joel_steele Reviews

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

BAD (Boring, Anticlimactic, Desperate) Boys

[2/10 · 7 June 2024]

I really enjoyed the first three movies in this series. The first two from Michael Bay truly raised the bar for gritty action movies. The third from a few years ago with new directors was a surprisingly great follow-on that was just as thrilling and fun. This movie, however, was a significant departure in quality.

Story 1/10 Acting 3/10 Direction 4/10 Action and effects 3/10 Nostalgia factor 5/10

What brought this desperate, greedy cash grab of a production down was how lazy and derivative it was from start to end. The amount of predictable core components of the story were only surpassed by the cheeseball dialogue and gags. What made the other films enjoyable was a delicate balance of quality action, believable stakes, and well-placed comedy. This failed attempt was just cringey and pathetic. While Will Smith did... okay... it's evident why Martin Lawrence faded into obscurity decades ago. Bad Boys should've ended with #3.

2/10.

Civil War (2024)

Potential Spoiled at Every Turn

[3/10 · 25 April 2024]

Awful casting, a purely unbelievable plot line, and terrible writing combine to reveal a heaping mess that had real potential.

Given a seeming increase in the divisive nature of American politics and community, this movie comes about in a tumultuous time where with tact and a bit of effort, a story of a near future civil war is certainly intriguing. However, Alex Garland et Al seem to have rushed into the production of what seems like a first draft at best.

Kristen Dunst does okay but her character has the emotional depth of a sea cucumber. The (15-year-old?) girl is utterly obnoxious and her arc makes no sense. She goes from 0-100 over the course of about a day and a half. Wagner Moura is a good actor when directed well but his scenes seemed to have only had enough film for one take so... oh well? Jesse Plemons' minor role was great BUT should've been expanded SIGNIFICANTLY. Nick Offerman as 'President' just... Really? We can't take him seriously so why cast him in a key role for a drama piece like this? Either be serious or don't.

Other major annoyances include an incredibly obvious storyline with numerous "who cares?" scenes that did next to nothing to develop the plot or had any purpose except for padding the runtime. Honestly, the entire second act was a total waste of time.

This wasn't even close to hitting the mark.

3/10.

The Killer (2023)

A rough draft at best

[5/10 · 1 November 2023]

As a major fan of Fincher and his regular crew, it saddens me to find this effort fell flat and left no lasting impact. Striking an emotional chord is a forte of our director with works like 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' and 'The Social Network' under his belt where character building is flawlessly executed. For 'The Killer', however, it's difficult to connect with our protagonist.

The good: an intriguing setup, eery score, and believable skill set from an experienced actor (while maybe not the best choice).

The bad: a very unnecessary & snarky narration throughout that greatly impaired the aesthetic, confusing use of music which didn't marry with the story feel or voice of... "Mr. Killer" (like constantly taking off and putting on headphones with an edgy, modern rock playlist on a discovery shuffle), conflicting tone of voice and intentions from the lead, no understanding of his personal relationships, and ultimately a lack of stakes for someone who seemingly has little-to-no care for human life.

There was a lot of potential with this film and perhaps there's a better version out there somewhere with additional scenes that could clear up some of the many questions the audience likely has walking out of 'The Killer' (such as "that was it?" or "what was the point of that?"). However, this effort felt rushed and sadly lacked the flavor & gravity of a masterful David Fincher film like 'Fight Club'. Keep your expectations very low, I can almost guarantee they won't be met. 5/10.

Loki: Breaking Brad (2023) Season 2, Episode 2

Disney is Imploding

[3/10 · 19 October 2023]

Right in front of us, we're all witnessing an implosion brought on by greed and a desire for quantity over quality.

I'll just list the things this episode so clearly shows Disney is doing wrong: -Handed an appreciated series with an original premise to a freshman director with zero experience as a show runner (and it really, really shows) -Butchered the pacing of a series that was, up until now, fairly well executed -Handed the keys to the writing room to inexperienced jack legs whose prior credits are some of the worst movies and TV shows of the past 3 decades -Shifted focus away from a need for cohesive plot and deeper, character-driven storytelling instead to favor pointless product placement and injection of even less meaningful characters

Giving up on these half-baked, pathetic attempts at entertainment until (hopefully) we hear a consistent stream of praise for such content again in the years to come. A sad story to say the least. Nice knowing ya, Disney.

