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Film reviews

The Underdoggs Review

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With Snoop Dogg as the lead, audiences can expect a whole lot of gangster attitude and graphic dialogue in The Underdoggs. The film’s context is not inspiring but somehow its directing is clever. Movies in which a sports celebrity is serving probation usually grab my attention. I enjoy comedic scenes and bizarre connections like those in Role Models (2008) and Champions (2023) which both featured characters during a probationary period. However, in The Underdoggs there is also a lot of Straight Outta Compton (2015) poured all over it. The foul language even expressed by very young characters made watching The Underdoggs uncomfortable at moments.

The film focuses on a man named Jaycen played by Snoop Dogg. Jaycen uses to be a professional football player and now lives in a high-end mansion in California. His reputation has been down the drain for years. His agent Ryan (played by Kal Penn) believes that due to Jaycen’s bad reputation finding speaking or networking opportunities is not worth this time. Jaycen’s problemslead to a harsh plateau which puts him in a position to do community service where he ends up coaching a young football team of misfit kids. The film is about how aformerly famous athlete thrives in community service to prove himself worthy.

At the beginning of the film, the writing is atrocious due to the repeated graphic language by Dogg and the athletes on the team he is coaching. The dialogue was a big turn-off for me in The Underdoggs. It was hard to sense a feel-good vibe with the slew of bad language, particularly from the teenagers. It brings too much negativity to a story that should be about good sportsmanship and self-improvement. The film does have some happy moments where Jaycen provides inspiration to his team, but most of the time the movie is dominated by Dogg’s attitude.

The vulgarity does not stop and is combined with poor behavior by the players as well. Viewers would reasonably expect some encouragement based on the film’s setup, but there is very little joy to be found amidst the foul-mouthed characters. The Underdoggs is one of the most disappointing movies so far this year but could have been improved upon if the language had been toned down.

While the film suffered from poor writing for a sports flick, the negativity was likely added for entertainment purposes. One high note comes in the way of a twist. The character Kareem, played by Mike Epps, is arguably a worse influence than Dogg’s character, Jaycen. Both are not great role models to inspire young kids, but they come around over time. Dogg and Epps as partners-in-crime will appeal most to young viewers.

Overall, the context remains the biggest problem with the film. It never successfully finds the right mix of being funny, serious, and heartfelt. The script is filled with so much toxicity that it is hard to find a joyful mix. Will Jaycen achieve success as a coach? Find out in The Underdoggs. Two out of four stars.

Film reviews

I.S.S. Review

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When it comes to movies set in space, there are always limited resources for scenes set many miles above the earth. Movies with this premise invigorate and captivate me because time is typically of the essence. In I.S.S., the mission of the film is critical and the conflicts in a space shuttle boil. From my experience with the film, however, I felt that the direction was a bit misconstrued. The story begins with the foundation of going into outer space, but the writing is lacking. As the film moves forward, tension and danger rapidly rise. I.S.S. has some amazing visuals of a spaceship adventure, but it is rushed.

The film is focused on American and Russian astronauts. The American astronauts are Dr. Kira Foster (played by Ariana DeBose), Gordon Barrett (played by Chris Messina), and Christian Campbell (played by John Gallagher Jr.). The Russian astronauts are Weronika Vetrok (played by Masha Mahkova), Nicholai Pulov (played by Costa Ronin), and Alexey Pulov (played by Alexey Pulov). Everyone on board is there to conduct research missions. However, their main mission turns to protecting themselves when they are informed that the United States is at war with Russia. Both the American Astronauts and the Russian Astronauts are told to take control of the I.S.S. Soon, no one on board can trust anyone which leads to mixed messages and concerns about survival. The onboard missions no longer matter when the primary goal is to stay alive to see home again. Because the astronauts are at odds, communication between the crews breaks down on the space shuttle.

The film demonstrates how the war on Earth turns into a treacherous war between the teams aboard the I.S.S. Again, the writing does not provide much context as to why individuals are at risk or how they are associated with what happens below. The film becomes a death match in space which is played out for the purpose of maximizing suspense. The scenery may seem revolutionary, but the concept itself is somewhat blurry. Why is there a war on Earth? How do the astronauts relate to it? How do they contribute to the conflict? Some of these questions are explained…barely. The film just jumps from moments of actionto various conclusions.

This movie is not amazing enough to have mass appeal with audiences, but the frequent floating in the I.S.S. did appeal to me. I found the home life on the spaceship more fascinating than many other aspects of the film. The set design is strong in I.S.S. and appears to provide a realistic idea of how the inside of a space shuttle may look in real life. However, the set alone was not enough to make the movie an exhilarating experience.

I.S.S. is monumental from a technological perspective, but the writing is completely rushed. It should have been an experience of epic suspense. Unfortunately, since there is no puzzle to it, it fails to be breathtaking. I left the film feeling neutral about my experience. Two out of four stars for I.S.S.

Film reviews

Bad Hombres Review

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Bad Hombres is one of those thrillers that starts out very promising. It sets up with a foundation of exploring the lives of people working to feed their families and finds a direction of conflict. The problems that arise are disastrous in finding employment with a certain immigration status and landing in dangerous territory. To an extent though, the writing feels like a blur that just fills up missing spaces in between the action. Problems arise in the film and there is a rush to find a solution with little regard for a quality story. This film hits uncharted territory and struggles to remain on pitch.

The movie opens on a setting where there are immigration problems, and many illegal immigrants are desperate for an income. Lack of money and citizenship struggles set the tone for Bad Hombres. It takes place in Lucera, New Mexico, a landscape of dry lands and empty fields where just a few people own many plots of land. The owners though, may not be as trustworthy as the audience may think. The tone of trusting no one with anything is set in Bad Hombres.

The film opens with the story of Felix (played by Diego Tinoco). He is an immigrant trying to put food on the table for his family. He teams up with Alfonso (played by Hemky Madera) and they both agree to do work for Donnie (played by Luke Hemsworth) and Steve (played by Paul Johansson). Felix and Alfonso begin the work of digging holes in the desert for Donnie and Steve. The job becomes unsettling as Donnie starts to show signs of strange personality traits and innuendos towards Felix and Alfonso. After a drastic and life-threatening incident with an individual getting shot, Felix and Alfonso make a run for it trying to hide from the crime scene they witnessed.

With Felix being one of the shooting victims, his injuries become the central conflict of the film. Alfonso is the one that aids Felix in finding a way to survive the dangers following them after their incident with Donnie and Steve. Felix refuses hospital treatment because he fears being deported. Regardless, everyone will suffer…if they are caught. The life of Felix and Alfonso is on the line—the authorities, illegal immigration operations, and criminal activity are the moving parts of one wild and destructive ride in Bad Hombres.

The film shifts a lot and the writing is lacking here. It feels as if it just keeps finding ways to fill time instead of moving the story along with quality content. The film does not have the surprises most would expect in a thriller like this. It is an experience where the suspense builds and anxiety-provoking stressors are anticipated yet not executed properly. This is one of those films where I feel it had much more potential to be more astounding, but fell short through weak attempts to thrill. Bad Hombres is a ride where the suspense is shaky and keeps halting in its tracks leaving moviegoers disappointed.

Bad Hombres is dark and brutal with floppy writing. The moving parts never come together and result in a ride of uncertainty and frustration. It is an unsatisfying experience. The acting is promising and realistic, but the realism of the film is not in its direction of brilliance. I thought there would be more backstory to the characters in the situation of immigration conflicts. Sadly, there is none of that. The film relies on action and suspense alone in trying to find conclusions and it misses out on providing a full story. Two out of four stars for Bad Hombres.