REVIEW: Brooklyn's Finest

94. Brooklyn's Finest

Brooklyn's Finest is the latest from Training Day director, Antoine Fuqua. It tells the story of 3 NYC police officers. One is trying to do right for his family, even if it means crossing the line. Another is deep undercover, infiltrating a drug gang. And the other has had an unspectacular career on the force and is set to retire in 7 days.

When I first saw the trailers for this, I really wanted to see it. It's been out in theaters for a couple of weeks now but haven't had the opportunity to go see it. Luckily for me, a screener hit the net and hooked me up big time. I'm extremely glad it did. Worked out pretty well for me.

I liked this movie a lot. The plot isn't anything that hasn't been done before but the cast makes it work. Ethan Hawke is the officer on the verge of going bad. He has quite a few kids with a set of twins on the way. They're all crammed into a fairly small home, with the pregnant wife showing signs of mold poisoning due to mold in the walls of the home. Don Cheadle is the undercover officer who just wants his life back. Problem is, he's been under so long that his wife is divorcing him and he's starting to forget who he was and where his allegiances lie. And Richard Gere is the cop with a week left. He's had a long but undecorated career and just wants to make it through his final week. These performances are all excellent. Plus Wesley Snipes makes a return to the big screen here, after a few years in DTV purgatory. He's solid as the kingpin of the drug gang. The movie is a bit over two hours but it never really feels long. It moves along at a nice pace, building interest as it goes along.

The other thing I liked a lot that some folks might have missed was the soundtrack. One of Cheadle's first scenes has him in a restaurant. The song in the background is "The Great Pretender'. Pretty suitable given his role. And later in the movie, a character is looking for money while a Busta Rhymes song about trying to find money is playing. These were just nice touches that I liked quite a bit.

Overall, Brooklyn's Finest is a really good movie and I recommend it.

3.5.2010

93. Running Scared (1986)


1986's Running Scared is a Peter Hyams film starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines. It tells the story of two Chicago detectives who end up on a drug dealer's bad side. A bust that turns a bit sideways finds them sent on vacation while things cool off. They go to Key West, Florida and fall in love with the city, deciding to buy a bar after they take an early retirement from the force. Back in Chicago and working through their notice period, they discover that the drug dealer from the earlier bust is back on the streets. They decide that they're going to bring him to justice before wrapping up their careers.

This is a pretty good action/comedy in a vein similar to 48 Hours. Hines and Crystal play well off of each other and have a great chemistry together. Supporting cast includes Dan Hedaya, Steven bauer, Joe Pantoliano and Jimmy Smits. All are good.

Overall, Running Scared is not a great movie but it is definitely an entertaining one. Kind of a rainy day flick, if you will.

3.4.2010

92. Hangin' with the Homeboys


Hangin' with the Homeboys tells the story of 4 friends from the South Bronx going to the city for a night out. Things don't go quite as planned and their friendships get taken to the limit.

The friends are Tommy, Willie, Johnny and Fernando. Tommy is an actor, Willie is a wannabe militant slash moocher. Johnny is the youngest of the group, working part-time at a grocery store. Fernando is Puerto Rican but wants to be Italian, even going so far as to have his friends call him Vinny. Tommy is supposed to be going on a date but his girl is sick so he gets the guys together instead.

This is not an action-packed flick. Not much happens at all, honestly. But for some reason, the movie works. The cast is good. Comedians Mario Joyner and Doug E Doug are joined by Nestor Serrano and John Leguizamo in an early role are all great. And this comes from someone who really doesn't care for Leguizamo. They're all believable in their roles which is needed in a movie that is very dialogue driven.

