Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard [2021] ★★
The first movie wasn’t innovative in any way, but it had enough charm and chemistry between the cast to make it entertaining. This sequel, however, feels lazy and recycled, with no particular purpose. Bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) reunite for another mission involving a powerful madman (overplayed by Antonio Banderas). Throw in Salma Hayek as Kincaid’s wife and you’re supposed to have a winning recipe. Alas, there’s nothing much to say here. This movie is just as generic as they come, with very few memorable scenes. It’s still watchable, especially if you missed watching summer blockbusters on the big screen. But surely we deserve something better than this. Reynolds and the rest of the cast seem to be having a great time, no doubt about that. I just wish they had something more original to deliver.
It took Eddie Murphy and co 30 years to cook-up a sequel to the 1988 cult classic “Coming To America”. Was it worth the wait and the hype? Quite frankly, no. This is a tedious sequel, the kind that shouldn’t even exist in the first place. No one was expecting Shakespeare, but even nostalgia couldn’t save this film from being a complete misfire. It’s been three decades since African monarch Akeem (Murphy) visited America in search of love. Now he’s about to learn that he has a long-lost son and must travel back to Queens to bring him home. There isn’t much going on here, and most of the jokes fall flat. Even the flashback sequences from the first film feel forced and unnecessary. I don’t know what they were hoping to achieve with this sequel, but it feels like a reunion rather than a feature film. Sadly, I couldn’t wait for it to end. “Coming 2 America” is the first real disappointment of the year.
I didn’t think I’d care for a recent Netflix release, but “I Care a Lot” knows its target audience and delivers exactly what you would expect from it. Rosamund Pike is good as always, playing a brilliant con artist who poses as a legal guardian for the elderly in order to drain their savings. Her latest victim? A wealthy retiree (Dianne Wiest) with no living heirs or family. Or so we thought. This sets the tone for an entirely watchable comedy/thriller that doesn’t pretend to be more than it is, but still manages to offer a few twists and turns as we go along. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then you’ll probably have a good time here. It’s not the best thing you’ll stream this month, but it’s entertaining enough for me to recommend it.
With so many streaming platforms at the palm of our hand, I’m always on the lookout for the next series worth binging. But having been a huge “Karate Kid” fan for over two decades now, I tend to take my precious time with “Cobra Kai”, savoring every second until I move on to the next big show. Season 1 and 2 were both incredible to begin with, so my expectations were more or less high for this newest season, now streaming on Netflix. And I’m happy to report that it was everything I was looking for, and then some. If you recall, last season ended on a dramatic note, with Miguel ending up in a hospital bed after the huge school fight. Here, all the characters are looking for some sort of redemption, including Daniel LaRusso, who travels all the way to Okinawa to reconnect with Mister Miyagi’s roots. It’s one hell of a season, and as usual, you can expect a lot of surprises here and there, especially if you grew up with the original trilogy. More good news is that season 4 is already in the works, which means the terrific cliffhanger at the end won’t be in vain. I won’t reveal more, except to say that if you’ve enjoyed what this series had to offer so far, you’ll absolutely love the new season. It’s a total blast from start to finish and easily one of the best things on TV right now.
Simply put, “Another Round” is one of the best films I’ve seen in 2020. Mads Mikkelsen has been one of my favorite actors for many years now, and he has delivered yet another sensational performance here, playing a high school teacher who isn’t satisfied with his life anymore. We can quickly see that the man needs some kind of change, any change, and he’s about to get it. How? Without spoiling too much, I will say that his three colleagues suggest that if he can maintain a 0.5% alcohol level, he can function better and live a happier life. The consequences of this life-changing decision are vividly felt, because these are real people with real problems. Mikkelsen has previously teamed-up with writer-director Thomas Vinterberg and co-writer Tobias Lindholm on the superior 2013 movie “The Hunt”, and it’s safe to safe that they’ve done it again. “Another Round”is an exceptional drama that left a huge impact on me. It also offers Mikkelsen another chance to prove that he’s one of the finest actors alive today. Needless to say, he has managed to pull it off. I cannot recommend this movie enough.
Christmas season is all about watching movies about family gatherings, which makes “Happiest Season” ideal for the occasion. It’s not perfect by any means, but it has enough charm and just the right actors to carry it through. Mackenzie Davis plays a young woman who agrees to bring her girlfriend (Kristen Stewart) to her family’s annual Christmas gathering. Problem is: she hasn’t come out to them yet, which leads to a series of unpredictable events. I don’t usually ask much from a Christmas movie. I want it to entertain me, and “Happiest Season” does exactly that. It does veer into cliche territory at times, but overall it has just the right dose of humor and drama to make it worth the price of admission. Stewart and Davis are both delightful, and they’re surrounded by a solid supporting cast as well. If this sounds like your cup of tea, then “Happiest Season” will more than satisfy you this Holiday season.
You can think of Sofia Coppola’s “On The Rocks” as an old-fashioned star vehicle, tailor-made for Bill Murray’s larger than life persona. As such, it’s so easy to watch and lightly enjoyable, despite a paper-thin story. Rashida Jones plays a married woman who is almost convinced that her husband (Marlon Wayans) is having an affair. Who she gonna call? Her father (Murray), of course , who takes her on an adventure through New York to try and find out if her suspicions are real. There isn’t much more to the film. But watching Murray and Jones is enough reason to stream this movie. It has a relaxed feel and doesn’t pretend to be more than it really is. I know that Coppola fans might be expecting something completely different than this. But her touch is there, and she’s given us more reasons to love Bill Murray. What more can you ask for?
Star power can save a movie from being a complete waste of time. Case in point: “Holidate”, Netflix’s latest rom-com starring Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey. They play two strangers completely fed up with the pressure of having a date on every holiday, so they decide to be each other’s “plus 1” throughout the year, just for the fun of it. Will they eventually fall in love? You know it. I don’t suppose anyone would watch a film called “Holidate” expecting twists and turns. And I have to admit: the premise had me going at first. But it does get old after a while, relying far too often on textbook cliches and jokes that mostly fall flat. It’s still watchable, thanks to Roberts and Bracey’s chemistry. But ultimately, this is routine stuff that you’ve seen a million times before, and better.
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