Super Troopers 2

Super Troopers 2

Super Troopers 2 is a comedy film directed by Jay Chandrasekhar. The sequel to the 2001 Super Troopers movie, the film was written by and starred in the Broken Lizard comedy team, which consists of Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske. The following plot of Super Forces is called to establish a new Highway Patrol station when international border disputes arise between the United States and Canada.

Country: USA

Language: English

Release Date: 20 April 2018 (USA)

Runtime: 100 min

Director: Jay Chandrasekhar

Writers: Jay Chandrasekhar (as Broken Lizard), Kevin Heffernan (as Broken Lizard)

Stars: Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme

• Synopsis
• Reviews

Years after the first film, the guys have been fired from their jobs as police officers due to a screw-up and now work in construction with Farva as their manager. When it is discovered that a village in Canada is actually within the United States an international border dispute arises between the two North American nations. The five are given a chance to be state troopers again and set up a new highway patrol station in the disputed area of Canada.

"Super Troopers 2" is a crime comedy mystery which is a sequel to the 2001 cult classic "Super Troopers". Version 2.0 is again written by the Broken Lizard comedy group and again directed by cast member Jay Chandrasekhar. Most of the actors from the first one are back in action (although some merely in cameos), while the core cast includes returnees Brian Cox as Captain O'Hagen, Paul Soter as Jeff, Chandrasekhar as "Thorny", Steve Lemme as "Mack", Erik Stohlhanske as "Rabbit", and, of course, Kevin Heffernan as Rodney "Rod" Farva, the fat, obnoxious trooper the rest of his unit loves to hate.

As the action begins, this comically inept group of officers are... former officers, having all been fired for an incident which took place in between movies and is only described verbally in this one (until an amusing payoff at the end of the movie). But Captain O'Hagen comes out of retirement and gets the band back together when an unusual opportunity arises for which this group of misfits is uniquely semi-qualified. It seems that a government reassessment of the exact border between U.S. and Canada has shown that one French-Canadian town is actually in the U.S. - and is very close the area where these super ridiculous members of the Vermont State Police used to "work". The re-instated troopers are called upon to set up a Vermont State Highway patrol station in this soon-to-be added U.S. territory.

The troopers encounter plenty of challenges as they help the tiny Quebec town and its residents transition to being Americans. Besides the natural resistance of the life-long Canadians in the area, a prank-filled rivalry develops between the Super Troopers and a small group of Canadian Mounties (Will Sasso, Tyler Labine and Hayes MacArthur). The small town mayor, former Canadian ice hockey legend Guy Le Franc (Rob Lowe) seems amenable enough, and the beautiful Canadian government attaché Genevieve Aubois (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is as helpful as she can be, but the guys from Vermont are... well, themselves - and as jingoistic as you'd expect them to be. But matters get even more complicated when the guys stumble on evidence that there's more going on than simply correcting a border mistake.

"Super Troopers 2" is a silly good time. It'll likely appeal to devotees of the original and may win some new fans as well. "Super Trooper" fans will "get" more of the gags and enjoy the film a bit more than those who haven't seen the first one, but it doesn't take much to join this franchise mid-stream. (For the unitiated wanting a frame of reference, good cinematic comparisons include "Reno 911", "Dumb and Dumber" and "Talladega Nights".) This sequel brings back many of the characters and gags from the first film and features a plot that's wonderfully suited to this troupe's comedic talents. Of course, there is little that's realistic about the story or remotely high-brow about the humor, but what's there is fairly well-done and makes for enjoyable escapist comedy.

The film took many years to come to fruition as studios doubted that a sequel, produced over a decade after the original, would find an audience. After a successful crowdfunding campaign produced $2 million in seed money in 24 hours (and $4.7 million overall), the film was greenlit and principal photography began in the Central Massachusetts area on October 23, 2015. The film was released in the United States on April 20, 2018, by Fox Searchlight Pictures. It received generally negative reviews from critics, who criticized the rehashed and lazy jokes and called it "a long-awaited disappointment.

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Red Sparrow

Red Sparrow (2018)

Red Sparrow is a thriller film directed by Francis Lawrence and written by Justin Haythe, based on a 2013 novel of the same name by Jason Matthews. The film stars Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts, Charlotte Rampling, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jeremy Irons. It tells the story of a Russian intelligence officer sent to make contact with a CIA agent in the hope of finding the identity of a mole.

