Bad Boys For Life (2020) - Movie Review

The Bad Boys movies are basically ground zero for what filmmaker Michael Bay is recognised for, and not just because the first film served as his initial break into feature filmmaking. Watching it today, the first Bad Boys contains so many quips and plot threads and, hell, even entire characters that could only work in the 90’s, it surpasses the point of being dated into being its own cultural artefact. A snapshot of a bygone era in action cinema, one made easier to watch because Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s chemistry is that damn tight.

The second film is closer to the Michael Bay we all know and… recognise, to the point where it’s so damn sophomoric that even the energetic action scenes can be tough to watch. That and drilling Shake Ya Tailfeather into the audience’s eardrums, a feat that has only served to deepen my disdain for the bulk of Bay’s oeuvre.

I bring all this up not just as proof that I actually did my homework this time around and watched the predecessors, but also to help set up just how much of a left-hook this latest entry is. The Bad Boys films, whether you like them or not, are classic wish-fulfillment action yarns, the kind where accountability and good taste come second to being as ‘cool’ as possible. This film ain’t like that. In fact, even for postmodern re-examination sequels, this really pushes the boat out.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2019) - Movie Review

I really hate my review for Moonlight. This isn’t me at my usual self-deprecation; I genuinely don’t like how it turned out. I’ve always had a policy of utter honesty, even if it meant getting into uncomfortable shit in the process, but that review showed me at my ugliest. It’s just about the whitest thing I’ve ever written and it shows, coming across as racist at certain times. The suburban white kid-in-adult-clothing in me saw Moonlight’s incredible honesty and rawness and just didn’t know how to respond; it’s like I just read through someone’s private journal, something that is both true and something I myself wasn’t meant to see.

That’s the closest I can get to a rationale on why it turned out how it did, and I can only hope it’s something that hasn’t persisted since then. And since we’re dealing with the latest from the same writer/director, and it indeed carries that same heavy feeling I left Moonlight with, I’m hoping that this review will show that.

mother! (2017) - Movie Review

Over the course of these reviews, I’ve talked at great length about directors who rank up there with my absolute favourites: Edgar Wright, Christopher Nolan, Kevin Smith, Tim Burton, Steven Soderbergh, even directors who became my favourites as I wrote more about them here like Denis Villeneuve. Today, however, we’re talking about my No. 1 spot, the filmmaker that I hold in the highest regard above all others: Darren Aronofsky.

 

The reasons for which are rather simple: His filmography is full of truly great films, save for Black Swan but that’s just down to personal taste, and he fulfills my liking for psycho-thrills more consistently than any other filmmaker I’ve come across. His approach to all things spiritual and psychological appealed to me even before my critical awakening, and to this day he continues to impress me. Without question, I was looking forward to this one… and yet the initial opinions on it (both from critics and audiences) are the most divisive I’ve seen for any film in recent years. Well, time to cut into this thing, and be warned that this is going to be a bumpy ride.