Canary Black

2024 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 41min

Action ~ Drama

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson, Saffron Burrows, and Jaz Hutchins.

“There’s a file….Canary Black…….you’re going to steal it from your agency. If you fail your husband dies.”

Kate Beckinsale stars as a top CIA operative, Avery Graves. Avery is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to help locate the coveted intelligence that the kidnappers want. As she is betrayed at every turn, Avery finds herself in a deadly race to deliver a ransom that could trigger a global crisis.

In the very first scene, Kate Beckinsale is wearing a blonde wig that reminds me of Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde. In fact they almost look identical. And the plot is almost the same, Spy operative is tasked with an impossible mission to extract the priceless file everybody is dying over. Avery graves then scales down the side of a very tall building and kills numerous armed bad men so can she can execute the target in his own swimming pool. All while still wearing the wig.

Then she shows up at home where her husband of three years is making her dinner because it is their anniversary. Some very cheesy gifts are exchanged and then they go out for dinner. Her Husband is played by Rupert Friend and he apparently has no idea she’s a CIA operative and lethal. Rupert is an English actor and I am not familiar with him, but my first thoughts in that first scene with him were:

Yo, where’d you get those glasses, I would ditch them.
She married you? Really?
What’s up with the thick Irish accent, it sucks, actually it’s annoying. And aren’t you playing an Englishman in this movie.

The dialogue and chemistry between them seemed forced, I didn’t really get the vibe that they had known each other and been married for three years. It was almost as if they were strangers forced into a scene.

There were some other scenes and dialogue throughout the movie that felt the same way to me, forced, wasn’t really feeling the vibe. It just felt a little off. Jaz Hutchins who plays Agent Mayfield was horrible. It was some really bad over the top acting. Reminded me of Gerard Butler in LAST SEEN ALIVE. Even the plot and characters just seemed off, forced. I mean Kate did good trying to pull it all together for everybody else but it seemed lacking.

Pierre Morel also directed Taken and Peppermint which I really like, Peppermint is one of my favorites actually. But this one missed the mark, something didn’t work out right. I like Kate Beckinsale but I think Jennifer Garner did a better job in Peppermint. I went in with high expectations and was looking forward to a new spy action thriller. I did enjoy it in spite of the flaws, but on the other side of watching I don’t feel like I could recommend it.

So, that’s just a wave of the hand as in so-so, it was just alright and I can’t recommend it.

Heads Of State

2025 Amazon Prime Studios

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 53min

Action ~ Comedy

Directed by: Ilya Naishuller

Starring: John Cena, Idris Elba, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Jack Quaid, Paddy Considine, Stephen Root, and Carla Gugino.

Two Leaders. One Mission. No Diplomacy.

Heads of State, an action comedy about two world leaders who must put aside their differences when they become the targets of a powerful and ruthless foreign adversary, is streaming now exclusively on Prime Video. Despite their not-so-friendly and very public rivalry that jeopardizes their countries’ “special relationship,” UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) and U.S. President Will Derringer (John Cena) are begrudgingly forced to rely on the only people they can trust: each other. Allied with brilliant MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), they must go on the run and find a way to work together long enough to thwart a global conspiracy that threatens the entire free world.

The movie starts with The World’s Greatest Food Fight in Bruñol, Spain. The site of the annual overripe tomato festival which erupts into everyone throwing tomatoes at everyone, it is a big red mess. MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), is undercover as a news broadcaster covering the event along with her crew in the undercover News van. They are on the lookout for Russian arms dealer Viktor Gradov and when they think they have spotted him, they quickly realize that it is a trap set up to eliminate the undercover team. The entire team is eliminated with the exception of MI6 agent Noel Bisset (Priyanka Chopra Jonas). She holds her own in the gun battle but is shot in the chest in the end. Luckily she had on her bulletproof vest.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Sam Clarke (Idris Elba) and U.S. President Will Derringer (John Cena) are meeting in London before they head to the NATO summit in Italy. President Derringer suggests that Prime Minister Clarke should join him on Air Force One so they could arrive together in Italy for the summit. He does and after they are airborne things take a turn for the worst. The Airplane staff has been infiltrated by assassins and another plane shows up and starts firing armed drones at Air Force One. The President and The Prime Minister manage to make it to the back of the plane and get the last two good parachutes with the help of a Secret Service Agent.

They jump out of the plane, deploy their parachutes and land in the Belarus countryside. The agent had instructed them to make their way to Warsaw, Poland where they have a CIA safe house. Now Prime Minister Clarke and President Derringer must make their way safely through the countryside to the safehouse and figure out what is going on and who is responsible for trying to kill them. They make it to the safehouse in Warsaw only to find out that the safehouse’s cover has been blown and whoever is responsible is storming the house trying to kill them. The CIA agent at the safehouse informs them that the bad guys are using tech to turn all the NATO countries against each other and that all hell is about to break loose.

