Halle Berry Thriller Movie Reviews (with The Western Wonder)

[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. Now here's the problem. You're one of the most famous women on the planet. How do you go to a shop like that? Because people must be following you around all the time with cameras and stuff.

[00:00:22] Yeah, well, here's what I do. I go in, case the joint, pick out what I want, send somebody back to pick up the bags of stuff. So I'm not really seen coming out of there. So that's how you do it? Okay. I've been doing it all wrong all this time. I go by and somebody else goes and gets it. They come back and they're like, no, not this one, not one, you idiot. Start hitting them with it. Didn't say what it was.

[00:00:50] See, I mean, I'm in the clear. It's fun stuff. Yeah, fun stuff. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We have to change topics because I'm about to pass out. So what can I say? You know, we had to do another actors retrospect, but then bring up similar movies that were all basically just similar.

[00:01:15] So it was like, yeah, hard boiled, hard boiled thrillers for Holly kind of has a nice ring to it. But if hard boiled doesn't work, then you can just say just crime thrillers and adventure movies. Some of these have horror elements, mystery elements. But yeah, ultimately going to have a lot of solid ones. Not everyone had seen all these episodes. So again, we start off with a newer episode. Then we took John and I's episode from the archive and spliced it up a bit.

[00:01:45] And then I had some newer stuff at the very end. And so enjoy this compilation for your listening pleasure. We missed. We loaded it. We edited it. Sometimes we get so deep into conversation that we have separate segments worthy of their own place in the sun.

[00:02:20] It's a reshuffled mini episode. So joining us for one of hundreds of chats, the Western Wonder. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. I love you. Will you tell me your name? To quote the doors.

[00:02:48] I don't know why I sounded like Arnold there. Yeah, welcome to you. What are you doing? So I just got to ask, why does Holly Berry just rock? Because she had that hot ass outfit from Bullworth. Yes, that's totally why everyone was paying attention. Yep. I figured we could cover some of her high pursuit thrillers and gritty dramas. Because I've just always been a fan. And I have only on occasion just encountered people who are like, oh, she's pretty, but she didn't deserve the Oscar.

[00:03:18] I'm like, who else deserved it that year? She's got her own classy style. Well, she's kind of just one of the recognizable A-list actor faces and critics and audiences like her. I don't see a reason to be jealous. But yeah. I'm surprised she hasn't been in her own HBO series. It's kind of overdue. I can see her being on an insecure type TV show. I don't know. I am. But yeah. She's working on something a day ago. She's never not working.

[00:03:47] But that's the other thing, too, is like, I will see people who are like jealous and talking about who she's dating. I'm like, that doesn't. Oh, yeah. She donated her wardrobe to when the California wildfires broke out. She donated a lot of her wardrobe to help those who lost their stuff. See? Yeah. That's a good gesture. Yeah, for real. So I don't see why anyone would want to. I just don't. I don't know.

[00:04:16] And I see other people who only know her from X-Men. I'm like, people, she has done so much material. What are you talking about? But yeah. Growing up, did you ever see The Rich Man's Wife? I haven't. It was not a good movie.

[00:05:04] Oh, okay. I had the nerve to say, by the way, I've been on bad movies before. Just look at The Rich Man's Wife that almost killed my career. I'm like, geez. Okay. Hey, at least you did the professional thing and waited a while before you threw it under the bus. But yeah, it was just one of those like she becomes a suspect. Her husband gets murdered. And the detectives are suspicious of her alibi. And it was just one of those like it just went from movie to like setting to setting.

[00:05:33] Christopher McDonald from Happy Gilmore was the husband. Oh, God. Frankie Faison was one of the detectives. And Peter Green was the bad guy. You know, Zed from Pulp Fiction. Clive Owen was also in there. I remember he gets shot in the head or something. I'm just like, what the fuck? Live is so underrated. He's a good actor. Have you seen him in Impeachment American Crime Story? Yes. Oh, my God. This Bill Clinton is one.

[00:06:02] When you when you told me that, I was like, I know exactly why. You're like, why? I'm like, because I just saw the premiere. I'm like, of course. I was so blown away. Like he nailed that shit. Like he's always been pretty good at crying or having the stern face. He just has that look. But he played well off of all of here. And I think this is the perfect example of where she carries a project, even though they've given they've saddled her with a lame script. And trust me, I have rewatched it.

[00:06:31] It's always very dull. Like it starts up and then it just like slows down. And then it's just like. Goes clumsy twist after clumsy twist where you're like, I don't know where we're going with this, but it's kind of dumb. But anyone want to talk about executive decision? Oh, you've seen executive decision. I don't think I have. You almost have. How? I don't know.

[00:07:01] Oh, OK. You remember the Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal plane takeover movie? I know of it. I've never seen it. How? That was on TV every day. So because I barely ever watched TV. Yeah, there's no way. So basically, it's a fun, diehard airport type movie produced by Joel Silver. They they kill Seagal on screen because he was being a piece of shit.

[00:07:29] And unfortunately, the movie is way better than actually gets credit for John. Johnny Legs is the John Leguizamo was one of the main. They weren't special. Yeah. Special forces guys. And then Oliver Platt was one of the engineer guys. And yeah, Perot himself. David Suchet was the Arabic terrorist guy. And it's a fun hostage takeover movie.

[00:07:59] Please do yourself a favor. Joe Morton's the sergeant. Yeah. It fucks. It slaps. It's awesome. Going on to the next one. How do we feel about the 2001 year for Holly is like, well, what a crazy deal. Most audiences. Sportfish. Right. Right. And X-Men. Well, that was 2000. But like 2001, the year is like, that was a big deal.

[00:08:27] It's like, basically, I'm going to take you in your X-Men co-star, Hugh Jackman, and put you in this bizarre heist movie with Travolta. And then, yeah, at the same time, we're going to. You get to show your titties. Both of them. But yeah. Diverse. But I don't think that's why anyone should remember these movies. So why do you think so many people are iffy on either one? And like people, I think, would like a swordfish, don't like it. Same thing with. Monsters Ball.

[00:08:57] I see people getting all. That's a good. I like Monsters Ball, but people can't handle it because it hits too home. Why racial? No, not that. Just Heath Ledger's death. It's like a. It's a full. That's the reason. Some. Because if you watch. Stupid reason. He wasn't even. He was just rising at that. I know, but when you look at it retrospectively and the fact that he was on par to doing the dark night.

[00:09:27] He gets on drugs. The character. Yeah. Yeah. Gross. But yeah, it's an uncomfortable movie. And I did check it out for the longest time because at that point, Billy Bob Thornton was known for being kind of a bad, bad guy in real life. You know, not bad guy, but like a bad boy. Yeah. And I just was like, OK, you're on TMZ every week. I don't really want to watch movies with those personas, but I saw it in the 2010s because it's on Sundance a lot. And I just was always like this is.

[00:09:56] But I will often see a lot of people go. I didn't understand that movie or that was weird. But that was a big deal because like I think Damon Dash and some other record producers co-produced it and then started producing similar stuff like Crash and. The Woodsmen. Well, what do you take away from it, West? Well, I haven't seen Swarfish, but Monsters Ball I have seen some time ago. I didn't hate it.

