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London Has Fallen is a pure Hollywood sequel at it's finest. It's predecessor Olympus Has Fallen from 2013 was such a simple blockbuster that left my brain immediately after watching it. A film that just threw at a lot of action at you and it followed the same format of director Antoine Fuqua's other filmography who's known for making action films. Olympus Has Fallen so much exceeded expectations at the box office so it only makes sense a sequel follows.

Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) is now expecting his first child and looking to resign from his Secret Service duties protecting the president. After the British Prime Minister dies, the funeral is must- attend for world leaders and terrorists launch an attack in London. It's up to Banning to save U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) in a wild cat-and-mouse game in the streets of London.

When you think of this series, you don't think of characters but as much as anything this film is all about Mike Banning and Benjamin Asher. Banning is made out to be a bad-ass and he does very well in the action scenes. Butler is very likable and you wish the character was in really a different series. The only thing the character does is basically protect Asher so don't expect a lot of secondary elements to him. Even though I've always liked actor Arron Eckhart, Asher doesn't have much to him compared to Banning and really he is a dull President. You do have big names in secondary roles like Morgan Freeman or Angela Bassett but the script is made for Butler to do the most work.

The only thing the film does really well is depicting London as the setting. From set locations, culture, and the British people, it surely feels like London even with it being just a Hollywood film. If this film makes money, (I think it will) expect the next installment to be in another famous and glamorous city like Paris or Los Angeles. So far, the settings of these films are the main selling point.

London Has Fallen is basically what most February blockbusters are. A mindless film with some pretty good action. London Has Fallen literally falls though.

Sitting through a screening of the heist film Triple 9, the film Heat from 1995 popped into my head immediately. Heat was 1995 and directed by Micheal Mann who had his fair share of good films. Heat has it's fan for so long after so many years due to it's cast and it was well made above everything else. Triple 9 is directed by John Hillcoat who's had a nice quiet career in Hollywood. I've seen many films from many genres not work because they are too similar to something else. Triple 9 is not as good as Heat or another similar heist film The Town from 2009 but Triple 9 works well though even if doesn't have originality.

Set in Atlanta, a group of corrupt cops lead and an ex-military leader, who are known for robbing banks and heist gets blackmailed by the Russian mob to perform a difficult heist. All the same, police officer Jeffery Allen (Woody Harrelson) tries to stop this group while really realizing he's in the middle of it.

It's getting more cliché to keep putting an all-star cast together but Triple 9 is surely an all-star cast. From Anthony Mackie, Casey Affleck, Arron Paul, Norman Reedus, Chiwetel Ejiofor, you have basically everyone here. Even Kate Winslet is here playing a Russian mob leader Irina Vlaslov even if casting as Winslet as a Russian character makes not a whole lot of sense. It's very hard to make sense of who's and what relationship is to everyone at times but you have too much power not to succeed nor acting is not an issue as expected.

Maybe even more why Triple 9 works so well is because of it's action scenes. From the rough kill scenes that surprising how gruesome they are or how rough Atlanta culture is presented to us which is a surprise. It's action scenes has a lot of energy and it's shows John Hillcoat power. A film that really wants to be gritty and it doesn't come short of it. Right from the first act, you know what your getting with Triple 9 and eventually, it all speaks for itself. Much like Pretty in Pink was a cousin film to Some Kind of Wonderful, Triple 9 is the cousin film to Heat. Triple 9 will be forgotten down the road due to I don't see it having a lot of staying power but still nothing to not make note of it. A pretty good heist film even if better heist films can be found.

I tend to see him more on People Magazine while working at my local supermarket more so than I would like to but I have still always enjoyed Leonardo DiCaprio since the early 90's when he started his career. He is an actor willing to put himself in the big spots and as he has worked with famous directors like Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino or actors/actresses like Johnny Depp or Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet, it shows he is doing something right. His latest film The Revenant follows the same positives along with some similar themes of his previous work.

Based off real events and set in 1823, Hugh Glass (Dicaprio) gets attacked by bear on a fur expedition. What follows is a survival story dealing with the themes of revenge, climate issues and the stylings of a western. A wilderness film trying to showcase life in the 1800's.

DiCaprio is usually the dominant character in every movie that he is in and The Revenant is no different as this is all about DiCaprio. Using very little dialogue at times and coming from famed director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu who uses these VERY impressive close ups and single shots, DiCaprio seems to be always in your face here. From the times his character is in pain to expressing emotions, DiCaprio is top notch and he can do it all. A type of personality that DiCaprio has never played before and being that's it's such an original storyline, it is one he will likely won't play again.

DiCaprio is the main piece but this cast has more. John Fritzgerald (Tom Hardy) is Glass's enemy and a character that brings revenge into the story. Hardy plays the role so well he's almost as good as Dicaprio. Played by actor journeymen Domhnall Gleeson, Captain Andrew Murray is a character who is the next closest leader to Glass. Even in the smaller roles, there are recognizable names like Luckas Hass (so underused though) and upcoming star Will Poulter.

The Revenant is so different from what we see every Friday. The type of style that I wish we saw more of. Something that just make us look forward to more Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu films. A film that should win Oscars once award season is here especially DiCaprio.