Tag: Alden Ehrenreich

Movie Review – ‘Cocaine Bear’ – “Exit, pursued by a bore”

Release Date: February 24, 2023

Oh, boy.

I’m so sorry, Ray.

I’m so sorry that Cocaine Bear is your first big screen posthumous release (although I guess I’m glad it’s not your last?).

And I’m particularly sorry that the movie ends on a title card that says “In Loving Memory of Ray Liotta.”

You deserve so much better…

Anyway, Cocaine Bear, the new “based” “on” “a” “true” “story” feature film (it did make the Times, to be fair; although there aren’t enough quotation marks in the world for this “adaptation”) from writer Jimmy Warden and director Elizabeth Banks (neither of whom I’m eager to see in those roles ever again) is not especially humorous, horrifying, or heartwarming, despite attempting to be all three in a roughly ninety-minute span.

To be fair, I did laugh out loud a few times, so I can’t say that Cocaine Bear is a comedy that never tickled my funny bone, but… I also just saw Munich for the first time the other night, and I’m pretty sure I laughed out loud more during that movie, which, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen Munich, but, it is decidedly not a comedy.

Look, making a film is many things, but one very important aspect is making creative choices and committing to them.

This is supposed to be a period piece, right?  It’s supposed to take place in 1985?

They got things like the vehicles right, and I guess the music, and, for the most part, the clothes, but none of the characters act like they’re in the 1980s (all the news footage and PSAs in the world can’t convince me otherwise).  They just act like characters in a crappy contemporary comedy.  You could have moved this story up to 2022 and it would barely (bear-ly?) affect the final product.

And, I’m sorry, but if you can find me a uniform (not undercover) cop in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1985 who ever looked like this… I’ll buy you a delicatessen, in stainless steel!

Another failing, and I can’t pinpoint it specifically, because I don’t know what was in the screenplay nor what scenes were actually shot, but the movie sometimes feels like there was a two-hour version that got cut down with no logic behind the decision-making.  Not so much that the film is incomprehensible, but more that, rather than cutting down one particular subplot to reduce the runtime, it seems like they cut pieces from every subplot, leaving the movie feeling more than a little underbaked.

And, finally, I’m always squeamish about criticizing performances, because, by-and-large, actors simply do whatever directors demand of them, and then the editing process can make-or-break performances even more so, but, if the best performance in your movie filled with professional actors comes from a social media star (in the best sequence in the movie, to be honest), that’s probably not a great sign.

Overall, I wouldn’t say I hated Cocaine Bear.  Like I said, it did make me laugh a few times, but it’s just such a missed opportunity across the board.  It actually could have been really funny, or scary, or heartwarming, or any combination of the three, but, in the end, it’s just a damp squib.

Sorry, Ray.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

P.S.
If you’re looking for an underseen movie with Ray Liotta that’s actually good, I can’t recommend The Iceman highly enough.


Cocaine Bear (2023)
Directed by Elizabeth Banks
Written by Jimmy Warden
Cast: Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Alden Ehrenreich, Christian Convery, Brooklynn Prince, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Margo Martindale, Ray Liotta, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Aaron Holliday, J.B. Moore, Leo Hanna, Matthew Rhys, Kristofer Hivju, Hannah Hoekstra, Ayoola Smart, Kahyun Kim, Scott Seiss
Soundtrack: Mark Mothersbaugh

Movie Review – ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ – A Boy and His Mawg

Directed by Ron Howard
Written by Jonathan Kasdan & Lawrence Kasdan
Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany, Erin Kellyman, Jon Favreau, Linda Hunt, Clint Howard
Soundtrack: John Powell

It’s been a pretty rough ride for me as a Star Wars fan the past few years.

For sure, The Force Awakens was a near-perfect way to jump-start the franchise after the ignominy of the Prequels, but my faith in Disney to carry the torch was quickly shattered by the hot mess that was Rogue One, followed by the terribly inconsistent The Last Jedi, leaving me with little-to-no hope for the future.

Combine all of this with the very public behind-the-scenes drama for Solo, and, well, let’s just say I was not expecting much.

To my surprise though, I actually rather enjoyed this one.

It’s far from perfect, and it contains many of the same elements that bothered me about the previous two films in the franchise, but the core story and the way it’s executed is, for the most part, fun and exciting enough to overcome the inevitable embarrassing fan service that Disney feels compelled to shove in.

In fact, in a lot of ways, Solo is what Rogue One should have been (not that either one needed to be made, but you get the point).

For one thing (and not to give too much away), I love that the story is much smaller in scale compared to any previous Star Wars movie.  Nobody has to blow up a giant death ball or anything like that, and they finally managed to get away from the trope of the big end battle.  Sure, we’re still doing some planet-hopping, but the plot feels much more like a cohesive story than merely a series of things that happen.

Secondly, and this is especially in opposition to Rogue One, Solo has characters you actually care about.  Do I necessarily buy Alden Ehrenreich as “young HAN SOLO”?  Perhaps not (and don’t even get me started on that nerd who plays Lando), but, again, the script is strong enough that it almost doesn’t matter.  You could strip away all the names people know and still have an enjoyable movie.

We may never know exactly what or how much he’s responsible for, but, nevertheless, kudos to Ron Howard for stepping into a bad situation and making it work, because this film could have easily been a catastrophe and the fact that it’s actually worth watching is borderline miraculous.

Of course though, he had plenty of help.

One element that helps pull the movie together (and which was a let down in Rogue One) is the score.  There are some John Williams queues sprinkled in here-and-there (appropriately so), but even the original music from composer John Powell just feels like Star Wars (in a good way).

Also, and this is something I don’t always mention when it comes to blockbuster movies these days, I thought the production design and visual effects were absolutely spot on (except maybe for some wonky-looking TIE fighters, but I can forgive that).  They’re often aided by some wonderful location choices, but, again, given the drama and the reshoots, I was surprised to see it all look so seamless (although the beginning of the film does have some strange lighting that I wan’t a fan of, but that’s not on them).

In the end, I suppose the most credit goes to screenwriters Johnathan and Lawrence Kasdan, and the fact that they fought for their creative vision.

I’m not going to call it a must-watch theatrical experience, but if you’ve been as frustrated as I have waiting for a Star Wars movie that doesn’t feel like a funeral dirge and actually does some different things, then Solo is definitely worth checking out.

It’s probably a bit over-long, but there were a number of nice, long stretches where I just sat back and enjoyed the film, which I haven’t been able to say of Star Wars since The Force Awakens.

Am I grading it on a bit of a curve because of what went on behind the scenes?  Sure.

But what’s an extra half star among friends, eh?

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

P.S.
As usual, shoutout to Alamo/Mondo for the swag.