[00:10:22] From what I remembered, I know there was, you know, mixed reviews about some of the themes that were in there. Like Mario was saying, it probably hit too close to home for them, but I didn't really hate it. I like this. I don't feel like it slaps you over the head, but it was one of those like you got to go in like and unfortunately, a lot of people thought, you know, I think they just looked at the ratings back then. It's like, oh, it's got a sexy cast. It's like, yeah, I kind of felt like it was an extended episode of Oz.

[00:10:51] You know, you got all these prison wardens who are racist and everything in a family of bigots. And then, you know, they go home and it's like the most unlikely deal where I'm one of the executioners and I fell in love with one of the widows of the to be killed on the execution board. I'm like, yeah, that's so wild. And what's so funny is I know people who have seen it, but they've kind of forgotten about it just because it was just always on the movie channels all the time. And this is one of those like, yeah, it was a big deal back then because it's like it was kind of like poetry.

[00:11:21] And but I think a lot of people just didn't like it because they're just like, it's so bizarre. It's Oscar bait. It's like, I don't think it was meant as Oscar bait. It does kind of come off like an Oscar flick. I mean, it's like an indie Oscar flick. Right. The right kind of indie material was like, this is kind of what they did back then. I'll take 2000s Oscar bait any day over today's Oscar baits where I'm like, sure, I'm like, who is this for?

[00:11:47] But I vaguely remember Swordfish, but I did watch Monsters Ball. Basically, Swordfish. That was I know it's a heist flick or something. It is, but like it goes in so many different directions. And it was one of those. I kind of preferred it when it was on TV. I would see it uncut and I had different reactions to it every time I saw it. So I could see why people were mixed. It's like, oh, yeah, because the big attraction was Halle Berry topless. That was always that was a big kind of sold the movie on that.

[00:12:16] Travolta's still in broken arrow mode where he's just being an over the top villain. And Hugh Jackman is really interesting because he's a hacker. You shouldn't really like him, but he kind of makes the character kind of charming and fun. So it's it's a wild mixture. I have re-seen Gothica over the years. And that's oh, that's good shit. I like that. And I think that's it. I think because it just came out, it was just critics like teaming up on her saying, oh, she's making lesser movies post Oscar.

[00:12:46] And it's like, I think most people who talk about it haven't actually seen it. Yeah. And one person who I talked to, it was either Donna or somebody else that brought up the shower scene that was like, that's not how that works. That's not how it works in a real asylum. Like, no, they would not all be together like that. I mean, you could also make the case. Some of this is her perception. I don't know. Yeah, that's true. She's having disorientations. But yeah, I this was one of those movies.

[00:13:14] I grew up just hearing people talk about it. And you would either people hear people say it sucks. It's another sixth sense. Or Rebecca's knockoff. Or I would hear him say it was scary. I was like, but was it good? I don't know. It was scary. I'm like, that doesn't tell me anything. It's scary, but not like scary, scary. It's one of those like, oh shit, she's in real trouble. Scary, but not like, oh God, they're all going to die. Scary. But it was a big deal.

[00:13:41] It was through Dark Castle, you know, Joel Silver's horror label. They had a lot of good fucking films. I thought so. And Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Robert Downey Jr. So that's the other thing, too. It's like, yeah, he's the Iron Man. Yeah. And Joel Silver was helping him out. Iron Man and Catwoman. Together at last. Oh, no. Together at last. And see, I don't think she was a bad Catwoman, but a lot of people gang up on her. I'm like, I get that the movie sucks ass.

[00:14:10] I thought she was good. But yeah, despite this having a Limp Bizkit song, I don't think it's bad. I like that song. How dare you? I do. It's good. Stop it. Anyway, so Holly was inspired to take this role because her mother, a nurse, worked in a psychiatric hospital for decades. So it hit close to home. Wow. Just like Marshall's Ball hit close to home for some people. And while doing it, you make me feel good.

[00:14:41] Basically. That shit always cracked me up. Apparently she had trouble filming this movie because Robert Downey Jr. during an intense scene accidentally grabbed and twisted her arm. Well, I accidentally broke it. So. Oh, that's right. And maybe she's not talking to him. Yeah. And prisoners with the hammer scene in the bathroom. Hugh Jackman actually did that on purpose. Oh, wow.

[00:15:11] And it wasn't in the script. Like he just reacted and slammed it and broke the sink during the interrogation. You know, like George Clooney actually breaking his ribs in Suriano while he's being tortured. You're like, Jesus, you guys are going to certain extremes. I almost feel like that's part of their Oscar marketing. See, I broke my leg for this role. And then you have everybody else is like, oh, yeah, I sprained my pinky. Give me an Oscar.

[00:15:39] It was worth the cartilage rehealing. I have this splint I have to wear. We need to do a podcast on Michael Jackson sometime. We might have to. All his movies. Moonwalker. Captain EO. You've been covering it lately. Yeah. Yeah. I just watched that the other night. I love that. It's fun. Now, did you guys. Well, Holly should have been in a Michael Jackson video.

[00:16:08] That would have been cool as hell. Yeah. She had a dancing athleticism. Did you guys ever see things we lost in the fire, which she did with Benicio Del Toro? I heard of that. I don't think I did. So this introduced me to Danish filmmaker Suzanne Bear, who's done everything. Night Manager, In a Better World. All kinds of movies and TV shows. The First Lady. Yeah. I think she's pretty cool. Bird Box. Serena.

[00:16:37] But yeah, this was wild because it was just kind of just basically just addicts and just happily married, just family, just dealing with this tragic news. And she finds out, oh, wow. Brian has just been killed. And and basically, yeah, while defending another woman who was beaten by her husband, you're just like it gets into very complexity.

[00:17:06] So it's kind of a monster's ball repeat. And it was just kind of a sleeper where everyone just went, oh, you know, good acting. But that made me feel uncomfortable. But I just remember seeing that and being like, I'm just liking this blunt energy. Everyone's just, you know, fucking cursing. A big cast. Stomar Benson Miller, Paula Newsome, David Duchovny. And it's just good soundtrack. It was very poetic again. It just kind of was just going into just again, stuff that's not easy to talk about.

[00:17:37] Reflection. And that's like Girl on the Train. I love that. It was kind of like that. That was a good plot twist on that shit. No, maybe I don't know on repeat viewings, but but yeah, just dealt with addiction and love loss and recovery. I just thought it was just very mature. So. But yeah, we got to talk about Holly's other movie, The Call. Oh, God.

[00:18:07] And I'm seeing a lot of people lately saying I never even care for that. I'm like, well, I mean, I didn't care for a lot of those movies back then because they felt so cliche. Yeah. And repeaters like you had cellular and then it was The Call. And I'm like, what the fuck are we doing? I mean, it had been a while since they had done a cell phone type movie, I guess. It was kind of a mixture. We hadn't seen her in a big movie in a while.

[00:18:34] And then it was just they were just getting inspired by just real life. Six o'clock news kind of stuff. I think where people get disappointed is it's a lot of mixtures. It's kind of a partial psycho horror movie. Then it's also a partial action adrenaline pumping movie. Then it's also a thriller, a mystery. I was in a phone booth mode, even though I feel like it's made more for the cellular sock route. So even though it's not graphic, it's it's a weird mixture.