There are tons of Puns, pun intended. It is hilarious comedy, non-stop action and political intrigue as they try to outwit the bad guys and stop them from tearing down the world order. Priyanka Chopra Jonas does an awesome job as Agent Bisset coming to their rescue and helping them thwart the evil plans. The witty banter between John Cena and Idris Alba is infectious, it is simply good clean fun. The Tomato fight scene at the beginning was a sight to see, as was the gun battle during it. The Air Force One scene was pretty intense and worth a watch just to see. Well done CGI. I liked it, a lot. Made me laugh, I really enjoyed and I think you will too. Give it a go and let me know what you think.

Fast And Furious Presents: Hobbs And Shaw

2019 Universal Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 17min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Thriller

Directed by: David Leitch

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Eiza González, Cliff Curtis, and Helen Mirren.

Nothing is stronger than family.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw centers on two reluctant allies, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham), who are forced to team up amidst a high-stakes pursuit of a powerful super virus that could potentially wipe out the entire human race. The story begins in London, where MI6 agent Hattie Shaw ( Vanessa Kirby), Deckard’s younger sister, acquires a programmable super virus called “Snowflake” from a cyberterrorist group named Eteon. After a violent attack by Brixton Lore (Idris Elba), an enhanced ex-MI6 agent with cybernetic abilities who kills her team, Hattie injects herself with the virus to keep it from falling into enemy hands and is then framed as a criminal on the run.

Hobbs, an ex-DSS agent estranged from his Samoan family, and Shaw, an ex-MI6 agent with a complicated past, are independently tasked to track down the missing virus by CIA Agent Victor Locke (Played by Ryan Reynolds in an uncredited Cameo Role). They initially clash due to their rivalry but eventually must collaborate to find and rescue Hattie. Their mission leads them through intense action sequences, including a daring car chase and battles against Eteon’s forces, as the trio uncovers the deadly potential of the virus and the high stakes of Brixton’s plan for global dominance.

They try to trick their way into the Eteon Lab where there is a virus extraction machine that can recover the virus capsules from inside Hattie. But the machine is damaged as they escape the lab with it. With everyone looking for them after Eteon plastered their pictures all over every news media in the world, Hobbs decides there is only one place they can go. The one place he never wanted to go back to, home to Samoa. Knowing that they would be safe on the remote island with his estranged family long enough to fix the machine and extract the virus, they head to Samoa.

Hobbs has a complicated but deep relationship with his brother Jonah, who initially feels hurt and neglected because Hobbs had been absent from his family’s life for a long time. When Hobbs returns to Samoa, there’s tension between them, but they eventually begin to reconnect and rebuild their bond. This reconciliation is important because it not only strengthens their family ties but also becomes vital in the fight ahead, and Hobbs knows that Jonah has the expertise and the technology to fix the Virus Capsule extraction machine.

The Samoan community, led by Hobbs and supported by his brother and other family members, comes together to prepare for an epic battle against Brixton, who threatens global destruction with a deadly virus. The brothers draw on their Samoan heritage and warrior spirit, merging traditional strength and modern tactics to stand against the coming enemy. This powerful alliance of family and community showcases themes of unity, loyalty, and courage as they put everything on the line to protect humanity from a catastrophic threat. Their fight is not just personal—it is a struggle for the survival of innocent lives everywhere.

I have seen this movie a few times and I was anxious to watch it again after I found out it was going to be on Netflix with most of The Fast And The Furious Franchise. It does not disappoint, with such Star Power, how could it? I am a huge Jason Statham fan and a big fan of Dwayne Johnson, and the two together are perfect in my opinion. More, please! I had forgotten how much of a Bad-Ass Vanessa Kirby is in this movie, from the very beginning she holds her own with Statham and Johnson, giving The Rock a run for his money in one scene. Awesome job by Vanessa! I just watched her in Night Always Comes and really enjoyed her in that one as well. I thought she was really good as Josephine De Beauharnais in Napoleon, which is a really good movie also.

I feel like I could go on for days about this movie I like it so much….Idris Alba is excellent as the evil cyborg trying to rid the planet of the weak side of humanity. That motorcycle of his is something else! Wicked special effects on that one! And the last part of the movie where Hobbs goes home to Samoa is great. Watching his Mom break bad with a flip-flop that EVERYONE on the island respects was hilarious and heart-warming. You see the love and sense of family they all have for each other. Getting a glimpse of the Samoan culture and their fierce Warrior Spirit was awe-Inspiring. Kevin Hart also has an uncredited Cameo as a US Air Marshall. And on and on and on….. Seriously….do yourself a favor..