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Dangerous game

The Hunt, the little B movie that can’t seem to catch a break, finally got released to theaters in the midst of a national emergency. The results: Not surprisingly, very few people risked the coronavirus in an effort to see it sitting next to people.

Originally set for release last year, the film was postponed until 2020 due to its violent nature and a cluster of mass shootings that were going down at the time. So, the studio picked the safe haven of March for a release, only to have those plans foiled by a pandemic.

Straight up, this is a fun B-movie, but certainly would’ve benefited from a limited release or Netflix opening. It’s got its virtues, but you probably made the right choice staying home and watching Disney +. It’s good, but not great. Now, when Tenet comes out, I don’t care if this emergency is still going on. I have to watch that one on IMAX.

The Hunt begins with a group of hardcore liberals on instant messaging, goofing around about the idea of hunting deplorables for sport, a la The Most Dangerous Game. Was it a joke? Will they actually hunt? What is the name of the movie?

As things turn out, the hunt is soon to be on, and those who voted for Trump will be in the crosshairs. A gallery of non-Liberals wake up in a field, find a case of weapons and are immediately met with gunfire and arrows.

Oh my god, pretty controversial, right? Nah, not really. The point of this movie is that too many people are acting like total assholes when it comes to political ideology. (Hey, I count myself in there from time to time.) So just about every character in this film behaves badly, regardless of political affiliation. The movie is a satirical take on our current political attitudes, and how things are getting a little out of hand on social media. It’s also funny at times, bloody, suspenseful, and contains a great kitchen fight in its closing minutes.

There are moments in the script where the movie is almost saying, “Hey, we were just ragging on Republicans, but now we will rag on Democrats! So, don’t get too mad at us!” Those obvious “balancing act” moments drag the movie down a little bit.

The hunt is masterminded by Athena (Hilary Swank). You don’t see her for a large swath of the film, but she shows up eventually, and is one of the folks engaged in the above-mentioned kitchen fight. The movie primarily belongs to Betty Gilpin (Glow) as Crystal, who winds up on the hunted side, and that’s not good for the hunters.

Gilpin has all the makings of the next great cinematic action hero. She’s got a great deadpan delivery to punctuate her smack downs, she comes up with some facial expressions that I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen before, and she’s a sympathetic hero with depth behind her eyes. I’d say at least 80 percent of the reason I like this movie is because of Gilpin.

Some familiar faces do show up in the movie, including Ike Barinholtz, Ethan Suplee (looking good, Ethan!), Emma Roberts and Amy Madigan. Granted, don’t get too attached to anybody in this movie because the cast thins out fast. Swank, a two-time Oscar winner, shows that she can bring the funk whether she’s working for Clint Eastwood or Craig Zobel (the director of this one). She creates a memorable, sinister villain in Athena, just as memorable as the protagonist.

Which is to say, this film, despite its shlock factor and obviousness, is a good time thanks to Gilpin and Swank. The Hunt probably deserved a debut on streaming rather than the big screen, and streaming, it will be, in the near future. When it hits the TV screen, watch it if you are in the mood for a good B movie, because lord knows you didn’t see it in a theater. Ω

“i’m not gonna ask again ... where is the rest of my gun?”

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3Bad Boys for Life Twenty-five years have passed since detectives Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) first suited up for Captain Michael Bay in Bad Boys, and 17 years have passed since they joined him again for Bad Boys II. For this third helping, the directing team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah does a sufficient job of continuing the mayhem, easily topping Bay’s lame original and providing a chapter that is as good, and sometimes better, than chapter two. Burnett is eying retirement, while Lowrey is dealing with the psychological and physical ramifications of aging. (He’s dyeing his goatee, so it’s all good.) A crazy witch lady gangster Isabel (Kate del Castillo) has escaped from prison and has put out a hit list for her son Armando (Jacob Scipio) to work his way through. Isabel has some vengeance in mind. The targets are former associates, and they have connections to Lowrey. Lowrey himself is on that list, and he takes a couple of bullets early in the film. I’m not giving too much away here in telling you that Lowrey doesn’t die. There’s no movie if Lowrey dies. So, a brief healing time later, Lowrey and a very reluctant Burnett are back in action, wisecracking and shooting people in slow motion. Some familiar faces return, including Theresa Randle as Burnett’s long suffering wife. She’s good in a subplot that has Burnett becoming a grandad while getting more house time in attempted retirement. House retirement doesn’t go well. Bad things happen with ceiling fan repair. Joe Pantoliano makes a welcomed return as Pepto-Bismol-swigging Captain Howard, a still capable riff on all of those screaming captains from Beverly Hills Cop movies.

2Birds of Prey After being the only thing worth your time in Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn gets her own show in Birds of Prey, a marked improvement over the film that housed Margot Robbie’s first go at the role. Sadly, in this case, improved doesn’t necessarily mean good. There’s something very askew plot-wise in this movie, in that it doesn’t really have one, and the shards of a plot it does have are presented in especially sloppy fashion. The movie hops around time like a tweaker on a pogo stick. Also, while I love Robbie, her Harley Quinn shtick can get a little grating at times. Harley Quinn is joined by the Birds of Prey this time out, and the likes of Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), the Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) all get high marks for what they bring to the party. The basic plot involves bad guy Roman Sionis, a.k.a. Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), trying to get a big diamond from a young pickpocket (Ella Jay Basco). That’s about it for story. Much of the film is spent talking about the Joker, which is a bit strange because this movie is supposed to be proof that the Birds of Prey don’t need the stupid Joker in their movie. OK, Harley broke up with the Joker so, mercifully, we don’t have to endure Jared Leto’s take on the character again. Get that plot element out of the way, and then move on. Instead, the film contains near constant references to the fact that Joker is not in this movie. Director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson seem afraid to let go of the Clown Prince of Crime as a plot presence. Newsflash … nobody cares about the Suicide Squad incarnation of Joker.

2The Call of the Wild A grumpy, growly Harrison Ford stars alongside a CGI dog in this latest cinematic take on Jack London’s classic—far too nasty to be faithfully adapted for kids—The Call of the Wild. Shooting for a safe PG, much of the story’s violence, against humans and dogs alike, has been removed in favor of a more family-friendly take on the fable of a man and his dog. The dumbing down of the original text might’ve been forgivable if some of the CGI animal antics weren’t so jarringly unrealistic. Buck, the cartoon dog, would’ve been far more suitable for a completely animated CGI affair. In a way, it’s the humans who sometimes throw things out of whack. The humans and the CGI beasts don’t look like they belong together. I can give the movie a mild recommendation if you’re looking to take the kids out for the night. This movie slips into that category of clumsy family fare that will please the kids and allow the parents to watch a movie comfortably knowing that nobody gets fully naked or rips somebody’s tongue out. But as straight-up adult viewing, with no kids, The Call of the Wild probably won’t do the trick.

3Onward Pixar releases one of its weirder ones with Onward, a goofy ode to fatherhood, brotherhood and the geek glory of Dungeons and Dragons-type role playing fantasy games. While it’s not an offering that can be counted among Pixar’s best (Up, Toy Story 3, The Incredibles, WALL-E), it’s still a good time for kids and adults alike, and it packs a nice little sentimental punch in its final minutes. Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) and older brother Barley (Chris Pratt) are living with their mom (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) in a suburban fantasy world inhabited by trolls, dragons and their own species—elves. Their world is very much like ours (strip malls, smart watches and crappy vans) but was once a place of magic full of wizardry and adventure. On his 16th birthday, Ian gets a note from his father, who is long dead and, in fact, never met his son. Ian’s dad has bequeathed to him and brother Barley a wizard’s staff, along with a spell incantation that can bring him back for 24 hours, giving Ian a chance to finally meet his pops. Onward is the second Pixar directorial effort from Dan Scanion, who also contributed to the screenplay. Even though the film clocks in at 102 minutes, it feels a little rushed. The city Ian and Barley live in is just a backdrop and is never sufficiently explored. It also feels like it’s missing a character or two. While Ian and Barley are fun characters, the movie could’ve benefited from another character for the ride. The focus seems a little narrow.

2Sonic the Hedgehog When Sonic the Hedgehog comes out of the gate, it has the makings of what could wind up being an early frontrunner for year’s worst. It’s irritating, it’s unoriginal, and it features multiple jokes about cops eating donuts, as if we haven’t heard those before. Then Jim Carrey shows up as the villain, and almost saves the whole damn thing. Almost. Sonic is voiced by Ben Schwartz. While this incarnation definitely looks better than that first mess Paramount Pictures tried to get past the masses, he’s still a grating presence. Sorry, Mr. Schwartz, but your voice is nails on a chalkboard. A brief prelude shows Sonic being sent to Earth by a heroic owl, left alone in his cave with a bag of gold rings that provide gateways to other worlds. After an encounter with Tom Wachowski, the small-town policeman (James Marsden), Sonic’s gold rings are accidentally transported to San Francisco. He must join with Tom, who he calls the Doughnut Lord because, as I stated before, this movie’s script is screamingly unoriginal, and they go on a road trip. In pursuit of the pair is Dr. Robotnik, played by a totally game Jim Carrey, who hasn’t been this manically fun in years. He gets legitimate laughs that are surprisingly offbeat considering his kiddie movie surroundings. Alas, Carrey’s role is a supporting one, and he doesn’t get nearly enough screen time to save this from being a relatively rote affair.