DUNKIRK (2017) ***

Christopher Nolan’s WWII movie, Dunkirk is a simple, straightforward war picture.  It’s primarily a tale of survival as its focus is on soldiers trying to stay alive on and along the coastline of the French town of Dunkirk as they are fired upon by German airplanes that perpetually strafe the area.  We meet characters on the land (soldiers pinned down on the beach), in the air (a pilot, played by Tom Hardy, who tries to keep the skies clear of enemy fighters), and at sea (a boat captain played by Mark Rylance who along with his sons, rescue downed pilots and beleaguered soldiers), all of whom fight for survival during the siege.  

The back-and-forth storytelling approach is almost mosaic in nature and yields uneven results.  The strongest passages are set upon Rylance’s boat.  He‘s an able-bodied seaman who is too old to enlist, but pitches in to help rescue soldiers.  His voyage gets complicated when he picks up a pilot (Cillian Murphy) who has no intention on returning to Dunkirk.  The stuff involving Hardy is fairly decent too.  The sequences of the soldiers stranded on the beach don’t work quite as well, mostly because none of them ever really stand out and become real characters.  I’m not saying these stretches of the film are necessarily bad.  They just pale in comparison to the other sequences.

Most of Nolan’s films are big and twisty in nature.  It’s almost as if this time the twist is that there are no twists.  In fact, the only real Nolan touch is the garbed dialogue and droning soundtrack.  Oh, and I guess the fact that Hardy wears a cumbersome mask for most of the movie, which means it would make a good double feature with The Dark Knight Rises.  

Given the fact that it was a WWII movie directed by Christopher Nolan, I was anticipating Dunkirk to be a bit bloated.  Much to my surprise, it moved along at a steady clip.  The thing that prevents it from being one of his best is that the dramatics tend to get a bit repetitive as the film goes on as many set pieces are merely variations on a theme.  (Cowardly characters find their courage, ill-equipped characters knuckle up, guest stars stand around and frown, separate sets of characters face drowning, etc.)  Although it might be a lesser Nolan movie, it remains a solid war flick.

WITHOUT A PADDLE (2004) **

Three buddies (Matthew Lillard, Seth Green, and Dax Shepard) who have gone their separate ways come together for their childhood friend’s funeral.  They make good on a boyhood pact to look for D.B. Cooper’s treasure, and the trio goes out into the wilderness searching for the lost loot.  Along the way, they encounter a territorial bear, lose their canoe, and run afoul of some murderous redneck pot farmers (Ethan Suplee and Abraham Benrubi).  

Without a Paddle is an odd duck.  It goes from drama to comedy to action, often in jarring fashion.  It doesn’t work, mostly because it feels like it’s checking off a grocery list of genres rather than telling a straightforward story.  The early scenes of the friends reuniting feel like Stand by Me 2 and the scenes of the friends getting tangled up with the drug farmers feels like a dumb stoner comedy.  The stuff involving two sexy treehuggers particularly comes out of leftfield.  The fact that there are no less than five credited screenwriters leads me to suspect the script passed through too many hands who tossed in too many ideas and never settled on a cohesive tone.

It would be a different story if it was funny.  Unfortunately, it never stays on one particular tangent long enough to develop much comic momentum.  There’s an unfortunate Matrix sight gag, which really helps to date the movie, and lots of references to Deliverance, which makes sense as Burt Reynolds shows up late in the game as a grizzled old mountain man.  

The movie remains watchable throughout, if only because of the chemistry between Lillard, Green, and Shepard.  They are at the very least amusing, even if the flimsy script and tonal whiplashes often let them down.  If it wasn’t for their performances, Without a Paddle would’ve truly been… well… without a paddle.  

KATE (2021) **

Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Kate, an assassin on the verge of retiring.  Before she can even pull the trigger on her last job, she starts coughing up blood and wheezing like she’s got the ‘rona.  Turns out somebody poisoned her, and she only has a day or so to live.  Kate then spends her remaining hours hunting down the son of a bitch who slipped her the Mickey.  

Kate is pretty standard stuff.  It’s mostly a collection of cliches redressed and repurposed.  Not only is it a One Last Job movie, it’s a Yakuza flick, a Grizzled Mentor film (with Woody Harrelson as the grizzled mentor), a Solve Your Own Murder mystery (you know, the whole D.O.A. thing), an Assassin Befriending a Young Girl drama (like The Professional), and an If Your Grizzled Mentor is Played by Woody Harrelson, Chances are He Will Double-Cross You picture (like Solo:  A Star Wars Story).  None of this would’ve really mattered if we cared about the character, but we never really learn what makes Kate tick, other than the cliched “I’m a coldblooded assassin, but I won’t kill kids” angle.  

