Mr-Topshotta

Directed by Scott Derrickson. A runtime of two hours and seven minutes. Streaming on Apple TV+ with a PG-13 rating.

"Levi," played by Miles Teller, has one hell of a shot. He's a decorated sniper who has worked for the United States government and as a mercenary. Not having a family or anyone for that matter makes him the perfect candidate for "Bartholomew," played by Sigourney Weaver. She runs a top-secret operation and only hires the best of the best.

Not truly knowing what he signed up for, "Levi" accepts a job to guard this mysterious foggy gorge. Keeping whatever is in it from coming out. On the other side is another post with "Drasa" played by Anya Taylor-Joy guarding it.

"Drasa" is also a highly trained sniper but works for a different government. Under no circumstances are they allowed to communicate with one another.

But after some time goes by, curiosity gets the best of them. After figuring out a way to communicate with one another, they hit it off. Something neither of them expected.

Even though it looks like both people are overqualified for this post and are just highly trained maintenance workers. Reality sets in as they are attacked by things that look like genetically altered demons. Now they will have to work together to eliminate the threat before they're eliminated. But this isn't even the tip of the iceberg, as this gorge is hiding many secrets. In this sci-fi adventure full of action.

"The Gorge" was not what I expected at all. From the trailer, I couldn't wait to see this film. It also has actors in it that I usually enjoy watching. It had my guy Sope Dirisu in it. He's in a show I love called "Gangs of London." Which is on Netflix now.

This film started slow. I was curious why they needed snipers, something I figured would be explained in the film. Realistically, they made a big deal of "Levi" and "Drasa" being snipers only to pull off a couple of scenes.

Their communication with one another was annoying. I thought they would eventually make it easier, but they didn't. Having full conversations on a large notepad and dry-erase board was silly. It was even sillier when they started to fall for one another. With that being the only form of communication.

I was also disappointed by the lack of care from each character when they had their first encounter with the things in the gorge. That would have tripped me out no matter how elite I was.

Once things progressed, the film got further confusing. It made me second-guess the script because there were plot holes. By the time it got to the end, I was like, so this is how they chose to end this. This film was a romance action, a rom-tion if you like.

I expect better from Apple TV+. It looked expensive; I won't lie. They had great actors in it and a massive budget but nothing else going for it. It was gearing up to be a complete bomb of a film, but the action saved it. I give it a low three mor fires 🔥🔥🔥.

#TheGorge.

Directed and co-written by Leigh Whannell. A runtime of one hour and forty-three minutes. With an R rating.

"Blake," played by Zac Chandler when he was a child, was raised by his strict father, "Grady," played by Sam Jaeger. One time hunting, they saw something unusual. "Grady" had an idea what it was but never let on to what it was.

Now an adult, "Blake, played by Christopher Abbott, has a family of his own. A wife named "Charlotte," played by Julia Garner, who's a journalist, and a little girl named "Ginger," played by Matilda Firth.

"Blake" father "Grady" has been missing for a while, but finally "Blake" receives the call that he knew was going to eventually come. Having some marital issues, "Blake" uses the opportunity to show his family the beautiful Oregon countryside where he's from. Along with hopefully rekindling his relationship with "Charlotte".

But once there, anything that could be positive was short-lived. After running into "Derek," played by Benedict Hardie, a childhood friend, things went to crap fast.

After being attacked by a creature, "Blake" tries to get his family to his childhood home to try to figure out who or what just attacked them. But something isn't right, and "Blake" starts to transform into something unspeakable. Putting his family in possible danger from him and whatever is lurking in the woods that attacked them. In this remake of the 1941 film.

"Wolf Man" surprised me with how good it was. Lately, the horror genre has been disappointing, and when you think it will be cheesy. Most times that's the case. The trailer looked decent, but I still didn't have high hopes because of how many times I've been let down. Well, this one did not let me down at all.

It was funny watching Julia Garner not have a potent accent for once. The last two main things I saw her in were playing "Ruth" in "Ozark" and "Anna Delvey" in "Inventing Anna." Here she had your average tone.

