Deep Cover

2025 Amazon Prime Video

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 39min

Action ~ Comedy ~ Crime

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, Paddy Considine, Ian McShane and Sean Bean.

If you want to survive, improvise.

Hugh (Nick Mohammed) is a nerdy, very socially awkward IT Office worker. After a very unsuccessful and stressful day at work trying to fit in, he finds himself on the streets of London feeling dejected. He comes across a comedy club with a poster out front advertising a Comedy Improv Class:

“Find Your Voice ~ Build Confidence!”

IMPROV COMEDY CLASS

Newcomers welcome,

come on in and give it a go!

Hugh decides to do just that and enters the club where he sees Kat (Bryce Dallas Howard) teaching a class. She notices him and encourages him to join up with Marlon (Orlando Bloom) and go on stage and try out some improv. Marlon is an aspiring actor who isn’t having much luck staying gainfully employed and has just told his agent to take a hike. Detective Billings (Sean Bean) is sitting in the audience and afterwards approaches Kat and tells her that she and her class are exactly what the Police Department need for an undercover program they have initiated. He wants to employ Kat and two of her students to go undercover and infiltrate a local crime syndicate, improving their way through the whole process.

Kat sees an opportunity to pull herself out of her financial troubles and approaches Hugh and Marlon with the proposition. Marlon and Hugh both agree and the team set out on several missions guided by Detective Billings, each one more dangerous than the last. They quickly become adept at improving their way into each scenario and convincing criminals that they are ruthless criminals and drug dealers themselves. And each mission gets them deeper into trouble and deeper undercover with lots of action and tons of laughs.

The movie starts out with an intense car chase with the Crime syndicate the “Deep Cover” group go after and the police losing and getting one of their own shot and killed. The syndicate is completely out of control and the police need their help. As the trio get deeper and deeper under cover there are twists and turns you don’t see coming. In the very beginning as Hugh is trying to buddy-up with his co-workers and fails miserably to connect because he is so nerdy, I didn’t much like him and had my doubts about the movie. As we turn to Orlando Bloom and watch him overact so badly that it is painful, I really had my doubts. Oh, another Amazon Prime Dog, I thought!

But I hung in there and I did like Bryce and her character. I felt for her as she was struggling to be a successful comedian while all her friends were obviously well off and belittling her for still trying “The Comedy Thing”. I like Sean Bean, there is always something a little secretive about him, so I had the feeling there was more up his sleeve than what he was telling The Deep Cover crew. I am glad I hung in there, the trio quickly grew on me and I got sucked in there with them on their missions, rooting for them in the end. Orlando’s overacting turned into an asset as they got deeper into their missions. And Hugh’s ineptness socially turned on it’s heels and the next thing you know….Hugh is one hell of a Bad Ass convincing criminals how tough he is. Brilliant!

In the end I loved it! I loved everyone of the characters… Kat, Hugh and Marlon. They turned into a great team and it turned into a great movie filled with action, intrigue, comedy and laughter. It does not disappoint! I went from, “Oh no…another Prime Dog… to Wow, that was great!”

The only questions I have are:

Have You Seen It? (If you haven’t, you should watch it!)
WHEN’S THE SEQUEL COMING?

I think it’s worthy of a sequel, and worth a watch!

Play Dirty

2025 Amazon MGM Studios

Rated: R

Length: 2 hr 5min

Action ~ Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller

Directed by: Shane Black

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nat Wolff, Gretchen Mol, Thomas Jane, and Tony Shalhoub.

Even Robbers Get Robbed

THE BOOK:

The Hunter: A Parker Novel Paperback – September 1, 2008 by Richard Stark (Originally Published in 1962)

The Parker Novels are a collection of 24 novels written by Donald E. Westlake under the pen name Richard Stark between 1962 and 2008. The first book in the series, The Hunter was written in 1962 and was the inspiration for the 1967 movie Point Blank starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn and Carroll O’Connor.

FROM AMAZON:

Where it all begins: The first book in the action-packed classic crime series that’s the basis for the forthcoming film Play Dirty!

Richard Stark’s Parker novels are the hardest of hard-boiled, classic crime novels where the heists are huge, the body counts are high, and the bad guys usually win. The Parker novels have been a huge influence on countless writers and filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino, Stephen King, George Pelecanos, Colson Whitehead, Lucy Sante, John Banville, and many more. Their stripped-down language and hard-as-nails amorality create an unforgettable world where the next score could be the big one, but your next mistake could also be your last. There’s nothing else like them.