Title: Red Sparrow

Country: USA

Language: English | Russian

Release: 2 March 2018 (USA)

Runtime: 140 min

Director: Francis Lawrence

Writers: Justin Haythe (screenplay by), Jason Matthews (based upon the book by)

Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Matthias Schoenaerts

• Synopsis
• Reviews

Dominika Egorova is many things. A devoted daughter determined to protect her mother at all costs. A prima ballerina whose ferocity has pushed her body and mind to the absolute limit. A master of seductive and manipulative combat. When she suffers a career-ending injury, Dominika and her mother are facing a bleak and uncertain future. That is why she finds herself manipulated into becoming the newest recruit for Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people like her to use their bodies and minds as weapons. After enduring the perverse and sadistic training process, she emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow the program has ever produced. Dominika must now reconcile the person she was with the power she now commands, with her own life and everyone she cares about at risk, including an American CIA agent who tries to convince her he is the only person she can trust.

This is the first large picture recently that actually had a challenging and interesting plot, which I enjoyed, especially the ending. I did not find it especially violent compared to many other films, and the nudity hyped in the preview is actually rare and strictly plot related, not gratuitous. This is a harsh film, but that is the subject matter it deals with, and it is well done, not the frivolous treatment espionage usually gets in a shaken not stirred manner.

I liked this film, and found it very entertaining, and it had a story I felt really captured the dangerous and stressful situations in the spy world. Probably not for everyone, but if you want a good edgy thriller, this is it. The cast was very good, everybody brought their best game in my view. Those that trashed the cast have a real credibility problem.

Not perfect, but a lot better than many recent film escapades getting much better reviews, so judge for yourself. If you like a serious thriller, you will enjoy this.

Red Sparrow premiered at the Newseum in Washington, DC on February 15, 2018, and was released in the United States on March 2, 2018, and is worldwide. The film also received mixed reviews from critics, who described it as having "more style than substance," and criticized the length of the film and relied too heavily on graphic violence and sex, while praising the appearance of Jennifer Lawrence.

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Jigsaw

Jigsaw (2017)

Jigsaw is a 2017 American horror film directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, written by Josh Stolberg and Peter Goldfinger, and starring Matt Passmore, Callum Keith Rennie, Clé Bennett, and Hannah Emily Anderson. It is the eighth installment in the Saw franchise, picking up over a decade after the death of the eponymous Jigsaw killer, during the police investigation of a new succession of murders that fit his modus operandi. Saw 3D (2010) was originally deemed the final installment of the series, before Lionsgate Films commissioned the production of Jigsaw from a pitch by Stolberg and Goldfinger.

Title: Jigsaw

Country: USA | Canada

Language: English

Release: 27 October 2017 (USA)

Runtime: 92 min

Directors: Michael Spierig, Peter Spierig

Writers: Pete Goldfinger, Josh Stolberg

Stars: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie

• Synopsis
• Reviews

Bodies are turning up around the city, each having met a uniquely gruesome demise. As the investigation proceeds, evidence points to one suspect: John Kramer, the man known as Jigsaw, who has been dead for over 10 years.

Since the Saw franchise is one of my biggest guilty pleasures when it comes to horror, I've been hoping for a new installment ever since The Final Chapter was supposed to end the franchise back in 2010. Even though the movies got progressively worse, there is something about this franchise that always draws me back and makes me want to re-watch it.

I had high expectations for Jigsaw because of two reasons: one, the producers stated in an interview that they were offered more than a hundred scripts for a new movie from different writers, but had never been pleased with any of them until they discovered a script so good, which ultimately got picked to be adapted; second, the Spierig brothers, Jigsaw's directors, had previously directed Predestination, such a smart and enticing sci-fi time- travel movie that I liked quite a lot.

After seeing Jigsaw, I left the theater disappointed. I'll start with what I enjoyed:

The score by Charlie Clouser is just as fabulous as it has always been and manages to go in line perfectly with each scene.

The performances didn't bother me at all, although none of the actors really gets to shine. Laura Vandervoort and Paul Braunstein stood out here, with the latter generating some funny moments worthy of admiration.

The direction was very polished and the movie was competently filmed, but the Spierig brothers weren't given much to show their creativity on. This leads me to the negatives.

The CGI is very good. There is, however, one scene in which I was feeling as if I was watching one of the most recent Resident Evil movies and that didn't really work for me.

Filming began in November 2016, with post-production following in January. The film was released in the United States on October 27, 2017, received generally unfavorable reviews from critics, and grossed $103 million worldwide.

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Annabelle: Creation

Annabelle: Creation (2017)

Annabelle: Creation is a 2017 American supernatural horror film directed by David F. Sandberg and written by Gary Dauberman. It is a prequel to 2014's Annabelle and the fourth installment in The Conjuring series. The film stars Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Lulu Wilson, Anthony LaPaglia, and Miranda Otto, and depicts the possessed Annabelle doll's origin.

