Half Past Dead 2
2007
Action
Half Past Dead 2 is the sequel to the first Half Past Dead film starring rapper Ja Rule, Steven Segal and Morris Chestnut. Like some direct-to-DVD sequels, oddly enough, it somehow warranted a follow-up movie of sorts that nobody really asked for, with wrestler Bill Goldberg in the Segal good guy role and rapper Kurrupt as the Black rapper cellmate who forms allegiances with Goldberg. Set in a male prison, it's Lockup, the Sly Stallone film with a smidge more action, but bland characters, blander setting and blander and sluggish action scenes. The acting is well, poor although that is due to the feeble script and writing, Goldberg looks miserable or p****d off most of the time and Kurrupt's character spends the majority of the time hiding behind big man Goldberg. All the other prison inmate characters are stereotypes you find in any other prison movie or movie with prison scenes (for instance, Tango & Cash). Pass.
Is It Worth Watching?
Personally speaking, no
Overall:
Sleepless
2017
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Dermot Mulroney, David Harbour, Tip T.I Harris, Gabrielle Union, Scoot McNairy
Genre: Action Crime Thriller
Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $32 million
Plot: A cop with a connection to the criminal underworld scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son
'Slack, Jaded Taken Thriller'
A crooked undercover cop and his companion are involved in a drug heist that goes wrong & in retribution, Vincent's son is kidnapped during a carjacking and Vincent has to go and rescue him and all within one night & returning the drugs that he stole to a mobster, whilst an Internal Affairs officer and her accomplice are on his trail.
A U.S remake of the 2011 joint Belgian/French/Luxembourg flick, Nuit Blanche (translated as Sleepless Night), Sleepless is so paint-by-numbers, it recycles tropes, ideas and plot themes from other action movies, including Taken, but never managing to go out of its way to make it feel like I should invest any interest in it.
Jamie Foxx's film career post-Oscar triumph for Ray has been patchy, but he does strike me as an actor who could transition well as an action star- providing he gets the quality scripts that he needs, yet in Miami Vice and this effort, Sleepless, they have let him down. Foxx, however, does well in the role and in the action scenes, he acquits himself really well, despite Vincent being fully one-dimensional and monotonous throughout the film. Character-wise, Vincent is a broken man, but there was just nothing about him as a person of whom I could empathise fully as the main hero. If only the writers had given Foxx and his role of Vincent some room to inject some air of humour & likeability.
There is just next to nothing in Sleepless that feels inspired, special, new or different; the action, as well shot as it is, is repetitive, looks predictable and it feels like a straight- to- DVD action flick, the characters are so underdeveloped & unlikeable or dull and you don't feel heavily invested into either of them, although in actor, Scoot McNeary, he arguably puts in the best turn out of the main casting as the villain as they work with an overly cliched, middling and unoriginal script. Michelle Monahan tries to do her best in an underwritten role as the Internal Affairs cop, Jennifer & yet again, Gabrielle Union is wasted in a bit-part role as Vincent's wife whereas the son, was well, annoying.
Dermot Mulroney plays a crooked casino boss and looking every bit like a bloated Tony Stark aka Iron Man, minus his charisma. The story is weak and trifling and towards the end, it became ridiculous to the point it bothered me. None of the bad guys is established and it is confusing in working out who is the central villain of the piece. The number of double-crosses and twists didn't shock me and when they happened, I didn't really care about them as none of them made a lick of sense. There was an air of tension seeping through, once or twice, but besides that, the characters - but for say the female characters -, are mainly jackasses & still each and every one of them were so woefully written, it undercut everything and thus forth, it made the film far less than satisfying to sit through. The third act, however, pretty much sealed the deal for me as being a terribly executed, as well as being a slack thriller.
This added up to a hollow and mediocre action thriller that is fully disguised as a B-movie and one you'd find straight-to-DVD or on NetFlix but with slightly more accomplished actors, well, in Jamie Foxx and Michelle Monahan anyway.
If only they hadn't settled for less... such as this.
Final Verdict:
Ultimately, Sleepless is a film that ought to have been great or very good, yet in the end, it practically settles for mediocrity, predictability and in being dour and wholly sterile.
