2 Guns

I love a good crime thriller. Don't you? You can decide how dark one should be, how action-packed, even how funny it is. Maybe all of the above even. If there was ever a decade that helped put the crime thriller on the map, it was the 1970s. Watching 2013's 2 Guns -- which I liked a lot -- I felt almost like it was a tribute film, a buddy crime thriller reminiscent of so many good 1970s thrillers.

Low-level criminals Bobby Beans (Denzel Washington) and Michael 'Stig' Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) have been working together, providing odds and ends for a drug cartel for almost a year now. When a deal with cartel kingpin Papi Greco (Edward James Olmos) doesn't go quite as planned, Bobby goes along with Stig's plan that he's been brewing about for months. Greco keeps a ridiculous amount of money as the Tres Cruces bank, somewhere around $3 million. Bobby and Stig are both keeping a secret from each other though, Bobby an undercover D.E.A. agent, Stig an undercover agent with Navy Intelligence. With backing from their supervisors, they pull off the robbery but get far more than they expected. Someone is setting them up. There isn't $3 million in the bank, and it doesn't belong to Greco. There's $43 million, and its powerful owner (Bill Paxton) wants it back at all costs.

It was hard not to like this movie. From director Baltasar Kormakur (who worked with Wahlberg on Contraband), 'Guns' is based off a graphic novel of the same name. It received mixed reviews last summer, but audiences seemed to like it, piling up a $131 million box office. The appeal is obvious, a buddy flick along the U.S./Mexico border with drug cartels, shootouts, corrupt government agencies, some cool car chases, and two very likable leads. Watching the DVD special features, writer Blake Masters clearly is a fan of the genre, mentioning Sam Peckinpah and Butch and Sundance as influences. The graphic novel author, Steven Grant, is the same way, a huge fan of where this genre has come from. Above all else, this is a really fun movie. It's content to be fun too, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Before I figured out what the story was about, my initial reaction was.....come on, do I really need to spell it out? It's Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg, two of my favorite actors, working together!! How can that go wrong? I submit that IT CANNOT. That's the beauty of films like this. You get two or three or four actors/actresses, hand them a script and let them go. These are fun parts that Washington and Wahlberg clearly had some fun bringing to life. Buddy/road movies like this have a perfection in following their formula. Two guys working together, not quite trusting each other but they don't have any other options, and everyone is against them. Their personalities are different -- Bobby quieter, smooth and charming, Stig a motor-mouthed, likable tough guy -- but really? They're not so different. Similar backgrounds, similar loyalties when it comes to getting the job done.

It doesn't hurt that both Washington and Wahlberg are two very likable actors on-screen. Nowhere is that more evident than their dialogue together. These are fast-paced, lightning-quick delivered scenes that certainly reflect two guys who've spent too much time together doing shady deals for drug cartels. The opening scene has Stig in a diner trying to order breakfast for Bobby, Bobby correcting everything that's said and then arguing about why the other one was so very wrong. It's a formula that's used a handful of times in some contagiously funny scenes, Stig trying to convince Bobby that they're actually friends, Bobby stubborn as ever in opening up some. Just a fun to watch and listen to chemistry that gives a humorous edge to the crime aspect of the story.

As for the rest of the cast, they're there to keep us guessing. Who's good? Who's bad? Who's got some tricks up their sleeve? Olmos is having some fun as Papi Greco, smooth and slimy, always ready to turn on anyone for a payday. Paula Patton gets the eye candy role (the topless eye candy, very essential to the story) as Deb, Bobby's quasi-girlfriend and contact officer within the D.E.A., Robert John Burke as Jessup, their commanding officer. Paxton gets to ham it up as Earl, the man who wants his money back, greasy hair, thin mustache and quirky to a T. James Marsden is good too as Quince, Stig's commanding officer within Navy Intelligence trying to put together a hugely successful case. Even Fred Ward makes a quick appearance as a Navy Admiral who may be able to help Stig. Definitely some fun, cool parts.

I just liked this movie, plain and simple. It reminded me of everything from Charley Varrick (robbing mafia money) to The Outfit (low level hoods) to Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (the border setting). There is absolutely nothing wrong with a movie wanting to be entertaining with absolutely no other intentions. By the time the story builds to a showdown at Greco's Mexican villa, it's just too perfect. About 28 different sides in a glorious shootout with a whole lot of money on the line. It's hard not to like movies about this. A buddy/road movie with tones of film noir, 1970s crime thrillers and that oh so perfect pulpy feel, how can you lose?