The Hunter is where it all begin. It opens with Parker’s woman shooting him just above the belt and leaving him for dead. She and his partner torch the house, with Parker in it, and take the money he had helped them steal. It all went down just the way they’d planned, except for one thing: Parker didn’t die. From there, our ruthless antihero roars into New York City, seeking revenge on the woman who betrayed him and on the man who took his money, stealing and scamming his way to redemption.

THE MOVIE:

Professional thief Parker (Mark Wahlberg) and his partner Philly (Clifton Collins Jr.) orchestrate a daring heist at a racetrack, but the operation unravels due to a betrayal by their getaway driver, Zen (Rosa Salazar). When Philly is killed during the fallout, Parker vows revenge and begins tracking down those responsible. As he delves deeper, Parker discovers that Zen was once an elite operative in the professional death squad of South American dictator President De La Paz, whose corrupt regime oppresses her homeland and orchestrates high-stakes thefts to fund its tyranny. Zen is revealed to be connected intimately to De La Paz’s plans involving a priceless United Nations artifact known as the Lady of Arintero. Despite his thirst for vengeance, Parker initially works with Zen, using her knowledge and connections to navigate the dangerous criminal and political landscape as they plan their next heist.

As Parker assembles a ragtag crew—including the unpredictable Zen, Ed and Brenda Mackey (Peter Stormare and Brooklyn Decker), and fixer Stan Devers (David Spade)—the group embarks on a high-stakes double heist filled with shifting allegiances and escalating violence. Parker’s trust in Zen is uneasy and transactional; while he relies on her expertise and insights to outsmart the Outfit crime syndicate and the dictator’s forces, he constantly keeps his ultimate goal in mind, to avenge Philly’s death caused by Zen’s betrayal. Their complicated dynamic adds a charged tension to the team, as Parker balances using Zen’s skills while suppressing his growing desire for retribution.

The heist unfolds through elaborate cons, tense chases, and explosive confrontations, with Zen’s insider knowledge proving vital in countering De La Paz’s plans to steal and sell off the treasure, which would devastate her war-torn country. Parker’s strategy is to play along with Zen’s heist ambitions just long enough to secure the artifact and the money, while preparing to settle the old score with her personally. The film culminates in a dramatic showdown where Parker confronts Zen with the promise of either forgiveness or vengeance, underscoring the murky moral ground the characters inhabit and the complex mix of betrayal, loyalty, and survival that drives the story.

BOBBY’S TAKE:

I am a huge Mark Wahlberg fan and one of my favorites is Spenser Confidential. Play Dirty reminded me of Mark Wahlberg’s Spenser. There were also shades of Uncharted and The Italian Job as well. The beginning reminded me of an old James Bond movie where there was an action scene in the beginning and then it went to the opening credits in animation, having set up the story. It is one of those movies that splits the audience, there are those who love it and those who don’t:

Some people love Play Dirty because it’s a fun, action-packed ride filled with fast-paced heists, snappy dialogue, and wild twists. The movie delivers plenty of chaotic, stylized violence and memorable moments set in a gritty yet vibrant world. Mark Wahlberg’s Parker, along with LaKeith Stanfield’s Grofield and Rosa Salazar’s Zen, provide likable performances, and Shane Black’s trademark dark humor and energetic direction give it a nostalgic feel that appeals especially to fans of retro crime thrillers. The clever twists and the unpredictable story keeps you engaged and entertained, making it a satisfying choice if you are looking for a rebellious, no-holds-barred action-comedy.

On the flip side, some people hate it because the movie can feel overly complicated and confusing, with too many characters and double-crosses that don’t always make sense. The plot comes off as messy and drawn-out, making it hard to care about the characters or what happens to them. Mark Wahlberg’s performance is sometimes seen as too serious and flat, lacking charisma or emotional depth to truly connect with the audience. Critics also point out that the humor is inconsistent and few jokes land, which is a letdown in what’s supposed to be an action-comedy. Some find the storyline superficial and the movie lacking soul, feeling like it tries too hard but doesn’t quite deliver the excitement or engagement expected from the genre.

The character Parker from the book was intentionally all business, with no conscience and no remorse and little emotion. Shane Black is a fan of the Parker books and took his inspiration for this movie from all the novels but based it on the first novel’s story. He wanted to modernize Parker and round him out, give him some depth and emotion, make him more than just a hard core criminal with no soul. So I think that Shane and Mark succeeded in that. I thought it was good, witty, tons of action and double crossing. Here’s what I think, give it a go. Turn everything off and just get lost in the movie, don’t try to think about it too much, or dissect the plot. Just enjoy the ride!

I forgot to mention Mark Cuban, he has a cameo in the movie and is taken out by Mark Wahlberg. That is a good scene!