[00:19:04] Did you see that one by any chance? Western? Nope. God damn it. I've just never heard of them. Okay. I've never said they're not real to me. Okay. Well, then we'll go to one you haven't seen. So I'm well, many are mixed on The Call. I felt like the idea was mostly well executed, even though it was a predictable ho-hum Hollywood ending. You need to see Kidnapped. Great stunts in that movie. No holds barred. Car chases.

[00:19:32] And if you haven't seen Bruised, that's a cool MMA fighting movie she directed and acted in. It's like it's covering all kinds of stuff. Fitness. She. That we find out halfway through, she's actually closeted and then. But it's also just kind of a. It's just how she tackles the whole. She's a disgraced MMA fighter.

[00:20:00] So now she's doing underground fighting and trying to survive. But it's like it was a big. She's Tom Cruise, but for black women. It was Tom Cruise, but it was good. I mean, what a deal, though. Like, I just remember it comes out at like. The film festivals and they're like, this is a proof of concept. Let's work on this. Let's have Netflix work out a distribution. And Thunder Roto produce it.

[00:20:28] And I was just blown away by it. It really is pretty underrated. But it's so funny. I keep meeting MMA guys are telling me about all the cool stuff. And I'm like, guys, I've seen that. Or, of course, you're going to like it. You're an MMA person. But. It's like, yeah. But have you seen Bruise? I've heard of it. Like, I think you need to see it. But if you haven't seen the union yet, she and Marky Mark. We're solid in this. This this did not go in the direction I thought it was going to go.

[00:20:58] It will appeal to the Mr. And Mrs. Smith true lies crowd. But it goes a little step further because apparently Marky Mark and Holly knew each other back when they were on the modeling scene. And they actually use a real life portrait in the credits. Oh, wow. And they were thinking of doing a sequel to this. And I'm like, I see this. I'm like, this is so much fun. Mike Coulter, Luke Cage is in this. And J.K. Simmons is having fun being the boss.

[00:21:23] And it's kind of an anti-spy movie because they're just making fun of the whole ridiculousness. This is like my ex high school sweetheart is a spy. And she wants me, the smart ass New Jersey construction worker to help her out. What the hell do you need me for? So it just it's kind of like Edge of Tomorrow. They have a very good training sequence montage while also making fun of it.

[00:21:47] It would be like if you were playing a video game you're not good at and you had a snarky best friend who's going to do good because he just has enough shit talking skills to get through. And they kind of just keep doing just kind of fun kind of mixtures of that. They're like, I shouldn't be doing this. I have no skills as a spy. Well, you're the one. You're the one we picked. But she has some awesome stunts in it. So, I mean, any any deal where she has weird awesome shades and gets to pistol whip someone, that's a good day.

[00:22:17] It was good in John Wick chapter two. Yeah, this was shortly after that. So I was like, yeah. Oh, wow. So nice. It's so funny, though. I'll ask people if they've seen a movie. She's like, does she look good? I'm like, well, that goes without saying. Wow. Is it good? It was like, but she is good first and foremost. Yes. It's like, why is it always going to be about looks? It shouldn't be about looks. Damn.

[00:22:46] Like, I went through life not knowing most of these motherfuckers names. I was like, oh, that person. Wait, which one? Right. That one. Dude, I would get people in high school doing the whole, are you gay? You don't have a girlfriend. I'm like, well, first off, homophobe. What's wrong with being gay? And no, I'm not gay. I just I'm going to only date someone if they're serious. And right now I keep getting time wasters. So, no. Yes. They don't fuck away from people completely. Like, there's no point. I treat high school like prison.

[00:23:16] So that's why I'm not here. But yeah, I think that's just it. Everyone is so obsessed with her. She's dating. Don't drop the soap. And same thing with other actors. Yeah. Don't drop the soap. Yeah. I get so many people doing this. Like, so before we go into the next subject, Wes, what would you say is your big takeaway from Holly? Dramas where she just plays unconventional mothers that eventually abandoned her children.

[00:23:44] That's I think that's the best thing that I could say that Holly has done in her career from what I've seen. But I just think that she's a very diverse actress. She's done a little bit of everything. Comedies, dramas. X, Y, and Z. It's never really a dull moment. Yeah. Yeah. It's never a dull moment with what she does. And I think she's a really solid actress for the most part. I mean, she got an Oscar, obviously. Yeah. But I see so many trying to do the whole, oh, it was fake. Oh, it was too soon. I'm like, how? What year did this come out again? Yeah. Tracks.

[00:24:14] So leave it alone. I don't know. I mean, I got respect for her for helping during the California wildfires. Like, that's amazing. Like, to give away your own wardrobe to help others. And that's just it. I had grandparents, you know, who weren't going to see any of her violent movies. But I would, like, probably, sadly, the only thing they would have probably seen, especially

[00:24:42] my grandmother, who was my intro to so much, just mystery and books and Masterpiece Theater was almost always a Sunday night we would spend over there. But she was a James Bond fan, despite, you know, this is so funny. So I'd go over to her house because, you know, my dad likes those movies, but my mother didn't like those movies because the sexist nature of them. And so it's so funny. It's like that. Probably the only thing she would have known Holly from was, oh, yeah, she was a in a James Bond film.

[00:25:11] But what's so funny is, is like she would just see her on talk show house and be like, this woman is electric. She's just very sounds very normal. And I know. And my father would always joke is like, well, celebrities are known for being weird. That's kind of the shtick. That's got to be. But she does seem more human than most celebrities. That's the other thing, too. So I think that's just it. But even when she has a movie that's not a big hit, this is kind of like, well, it's

[00:25:38] still better that she's in it than that she's not. So, I mean, I can respect someone who's just in general, just kind of just very physical. No. What you going to do? I think she'd be good in a Tony production. I can see that. I can totally see that. But I don't know if she'd really want to go to stage or not. I think she'd be great at stage, too.

[00:26:07] Depends on what the production is. Yes. If it's. And it was great hearing her just talk about just being a mixed celebrity recently on Conan. I played a clip at the beginning of the episode, but. Still one of the most stunning actresses ever. Yeah. Yeah. I think we've seen pretty much most of her movies. I. Much like Charlize when she was starring in some questionable stuff post Oscar win, I was

[00:26:34] kind of like, I see nothing wrong with what she's doing compared to what other has been people are doing. So. At least she tries. Some of them. Unlike some actresses. No. Even just actors in general. There are some people. It's like, yeah, they didn't even read a script. They just instantly asked their agent. How much? How many millions is it in? Oh, it's 20 million and over. Doing it. Laughing for five days. Sure.

[00:27:02] She's had some interesting activism stuff. I kind of knew that she was always kind of talking about, you know, nonprofits, seeing her at charity stuff. But I had no idea that she was also testifying against a natural gas facility that was poisoning wildlife. That Arnold Schwarzenegger, back when he was governor, later vetoed the facility as a result of her and a bunch of other celebs' efforts. That included Pierce Brosnan, Dick Van Dyke, and Tia Leone.

[00:27:32] So, I know that she and Jennifer Gardner were at a California State Assembly supporting a bill that would protect celebs' kids from harassment by photographers. And that bill successfully passed. So, good for her. Let that happen. Yeah. Some of those guys can be... Oof. Yeah. Fame versus fortune. I'm sorry, but I am not going to wear a disguise just to not be seen.

