Geek Girl Riot is bursting at the seams with great content—we chat with the cast of My Dad the Bounty Hunter, and get into the likes of Creed III, Cocaine Bear, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, and Daisy Jones and the Six.
Creed III
Julian tells Sherin all about Creed III, the third installment of the latest reboot. He teases the story, the characters, and how it fits into the franchise. Julian gives it a B+, saying, “Creed III is a fantastic sports drama and probably the best heavyweight fight we’re gonna see all year.” (read Julian’s review below)
Meet the My Dad the Bounty Hunter Cast: Laz Alonso, Yvonne Orji, Priah Ferguson, and JeCobi Swain
We’ve been loving My Dad the Bounty Hunter for a hot minute—and it’s time to ramp that celebration up to 11. Sherin sits down with the main cast: Laz Alonso, Yvonne Orji, Priah Ferguson, and JeCobi Swain. They talk about their characters and the relationships they have on screen, how their real-life dynamics come into play, and what other fictional worlds they’d love to explore. (you can also watch their teasers for interviews below!)
Cocaine Bear
We’ve been waiting for this film ever since the OG bear became the toast of the internet—Cocaine Bear is in theatres now. Philip and Julian talk about how the cast steal each scene, how wild the original story is, and the film’s ultra-violence. Philip says, “It is strategic and tactile. Every amount of violence pushes the story forward or is important—and as ridiculous and absurd as it is, each part needs to happen.” Julian adds, “That movie is absurd and you need to just go see it. It’s a bear on cocaine killing people, based off a real story.”
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre
Next up our Rioters take some drive-by shots at Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Guy Ritchie’s new action flick featuring an all-star cast. Julian says, “It’s Mission: Impossible with British people talking in Guy Ritchie accents.” (read the review below) Sherin comments, “I was hoping for a return to the Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels AND Snatch—I didn’t want those movies again because they shouldn’t be made today, but I wanted that kind of gleeful chaos of the zeitgeist. Instead, Operation Fortune feels like a cable knockoff of Mission Impossible but without the over-the-top thrills.”
“Not even its dousing in Statham/Plaza sauce could spice this movie up, but the Hugh Grant x Josh Hartnett spin-off it hints at would be appreciated.”
–Sherin Nicole
Daisy Jones & The Six
Alex jumps on with Sherin to take you all the way back to the 1970s and give you a big teaser for Daisy Jones & The Six. Sherin says, “Daisy Jones & The Six invites you to the crossroads of Fleetwood Mac, Almost Famous, and a Behind The Music style documentary, where any one of their souls might be forfeit.” They talk about the format, the characters, and how the story relates to the music industry and rock & roll legends. Watch Daisy Jones and the Six on Prime Video on Friday!
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Priah Ferguson & JeCobi Swain
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Laz Alonso & Yvonne Orji:
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre: 1-graph Review
Alright, what we have here is that Guy Ritchie seemed to be envious of Tom Cruise and called up his main star Jason Statham and decided to do a Mission Impossible-like spy romp with a touch of that Ritchie humor. Here Statham plays a contractor spy named Orson Fortune, who has a taste for very expensive wines, and he’s brought in to find a stolen device that can endanger the world. His operator, Nathan (Cary Elwes), gathers him a team made up of Aubrey Plaza as Sarah Fidel, the techie, who is basically playing the sarcasm and dry wit people know her for, and Bugzy Malone as J.J. Davis, who is like a younger version of Statham’s character. While in this movie, Statham’s Fortune doesn’t take damage—like Steven Segal’s movie in the mid-90s. Most of the fun comes from Hugh Grant as arms dealer Greg Simmonds who hams it up as a wealthy guy in love with celebrity. The other entertaining performance is from Josh Hartnett, who plays movie star Danny Francesco; it feels like a mash-up of a ton of action stars from the history of Hollywood with a ting of a Keanu Reeves accent. The film is pretty paint by numbers, but it is fun as it’s done mostly all tongue in cheek with the right amount of winking at the audience the whole time. While not a stand-out in the spy genre, it is a more fun play with the genre in that it does take itself seriously enough in the story so that the comedic parts work to make the characters feel more cool than silly. Also, the film looks good on the big screen as it shows all these globe-trotting locales with good, even if standard-looking, cinematography.
Rating: C+ | by Julian Lytle
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Creed III: 1-graph Review
Well, much like Stallone, Michael B. Jordan is taking on the reigns of directing his championship boxer character, but here with Creed III, it’s not pulling from classic boxing matches but from something he’s a huge fan of: Shonen anime. We return to Adonis Creed as he’s done his last match, is now retired, and has moved into training and fight promotion. He has a wonderful family still with Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and their daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). Success looks good on them, but the past creeps up on Adonis when he least expects it when Damian Anderson, his big homie from growing up, shows up after getting out of prison. Dame doesn’t want a handout but a chance to box off the title before he’s too old. Before he went to jail, he was an up-and-coming fighter who Adonis admired. Adonis brings him to his gym, and things start moving as these former friends end up rivals with something that can only be solved through their hands. While the film does feel a bit rushed to get from friends to rivals, it’s not something that really hurts the film overall. I don’t think Creed III needed to be 150 minutes or more, and I was satisfied with how the story shook out. Also, all the actors seem perfectly comfortable in their characters, even Jonathan Majors as Dame. Jordan does some good work here in showcasing the actors in the quieter moments and doesn’t try to get too flashy or creative with the camera. He allows things to breathe so that certain moments have the right amount of impact. The film also makes good use of the IMAX cameras for those fight scenes; things look grand in scale here. For anime fans, you’ll be able to easily pick out Jordan’s influences in how he blocked his fights and in how they look. If you’ve ever seen some Hajime no Ippo and Dragonball Z, it’ll bring a smile to your face. Although none of it takes away or is jarring, borrowing these storytelling techniques was clever as they add in the right amount of emotion I feel for the relationship between Adonis and Dame—peak Naruto and Sasuke vibes.
Rating B+ | by Julian Lytle
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