Tag: Sean Penn

One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another

You know that old saying, “Better Late than Never”. It applies to this review.  I had every intention of seeing “One Battle After Another” when it opened in Theaters in late September, but I was under the weather and I did purchase the tickets twice, but had to cancel both times. So, I decided to just wait. 

Here I am on Christmas Eve and I have FINALLY seen this movie. I love Leonardo DiCaprio and usually make every effort to see his movies during their opening weekend.

Leonardo Is “Bob” a washed-up Revolutionary who lives in a state of paranoia and panic all the time. He survives off the grid with his daughter, Willa that he has been raising after her mother vanished. Soon Bob’s evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing. Bob scrambles to find her. A seeming parallel as Father and Daughter both battle for their lives. The story unfolds from there…

The movie is very good. I am so glad I finally was able to see it. The story is intriguing and there is lots of action, suspense / mystery and it’s a bit bloody at times.

For some reason there are parts of this movie that remind of the 2000 Crime/Thriller “Traffic”. If you never saw that movie, you should look it up.

“One Battle After Another” is definitely worth a look. It’s on HBO Max.

This is a 4 Star Movie!!

The Gunman

I had high expectations for “The Gunman” unfortunately it does not deliver, not by a long shot.

Terrier (Sean Penn) is a member of a mercenary assassination team tasked with taking out the minister of mines of the Congo. When the mission is accomplished Terrier is forced into hiding. Eight years later Terrier returns to the Congo only to find out that he has become the target of a hit squad. The story unfolds from there…

From the very beginning the story is disjointed. The dialog and some of the exchanges do not make sense. There is no real story line or plot. The actions and events do not make sense. The stage is not set properly, so you will spend a lot of time scratching your head. You will see events and scenes that will remind you of other movies that were executed better of the same genre.

Needless to say I am disappointed. I expected better. This movie was directed by Pierre Morel who did “Taken”.

“The Gunman” is best viewed on cable.

Gangster Squad

Set in 1949 Los Angeles, “Gangster Squad” is about the Brooklyn mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). Mickey Cohen runs the show in Los Angeles and he wants everyone to know it. He has judges and cops in his back pocket and believes he is untouchable, but along comes a few of LA’s finest that he doesn’t have in his pocket and they decide to form a squad to take Mickey and his gang down once and for all. The story unfolds from there…
This is based on a true story. The timeline is good, but the story is a bit choppy. Things bounce around a bit and at times don’t quite make sense. The ensemble of actors is good. The right people were picked. Sean Penn is very good as Mickey Cohen; although at times he does not come across as menacing as he should have.
I love Josh Brolin and he does an excellent job of leading the charge, but alas something is missing. The movie does not hold as much excitement as the previews lead you to believe.
The original opening date for this movie was September 2012, but it was moved to January 2013 and I am not sure why.
“Gangster Squad” will be good to watch on Blue-Ray or DVD. Wait for it unless you have nothing else to do.