you just can’t remake. Others shouldn’t but it still happens. Yet there are some that could use a transformation... <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Like James Toback's slowburn character-study starring James Caan. While not a bad film, it definitely lacked the spontaneous intrigue of Robert Altman’s poker flick CALIFORNIA SPLIT or John Cassavete's Shylock indie THE KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE and could have used more edge, like Martin Scorsese's MEAN STREETS: Ironically, this remake was initially optioned by Scorsese to star Leonardo DiCaprio, which fell through and subsequently went to director Rupert Wyatt and leading man Mark Wahlberg, and, in this NEW GAMBLER, Wahlberg’s Jim Bennett is a sort of grungy James Bond with a license to... gamble, and not always wisely. When he isn't laying down the Blackjack cards or betting black on roulette, he's got a day job as a professor of literature: Scenes in the classroom lead to a love interest side-story with a pretty and talented writing student. As a teacher and reluctant author, Wahlberg does a believable job but his intense diatribes don’t connect with the story. Ironically, we spend more time in the lecture hall than where we should be.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSVMvmsPqozOR2bWvhtAF9M4IwE4Cl0s2XuM8K_dG5tprPxlDcJbh2kmup3Ogz33pFEcxb1Ug2RUsczxYgcoHA2-tQSWceWM5gdiWxdjqzXYWcvlgGVNYX1PRA1gN5pl35h8rIL10M3M/s1600/2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuSVMvmsPqozOR2bWvhtAF9M4IwE4Cl0s2XuM8K_dG5tprPxlDcJbh2kmup3Ogz33pFEcxb1Ug2RUsczxYgcoHA2-tQSWceWM5gdiWxdjqzXYWcvlgGVNYX1PRA1gN5pl35h8rIL10M3M/s200/2.jpg" width="123" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark Wahlberg</td></tr> </tbody></table> With a title like THE GAMBLER there needed more scenes of… gambling...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjta0YTkpnWv8vIhkcn_aE2hZgNqo-rGxe9amoC1yFkAY5BZCXNcRykajwTFbZnS3YCAQw3F2KzbVS9A9rwUdGzkUVreMNansBpyj2cmfDFFv4pE6d1179GPeOE9d5aPbgaj5GhWCMckjA/s200/1.jpg" width="127" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;">year: 2014 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Although the few pivotal times he does play Blackjack, the direction is taut and suspenseful, allowing the audience to suffer the aahs and oohs of each card flipped – meanwhile, the title character calls the shots like he knows the score, even when he loses everything. <br /> <br /> Surrounded by three opposing bookies, none seem as dangerous to Bennett as he is to himself. Talking a big game about reckless abandon, we never catch even a glimpse of what’s ticking under the surface. In an ambiguous Neo Noir template, perhaps it's intentional that he keep more inside than we're allowed to perceive from his exterior: a cinematic poker face, as it were. But with so much potential insight into a gambler dead set on winning and losing everything in one shot, a few answers would have added flesh to a character that, for the most part, sleepwalks through disaster.<u> <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/05/caan-man.html">AND CLICK HERE FOR THE REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL GAMBLER STARRING JAMES CAAN.</a></u><br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCLOQ0bHarBJnpApZqmz7PNJNFdUDyzV2F8dqUFn9IJt6bTwL_K6hm28FL2I1kqmhktWKBQUmcgvOM8aKtmuZH2TzHQaiyyw55Bu_fNl0dVZP1w4wROEIoMOIE3oVSSbY8bd-5-lVLiD0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCLOQ0bHarBJnpApZqmz7PNJNFdUDyzV2F8dqUFn9IJt6bTwL_K6hm28FL2I1kqmhktWKBQUmcgvOM8aKtmuZH2TzHQaiyyw55Bu_fNl0dVZP1w4wROEIoMOIE3oVSSbY8bd-5-lVLiD0/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>James Woods as a weenie banker with James Caan in THE GAMBLER</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

2014, drama, gambling, mark wahlberg, melodrama, remake

REMAKE OF 'THE GAMBLER' (2014)

year: 2014 rating: ** THE GAMBLER 2014 : Certain iconic movies you just can’t remake. Others shouldn’t but it still happens. Yet there...