Nor would it have mattered if the action was crisp.  While the shootouts, hand-to-hand, and weapon fights are a hair better than most modern-day actioners, they don’t exactly knock your socks off or anything.  There are one or two good moments sprinkled about (like the fight in a cramped alleyway), but most of the time, the camera placement is less than optimal and the choreography leaves something to be desired.    

I like Winstead a lot but having her play a character whose main trait is to be sickly didn’t do her any favors.  I think she can be a tough and likeable action heroine.  It’s just that she needs to pick a better vehicle for her talents.  Harrelson has some good moments with her early on.  Whenever he’s on screen, the movie fitfully comes to life.  The rest of the time, Kate is a competent, albeit uninvolving revenge flick. 

BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC (2020) **

Well, it’s been nearly thirty years, but Bill and Ted are finally back.  Sadly, it is not the most triumphant return I was hoping for.  While it is fun to see Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves back in the roles again, their charm can only carry this hollow and unfunny belated sequel so far.  

The film starts off with a kernel of a good idea.  It’s been thirty years, and somehow Bill and Ted have failed to write the song that will save humanity as we know it.  For whatever reason, that kernel refuses to pop.  Bill and Ted Face the Music could’ve been a fun meditation on growing old, suffering a mid-life crisis, or the inability to claim one’s destiny.  Instead, the filmmakers lazily choose to rehash the first two flicks and Krazy Glue it all together.  Much like Bill and Ted waiting till the last minute to pull a song out of their ass to save the world, the screenwriters waited thirty years to pull the script out of their ass to make the movie.  

Perplexed that they haven’t written their epic song yet, Bill and Ted hop into their time-traveling phone booth to confront their future selves.  Meanwhile, their daughters (Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine) go back in time to recruit several historical musicians to make a killer backing band for whenever the Hell Bill and Ted finish their song.  Speaking of Hell, Death (William Sadler) once again makes an appearance to remind everybody how great Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey was, but they forget to give him anything worthwhile to do.  It’s also a sore reminder what a lifeless (and unfunny) retread this is.  

Like I said, there was a solid idea on the outset.  I just can’t believe they waited thirty years, and this is all they came up with.  It feels more like a first draft than a polished screenplay.  The plot flows from A to B, big stars make obligatory cameos, and there are callbacks galore to the other films.  However, there are zero laughs to be had, and whatever goodwill we have towards these characters wears out its welcome long before they step into the phone booth again.  The big “twist” at the end is obvious from the get-go too.  Again, it wouldn’t matter if it was funny, but there’s surprisingly little heart or fun to be found.  Bogus!

NOBODY (2021) ****

With The Ben Stiller Show and Mr. Show, Bob Odenkirk proved he could do comedy.  With Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul he proved he could do drama.  With Nobody, Odenkirk proves he is a bona fide action star.  Is there anything this man can’t do?  

Nobody is a potpourri of action movie tropes expertly blended with the right amount of humor, heart, and thrills.  It contains elements of all the classics you love, John Wick, Taken, and Death Wish and pumps new blood into them.  It helps that the action sequences are exquisitely captured and choreographed, and the mayhem is brutal, bloody, and badass.  

Odenkirk stars as a meek family man eking out a dreary everyday existence.  One night, some home invaders break in and steal a couple of bucks, and he pretty much lets them go, which leads everyone around him to question his masculinity and role as protector to his family.  When he finds out the thieves also stole his daughter’s beloved kitty cat bracelet, he goes out on a quest for revenge.  Eventually, this leads to a tangle with the Russian Mob, which leads to an all-out one-man war.  

The escalation of events is part of the many joys of Nobody.  It kind of starts in one subgenre before dipping its toe into others.  By the time Odenkirk joins forces with his dad (Christopher Lloyd) and brother (RZA) to take down the Mob, it feels like something out of an Expendables movie.  In fact, this is the best action flick since The Expendables 2.  I mean, who needs Sly, Arnold, and Bruce when you have Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, and RZA?  

Odenkirk’s mild-mannered performance is the glue that holds it all together.  With a glint of the eye, he turns from family man to psycho.  You might not think he can do some of these incredible action feats, but that’s exactly what the villains are thinking too.  They learn the same lesson as the audience:  Do not underestimate Bob Odenkirk.

The scene where he vents his frustrations on a bus load of punks is a thing of beauty.  It helps that guys like Daniel Bernhardt and Alain Moussi are among the punks he beats up as they lend an intimidating presence.  The fact that Odenkirk can hold his own with them and seem like a credible menace to them says it all.  

