Friday, August 9, 2024

The Fall Guy (2024)

 
 
Movie Name/Year: The Fall Guy (2024)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Length: 2h 6min
Rating: PG-13
Director: David Leitch
Writers: Drew Pearce, Glen A. Larson
Based On: The Fall Guy (1981-19686)
Actors: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham, Teresa Palmer, Stephanie Hsu, Winston Duke, Ben Knight, Matuse Matuse, Adam Dunn, Zara Michales, Ioane Saula, Gregory J. Fryer, Madeleine Wilson, Kalkidan China, Angela Nica Sullen, Di Smith, Megan O'Connell, Jack Doherty, Tony Lynch, Georgia Nottage, David Collins, Semu Filipo, Andrew Owen, Dan Reardon, Marky Lee Campbell, Chris Matheson, Ben Gerrard, Lee Majors
 
IMDb Blurb: A stuntman, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. What could possibly go right?
 
 
Cat’s Point of View:
Where do I even begin? Action movies have been a life-long love of mine. I adore many genres, but action always stays near the top of the list. If a movie can get my heart beating faster from a vicarious adrenaline rush, I am all about it. Dramatic action is also great, but comedic action also provides amazingly entertaining and fun experiences. The Fall Guy was one such movie.
 
I was eager to watch from the moment I first saw the trailer for The Fall Guy – and it would have been my #1 pick for May 2024's Top 20 List if not for going head to head with a Ryan Reynolds (Free Guy, IF, Deadpool & Wolverine) movie. (Sorry The Fall Guy, but can you blame me?)
 
 
I haven't been able to make it to the theater to watch this production, so I was excited to be able to share this experience at home with my family through an On-Demand rental. Worth. Every. Penny.
 
We laughed and enjoyed this thrill ride as it gave a live-action love letter to the stunt profession. The story was fun and meta in a movie-about-making-a-movie sort of way. The romance elements didn't feel contrived, and (as expected) the stunt-work was unbelievably awesome. Seriously though, this movie actually, legitimately set a GuinnessWorld Record during production.
 
 
Ryan Gosling (La La Land, The Gray Man, Barbie) was a fantastic choice to play Colt Seavers. The Fall Guy has been in development for well over a decade and many leading men have come and gone from this film while still “at the drawing board.” I think the end-product we got was just right and highlighted Gosling's talent with multiple genres with the action sequences, his comedic timing and marvelous banter, as well as the spark of the romance angle. Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place, Oppenheimer, IF) is one of my favorite leading ladies, as well. Their chemistry was great and it was a treat to see her in a movie where she got to let loose a bit more than the usual dramatic performances we see her in. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Tenet, The King's Man, Bullet Train) was also phenomenal as the AWOL actor, Tom Ryder, who Gosling's Seavers has to track down in order to save the movie they're working on. It was inherently easy to believe that Gosling could fit as a double for Taylor-Johnson. There are more reasons he works well with this story, but I don't want to slip into spoilers. I can say that he was responsible for one of the most hilarious Easter Eggs ever.
 
 
The whole production was stacked with talent, really. Of course, with a movie about stunt performers, you'd expect the stunt-work to be well done. I was not disappointed. There were some absolutely bonkers stunts within The Fall Guy. I love that this film pushes them into the spotlight, as they're often overlooked because of the background nature of what they do. I think the Academy Awards alleged excuse that giving the Stunts category Oscars would make an already long show too much longer is rather lame. These performers can make or break a whole movie and deserve more of the fanfare when things go right. I digress...
 
 
The rest of the core production team were nothing to sneeze at, either. Director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, Bullet Train) has been firing on all cylinders of late and I think he's really hit his sweet spot with the action-comedy blend. Further, I think that Drew Pearce (Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation, Hotel Artemis, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw) did a great job in adapting the concept from The Fall Guy (1981-1986) TV series. While I don't remember watching that particular show when I was younger, its original writer and creator, Glen A. Larson(1937-2014), was responsible for creating and/or writing some of my favorite shows of all time such as: Battlestar Galactica (1978-1979), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979-1981), Knight Rider (1982-1986), and Magnum P.I. (1980-1988).
 
While a sequel has not yet been confirmed, there's quite a lot of material out there and available to draw from between the 112 episodes of the series and the challenges of the modern stunt profession. I would absolutely enjoy taking this ride for a second time or more.
 
My family and I really had a lot of fun watching The Fall Guy, and if these genres, actors, or production team interest you then it will probably be an entertaining experience for you too.
 
 
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score –86%
Metascore – 73%
Metacritic User Score – 6.8/10
IMDB Score – 6.9/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
 
P.S. - There is a mid-credits scene with behind-the-scenes footage and a look at the stunt-work done for the film as a tribute to the stunt community.
 
Movie Trailer:

Monday, August 5, 2024

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

 
 
Movie Name/Year: The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Genre: Drama, Action, Comedy, War
Length: 2h
Rating: R
Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Guy Ritchie, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, Arash Amel, Damien Lewis
Based On: Book "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare: How Churchill's Secret Warriors Set Europe Ablaze and Gave Birth to Modern Black Ops" by Damien Lewis
Actors: Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun, Cary Elwes, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Henry Golding, Rory Kinnear, Til Schweiger, Freddie Fox, James Wilby, Henrique Zaga, Danny Sapani, Matthew Hawksley, Simon Paisley Day, Mark Oosterveen, Victor Oshin, Alessandro Babalola, Orshuff Emmanuel Mele, Tim Seyfi, George Asprey, Luca Marrocco, Paul Antony-Barber, Bikiya Graham Douglas, Nikolas Salmon
 
IMDb Blurb: The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II.
 