2 Guns (2013): ***/****

The Green Hornet (2011)

A serial radio star to a TV series to comic book hero to feature film vigilante, the character of the Green Hornet has certainly made the rounds since his introduction back in the 1930s. For the most part though, he's always been a serious vigilante, an anti-hero not to be trifled with. So what about 2011's The Green Hornet? It's not a bad film by any means, but it ain't that good either. Moral of the story; a comedic story about a masked vigilante might not have been the best choice.

When his father, a well-respected newspaper publisher, dies, 20-something Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is left to take stock of what he should do with his life. He's left in charge of the newspaper, but he has no idea where to even start. Britt meets Kato (Jay Chou), his dead father's mechanic and designated coffee maker (surprisingly funny background there), and finds a kindred spirit of sorts. Intelligent and talented, Kato is similarly drifting along and similarly didn't like Britt's father. One night vandalizing a statue of Britt's dad, the duo beats up a bunch of thugs robbing a young couple and an idea is born. Teaming up, could they be a crime-fighting duo that cleans up Los Angeles' mean streets? Enter the Green Hornet and his masked sidekick, Kato.

This is a difficult movie to review for a couple reasons. While I'm not a diehard Green Hornet fan, I do consider myself a fan. The reviews were decidedly negative for this 2011 venture, and the box office (about $98 million) was less than impressive. It's difficult though because somewhere in this mess of a movie is a good movie. Somewhere. I'm not sure where. The parts that work are very funny, and the instances where it's a little (not a lot) spoofy are very entertaining. The parts that don't work? Well, they really don't work, grating on all that positive karma built up. In the end, it's a mixed bag. I'll slightly recommend it -- with some measured things to remember -- but know going in that this is far from a great or even very good movie.

What does work? That's tricky because Rogen playing the Green Hornet is both good and bad. He wrote the script with longtime friend Evan Goldberg and like their previous positive ventures -- Pineapple Express, Superbad -- there is an easy-going comfort level. The best thing going for 'Hornet' is the hero-sidekick-partner relationship between Britt and Kato, but only at its best in the quiet moments. When they discover they both hated Britt's father, when they develop the secret but ultra-cool persona of the Green Hornet, when they become friends, that is when the movie is clicking on all cylinders. Like Michael Cera and Jonah Hill in Superbad, Rogen and James Franco in Pineapple Express, Rogen and Goldberg know how to write scenes of dialogue between two guys and make it seem natural. It's just too bad there couldn't have been more of that here in 'Hornet.' The cool factor with the pimped-out Black Beauty, their ridiculous but stylish "disguises," all those little things had potential.

Instead, we get lots of overly goofy, even downright dumb spoof-like scenes mixed in with an abundance of overdone, exaggerated action scenes. Rogen is guilty here of resorting to annoying Rogen. He's a legitimately good comedic actor when he underplays his scenes. That's not the case here. He's yelling and screaming and waving his arms, hamming it up like his life depended on it. Thankfully, Chou at his side as Kato is an underplayed gem, the best part in the movie. As for the action, director Michel Gondry puts the gas pedal to the floor. Big, slo-mo explosions, lots of excessive, quick-cut hand-to-hand combat, and a surprisingly brutal streak when it comes to on-screen violence. 'Hornet' isn't guilty of a spoof. It's too dark at times for that. In terms of humor and pushing the limits, it goes far beyond spoof into some sort of odd purgatory beyond. What is it exactly? Hell if I know.

In some odd, what the hell is she doing here casting, Cameron Diaz plays Lenore Chase, Britt's babely, eye-candy secretary, an aspiring investigative reporter. I question what drew Diaz to the part because she's a better actress than this part requires. Similarly in an odd part, Tom Wilkinson seems to have been blackmailed into taking this small part as Britt's bastard of a father, but he's gone by the 10-minute mark or so. Looking like he's genuinely having some fun, Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds) plays Chudnofsky, the king of L.A. crime always trying to figure out how to be more intimidating, more scary to his victims/clients. David Harbour is the possibly shady district attorney, James Edward Olmos looks bored as a veteran journalist, and Edward Furlong (he's alive!!!) makes a stretch of an appearance as a meth dealer. Franco too delivers an uncredited funny cameo as Danny Crystal Cleer, a club owner who incurs Chudnofsky's wrath.

