Stranger Things - Season 3 (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Creators: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer
	Actors: Winona Ryder (Alien Resurrection, Star Trek), David Harbour (Black Widow), Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown (Godzilla: King of the Monsters)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller, SF, Horror
	Conditions of visioning: April 2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: At the end of the summer holidays, the group of friends from Hawkins is learning to grow up when Joyce (Ryder) finds some strange things with magnets, Will feels the return of Mind Flayer and Dustin detects a radio message in Russian.
Review: After a first and second seasons that played with our 80's nostalgia, it was hard to imagine the creators of this successful series would find ideas for a third. It seems a bit exaggerated that supernatural events occur once again to the same people in the same small town and nobody else does anything about them, but as they are ripples of the first seasons it is somehow justified. What feels a bit more odd is that it is again the mission of our beloved characters to investigate the mysteries. Indeed they are all back, growing up quickly as teenagers do, and thus now having new preoccupations. To that respect the series does relatively well showing how the boys are slowly more interested in girls than in playing games, even though I hated watching the teen romance bits. The best thing in this season is that as the characters grow up, the inspiration for story-telling and film-making too, from E.T. and The Goonies to more adult movies (that the kids watch in secret) like The Thing, Evil Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Halloween II or Red Dawn which they even quote. The first seasons were scary, this one is Horrific. The series is still pretty generous, playing full-screen scenes from Back to the Future, playing the soundtrack from The Neverending Story, and showing lots of well-done gory CGI monsters. And David Harbour and Winona Ryder support all the scenes they are in. On the down side, as I mentioned I didn't like the romance scenes, was super-annoyed by the flickering neon lights in the hospital (this might be the worst use of that effect I have ever seen, it doesn't make any sense) and disappointed by the under-use of Jake Busey (Starship Troopers). I was fearing a much worse season when I saw titles of YouTube reviews like "Too much of a good thing" so I was pleasantly surprised. Still, it starts to be repetitive. I hope that season 4 in production will take use somewhere else, as promised by the season's ending.
Rating: 6 /10

Mortal Kombat (1995)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1995
	Director: Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Death Race, Pompeii)
	Actors: Christopher Lambert (Greystoke, Fortress), Robin Shou, Linden Ashby
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Fantasy
	Conditions of visioning: 08.04.2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: Three unknowing martial artists are summoned to a mysterious island to compete in a tournament whose outcome will decide the fate of the world.
Review: Watching this movie at the time when the video game was a hit and the special effects recent was something, watching it now is very different. Fortunately I manage to keep the time period in mind when I watch this kind of movies. One interesting side of it is that you get to see the story of your favorite video game characters developed... well again, that works only if you are 17 years old and in 1995. I managed to remember some of them and could get a few winks in the movie, like the fatalities for which the original game was most famous. The rest of the story is vastly extrapolated from the game, in particular the characters are not all equal to fight one-on-one, but some are powerful Gods (like Raiden played by Christopher Lambert) while others are simple mortals. I managed to take enough distance to accept the loose story (until the predictable but unrealistic ending) and wait for the fight scenes which are in fact not the best part of the movie. The martial arts background, colorful characters and dated special effects are. Indeed, two years after the Jurassic Park revolution, Mortal Kombat was ambitious with a combination of optical, practical and digital effects. The whole mix was for me fun to watch. I was impressed in particular by the giant Goro which I thought would be limited to a few scenes to hide poor effects but was in fact often present and not so bad, in comparison to the rest. I am amazed by the number of (likely bad) sequels that were produced over the years, teaching me that new versions of the video game are still produced! An ambitious reboot of the movie franchise will be released in 2021, but I don't know for which audience and with which hopes of success.
Rating: 4 /10

Paradise PD - Season 2 (2020)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2020
	Creators: Roger Black, Waco O'Guin
	Actors (voices): Sarah Chalke, David Herman, Kyle Kinane
	Country: USA
	Genre: Animation, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: March 2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen
Synopsis: In the glorious Paradise Police Department, some believe that the Kingpin has been captured, some not.
Review: This second season is at least as outrageous as the first one and I was waiting for it, but I ended up being disappointed. I don't know whether the surprise effect has just passed, or if this seasons really contains less good ideas. Maybe a bit of both. Anyway, I already can't remember much of it, and in particular not any particularly good episode. In general it is OK to watch as we get to spend more time with the characters we know, and discover a few others as crazy as them. The story is not badly done in that it escalates until the final episode, while giving us more background on the characters. It probably works better if you watch it with friends or under influence or both.
Rating: 4 /10