 
Cat’s Point of View:
When I tell you I was excited to watch The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare leading up to its April 2024 release, it's, in fact, a gross understatement. This movie was one of the small handful in recent years I was practically bouncing off the walls with the anticipation. There was never even a question of where it would land on my personal Top 20 list that month. This production about these marvelous military mad men was absolutely my #1 pick.
 
It didn't surprise me that Selina had The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare pegged as her own #1 entry. What did give me a moment of pause, and made me giggle, was that her blurb that month fairly echoed my own thoughts on the film almost verbatim.
 
We were absolutely here for a movie where we got to see Superman kill Nazis with gleeful abandon. Yes, yes, it's clear that Henry Cavill (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Enola Holmes, The Witcher) was not actually in the red & blue super suit while gunning down Nazis, but ever since Man of Steel (2013) he has etched himself into my heart and personal cinematic landscape as the caped embodiment of the symbol of hope – and one that the late Christopher Reeve (1952-2004) would be proud of. (Of course, except when sporting long white hair, but that's an entirely different scenario. I digress...)
 
 
Watching interviews of Cavill pretty much, if low-key, geeking out over the actual history behind this band of men that thwarted the 3rd Reich's Atlantic U-boat campaign throught Operation Postmaster was one of the most wholesomely joyous things ever. The man who was presumptively in line for playing 007, himself, ended up in the role of the man that inspired Ian Fleming to create James Bond in the first place. In one interview, Alex Pettyfer (Magic Mike, Endless Love, Back Roads) explained that Cavill also pretty much “saved his life” while shooting this film. Pettyfer had a near misstep and loss of balance while transitioning between boats while filming and attributes Cavill for hauling him back to safety in the nick of time.
 
Okay, okay... enough rambling about that. You get the point. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare simply gave me so many reasons to fangirl and do a lot of geeking out of my own.
 
 
Cavill and Pettyfer weren't the only names among the cast I was excited to see. Alan Ritchson (Titans, Fast X, Reacher) playing Anders Lassen was another source of joy from this production. It was glorious to watch him rack up possibly the largest kill-count in close-combat with Nazis in the movie, with his character's rage-fueled glee. Then, of course, Cary Elwes’ (Saw, The Princess Bride, BlackBerry) was magnificent with his wry delivery, and Rory Kinnear (Penny Dreadful, Skyfall, Black Mirror) was an excellent choice as Churchill. Hero Fiennes Tiffin (After, The Silencing, The Woman King), Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, The Gentlemen, Last Christmas) , and Til Schweiger (Inglourious Basterds, Atomic Blonde, Charlie Countryman) were also on point. Eiza González (Baby Driver, I Care A Lot, Godzilla vs. Kong) was an excellent choice for this WWII badass lady of mystery and espionage. Babs Olusanmokun (Dune: Part One, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, The Book of Clarence) phenomenally delivered his character's measured and seemingly calm demeanor – while being no more peaceful than a body of water with a deceptively still, glassy surface but powerful and deadly currents underneath.
 
 
When Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Wrath of Man, The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) is involved with a project, I just expect a really good viewing experience – and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was no exception. The banter was on point, and the comedy was expertly woven in as Ritchie is known for. It was all seamless and felt right in the moment. There were never any forced laughs or any that didn't fit the scenes. This is a good example of why people just say “Yes” when Ritchie calls them, before they even know what he's pitching.
 
When you pair that with the experience and production value that Producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Armageddon, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Top Gun: Maverick) brings to the table, it becomes pure movie magic. For example, all of the boat shots used for this movie, for the most part, were shot on actual boats out on the water and not on a sound-stage. It brought an extra layer of realism with the practical effects, and helped the story become more immersive.
 
Action lovers have plenty to enjoy here from hand-to-hand, lots of gun-fighting, plenty of explosions, and even a fair bit of archery.
 
 
While quite a lot of the movies based in the history of WWII tend to be super serious, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare manages to bring an edge of levity and an extra helping of excitement to its task of bringing this slice of the actual events from the last World War to the big screen without being disrespectful. The story was taken straight from Churchill's declassified documents and brought to the public eye and attention through a historian and former war-reporter's book – and now The Ministry of UngentlemanlyWarfare adapted that for the screen. Of course, there's likely to be some wiggle-room in the historical accuracy of some of the events for the sake of cinematic license, but that doesn't change the core of the story based in fact.
 
If you are a fan of any of the cast, production team, or genres I've mentioned here at length, my recommendation is to watch The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare as soon as you can get your hands on it – and you likely won't be disappointed.
 
 
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 69%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 93%
Metascore – 55%
Metacritic User Score – 6.6/10
IMDB Score – 6.8/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 5/5
 
P.S. - While there isn't a mid or post-credits scene for this movie, there is a segment where the real people involved with Operation Postmaster as shown in this movie have an homage with their photo and a small epilogue blurb for each citing what happened for them afterwards. 
 
A Little Lagniappe ("something extra") - You can visit the official website for the movie here. You can also watch the Extra interview where Cavill and crew discuss making the movie and includes Pettyfer's description of how Cavill saved him.

Movie Trailer: