Artemis Fowl (2020)

Thanks to the 30 day movie challenge and how specific it was, there was a lot of films that have been released that I have been meaning to catch up on. A lot of films that were supposed to see theatrical releases for the first time ever were released on various platforms rather than being pushed back and today's film Artemis Fowl is one of those as it was released on Disney Plus last month. The film stars Ferdia Shaw in his first role as Artemis Fowl Jr., a kid who is basically way too smart for his own good, but is the heir to a family secret that is being threatened to be exposed when his father is kidnapped by an evil being somewhere in a magical world. So, he'll have to resort to some unorthodox tactics to try and save his father before it's too late. The film also stars Colin Farrell (The Gentlemen) as Artemis Fowl Sr., Josh Gad (Murder On The Orient Express) as Mulch Diggums,  Nonso Anozie (Conan The Barbarian) as Domovoi Butler, Lara McDonnell (Love, Rosie) as Holly Short, Judi Dench (Murder On The Orient Express) as Commander Root, Tamara Smart (The Worst Witch) as Juliet, Nikesh Patel (London Has Fallen) as Chief Tech Officer Foaly, Jake Davies (A Brilliant Young Mind) as Chix Verbil, and the film was directed by Kenneth Branagh (Murder On The Orient Express).

Spoiler Alert: I may say things in this paragraph that could give away some key details so proceed with caution. I have to be honest in saying that while I think this could have made some money in the box office, I think this was definitely the smartest choice by Disney to have it streaming on their service. No one knows if theaters are ever going to be the same again and Universal is willing to bank on streaming services for their films so Disney may not be far behind. Now as far as the film is concerned, I definitely was a big fan of the special effects and the imaginative things they did with the story, but I kind of hated the ending of the story. I was hoping for a big time showdown with Opal that would involve magic and what not, but instead we get them rescuing his dad with magic as it teleported him out of their. Then we just get a bunch of we are going to get you scenarios that definitely left me up in the air as far as whether I want more or not. I definitely feel a sequel could have been up in the air had it done well in the box office so it remains to be seen what happens next. I definitely liked the acting in the film which was a saving grace for them, but I wanted more Colin Farrell. Nonetheless, the film is available and it has it's ups to go with the downs, but if I am being 100% honest with you all it's not a bad film. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

The Gentlemen (2020)

Before Guy Ritchie had a project bomb at the box office (King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword) and before he dived into a Disney classic (Aladdin), he exploded on to the scene with a couple of amazing British crime comedy films in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. Those films were absolutely classic and now in 2020 he is back with another crime comedy in The Gentlemen. Hugh Grant (About A Boy) plays Fletcher, the best undercover reporter in the UK who happens to break in to the house of the Consigliere to the biggest weed dealer in all of the UK in Ray (Charlie Hunnam) to spin the tale of how he knows what his boss has been up to for ransom money. Ray will though listen to the tale that Fletcher spews because it's one hell of an interesting tale of betrayal, greed, and how they are still some Gentlemen out there. The film stars Matthew McConaughey (Dazed And Confused) as Mickey Pearson, Michelle Dockery (Non-Stop) as Rosalind Pearson, Colin Farrell (In Bruges) as Coach, Jeremy Strong (The Judge) as Matthew, Henry Golding (Last Christmas) as Dry Eye, Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes) as Big Dave, Chidi Ajufo (The Widow) as Bunny, Tom Wu (Hobbs & Shaw) as Lord George, Jason Wong (Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Phuc, Franz Drameh (Edge Of Tomorrow) as Benny, and Eliot Sumner (No Time To Die) as Laura Pressfield.

First you cannot talk about the film without talking about the performances first because there is such an amazing cast here and that is worth talking about. First thing I will say is that this may not be the most over the top performance from Matthew McConaughey that we are used to in my most roles, but this is A Time To A Kill, Lincoln Commercials, We Are Marshall, etc. kind of a role where he lets his natural charisma just take over. After watching this, I could believe that he was the biggest drug dealer in the UK, but right up there with him was the brilliant Charlie Hunnam who as I said plays his calm cool, and collective consigliere. Then to top it all off, you throw in the brilliant Colin Farrell who was tailor made for that role of the coach as he brought some of the best comedic moments in the film like he did for In Bruges and so much more. That is just the tip of the iceberg because there were so many working parts and so many people did a fantastic job so the acting was top notch. I definitely loved the story that was being told and the way it was told was very different. Fletcher is telling Ray this story as if he were pitching a movie idea and we watch the events unfold before our very eyes which was great. The cinematography was great and the tone of the film matched that of England, always gloomy, grey skies for them. This may not be an Oscar contender, but this film was the definition of fun. Nothing more and nothing less, but just a fun film to watch which is why I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.