#peterberg

The first time I saw The Rundown, I was only moderately amused. Other people liked it and I could see why, but it wasn't for me. Seeing it again, I’m struggling to figure out what was wrong with me. This film is a lot of fun - and no, my heightened enjoyment didn't come from lowered expectations.

Dwayne Johnson (still being credited as “The Rock” here) plays a bounty hunter named Beck. He wants out of the business so he's given one last assignment, with the promise of an extra-large paycheck once the job is done. His mission is to retrieve his boss' son Travis (Seann William Scott) from a small mining town in Brazil. This proves more difficult than expected. Not only does Travis not want to go, but he's also mixed up with a local crime lord (Christopher Walken).

While today Dwayne Johnson is a big star, it must've been a shocker to see how good he is here. His most notable film roles prior were in The Mummy Returns (in which he has no lines) and the lame spinoff The Scorpion King. This picture shows what he has to offer in spades: great on-screen presence, decent acting chops, solid comedic timing, and the potential to be more than just a big barbarian-type in fantasy or sci-fi films.

Then you pair him up with Seann William Scott. With anyone else, this would've been a throwaway, who cares kinda movie. Together, they elevate it to a higher level. They're consistently funny and the inevitable direction their grudging relationship goes is believable, particularly once they confront Christopher Walken’s character, Cornelius Bernard Hatcher. There are points where the gags get a bit sophomoric, like a scene where the two have to fend off some horny monkeys, but otherwise, this is solid stuff.

Mixed in with the comedy are ample combat and sequences of peril. The highlight has to be a battle between Beck and some rope-swinging Brazilian rebels. This scene pits the swiftness and agility of these nimble fighters against the brute force of a behemoth like Beck. It makes for some cool visuals and will satisfy those who want to see their wrestling hero kick major butt. You can also look forward to the whip-totting minions Hatcher keeps with him at all times. We’ve seen guys with guns before (wait until you see Beck dual-wielding shotguns). We’ve seen people with knives or swords before. People with whips though? There’s so much you can do with that kind of weapon but you'll only find out after seeing this film.

Whenever the action comes in, the film really shines. The comedy works surprisingly well too. Walken makes a great villain. Dwayne Johnson was destined to be a likable hero. He plays well with his co-star Seann William Scott, who bridges the gap between the two genres. Rosario Dawson is enjoyable in a small role. The Rundown is a lot better than you'd expect it to be. If you weren't charmed by it the first time, trust me, it’s worth another look. (Full-screen version On DVD, September 13, 2015)

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), Teen Wolf (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Greenberg/Peter Parker Characters: Peter Parker, Peter Parker-3 (Garfield), Greenberg (Teen Wolf) Additional Tags: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Crossover Pairings, Spider-Man: No Way Home (Movie) Spoilers, Post-Spider-Man: No Way Home (Movie), Fluff, First Meetings, Flirting, First Kiss, Developing Relationship Summary:

You could put the effort required to get to know a professional football team, its players, coaches, and rivals... or get the whole package in a lean 118 minutes by watching Friday Night Lights. It's undoubtedly the best football movie I've ever seen and among the top sports films.

Set in 1988, the Permia High School Panthers are an ordinary team in an atypical town. Odessa lives and breathes football. Everyone goes to the game and it’s the only thing happening Friday night. Tremendous weight is placed on the young players' shoulders as the new season begins.

The sport in this film sucked me in like no other season - real or fictional - ever has. The games are like action sequences packed with a wide spectrum of emotions. There’s fear when the Panthers are running behind on points. There’s hope as they put together their strategies. There’s drama when a play goes wrong and they face the repercussions off the field. You even get the same kind of excitement contained in bone-crunching martial arts sequences when the players tackle, run, and throw. The stunts in this movie are incredible and they’re all the more impactful because you care about who's on the field.

The games will have your knuckles so tight they turn white but they wouldn't exist without the players. You don’t follow everyone on the team but it doesn't matter. Those you see are the ones you'd choose to. In turn, they contribute to the film's main character: the Panthers team. These children - they're not even out of high school - live in a town where losing a game is as bad as being convicted of a crime. If there’s tension between you and your father, it gets worse when you fumble the ball. If you couldn’t get people to like you when you were just an ok player, forget about making new friends when you just cost your team the game. When they hear “This is going to be the best year of your life, it’s all downhill from now” it gets you thinking not only about their mental state but about the town and the country as a whole. Are we all taking a game too seriously?

As the story explores the pressures put on the Panthers, you're filled with outrage. It makes you want to see them win as bad as everyone else but for different reasons. This town breaks your heart. This atmosphere is poisonous. These 17-year-old's whole lives are football and they’re not even getting paid for it. It carefully manages to both celebrate the sport and condemn those who put too much emphasis on it. You go back-and-forth between wanting to get up and cheer or sit down quietly and reflect upon the emotions on display.

Friday Night Lights contains drama that pulls you to both edges of the emotional spectrum. The performances are solid, the characters complex, and captivating. The games are better shot than any real event could ever be, which makes it exciting on a whole other level. The players, their relationship with the sport, and the town who worship it makes it feels more down-to-earth and unpredictable than if the typical drama you see in sports films were piled on top. It really feels like watching an entire season of the sport within the span of a single movie. It filled me with the kinds of emotion I'm not used to feeling in a sport and I can’t recommend it enough. (Full-screen version on DVD, March 31, 2015)

Nothing about Spenser Confidential makes it stand out so fittingly, you can watch it at home for the price of a monthly subscription. If what you want is a standard action-comedy, here’s another one. At least the price is right.

After serving five years in prison for assaulting a corrupt police captain, former Boston police detective Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) wants to move away from his former coworkers and leave everything behind, including his ex-girlfriend, Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger). When Captain John Boylan (Michael Gaston) is viciously executed and another officer is blamed for the crime, Spenser doesn’t buy it. With the help of his roommate Hawk (Winston Duke) and old friend Henry Cimoli (Alan Arkin), he decides to dig into the case everyone else is a little too eager to call closed.

Aside from a reference to fake news, nothing about Spenser Confidential indicates it was made this year. There’s corruption in the police force but it’s tied to drugs and mob families, that sort of deal. There’s nothing heavy or topical like racism anywhere to be found. It’s a light movie with gags about dogs, randy exes, and Spenser getting repeatedly beaten up but always getting a little closer to the truth in the process. To its credit, the villains are sufficiently despicable for you to want to see things all the way through. Even the bad jokes won't deter you from checking the cast of colourful characters (which include James DuMont as "Tracksuit Charlie" and Spenser old, slightly too friendly ex-partner played by Bokeem Woodbine and a smattering of "bad apples") because you know violent justice will be dispensed soon. Nothing’s particularly intolerable. You just wish this was funnier or that the action scenes tried something new, or that the mystery was less easy to solve. You’ve seen this kind of movie so many times you can figure out all but the minutest of details easily. You can even predict what songs will play during the climax based on the names of people or vehicles.

While Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke, Alan Arkin, and Iliza Shlesinger play off each other well, the sequel teased at the end fails to raise any excitement. Another Spenser movie would be more of the same and this is already more of what we’ve seen before. It goes through the motions in a perfectly capable manner, which actually makes it more uninteresting and unremarkable than bad. (September 27, 2020)