Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.8
Solid superhero film from DC. The tone feels more “Suicide Squad” than “Dark Knight” or “Joker,” but it works. Margot Robbie fully comes into her own as the character, and really starts to embrace the chaos and take over the screen. Everyone in the film really seemed to enjoy playing the off the wall characters, which really comes across. Solid standalone. She’s Harley F**king Quinn, and she’s here to party!
5.0
Disappointed in EON Productions. (The production company behind the James Bond Franchise) Come on, guys! And Paramount should know better by now… Clunky, poorly directed action. Choppy at best story development. One dimensional characters throughout. What attempted to be a “strong woman gets destroyed and comes back to be the next Bryan Mills from ‘Taken'” lands somewhere between Mr. Bean and Frank from “Naked Gun.” Ouch… Blake Lively being cornered by a shark for 2 hours was worlds better.
7.5
He may only officially make a small cameo introducing a wedding speech, but this is a pure Michael Bay movie through and through. One last time… one last ride. Let’s roll! Get ready for this film to penetrate your soul. Explosions, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith playing their most stereotypical characters in a long time. Put some extra stank on Mike Laaawreyyy, and kick some ass with the old boys and new crew of tactical SWAT in the Miami PD? Vanessa Hudgens is bae. And hilarious. All in all, you get exactly what you expect, and it’s an extremely fun 2 hours at the cinema.
8.4
Damn!
“There’s fuckery afoot…”
The ensemble cast, the action, the story… bravo! This film explodes onto the screen, and doesn’t slow down until the credits roll. The entire cast is at the height of their powers along with director Guy Ritchie, who has one of the best eyes and touch for action directing in the business. Just the right mix of action, heart, drama, and comedy. Get ready to “I’m going to hell for laughing at this” for 2 hours, and love every minute of it.
8.2
Definitely can see why this cleaned house at the Oscars back in the day… what a wild ride! Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie team up pre-Marvel Universe to bring the same chemistry to this pulse pounding thrill ride of a film. Director Kathryn Bigelow at the height of her powers, directing actions scenes with unmatched intensity and thrill. Overall, a classic war film, and a great Christmas movie.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 