Deb Hutton is off, so I sit in with host Jim Richards on NewsTalk 1010 to go over some of the week’s biggest entertainment stories and let you know what’s happening in theatres. We talk about KISS receiving a Kennedy Center Honor, Chubby Checker snubbing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I recviuew “Nobody 2,” now playing on theatres.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” the action comedy “Nobody 2” and the crime drama “Americana.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CP24 Breakfast to talk about the big movies hitting theatres his week including the action comedy “Nobody 2,” and Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for “Booze & Reviews!” This week I review the action comedy “Nobody 2” and tell you about some drinks to make you feel like a somebody as you enjoy with the film.
Click HERE to listen to Shane and me talk about Johnny Depp’s possible return to the “Pirates of the Caribbean,” why Ji9mmy Kimmel may leave America, Shaniua Twain’s new collaboration with McDonalds and a Heinz ketchup smoothie.
For the Booze & Reviews look at “Nobody 2” and some cool to pair with it, click HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest,” the action comedy “Nobody 2” and the crime drama “Americana.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “Nobody 2,” the sequel to the 2021 action hit, sees Bob Odenkirk as assassin and family man Hutch Mansell in need of a break from the mayhem of his day job. On vacation with wife Becca (Connie Nielsen), daughter Sammy (Paisley Cadorath), son Brady (Gage Munroe) and grandpa (Christopher Lloyd) at Wild Bill’s Majestic Midway amusement park, he stumbles into viper’s nest of illegality overseen by a corrupt theme-park operator (John Ortiz), a shifty sheriff (Colin Hanks), and a bloodthirsty crime boss (Sharon Stone). “I just want a break,” says Hutch.
CAST: Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Michael Ironside, Colin Salmon, Billy MacLellan, Gage Munroe, Paisley Cadorath, Christopher Lloyd, Colin Hanks, John Ortiz, Mckenna Grace and Sharon Stone. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto.
REVIEW: The trouble with “Nobody 2” is that the titular character, the nobody known as Hutch Mansell, is now a somebody. Fans of the first film know the character, know his backstory and know what to expect. It’s a sequel, so the fights are a bit longer, the explosions a bit louder, but even though it’s a lively time waster, it doesn’t deliver anything new.
Once again, Odenkirk is a charismatic everyman, a relatable guy who also happens to be a one-man army. Part of his appeal lies in his approachability. When he’s not swinging fists, he’s the guy you see on the subway, or at the dog park or at the coffee shop. He’s an Average Joe with a bad temper and a way with a line and Odenkirk finds the tricky balance between the hostility and the humor.
He punctuates violent scenes with an exasperated, “I just wanted a break,” and, after his son picks a fight in defense of his sister at the amusement park, Hutch says, “I understand protecting your sister. It’s instinctual but there are other ways.” It’s funny because Hutch’s method of dealing with issues usually leaves people in the hospital or worse, and the switch to giving fatherly advice is not only disingenuous, but in context, hilarious.
“Nobody 2” is a showcase for Odenkirk, and he remains a lot of fun in the role, so it’s too bad the movie isn’t as fun as he is.
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for Booze & Reviews! This week we have a look at the sword and sandal epic “Gladiator II” and the drink that made real life gladiators fit to fight!
Listen to Booze & Reviews HERE! (Starts at 21:08)
Listen to the entertainment headlines, including the details on Netflix’s deal with Beyoncé HERE! (Starts at 10:48)
SYNOPSIS: In “Gladiator II,” director Ridley Scott’s long-gestating sequel to his 2000 blockbuster of almost the same name, Paul Mescal plays Lucius, former heir to the Roman Empire, now forced to battle in the Colosseum after his home is invaded by General Marcus Acacius on the orders of Rome’s syphilitic, power-hungry emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).
CAST: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington. Directed by Ridley Scott.
REVIEW: Come to see a man bite a monkey, stay for Denzel Washington’s deliciously devious villain.
The follow-up to Best Picture Oscar winner “Gladiator” is long on spectacle—Lucius not only battles giant monkeys, but also sharks and a huge, bloodthirsty rhino—but short on soul. It is loud and proud but the emotional connectivity offered by the original film, and specifically Russell Crowe’s performance, gets lost in this new translation.
