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The Tameside Radio presenter and movie fanatic gives his verdict on the latest films he's watched - Cocaine Bear, Die Hart and Magic Mike's Last Dance.
Sometimes, movie titles are fairly unambiguous. Snakes On A Plane perfectly describes the 2006 Samuel L Jackson film.
Similarly, Cocaine Bear features the memorable line "a bear did cocaine", and that is the basis of a ridiculous but enjoyable 95 minute rollercoaster ride through the forest, as a black bear goes on the rampage in search of her next hit. We know the bear is female, via one line in particular, which I definitely can't repeat here.
I don't laugh out loud at the cinema very often, but one memorable scene where the bear falls asleep on top of one of the characters elicited that reaction. The dialogue is ridiculous, but it just works really well.
Set in 1985, and it really reminded me of a lot of movies from that time, which I might once have rented from my local Blockbuster. It's also the last big screen appearance for Ray Liotta, and what a swansong, as he plays the drug baron in search of his supplies, which have been catapulted into the forest from a plane. He doesn't care about the danger...he just wants his powder back, whatever the consequences.
I liked the characters, the screenplay, the tight running time, and the fact the film knows it's ridiculous, and doesn't care a jot. Recommended.
Also this week, I watched Die Hart on Amazon Prime Video. The less said about this Kevin Hart film, the better, frankly. The pun in the title isn't even the worst thing about it, as Hart plays a version of himself attending a shadowy off grid action movie training school owned by John Travolta (who's actually quite good in this). One for a Friday night when you just want to switch your brain off, but if you haven't watched J-Lo's Shotgun Wedding, try that instead. Or just one of the Die Hard films on DVD.
And Magic Mike's Last Dance was a lot better than I expected, as recommended by our Sport Show presenter Katie Catherall. I liked the storyline and Salma Hayek was particularly superb, delivering every line with aplomb. I haven't seen any of the other Magic Mike films, but aside from a couple of flashbacks to Channing Tatum's character's back story, you can enjoy this as a standalone film with no issues.
Mike heads to London to put on a show at the Rattigan Theatre that the audience will never forget, and falls head over heels in love along the way. But can the theatre be saved? Will he be persuaded to whip his top off and dance one more time? You'll have to watch it to find out! I can't believe they used me as a body double.
This week, I'm trying to overcome my feeling of Marvel saturation by checking out the new Ant Man movie, plus I have plans to watch Women Talking (showing on a shamefully low number of screens), Knock At The Cabin (finally!) and What's Love Got To Do With It. Happy film watching!