The Laundromat (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Contagion, Che)
	Actors: Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element, Darkest Hour), Antonio Banderas (The 13th Warrior), Meryl Streep (The Mandchurian Candidate)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Black Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 26.03.2020, VOD, 14" computer screen.
Synopsis: A widow (Streep) investigates an insurance fraud, chasing leads to a pair of Panama City law partners (Oldman & Banderas) exploiting the world's financial system.
Review: I selected almost randomly this Netflix production to watch and it was not bad. It took me the whole movie to realize it is based on the true events of the (spoiler, highlight to read) Panama Papers. The first most noticeable thing about the movie is how it breaks the fourth wall: not only the two partners talk to the audience but they travel from set to set, and at the end we even see the backstage. Then the dissociated structure is disturbing at first, but funny in fact. After thirty minutes in a parenthesis you realize you are in fact in something closer to another segment in an anthology movie. The attachment to details in the life of more or less normal people reminds of the style of the Coen Brothers at times. The Laundromat is not particularly exciting to watch or delivering bursts of laughter, but it is pleasant and short enough (1h30) to be easy to watch when looking for something fresh.
Rating: 6 /10

Glass (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: M. Night Shyamalan (The 6th Sense, Unbreakable)
	Actors: James McAvoy (X-men 7-9, Filth, Wanted, Split), Bruce Willis (Die Hard 1-5), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, The Avengers)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 27.01.2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: David Dunn (Willis) uses his abilities to track down the public enemy known as "The Horde" (McAvoy).
Review: For the second movie of the trilogy I wrote a spoiler-free article, but for this one no need to be that careful. The poster makes it obviously the sequel to the 2000 super-hero deconstruction Unbreakable and the unexpected 2016 Split, both from the same director M. Night "King of the Twist" Shyamalan. But this stupid nickname doesn't fit him anymore, has he has grown and delivers, like in Spit before it, a more linear movie that doesn't rely on a final twist to be remembered. And it doesn't need to (although it has one...), as it already has an interesting story, talented director and solid actors. I gave the three movies decreasing ratings, but it doesn't mean that this last movie is bad. I just really liked Unbreakable a lot, and was well surprised by Split. Glass just feels a bit more planned, but it doesn't change the fact that it plays well with the reunion of our three heroes, and respect the rules the director established 20 years ago while continuously playing with our mind. Brilliant idea to make us doubt at the same time as the heroes of the reality of their powers. And to follow some other super-hero classic themes as well like the hero uniting with his arch-enemy to defeat an even greater foe. One great thing about a sequel filmed 20 years layer is that you can see how the actors and characters have aged in real time (no special effects): how David Dunn / Bruce Willis has accepted his role in society, how he is helped by his son played by the same Spencer Treat Clark that played the original kid!, and how the Mastermind Mr Glass / Samuel L. Jackson is as know-it-all as ever (and he knows and plans everything). This is a kind of time travel and is funny to think about. I recently reviewed Bad Boys for Life and discussed in that post about late trilogy completions, but Glass doesn't fit into that category because the second movie is recent. After writing about the story and actors what is left is the direction and cinematography. Well I liked it too in its unpretentious style, how it matches the heroes with one close one, and it subverts our expectations. Maybe by trying to be too unpretentious, the movie lacks ambition in the end which makes it feel a bit slow and long. I still had a good time.
Rating: 6 /10