The story of corruption, loyalty, birthright, vengeance and angry fighting animals is lavish and epic, but it isn’t much fun.
The set pieces in the Colosseum deliver big CGI action, there’s a fake severed head (a practical effect that makes the infamous rubber baby in Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper” look photorealistic) and throngs of soldiers for as far as the eye can see. It is epic filmmaking on a grand scale, but it’s missing adrenaline, that hit of dopamine that gives you a rush.
The opening battle scene and the abovementioned monkey bite are rousing, but after that the movie gets bogged down, not with plot—that’s relatively simple—but with heroic banter and political intrigue.
Paul Mescal, as Lucius, son of Russell Crowe’s character Maximus Decimus Meridius from the first film, takes pains to differentiate himself from Crowe’s Oscar winning performance. His gladiator is pensive, weighed down by the death of his warrior wife at the end of an arrow fired by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Mescal is charismatic but in his quest for vengeance, he’s tasked with delivering a series of heroic speeches, none of which are as memorable as Crowe’s “Are you not entertained?” declaration.
Pascal’s gets the job done as the conflicted Roman general Marcus Acacius. He’s a warrior, but fears Rome is headed in the wrong direction under the sadistic twin emperors, Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).
Both hand in fine performances, but then, into the mix, comes Denzel Washington. It’s a supporting role, but he’s here for a good time, not a long time. As Macrinus, a wealthy former slave with a plan to control Rome, he gives the film some bounce, some real personality.
As the villain of the piece, his cunning would put Machiavelli to shame. He’s a master chess player, moving everyone around as though they are pawns in his devilish game. His scenes are the film’s most memorable, and remember, this is in a movie where the lead character bites a monkey!
Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” has sword and sandal sequelitis. It’s bigger, louder and longer than the original film, but more, in this case, doesn’t mean better.
Every action movie worth their salt has a catchphrase, and “Nobody,” in theatres only, has a pretty good one. “Don’t call 911,” Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) says to his wife (Connie Nielsen) before taking on an army of baddies. It’s his “I’ll be back,” a line that tells you everything you need to know about the character’s confidence in his special set of skills.
But, when we first meet him unassuming suburban dad Hutch leads a life of quiet desperation. Under appreciated at home, a joke at work, he makes Rodney Dangerfield look like a well-respected man about town by comparison.
He is, by his own admission, a nobody.
When burglars invade his home, his son (Gage Munroe) fights back, but Hutch freezes. Later, when one of the cops of the scene says, “You know, if this was my family…” Hutch’s humiliation hangs heavy in the unspoken words.
But there’s more to Hutch than meets the eye. Turns out he’s an everyman who can kill every man. A former clean-up guy for “one of those three letter organizations,” he left the game for a normal life, but “over-corrected” and became everybody’s doormat. “I always knew it was a facade,” he says of his suburban life, “but it lasted longer than I expected.”
The aftermath of the burglary awakens a long dormant piece of his personality and when he single-handedly takes on a group of Russian toughs on a bus—to the strains of Steve Lawrence crooning “I’ve Gotta Be Me”—he earns the attention of karaoke singing crime boss Yulian Kuznetsov (Aleksey Serebryakov).
What follows is a violent, funny mix of “John Wick” and “Home Alone.”
There isn’t much to “Nobody” except for Hutch’s transformation and his ever-escalating way of offing the hordes of gun toting goons sent to silence him. Director Ilya Naishuller keeps the narrative to a minimum, doling out the exposition in the form of action instead of words. It’s fun, fast-paced and owes a nod to Guy Ritchie’s patented tricky editing and may be the most unexpected good time at the movies since terrible people killed John Wick’s dog.
From bewildered to badass, Odenkirk is an unlikely action star. Slight and wiry, he’s a like a coiled snake, and when he strikes he takes a lickin’ but keeps on tickin’. Unlike most action stars he gets the crap knocked out of him, but like most action stars, he’s relentless. It’s about as far away from his work on the “Mr. Show” as you could get. It’s more like a bloodied and bruised 1970s one man army character—think Charles Bronson—than anything he has done before.
It’s a compelling character, but a movie like “Nobody” is nothing without the fight scenes. Rest assured the action sequences are, as Hutch’s dad David (Christopher Lloyd) says, “just a bit excessive, but glorious.”
