Author: Bobby

Just a guy who loves movies and likes to write.

Fast Charlie

2023   Vertical Entertainment

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr  30min

Action ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Romance ~ Thriller

Directed by:  Phillip Noyce

Starring:  Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin and James Caan.

Keep your friends close and your enemies dead.

Charlie Swift (Pierce Brosnan), aka Fast Charlie, is an experienced hitman working for a longtime mob boss named Stan (James Caan). Charlie is sent on a job with newbie Blade to take out a man named Rollo. Blade has planted a bomb in a box of doughnuts thinking it a genius idea, but things go wrong when the box detonates and blows Rollo’s head to smithereens. Without Rolo’s head it is impossible for Charlie to prove to the sanction of the hit, Beggar Mercado, that the hit was successful. To solve this problem, Charlie enlists the help of Marcie Kramer (Morena Baccarin), who is Rollo’s tough and calm ex-wife. She confirms the body by recognizing a tattoo, and now he has to figure out a way to convince Beggar that Rollo is dead.

Meanwhile, the young and reckless new hitman named Blade has decided to turn on Charlie and take the body and blackmail Beggar with it. When Blade dies in a chaotic accident trying to get away in Charlie’s car, Charlie cuts off Blade’s head and works with Marcie to transfer the tattoo onto Blade’s body so they can pass it off as Rollo’s, faking the proof Beggar needs. When Charlie meets Beggar with the body, he takes the bait convinced it is Rollo, and promptly chucks the body into the swamp and the alligators. He tells Charlie that he wants to meet with his boss Stan, and discuss business. When Charlie tells Stan, he tells Charlie that he wants nothing to do with Beggar…….

Which starts off a chain reaction of action and violence as Beggar tries to dominate Stan’s turf and business. Charlie is apparently the only man standing as Beggar tries to wipe out Stan’s crew, but Fast Charlie and Marcie team up to outwit Beggar and his crew. And what follows is non stop action, violence, dark comedy and romance as Charlie and Marcie fight for their lives and fall in love with each other. It is a bit of Pulp Fiction, The Equalizer and The Mechanic all rolled into one. Not too surprising since Richard Wenk wrote this as well as the screenplay for The Mechanic and The Equalizer Movies.

James Caan plays the part of aging Crime Boss Stan very well. Too well, this was James Caan’s last acting role before he passed away several months later on July 6, 2022. He was 82 years old. Pierce Brosnan did a fantastic job of playing Fast Charlie right down to the accent. Brilliant work! The chemistry between Pierce and Morena felt very natural and engaging, and made the obvious age gap between them seem like nothing t’all. I really liked Morena in this, she is quickly becoming a Streaming Movie Night favorite! She also appears in 2020’s Greenland, the upcoming Sequel Greenland: Migration and Elevation.

I thought this movie was a great little gem! It checks all the boxes for me personally and it was good to see James Caan in his last role. Pierce Brosnan and Morena Baccarin make a fantastic team on screen, and it was a great ride watching them battle it out and fall in love.

Highly Recommended!

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

on NETFLIX!

The Equalizer

THE EQUALIZER TRILOGY: STORY & TIMELINE

Elevation

Playdate

2025   Amazon MGM Studios

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  1 hr  33min

Action ~ Comedy

Directed by:  Luke Greenfield

Starring:  Kevin James, Alan Ritchson, Sarah Chalke, Alan Tudyk, Hiro Kanagawa, Stephen Root, and Isla Fisher.

Playtime just got real.

Brian Jennings (Kevin James), a recently laid-off accountant, is struggling to adjust to stay-at-home dad life while his wife Emily (Sarah Chalke) is picking up double shifts at work. Hoping to help his stepson Lucas (Benjamin Pajak) make new friends, Brian sets up a weekend playdate with another local dad, Jeff Eamon (Alan Ritchson), whose confident and sometimes wild personality immediately stands out. Jeff’s son CJ (Banks Pierce) quickly bonds with Lucas, and things start off innocently, though Jeff drops hints about his unusual, action-packed past as a soldier and security guard.​​

The day starts out at Buckee Cheese, a Pizza Arcade eerily similar to the real life Chuck E. Cheese, but takes a bizarre turn when a group of armed mercenaries shows up. Jeff is forced into action while trying to remain inconspicuous as he tries to outwit them in the arcade without Brian knowing. Things quickly escalate into all out pandemonium as they leave and race off into Minivan adventures that were never even thought of when they designed it for busy Soccer Mom’s. Along the way we learn a lot more than we wanted about Jeff and Brian, as they learn about each other, bond, outwit and outrun a never ending sea of bad guys through the middle of Suburbia.

When the movie first starts out you feel for the guys and their predicaments. They are completely relatable trying to be good Dads and taking care of their kids. Then things start to get real chaotic as the action and the plot takes some very serious left hand turns. The plot starts to become a little like a bad B Sci-Fi movie, but by then we are so sucked into the action and bonding by Brian and Jeff that we just don’t care. And The Mama Mafia led by Isla Fisher was hilarious. The soundtrack is as big an actor in this movie as Kevin James and Alan Ritchson. I still can’t get The Rhythm of the Night by Corona out of my head.

So, I know, the big question is, “Should I watch it?” My answer to that is a definitive yes with a caveat or two….It is complete unadulterated entertainment, not meant to be dissected nor thought out. Just enjoy the ride!

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

on PRIME!