MARK WAHLBERG IN TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqtQsHTN1RMkTMAednFE11HQ4FraB5s0k-PfyPvKsRfOBuq-YNCYwS59Cu2LzrEAPLnmriwZRIOeTpzS4CF6-WomHiuv8Ym_eFgR0orYwnRwgwbbfidVaI-9XJRuWMeJD9XvqUjcJW44/s1600/transformers__age_of_extinction__2014____poster_by_camw1n-d7i1moa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqtQsHTN1RMkTMAednFE11HQ4FraB5s0k-PfyPvKsRfOBuq-YNCYwS59Cu2LzrEAPLnmriwZRIOeTpzS4CF6-WomHiuv8Ym_eFgR0orYwnRwgwbbfidVaI-9XJRuWMeJD9XvqUjcJW44/s320/transformers__age_of_extinction__2014____poster_by_camw1n-d7i1moa.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: white;">year: 2014 rating: **</b></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="background-color: white;">In BOOGIE NIGHTS, Mark Wahlberg sings a wonderfully cheesy song titled You Got The Touch, which originated from the 1986 animated TRANSFORMERS MOVIE…</span><br /> <br /> This is the type of useless pop culture trivia going through the mind of a film freak while watching a reboot of a reboot that piles on everything to make a big budget movie shine, but misses the <i>mark</i> entirely…<br /> <br /> Not Mark Wahlberg, who has far more screen time than any of the Transformers put together. Although the entire plot centers on the friendly robots that, in the last movie, defended mankind from immense metal plated goons attacking Chicago...<br /> <br /> And now it's all about the humans either protecting or destroying the invaders... Especially Wahlberg’s quirky and bankrupt wannabe Texas inventor Cade Yeager, living in a dilapidated farm with a mature looking teenage daughter who could easily pass as a girlfriend. The overly protected Tessa is so beloved and cherished she’s bound to get kidnapped… And while Cade's gadget-tinkering hobby is intriguing at first, his resilient tech skills don't amount to much when the ball gets rolling...<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0mPE1bBXcOUN3ippw8z3x-BppLC8rDVZXjn9gUFMyrqiYrem_vhmIgf2eJ5-68ynH5qjvew4iTG0Mnjx_A7_FkM6LpocJc7lP9BGz1ca8rhho2krOvh2bRPbN3ez02bMgu0nlJPpuJY/s1600/optimus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0mPE1bBXcOUN3ippw8z3x-BppLC8rDVZXjn9gUFMyrqiYrem_vhmIgf2eJ5-68ynH5qjvew4iTG0Mnjx_A7_FkM6LpocJc7lP9BGz1ca8rhho2krOvh2bRPbN3ez02bMgu0nlJPpuJY/s320/optimus.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not enough Optimus time</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> But that’s skipping ahead. First we must weather a tacked-on, forced comic relief from T.J. Miller’s surfer dude Lucas, and then Stanley Tucci as an equally jokey and sarcastic scientist named Joshua Joyce, who's a lot more important being that he invented an entirely new consumer-friendly Transformer that can alter itself by (what looks like) flying molecules rather than the usual noisy shape-shifting. Also on board is Kelsey Grammer as a nefarious CIA agent who wants all Transformers obliterated by using Joyce's invention, or something.<br /> <br /> The titular heroes do have a decent amount of screen time, holed up in the desert and goading back and forth like seasoned war buddies during a Saturday night poker match... Yet they seem like special guest stars in someone else’s movie…<br /> <br /> Shifting from America to Japan – where a host of metallic dinosaurs join the fight against a giant spaceship – all the Transformers do is follow Cade as he attempts to rescue his daughter and before that, having been joined by her young racy boyfriend, the trio’s chemistry is so reminiscent of ARMAGEDDON you’ll expect Wahlberg to become Bruce Willis while an Aerosmith ballad plays: But no matter who the heroic human is, and while it’s nice not having Shia LaBeouf around, those Transformers needed more creative reasons to awesomely morph into earthy vessels (what the source toy franchise was all about)... And during the last of several overlong climaxes, when Prime and his immense foe are about to square off, Wahlberg rushes into the scene for assistance, not realizing that an uninterrupted metal vs metal smackdown is long overdue.

