American Made

First off, who doesnt like Tom Cruise?!?!  Okay, I know like 1000 people who hate him, including my wife.  But honestly, in my book he hasn't made a bad movie.  American Made is no exception to that rule!  So what do you get when you cross a hot shot commercial airline pilot with the Colombian drug cartel, and then throw in the Iran-Contra scandal?  You get this under publicized gem of a movie!  Cruise, who plays Barry Seal, a TWA airline pilot who started off small potatoes by smuggling cigars gets recruited by the CIA to do some of their dirty work by taking off limits pictures of the enemy.  Well that grows to guns, and passengers.  In turn, they ignore the fact that his extra curricular activities while traveling is to run drugs for the cartels for money.  When I say money, I am talking about multi millions.  He has so much money he has to start burying it, laundering it, warehousing it, investing it, you name it.  Being a family man with a hot wife, he falls into the classic pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered situation.  With a little help from being screwed by the CIA of course.  This was a great "True Story" docu-movie that was very interesting.  A tad lower than "Blow" but a good one none the less. 

FYI:  Cruises first R rated film since Tropic Thunder

****

Snowden

Attention Americans!  If you want a guide on how to be a traitor, act like a communist, or denounce your patriotism, this is the movie for you.  In a scenario where, lets say you are too weak to make it in the infantry, but you got a big brain and are recruited by the CIA.  You happen to fall upon some secret stuff that, well, you know the CIA does.  Then you manage it for a while but low and behold, you find out that they are watching you as well.  That's when you turn?  Okay, in all reality this movie really makes you feel bad for good ole Eddie.  The poor kid was just trying to be a good service member to his country but being naive, he was in a bit over his head.   The good news is, he now lives in Russia as they gave him save refuge.  So any hacking that may come from Moscow, like for instance the Presidential Election, would never involve someone like him.  JGL plays just about every role with absolute greatness, he has become one of my favorite actors.  The sinister backdrop of this movie makes it very intriguing and it is one that I highly recommend, especially if you were following the story as it happened.  Take a shot at this one, just be sure to turn off all devices connected to the internet.

FYI:  Many of the actual real life people portrayed in this film are in the movie.

***1/2

Atomic Blonde

Where were you before the fall of the Berlin Wall?  East, or West?  Oh, you were in America watching it on TV.  Just keep in mind, while you were doing that, there was a super hot blonde spy going back and forth on a very important mission filled with sex, violence, and deceit!  This movie was awesome!  Set in the 80's complete with the coolest 80's songs, clothes, and action.  Basically there are agents, spys, and double agents inter-tangled in a huge web of lies, all the while surrounded by the the political warfare of East and West Germany.  Theron plays the part of a bad ass perfectly and gives John Wick a run for his money.  She is super hot and has some steamy sex scenes with Sofia Boutella that you wont soon forget.  McAvoy is the slimy agent who runs the streets and nails his role as well.  There are some twists and surprises throughout the film but never a boring moment. 

FYI:  McAvoy's casted hand was actually real from an injury while filming Split.

*****

Shot Caller

Rule #1, dont go to prison.  Rule #2, if you do go to prison get super jacked and learn how to fight, fast!  After patiently waiting for this movie to come out, to my surprise I found it one night on Amazon, for free!!!  I was excited to watch Jamie Lanister turn himself into a hardened criminal and watch as the system makes him into a monster.  If you are a fan of prison movies (which I am) this is a pretty good one for you.  Jacob is a successful business man, loving father and husband with a pretty great life.  One night out with the friends and having a few too many to drink, he gets into a car accident and one of the passengers die.  Well the friends wife doesn't like that much, so presses charges and low and behold, good ole Jacob ends up behind bars.  We all know how the story goes, in order to survive, you need to put in work and get yourself some protection.  All that does is earn him some extra years on his sentence, all the while building his cred to become one of the top thugs.  When he finally gets out, he has to survive a different way with his old life in the rear view, its a struggle all around.  I loved this movie and put it right up there with some of the classic lock up flicks such as Blood in Blood out, Felon, and American History X.  I ended the movie wanting more but completely satisfied with the content.  I would recommend this to anyone who likes the gritty underworld of the American prison system.

FYI:  Many prisons in CA have adopted an inmate workout routine not unlike the one seen here.

****

The Bar

Take a good look at the movie poster above, now go watch this movie.  The picture tells a story worth a thousand words.  What would you do, as a self absorbed socialite who walks into a cafe/bar one morning only to find you are trapped inside with a bunch of strangers and a dead guy?  Get shit faced I hope!  This was a really good hidden gem found on Netflix that had cool dialogue to go along with the great plot.  In downtown busy Madrid, a group is forced to band together in a small cafe as they find themselves trapped inside by the local police.  Something more is going on, but the mystery forces them to turn on one another.  There were a number of great lines and situations throughout the movie, some were really disgusting but the entire film was extremely entertaining.  The only negative I have to say is that once it ended, I really wanted more.  More explanation, what happens next, how the situation was dealt with by the authorities?  Overall, great find that I would recommend to anyone.

FYI:  The homeless man wore his fake teeth non stop during the filming.

****