allmoviesfan Reviews

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

Whatcha gonna do?

[8/10 · 7 June 2024]

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith EXPLODE back onto the big screen in "Bad Boys: Ride or Die", which is in every way an improvement on the third instalment of the long-running franchise. That's not to say that "Bad Boys for Life" wasn't good, just that this one was better. The two stars are in fine form: their chemistry is better than ever. Even if the two cops themselves are a little wiser more suspectable to the ravages of age.

Aside from the outrageous action sequences and one-liners that pepper this slick, brash, loud and fun buddy cop adventure, there are some great nods to the events of previous movies and characters, and it was especially cool to see Joe Pantoliano's Captain Howard back, mostly in flashbacks but also some new scenes.

Indeed, the plot revolves around Lawrence and Smith as Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowry going on the run, trying to clear Howard's name after the dead captain is tarred as a dirty cop.

A fun movie from start to finish. I hope this is the last one, as it would be a case of cast and crew going out on top of their game. Better than the opposite: going one movie too many.

X-Men: The Animated Series: Night Of The Sentinels Part II (1992) Season 1, Episode 2

"Night Of The Sentinels Part II"

[9/10 · 6 June 2024]

"Night Of The Sentinels Part II" picks up where the premiere episode ends: with the X-Men team commanded by Cyclops breaking into the Mutant Control Agency headquarters on a mission to destroy all information pertaining to mutants on earth.

The mission does not go without incident, unfortunately for the X-Men, and there is some early signs of tension between Wolverine and Cyclops.

Poor old Morph meets his maker at the hands of one of the same marauding robots that were after Jubilee last episode (now known as Sentinels). Alas, we never had a chance to know thee. I had a feeling he was not long for the world, considering what I know of the X-Men characters, and so it played out.

Kudos to the writers. There are more than a few good one-liners delivered, especially by Gambit and The Beast.

X-Men: The Animated Series: Night Of The Sentinels Part I (1992) Season 1, Episode 1

"Night Of The Sentinels Part I"

[9/10 · 6 June 2024]

"Night Of The Sentinels Part I" opens the X-Men animated series, and it is a strong start.

In a time of concern over mutants, Jubilee's parents are worried that the neighbours will find out that their daughter is a mutant, and have registered her with the Mutant Control Agency - an "outreach program", Jubilee's dad says - but she doesn't get there.

A giant robot arrives and is targeting Jubilee for capture. Fortunately, she is saved by Storm and Rogue and the rest of the X-Men as well. Each of the introduced characters has their own personality, and the episode spends a bit of time setting that up. For example: Cyclops seems to be Professor X's favourite and Wolverine is definitely a lone ranger.

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: Legendary (2024) Season 1, Episode 4

"Legendary"

[10/10 · 5 June 2024]

The fourth and final episode of "Thank You, Goodnight" picks up where Richie Sambora leaves the band - perhaps the most semismic, and altering moment in the history of Bon Jovi - and goes through the current-day uncertain future of the band, in it's new guise with John Shanks and Phil X joining, and Everett Bradley later.

We see the reunion of old and new at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, find out about JBJ's friendship with Bruce Springsteen, hear about the death of Alec John Such, David Bryan's Broadway career and - a running thread throughout the documentary - Jon Bon Jovi's continuing efforts to rehabilitate his voice, whilst discovering political activism.

Who knows what the future holds for one of the titans of rock music, forty years into their career. If this is the end, it's been one heck of a ride. No matter what happens, Bon Jovi's legacy is assured.

The episode is dedicated ("in loving memory" to Alec John Such.)

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: Brothers in Arms (2024) Season 1, Episode 3

"Brothers in Arms"

[9/10 · 5 June 2024]

Very much an episode of change for Bon Jovi as the world knew it, and what a fascinating episode it was.

Early on in "Brothers in Arms", Doc McGhee departs as the band's manager. Shortly thereafter, Alec John Such is out as the bassist (thanks to substance abuse issues) and - after reinventing itself via the mega hit 'It's My Life' and some brilliant albums after that - Richie Sambora departs as lead guitarist.