[00:28:00] I'll just order online and have it be under a different name. Exactly. I'm not going to just be like, yeah, no. And I'm sure, since there's a lot of bigot, she's probably been mistaken for Angela Bassett and she's had to politely say, sure, I'll sign the autograph, but I'm not Angela Bassett. Dickhead.

[00:28:25] Yeah, I think the parody just kind of, and mockery all started with Catwoman. And honestly, she was the only reason any of us, I think, checked out that movie. We were just like, oh, she's the superhero go-to gal. Before it was kind of a thing. And she was also kind of mocked for kind of questionable interpretation of the role with Storm. Like, she uses like an American accent and goes like a different kind of accent in the first sequel.

[00:28:53] And I was like, no one knew what they were doing on the first one. And everybody just kind of freestyled it on the second one. By movie number three, they were just having fun coordinating the stunts. I wouldn't take any superhero movie seriously. Well, what's interesting is that's the first movie that introduced me to her. Oh, really? The first X-Men. I mean, I knew about her for a while. I knew that because, I mean, her whole career just explodes right away.

[00:29:20] I mean, she's already been kind of doing a lot of stuff in the 90s. And a lot of her movies, I couldn't go a single weekend. You know, back when the WB, before it became the CW and UPM or a thing, I was seeing it. It was even WGN. It's just like, I could not go any kind of movie, you know, pre-fame or post-fame that wasn't not shown on one of these channels.

[00:29:48] I think this is going to actually be pretty embarrassing. The first thing I've seen her in actually was actually the Flintstones movie. I think that was the second thing I saw her in. And that was one of those, like, I didn't even know that was her. I was just so distracted by how stupid that movie was. There were so many Easter eggs in it and fun amusement. And then there was just all this utter boredom in it. I mean, there's some good casting in that. That's about all I can say. Yeah, yeah.

[00:30:17] Great production design, and entertainment. Universal. But I'll still bet in the second one. Or whatever the hell that was. Yeah. Poor Thomas Gibson. Oh, man. So, months before prepping for this, I was able to see a lot of her TV movies and miniseries online before we prepped this episode. So, that was fun. One, I remember seeing, she did a lot of Alex Haley adaptations, co-produced by Oprah and what have you.

[00:30:47] So, their eyes were watching God. It was an alright TV movie, but she really just made the movie worth watching just alone. She's like, she had this charisma unlike anyone else. She's in the biblical film as the title queen, you know, in Solomon and Sheba. She's the play opposite Jimmy Smith. So, that was interesting.

[00:31:07] And I guess you could say everyone was kind of either distracted by how good or bad her movies were versus, you know, oh, I saw her naked in that movie. And it's just like, you know, why don't you just focus on the talent? You know, I never really gave two shits about that. And everyone often would. And I would just be like, well, I mean, I'm a guy. So, I mean, if there is violence or nudity, I'll take it. But it's not required. I'm just judging whether the movie's interesting or not.

[00:31:37] Or if it's a lost cause. First earliest films I think I saw in her was definitely Executive Decision. You know, post X-Men. Oh, yeah. Swordfish. Swordfish. And I gotta say, like many of these awesome celebs who I really admire, she's often pretty wasted in any movie where she like does a cameo as herself or just a voiceover role. It's just kind of like, all right. That's true. But I'm glad you didn't do too many of those.

[00:32:07] Well, it's like a decision. I mean, that's like a prominent role in that. And the part that isn't like going from this dress, I wouldn't say entirely. Totally. Totally. Yeah. I mean, she did that already after campy stuff like Fodderhood with Patrick Swayze and the program. I think my brother mentioned that to me a few weeks ago. Oh, really? Yes. Yeah. Boomerang was almost on every other channel a lot of the time. TNT, BET.

[00:32:37] But yeah, the program, TNT used to have that in the can every weekend when they were showing something like The Replacements or The Matrix. Every other Schwarzenegger or Stallone movie. Yeah. The program was interesting, I guess, because it just felt very unusually real. And it really wasn't all that well acclaimed. And yet, at the same time, critics were always talking about just very realistic acting.

[00:33:08] Yeah. Race to the Sun and Rich Man's Wife, those were almost always on regular afternoon movies. I have tried. I believe she said it was like her worst movie, Rich Man's Wife. Yeah. I have tried multiple times. It's always been one of those movies you hear about, you know, you've seen it, but you don't know how or why. At first, it was one of those, like, I just kind of want to see how violent or sleazy this is. I don't even remember those elements.

[00:33:36] Oh, Christopher McDonald's in it. I've been not known. Clive Owen's in it. Peter Green's Ed from Pulp Fiction's in it. And I can never remember any of that either. So I guess you could say it's even more forgettable than the diabolical remake from 96 with Sharon Stonzo. So it's just like, yeah, yeah, this movie blows. What a way from the cams, too, you know. Jesus.

[00:34:06] Yeah, I... So, yeah, there you go, reconfirming that. So during a 2019 appearance on James Corden, she was asked what film she was on that she knew was going to be poorly received just based on the questionable filming. And she said, yeah, I'm sorry, everybody who worked on this movie. Everybody. Sorry. But the truth is the truth. I kind of knew it wasn't going to be the greatest cinematic experience for the people. You go into the movies always with the best intentions.

[00:34:32] Sometimes you get on the set and you realize, what, was I high when I agreed to do this? Yeah. Oh, well. It's by the writer of Indecent Proposals. So, yeah, fuck that movie. I've never bought it, so I'm good. Uh... Just another movie by Adrian Lyne where you're just like, yeah, was this meant to be a Red Shoe Diaries episode? Because this is pretentious as fuck.

[00:35:03] Honestly, I think the worst movie I've seen her in probably was Baps. That was one of those I would always just run into on the channels. Or, why do fools fall in love? And each time I would just always see part of it. And I was just like, why do I care about any of these characters? And no one's talking like a regular person. And it's just... It's like Baps is like... Just a weird buddy movie that...

[00:35:31] It's kind of stuck in just... That and Access Baggage were trying to outdo Batman and Robin. They didn't, but they were still like worst of the year in 97. What's weird about that one is... I remember hearing about that because they had Debra Wilson and Mad TV in a cameo as a flight attendant. And it was a very strict role. I'm like, wow, what a waste of her. 15%.

[00:36:01] She's a garbage. There you go. 15% on Rotten Tomatoes. CinemaScore gave it a grade of a B. Someone liked it. I guess. Roger Gavard gave a rare zero out of four stars. But she got both Stinker nomination and an Acapulco Black Film Festival nomination. Someone saw it. I guess so.

[00:36:30] I guess she was kind of the best part about Bullworth. But I kind of felt like that satire wasn't fully functioning. It just wasn't fully fleshed out. But it wasn't stupid either. That was the other kind of amusing part. Yeah. The most forgettable one I've seen her do was probably Perfect Stranger. I mean, this is one of those is like... Oh, God. So it's trying to be like all those stalker erotic thrillers.