I don't know. I went in with measured -- even lowish -- expectations, and I came away disappointed because at times I really liked this movie. The pacing at 119 minutes becomes an issue, and the lack of focus doesn't help too. Spoof superhero movie? Kind of. Hardcore drama? A little. Funny? You bet when the comedy is done right. A mixed bag in the end. Still, you do get to hear the Green Hornet theme -- listen HERE -- and that's never a bad thing.

The Green Hornet <---trailer (2011): ** 1/2 /****

Blade Runner

For years, I wanted to see Ridley Scott's 1982 sci-fi classic Blade Runner. Can you be intimidated by a movie though? I never sought it out because there always seemed to be a new version being released. Where was I supposed to start? Which one was the best one? Without reading up on it -- for fear of stumbling across some spoilers -- I dove in, renting the Director's Cut version. It was worth the wait.

It's 2019 in Los Angeles, a city vastly changed from the one we know. The Tyrell Corporation has created an incredibly human-like robot, called a replicant, that can almost pass as completely human. These replicants have caused problems though and are now outlawed on Earth, shipped to other planets where they work as slaves to create new colonies for mankind. Back on Earth, policemen called 'Blade Runners' work to make sure there are no replicants remaining, ready to execute anyone found. Among them is Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a burned out Blade Runner brought back to the job to find four replicants (led by Rutger Hauer) running free after murdering their human holders. Can Deckard bring them in?

Reading up on Blade Runner, I found there are a handful of different versions out there, changes made to each of them, some big, some small.  I'm not judging the others or the movie on a bigger level, just this version. I really liked it, but I didn't love it. Science fiction stories are great because they open up whole new avenues of unexplored worlds that can ask 'What if?' 'Blade' is a step above the rest because it is a great, unique visual and creative story, but there's also a message, a deeper meaning. That comes across best in Hauer's Roy Batty, leader of the replicants. What separates humans from these replicants? Are they really so different, or are we just trained to believe that?

What is remembered so fondly about Blade Runner is the world Ridley Scott creates. It was nominated for two Oscars for its visual look, somehow losing to Gandhi and ET. The visual appeal of the movie is hard to describe. This futuristic version of Los Angeles has that crowded claustrophobic feel of modern Tokyo, the shadowy and smoky feel of a 1940s film noir, and the people and crowds out of the Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars. It is a gorgeous film to look at, utilizing special effects that don't look dated now in 2011. You feel like you're part of this futuristic city as Deckard investigates the whereabouts of these four replicants. How often can you see such a well-made science fiction film noir? My list stops at 1.

Two stars jump out from Blade Runner as the most impressive, but really all the acting is spot on from small performances to the starring roles. Harrison Ford is the tortured cop -- a staple in film noir -- doing a job that he has begun to question. His stylish look; the long, knee-length jacket with collar turned up, the gunbelt at his waist, the close and cropped hair, just adds to the appeal of the character, almost a modern day gunslinger. Hauer too delivers an amazingly layered performance as Roy, the replicant who has begun to question his existence and his being. He goes from straight and easily read villain to a much deeper look into a character that hopefully will have you question your judgment of him.

Most of the rest of the performances are smaller, revolving around either Deckard or Roy. Sean Young plays Rachael, a high-end replicant who Deckard meets in his investigation. Like Roy, she begins to question everything she thought she knew. Edward James Olmos and M. Emmet Walsh play Gaff and Bryant, two other Blade Runners Deckard must work with in his case, Olmos especially making a sinister impression. The other fugitive replicants include Daryl Hannah in a nice supporting part with Brion James and Joanna Cassidy. William Sanderson, James Hong and Joe Turkel are some of the engineers/creators involved with the Tyrell Corporation. 

What I enjoyed most in Blade Runner was the last 25 minutes, bordering on the surreal at times but managing to ground itself in the end. A scene between Deckard and Roy is one of the more moving scenes I've ever come across, science fiction or not. Hauer is phenomenal in the scene, Ford doing a lot without saying a word. The ending too leaves it up to your own interpretation, not quite ambiguous but a bit of a cliffhanger. A good one though, not a 'You're kidding me! That's the end?!?' type endings. An all-around solid science fiction story, hopefully regardless of the version you see.

Blade Runner <---trailer (1982): *** 1/2 /****