Angel has Fallen (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Ric Roman Waugh (Felon)
	Actors: Gerard Butler (300, Gamer), Morgan Freeman (Deep Impact, Oblivion), Danny Huston (Wonder Woman)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Thriller
	Conditions of visioning: 13.02.2020, VOD, 14" computer screen.
Synopsis: Mike Banning (Bulter)'s president-saving exploits take a toll and his health is degrading. Facing the dilemma between stepping up or stepping down, yet another attack on the president (Freeman) puts him in a new position.
Review: Olympus has Fallen was fun but London has Fallen too much of the same nonsense. This third chapter was nonetheless produced and the franchise seems to be headed towards the direct-to-video, or whatever equivalent exists nowadays (direct-to-VOD?). But it may do it some good to reduce its ambition and target audience. The initial attack is of course too much: how many times can a group terrorist come so close to the president! At least this time it doesn't involve hundreds of people infiltrating the White House or the London Police, so it's easier to swallow. And the visual effects are generous in showing us exploding body parts which is fun. This graphical display of violence goes on through the whole movie and that makes it more fun to watch. I don't remember that from the first two. And then comes the good idea of the movie to focus on Banning: his weaknesses and his infallible motivation when being set-up for the attack. This is a minor spoiler and it is ruined by just the movie poster but I liked seeing it without knowing. The movie is then very predictable: I knew the two bad guys the moment I saw them, the second even thinking: waw they will never make him the villain, it is too obvious. But they did. The movie delivers the expected shares of Action, heroism against incredible odds, friendship (I like the character played by Nick Nolte), super convoluted plans and characters' reactions with no sense, and an ass-kicking ending. Rightfully rated between the two other movies of the trilogy.
Rating: 5 /10

6 Underground (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, Transformers 1-5, Bad Boys 1-2)
	Actors: Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 1-2), Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds), Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action
	Conditions of visioning: 09.02.2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen.
Synopsis: An underground team led by a billionaire is working on taking down a dictatorship.
Review: What to expect when Michael Bay directs this Netflix movie instead of  Bad Boys 3? Cinema is changing and not always for the best. As in many other Netflix productions, the budget is sufficient and the movie looks serious but something is missing, maybe a more thought-through story. The message of the movie is something like: whatever bad-ass you may be and strong motivation you may have, you still need something to fight for: friends, family, your country... We get enough exciting car chases, relatable main group of characters, a really bad guy, some high-tech... plenty of basic ingredients of a Spy/Action movie like a Mission: Impossible, but even though it tries to bring something new and more modern to the genre, it fails. One could say that this kind of movie is formatted for a Netflix-audience with short attention span but I am not sure that is true. Read my post about Bright for a comparison between the young movie-making industries and the young car-making industries. 6 Underground finds its place on the shelf of those strange recent movies which are hard to review because they are definitely not good but also not horribly bad, just somewhere in the middle hard to define, not like other average movies.
Rating: 4 /10

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2020
	Director: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
	Actors: Will Smith (Independance Day, I am Robot), Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys 1-2, Blue Streak), Vanessa Hudgens
	Country: USA, MEX
	Genre: Action, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 08.03.20, Cinepolis La Reina, Santiago
Synopsis: Miami cops Marcus (Lawrence) and Mike (Smith) have been partners for a lifetime. As they reflect on their future, an expected new challenge will pull them back into doing what they do best.
Review: It is not the first time that a movie series (like a trilogy) starts with a modest first movie, a much better second one, and is completed some 5 to 30 years later with the obvious goal for the studio and actors to cash in some more money in a time of need. And the result is almost always bad. From the top of my head some French comedies to illustrate that: Les bronzés 3: amis pour la vie, Les Visiteurs: La Révolution and to a lesser extend Camping 3 and Le Coeur des Hommes 3. It is also true for American movies like Incredibles 2, Scream 4 and Riddick. Giving the control of the new movie to the same director often results in a failure, but a new guy may fail as well. A good counter-example is for me Mad Max: Fury Road, which original director George Miller made the best sequel one could have done so long after. Given those statistics, I was expecting to be bored by a third Bad Boys movie but went to see it anyway for some explosions and harmless fun. Boy was I surprised. The original director of Bad Boys and Bad Boys 2 Michael Bay is not at the reigns of this one (although you can see him in a funny cameo), but instead they were given to Adil and Bilall whom I never heard of before. I haven't search for information, but I have a feeling that those guys grew up watching Michael Bay movies until they became directors themselves, and put everything they loved back into this movie. I noticed because I recently watched and loved the first two. It can't be as good as the second, but it was so unexpected that it deserves almost the same rating. What did I like in the movie? The dynamics between the two main characters which is still working after that time, they still manage the same mix of cracking jokes soon after serious situations. They also say the proper amount of "shhhhhit!" like I was hoping for.  The music and the Miami setting still give a special vibe to a movie taking place far from the west coast, cameos of characters from the first movies like Joe Pantoliano as the captain which I was expecting, but also John Salley as the former prisoner now police tech guy Fletcher (at least I think I saw him but the whole Internet refutes) and Dennis Greene as Reggie. The camera moves try to be as original as in Bad Boys 2 without ever being annoying. The movie even includes a twist and takes an unexpected turn 30 minutes before the end, a much-appreciated peculiarity of Bad Boys 2 revered in Hot Fuzz. But in addition to giving the audience what they liked, they also managed to make the movie more than a sequel by changing the rules of the game, killing some beloved characters or putting others in real danger. One ridiculous thing though is when drones fly inside buildings and nobody can hear them. Have you already been near one of those things? The only way it could have been better would have been during the plane scene when they start to shock passengers, to have an apparition of Air Marshall Dinkley played by Kevin Hart seen in Hobbs & Shaw, tying this trilogy to the Fast and Furious franchise. That would have been awesome. The ending calls for the sequel which I don't find necessary. I also read that a spin-off series exists entitled L.A.'s Finest, but I don't know what it's worth. But with Bad Boys for Life: I had a great time!
Rating: 7 /10

