"The Union" Review: A Soulless Espionage Comedy
“The Union” puts Netflix’s flex of money on display. It has the locations, A list stars and action set pieces of a big budget film. However, don’t let the glitz and glam fool you, this movie can’t buy a heart or soul to make it the espionage comedy it wants to be.
Roxanne Hall (Halle Berry) is a top agent in The Union. The Union is like the FBI or CIA but flies under the radar according to boss Tom Brennan (J.K. Simmons). After a mission goes wrong, Hall recruits her old high school sweetheart, Mike McKenna (Mark Wahlberg). He’s a nobody that no one would expect or have intel on. The goal is to get some piece of technology.
Here’s the deal, this movie follows the beats of any fast moving espionage film of the last decade. It starts with a compromised mission. There’s a recruit of the main character, terrible exposition, one liners, and the twists we knew were coming from the opening scene!
Wahlberg plays his usual every man as a tough guy from Jersey. Berry was amazing as an action star in John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum but she looks and sounds like someone’s auntie who caught a break in film after taking acting classes at the local Y for the past year. This is her film and vehicle but it’s oddly driven. We get a strong supporting cast of J.K. Simmons, Mike Colter, Jackie Haley and Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje who got a check here.
There are plenty of films that you see on Netflix that you’re glad you didn’t have to leave the comfort of your couch to see. This is one of them. There are grand set pieces, decent action choreography and beautiful people, but this movie is something to have on in the background while you work.
Rating: C-
"The Vault" Review: A Subpar Heist Film w/ Lipstick
“The Vault” is every trope of a heist film that you’ve seen before rolled into one, beautifully shot, pretentious piece of work. I don’t think it’s worth watching because you can imagine everything that happens just from hearing the synopsis. Sometimes, I think Netflix should use its money to combat world hunger the way it wastes money picking up certain content.
If you read IMDB’s synopsis of the film it says the film “follows a genius engineering graduate who is interested in the Bank of Spain's safe.” That’s pretty lazy writing from someone who doesn’t care about the film. Maybe, one of the writers? The film is about Thom (Freddie Highmore), a Cambridge engineering student who solved some oil spill issue that gives us a montage of a bunch of oil companies coming after him to work with them. Thom isn’t interested in the money. Instead, he’s interested in Walter’s (Liam Cunningham) offer to crack the world’s most impenetrable safe in order to get back something that was stolen from Walter. You know, the one offer our hero gets after receiving an anonymous text, following instructions and winding up in a bar sitting across from the mature, seasoned actor who will give this thing some gravitas!
We already met Walter’s daughter (I think it’s his daughter, they elude to their closeness) Lorraine (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) in luring Thom to Walter. She’s the one who wears a wig, pick-pockets people and will likely be Thom’s love interest. So we need the rest of the gang of thieves: Klaus (Axel Stein) is the whitty, chip eating tech guy, Simon (Luis Tosar) is the gruff muscle, and James (Sam Riley) is the “don’t trust anyone” good at his job guy that probably likes Lorraine. Everybody here? Check! Getting into this vault is going to take some work.
First, we’ll have to do some reconnaissance! The type that’s never been done before, but wet behind the ears Thom will have to be on the ground to do something smart to build his character. With new information, we need to strike at an opportune time. How about during the World Cup Finals? Of course, great diversion and way to put a ticking clock in the film. I’m just sticking that in there in the same way writers…wait, I have to list five names!? Writer’s Rafa Martinez, Andres Koppel, Borja Santaolalla, Michel Gazambide, and Rowan Athale inserted the intense looking, smart but soon to be outsmarted Gustavo (Jose Coronado) as the head of security. However, with five writers on the job, it makes sense as to why this ensemble of characters lack depth.
The film has lots of great music. There is the music that we hear when someone is thinking through something, when danger or a near death experience is about to take place, and the absence of music when a joke is told to break the suspense of an intense moment. Ultimately, everything that makes this film tick, we’ve seen before. Thom isn’t really that smart, he just sees things that other people don’t, but likely would if they just thought a little bit more.
I can only imagine the money spent on the production design, location and cast for this film. It looks extravagant and like the best American heist films from the early 2000s. It even cuts together like one too. It has Freddie Highmore doing his best “if Dr. Shaun Murphy wasn’t autistic impression”. Unfortunately, it’s a pig with lipstick. I’d only recommend this if you’re extremely bored, have exhausted all of your streaming options and enjoy the rhythm of heist films.
Rating: D
"Bad Trip" Review: A Mixed Bag Of Hilarious & Familiar Bits
We could all use a good laugh these days. Netflix’s Bad Trip is a blend of scripted narrative with real pranks. For me, I’m not a huge fan of Jackass or Borat, but I get a huge kick out of people’s natural reactions to pranks on shows like Punk’d or IG channels. So if any combination of things I just listed appeals to you, this film will too!
The basic storyline of this film follows friends Chris (Eric Andre) and Bud (Lil Rel Howery), who take a cross country trip to unite Chris with a high school flame he thinks he has a shot with. Like, Dumb & Dumber, “so you’re saying there’s a chance” type deal! In order to get to New York, they decide to drive Bud’s sister Trina’s (Tiffany Haddish) Pepto Bismol colored car while she’s in jail. Only she’s not in jail, she just escaped, and she wants her car back!
