Review: '21 Bridges', Chadwick Boseman Lays Down The Law In A Tough, Familiar Police Thriller

You could count 21 ways in which cop thriller 21 Bridges looks like a thousand similar movies: dirty cops, stolen drug money, political corruption, rebellious lead detective...it's all there. But all you really need is one reason why the film holds up better than it should and that's Chadwick Boseman in his grittiest, tougher-than-leather role yet. He stomps his way through New York City with a massive chip on his shoulder and we can't help but want someone to dare and knock it off.

Boseman plays gunslinging NYPD detective Andre Davis, who we know is a rebel right from the beginning. We're literally introduced to him as he's being interrogated by Internal Affairs for a history of shooting nearly a dozen bad guys. Andre has his own moral code to live by, one forged two decades earlier when his father, a respected police officer, was murdered in the line of duty. Now Andre is constantly on the search for justice, doing whatever it takes to achieve it.

That makes him the perfect bloodhound to sniff out Ray (Taylor Kitsch) and Michael (Stephan James), a pair of small-time criminals looking for a big drug score. What they find is a stash of coke too big for them to handle, and when the police suddenly arrive it leads to shootout that ends with eight officers murdered. Andre may be considered a loose cannon by some, but he isn't stupid. He knows his fellow officers will be looking for revenge, the mayor wants to kick this up to the feds immediately, and those two killers are going to have a tough time getting out of the city alive. The best way to do that is lockdown all of Manhattan, shut down every bridge leading in and out, block off the tunnels, guard the seaports, and find the killers before morning traffic. No mayor in the history of the world would approve that, but it makes for a pretty nifty premise and a very cool visual as the NYPD races to shut the city down.

21 Bridges may be familiar, but the ticking clock scenario it presents is a real barnburner. Directed by Game of Thrones vet Brian Kirk, the action sequences have sizzle, in particular a foot chase through the New York subway system that'll have you forgetting much of the film was shot in Philadelphia. Violence is at a high, with Kitch's hardened killer never more than a few minutes away from gunning somebody down. The same goes for the trigger-happy NYPD officers who are always standing in Andre's way.

Avengers: Endgame directors Joe & Anthony Russo's names have been all over this one, and for good reason. It's their first major project as producers outside of Marvel, and bringing in Boseman was a smart decision. The Black Panther star projects authority and level-headedness. While other characters in the film try to label him as a hothead, his cool is what stands out amidst the chaos. Unfortunately, Boseman is surrounded by a talented supporting cast (JK Simmons, Sienna Miller, Keith David) who aren't given a lot to work with. Adam Mervis and Matthew Michael Carnahan’s screenplay sucks the air out of the conspiracy Andre is ensnared in. The good guys and bad guys are so obvious it's surprising they weren't wearing white or black uniforms to identify themselves. Events unfold at a strangely accelerated pace. The killers are uncovered and cornered before too long, making the whole "lockdown" aspect seem kinda pointless, only to give way to a reveal that we all can see coming as far away as New Jersey.

Then again, I suspect not many people are going to 21 Bridges to be surprised, but to watch Boseman be the law. If that's what you're in for, you won't leave disappointed. The simple truth is that movies like this have largely been relegated to VOD or Bluray release when they used to be a major part of the multiplex experience.  You have the Russos and Boseman to thank for turning that around, at least for now.

3 out of 5

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'21 Bridges' Trailer: Chadwick Boseman Is On A Manhunt Through New York City

Not much surprises me anymore, but when the cop thriller 21 Bridges emerged as the most anticipated movie at our latest Coming Attractions Trailer Night, I was floored. It speaks to the popularity of star Chadwick Boseman, and the smart decision by Avengers: Endgame directors Joe & Anthony Russo to hitch their wagon to the Black Panther actor.

