The Raid 2 (2014)
Immediately after the events of The Raid (2011), Rama reluctantly agrees to join an undercover task force. To earn the trust of Bangun, a local crime lord, he goes undercover in prison to befriend his son, Uco, and takes a position with Bangun’s organization after his release.
When a slighted Uco murders his father and assumes control of the organization, Rama escapes and confronts him in an epic showdown.
I didn’t like The Raid and had low expectations for a sequel, but this time, director Gareth Evans combined creative action pieces with a compelling story creating a pencak silat infused version of The Departed (2006).
Grudge Match (2013)
Years ago, boxers Henry “Razor” Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) and Billy “The Kid” McDonnen (Robert DeNiro) split two legendary fights, but Razor refused to participate in the planned rubber match, infuriating Kid.
Now in his twilight years, Razor needs money and promoter Dante Slate Jr. (Kevin Hart) convinces him to fight Kid for a huge payoff. This is easily the best thing I’ve seen Kevin Hart do.
Razor’s former girlfriend Sally (Kim Bassinger) cheated on him with Kid and got pregnant, which further complicates the relationship between the two rivals. Remember when Bassinger won an Academy Award? Her career has included several high-profile roles including Vicki Vale and Bond girl Domino, but she’s never achieved the kind of success you might have expected and her later career has consisted of a lot of supporting roles in B movies like this.
LL Cool J is pedestrian as Frankie Brite, the gym owner agrees to train Kid for the match, but thinks the aging boxer is a joke.
Louis “Lightning” Conlon (Alan Arkin), Razor’s longtime trainer, is a lighter version of Mickey Goldmill. Arkin’s had a long and successful career, winning an Oscar in 2006, but doesn’t get a chance to do anything here.
Stallone’s career post Rocky (1976) has been a long attempt to prove he can act. Sadly, he cannot; unless you expand the definition to include memorizing and reciting large chunks of dialogue. Playing virtually the same, character for forty years has earned him four Razzie Awards.
Robert De Niro’s resume is as impressive as anyone including The Godfather Part II (1974), The King of Comedy (1983), The Untouchables (1987) Goodfellas (1990). When given good material he’s still a capable actor, but his late career has been mostly about collecting a paycheck and it’s sad to see him wasting time in middling, forgettable movies like this.
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
When Elmo refuses to share his favorite blanket with Zoe, the blanket winds up with Oscar the Grouch who throws it in his trash can.
Elmo dives in after it and winds up in Grouchland, and has to pass the Queen of Trash (Vanessa Williams) to reach Mount Pickanose and retrieve his beloved blanket from the evil Huxley (Mandy Patinkin).
I’m not embarrassed to admit I really liked this. A lot of children’s films are unwatchable. The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure (2012), also featuring Mandy Patinkin, was an excruciating 87 minutes I wouldn’t wish on anyone, but I watched this with my three-year old and had a great time.