Parasite (2019)

Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Thriller

Directed by: Bong Joon-ho

Cast: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sin-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong

Running Time: 132 minutes

A Korean family of four that is having a hard time making ends meet financially, living in a small semi-basement, create a subterfuge to get themselves hired for various jobs by a wealthy family with two young kids. The plan works, but their dream situation soon turns to a nightmare.

This Korean film, that I saw with English subtitles, won the Palme D’or in Cannes and the Academy Award for best film. Those awards are well deserved, as it a brilliant movie. It is a magnificent blend of black comedy and thriller. The tension in the denouement keeps you on the edge of your seat. And I loved how the ending avoids the whole Hollywood cliché of the happy ending.

This is a film full of layers, with a heavy social message, that I will be sure to see again.

Rating: «««««

Tanguy (2001)

Genre: Franco / Comedy

Réalisateur: Étienne Chatiliez

Distribution: Sabine Azéma, Andr. Dussollier, Éric Berger

Durée: 108 minutes

Tanguy Guetz est le fils unique de Paul et d’Édith. À l’âge de 28 ans, il partage son temps entre ses amours, son travail d’enseignant et sa thèse sur la Chine dans le cadre de ses études avancées. Le problème est que Tanguy s’accroche et continue à vivre chez ses parents, au plus grand dam de ces derniers. Ses parents décident alors de concocter un plan pour convaincre leur fils à quitter la maison.

Ce film est fort drôle. Il y a certaines longueurs, mais, somme toute, c’est très divertissant. Le jeu des comédiens est très bon, et cela devient très facile d’embarquer dans l’histoire. Ce film aura marqué le lexique commun, alors que le mot tanguy est devenu synonyme d’un enfant adulte qui refuse de quitter le nid familial.

Rating: ««««

Meet Monica Velour (2010)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Keith Bearden

Cast: Kim Cattrall, Dustin Ingram, Brian Dennehy

Running Time: 98 minutes

Tobe Hulbert is a 17-year old nerd who travels to Indiana to sell his hot dog food truck to a collector and to see his idol, former porn star Monica Velour, who is set to perform in a strip club. Monica might be the woman of Tobe’s dreams, but her life is a living nightmare, with a career in a dead end, a messy divorce and a custody battle that she is not favored to win.

I did not quite know what to expect with this one, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is a charming coming-of-age independent comedy. Cattrall is very good as washed-up porn star Monica Velour. Dustin Ingram was a bit cartoonish as the nerdy Tobe, but he still made it believable. It was also a nice treat to see Brian Dennehy, as the weird grandfather.

Rating: ««««

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

Genre: Action / Comedy

Directed by: Adil & Bilall

Cast: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Vanessa Hudgens

Running Time: 124 minutes

Marcus Burnett is looking to retire from police work after becoming a grandfather for the first time, but people from a past case involving his friend and cop buddy Mike Lowrey resurface killing many people in their entourage. So, the two Miami detectives get back together to work on the case.

In my opinion, this film was a breath of fresh air in the Bad Boys franchise. The storyline is more focused, without too much extra nonsense. There still are a lot of chases and explosions, but the story keeps you on the edge of your seat, with some cool twists and turns in the plot. Smith and Lawrence have managed to preserve their on-screen chemistry, and their banter is often very funny.

Overall, this was the best one of the three films. And I’m guessing there might be more.

Rating: ««««

Bad Boys II (2003)

Genre: Action / Comedy

Directed by: Michael Bay

Cast: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Jordi Mollà

Running Time: 119 minutes

Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey are investigating a flow of illegal drugs, including ecstacy, in Miami. Marcus and Mike are going through some tensions, as a working duo, that are certainly intensified by the hints of a secret relationship between Mike and Marcus’ sister.

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith still had a great chemistry on screen in the sequel, and this second movie of the franchise did have more storyline to sink your teeth into, beyond the car chases and explosions. Unfortunately, there were too many elements being piled on top of one another. At some point, it felt as if two movies were crammed into one.

So, while entertaining, Bad Boys II could have been made so much better with a little trimming of the storyline fat.

Rating: «««

American Crude (2008)

Genre: Comedy

Directed by: Craig Sheffer

Cast: Rob Schneider, Ron Livingston, Michael Clarke Duncan

Running Time: 96 minutes

This film follows a group of characters through 24 hours of their life in Los Angeles. A lot can happen in LA over a single day, and chaos ensues.

Honestly, I hated this film. The characters were uninteresting, and so was the story. It was an unfunny comedy. I dosed off at various times and I did not care enough to go back. Next.

Rating: «

Bad Boys (1995)

Genre: Action / Comedy

Directed by: Michael Bay

Cast: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Téa Leoni

Running Time: 119 minutes

Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey are two friends working together as detectives in Miami. They take Julie Mott in protective custody, after she witnessed a French drug kingpin kill her best friend. Marcus and Mike will try to protect her while attempting to stop the drug dealer on his tracks.

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith have a great chemistry on screen, and this film offers a good dose of action, of chases and of explosions. Unfortunately, the movie is low on story and substance. There are many clichés and by-the-book buddy cop material, but not much that felt fresh on that side of things.

Still, Bad Boys was entertaining for what it was.

Rating: «««

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Genre: Superhero

Directed by: Jon Favreau

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Sam Rockwell

Running Time: 125 minutes

After revealing to the world that he is indeed Iron Man, Tony Stark’s star is on the rise. Unfortunately, superstardom makes him spin out of control. Justin Hammer, a rival weapons manufacturer, recruits Ivan Vanko, a Russian physicist, to try to ruin Stark’s legacy, so Iron Man will have to find his way again and spring back into action.

What an uninspired follow-up to the 2008 original. The story just seems to plod along, painstakingly, until it is finally time for the denouement. Most of the cast does okay, except maybe for Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke. Rockwell is usually good, but his performance here is kind of flat. And I never really believed in Rourke as a Russian bad guy. He does not even seem to believe it himself.

Overall, Iron Man 2 offers very few shining moments.

Rating: ««

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Genre: Superhero

Directed by: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt

Running Time: 112 minutes

Dr. Bruce Banner is hiding in Brazil after a failed experiment gave him gamma poisoning, which transforms him into the Incredible Hulk for brief periods whenever his heart rate goes over 200 beats per minute. He works in a bottling factory while trying to find a cure for his ailment. After an incident in the factory has repercussions that make their way back to the States, General Thaddeus Ross, who was involved in the original experiment, sends his team on the hunt to capture Banner and that stuff in his blood that can create a fighting monster.

With a solid cast and a compelling story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, this is a very good superhero film. Sure, there are a few predictable turns and some cheesiness here and there, but, overall, I was thoroughly entertained.

Rating: ««««

Tactical Force (2011)

Genre: Action

Directed by: Adamo Paolo Cultraro

Cast: Steve Austin, Michael Jai White

Running Time: 98 minutes

A team of four S.W.A.T. police officers get in trouble after a forceful intervention to stop a grocery store robbery. Since they caused a lot of damage, they are forced to go back to class and to go through some retraining. During a training exercise in a warehouse outside the city, the group encounter some members of the Russian and Italian mafias stuck in a quarrel over stolen property.

To say that this action film is not a classic is an understatement. The storyline makes no sense, the characters are one dimensional and the outcome is as predictable as it gets. It is loaded with clichés. As an action star, former wrestler Steve Austin is not without charm and you can see that the film does not take itself seriously, which is one small point in its favor.

Rating: ««