The Russo Brothers act as producers with Game of Thrones' Brian Kirk as director. Boseman plays a dogged NYPD officer who shuts down the entire city to find a pair of cop killers before they can escape. We've seen this "cop on the edge" stuff before, but rarely from the perspective of a person of color and I do think that is driving a lot of the interest here. Joining Boseman in the cast are Sienna Miller, Stephan James, Keith David, Taylor Kitsch, and J.K. Simmons

SYNOPSIS: 21 BRIDGES follows an embattled NYPD detective (Chadwick Boseman), who is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred on who he is pursuing, and who is in pursuit of him. When the search intensifies, extreme measures are taken to prevent the killers from escaping Manhattan as the authorities close all 21 BRIDGES to prevent any entry or exit from the iconic island.

21 Bridges opens on November 22nd, having been moved from a September release date. I'm not sure either date works for a movie like this, but we'll find out soon enough.

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Review: ''The Wedding Year', Sarah Hyland Comedy Is All Cliche, No Substance

There’s a period of time in every person’s life, between their late 20’s to mid 30’s, where every summer is wedding season. In come the invitations, gift registries, hotel reservations, and lifelong commitments, causing every young person to reflect on love, their life choices and their futures. With the rise of hookup culture, polyamory and open marriage making waves in millennial and Gen-Z communities, it's natural for the idea of marriage to be questioned on screen. In comes The Wedding Year, a clumsy comedy that tries to capture this unique perspective on marriage by one couple juggling seven weddings and their relationship in the course of a single year. 

Starting at the beginning of Mara and Jake’s relationship (Sarah Hyland and Tyler James Williams) and following them through these weddings and to their own eventual engagement, the film struggles to find smooth storytelling. The film reads more like a millennial Instagram story than an actual movie, the story told in often incoherent bits, feeling disjointed and emotionally all over the place. Too many drone shots of L.A., the emotional foundation of the relationship is not established well and its lead Mara is not relatable but unlikeable. Her valid fears on marriage come off as whiney, she’s not a great friend, there’s nothing done to get the audience on her side. The film tries to coherently portray current millennial views on marriage and love through this character and fails miserably. 

It's not that this concept doesn’t work because it does. Earlier this year, Plus One, a film starring Jack Quaid (The Boys) and Maya Erskine (Pen15) about two friends in denial about their feelings for each other, was released. Over the course of many weddings, their characters fell in love while trying to wrap their heads around modern relationships and marriage. The story flowed together and had genuinely authentic and funny moments. Its understated nature added to its authenticity and its characters were not one dimensional. If Plus One is how millennials are, then The Wedding Year is how Baby Boomers and Generation X perceive them to be. 

Despite well-intentioned but underused supporting actors like Anna Camp, Wanda Sykes and Keith David, the film doesn’t have much to stand on. A choppy and cliched script and lack of characterization and archetypal character depictions keep it from being anything meaningful. 

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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Review: 'American Dresser', An Unfulfilling Trip Across The States With Tom Berenger

American Dresser tells the story of John Moore (Tom Berenger), a recent widower with two grown daughters. John has turned to the bottle ever since his wife, Sandra (Gina Gershon) died of cancer. His family is falling apart, and his drinking is putting a strain on his relationship with his two daughters. One day John finds a letter in his wife’s belongings that leads him to impulsively embark on a cross country road trip to the pacific northwest on his motorcycle, a trip that him and his wife had planned before she became ill. John’s longtime friend Charlie (Keith David) is very sick and may have to have his leg amputated. Charlie convinces John to let him tag along for the journey – as it may be the last chance he has for the ride of a lifetime - and the two set off. Before long, Jon and Charlie find themselves in a precarious situation when John’s bike breaks down. A young hotshot biker named Willie (writer/director Carmine Cangialosi), who seems to be running from something, comes to their aid and saves the day. John allows Willie to join the trip, much to Charlie’s dismay. The three of them continue along the path to the pacific northwest and all the adventures that lay in their way.