Brian (Kevin James) and Jeff (Alan Ritchson) in PLAYDATE.
Photo Credit: David Bukach
Brian (Kevin James) and Lucas (Benjamin Pajak) in PLAYDATE
Photo: Courtesy of Prime
© AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC
Leslie (Isla Fisher) in PLAYDATE.
Photo: Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.
© AMAZON CONTENT SERVICES LLC

New on Netflix & Prime Video this coming week November 16 – November 22, 2025

NETFLIX:

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2023     PG-13
An ancient alien relic called the Scarab chooses Jaime Reyes to be its symbiotic host, bestowing him with an incredible suit of armor, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the superhero Blue Beetle.
Xolo Maridueña     Bruna Marquezine     Becky G
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2007     R
A political cartoonist, a crime reporter and a pair of cops investigate San Francisco’s infamous Zodiac Killer in this thriller based on a true story.
Jake Gyllenhaal     Mark Ruffalo     Anthony Edwards
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2025     Unrated
A driven American exec heads to Paris determined to acquire a champagne brand by Christmas and accidentally falls for the heir to the bubbly empire.
Tom Wozniczka     Minka Kelly     Flula Borg
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2025     Unrated
In a small village, a lonely fisherman yearning for a son is drawn to an ethereal light that links him to others and their long-buried secrets.
Rodrigo Santoro     Rebeca Jamir     Miguel Martines
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2024     Unrated
After finding love, the Wright Brothers unwittingly schedule weddings for the same day. A sibling rivalry ensues for the right to wed their brides on Christmas.
Joey Lawrence     Matthew Lawrence     Andrew Lawrence
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2021     PG
A workaholic with no time for romance, or the holidays, ends up meeting two potential suitors on the same day. However, unbeknownst to her, they turn out to be brothers and a sibling squabble commences.
Danielle C. Ryan     Joey Lawrence     Matthew Lawrence
⋅
Joel Edgerton in Train Dreams (2025)
2025     PG-13
Robert Grainier lives all of his years in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, working on the land, helping to create a new world at the turn of the 20th century.
Joel Edgerton     Clifton Collins Jr.     Felicity Jones
⋅
⋅

PRIME:

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2023     R
Tells the story of the Von Erich brothers as they make history in the highly competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.
Holt McCallany     Maura Tierney     Grady Wilson
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That’s all we can find for this week,

See you next week!

 

Drop Coming To Amazon Prime Friday November 14, 2025

Drop is a Rom-Com Psychological thriller that begins in classic romantic comedy territory: Violet, a widowed mother, sets out on her first date in years with Henry, a charming photographer she met online. Their initial interactions are awkward, sweet, and filled with the kind of banter and flirtation typical of a rom com, there’s hope, nerves, and the possibility of new love. This is punctuated by funny moments, such as interruptions from an overly eager waiter and playful exchanges that give the date a light-hearted sheen.

But Drop is equally a psychological thriller, and these romantic-comedy tropes quickly unravel when Violet starts receiving menacing “drops” on her phone, chilling memes and instructions that threaten her family and force her into a frantic game of psychological survival. The tension mounts as Violet must navigate this nightmare while maintaining the appearance of a normal romantic dinner. The constant surveillance, tech-enabled threats, and Violet’s trauma-filled backstory intertwine suspense with the drama of relationship building. This blend of romance, comedy, and nail-biting mind games creates a unique atmosphere, making Drop a riveting nail-biting experience watching Violet balance love, danger, and her fight for control.

Drop was based on an actual AirDrop experience that Platinum Dunes producer Cameron Fuller and his friend, actor Sam Lerner, had while on vacation. Their phones blew up with anonymous, increasingly threatening drop messages that stopped, giving them no information about who or why they were targeted. Screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Christopher Roach turned their experience into a worst-case scenario version for Drop.

READ THE REVIEW:

Drop

New Movie Nouvelle Vague Debuts on Netflix Friday November 14, 2025

The energy and momentum of youth have been longtime themes for five-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Richard Linklater, from Before Sunrise (1994) to Boyhood (2014). Now, with Nouvelle Vague, the director turns his camera back 60 years to a pivotal moment in cinema, to a time when the creative imagination and experimentation of young people in Paris led to a new way of making films: the birth of the French New Wave.

FROM NETFLIX TUDUM:

Nouvelle Vague is Linklater’s love letter to the revolutionary magic of the French New Wave, reimagining the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960), which cemented Godard’s place as a pioneer of global cinema. As critic-turned-director Godard makes and breaks the rules, a mix of fresh faces and daring talents bring his spontaneous, electric film to life. Capturing the youthful dynamism and creative chaos at the heart of one of the world’s most beloved and influential movies, Nouvelle Vague transports us to the streets of 1959 Paris for an ode to the transformative power of cinema.

“I once said that any filmmaker who has been working for a while should, at some point in their career, make a film about the process of making a film. It’s only natural to want to explore this complex and all-consuming subject to which we dedicate our passion and creativity. But what is the right approach? How do you find the right tone? Is it even possible to do better than Day for Night? Probably not.”

“Over the years, my thoughts always brought me back to the time I made my first feature that involved a lot of other people — to that absolute joy of finally being able to condense years of cinematic ideas and obsessions into a movie. It’s an experience you can only live once, of course. No one is ever truly prepared for the physical and mental battles that come with it: the clash between overwhelming confidence and deep insecurity due to inexperience, the boundless passion that is tested daily by the instability of a job involving so many people, each with their own personalities and needs.”

“When Jean-Luc Godard passed away two years ago, I thought to myself: “Maybe it’s time to make this film that’s been percolating for more than a decade; this portrait of that singular moment — the birth of the New Wave.” This love letter to those who made you want to make films, who made you believe you could make films, who convinced you that you should make films — and, by the way, what are you waiting for?”

Richard Linkletter in Netflix Tudum September 24, 2025