Turn off the lights and devices,

Make some popcorn,

grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

on Amazon Prime!

Spenser Confidential

Uncharted

Wind River

2017 The Weinstein Company

Rated : R

Length: 1 hr 47min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Neo-Western ~ Thriller

Directed by: Taylor Sheridan

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, and Graham Greene.

Nothing Is Harder To Track Than The Truth

Wind River is set in the frozen expanses of Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation, where a local U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracker named Cory Lambert (Jeremy Renner) discovers the body of a young Native American woman in the snow. Cory instantly recognizes the girl as his best friend Martin Hanson’s (Gil Birmingham) daughter Natalie (Kelsey Asbille). She had run barefoot in the snow for quite a distance as there is nothing around for miles. The cold air finally froze her lungs and she collapsed where Cory found her. The scene sparks a federal investigation led by Jane Banner (Elizabeth Olsen), a rookie FBI agent flown in from Las Vegas, who was the closest available agent. Far from her comfort zone being originally from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida she is completely out of her element. Sensing Cory’s familiarity with the case and the terrain, she asks him to help her with her investigation. He agrees and the two start looking for the truth about what happened to Natalie.

Natalie had apparently been raped and they order the medical examiner to order a rape kit for testing. Signs of foul play and trauma quickly turn their attention to the young victim’s relationships. They search out her brother Chip who tells them, after a shootout with a drug addict in the drug filled mobile home, that Natalie had been hanging around a security guard named Matt Rayburn (Jon Bernthal) at a remote oil drilling camp. Outside the mobile home Cory notices a snowmobile trail leading up into the mountain. Cory and Jane head up on a snowmobile to investigate and discover the murdered, mutilated body of Natalie’s boyfriend. Cory and Jane recruit the local Tribe police led by Officer Ben Shoyo (Graham Greene) to accompany them out to the remote oil drilling camp to investigate. And it is there that things take a more sinister turn and we see flashbacks of what happened to Natalie and her boyfriend Matt.

Wind River was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan who also wrote Hell Or High Water and Sicario. All three are excellent movies and three of my favorites. Wind River was inspired by the thousands of stories of American Indian women raped, murdered or missing that he discovered in doing research for the story. Although it isn’t based on one specific story, it is the true story of all the missing women from the reservation. I have seen this movie a number of times and when I saw it was on Netflix last night, I had to watch it again. I love everything about this movie. Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen are fantastic in this as well as Gil Birmingham, Jon Bernthal, and Graham Greene. A couple of stand out scenes for me are outside the mobile home at the remote oil drilling camp where all hell breaks loose, Cory and Pete at the top of the mountain when he tells Pete that he is going to give him the same chances he gave Natalie, and when Cory goes to see Martin at the end and Martin is sitting out back with his “Death Face” on.

You could feel the heartfelt connection these two old friends have for each other, having each other’s backs in life. We all need friends like that. It is an adrenaline filled snowmobile ride chasing down the truth, filled with unexpected dangers and freezing temps, as Cory and Jane search for the truth, battle the elements, bad actors and the general culture of “looking the other way” on the reservation. As I said, I have seen this numerous times and still enjoy watching it. It is one of my favorites……hmmm, maybe I need a top ten favorite movie list. I’ll have to work on that. So, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. It is a great movie, you should watch it.

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage

and Stream this Movie!

Currently on Netflix

The Thursday Murder Club

2025 Netflix

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 58min

Comedy ~ Crime ~ Mystery ~ Thriller

Directed by: Chris Columbus

Starring: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie.

We’re The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club starts out in black and white, flashing back to a late Full Moon lit foggy night in London. We hear Helen Mirren narrate the events as we them. There is a scream, then a woman falls out a window with a knife in her chest. A masked man runs….and we fade to color and see a cork bulletin board with details of the case and three people standing in front of it discussing the murder…..

Helen Mirren stars as Elizabeth Best, a retired pensioner residing in the upscale Cooper’s Chase Retirement Village outside the seaside Village of Fairhaven in Kent, United Kingdom. She lives there with her husband Steven who is battling the onset of dementia. It is Thursday and she is in the jigsaw puzzle room with Ron Ritchie (Pierce Brosnan), a former Trade Union Official, and Ibrahim Arif (Ben Kingsley), a retired Psychiatrist. They are discussing a murder cold case from the 1973 they are attempting to solve. They have drawn out the details of the case on a display board and are discussing the details trying to find something perhaps the police missed when…….