American Dresser never establishes any significant character development. There are some brief moments towards the beginning of the film where you can see the anguish John is experiencing and how his wife’s death is fracturing his relationship with his daughters. At his wife’s funeral he can’t even bring himself to comfort his daughter who is falling apart – not being able to find the words to say to help ease her pain. He wants to be there for her, but just doesn’t know how anymore. One helpless gaze tells a thousand words about the chasm that exists between the two of them.

Outside of some scattered brief moments where Charlie discusses his injury and John relives their moments in the war, American Dresser lacks at providing any true depth to the characters. John, Charlie, and Willie just go from stop to stop on their road trip, meeting different people, many absurd, along the way. There are some dramatic moments and issues the three characters find themselves in during their trip, but without really connecting with the characters, it is hard to truly care about the problems that plague them. The acting leaves a lot to be desired as well. A shaky plot, lack of true care for any of the characters, and subpar acting is not a recipe for success – you’d be better off avoiding this trip.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

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Review: Shane Black's 'The Nice Guys' Starring Ryan Gosling And Russell Crowe

Let's get one thing out of the way right away: The Nice Guys is funny. Like stupidly funny, possibly the funniest movie of the year.  That latter point might be a bit of a surprise to some, but it probably shouldn't be. As the purveyor of such bad boy buddy flicks as Lethal Weapon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and even Iron Man 3 (yep, that counts), Shane Black is the best at mixing laughs with testosterone-fueled action. He's had some legendary duos to work with, as well, and while we'll always remember Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, it's time to start singing the praises of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, who are just as good.

Admit it, the first time you saw Gosling with that '70s mustache sitting alongside a bruising Crowe it made you chuckle. Well, that's pretty much how the entire movie is. The pairing is so unlikely that just seeing them together is funny, but they also play off one another so well that it takes The Nice Guys soaring to unexpected comic heights.  The film is set in 1977 Los Angeles, Black's preferred version of the city since it's like something ripped out of a classic film noir. Dangerous dames, smog, polyester suits, and a bustling porn industry have consumed Black's idea of Hollywood, resembling aesthetically Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice. But the tones are completely different; The Nice Guys is unabashedly silly, even as the body count starts to stack up.

Gosling plays down 'n out private instigator Holland March, who is struggling with the recent death of his wife, and the burden of caring for his whip-smart daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice). She's basically holding things together while her dad often finds himself waking up fully-clothed in the bathtub. Basically, he's a walking calamity; a well-meaning calamity but one nonetheless. Crowe is street-level enforcer Jackson Healy, a tough guy who is like the low-rent version of The Equalizer. He beats up people for cash, although he has a certain code of honor to him. If there's a creepy old guy hitting on high school girls, Jackson will set him straight one way or another. He's nice enough to knock on the door before pounding your face in. In the case of his first encounter with Holland, he's also nice enough to have some pleasant conversation, as well.

The two are brought into one another's orbit after a porn star's car goes crashing through a family's home, killing the actress inside. Typical of Black's films, it's a scene both shocking in its brutality and laughably insane in the details. The young boy who witnesses it is holding a stroke magazine with the actress in it, only to find her splayed out after the crash with her bulging fake breasts staring up at him. This leads to Holland being hired by a confused elderly woman to find her missing niece, while Jackson has been hired to ward off any pursuers.

Ultimately, the pretzel-like connections that make up the central mystery don't matter much. It's all just an excuse to get Jackson and Holland together, which is what we really want to see. Eventually they decide to work together once things get murky, and for these two dim bulbs things stay that way for most of the film. But that's also when it's best, because Gosling and Crowe have a goofball chemistry that clicks instantly. Gosling stumbles around, falling off of things, shrieking at the sight of his own blood, and making inane observations. Crowe's humor is also of a physical nature, but it involves beating hapless foes into a bloody pulp. Together, along with scene-stealer Rice, they form an unlikely family unit that is both ridiculous and charming.  The film may be called "The Nice Guys" but Jackson and Holland are hardly the types who should be judging anybody given their violent professions, and yet some of the best gags find them doing just that. A student protest over air pollution finds the duo not-so-quietly questioning their motives, and they are always trying to impart some half-baked pearl of wisdom on Holly, who turns out to be much brighter than either man.

