Drugs – STREAMING MOVIE NIGHT

2025 Netflix

Rated: TV-MA

Length: 1 hr 47min

Action ~ Thriller

Starring: Tom Hardy, Jessie Mei Li, Justin Cornwell, Quelin Sepulveda Luis Guzmán, Yeo Yann Yann, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker.

NO LAW. ONLY DISORDER.

FROM NETFLIX:

Tom Hardy is no stranger to gritty roles, having taken on historical figures, criminals, and iconic supervillains. Now, the Oscar-nominated actor stars in action thriller HAVOC, currently streaming on Netflix.

The high-octane film follows Walker (Hardy), a bruised detective fighting his way through a criminal underworld that threatens to engulf his city. After a drug deal gone wrong, Walker finds himself with several factions on his tail, including a vengeful crime syndicate, a crooked politician, and his fellow cops.

While attempting to rescue the politician’s estranged son, whose involvement in the drug deal starts to unravel a web of corruption and conspiracy, Walker is forced to confront the demons of his past.

FROM BOBBY:

I watched this last night with some pretty high expectations. A new movie from Netflix starring Tom Hardy, Luis Guzmán, Timothy Olyphant, and Forest Whitaker. I love Luis Guzman and Forest Whitaker. Tom Hardy as Forrest Bondurant in Lawless is one of my favorite roles of his. I love that movie, it is one of my favorites. So my expectations were pretty high. As Havoc started I was waiting anxiously for the same feelings that I get watching Tom Hardy in Lawless. They never came.

It was the same gruff exterior and voice we have come to expect from Hardy but the role and character seemed shallow, hollow. His estranged relationship with his wife and daughter was not really explained. Thinking about it the whole movie and all the characters felt hollow. Just a backdrop to all the extreme violence and massive gunfire. More gunfire than any human being should be able to escape from, and yet they did. And apparently there is a big Chinese crime syndicate in the city with tons of Kung Fu trained mercenaries with meat cleavers. Meat cleavers flying in a nightclub amidst the massive gunfire. Meat cleavers…..I shake my head in disbelief now.

It just seemed way over the top violence wise. The story was pretty shallow as well, no depth to it. Again just a framework of an excuse for massive firepower and violence. It wasn’t long, maybe thirty minutes or so, before I debated on whether to keep watching or not. I lost the debate on Streaming Movie Night’s behalf and watched the whole movie. I was disappointed. It was definitely a letdown. I wouldn’t recommend it nor would I watch it again.

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got.

Nah….don’t watch it.

2023 Vertical Entertainment

Rated: 16+

Length: 1 hr 31min

Crime ~ Drama ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed by: Danny A. Abeckaser

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Jake Cannavale, Lucy Hale, Ashley Greene, Vincent Laresca, Kyle Stefanski, James Russo and Robert Davi.

Bobby Bones is a Freaking Cop!

Emile Hirsch stars as Bobby “Bones” Belucci, a disgraced New York City Police Detective who sees an opportunity for redemption. Bobby came home early from work one afternoon to find his wife with another man in their house. Being a little hot-headed, Bobby loses his mind on the guy and beats him to a pulp. His wife subsequently leaves him and he is demoted at work over the incident. Bobby is placed on desk duty and relieved of his service weapon. Completely miserable, one evening after work he decides to stop at a bar and tie one on.

Bobby gets pretty drunk and as he is relieving himself in the men’s room, two guys are doing a drug deal in a stall next to him. Suddenly they bust out of the stall and the customer pulls a knife on the drug dealer. Bobby snaps and jumps the knife yielding customer and takes out all his life’s frustrations on the guy. The Dealer, being very grateful to Bobby for saving his life, asks him for a ride. Bobby drives the dealer, Chris Rosenberg (Jake Cannavale) to The Gemini Lounge. Afterwards Bobby does some research on Chris and discovers that he is tied to The Demeo Crew and The Gemini Lounge is their hangout.

Bobby decides to go to the Gemini Lounge to hang out and get in good with his new friend Chris. It isn’t long before Chris introduces him to the rest of The Demeo Crew and finds himself fitting in with the gang. He approaches his Captain and convinces him to let him officially go undercover and get evidence against the group and their leader Roy Demeo. His boss agrees and assigns Bobby a budget and a partner. And that’s where the rest of the movie takes us, on the journey Bobby takes being undercover with a ruthless Mafia group with ties to the Notorious Gambino Family.

There are drugs, pimps, prostitutes, murders, dismemberments, and assorted mob violence portrayed in the film. It is a true story and there is nothing pretty about Mob activities. One scene in the bathtub reminded me of a scene from Scarface with Al Pacino. Emile Hirsch does a good job of portraying the tough Bobby Bones Belucci with a short fuse, not afraid to get dirty with the mob to bring them down. Reminded me of his role in Walden, somewhere in that mild-mannered actor lives a very violent man.

It is an independent film that Vertical Entertainment picked up and released. it was originally called Gemini Lounge and was re-titled Inside Man by Vertical. They should have kept the original name so it wouldn’t get confused with the 2006 Inside Man Movie with Denzel Washington. I thought it was pretty good for an independent film, well shot and the movie itself flowed pretty good. Not a lot of huge plot lines like some indies. It is a True Story and I thought they did a good job of portraying the story and The Demeo crew. If you are a fan of the Mob/Mafia/Gangster movies, you should like this…..just remember it is not a big budget production like The Irishman.

If you are not a fan of that genre or don’t like gangsters and violence, you’re not gonna like it.

So there you have Inside Man/Gemini Lounge not to be confused with Inside Man starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe and Jodie Foster or it’s sequel Inside Man: Most Wanted.