Thursday, September 26, 2024

Looking Back at the Films of 2023 Part Eight - The Retirement Plan, Outlaw Johnny Black, and The Creator

 




Man, only three of these left and I'll be finished with 2023.








Why Didn't I See The Retirement Plan?

I didn't know about this movie until at least a month after it came out. So it was best to leave a review of it for this segment.








What is The Retirement Plan?

The Retirement Plan is comedy crime thriller movie, that was produced by Darius Films and Productivity Media and distributed by Joker Films. It was written and directed by Tim Brown.


The story is, a woman named Ashley and her husband have stolen an incriminating hard drive from a crime boss. Soon, Ashley along her daughter meet her estranged father and ask for his help. Now, retired agent Matt must protect his family with every single part of his deadly skills.








My Thoughts

The Good: One credit goes to the humor. While some jokes didn't work for the most part I was laughing or had a smile on my face. Then there's Nicolas Cage's performance. Whether his being subtle or just going for blown over the top, Cage manages to bring it.




The Bad: Now even though I don't have any ill will towards this, I gotta admit I don't see it being remembered. Nicolas Cage movie or not. It just doesn't do much to stand out from other action flicks.




The Okay: I read quite a few reviewers mention how the tone didn't know what it wanted to be, I don't really agree with. There's plenty of times when action-comedy movies have bits of drama to them. The slight issue here is the tone needed to be more balanced. Cause there was a habit of being an action-comedy with bits of drama to all of a sudden being a drama with bits of action and/or comedy.




Final Verdict: Okay.








Why Didn't I See Outlaw Johnny Black?

Just like The Retirement Plan, didn't know about this movie until much later. Which sucks cause I really like Michael Jai White.








What is Outlaw Johnny Black?

Outlaw Johnny Black is a western comedy movie, that was produced by Jaigantic Studios and distributed by Samuel Goldwyn Films. This was written by Michael Jai White and Byron Keith Minns and directed by Michael Jai White.


The story is, during his quest for revenge wanted man Johnny Black not only is posing as a preacher in a small town, but soon finds he must figure out why a notorious land baron is hell bent on owning a very specific piece of land and then protect it. During this adventure, he also questions if he still wants vengeance.








My Thoughts

The Good: One of three things I liked was the humor. A lot of the jokes really worked whether it was from dialogue, sight gags, facial expressions or the more psychical stuff like slapping someone. Then there's the performances. Even if you're not the biggest fan (regrading if we've seen this), I think you can the cast was really good. Especially if you're a fan of Michael Jai White. My last credit will go to Johnny Black's story. There's a good amount of focus on whether he wants revenge or justice because it's clear the town folks and rediscovering his faith is having a change to him. It might not be absolutely mind blowing, but it was handled very well.




The Bad: My only true problem was with the pacing. This movie clocks in at two hours and fifteen minutes, and it felt like it was two hours.




The Okay: Now if you ever watch this movie you'll clearly see there's a budget. However, this is one of those instances where they used the money wisely and at least it looks competently made.




Final Verdict: Okay.








Why Didn't I See The Creator?

Now I did know about this movie, but my theater only showed it weeks after it came out.








What is The Creator?

The Creator is a sci-fi action movie that was produced by Regency Enterprises, Entertainment One, New Regency, and Bad Dreams and distributed by 20th Century Studios. The Creator was written Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz and directed by Gareth Edwards.


The story is, after a devastating nuclear warhead was dropped on Los Angeles, humanity went to war with A.I. Fifteen years later, former special forces sergeant Joshua Taylor has told about that can change the entire war. He's been assigned to find this weapon and destroy it, but he soon finds out things aren't going to be so simple.








My Thoughts

The Good: One praise goes to the overall look of the movie. Everything looks absolutely gorgeous. From skies, to land, to the robots designs, etc. It all looks amazing. It's even more impressive considering the budget was like $80 million. All of the really big studios need to watch this and realize, you don't need to a $300 million dollar budget for your movie to look good! Just get someone who knows what to do with a budget! I also want to praise the world building. We're given all the information about this world without exposition. But not only that, but it feels fully lived in and also feels like you could see yourself in. The other spectacular aspect is the action. It's fun, gripping, and above all else very intense. If you loved what Gareth Edwards did with Rogue One, you'll get a kick out this. Then there's the performances, mainly from John David Washington and Madeleine Yuna Voyles. John's character is a very conflicted man and Washington does a great job showing that conflict both from dialogue and his facial expressions and Voyles really brought the perfect amount of childlike wonder and innocent. Which is pretty impressive for her very first role. No, seriously, this is the very first thing she's ever been in. No joke. The last thing I'll praise is how character driven this is. We get know so much about these. How they feel about the war, what burdens the conflict has brought them, their motivations, everything you wanted in character focus stories.




The Bad: I've got nothing.




The Okay: Even though I really dug this film, I do have one tiny issue. There are great themes going on, some come to a satisfying conclusion but sadly others don't get any endings. They're left up in the air and not in a good way.




Final Verdict: Great.











That's gonna do it. Come back on Saturday, Sept 28th, for my review of, The Wild Robot. Until then,enjoy the rest of your day.

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