Perhaps the biggest and most controversial moment in the band's history?

Certainly the moment that has everyone talking, still to this day.

There was no one real reason why it happened, just an avalanche of them, I guess. Interesting to hear both sides, Sambora's and Bon Jovi's, plus the thoughts of John Shanks, stuck in the middle. If I'm honest, Sambora's departure was when I stopped paying close attention to the band. It just wasn't the same. Phil X is a fine guitarist, but he isn't the guy who should be up there with JBJ.

At the same time, Jon Bon Jovi continues his present-day struggle with vocal chord issues.

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: Nowhere to Everywhere (2024) Season 1, Episode 2

"Nowhere to Everywhere"

[9/10 · 4 June 2024]

The heights of stardom are scaled by Bon Jovi in part two, with 'Slippery When Wet' and it's epic rock anthems shooting the band into the stratosphere.

There's a tour, then the recording of 'New Jersey' (with it's own fair share of rock anthems) and more touring. Exhausting amounts of touring across twenty (!!) countries: epic gigs. Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll, and basically anything the band wanted. And then the inevitable burn-out as tensions rise amongst the band.

The 1980s footage is fantastic.

This episode also deals with Jon Bon Jovi's physical struggles during their 2022 return to touring. Quite the contrast to how things were in the 1980's for him. I admire the frank and raw honesty.

Doc McGhee and Desmond Child add very interesting points of view on the band. Also great to see Richie Sambora taking part in this documentary, given his somewhat fractious relationship with the band in recent years. Kudos to Jon Bon Jovi for including him.

Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story: New Jersey vs. Everybody (2024) Season 1, Episode 1

"New Jersey vs. Everybody"

[9/10 · 4 June 2024]

My first thought when Jon Bon Jovi pops onto the screen following the intro, comprised of historical footage, was, "Man, he is old!" Bon Jovi has been around for forty years, so that tracks.

"New Jersey vs. Everybody" details the early years for Jon Bongiovi in New Jersey club bands such as the Atlantic City Expressway, inspired by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes (both The Boss and Southside Johnny appear on the doco), right up to around when "Runaway" was released - all of it interspersed with 2002 rehearsal footage.

The final scenes introduce guitar virtuoso Richie Sambora to the documentary. Richie was the other half of Bon Jovi for so many years and left under uncertain circumstances more than a decade ago.

Richie asks whether he's meant to tell the truth or not, setting up the second episode.

JAG: Rendezvous (1997) Season 2, Episode 15

"Rendezvous"

[8/10 · 3 June 2024]

The finale of JAG's second season, whilst not featuring a cliffhanger ending, "Rendezvous" at least finally has Harm and Mac back in the courtroom and on opposite sides of the trial of a Chief Petty Officer, who is charged with murder.

Perhaps the best part of the episode is the chat Harm and Mac have midway through, in which Mac - kind of a mystery to this point - tells Harm about her relationship with her father, which has a bearing on the case.

Ensign Simms is back. Her and Bud continue their romance, despite a few bumps in the road.

A strong way to end the first season of JAG's reboot on CBS.

JAG: Cowboys & Cossacks (1997) Season 2, Episode 14

"Cowboys & Cossacks"

[8/10 · 3 June 2024]

In "Cowboys & Cossacks", the penultimate episode of JAG's second season, Harm and Bud are on a Russian warship whilst Mac remains on the USS Cayuga as war games exercises take place. The two opposing captains have a history - and we learn a little about Rabb's career as a fighter pilot, too - and are seemingly hell-bent on using the wargames as a way to settle a score. But the Russian captain goes too far: a plot device I've seen used a time or two before. It's up to Harm and a sympathetic Russian to save the day and prevent an incident that would lead to World War Three. A good episode with a few funny moments throughout.

