Action – Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare

“Creed 3”

By Brett_G on March 9, 2023

8.5

Strong “Dark Knight Rises” vibes with this one…

An enemy that knows our hero better than he knows himself. Pierces the veil and exposes them in a way that opens up a new narrative avenue that refreshes the series. A fantastic landing pad for a trilogy, but I’m sure they’ll keep going.

Jonathan Majors is the best villain in Hollywood in my book. His menacing presence in this rivals that of even his recent outing as Kang in “Ant Man: Quantumania.” Even without saying a word, his mere presence in the scene evokes a feeling of unease. It’s a true talent, and a gift to this film as Adonis is tested as he’s never been tested before.

The stakes may have been weakened in the third act, but it is a Rocky anthology film after all. Still a phenomenal addition to the franchise that I highly recommend!

Action Suspense/Thriller Throwback

“Straw Dogs”

By Brett_G on February 19, 2023

7.1

Another recommendation of the “Video Archives” podcast with Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary. Lived up to the hype. The show continues to be a staple in my weekly listening rotation and leads me down some interesting cinematic rabbit holes such as this. A welcomed reprieve from the predictability that can run rampant in todays cinematic releases from time to time.

It’s a very strange film, and takes a while to get going, but once it gets where it’s going… holy crap.

Content warning: not for the faint of heart and beware to those sensitive to sexual assault.

The relationship between the main couple is so tenuous that it takes a while for the viewer to gain their bearing with what’s really going on between the pair. There’s so much subtextual happening the entire runtime that it keeps you in a state of fight or flight from beginning to end. The only clue that comes full circle is the bear trap. You don’t keep a fully operational bear trap on your wall just because…

Action Blockbuster

“Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania”

By Brett_G on February 17, 2023

6.5

A handful of great moments. A great villain. A mediocre movie overall. “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” still reigns supreme as the greatest multiverse movie.

What should have been where the multiverse saga FINALLY taking shape and gaining direction and momentum turned into a blob. Better yet, a blob with holes. (Inside joke you’d have to have seen the movie to get.)

It’s a CGI fueled assault on the senses, with very little humanity to ground it or story threads to tie it to anything in else in the MCU. This was as much a Star Wars movie as it was part of the MCU. I felt like George Lucas deserved royalties for this.

Maybe somewhere along the way they’ll find their way once again, but for now… Marvel’s wandering in the wilderness and the “Fast & Furious” franchise has better continuity and believability.

Action Blockbuster

“Plane”

By Brett_G on January 18, 2023

7.5

“They say redemption can be found in the most unusual places.”

Pretty damn good action thriller. Gerard Butler and Mike Colter team up to save a plane full of people from a remote island warlord in charge of a rebel force who holds them for ransom. Of course, with a little assistance from a Seal Team 6 type bunch of “fixers.” A war room. Gerard Butler doing Gerard Butler things. A tight runtime with little fat, and only one action scene with shaky cam. All in all, a good day. Well done! Much better than I was expecting, given the asinine marketing campaign and brain dead title.

Action Suspense/Thriller

“Mr. Brooks”

By Brett_G on January 2, 2023

7.9

One of my favorite action sleeper hits. Costner and Cook have fantastic chemistry as the mentor/mentee in the murderous arts. Costner does a great job of portraying the struggle of leading a double life while also exuding a calm coolness almost the entire time. The twist at the end always elicits a cheer from yours truly. It blew my mind the first time I watched it.