action, franchise, mark wahlberg, sequel

MARK WAHLBERG IN TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

year: 2014 rating: ** In BOOGIE NIGHTS, Mark Wahlberg sings a wonderfully cheesy song titled You Got The Touch, which originated from th...

MARK WAHLBERG IN LONE SURVIVOR

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglb9_YMzQU_7dLTTdpxu0Vj7zS3tuIAyqHcTvDPpmrWck7KvbcLhm4Z-awk7c9MP4_4k4BdQ3_nRTZ-zEQ6-Sr3M84LjFHq3XVxBIQOGPTPkDzvHROHYb_W1vrwOrR14pJT9lfi-4lzLw/s1600/Lone-Survivor-2014-Movie-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglb9_YMzQU_7dLTTdpxu0Vj7zS3tuIAyqHcTvDPpmrWck7KvbcLhm4Z-awk7c9MP4_4k4BdQ3_nRTZ-zEQ6-Sr3M84LjFHq3XVxBIQOGPTPkDzvHROHYb_W1vrwOrR14pJT9lfi-4lzLw/s200/Lone-Survivor-2014-Movie-Poster.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">year: 2014 rating: ***</span></td></tr> </tbody></table> Although based on a true story, LONE SURVIVOR, especially during the riveting first half, plays out like an old school/body count war film. The soldiers are properly introduced during the first fifteen minutes before the 2005 mission OPERATION RED WINGS: to take out a Taliban chief within an obscure village surrounded by a formidable, rock-filled valley.<br /> <br /> We first meet the American heroes within the safety of their compound, waking up while visited by Murphy, played by BATTLESHIP actor Taylor Kitsch, who turns in a surprisingly mature performance...<br /> <br /> As he enters each room, we learn about stuff ranging from wedding gifts to pop culture preferences… The members of SEAL TEAM 10 not only have loved ones at home, but are very human and vulnerable.<br /> <br /> Then, skipping past an intriguing set-up, right after the mission goes wrong, the troop is surrounded by a large number of Taliban... Thus a prolonged action-packed sequence involves a shattering gunfight within the crest of the mountain where each soldier, sans Mark Wahlberg’s Marcus Luttrell, gets taken out. And in a film titled LONE SURVIVAL, to say everyone dies except Luttrell is hardly a spoiler... The most jarring scenes bring us up-close into each soldier’s rolling/tumbling fight for survival amidst seemingly impossible odds.<br /> <br /> Along with Wahlberg and Kitsch is an edgy, unpredictable Ben Foster and a more grounded and passive Emile Hirsch... Meanwhile, the title is both fitting and misleading: much of the story centers on the entire Team, making Wahlberg seem more of an ensemble cog than a leading role. <br /> <br /> At times the dialogue tries too hard to sound authentic, bathed in mundane realism and often corny military cliché one-liners, and director Peter Berg piles on the ultra-violence a bit too heavy, perhaps competing with anything of the bloody action genre… But he always keeps the situation clear enough for the viewer to get lost inside this unfathomable nightmare.  <br /> <div> <br /></div>

2014, mark wahlberg, peter berg, war

MARK WAHLBERG IN LONE SURVIVOR

year: 2014 rating: *** Although based on a true story, LONE SURVIVOR, especially during the riveting first half, plays out like an old s...

