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This Week at Home

 


Fist Fight is a 2017 comedy where Charlie Day's mild minored teacher finds himself scheduled to fight his bad ass colleague Ice Cube. I'm always here for a gruff Ice Cube performance but Day's character is an annoying whiner and you wish Cube would just hurry up and spark him out. There's also a cringeworthy side plot involving a female teacher essentially grooming a high school student that makes the film feel way more than seven years old.

Mission Impossible III is the third instalment in the franchise and is another completely different film. JJ Abrams bounces into the director chair meaning the film is zippy and technically precise but lacking the stylistic flourish of its predecessor. Where as the first two films offer a snapshot of their time, this feels much more modern and is less interesting for it. The entry I have enjoyed least so far but still a solid actioner with a show stealing turn from Philip Seymour Hoffman.

A group of American tourists make the classic mistake of visiting a secret archeological dig down in Mexico in 2008 horror The Ruins. It might be a generic set up but the reveal of what is going on at the hidden pyramid is pretty original and the goofiness of it is in stark contrast to some of the gnarly injuries that crop up. Feels like a feature length Creepshow segment and while it might have been suited to that shorter length better its unique enough to warrant checking out. 

Back to agent Ethan Hunt next with Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Its taken until film four but this is the first of the series to acknowledge itself as a sequel to the previous entry and although Christopher McQuarrie isn't on board yet (Brad Bird directs) things are starting to feel more like the recent films. Some great set pieces and more consistent tone put this above part 3 even if the villain is pretty weak. Also lacking in Ving Rhames screen time. 

Last movie this week in 2017 Mexican horror Belzebuth. A local policeman teams up with an American agency that specialise in the occult to investigate demonic possessions that are leading to the mass murder of children. Pretty atmospheric and blends scares and investigation sequences to good effect although it might go for one twist too many. Not massively gory but the subject matter means viewer discretion is advised.   

Film of the week : Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol. They are both enjoyable but neither of the horror quite has enough to get past the action daddy.



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