Title: Annabelle: Creation

Country: USA

Language: English | Spanish

Release Date: 19 June 2017 (USA)

Director: David F. Sandberg

Writers: Gary Dauberman, Gary Dauberman (based on characters created by)

Stars: Anthony LaPaglia, Samara Lee, Miranda Otto

• Synopsis
• Reviews

The manufacturer of dolls Samuel Mullins is a happy family man with his wife Esther and their daughter Bee, who dies after being hit by a car. Twelve years later, Samuel and his wife, Esther, welcomes a nun and six orphaned girls to his home. He tells that only a locked room (that belonged to Bee) and Esther's room would be off limits for the girls. The crippled girl, Janice, manages to sneak in Bee's room during the night and finds a doll locked inside a closet. After she plays in the room, she is haunted by an evil force. What has Janice unleashed in Bee's room.

A prequel of Annabelle, which was the prequel of The Conjuring. Absolutely nobody asked for this. Nobody wanted this. No one. But, thankfully (surprising, right?) we got it.

Annabelle: Creation has no business being this good. Funny enough, the same can be said about 2016's Ouija: Origins of Evil. It is strange that these two bizarrely similar films were released within a year of each other. Both follow up on terrible first films. Both are prequels of those terrible first films. Both shouldn't have been made. Both are extremely effective horror films. Oh, and both star the excellent child-actor Lulu Wilson. The similarities don't even end there.

After the film ended and I saw who directed this, everything made more sense. David F. Sandberg has the reins here–who you might remember from directing Lights Out, another surprisingly great 2016 horror flick. The work done in that movie with the use of lighting and repetition is just as suspenseful here (if not more so, in some scenes). Sandberg thankfully stamps what could have been run-of-the- mill horror scenes with his signature creativity. Horror largely relies on the talent of the director, and this is a case of the direction only elevating the film.

While Lulu Wilson is a definitely a standout in her second straight horror movie role, her counterpart Talitha Bateman also gives a great performance. As in most horror movies, most of the scares are seen through the eyes of the children in the film. Luckily, the two youngest actresses here–Wilson and Bateman–practically act circles around the rest of the cast. In fact, there were quite a few moments when I felt as though these two actresses deserved a better script. The pair definitely do the best they can with what they are given however, adding a great deal of character to this film.

The bar is low when it comes to horror film scripts. Even the best of the genre still have the occasional cringe-worthy line or plot hole (The Conjuring 2, I'm looking at you). All this to say, I'm going to go easy on the faults of Annabelle: Creation's script. The writing here is not bad by any means. There are cringy lines here and there, but that is to be expected. The characters make extremely poor choices, but even that is to be expected. The problem rests almost solely in the dull first 30 minutes of this film.

Look, I'm all for slow burn horror movies. But when the star of your horror film is an inanimate object, you just can't afford to have a slow opening act. However, once this film starts picking up with the scares in the latter half of the film, much of that first act can be forgiven. The film goes in some unexpected directions towards the end of the film which adds some surprising creativity.

No spoilers of course, but the way the first Annabelle is tied in to this film is outstanding. So outstanding that it almost makes up for the 90 minutes I wasted sitting through the garbage that was that first film. Almost.

Credit to director David F. Sandberg for rescuing this franchise from a tedious first film. Annabelle: Creation is legitimately scary, which is all you can really ask for from a horror film.

Annabelle: Creation premiered at the LA Film Festival on June 19, 2017, and was theatrically released in the United States on August 11, 2017. The film has grossed over $306 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the atmosphere and acting, and noted it as an improvement over its predecessor.

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Blade Runner 2049

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

The American science fiction movie 2017 directed by Denis Villeneuve and produced by Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Johnson, Bud Yorkin and Cynthia Yorkin. The script of the film was written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, while the story was written by Hampton Fancher based on the characters in the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. The film stars Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Mackenzie Davis, Carla Juri, Lennie James, Dave Bautista and Jared Leto.

Title: Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Country: USA | UK | Hungary | Canada

Language: English | Finnish | Japanese | Hungarian | Russian | Somali | Spanish

Release Date: 3 October 2017 (USA)

Runtime: 164 min

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writers: Hampton Fancher (screenplay by), Michael Green (screenplay by)

• Synopsis
• Reviews

The year is 2049. The Tyrell corporation has collapsed decades before in the wake of violent revolts involving their Nexus-6 through -8 Replicants, forcing Tyrell into bankruptcy. After the world's ecosystems collapsed, famine swept the Earth. With his invention of synthetic farming, Niander Wallace ended food shortages and acquired Tyrell's remaining assets. The Wallace Company has reinvigorated the Replicant industry by producing the Nexus-9 Replicants, a new generation of artificial humans with modified behavior to make them more obedient than the older models. These Replicants have implanted memories and open-ended lifespans, and are still used for slave labor on the off-world colonies, but some are also used as Blade Runners, hunting down and 'retiring' the few remaining older models that are still at large.