2 GUNS

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOOav1tRBJmYkCKEyLn7psSKBjPJjq8d5aVN-UuNj1YJLWfmvHdvP0IIQq5m3GRFAtjQ8ngTu4Yl98ECEc33tUvaihZU2Iw-T-5uCUXthztaCM4aVMurIoxMmEpMCwf4nvGwZI5VaUTk6/s1600/2-guns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuOOav1tRBJmYkCKEyLn7psSKBjPJjq8d5aVN-UuNj1YJLWfmvHdvP0IIQq5m3GRFAtjQ8ngTu4Yl98ECEc33tUvaihZU2Iw-T-5uCUXthztaCM4aVMurIoxMmEpMCwf4nvGwZI5VaUTk6/s640/2-guns.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: <b>2013 cast: </b>Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Edward James Olmos, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward <b>rating:</b> **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> There’s a severed head in a bag, reminiscent of BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA, and that’s not the only Sam Peckinpah connection… The next scene has chickens buried to their necks followed by the poor things being shotgun-blasted ala PAT GARRETT AND BILLY THE KID.<br /> <br /> And then, the 70’s cinema homage splurge, intentional or otherwise, is truly highlighted with a small hole-in-the-wall bank named after the New Mexico town, Tres Cruces (known as "The City of Crosses"), where bad people keep an abundance of bad money, robbed by two masked marauders far out of their element – Don Siegel’s CHARLEY VARRICK ring a bell? <br /> <br /> With a constant R&B shuffling soundtrack, liken to the Quentin Tarantino and/or Elmore Leonard universe, 2 GUNS is a bag o' loot buddy film where our anti-heroes know very little about each other… Each appear as simple bank robbers until Mark Wahlberg’s muscle-bound Stig is revealed as an ex Navy operative, and Denzel Washington’s sly and savvy Bobby Trench is a DEA Agent.<br /> <br /> Both characters, like the audience, are never quite sure what’s around each corner: especially after stealing forty-three million dollars from... an unexpected (or not so unexpected) "group" led by a sadistic Russian Roulette playing Bill Paxton. But an independent Mexican drug lord Papi, played with growling machismo by Edward James Olmos, is more fun to root against: especially when he takes Stig and Trench into a tortuous bull-barn with gloomy interior reminiscent of Michael Ritchie’s PRIME CUT.<br /> <br /> As you can probably tell by all the movie title name-dropping, the retro inspirations never run out… Set in a scorched desert that could easily pass as a modern day Spaghetti Western, eventually, once the duo venture into civilization, there’s an overabundance of bickering team-up clichés and a pivotal heist so far-fetched you’ll wait for the inevitable Mexican Standoff just to feel grounded.<br /> <br /> Washington and Wahlberg have decent chemistry even though their best moments involve solo ventures. Once separated, neither are sure where the money’s stashed while constantly targeted by violent hit men trying to get their greedy/grubby hands on it. And to give anything else away would spoil the twisty-turny fun that 2 GUNS thoroughly revels in...<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZJlupj-TtDEnQu5nnJGFtj_m6JvD5g_9kHwJMXTcYXdNrLm0Mmgy3J1QBZje1zhdIt2a1E0IhUYXJvWqT4cdoeQJSNmswR7gaI2oxDy32_ggFuf7McChqHxni6FZuPPz5G1Hkmgm6f1E/s1600/film3-570x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZJlupj-TtDEnQu5nnJGFtj_m6JvD5g_9kHwJMXTcYXdNrLm0Mmgy3J1QBZje1zhdIt2a1E0IhUYXJvWqT4cdoeQJSNmswR7gaI2oxDy32_ggFuf7McChqHxni6FZuPPz5G1Hkmgm6f1E/s640/film3-570x300.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/70018365?strkid=288849755_0_0&trkid=222336&movieid=70018365">RENT/STREAM CHARLEY VARRICK TO WITNESS THE ORIGINAL TRES CRUCES BANK ROBBERY</a></td></tr> </tbody></table>

2013, action, bill paxton, crime, denzel washington, edward james olmos, fred ward, mark wahlberg, paula patton

2 GUNS

year: 2013 cast: Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Edward James Olmos, Bill Paxton, Fred Ward  rating: **1/2 There’s a severed head in ...

