Movies: Good Time, Ingrid Goes West, Wolf Warrior II

Good Time

We have no idea where this title comes from, but this Crime/Drama film from New York Directors Ben Safdie and Josh Safdie delivers a tense and dangerous trip for two desperate brothers who botch a bank robbery.  The night goes down hill from there.

That said, it’s the acting that brings this film to life.  Robert Pattinson and Buddy Duress give riveting performances.  The script is compelling and intriguing.  The tone is exhilarating and discomforting at the same time.

This movie is not for everyone.  It is gritty and earned an R rating for language, violence, drug use and sexual content.  It is absolutely not appropriate for children.

Run time is 1 hour, 40 minutes.

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Ingrid Goes West

Stalker and stalked come together in this social media gone bad film about two young ladies and their fixation with social media as a life style.  The film is not timid about commentary, sometimes loathsome and/or pathetic.

The acting is a strong suit here.  Aubrey Plaza dazzles as the damaged Ingrid.  Elizabeth Olsen is perfect as the idolized Taylor Sloane.  O’Shea Jackson shines as the boyfriend/landlord.  Billy Magnussen is superb as the evil brother.

Rated R for stalking, drugs and role play sex, with a run time of 1 hour, 37 minutes.  The genre is listed as a Drama/Comedy although we found very little to laugh about.

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Wolf Warrior II

Hollywood and the Western movie machines have long been criticized for pontificating national pride and self righteous commentaries into movies big and small.  Move over Western studios, China is entering the global cinematic scene.

This film, to date the second highest grossing film in Chinese history, is making more money in China than Avatar made in the US.  Think a Chinese Rambo saves a nameless African country from bloodthirsty rebels and mercenaries.

Chinese heart throb Wu Jing is China’s super soldier and Yu Nan is his love interest. Frank Grillo is the enemy bad ass and Samuel Thivierge is the evil assassin.  There are a dozen more actors contributing to this second in a series of films depicting China as a global military tour de force.

Entertaining, refreshing, heavy handed and suspenseful, all at the same time. Very good but, there is unilaterally “too much” of everything, including commentaries and glorified Chinese messages.

The genre is noted as Action/Adventure/Drama/Art House/International.  It runs 121 minutes.  It is not rated, however parents should note there is extensive violence and destruction, and some adult themed material.   Mostly Mandarin with English subtitles.

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