Joyce Meadowcroft (Celia Imrie) and her daughter walk into the room. She apologizes for seemingly interrupting but wonders if this isn’t the Puzzle room, to which Elizabeth replies, “It is except on Thursdays, Thursdays it is The Thursday Murder Club.” Joyce replies, “Oh, ok” and the two move on exploring the retirement Village. Elizabeth notices that Joyce barely flinched at the site of the murder photo and deduces that she must be someone used to seeing such things, such as a trauma nurse. Convinced that Joyce might be able to help them with their case, the three head to find Joyce. They catch up with her and Joyce confirms that Elizabeth is right, she is a retired Hospital trauma nurse. Elizabeth asks her to help with the case and she readily agrees.

As the four amateur sleuths get acquainted over cake they get further involved in trying to crack the cold case. As they are out walking the grounds they overhear Tony Curran and Ian Ventham, the two co-owners of The Retirement Village, arguing heatedly. The next day Tony Curran is found murdered, bludgeoned to death in his home. Sensing that the rift between Tony and Ian may have resulted in Tony’s death, The Thursday Murder Club see an opportunity to really put their skills to the test in a real life homicide that involves the future of their retirement home.

And that’s where the real antics begin, chasing down clues, involving and manipulating the local police department, and anyone else they think can help them crack their case. They all put their individual skills to work, Ron helps organize a protest as Ian tries to break ground on new construction, Abrahim constantly makes note and deciphers clues and information using his psychiatrist background to see beyond the obvious, Elizabeth pulls on her MI5 background to really kick things in gear, and Joyce brings common sense and cake at every turn.

It is a comedic, light- hearted whodunit with thrills and mystery at every turn, based on a group of amateur sleuths at a posh retirement home. There is mystery, intrigue, unexpected twists and turns, and action as The Thursday Murder Club work their game. Honestly I don’t know how you could go wrong with these three; Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsly. It was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it, a good bit of fun ole’ chap! You know what I think, I think you should…….

Make some popcorn,

Grab a beverage,

and Stream This Movie

On Netflix!

The Thursday Murder Club

was based on The 2020 Novel

by Richard Osman.

Sir Ben Kingsley and Pierce Brosnan in ‘The Thursday Murder Club’

Sir Ben Kingsley, Pierce Brosnan, Helen Mirren, and Celia Imrie in ‘The Thursday Murder Club’

The Thursday Murder Club Coming To Netflix Thursday August 28, 2025

Juror #2

2024 Warner Brothers Pictures

Rated: PG-13

Length: 1 hr 54min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Mystery ~ Legal Thriller

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland.

Justice Is Blind, Guilt Sees Everything.

Nicholas Hoult stars as Justin Kemp, a journalist and recovering alcoholic in Savannah, Georgia, who is called to serve jury duty during a high-profile murder trial. As Kemp listens to the prosecution’s case, a young man accused of killing his girlfriend after a public altercation, he soon discovers unsettling parallels between his own actions on the night of the crime and the evidence presented in court. The prosecutor, Faith Killebrew (Toni Collette), sees the case as an opportunity to further her campaign for district attorney, while Kemp’s personal struggles add mounting tension to his role as a juror.

As the trial unfolds, Kemp realizes that he may have unwittingly contributed to the victim’s death on the same night of the incident, igniting a powerful moral conflict. Desperate for guidance, he seeks advice from his Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor and weighs whether to sway the jury’s verdict in light of his possible involvement. Within the jury room, debates intensify as forensic evidence and conflicting eyewitness testimony cast doubt on the defendant’s guilt, while Kemp must grapple with emotions of guilt and responsibility without exposing his secret.

Kemp’s inner turmoil challenges him to confront issues of justice, personal accountability, and family loyalty as cracks begin to show in the prosecution’s narrative. Pressures from the courtroom and worries about his wife’s difficult pregnancy further complicate his moral choices, pushing him toward a decision that might change the outcome of the trial and his own life forever. The narrative artfully explores themes of truth and redemption, keeping the resolution tightly guarded as Kemp’s fate, and the real story behind the crime, hangs in the balance.

I honestly can’t say much more about this movie without giving anything away. And I think it is best viewed that way. I am going to write a separate review/story about the movie and do a deep dive into the story, the plot, the dilemma and the ending complete with a SPOILER ALERT WARNING. Did I like the movie? Would I recommend it? Would I watch it again? The answer to all those questions is an absolute yes. Clint Eastwood did a great job with this movie that sucks you in deeper than quicksand at every turn. As did Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J. K. Simmons, Francesca Eastwood and Kiefer Sutherland. It is a different take on the Legal Thriller and the jury process, well worth a watch.

Give it a go and let me know what you think………….