At just over two hours it's tough for Black and co-writer Anthony Bagarozzi to keep up the pace, and eventually the film becomes more of a standard procedural, broken up by the occasional shootout. That said; the finale is a cacophony of deadly comic mishaps that shows Black's growth as a filmmaker. Bullets fly, bodies fall from staggering heights, fires burn, all while Holland scrambles after a getaway film reel. The sheer chaos of it all is exactly what makes The Nice Guys such a fun ride, one with obvious sequel potential if Black, Gosling, and Crowe are willing. Let's hope they are.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Trailer for 'Community' Season 6 Spoofs 'Avengers: Age of Ultron'

Uh, you'll be able to find Community where now? On something called Yahoo! Screen? Yahoo has their own streaming service? Well....tell me how that works out. I didn't watch the show on NBC and I certainly won't on Yahoo, but this Avengers: Age of Ultron spoof trailer for Season Six is pretty clever.

Not everybody is coming back but Joel McHale, Ken Jeong, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash, and Dani Pudi will, with new additions Paget Brewster and Keith David. Okay, I may tune in for Brewster, especially if she's playing a "villain", and David has always been a favorite.

Basically, it looks like class is back in session for the students and faculty at Greendale Community College. Community begins streaming on March 17th.

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Kim Basinger Joins 'The Nice Guys', Margot Robbie Dances 'The Taliban Shuffle'

Shane Black's The Nice Guys already stars Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe, Keith David, Beau Knapp, and Matt Bomer, but now it's getting a female touch with the addition of Kim Basinger. It's an L.A. Confidential reunion for Basinger and Crowe, with her now playing a dubious chief justice in the 1970s-set film about a Los Angeles "private eye and a hired leg breaker who must work together to solve the case of a missing girl and the seemingly unrelated death of a porn star." [THR]

It seems Margot Robbie is up for just about everything right now, and while we wait to see if she takes a role in DC's Suicide Squad, she's eying a comedic role opposite Tina Fey. The Wolf of Wall Street actress may join The Taliban Shuffle, a comedy adaptation of Kim Barker's memoir about her time as "as a fish-out-of-water in Kabul, filing stories about militants, being a woman in wartime Iraq and Pakistan, dealing with boredom interspersed with dashes of violence and the promiscuous war correspondent culture." Fey would play Barker, with Robbie as a gorgeous and competitive news anchor who befriends her. If Robbie signs on it would reteam her with Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, her directors on the heist film, Focus, which stars Will Smith. [THR]

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Review: "Free Birds," starring Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, and Amy Poehler

It seems every single month now there is a new computer-animated film coming out so that people with children can go to the movies. They market it hard and make special 3-D glasses for the kids and sell fast food kid meals so that kids will bug their parents to take them to see this bright and colorful 90-minute adventure in safe-movie land. This time in November, we get Free Birds, which to be honest looked really flimsy and a terrible idea. What we got though is a pretty enjoyable buddy movie with great winks and nods to Back To The Future and Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure.  

Free Birds is a crazy movie about a nerdy turkey named Reggie (voiced by Owen Wilson), who is an outcast at the turkey farm he lives in. He ends up being the pardoned turkey by the President, who I might add for some reason sounds like Bill Clinton. So Reggie now lives at Camp David and has found out about pizza. So check this, a turkey calls and orders pizza in gobble gobble turkey speak. While Reggie is living the life of luxury, he is then kidnaped by Jake, the one and only member of the Turkey Liberation Front. Jake was told by the GRREAT TURKEY to get Reggie and find a time machine and go back to the first Thanksgiving and stop turkeys from ever being part of the menu. Yes, that’s as convoluted as it sounds.

