Skip to main content

Logan Lucky Review

What I liked: I loved loved the impromptu chemistry lesson on the cinder block wall. I liked that the list of demands was entirely composed of Game of Thrones books and that they had to consult The Wikipedia. I'm glad that Kylo Ren looks normal sometimes. It is a sad commentary if you look better as a washed up hilly billy bar tender. His prosthetic arm was an important character in the movie and I  am glad that it got it's own story arc and character development finally becoming a cool black stealth hand. The checklist of how to pull off a massive heist was surprisingly good. I read it and thought, oh dear, this is going to be a train wreck. Then I watched the rest of the movie and there were no trains. The lack of trains on the heist checklist should have tipped me off. The prison escape was great. Like any prison break it took extensive planning and coordination, but it had just the right West Virginia twist. on that note I like that we now have a view into another side of heists. Most heist movies feature suave master criminals with so much money they don't really need to be doing the job (acting or heisting) and so much charisma that was just accept their terrible plans (like smuggling a chunnel digging machine into Las Vegas, or repelling down and express elevator shaft). This time we get a heist planned by people who clearly need the cash and who lack the social skills and flare to convince us their plan will work. Any plan that involves cockroaches, a junior beauty pageant, gummi bears, fire trucks, and refrigerator magnets should probably be met with skepticism. Unless it is a McGuyver plan, in which case you would think he came over prepared. The side plot with the Nascar driver was a little random, but entertaining. Similarly, the bear in the woods was...yes. That left several important questions wide wide open: how do they communicate with the bear? what was in that bag? what is the bear doing? where did the bear go and will it come back?

What I didn't: It's unfortunate that after retiring from Her Majesty's Service, Bond resorts to a life of crime. I guess we all saw it coming though. You can't be an international assassin for 50 years without out picking up bad habits that put you on a collision course with law enforcement. It is good that he reconnected with his brothers and really seemed in his element in rural West Virginia. I'm not sure what the brothers were bobbing for in the fair (possibly pork chops?). Whatever it was I didn't like it. I do feel like either the shopvac had extreme suction capabilities or there were some sealants necessary to achieve the results we saw over miles of pneumatic tubing. I'm hoping for the extreme suction option and that there was widespread pandemonium and unexpected additions to the takings, like toupees. Obviously this all happened off camera. While the use of the John Denver song was entirely appropriate the performance was a bit grating. I am left with deep abiding concerns about NASCAR security. I'm also a bit concerned that no one found it suspicious that a guy who got released from prison got picked up in a limo. With my very limited law enforcement experience I would probably do a little checking on that.

Who should watch this? People who like heist movies, people looking for a wacky comedy.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later.  What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a...

Annihilation

  What I liked: I liked the crystal trees and the creepy people plants. The multi colored lichen and flowers were cool too. I liked how disorienting the loss of time and flashbacks were, they did a good job of maintaining the disquiet and suspense. I liked that they remembered that mutation and evolution has no goal, it's just a thing that happens with all kinds of side effects. I liked their little boat trip in giant crocodile infested swamp. I'm not sure if I loved the silver skin suit but I can't deny that it was interesting.  What I didn't: The heroes are all scientists who go on a mission to find out what is going on inside the "shimmer". For being all scientists they don't draw very well on their test one variable at a time training. If nothing has ever come out of the shimmer, try sticking a stick in and see if you can pull it out. Step inside with a harness on so if you don't come back they can try and pull you back. Walk in a little ways and t...

Vengeance

What I liked: The premise is absurd. A complete dumpster fire of a person from New York teams up with a Texan red neck to avenge the death of the sister. ... by making a podcast. If that approach to revenge is not the most terrible revenge plan I'm not sure what is. Oh wait, it's Dracula kidnapping a historian to catalog his personal book collection, but that is off topic. Along they way the character gets wildly out of his depth and does things that are definitely bad plans. Like meet with a cartel leader alone in a shed, drive a Prius, visit a music producer, more than once, and give an off the cuff eulogy. Certainly at the beginning it carries the awkward discomfort of The Office but it quickly expands to explosions and the conviction to a podcast found only among the certain portion of the coffee shop population. I thought they did a good job of picking fun at both the rural Texans and the big city New Yorkers. I think they really nailed the "intellectual" bros in...