Director Ilya (Hardcore Henry) Naishuller gets all the credit in the world for keeping the action concise, clear, and crisp throughout.  I think we have finally turned a corner from the shaky-cam action of the ‘00s, but it must be stated when a director films the action in a fluid, breathtaking manner.  Even the close-quarters stuff (like the epic bus beatdown) is captured in such a way that you can see the major players and know the geography of the space they’re fighting in.  The shootouts are just as good as the hand-to-hand stuff.  The finale, which implements some Home Alone on steroids booby traps, is a thing of beauty.  

Action aficionados need to hop on this one.  I truly hope this becomes a franchise.  The world will be a better place if we can watch Bob Odenkirk beating up the scum of the earth every two or three years.  

PLAYBOY’S PLAYMATE GUIDE TO PHYSICAL FITNESS (1982) ***

Playboy Playmates Jeana Tomasina and Victoria Cooke star in this Playboy workout video.  MTV was all the rage when this was released, so naturally, the aerobics sequences have the look, feel, and attention span of an early ‘80s music video.  Except, you know, with some occasional nudity.  

If you’re looking for something other than scenes of Playmates working out to pop music from the ‘70s and ‘80s, you might be disappointed.  Playmates run in slow motion to Olivia Newton-John’s “Heart Attack”, lift weights to the beat of The Commodores’ “Brick House”, perform aerobics set to Queen’s “Body Language”, and participate in nude calisthenics to Carl Carlton’s “Bad Mama Jama”.  (Naturally, the opening sequence is set to Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical”.)  

There’s no instruction whatsoever, so it’s not really the “Guide to Physical Fitness” it’s advertised to be.  It’s mostly just lots of close-ups of Playmate anatomy as it gyrates and undulates in a suggestive manner while exercising, which is even better, if you ask me.  The scene where they use a Nautilus while the camera lingers on their legs opening and closing is particularly amusing.  

The exercise sequences are pretty good, but the cooldown scenes are often more fun.  No aerobic instructions are necessary during the slow-motion Jacuzzi and/or nude massage segments, and that’s just the way I like it.  The best part though is when the Playmates take a relaxing nude sauna scored to the familiar sounds of “Nadia’s Theme”, from The Young and the Restless.  

If you’re watching Playboy’s Playmate Guide to Physical Fitness sheerly for the nudity, you might be a little disappointed as the ratio of clothed to nude workouts is about three to one.  At least one of the exercises was later recycled into Playmate Workout, which was released the next year.  That video had a lot more in terms of variety.  It was also an hour long.  This one’s half that length, which is a bit of a mixed blessing.  While it’s much shorter, it also feels like it’s over just as it starts heating up.  However, if you’re looking for something low impact (take that anyway you like it), this should fit the bill.  

NIGHT KILLER (1990) ***

Night Killer was written and directed by Claudio Fragasso the same year he made the immortal Troll 2.  That means he was firing on all WTF cylinders when he made this looney tunes horror flick.  It falls just short of attaining the silly heights of Troll 2, but there are moments here that come awful close.  

The movie plays like a hodgepodge of a bunch of other movies rolled into one.  The opening scene is like something out of A Chorus Line where a bunch of dancers are rehearsing for a big production.  One of the dancers is attacked by a guy in a knockoff Freddy Krueger mask who drives his comedically large claw right through her stomach and out her back, Evil Dead style!  That’s three movies being ripped off in one scene!  I love it!  

The killer next sets his sights on Tara Buckman, who gets a great scene where she does a weird monologue topless to herself in the mirror.  Then, the killer menaces her on the phone a la When a Stranger Calls before sexually assaulting her.  The attack leaves Tara with amnesia.  Since she can’t identify the killer or herself, she tries to kill herself.  Luckily for her, some rapey asshole (Peter Hooten, the original Dr. Strange) keeps following her so she can’t do the job.  Unluckily for her, after he saves her life, he makes her do a bunch of kinky sex games, which leads to a bunch of 9 ½ Weeks kinds of shenanigans.  

I was all ready to christen this as a must-see WTF masterpiece, but about halfway through, the zaniness kind of dissipated a bit.  Not enough to completely derail the proceedings.  Just enough to keep it from being a bona fide bonkers classic.  The final shot is a real winner though.  

Still, there is plenty of lunacy early on to make Night Killer worth a look.  Heck, it’s worth seeing just for the hilarious dialogue.  I’m pretty sure if I quoted some of my favorite lines, I would get banned from Blogger for violating the site’s Terms of Service agreement.  However, the scene I can quote should be enough to make you want to see it.  It comes when the killer is playing a kinky sex game version of Little Red Riding Hood with a drunk babe and she says, “My, grandma, what a big schlong you have!”