JAG: Code Blue (1997) Season 2, Episode 13

"Code Blue"

[8/10 · 2 June 2024]

Unlucky Harmon Rabb Jr. He gets skittled by a car whilst out on a morning run with Mac and ends up in the very same hospital that Hamas overruns. The Big Bad Guy is played by Francesco Quinn. He wants to hold a government official hostage to affect a prisoner exchange. (Watching in 2024, Hamas is quite topical at the moment).

In a nutshell, in "Code Blue" we have a slightly-concussed Harm and a fully-healthy Mac doing JAG's imitation of Die Hard in a hospital. And if for one minute you think that our favourite JAG lawyers are going to let the bad guys get away with it, I've got beachfront property in Arizona to sell you.

A fun episode, in which Bud and Admiral Chegwidden don't appear at all.

JAG: The Guardian (1997) Season 2, Episode 12

"The Guardian"

[9/10 · 1 June 2024]

Goodbye to the gung-ho assassin-preventing, princess-protecting, gunnery sergeant-impersonating Harm Rabb and hello to the hotshot lawyer who represents a disaffected former Navy SEAL who has killed some men trying to rob a convenience store, before running into a church for refuge. Bud happens to be there, and is taken hostage.

"The Guardian" is a very strong episode that shines a light on the unfortunate plight of too many men who return from any given theatre of war physically okay, but carrying all sorts of mental scars.

The entire episode is extremely well written and very well acted: some of the best we've seen thus far in JAG's run. David James Elliott plays a somewhat stereotyped character in some episodes, but when given the chance to shine - as in this episode - he really does.

JAG: Force Recon (1997) Season 2, Episode 11

"Force Recon"

[8/10 · 1 June 2024]

"Force Recon" starts out as a pretty standard JAG episode (as I remember them, from watching back in the 90's and 00's, anyway) with two Marines hurt during an exercise, under somewhat suspicious circumstances. So Mac and Bud are sent to investigate whether the company's commander has gone too far with his training.

The curve ball is when the new Gunner Sergeant Major Post appears on the scene. He is none other than Harm, undercover. Yet another random assignment for the fighter jock turned hotshot lawyer. That said, Harm Rabb is a convincing Marine, even though Mac isn't overly thrilled by his appearance.

JAG: The Game of Go (1997) Season 2, Episode 10

"The Game of Go"

[7/10 · 31 May 2024]

When a mission to kidnap a big-time Colombian drug lord doesn't go to plan and one of the Marine raiders is left behind presumed dead but not actually dead, it's up to Harm and Mac (with an assist from Clayton Webb) to find a way to bring the Marine home. The problem is, he's being held hostage by the drug dealer.

Plenty of action, again, but not very much courtroom action. I think it's high time that these JAG lawyers get back into the courtroom for an episode or three.

Not the best episode ever - entertaining like they all are, but probably not one that's going to stick with me once I've watched all of JAG's ten episodes.

JAG: Washington Holiday (1997) Season 2, Episode 9

"Washington Holiday"

[8/10 · 31 May 2024]

For a fighter jock turned JAG lawyer, Harmon Rabb certainly does have his fair share of random assignments. Perhaps none more so, to this point, than escorting a Romanian princess around Washington D. C. whilst her father sorts out Romania's entry into NATO. There is an assassin on the loose, threatening to kill the princess if the king goes ahead with joining NATO, an effort spearheaded by everyone's favourite State Department spook, Clayton Webb (Steven Culp plays him well). Naturally, Harm gets to play hero, whilst fending off the princesses' attempts to kindle a romance.

Elsewhere, Harriett Sims turns up in Washington D. C. and Bud does not handle it at all well. His attempts to romance the ensign is definitely the comic relief in "Washington Holiday".

A fun episode, even if I was able to pick the identity of the assassin immediately.

Predators (2010)

"We're gonna need a new plan!"

[9/10 · 31 May 2024]

The first Predator is one of the most exciting and excellent action/sci-fi films I've ever seen. Nothing will ever beat it.

That said, "Predators" is a worthy sequel, and better - I think - than "Predator 2".