One sad note of trivia regarding this movie concerns director Joseph B Vasquez. He was the child of heroin addicts who managed to put himself through college and eventually getting a degree in filmmaking from City College of New York. He made one small film on his own before having the script for Homeboys picked up by New Line. During filming, he was attacked on the subway and had his face slashed. Having always dreamed of acting, this destroyed him. As filming went on, he began acting erratically and ended up alienating nearly everyone. In early 1995, he essentially had a breakdown and was found to be manic-depressive. During one of his hospital stays, it was discovered that he had AIDS. By the end of 1995, he'd passed away due to AIDS-related complications. It's sad because Hangin with the Homeboys seemed like the start of a promising career.

This movie is recommended.

3.3.2010

The Crazies (2010)
91. Did You Hear About the Morgans?


The Crazies is a remake of George Romero's 1973 film of the same name. This one takes place in a small town in Iowa. A government plane has crashed into the town's water supply causing toxins to contaminate the water. When the water hits the town and starts being ingested by the people, the townsfolk slowly start to lose their minds and become the titular crazies. The town's sheriff, his wife and his deputy try to figure out what's going on and try to make their way out of the now-quarantined town.

The story here is nothing new as biologically created "zombies" have been done fairly often in recent years. The action and sense of dread that build up as the movie plays out are the things that make it work better than it should. There really aren't many dull moments here. I know that jump scares aren't the most popular thing with genre fans but I enjoy them. Not because they scare me or anything but because of the effect that they have on my wife. She'll practically jump out of her skin at the littlest thing. This movie had her jumping a few times and squeezing my hand. Love that. The cast here is solid with Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell as the leads. Olyphant is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors and this movie helps his cause out considerably as he does a great job. I'm not particularly sold on Radha Mitchell though. There's something about her that I just don't care for. Danielle Panabaker and Joe Anderson provide excellent support.

Overall, I liked The Crazies a lot and definitely recommend it.


Did You Hear About the Morgans tells the story of Meryl and Paul Morgan, a Manhattan power couple. Paul is a lawyer and Meryl is a real estate agent. They're newly separated and on the verge of divorcing when they witness a murder. The killer gets away so the Morgans are sent into the Witness Protection Program to keep them safe until the killer can be brought to justice. They're sent to a small Wyoming town to stay with the Wheelers, a married pair of US Marshalls. Meanwhile, the killer is trying to track them down and take them out before they can testify against him.

I have but one word to describe this movie....blah. It's not particularly good nor did I want to gouge my eyes out while watching. The story doesn't have a single original idea and is extremely predictable. The performances don't really bring anything special to the table. Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker are the Morgans. Grant phones in his traditional romantic comedy performance while Parker seems to be playing a watered down version of her Sex and the City character. Support is provided by Sam Elliott, Mary Steenburgen and Wilford Brimley.

One slightly interesting trivia note is that this is director Marc Lawrence's 3rd feature film. All 3 of them have starred Hugh Grant. Kind of odd.

Overall, Did You Hear About the Morgans is neither good, nor bad. It just is. If you insist on seeing it, it hits store shelves on March 16th.

3.1.2010

90. The Invention of Lying

The Invention of Lying takes place in a world where everyone is perfectly honest with each other. Even if you receive an answer you do not like, you are guaranteed to receive the truth. People just do not have the ability to lie. One day, Mark Bellison, a fairly unattractive and unsuccessful screenwriter manages to eke out a lie. He quickly realizes what he's done and realizes that he's the only person in the entire world with this ability. Of course, he winds up biting off a bit more than he can chew and winds up in the media spotlight.

I liked this movie quite a bit. The story is original and well done. It does get a tad bit predictable near the end but I can forgive it for that minor misstep. I was really amused by the very idea that people can't lie and the conversations that it would lead to. I spent a good part of this movie laughing at the chatting. Ricky Gervais is cast as Bellison and he's perfect for the role. He has a certain everyman look and charisma that work great here. You've got an extremely solid supporting cast as well with Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill and Louis CK. All bring good performances to the table and serve to make this movie just that much better. In the hands of a lesser cast, this one might not have been very good. Instead, this one gets recommended.