With a thinly knit storyline, the entertainment is really in the various pranks along the way. Some are lighthearted, like Chris’ character breaking into song and dance about love in the middle of the mall. Others are extremely raunch like Chris being “violated” by a guerrilla at the zoo. With Trina hot on their tail, it’s funny to see the buddies enter a place and then her enter not to long after. What’s priceless are the faces and reactions of the bystanders at each of the prank locations that capture a slice of America from Florida to New York!
The film focuses on Eric Andre’s ability to be a shameless, mixed bag of emotion, hopeless romantic. While Andre is a “I’ve seen that guy before” actor that isn’t as famous as his co-stars, it also helps sell the story that he could go in to different places and get people to believe he’s an everyday individual. Lil Rel and Tiffany Haddish get makeup, different hairstyles and tattoos to help make them a little less recognizable. While Lil Rel plays the straight man in this comedy, Haddish is able to let loose with her character as she’s done in another movie with trip in the title, making for hilarious moments.
The blend between cinematic shots and reality tv setups can take you in and out of the film at times. It’s clear that in order to sell the prank, certain shots- like a drone flying over the main characters to capture him hanging over a building- would have to have been done at a separate time. However, if you just go with it, you’re guaranteed to laugh out loud more than a few times! The film ends showing the reveal of the pranks to the people involved, so stick around for the end credits.
Rating: B-
"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" Review: A History Lesson
Knowing our history is important. As a human race, regionally, locally, and right down to your family unit’s history. It tells us where we’ve come from, lessons learned along the way, and perhaps where we’re headed. August Wilson penned a ten play series collectively known as The Pittsburgh Cycle which beautifully documents a part of history for Black America. The contrast of the events and themes that have taken place in America in 2020 in regards to race and the themes that are dealt with in this film adaptation of “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” make the film, but more so the plays, that much more powerful.
In 1927 Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) was a voice to behold! Dubbed the “Mother of Blues”, she sang the pains and joys of her people from her soul. Director George C. Wolfe captures a fictional day in the life of the singer and her band as she’s brought to Chicago for a recording session. The boys in the band consist of Levee (Chadwick Boseman), Toledo (Glynn Turman), Cutler (Colman Domingo), and Slow Drag (Michael Potts), and they’re all waiting for Ma to arrive. As they wait, Levee, the promising young trumpet player with a burning desire to do and be more, tries to convince the band to play the songs with a little added flavor he’s created.
When she finally makes her fashionably-extremely late entrance, Ma brings her nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown) and her lover, Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige). Ma makes it clear that she is on time because her time is the right time and the studio is lucky to have her in their presence. She also makes it clear that the music will be played the way it was originally written to Levee’s chagrin.
The majority of the film takes place in either the recording studio or the basement of the studio where the band gathers while waiting. While initially you may forget that this was adapted from the stage, there are certainly moments that will remind you, as the story is not told visually. The focus of the story is on the words. The telling of and analyzation of struggle. In perhaps the most talked about scene in the film, Ma explains why she won’t start to sing without the coca-cola she asked for in the studio. “They don’t care nothin’ about me,” she states. “All they want is my voice. Well I done learned that, and they gonna treat me the way I wanna be treated no matter how much it hurt them.”
It’s so interesting to watch a black woman, at that time, with such a confident, “play with me if you want to, but I’ll show you who is boss” attitude. We’ve become trained to believe that she is being “difficult”, demanding, and could possibly “get in trouble” with the white studio executives. Yet, at her core, she is simply demanding to be treated like a human being rather than a commodity. Which goes back to the importance of Wilson’s work.
As far as performances go, the entire cast gives great performances. Viola Davis shows why she’s one of the best actresses of our time. I’ve enjoyed the way she has spoken out about pay inequity between her and Meryl Streep as of late. Davis stated that off-screen she’s starting to speak up more and go after what she wants in a recent press conference held by Netflix for the film. It’s obvious that she stepped into the role with a certain kinship with Ma Rainey that comes through on screen.
It would be a shame to not mention this film is Chadwick Boseman’s last on screen, and what a bittersweet performance it is! Before he was Black Panther, he was playing dramatic roles of important black figures. In fact, 42 was one of the first films I reviewed with Picture Lock in 2013. Here, Boseman crafts the essence of young talent that shows up as arrogance due to a chip on his shoulder built from life’s challenges. In an electric scene, Levee rages at God for not being there during pivotal moments in his life. It’s a moment of gut level honesty that we may have in our private thoughts that he brings to life in a memorable way. While it’s sad that we lost him this year, he put it all on the line in the films he was involved in, without complaint.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is an analyzation of white exploitation of Black culture and Black voices. It’s a sad history that has been documented in history books and film. Wolfe and his cast do a great job of capturing the essence of Wilson’s work and putting it before us to dissect. A tip of the hat goes to Denzel Washington for his commitment to bringing all 10 plays to the screen. This is important history, that I likely would not have known if not for the film.