Adrian Brody is fantastic as the grizzled mercenary Royce and there is a cool cast around him - including Danny Trejo, Laurence Fishburne and Topher Grace amongst them - all playing human predators of varying kinds taken from earth by the alien Predators and dumped on a game planet, where they are hunted down and killed. At least, that's how it's supposed to go.

A really cool concept, some spectacular action sequences - as long as you don't mind them ultra violent, some great one-liners and plenty of fun nods to the original Predator. What's not to like?

Black Widow (2021)

Spectacular fun.

[7/10 · 30 May 2024]

I've always thought Black Widow was one of the coolest Marvel characters around, and Scarlett Johansson has really made the role her own across the years. Great to see a standalone movie attempts to fill in some of the blanks in Natasha Romanov's life, though why did it take so long?

There is plenty of action with some awesome set pieces littered throughout, and although some of the plot seems muddled and at times convoluted, I didn't have too much trouble figuring it all out.

Johansson is top-notch and I thought Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova matched her. Ray Winstone plays a good villain. David Harbour and Rachel Weisz also good.

Better than most of the recent Marvel offerings, that's for sure.

The Lionheart (2023)

Quality with a capital Q!

[10/10 · 23 May 2024]

I want to say this was brilliant, but it seems wrong that a documentary celebrating the life of IndyCar champion Dan Wheldon, taken too early from us in a crash at Las Vegas more than ten years (!!) ago now should be called brilliant.

It is, however, compelling: plenty to make you smile and laugh and truckloads that will make you very emotional. I swear someone was cutting onions whilst I was watching. Or maybe that was just my feels hitting me all at once?

It had to have been insanely tough for Dario Franchitti, Tony Kanaan, Bryan Herta, Michael Andretti, Chip Ganassi and especially Dan's wife Susie to reminisce about the man/father/friend/drier they knew. But they do so perfectly. Seeing Dan in his young boys, Oliver and Sebastian, was heart-warming, but also a reminder of what we have lost now that Dan is no longer with us.

A shame Randy Bernard, the IndyCar boss who came up with the Las Vegas race idea that took Wheldon's life was, declined to be interviewed by HBO's cameras.

Manhunt: The Final Act (2024) Season 1, Episode 7

"The Final Act"

[10/10 · 22 May 2024]

A tremendous finale, one that stretches out to four years after the assassination.

Of course, presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth departed stage left in "Useless", the penultimate episode. That means the final episode could be devoted to the trial of David Herold, Samuel Mudd, Mary Surrat and others.

Tobias Menzies delivers perhaps his best performance of the series, which is saying something, because he has been good in every scene.

The court room tension is brilliant, and in the background are the ongoing political machinations where President Johnson and Stanton were concerned, which provide an interest soft ending to the episode and series. Impeachment of a President is something we know all about in 2024.

A bittersweet final scene - a final act, you might say - but a fitting end to "Manhunt".

Great television.

Manhunt: Useless (2024) Season 1, Episode 6

"Useless"

[8/10 · 22 May 2024]

The final confrontation between John Wilkes Booth and the Union cavalry who have been closing in on him is no less tense because you know how it's going to end.

I've read a few books on the subject so I'm familiar with what happened at the barn where Booth and Herold are trapped, but there's nothing like seeing it on the screen in front of you. Anthony Boyle as Booth has been very good right from his first scene. Same goes for Will Harrison as David Herold.

It was an interesting move to have the subject of the show's title "Manhunt" meet his end with more than an episode to go, but I like that it will now assumedly give us a solid episode dealing with the trial of Herold and others, which is often somewhat glossed over.

JAG: Full Engagement (1997) Season 2, Episode 8

"Full Engagement"

[10/10 · 20 May 2024]

"Full Engagement" really deepens the Harm/Mac relationship that will come to define the nine seasons of JAG which they starred in together.

No courtroom drama in this one. Instead, the two are flying in Harm's bi-plane over the Appalachian Mountains when a mechanical incident means they need to land, and quickly. There, they happen upon poachers who have just killed a game warden, and are thus on the run from backwoods men who want to kill them. Back at JAG, Bud has to stand in on a case Harm was working whilst also figuring out what happened to his colleagues

Whilst it was pretty clear that everything would turn out okay in the end, there was still good tension and watching the way the two leads worked together to get out of their mess was superb. Good to see Harm opening up to Mac about his father, too.