PAIN & GAIN

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBAwCMijYBOtoOBimW3FT5abOJfDp9ejS27pzsEhHF7pgzE0RyT29JyfZzLbSckcLyY1CeYSGPxgfBWZ2yFSOm37RPMcvByeADDUsNsXeaOn2XUqpfFDd9dUWk_fWvgdeVGBOv0AA7G0n/s1600/painandgain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbBAwCMijYBOtoOBimW3FT5abOJfDp9ejS27pzsEhHF7pgzE0RyT29JyfZzLbSckcLyY1CeYSGPxgfBWZ2yFSOm37RPMcvByeADDUsNsXeaOn2XUqpfFDd9dUWk_fWvgdeVGBOv0AA7G0n/s640/painandgain.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Tony Shalhoub rating: **1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Based on a true story about three really dumb guys, and if it weren’t for all the blood and guts you’d think PAIN & GAIN was another THREE STOOGES reboot. It’s questionable if director Michael Bay, who at least tells a story without overdoing his usual editorial distractions, shaky cameras and extreme closeups, were making a slapstick comedy or a Tarantinoesque crime flick of the heist nature: Beginning with a flash of Mark Walhberg’s Daniel Lugo being chased by the police, his body flying in the air and his head smashing into a windshield: That’s the future and we quickly leap to the past where our story, eventually narrated by just about every character on board, properly introduces Lugo as a personal trainer in a mediocre weight lifting gym. He really takes his job seriously, wanting his clients to be as musclebound as he is. Especially the annoyingly opinionated millionaire Victor Kershaw who, played by Tony Shalhoub, becomes the target for a bizarre kidnapping scheme.<br /> <br /> Lugo’s partners in crime are likewise muscular dimwits: African American Adrian (Anthony Mackie) has an embarrassing testosterone problem while Dwayne Johnson’s Paul Doyle, the Curly of these particular STOOGES, is an ex-convict Born Again to an intentionally idiotic level. The most involving scenes have the trio putting their plan into action, which includes several failed attempts. The characters work great together as criminal climbers, playing off each other’s gifts (muscle) and shortcomings (brains). After Victor's successfully kidnapped the film morphs into a half-baked dark comedy where torture and violence is treated like a pie fight; yet there's still a plot at hand. It's when Victor’s out of the picture (somewhat) and the buffoons get deeper and deeper in a hole… Doyle becomes a cokehead and Lugo plans an even more ludicrous scheme… you'll wish they'd attempt something simple, like bank robbery or a jewelry heist – at least they'd have a destination!<br /> <br /> Ed Harris as Victor’s gumshoe investigator, eventually putting the jigsaw together, is only necessary for tying up all the loose ends, which should have happened much sooner.

2013, dwayne johnson, ed harris, kidnapping, mark wahlberg, michael bay

PAIN & GAIN

year: 2013 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Tony Shalhoub rating: **1/2 Based on a true story about three really dumb guys, and if i...