So, I didn't expect much from this sequel when it was announced, but since the original 'Blade Runner' is, in my opinion, one of the greatest movies ever made (if not the greatest), I had to see it anyways. As I often do, I didn't read any reviews or watch any trailers before going.

So, where do we start... While not perfect, and inferior to the original, this is still a great movie. Visually it's simply stunning and the actors are all excellent. Just as importantly, or maybe even more so, like the original it combines a slow pace and fantastic ambiance to create an introspective mood and invite reflection on some important themes and issues of our time. (although, maybe, lacking a dialogue with the same power as the Roy Batty monologue at the end of the first movie).

As some negative reviewers said, it is slow..... but that works well with the story and its intent to create a very clear, pervasive mood rather than to dazzle with dumb car chases, gunfights, or explosions,not to mention pushing the viewer to form his own opinions. The boringpart is subjective: for viewers who like to be challenged intellectually I'd say many action movies are a lot more boring. Nothing wrong with escapist movies, which I also enjoy when I'm in the right mood, but it doesn't change the fact that they're inherently much more predictable, superficial and formulaic. In other words, entertaining but intellectually boring.

Regarding Blade Runner 2049, one disappointment, though, to be honest, was the soundtrack: aside from being too loud, it really consists mostly of weird sounds/noises etc. While they do heighten the mood at times, or fit the atmosphere, they are not really not up to the lofty standards of the photography, the action, or the direction.

Also, the plot could have been a little tighter, and while the slow pace is what this movie needed, I'm not convinced it really had to be this long (or to touch on so many themes, as it does).

Still, it's a fantastic, and unique, viewing experience, and even with its imperfections it does create a believable (if gloomy and depressing) dystopian vision of the future, and touches on themes that could spark endless debate and reflection. And herein lies its beauty: shallow popcorn movies will have faded from everybody's memory in weeks. A movie like Blade Runner 2049 will inspire us and challenge us,whether we agree with some of its vision or not, maybe even whether we love it or hate it, for years to come.

Blade Runner 2049 received five nominations at the 90th Academy Awards, winning Best Visual Effects and Best Cinematography. It received eight nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, including Best Director, winning Best Cinematography and Best Special Visual Effects

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Get Out

Get Out (2017)

The thriller mystery horror movie of the United States in 2017 directed by Jordan Peele and produced by Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Edward H. Hamm Jr. and Jordan Peele. The script of the film was written by Jordan Peele. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Lakeith Stanfield and Catherine Keener.

Title: Get Out

Country: Japan | USA

Language: English

Release Date: 23 January 2017 (USA)

Runtime: 104 min

Director: Jordan Peele

Writer: Jordan Peele

Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford

• Synopsis
• Reviews

A young African-American photographer by the name of Chris Washington is drug out to his girlfriend's parents' house to spend the weekend and meet the family. Chris feels unwelcome, considering there are only three other African-Americans on the farm, and two of them work on it. As the weekend progresses, Chris starts noticing some weird things around the farm and when he snaps a picture of one of the family members, the man freaks out.
The sense of uneasiness is in the air and it continues to grow as Chris finds out the strange truth of what is really going on in this place.

Once in a while a movie comes along that takes a genre by the scruff of the neck and vigorously shakes it into a new shape.

This is so with Get Out, a horror movie (so the marketing blurb says) that lobs a few horror tropes into a lean and mean 104 minute thriller. But it is really a social observation on the insidiousness of racism. It comes out the other end as a unique movie offering.

It borrows from Pacific Heights, Psycho, Michael Haneke's astonishing Party Games and sub-horror-porn like Saw without ever being any of them.

Without resorting to spoilers its one gigantic twist from start to finish that realises the fears of a young black American guy on a trip to the country to meet his wealthy WASP girlfriend's family on a celebration weekend. Every sentence uttered by every character becomes a retrospective clue as to what the outcome will be.

Given it's described as a 'horror' you can expect a deal of nasty stuff in a climactic ending. What director and screenwriter Jordan Peele (amazingly a debut outing) most cleverly does is apply Hitchcockian tension so that 89 minutes of tension are realised in a mere 15 minutes of terror in such a way that the nasty bits don't (as so often is the case) outstay their welcome.

Superb performances all round from the five principal actors, but especially boyfriend and girlfriend Daniel Kaluuya and Allison Williams (Girls).

It's should be no surprise that this has been both BAFTA and Golden Globes nominated, but it is because this genre rarely reaches this level of critical acclaim.

Source from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

At the 90th Academy Awards, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Kaluuya. It also earned five nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards, two at the 75th Golden Globe Awards (Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Comedy or Musical for Kaluuya) and two at the 71st British Academy Film Awards (Best Actor in a Leading Role for Kaluuya and Best Original Screenplay).

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