Bland-uary: "Ride Along 2", an Okay Sequel; "The Boy", an Okay Horror Movie; "Jane Got A Gun", an Okay Western

 
   The dynamic duo of Ice Cube and Kevin Hart are back in their hilarious follow-up to one of the funniest movies in the last few years. “Ride Along 2” delivers much of the same stuff we got in the first film, but with all the sequel bloat that comes with it. Set not too long after the events of the first, Ben (Hart) and James (Cube) travel to Miami to bust up a crime ring led by head honcho Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt). James is obviously underwhelmed by his future brother-in-law and is reluctant to bring him along. If there's anything we learned from the first movie, it's that when these two are together, hijinx will ensue. Add the quirky comedic flare of Ken Jeong (The Hangover trilogy) and the beautiful Olivia Munn, the laughs are bound to ensue. Right?

   Let me just get this out of the way: I liked this movie a lot, but not nearly as much as the first. “Ride Along 2” falls into the same category as most other films, failing in comparison to its predecessor. That doesn't mean this movie isn't worth checking out. I was laughing all through out, don't get me wrong. But as for the story, it leaves something to be desired. 22 Jump Street did what most sequels don't and that is capitalize on what worked in the first film in order to make a great second film without the bloated nature of most sequels. Unfortunately Ride Along 2 falls into that category of failing to out-do its predecessor. It’s still enjoyable and Kevin Hart does what Kevin Hart does, along side Ice Cube doing what Ice Cube does best, in a movie that does pretty much the same thing the first movie did. In a nutshell, if you liked the first film then you’ll probably like this one.

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   “The Boy” surprised me. If there's one thing that’s certain about scary movies it's that they’re predictable. "The Boy" wasn’t as predictable as I had originally anticipated. I went into this movie having seen the trailers and expecting another supernatural spook-fest involving yet another creepy doll in another creepy house with creepy things that go bump in the night. By the time the movie ended, I had to hand it to the filmmakers, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s not the best movie in the world, it's definitely got its flaws, but it was just different enough to warrant a positive feeling after seeing it. Just goes to show you should never judge a book by its cover, or a movie by its trailer for that matter.

   Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead) plays Greta, an American woman running from her past to a job as a nanny for an English couple. She pulls into the courtyard of a typical scary-movie-mansion and meets The Heelshires (Jim Norton and Diana Hardcastle), an older couple seeking a worthwhile nanny for their son Brahms. However, there's something different about Brahms. He’s not like most kids. He’s made of porcelain, with a deadpan face and soulless eyes. Brahms is a doll. Greta takes this as a joke but as the Heelshires insist on explaining the detailed schedule that Brahms has (from being fed breakfast, to school instruction, to music time and so on), Greta begins to think that these people are nuts. Fortunately they’re paying her a lot to watch their "son", so she goes with it. After they leave for holiday and Greta is left to her own devices with Brahms, strange things begin to occur, slowly causing Greta to drift into the realm of questioning her own sanity, thinking that the doll is out to get her. Or, is he?

   The movie moves at a decent pace, with decent writing, decent acting, and well-placed jump scares that add to the tension and madness of the story. The story surprisingly shifts from the overly-used concepts of the supernatural to questioning the sanity of solitude. It would make complete sense that Greta would go insane from the long period of solitude, anyone would. Story-wise, that would be too easy. The movie throws a wrench in that mix with the character of Malcolm (Rupert Evans), the Heelshire’s  grocery delivery man who comes weekly, more so once the attractive Greta comes into play. If you like scary movies, then this movie is for you. It’s fun, and twisted and will leave you with a fairly satisfying ending that will make your skin crawl. 

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   Early January is known for having some really lame movies. It’s the beginning of the year, Oscar season is around the corner, and for whatever reason, movies that open in January just aren't as good as most others. “Good” is a relative term. “Lucrative" might be a better adjective. That being said, 2016 hasn’t started off too bad. This last weekend hosted the opening of a movie that will surely be forgotten by most, simply because there wasn't much of a marketing strategy behind it, which means nobody knows it exists, really. I barely saw any previews for it myself, but I saw it nonetheless and I thought it was quite intriguing to say the least. I’m talking about the western “Jane Got A Gun”, starring Natalie Portman, Joel Edgerton, and Ewan McGreggor. Despite its production problems from the get-go, this movie is still worth checking out.

   Jane (Portman) is stuck in this revenge/redemption journey when a ruthless man named Bishop (McGreggor) seeks to end her life and the life of her criminal husband. Jane enlists the help from her former lover Dan (Edgerton) in defending her home and family, Home Alone style. The love triangle aspect of this story is heart-wrenching. Though Jane is the primary protagonist, I ended up feeling more about her ex-lover Dan. Jane is sort of a wishy-washy character, fleeting to the next poor choice to another. After Dan leaves for war, she takes up with Bishop in order to find protection. Bishop offers this protection in return for her services in his prostitute ring. She meets Bill Hammond and eventually falls for him after Dan fails to return. It's a sad story, but a fairly human story at that.

   The acting is decent, and the cast is good from start to finish. The story is slow, and at some points it does seem to drag on a bit too long. But overall it’s engaging. Westerns are seemingly becoming less popular in mainstream movies. They’re either really good (i.e. The Hateful Eight, Django Unchained, Appaloosa, The Unforgiven) or they fall short (i.e. Most modern westerns). “Jane Got A Gun” isn’t the best of the lot. And when you’ve got a film like “The Hateful Eight” playing in theaters still, it's tough to compete. However, this movie is really well acted, with a decent story. The action is few and far between but important and equally engaging. I think it’s worth checking out, at least as a matinee.