Good acting, good action...good everything.

JAG: Ghosts (1997) Season 2, Episode 7

"Ghosts"

[9/10 · 20 May 2024]

In "Ghosts", we have a very intriguing and sad episode focusing on Admiral Chegwidden when he was a SEAL lieutenant in Vietnam. Tragic events that take place throughout the episode are a nice way to show a softer side to the hard-nosed irascible admiral, who generally spends his time growling at Harm and Mac and co. Right to the end, I wasn't quite sure where the threat to Chegwidden was coming from, so kudos for the writers for keeping us - or, at least, me - guessing. Steven Culp has another maxi-cameo as CIA agent Clayton Webb, and Boris Yeltsin features as well! John M. Jackson does a great job displaying the admiral's grief - very believable.

JAG: Trinity (1997) Season 2, Episode 6

"Trinity"

[9/10 · 20 May 2024]

Grab your popcorn and get ready, because "Trinity" is a rollicking yarn of an episode, quintessential mid-90's stuff with the IRA and URC playing key parts. Even Princess Diana has a cameo!

We barely see Chegwidden and Bud. This is the Harm and Mac show again, out of uniform and on the road in Ireland, where a Navy officer has managed to fall pregnant to an IRA heavy hitter. There is a little intrigue and plenty of action - out of the courtroom this time.

Clearly, a lot of the episode is rubbish from a factual background, but it was a lot of fun, and I must admit that I forgot this episode from the first time I watched JAG all the way through. Not sure how. Great entertainment.

Manhunt: A Man of Destiny (2024) Season 1, Episode 5

"A Man of Destiny"

[9/10 · 19 May 2024]

"A Man of Destiny" is the shortest episode of Manhunt to this point and one of the best, and it features a flashback to ten years before the assassination, which I think is also a record for this show, where the flashbacks ha have been plentiful, and necessary to telling various parts of the story.

Whilst President Jackson continues to try and undo everything Lincoln had achieved, Stanton and the cavalry he is working with are closing in on John Wilkes Booth, who isn't actually in Virginia, but still in Maryland due to a navigational error on the part of David Herold.

The walls are closing in. Doctor Mudd is arrested, and there are leads coming thick and fast. The episode ends with a strong one as to Booth's whereabouts, and with Stanton in serious personal jeopardy.

Manhunt: The Secret Line (2024) Season 1, Episode 4

"The Secret Line"

[8/10 · 18 May 2024]

Patton Oswalt and Tobias Menzies as Baker and Stanton respectively are a brilliant duo. They really make this show hum.

The question posed in "The Secret Line", is whether Stanton ordered the assassination of Jefferson Davis as a way to perhaps cut short the long and wasteful war. The conversation Lincoln and Stanton have in one of the flashback scenes certainly alludes to that being the case.

You can feel the walls closing in for Confederates in this episode. Not just Booth, who appears to be headed for the Commonwealth of Virginia, but the Wall Street traders who are Confederate sympathisers and may have had something to do with Booth as well.

Manhunt: Let the Sheep Flee (2024) Season 1, Episode 3

"Let the Sheep Flee"

[7/10 · 17 May 2024]

Good acting and pacing throughout this episode, with a couple of very interesting flashbacks. Hamish Linklater continues to impress as Lincoln.

Stanton is fighting battles on multiple fronts as he tries to push through Lincoln's idea of Reconstruction, but he meets some significant headwinds along the way, including from the President himself. He's still on the hunt for Booth, who is holed up in Maryland, whilst a hotbed of Confederate spies has gathered in Montreal of all places. The search is clearly taking it's toll on Stanton, who is supposed to be on at least a month's worth of bed rest under orders from his doctor due to asthma-related issues and it's fair to say that Mrs Stanton is unimpressed when her husband basically ignores those orders.