Movies: Lady Macbeth, Logan Lucky, The Hitman’s Bodyguard

Lady Macbeth

This story is set in rural England in 1865.  The wife of an older man has an affair while her husband is away.  Wrapped in guise of a tasteful period piece, the story suddenly turns dark as the sweet obedient wife turns evil.

There is a good cast fulfilling an equally good screenplay.  Florence Pugh is the wife, Cosmo Jarvis is the love interest, Christopher Fairbank is the evil husband, and Naomi Ackie is the disapproving servant.

The script has more twists and turns than the freeway.  At the same time, the story is unsettling and quite surprising.  The screenplay is based on novella, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk written by Nikolai Leskov.

It is listed as a Drama running 1 hour, 29 minutes.  It is rated R for mature subject matter.  Definitely not appropriate for children.

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Logan Lucky

This Steven Soderbergh film is a rob-the-racetrack crime comedy/drama.  It is one part clever, one part amusing, one part farce and one part absurd.

It has an all star cast including goofy Daniel Craig, endearing Channing Tatum, impressive Adam Driver, a stoic Seth MacFarlane.  There were also bit parts by Hilary Swank and  Dwight Yoakam just for good measure.

The result is a film with high energy, just the right touch of humor, and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

It is rated PG-13 for some language and crude comments.  The genre is noted as a Comedy, running 119 minutes.

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The Hitman’s Bodyguard

What a fun story if you like international crime action/adventure films.  It is not perfect, in fact hardly believable.  But once past that, it is an action packed wild ride, intense and surprisingly funny.  The location spans from London to Amsterdam to The Hague.

The cast couldn’t be better.  Ryan Reynolds plays a once world class protection agent foiled by a notorious hit man played brilliantly by Samuel L. Jackson.  His wife is played by Salma Hayek in an over-the-top role.

The film has a James Bond edge to it but ultimately the humor takes the rough edges off the constant and intense action scenes.  Many critics poo pooed this film as having too many cliches.  We say relax, roll with the ride and laugh a little.

It is rated R for violence and strong language.  It is difinitely not suitable for children.  The genre is listed as action, adventure, comedy.  Run time is 111 minutes.

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