BROKEN CITY

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7F9pDJWilfvuNK7klp5TlTK1rmQLezuDhufvt2HJKOlPEp4R8KXnpUfFTLgp-X3eR6zbbvtxNbpYfIaFVjIX0yjmkP3KJ5qrqMicRV3TrHvhhdDGU2EB7CuWws2rLKq2qG_WqLp-xYcQ/s1600/brokencity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7F9pDJWilfvuNK7klp5TlTK1rmQLezuDhufvt2HJKOlPEp4R8KXnpUfFTLgp-X3eR6zbbvtxNbpYfIaFVjIX0yjmkP3KJ5qrqMicRV3TrHvhhdDGU2EB7CuWws2rLKq2qG_WqLp-xYcQ/s640/brokencity.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year:</b> 2013 <b>cast:</b> Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Griffin Dunne <b>rating:</b> **</td></tr> </tbody></table> New York is a broken city… Not only is this the film’s title but the opinion (during an anticipated debate) of incumbent Mayor Hostetler, who, played by Russell Crowe, is about as crooked as any cinematic politician hiding behind the promise of lower taxes, and more importantly, strives to win a fleeting election by use of shortcuts and manipulation. <br /> <br /> We begin Mark Wahlberg's tough cop Billy Taggart at a crime scene with a dead body on the street – he winds up breezing through a murder trial and six years later Hostetler, a few days shy of the debate and election, needs Taggart – now a detective with his own dwindling agency – for some snooping around: the Mayor’s wife could be having an affair with someone from the other team.   <br /> <br /> These are the most intriguing moments as the street savvy Taggart adheres to the basic yet involving task he’s given: Walhberg plays the gumshoe in a slow-burn Neo Noir fashion. It’s when a pivotal murder occurs that the film goes downhill, catapulting so many dull political maneuvers you’ll forget why Taggart’s there at all. <br /> <br /> Russell Crowe’s crooked politician isn’t seedy enough to despise, nor is he the type of louse you love to hate. Bridled by shallow, talky scenes within his office, and eventually cornering Taggart with an anticlimactic blackmail scheme, by the end you’ll be hard-pressed on which character to root (or vote) for.

2013, griffin dunne, mark wahlberg, neo noir, politics, russell crowe, thriller

BROKEN CITY

year: 2013 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Griffin Dunne rating: ** New York is a broken city… Not only is this the film’s title ...

TED

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIjIe3d7pYhPnQLTFfsNehHFtmpMxvoxkpCnK2QmEFiQou7eX0iqk3umfQJ_xs5il8emInsaaoW2yAO70rk9j_yXTl0jsgvVAEdE4tky7aO8Rrl0JakKBcNh42Vb56GOI1hPK02k11vjD/s1600/ted-mark-wahlberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIjIe3d7pYhPnQLTFfsNehHFtmpMxvoxkpCnK2QmEFiQou7eX0iqk3umfQJ_xs5il8emInsaaoW2yAO70rk9j_yXTl0jsgvVAEdE4tky7aO8Rrl0JakKBcNh42Vb56GOI1hPK02k11vjD/s640/ted-mark-wahlberg.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>title:</b> TED <b>year:</b> 2012 <b>cast: </b>Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis<b> rating: </b>***</td></tr> </tbody></table> A sweet little kid makes a wish that his teddy bear come to life, and he does. Skip twenty years later and neither are very innocent, hanging around smoking pot and watching TV. And “Ted” is no secret. He made big news back in the day so humanity’s used to a walking/talking toy (the special effects are amazing). He loves to speak his mind and makes life difficult for Mark Wahlberg’s John Bennett, an easygoing yet put-upon fellow with a lousy job and beautiful girlfriend played by Mila Kunis, who wishes her man, and living situation, was a lot more normal.<br /> <br /> So Ted’s forced to get his own pad and the real problems begin: John prefers spending more time with his stuffed crony than his girlfriend. And who wouldn’t? Ted has endless pot and a raging party with John’s favorite cult celebrity... After which the duo calls it quits: John loses his girl and Ted his master, and the humor takes backseat to a creepy kidnapping much too convoluted for this kinda movie.<br /> <br /> Not like TED isn’t fun when it tries to be – but the good times could have rolled a lot longer, and not all Ted’s politically-incorrect rants are as funny as the fact <i>he’s </i>saying them. And since we’re quickly dealing with the consequences of living the simple life, this often feels more like a sequel whose predecessor had a much breezier ride.<br /> <br /> Because the scenes where Wahlberg and Ted (voiced by writer/director Seth McFarlane) sit around doing nothing are what makes this truly worthwhile. It’s too bad they had to grow up and actually care about something.

2012, comedy, mark wahlberg, mila kunis

TED

title: TED year: 2012 cast: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis rating: *** A sweet little kid makes a wish that his teddy bear come to life, a...