Rating: A
"Fatal Affair" Review: An Entertaining Entanglement That Never Was
Fatal Affair is the latest in a long line of supposed salacious, psychological thrillers. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a flaccid film that will leave you talking to the screen for all the wrong reasons. Nia Long and Omar Epps do their best phoned in performances to keep this afloat. So in a sense, Netflix did it again! It cranked out some get with your boo and laugh entertainment.
Let me catch you up quickly so I can get to the jokes. Ellie (Long) is a high powered attorney, and David (Epps) is the hacker companies call on when they need something to be found. After running into each other in a chance work encounter, after years of not seeing each other since college, David wants that old thing back! That old thing never was, but for a brief moment in a club, after drinks, lonely Ellie almost crosses the line of her marriage to Marcus (Stephen Bishop) and hooks up with David. That little taste of almost heaven sends David on a mission to make Ellie his.
That’s the set up for the movie. So you know how the rest of it goes. We slowly see David’s narcissism and anger come to the forefront over a series of multiple calls, texts, “chance” encounters and watching Ellie through windows that should have blinds drawn. David makes it clear that he and Ellie can work it out and Marcus doesn’t have to know. While Ellie refuses, David only amps up the possibility of bringing her marriage to an end.
This movie doesn’t provide anything new for the genre. Part of the problem is that the moments that actually make you start to engage with the film seriously, end almost as quickly as they begin. Moments of tension and suspense aren’t held out long enough, but they are sprinkled throughout the film. Nia Long attempts to bring some emotion to her role as Ellie. After all being an attorney who is successful enough to have a house on the beach and her own firm, but stupid enough to entertain a mad man takes skill! I did enjoy seeing Omar Epps do his best to channel Bishop! Having got the juice 28 years ago, I guess he finally decided to prove it.
It’s not that this movie is the worst of the genre. It’s just that Fatal Affair isn’t quite abysmal and it isn’t that good. So I highly suggest you grab your bae or some friends and some wine for this one! It will be entertaining. Here’s my rating and some extras for you.
Rating: C-
Top 8 things my wife and I said to the screen:
“This is stupid!”
“Why don’t you just tell your husband!?”
“Now if you know he’s a hacker, why would you send an email?”
“If he’s a hacker, why doesn’t he have a password on his phone?”
“Omar is trying!”
“Poor Stephen Bishop! He done got to’ up in this movie! “
“Stab him! Stab him! Awww, come on!”
“Get the gun!”
Twitter quips that had me rollin’:
"Triple Frontier" Review: Big Stars Take To The Small Screen Stream
Plenty of us love a good war or military strategy film. Not necessarily because we love the violence of war, but because it gives us a sense of what it’s like to be there without being there. The danger, heroism and moral dilemmas soldiers face in the field is incredible and in many ways can be a metaphor for the battle of every day life. Triple Frontier uses all the action sequences we are drawn to in those films to have a deeper conversation about the motivations of its characters to take on a deadly mission in hopes of a final payoff after years of service to their country.
The film starts out in typical narrative by giving us a glimpse at Santiago “Pope” Garcia’s (Oscar Isaac) current assignment chasing down a cartel leader in South America. Eluding him for years, Pope has an informant that not only knows where Lorea is, but that the multi-millions of dollars in cash that he has amassed is in the house with him. Director J.C. Chandor gives us the recruitment sequences but jumps to the parts we need to see and know. He doesn’t spend time showing Pope on a flight to the U.S. and looking through folders with files. Instead, Pope shows up in an ongoing chat that has been cut in between Pope’s backstory with William “Ironhead” Miller (Charlie Hunnam), who is now giving speeches to current soldiers transitioning to private sector life. He finds Ironhead’s brother, Ben Miller (Garrett Hedlund), at an MMA fight. The fight is a good excuse to round up the entire crew. Tom “Redfly” Davis (Ben Affleck) is the retired brains who understands how to carry out an attack to the minute, and Francisco “Catfish” Morales (Pedro Pascal) is their helicopter pilot.
Once the team is in place, the recon proves the mission could be more of a suicide attempt than they had expected. It’s after the action occurs (reminiscent of an 80’s Schwarzenegger or Chuck Norris flick) that we still have half of the running time left to go in the movie. It’s in the space of their retreat that they find themselves up against the wall with moral and survival dilemmas.
This film feels very old school in it’s handling of action, but new in the conversations it brings to the table. The toll of war is evident on each character’s face as well as in their decision making. Whether they make a decision to kill, compartmentalize what has been done due to the rationalization of the situation, or tuck the guilt in their pocket momentarily to push through, the weight is obvious. What is the impact of taking someone’s life? Does one life outweigh another? What do our veterans have to show for their efforts after years of service? These are questions that screenwriters J.C. Chandor and Mark Boal try to wrestle with throughout the film.
This is a solid tactical shoot ‘em up with just enough heart to make it stand out for a flick for the guys (it’s definitely a bro movie). Proving that direct to streaming is a viable option these days, Triple Frontier is a good watch for your Netflix perusing.
Rating: B