[00:36:57] And you don't remember either of the sleaze, let alone even the plot twist. And I remember a lot of people were like, I didn't see the plot twist coming. Or that was so predictable. It was just one of those... I was just not into it. And I like James Foley's earlier work. I don't think it's his worst movie by far. No, not at all. It's not Fifty Shades. Like, he's later shit. I remember other people saying, oh, it's the first movie she and Bruce Willis have been in since the last Boy Scout. It's like... Okay.

[00:37:26] Why is the trivia more interesting than the movie? I just remember that being very dull. Yeah. I don't hate it, hate it. But I still don't remember anything about it. I don't remember that Giovanni Ribisi were in it. I don't remember that the dude, Gary Gurdin from CSI was in it. She's... Again, just more interesting than the actual movie. But I think that just showed you how she could be a very protective, soulful person. So I thought that's definitely interesting.

[00:37:56] Yeah, Rachel's son, I think, was pretty reasonable. So, 96 was a good year for her. Where you just start, you know, same year as the second decision. And Rich Man's wife says, like, she was in one lame movie, one and two easygoing crowd pleaser movies. I have a Blu-ray executive decision somewhere. I can't figure out who I'm going to get that to. To give GIF to someone.

[00:38:23] But the Blu-ray screenshots seem to look pretty impressive. Well, it was. Not on the Blu-ray also. Oh, nice. Okay. I was fortunate enough on Bounce Network to finally see Frankie and Alice. And that was definitely an intriguing one. Because, I mean, she's playing a stripper who's kind of bipolar.

[00:38:48] And, you know, still in Garth's Guard is helping her understand that because she's had a very abusive life, she's put aside all these various other personas. It was also interesting. That cast itself was pretty intriguing. Felicia Rashad was in there. I think as the mom, if I'm not mistaken, there's some other Canadian faces. Even Max Headroom was in there. So, yeah. Not a bad movie. But someone just clicked.

[00:39:18] But I think she just must have had a bad agent. It just got her onto a lot of these awesome festival movies that just totally fudged their whole... I mean, they didn't go direct to video, but they had kind of delayed wide release. Because, I mean, it had a limited release in 2010. And then it finally got a wide release four years later. Not one, not two, but four years later. I'm like, what's going on here? But she got a lot of nominations. Oh, I take it back.

[00:39:46] She won an NAACP award. So, a PRISM award. Okay. Got a Golden Globe nomination. I guess the first dramatic role... I even saw it years before Monster's Ball. Was Things We Lost in the Fire, where she played opposite Benicio Del Toro. That was just one of those... They totally carried the movie. It was just kind of a slow-paced, depressing drama. But everyone getting over vices and addiction and everything.

[00:40:14] And she brought just an unusual naturalness to it. And I think we can all say she's the best part as Jinx in Pierce Brosnan's final entry as James Bond in Dying Another Day. I would have been curious to see Spinoff. Yeah, I think that she really would have actually owned... And she could actually say, you know, I was part of three different franchises. Maybe four, technically. So, yeah. Okay.

[00:40:40] She was part of X-Men, Bond, Kingsman, and John Wick. So, yeah. That's four franchises. There you go. Although she was wasting Kingsman. Yeah. Although I kept lighting up. I'm like, hey! Polymer? Oh. He's getting dull again. She's an interesting actress also in that she's not afraid to just kind of play by the rules of what an actress does or doesn't do.

[00:41:06] I knew my grandparents hadn't really seen many movies of hers, but they would always see her on, like, various talk shows. And they're like, she just seems like a natural, cool, nice person. You know? Like, yeah. She's in sort of news. She's very stuck up. Yeah, I know. It's a movie. I would even see some random people, like, on Vibe magazine just kind of toasting hers. Like, I can't respect someone who dates these kind of people.

[00:41:35] It's just like, why do you care about someone's dating life? Oh, God. I hate that. Let them date who they want. Yeah. Yeah. I know she had an abusive boyfriend during the filming of Last Boy Scout, and... I think it's because she almost lost a hearing. Yeah. A former boyfriend, Christopher Williams, accused Wesley Snipes of being responsible.

[00:42:04] And then she has... What's that called? Dog Tide? Dog Tide. I believe it. Yeah. Which... Yeah. So that's basically, like, the only misstep of her career where someone didn't know what to do with her project. Actually, no. It played, like, at a... I think that was one of the few video-on-demand movies of the 2012s. That's when it was first becoming a thing. It was a critical failure in Fox Office Ball. But, yeah. She basically was on vacation, just did a movie with her then-boyfriend at the time,

[00:42:33] Oliver Martinez, who was just used to playing just bad guys. But, yeah. It was one of those, like, I'm waiting for the shark attacks, and... I've not seen any shark attacks. It's a movie. It's a well shot, but it's boring as fuck. Can't recommend it. That's not what I can say about Kidnap, which... Yeah, Kidnap...

[00:43:02] An enjoyable thriller. I saw a lot of people bashing that one, and I'm just like, I see nothing wrong with it. I remember it... It was kind of in the can for, like, a few years. No one knew when it was coming out. Then it... The trailer just swept Facebook for a while, and everyone's like, oh, that looks like a super violent, fun movie. Which it was. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That and The Call. I mean, The Call could have been what was kind of more of a horror movie with some... Kind of like FOMO, with some action and horror elements. Exciting moments.

[00:43:32] But it's, for the most part, it's kind of a creepy movie. And... Yeah. She kind of won ups... She's still in The Call mode, but she gets a really cool speed type car chase. I like how she just brings a naturalness to it. It's like, again, that's kind of her thing. She just... You never really feel like anything she's saying just feels false in any way. I don't remember her at all in the ensemble cast of New Year's Eve, but I think she was in the trailer for that. I think...

[00:44:01] Out of all the movies she was in, that I was surprised that had a bad reputation, that were hardly as bad as one would have thought, was probably Gothica. I just remember seeing that on HBO, and I was like, you know, it's not unwatchable. Like, every other local review I was reading of that claimed. No, it's not unwatchable. I think she and finale crew is the best plots. The whole film. Yeah, I really just...

[00:44:29] I know it got edited up pretty badly. I just pretty much only remember just the premise and the plot twist ending at the very end, where every movie was trying to be like the sixth sense. But I mean, she even won a Teen Choice Award, so there you go. I didn't even know that. Teen should have been watching those movies, but that's what they were doing. They ain't care. They don't care. Yeah.

[00:44:58] It was an uncanny horror movie. I remember one neighbor who I used to hang out with claimed that he got nightmares watching it. I was like, seriously? Oh, no. Even back then, I wouldn't have gotten nightmares with it. It was kind of more like Ghost Ship, where you just remembered it being just over the top, but not scary. Just intense. I don't know. Everyone's got a different version of what they consider scary.

[00:45:25] My version of what I consider scary is just kind of more just, I don't know, just constant, just, ah! Yeah. That's the same as me. Same way. And not just, oh my god, someone did something awful to someone. Well, the constant jump scares. I hate that the most.

[00:45:51] You know, even nowadays, jump scares are just so cheap. It's just, like... That's what I hate the most, when they go to cheap rounds. Yeah! Yeah! And see it. Um... Mm-hmm. I didn't say anything. Nah. Oh, boy. Don't hate me, folks. That's just my opinion. Yeah, boy.