I enjoyed watching "Blake" and his daughter "Ginger" relationship. Being a "Girl Dad" is the best. This was also fascinating to watch because of the vast difference in relationship competence. Because "Grady" and "Blake" relationships couldn't be more different.

The film built up the storyline in the beginning. From there they just let it rip. Some things were predictable, but it didn't take away from the storyline. Besides that, the music and flow of the film were scary. The composer did a great job. There were pop-out scenes without them even trying to.

I never watched the original, but I can tell you this film had good actors in it. The storyline was simple but intriguing. It was scary and provided a couple of pop-out scenes. Without it coming off cheesy. A pleasant surprise and a good overall horror film. I give it four mor fires. 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

#WolfMan.

Directed by Ridley Scott. A runtime of two hours and twenty-eight minutes. With an R rating.

"Lucius," played by Paul Mescal, is a married warrior living in the last African nation that hadn't been conquered by Rome. But that quickly changes as the two cynical sibling Emperors, "Emperor Geta," played by Joseph Quinn, and "Emperor Caracalla," played by Fred Hechinger, have sent "General Acacius," played by Pedro Pascal, to conquer it.

The aftermath of all of this has "Lucius" wifeless and now a prisoner of war to "Macrinus," played by Denzel Washington. He is a high roller who plans on using "Lucius" as a gladiator and a tool to help his plans come to fruition.

This Rome is a far cry from how "Maximus" envisioned it to be one day. Even with "Lucilla," played by Connie Nielsen, still there, it's a far cry from her father's vision. These Emperors have only dampened their legacies.

Everyone has an agenda, whether good or bad. "Lucius" stayed away for many years, but now that he's back in Rome, he wants his revenge, and maybe in his stubbornness, he will return Rome to the glory it thinks it deserves.

"Gladiator II" hit the ground running. With a major action scene out of the gate. Letting you get familiar with two prominent characters.

I kind of liked Paul Mescal's interpretation of "Lucius". He was brash, said what he wanted, a badass, and wasn't too shabby with his swordplay. He wasn't quite on his father's level though.

I thought they hyped up Pedro Pascal's character way too much. He wasn't all that. They could've done more with the character and could've done better overall with the character development of all the characters.

This film didn't live up to the original. But it wasn't bad. It was hard seeing the evolution of "Lucius." He was a far cry from this version in the first film. If you haven't seen the first film, you will be lost and miss some of the pivotal moments or references.

For how brash "Lucius" was, you would think he would be a better fighter. He was nice, and all but "Maximus" would wash him.

The writing overall lacked something. There were some slow moments and moments the script could have been better. They had a lot of the first film's plot or premise, you could say. I will say it was nice to see the army make an appearance rather than them talking about it and never seeing them.

The action as a whole was good. The fight scenes were unique and creative. The ending could've used some help, though.

Denzel is Denzel. He picked up what the script was lacking. For the majority of the film, you don't know how you feel about his character. You just had a feeling something sinister was going to happen.

Not until later did you see his true nature. I think all films, no matter the genre, should just drop Denzel in it. He would make most films better just by his presence alone.

I hated the Emperors. Joseph Quinn was more tolerable, but it still wasn't great.

In the end, it was a solid sequel. Some actors carried others. The writing as a whole could've been better. It wasn't anywhere near the original. Which put on a masterclass of giving you phenomenal acting, great action, and pivotal moments from the script.

Something this version tried to attempt, it just came off poorly. I still enjoyed myself but had higher overall expectations. There are rumblings of a third installment. Guess we will see how that plays out.

One last thing, salute to Joseph Quinn. I might not like his character, but he's on one hell of a run. From "A Quiet Place: Day One," and "Gladiator II," to currently working on "Fantastic Four." With another co-star, Pedro Pascal. Which is equally, if not more, on a run for the ages as well. I give this film four mor fires 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

#GladiatorII.