You know, the voice acting really sells a lot of this movie. Owen Wilson is in his full Owen Wilsonness as Reggie. All his vocal tics are there, so if that bothers you in live action that might actually bother you in cartoon turkey form. Woody Harrelson is hoot as the super alpha turkey Jake and his want and need to save turkeydom from being dinners. His character is lovably jock stupid. Amy Poehler was good as Jenny the female turkey princess in the past that Reggie falls for. To be honest, the whole Reggie/Jenny thing is very much something you’d get from a romantic comedy Wilson would be in, just in cartoon form. Also George Takei is amazing as the time machine computer S.T.E.V.E.

One weird thing about this movie is that the turkeys are portrayed as Native American like against the English colonists. It’s a weird way of not dealing with the issue of how actually messed up what happened to native peoples in regards to Thanksgiving was. And then it gets really weird once you see actual Native American human characters in the movie.  The look of the movie is quite decent in terms of lighting, textures, and character design, but it’s not amazing either. The quality seems just a little bit above the direct-to-DVD computer animated sequels. The 3-D doesn’t really add much of real pop, so really you can save the money and see the 2-D version.

Free Birds is a quite surprising little family movie. That concept of time-traveling turkeys to stop Thanksgiving is something you think would be deserving of a “c’mon son” greatly. Luckily the everyone involved managed to craft a nice and entertaining family movie that is actually for the thanksgiving holiday. Free Birds is a movie you can go to and not feel like you’re going to suffer. 

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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Trailer Time: 'Dredd', starring Karl Urban and Olivia Thirlby

"Judgement is coming", and in the world of John Wagner's Judge Dredd comics that's something you definitely don't want to stick around for. After an embarrassing Sylvester Stallone-led film from back in 1995, the latest attempt to bring the ultra-violent peacekeeper to the big screen looks considerably better and more faithful to the popular source material. Really, there was nowhere to go but up.

The first trailer for Dredd has been released, featuring Karl Urban in the helmet-headed title role. Directed by Pete Travis(Vantage Point), the film has Dredd with his ever present scowl and bad attitude, as judge, jury, and executioner of criminals in the violence filled town of Mega City One. Olivia Thirlby(Juno) plays cadet Judge Anderson, who teams up with Dredd to take down Ma-Ma(Lena Headey), a druglord who is pushing an illegal substance known as Slo-Mo from out of the Peach Trees apartments, where no cops dare to stand in her way. Until now, of course, with Dredd and Anderson scaling the building The Raid-style to stop her. Bad one-liners and bullets will fly in the classic Judge Dredd style.

It doesn't take much to be better than the previous film, but Travis seems to have nailed the pulpy tone of the comic. It's hard to tell if Urban is any good in the lead role, but he does have Dredd's trademark grimace down pat. Thirlby, however, seems a little bit out of place starring in a film like this. Then again, she also was in The Darkest Hour recently, so maybe she's looking to do more action movies and less of the dramatic pieces she's built her career on. If Dredd is a success, she'll be part of a franchise that has a pretty rabid fanbase. Overall, this looks solid, and may be a welcome surprise.

Dredd opens in 3D on September 21st. Check out the trailer below....

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Lottery Ticket

I have a general mistrust of movies like Lottery Ticket long before I've ever seen them. Throwing together a questionable cast consisting of Bow Wow, Mike Epps, and Ice Cube fills me with memories of far too many ignorant ghetto comedies with little to say and even fewer laughs to offer. It's obvious that Ice Cube, who both produces and co-stars, is riffing off of 1995's Friday, one of the few mainstream African-American comedies that breaks the mold. While Lottery Ticket is no Friday by any means, and it often devolves into stereotype, it deserves credit for having a clear cut positive message and for having some fun while delivering it.