[00:46:16] But, yeah, she was, like, the first one to, like, accept the Razzie in person for Catwoman. I just thought that's so funny, because, I mean, she really does carry that movie. A lot of people were hating so many other people in that movie, and it's like, well, to be fair, they didn't have anything to work with. I think Benjamin Bratt wasn't used to playing with far more attractive lead stars. And it's just... The music video director was just so uninspired. He had done, like...

[00:46:45] He had, like, one name. His name's, like, Pito, or something like that. And it's like... Yeah, Pito. He just doesn't know how to contribute anything to the story, except to show close-ups of her, you know, inner tights. You know, stuff that even makes the trailer. And it's like, yeah, I'm not getting any kind of stories. I see Alex Borstein showing up as... Yeah, even... An annoying friend. Yeah. From years before Family Guy. Yeah. Writing absolutely sucked.

[00:47:14] And while it would have been acceptable in any other way, it's just... The way it was executed, it was just... It had a lot of dull stuff. I pretty much just only remember just how goofy the fights are. But it's way more of a drag than even Batman and Robin. It's just... Any other things you want to add that you've learned about her over the years, or that just stands out about her? No, like I mentioned before, that she always seems a genuinely nice person.

[00:47:44] And she... Even, like, on Instagram, she always likes to talk to her fans. Never... Oh, really? Oh, yeah. Every now and then she will. That's cool. Q&A questions. She ever do a Reddit? I don't believe she has. Unless I'm mistaken. I'll have to check that. But... I'd definitely be curious if she was, because...

[00:48:14] You know. That is cool. Very cool, very cool. Yep. I think she's a team player, and... I keep kind of comparing her and Charlize, because they just kind of have just very similar careers, you know. Yeah. But her lifestyles. Raised by a single, tough parent. Abusive dad. Dad. Unfortunately, never laid a hand on them. Got into modeling.

[00:48:43] Got into the most unusual bit part roles. Did brief TV stuff and commercials. And then non-stop movie roles. Then, you know, criticized following their award win. And, you know, being in lesser stuff, that's kind of become a cult hit. And still constantly working. And once again, working with the John Wick people. So there you go. It's pretty much the same kind of agent. Maybe they do have the same agent. I don't know.

[00:49:09] But I think it's still interesting how navigate that difficult landscape that is. Well, she's playing off a drama three. I found this out when I put interviews. That apparently she went up to them at the gym. I can do that. Well, she just said, like, I can do that. I'll train right now. And, like, we don't have a script.

[00:49:39] And she's like, I'll do it. I'm doing this movie. Make one. Make one. And they're like, okay, you're hired then. I can't see her not returning for part five. I hope she does, honestly. Because now she's established not only how key her backstory is to the title character. But I'm sure she's got an interesting crime on the world that she's had to navigate. And, I mean, having all those attack dogs. We had a trailer of the John Wick 3.

[00:50:09] They showed her at the hotel, the Continental. So, but that wasn't in the movie. Only on rare occasions, believe it or not, have I encountered some white and black peers who think she's an overrated actress. Oh, she didn't deserve it from Monster's Ball. And I'm just like, really? I don't get that she lucked out or anything. I don't. There's plenty of other pretty faces you and I can't stand. And I'm not.

[00:50:35] I don't see any lack of emotion or intensity to any of those roles. I mean, she's sold me anytime she's even just cried in a role on a brief occasion. And that's what I also like, too. She's found that in-between kind of niche to not be a victim and not just even be just cliche, strong-willed person. It's like, I guess you could just say she brings not just kind of a thanking person's kind of mentality to everything.

[00:51:00] And that's what stands out more than just, you know, tough gal, young and experienced gal. She's never picked anything too dorky that an audience can't buy into. Even in some of these bad movies we've talked about way too long. I don't, I can't even say that she's a poorly ridden person in, you know, Richmond's Wives or Catwoman. And I think she's just really good at just kind of picking someone who just kind of reacts,

[00:51:29] uh, occasionally romantic, but then just always just fights back, fights back. Definitely. Much like real life. She's fought back against every kind of obstacle. And she's never taken any kind of racially or overdone kind of roles or even underwritten roles. Like, Jinx was really awesome in James Bond.

[00:51:56] I didn't think the movie was worth a shit, but she, you'd never seen that kind of Bond girl before. You know, even with Michelle Yaw in Tomorrow on Air Dies, she brought such a different mentality. She had all these lame one-liners to deliver and she sold it. She made it badass, you know? Yeah. I think Monster Balls is just even an important movie in that everyone's just so distracted on what it won or it's like they don't do enough talking about what it covers, how, you

[00:52:24] know, a racist, you know, comes infatuated with this other gal who's related to a prisoner he executed and just finding forgiveness. So I think that's just it too. She finds all these other atypical elements that most movies, you know, every A-lister just never seems to get any of those elements just because everyone's got to rewrite everything a hundred times to where what sounded like a cool idea when you signed on is now unrecognizable from the final product.

[00:52:54] I don't know. Just anytime she smiles, I just, I feel happy. She has that kind of natural ability to just, she's a crowd-placer. And at the same time, she puts the humanity in the crowd-placer movie. So I would definitely take her resume over other people who I like, who I can't say I've done anything really good recently, like Sondra Bullock. Yeah, I can say that too.

[00:53:25] Jamie Foxx, I'm looking at you. I can't for that bullet drink. That's a cameo. Hopefully Keanu Reeves tells her to be in one of these John Wick movies. I'm surprised she hasn't, honestly. Couldn't hurt. I didn't do that or do a single speed. And I know you guys aren't doing that anytime soon. So just be part of the John Wick universe. Yeah. That would be friends with Halle Berry. Yeah, there you go. Watch that.

[00:53:54] Go all akimbo. We take down the continent. And more or less, I guess you could say she brings in unusual amount of accountability for every kind of role she does. And more or less, she, I mean, I really don't think she can go wrong. I think it's also interesting how she's one of the few mixed celebrities who everyone kind of forgets is kind of mixed. She's kind of played everyday kind of people roles instead of just race specific roles.

[00:54:24] So I think that's definitely a groundbreaking. Hopefully someone's taking note of that instead of, you know, just only cast a white or a black person, you know, in this particular role. It's like, no, just cast someone who's going to do a damn good job with the role. That's why I've always said it doesn't matter the color. It depends upon if they're right for the role. That's what I've always said. Yeah.

[00:54:52] So just summing up final thoughts again, you know, 2013's The Call. That was a big deal, you know, for Holly. Again, she's already been in the Joel Silver movies, you know, Second Decision Swordfish. She's already been in plenty of other just, you know, character dramas like things we lost in the fire and Monsters Vault. So The Call is interesting because, again, like you could put that in any genre. You could call it an action suspense movie. You could call it a horror thriller.

[00:55:21] Call it just straight up mystery. It works. But I will admit I don't find the villain memorable in this. But I do think this is just still just. Solid cast, you know, Justino Mikada, Michael Imperioli, you know, Abigail Breslin is the kidnap B. Morris Chestnut. And Brett Anderson just has a way of just somehow just making me. Just.

[00:55:50] Get my guard down just because I know he's not going to play me for full. He's not going to treat me like one either, but he's also going to just get the grit. You know, I mean, there's a reason this guy has done. You know, episodes of different TV as well. He's probably one of the more successful ones. I personally would compare him to Soderbergh, dare I say, and that he's not afraid to take on different genres.

