Movies I’ve watched

My summer vacation just wrapped up and during vacations I love to read books and watch movies and TV series mostly. I hadn’t really had time for it in the months leading up to the summer vacation, so I had some catching up to do. Today I’d like to talk to you about some movies I saw just recently. The general theme I went with seems to be action packed movies featuring gangsters, guns for hire, getaway car drivers and superheroes.

John Wick

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) just lost his wife and she sends him a puppy post mortem. All seems to be lovely and taking a turn for the better, but then the son of a Russian mobster goes after his car and his puppy. And he’d better not do that. Because while John Wick may seem like a puppy loving car obsessive house man and grieving widower, he has a much darker past. When the car is taken and the puppy is killed, John decides to pick up where he left off to the life before he met his wife.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was fast paced, action packed and it’s one of Keanu Reeves’ better most recent roles. The story line was a bit silly I find, but all that matters in a movie like this are the action scenes and a blasting soundtrack. This movie delivers on both fronts.

Baby Driver

Baby (Ansel Elgort) is the best getaway driver in town. But he can only do is job with the right soundtrack. Decked out with several Ipods that serve different moods, he takes part in different heists for a notorious crime boss who he has a score to settle with. But then he meets Deborah and he knows he need to get out of the life. With one more heist on the payroll he hopes to be finally free, but when that goes sour he may just lose it all.

The only movie I watched in a movie theater this summer is Baby Driver. I knew I had to see it once I found out this movie was not only edited to the soundtrack, but the soundtrack was made before the movie. Entire scenes are timed exactly to the music and the soundtrack is aces too. Other that that the story line is quite thin, but if you love music and an action packed plot than this is a pretty safe bet.

Takers

A group of robbers performs a high profile heist every couple of years. They are only in it for the long run and only pull off a job if they know they can do it and take precautions to avoid capture by the police. But then an old accomplice gets out of jail and does them a proposal they can’t refuse. In the mean time the cops are getting closer on their tales and it is all they can do to stay ahead of the police.

This was one of those random picks. Another brainless movie that really hasn’t much going for it apart from: Idris Elba (check), Hayden Christensen (check), Paul Walker (check). When I saw that cast I had to see it. Unfortunately the quality of this movie is deeply affected by the not so stellar performances of Chris Brown and TI, which were quite excruciating to watch.

American Gangster

Frank Lucas works himself up the ladder of the Harlem crime world in the late 60s in New York. His spiel? He goes to Vietnam and uses American troops to import pure heroin. And he sells it cheaper than anyone else in the neighborhood. Soon everyone is hooked and Lucas sees his riches grow and emporium rise. In the mean time, a cop who tries to fight the corruption within his own police corps is almost out of a job when he gets the task to hunt down Lucas.

Based on a true story (Frank Lucas actually did import pure grade heroin into the US in the 60s), this story featuring Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe was one of my favorites all summer. The story is grizzly, but also tries to show the softer side of both main characters. The story telling is on point, the attention to detail to get the look of the period right astounding and both Washington and Crowe do an excellent job portraying their characters.

Collateral

Max (Jamie Foxx) is a cabby in Los Angeles who just happens to pick up the wrong passenger (Tom Cruise) one night. After being offered a stack of money to make 5 stops throughout the night, Max is hesitant, but decides to take the job. Once the first stop is done, Max comes to seriously regret his decision. Because his passenger happens to be a hired killer who wraps Max up in his sinister activities.

An oldie but a goodie. I had not yet seen this and it is from 2004! Shame on me. I finally got around to seeing it and I liked it. This had far more substance than some of the other movies in this list because of the unhappy bromance between Max and Vincent. The acting was stellar and Tom Cruise was right on scary.

Doctor Strange

A neurosurgeon (Benedict Cumberbatch) is about as cocky as he is skilled. Living the high life, he drives out to a party one night and is in a serious car crash. Stuck with an incessant tremble in both hands, he can no longer do the job he loves and tries everything to turn things round. Then he hears of a mystic place that could be of help and he sets out to find it. First with skepticism, but then he finds out what it all means and ends up fighting off the enemy despite his rookie skills. Born is Dr. Strange.

My main reason for watching this? A) Marvel Universe. B) Benedict Cumberbatch. I was hoping this would fuse two of my favorite things in cinema together and on that level it didn’t disappoint. What I’m over however, is the introduction of more and more Marvel super heroes into the Universe. Every movie starts to feel the same as each new Marvel movie introduces the character and how they became the superhero. I would have loved this more if it showed less back story and more superheroes being superheroes.

What is the last movie you watched?