Women of the Jury (2023)

THE most compelling, seamless masterpiece of our time!

[10/10 · 14 October 2023]

Stumbled upon this 5 karat diamond in the rough on Peacock and was immediately blown away by every key aspect of modern filmmaking. A seamless story that kept me on the edge of my seat paired with thought-provoking, deep, and meaningful dialogue were only the tip of the iceberg. I was floored by the expert cast assembled for 'Women of the Jury' and couldn't have dreamed for a better script or plethora of relatable backstories. The direction, cinematography, and screenplay are all rivaled by the likes of other tentpole classics such as 'The Godfather' or 'Pulp Fiction'. Run, don't walk to your nearest streaming device to watch as this star-studded cast works to elicit the strongest of emotions in any true cinephile's heart. This has truly become a frequent "must watch" for me and my entire family. For one of the most unfortunate viewing experiences of my life, I will never forget nor regret this modern (if not VASTLY improved upon) take on '12 Angry Men'. The likes of Henry Fonda and Sidney Lumet could only have wished to craft such a compelling masterpiece that Ericka Pinkett and Mark K. Buddington have so graciously gifted us all. We should only be so lucky as to have lived in a time where this perfect film exists to cherish forever. 10/10.

Heart of Stone (I) (2023)

Imagine there's no 'Heart of Stone'

[1/10 · 11 August 2023]

Just another phoned-in production with second or third-rate cast and crew. Netflix seems desperate to appear attractive and relevant by cranking out forgettable, derivative films like this. Attaching a once A-list actor to a sloppy production seems to be par for the course at this point. One can only assess that the writer's strike will wreak havoc on the Netflix turn & burn "Meh Machine".

Gal Gadot's emotional depth of red onion matches the appeal of her character. I was rolling my eyes and quit paying full attention after 20 minutes. Save yourself some time on this one, it's just not worth it.

Imagine there's no 'Heart of Stone', it's easy if you try.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Overhyped but Nice to Look At

[6/10 · 29 July 2023]

Christopher Nolan's obsession with hyperbolic noise and graphics comes to a head in 'Oppenheimer' in a long-foreseen bang, but the aftermath is short lived.

Cillian Murphy and, really, everybody's acting in this film was excellent. The set pieces, dedication to maintaining the historic aesthetic, and aging makeup were all awe inspiring. But why the mediocre score? The story didn't marry to Nolan's vision as well as he'd hoped.

We all know that Christopher Nolan loves to try and strike a chord through loud moments (warranted or not) and breakneck pacing. Perhaps being limited to a 3-hour cut made it more difficult to follow and find relatability. Perhaps it was the uneasy feeling that Nolan tried to make a mountain out of a molehill. Do you remember Strauss and his "trial"? Do you know who he is at all? Do you care?

The scientific and engineering focus left me wanting greatly. There was so much potential to explore the process of how the other 40,000 people attached to the Manhattan Project contributed and aided to help the U. S. create the atomic bomb. Instead, we're stuck suffering through all the low-key misdeeds of Oppenheimer to build up our internal conflict with the man and his actions. It's fun to see so many stars in various states, but is it necessary to tell a good story about the "Father of the Atomic Bomb"?

A spectacle of sorts can be found in this film which many of us have craved since the summer blockbuster took a long absence. However, many of us were sated with Top Gun: Maverick last year and can do without the incessant preaching on how "war = bad, politics = bad". Were we supposed to feel tricked by an internal struggle against rooting for the success of Oppenheimer and his team's objectives?

I'd rather not give credit to such fabrication. Nobody walking out of the theater was talking about how intriguing it was to be a fly on the wall for a board review of a security clearance hearing or some guy being raked over the coals on his relationship with Oppenheimer. No, they were talking about the very short (but sweet) bomb we waited 3 hours for and Florence Pugh's boobs.

Reacher (2022– )

Awful acting, even worse storyline

[1/10 · 26 February 2022]

Don't waste your time on this trash. If you want to see action with terrible acting, a ridiculous story, or cringe at how poorly producers can create a series, go watch 'The Expendables' instead of wasting ten hours of your life on this hot garbage.