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Director: David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde)
	Actors: Dwayne Johnson (Rampage, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle), Jason Statham (Transporter 1-3), Idris Elba (Thor 1-3, Pacific Rim)
	Country: USA
	Genre: Action, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 06.02.2020, VOD, 40" TV screen.
Synopsis: When a super-soldier (Alba) tries to steal a deadly virus, both the FBI agent Hobbs (Johnson) and outlaw Shaw (Statham) are contacted to help with the case.
Review: I couldn't watch this movie in the theater when it was released because I was not yet up to date with the Fast and Furious franchise and this is a spin-off of it. Now I am (since The Fate of the Furious), and can tell I didn't miss much in the theater because the movie is not too good. Still, it could have been fun on a big screen. The movie does fit in where the franchise is going: mix of Action and jokes, ultra high-tech gadgets fitting over-the-top villains (nice Idris Elba) and shadow criminal organizations (a-la James Bond's Spectre), and a few car chases of courses. Putting those two main characters together in a spin-off was a good idea in fact, but the problem is in the story and the execution, which unfortunately has the same flaws as the main franchise but amplified. For example the jokes are a bit too long and insisting, the Action a tad more than too much, and especially the story and the logic behind the character's decisions don't make much sense. Also a good opportunity was wasted by not using more the character of Air Marshall Dinkley played by Kevin Hart. To its advantage, the movie has a couple of breathtaking action scenes, the chemistry between the main duo (well, trio), and the good idea to split the movie half/half between the birth country of each of the two, even if it doesn't make much sense either in the end. Now I just have to wait for Fast 9 which has just been announced delayed by a year....
Rating: 4 /10

Final Space - Season 2 (2019)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2019
	Creators: Olan Rogers, David Sacks
	Actors (voices): Fred Armisen, Tom Kenny, Olan Rogers
	Country: USA
	Genre: Animation, SF, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: December 2019 - January 2020, VOD, 10" tablet.
Synopsis: After their failure, Gary and his crew struggle to find a new goal.
Review: After a very exciting first season, I was looking forward to this second, and was thus rather disappointed. Most of the same elements are there, like the connection between Gary and Mooncake, but some energy is missing. Also the stakes are less relatable. From the first episode S2E1 The Toro Regatta new characters are introduced to fill in the gap of the ones we lost in the first season, and too add some more complexity to the show. This feels a bit rushed and I didn't manage to connect much to those new characters. I found the whole season less funny, maybe because less centered on Gary and his crazy traits (and his addiction for cookies). It reaches the level of the first season in the central episodes S2E7 The First Times They Met and S2E8 The Remembered, but then goes back to a lower quality. Again, the ending calls for another season but I will not be eagerly awaiting that one.
Rating: 4 /10