[00:56:17] But yeah, I think if anyone doesn't like this, please give it a rewatch. I get that it doesn't make you feel, you know, it's not pleasant. But then again, it's not meant to be. But it's also not exploitation. It avoids so many tropes that so many other movies and shows do. Now on to kidnap, you know, just closing thoughts. It's like that. That would be a top 10 Holly Berry movies list contender at best, just because I mean, they just played so into it.

[00:56:47] You messed with the wrong mother. And with all the different men on fire taken and John Wick clones. I thought that, again, approached it with so much more sincerity. But yeah, I mean. I remember when it was kind of a word of mouth movie, it was just kind of in and out. And I don't know why, again. The theatrical version is so much longer than the main.

[00:57:15] TV and home video version, but it's kind of one of those other movies which people have heard about, but not actually seen. And it's like, no, just see it like it. It goes through this way more plausibly than most thrillers ever do. And again, it was interesting seeing a Spanish filmmaker who's done all kinds of other thrillers take this on.

[00:57:42] And he's done other movies and shows like White Lines and a few other thrillers. So it's like, yeah, I mean, this was so much more respectable. This was made for the Netflix generation. And all together, I mean. It's kind of freaky, even though it's not really a horror movie, but. Yeah, I mean, this comes on cable TV quite a lot, especially places like Bounce or. TNT type places, this.

[00:58:13] It's it's definitely a must see for those who like other road trips gone wrong movies like Duel and Jeepers Creepers, Deliberance, even. Just high speed chase movies like back to the older days of Bullet, you know, and. Again, like. It's also just a good way to just kind of say, hey, you got to go looking for.

[00:58:41] Your daughter when all else fails at the end of the day, you know, one has to tell, you know, so. And don't let the trailer throw you off. It really goes about it so much more realistic than most other movies. And again, it's just like, what would you do if you're just a single mother? You know, Holly Berry just poured her life into this role. It really is very remarkable. The writer was Kanati Lee.

[00:59:10] He has written for everything. One Vice News, the creator, Tyler, the creator, Stephen King, even various pranksters, but even Marvel. So, yeah. I had done all kinds of stuff. It's not the most respectable resume, but the movie itself is pretty respectable. So, closing thoughts on The Union. Again, I love this goddamn movie. Give it a sequel.

[00:59:36] This is so much more respectable than most Assassin's Spy, let alone buddy movies. It doesn't play too safe. I know Marky Mark can be controversial in interviews and doesn't always make the best movie choices, but. Given how the actors were friends in real life, the friendship came off so legit. It is almost a loose Oz reunion, if you think about it, because you got Adewali Akanohi and.

[01:00:06] JK Simmons, both in this movie, playing some of the spies. Because the way they set it up and balance out the action comedy is so much more ironed. It is so more consistent. It doesn't ever feel like five writers got in the room and just fucked around and found out. No, not the case.

[01:00:27] Jackie Earl Haley, Alice Lee, our boy Luke Cage, you know, portrayer Mike Coulter, and even Dana Delaney were really solid in this. I personally dug supporting actress Jessica Degau, as well as Lorraine Bracco, as Marky Mark's mother, who was concerned. Oh, what are you doing out there? Why are you going to London? Trying to avoid me? It was just a little small stuff.

[01:00:54] It was a good mixture of today's humor mixed with dad humor mixed in with other kinds of just wit. And man, I just I had a smile on my face in the best way. But yeah, that was by director Julian Farino, English film and TV guy. He's done everything. Various episodes of Entourage and big love for HBO, as well as Ballers and in Treatment. So there you go.

[01:01:23] He hasn't done as many movies. He's done other stuff like The Oranges and Child in Time. So I think that's why they chose him for this is like, give the stunts to a capable team. Because after all, this guy has done the American office. He's done, you know, all kinds of other stuff, you know, and he lets it breathe and just stand for itself. So, yeah, I got no quibbles.

[01:01:52] This screenplay was by David Guggenheim, who's kind of the king of coming up with ideas. He came up with concepts for movies like Safe House and Designated Survivor. Even some Christmas comedies starring Kurt Russell as Santa. So there you go. You know, Joe Barton was the co-writer. He's done some crime shows for Netflix, TNT, like The Lazarus Project and Black Dubs. So, yeah, it checked off my spy movie requirements, which has come up with a cool concept.

[01:02:22] You know, people who blend in by picking people off the street and giving them literally weeks, a few weeks worth of training, sometimes a month. And reuniting old flames so that it was kind of an almost an anti Mr. Mrs. Smith and True Lies, like I said earlier. But what I mean by that is it was good at just kind of basically defying exploitations.

[01:02:48] And yeah, it's just everybody was just slick and suave like they were ready to party, but stay in character as these designated characters. And it was also just a blessing to not have. These actors do revisit lesser kinds of roles, you know, because there's been plenty of movies where Holly's had nothing but just quibbles or lame one liners to spout back at non charismatic leads.

[01:03:15] And for Marky Mark to do his whole Marky Mark is like he kind of just even though he acknowledges I'm a Boston boy. And what am I doing here in London? He. Mainly just lets the comedy be more naturally instead of just I got to be the star is like. So that's good. It's like don't pull Dwayne Johnson or Kevin Hart, Marky Mark. Don't do that. So he's like good behavior.

[01:03:38] So close out these this giant, giant review with two other movies we got in 2024 is never let go. And 2026 is crime 101. So. Neither of these worked for me. And if you've seen any of the iffy reviews there for a reason. So. Yeah, never let go.

[01:04:04] I was optimistic, even though I'm half and half on Alexandra Aja, you know, I mirrors is OK until the ending. The Hills Have Eyes remake and crawl are decent. Other stuff he's done. I just fucking hate like high tension and horns. So, you know, I never know what I'm going to get from the Frenchman. But. You know, he's. He's done some other stuff to co-write. But yeah, it's.

[01:04:32] This basically it feels like it's a part giallo because we're dealing with twins and like reincarnation almost. Basically just. But the possession of bodies and what have you. And. But you got to get for just a. It's just dull dragon slug. Through here first. And screenplays by Casey Coghlan, Ryan Graspy, who. Are up and comers. Co-produced by Sean Levy. So.

[01:05:03] Yeah, I got nothing nice to say about this one. It'll keep you. Engaged. But it won't make you want to. Revisit it. And it. The ending just made me totally say. Why did I waste my goddamn time? This had nothing to do with anything. Really. Nothing. I think. Holly's good as the mother of. Basically. She.

[01:05:31] She's the mother of two twin boys, but. Yeah. Then they just go into all kinds of other stuff where they're like, hey. I'm going to. I'll just spoil the ending. It's like. The evil. Demon. Just sheds mother's skin. Reveal a skilled creature. That. Dissipates. As the two hugs each other. It's like. Oh my God. It's like. So. It's the other thing too. It's like they.

[01:06:01] Come across a young girl. And she's the face of evil. And it's just like. What the hell? It's an apocalyptic landscape. You know. And trust me. I love. When movies like this can be very terrifying. Like 1981's possession, which is unfortunately getting a remake as a good example of this. But. Yeah. By the end of this. Alexander. Aja does not know how to end his movies. I give him a benefit of the doubt because he's a genre guy. He's trying to make a living. He's not in your face like. Christopher Nolan.