The formerly Lil Bow Wow(now just Bow Wow) is Kevin Carson, a kid not too much different than Ice Cube's character, Craig, from Friday. He's at a dead end job, although in his case it's working at Foot Locker to feed his shoe obsession. He lives with his bible thumping mom(Loretta Devine) in the ghetto, where you get yelled at for slamming the screen door(sound familiar?) and everybody in town is a shiftless layabout.  Kevin's a good guy for the most part. He just wants to keep his mom happy, buy himself some kicks, and hang out with his best friend, Benny(Brandon T. Jackson).

Strangely enough for someone living in the projects, but that life is far too neat and easy. While the vast majority of the neighbors are either lazy or gossip-mongers, there's a hint of darkness in the form of Lorenzo, a Deebo-like thug who just got out of jail. A run in with Lorenzo at work gets Kevin fired and Lorenzo sent back behind bars just long enough for the word to spread that Kevin's a snitch. Hoping his luck will change, Kevin buys a lottery ticket using numbers from a fortune cookie. He hits the huge $370M jackpot and tries to do the smart thing, which is not tell a soul. Unfortunately his mother has all the restraint of a runaway horse, and soon the entire neighborhood knows and starts hitting him up for cash. The problem is, Kevin can't cash in the ticket until Tuesday because of the 4th of July holiday. But with Lorenzo back out of jail, and an entire neighborhood of skeezers and hoodrats lookin' to jump his bones for a quick payday, Kevin must rely on his friends to survive with his scrupals and his payday intact. More money, more problems.

The script by Abdul Williams doesn't always paint a pretty picture of inner city residents, picturing most of them as greedy and conniving. The ever redundant Mike Epps shows up for a hot second as a preacher who already has his hands in Kevin's backpocket looking for a hand out. Teairra Marí plays the role that I'm assuming Megan Goode passed on, as the chief golddigger  tryin' to hook up with the newly minted millionaire. 

In far too many of these urban comedies, there's little attempt to balance the negative portrayals with anything resembling positivity. Or even worse, they go way overboard with trying to send a message that any comedic edge is lost. Lottery Ticket manages to have it both ways, as a number of well-respected characters bring the funny and a positive influence on Kevin's life. The best of the bunch is Brandon T. Jackson as Benny, a character who could be easily dismissed as the "Smokey"-type friend, but without doubt has the most stirring scene in the entire film as his friendship with Kevin begins to crack under the pressure of newfound wealth. Naturi Naughton, so good as Lil Kim in Notorious back in 2008, shines as Kevin's oldest and wisest friend, Stacie. The two have a chemistry that everybody can see. Well, except for Kevin, of course.

Bow Wow gets a little lost in the shuffle opposite the talented supporting cast. He's just not very good at expressing any emotion other than elation or outright anger, and even those need a little work. Kinda makes me wonder how good this film could've been with Jackson in the lead role.

The final act goes a little haywire, with far too many brawls, chases, and a fight scene that's ripped almost completely from Friday. At times it gets a little difficult to tell what kind of tone they're aiming for, as a number of the meaner characters don't really play as funny in any way. They're just violent. They clash with the mostly light hearted feel I think director Erik White was shooting for.

The message at the end about giving back and never forgetting the community that raised you comes off as a little corny, but it means well. Lottery Ticket isn't looking to break new ground, so heaping all sorts of responsibility on it isn't fair. What it aims for, it does mostly right. It's not perfect, but it's funny enough that you won't feel like a lotto loser if you check it out.

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The Queue: Against The Dark (2009)

It's been ages since I last did this column, which is weird because this was a film I've been dying to see ever since it first came to my attention. I mean...it's Steven Seagal, he of the flabby arms and douche-tastic pony tail vs. vampires. That's right. Vampires. Not average everyday henchman getting their arms snapped or a gaggle of drugged out Rastas. Vampires. If that idea sounds ludicrous to you as well, then you're probably this movie's target audience. Surely this movie wasn't made for fans of vampire movies, because frankly they're all pretty lame. And I doubt fans of Seagal will be pleased at his meager output here. Hardly a bone gets broken, but damn if there aren't more than a few crippling one-liners thrown around.

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