30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 3- Extraction (2020)

It is officially day three of the real 30 day film challenge and the task on hand for today was to check out an action movie and so I turned to Netflix for help. For weeks and weeks people have been telling me that I had to check out the new film that was adapted by Joe Russo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier) in 2020's Extraction (based on the book Ciudad by Ande Parks) which was directed by Sam Hargrave in his feature length debut. Chris Hemsworth (Thor/Jay and Silent Bob Reboot) stars as Mercenary for hire Tyler Rake who has been hired to go in to Bangladesh to rescue a Mumbai drug lord's son from a rival drug lord. The only problem is that when he successfully grabs the kid, all plans go haywire and now he has to try and navigate through a foreign country that was just placed on lockdown. The film also stars Rudhraksh Jaiswal (The Tenet) as Ovi, Randeep Hooda (Once Upon A Time In Mumbai) as Saju, Golshifteh Farahani (Body Of Lies) as Nik Khan, Priyanshu Painyuli (Bhavesh Joshi Superhero) as Amir Asif, David Harbour (Brokeback Mountain) as Gaspar, Suraj Rikame in his debut feature as Farhad, Rob Collins (The Wrong Girl) as Rata, Pankaj Tripathi (Gangs of Wasseypur) as Ovi Sr., and Adam Bessa (Of Sound Mind) as Yaz Kahn.

This was an amazing film that is action packed from beginning all the way to the end and it should be no surprise with Russo adapting the film and Hemsworth producing it. The cinematography and the editing teams deserve some really credit for how amazing this film turned out because they did such an amazing job with it. The action scenes are exciting and they'll keep you on the edge of your seat with all the explosions, kicks, broken bones, and more. Hemsworth is absolutely captivating as the mercenary who at first is just doing a job until he realizes that he is just a kid who hasn't had a real chance because of the entire BS in his life so he makes it a personal mission. I do have to say that Randeep Hooa was also a bad ass in this film as a former Special Forces guy who used to protect the kid and also wants to bring him back. He has this fight with Hemsworth which is just like how much more punishment can these two take, but you're glad in the end that the fight never finished. The film gets really emotional towards the end of the film and no one sets that up better than Russo and his writing with how powerful the Captain America films were. There is something that happens at the end of the film that I question and you will too, but I won't give it away. I definitely believe that you need to check out this film because it is that awesome so I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

There are so many movies in the world that I have never seen for whatever reason and sometimes it's lack of desire or just not being in the mood. One of my favorite actors of the 2000's was none other than the legend, the late Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight). In 2005, Heath Ledger proved what kind of an actor he was when he took the role in director Ang Lee's (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) film Brokeback Mountain alongside Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) which is today's film and one of the films I had been meaning to see for a long time. The film follows two ranchers (Ledger and Gyllenhaal) who because of one romantic linkup that summer changed the course of their lives as they struggled with the secret for the rest of their lives. The film also stars Randy Quaid (Independence Day) as Joe Aguirre, Michelle Williams (Manchester By The Sea) as Alma, Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises) as Lureen Newsome, Graham Beckel (L.A. Confidential) as L.D. Newsome, Linda Cardellini (The Curse of la Llorona) as Cassie, Anna Faris (The House Bunny) as Lashawn Malone, David Harbour (A Walk Among The Tombstones) as Randall Malone, Kate Mara (Tall Tales from the Magical Garden of Antoon Krings) as Alma Jr., and  Scott Michael Campbell (Flight of the Phoenix) as Monroe.

Let's get the one question out of the way because you are all wondering it anyways. Are their scenes that could be a little uncomfortable to watch? The answer to that question is an obvious yes especially if you are not comfortable in your own skin. The thing that everyone should worry about when it came to this film was what kind of a performance did these two put in to the film because it can't be easy to play someone who is bisexual or even Gay. The sad reality of this film is the fear these two men felt throughout the whole film because back in 1963 and beyond it was not OK to be a homosexual male especially in the states of Wyoming and Texas in those times. There was so much love between these two men that you could definitely sense how incredible they were in the film. You honestly felt like this was real because it shows the caliber of the two men and to this day Jake Gyllenhaal is still one of my favorite actors. I regret the fact that I had not seen this film anytime within the last 15 years and that is a big shame on me. One of the incredible elements of the film as well is that age transformation job they did for Heath Ledger who looked like he was getting worse for his age while Gyllenhaal still looked good for an older man. A friend of mine told me to check out this film because why not? If it's OK for women to make out on screen, then you should be OK with this and I was definitely OK watching the film. That is why Ia m going to give the film an A+ for a final grade because it had a great story, great cast, and some amazing cinematography to boot.