[01:06:31] I'm not Shyamalan or Jordan Peele. But yeah. The C plus grade from CinemaScore. That is correct. That is a thousand percent correct. It's not bad enough to be the worst of all time. But when you saw how Holly Berry was in interviews saying we should make this be a franchise. No the fuck you shouldn't. You sure as hell should not make that be a thing. It's just. This was originally known as Motherland.

[01:06:59] That might have been a better title instead of the generic never let go. But. Yeah. It's just very average. And then you'll remember the insultingly bad ending. But. It's just. It should have been like a monkey's paw ending or should have been like they're fighting cannibals or something. And then finding out other dark secrets about how they got here. That would have been way more interesting. Just something like. A survival. I love survival movies where.

[01:07:29] The person realized that the elephant in the room happens to be their significant other or some other person they love is just like, yeah, I love it. Needed something like that. And it needed better buildup instead of. Holly giving her usual good performance. And to. I'll give you this. The boys are not annoying. And but. And it is cool seeing the actor Percy Daggs the fourth. Be in a dual role as the twins. But. You're not going to come back to this. There is a hiker.

[01:07:59] There is, you know, visions of the dad who come into play. But just like, yeah, it's just. Very uneven. Very unengaging at times to where you're like, how much more do I have to go left of this? And then followed by the. Ham fisted ending where you're just like, OK, I should have known what I was getting into. I've only. If you've the more movies you've seen, the more when you kind of got a general sense of where something's going and not for the better. So, yeah, that's a total flop.

[01:08:27] Two out of five for me. But Crime 101 is the final movie on this list. And so long story short, Holly's pretty good. But I feel like she gave her performance that this movie does not deserve at all. Not at all. So Crime 101. Bart Layden, I've been half and half on. I didn't like American Animals, his previous heist movie. I did like his crime documentary, The Imposter. That was amazing. So I'll just say this.

[01:08:57] He needs to stick to his true crime stuff. I will say this. It was interesting because, you know, it's like a Amazon just got just bought all of MGM's library. This is one of their newest releases. You got a big all star deal. It's like, well. Got Master Thief played by Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, who I'm not always crazy about, but he can be good with the right material. We got an LAPD detective played by Mark Ruffalo.

[01:09:24] And then we got the partner in Cry to the Thief, played by Barry Kagan, who's an up and comer, who's been doing all kinds of every kind of movie. Peaky Blinders, Martin McDonough's and Yorgos. A lot of themos work. Yeah. So I'm half and half on him. He's fine. And we got Jennifer Jason Leigh and Nick Nolte in Nothing Rules. We got Monica Barbera from Top Gun Maverick and the Chicago Justice franchise.

[01:09:53] And FUBAR with Arnold as the girlfriend of Chris Hemsworth. And then we got Corey Hawkins, who's best known for Walking Dead, Straight Outta Compton as the LAPD partner. And but yeah, Holly Berry was just basically. It's just so wild how they bring her into this. She has really nothing to do with this.

[01:10:18] She's she's basically yeah, she's just an insurance broker who. Teams up with the detective Mike and somehow becomes involved in this crime. And so it sucks because. Kind of like all the different movies that we're trying to rip off multi, you know, loosely connected storylines, everything, Magnolia. You know, Crash, what have you.

[01:10:44] And it's just you're gonna without maybe I'm a nitpicker, but that's that's on the filmmaker for not making this believable. Like basically. The detective gets taken hostage by the thief after a while. You know, he has plenty of time to shoot this motherfucker and he just freezes up to the film's credit. They do do a.

[01:11:12] You know, what if scenario where the detective imagines himself, you know, getting shot and then wakes up is like, you know, then turns out some someone else who he was robbing, who the thief was robbing, you know, get shot instead. And that's Tate Donovan's character, who is just so funny how she. He's all his only connection to Holly Berry is that he's one of.

[01:11:40] The insurance clients, but yeah, it's just gets messier and messier. There there's good sound mixing and camera work that makes it almost feel like a Michael Mann or William Friedkin type of down and dirty thriller. L.A. is well utilized. There's a needless shot at the beginning where they show L.A. literally turned upside down just to kind of just to have on the nose kind of literal meaning.

[01:12:05] It's like, yeah, there's really nothing to the whole getting, you know, trying to do nonviolent robberies, escape off Route 101. Yeah, basically. I mean, the split this whole deal, the two thieves are always in cahoots. I was very unengaged from it. I suffered through it. It's a dud. It's not.

[01:12:34] And again, it is watchable enough. But like Holly just had so many scenes where I'm like that she should have been the star of this thing. They should have rerented it as an insurance broker gets involved with thieves or something. That would have been five times more entertaining instead of the usual. The jewel thief takes a detective hostage. And the detective, as good as he is, is still one bit behind just the cat and mouse stuff. I could fire off a gazillion bullets in this. Sorry, excuse for a plot.

[01:13:03] It just made me so angry. And it's not supposed to make you angry. And I'm getting angry at the bad writing, not at someone who's meant to be annoying. That's a whole different story. And there's some other decent actors. There's Babak Tafti. There's Tafti. There's Drew Powell, who's been in everything. Malcolm in the Middle, The Pit. There's Matthew Del Negro, who you've probably seen on City on a Hill. Resolient Isles, to name a few.

[01:13:34] But yeah, I already saw this movie and I already don't remember Nick Nolte or Jennifer Jason Leigh's roles. That's how shitty it is. Again, not going to be the worst of all time, but definitely the biggest letdown of 2026. So, but overall, I let Holly get plenty of get out of jail free cards. Because there's so many other actors who will take anything. Like, just because of Chastain is wonderful, but not always in the best stuff worthy of her talent.

[01:14:04] Idris Elba will sometimes do a very lame superhero cameo or bottom-of-the-barrel B movie. And that kind of has to recreate himself again, just do a different kind of show or movie just to make up for the bad choices. And yeah, Holly has done some duds, but I can always understand why she took on what she did when she did. It just seems like a lot of people have just done the whole, I'm jealous. I don't think she's worthy of that. Or we like her, but I don't know her.

[01:14:33] And so, all I can say is just give her another moment at a time and I don't think you'll be let down. There's plenty to like from her resume and hopefully we summed up a lot of the best for you. Thanks for listening, gang. And enjoy the rest of Juneteenth week. We'll return after these messages.

[01:15:21] Thursdays at 5 p.m. Central Time, 6 p.m. Eastern. Then catch it Wednesday mornings at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, 10 a.m. Central, 1077 K-Twins. Then hang out with us Wednesday afternoons on MXTR and House Shack Radio, 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Then Thursday, get up bright and early with us on 95.7 Web Radio at 6 a.m. Pacific Time, 9 a.m. Eastern Time.

[01:15:50] Of course, we've got your Friday covered as well. 12 p.m. Eastern Time on MXTR FM and 10 p.m. Eastern Time, 9 p.m. Central, 1077 K-Twins. Find everything on MXTR.com. MXTR.com. Do you ever find yourself thinking about who would win in a fight between Goku and Superman? Hi, I'm James Gavsey, and on the Who Would Win Show, me and my co-host Ray ignore anything important happening in the outside world

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