This is one movie I won't be losing sleep over.
Overall:
On The Line
2001
Romantic Comedy
The film was produced by Peter Abrams who gave us other rom-coms in She's All That, Serendipity and The Wedding Planner, but also turds in the sequel to Van Wilder and Old Dogs & stars two-fifths of boyband, NSYNC, Lance Bass and Joey Fatone. An ad agency exec meets a girl on the subway and he bonds with her... the rest, well if you have seen any other rom-com film, then On The Line follows the exact formula. On The Line's plot is a rehash of Serendipity, the covers are cringe-worthy and much like with Coyote Ugly, is a music-based drama that would have worked better as an R-rated offering. The script is weak, characters are non-existent as is the cast chemistry & as much as Lance Bass is a nice guy, he is not ideal as the leading man for a rom-com, and the film is straight out bland. A fluff movie with a romance that doesn't sparkle or convince and hardly any charisma seeping through, this is your typically bad & tedious rom-com. I was so bored seeing this.
Is It Worth Watching?
If you are a boyband or NSYNC fan
Overall:
By Waiching
Not having a job, sucks, big time. I know that feeling, I've been there and done that and the feeling is not enjoyable. For several years, I hated being out of work and not having a job: the number of job interviews I have attended have been few, whilst I was busy putting out CVs and cover letters. Mentally, it made me depressed and I wanted to earn my money, instead of it being handed to me on a plate. I spent most of my time in education, spending money on courses that didn't lead me anywhere, job-wise and looking back, I regret going down that path and that I should have found employment earlier on, say right after high school at age 16. Today, I am in a well-paid job and I am grateful to my current employers for giving me a shot, and with that, I have repaid the faith they have put in me. Working and to be working is always a good thing, although working in a place that values your efforts is as equally important; if you work and you're not happy and feel you need to get out, then that is a problem.
To be in paid employment is always a good thing; a) it contributes to our happiness and boosts morale, b) it's a way to get out of the house and do something and gives us the means to develop our skills, whilst gaining new ones & c) it's also about a sense of pride and achievement one has and having our efforts praised and recognised by others. Your job/role gives you a sense of identity, it shapes who you are as a person - if not to indicate the type of individual that you are.
& the money we earn we can use this to support ourselves and our loved ones.
When people ask employed people what they do for a living, the straightforward answer would be their job title, but when people ask unemployed people what they do, that reply is a little trickier.
Working also means meeting and working with other people whom you otherwise would not have met and to interact with them. By expanding your horizons, one has the opportunity - should they wish to take it - to harbour and foster new working relationships and potential friendships and to build on their confidence and self-esteem by being approachable and putting their skills to effective use. Although I work with others as it is part of the job and I don't socialise with them outside of working hours.
It's far better to be working, as opposed to not working at all: studies have shown that if you are not working and unemployed, then chances are your mental and physical health problems will trigger and increase, you become further isolated from society and without that social interaction which you gain through your colleagues and other people, your confidence levels goes further down. It is when you work that you become productive, pro-active and by contributing to the company, other employees and management will take notice. When you have a paid job, you have self-worth that you maintain, your social capital increases and whilst it doesn't make you entirely happy, it's still satisfying knowing we can attain confidence and respect; that and you can afford to pay the bills.
Contrast that to unemployment: less money comes in, constant berating from others to get a job and if you rely on state handouts, there are fewer options for financial support, and according to Layard, it reduces one's happiness by destroying the self-respect and social relationships, created at work. Unemployment presents so many hardships, as the search for that job continues.
It's not fun not having a job when you are of working age, nor is it fun constantly relying on state handouts; plus, NOT all of those years spent during college and university studying for a career in the media were worthwhile because those studies did not help me land a job in that area. Therefore, one is indeed, better off with a job. It's not just the money, even though it is the main attraction: you get out of the house, you spend time with other people and talk to them, building up self-confidence and you do the work that is expected of you.
If you are reading this and you are out of work and feel stuck in a rut, please do keep trying and apply for as many jobs as you can and get someone who can edit and read through your CV/resume to make sure it is perfect and that they prepare you for potential job interviews. I know and understand how tough the job market is, but persistence pays off in the end: you just have to continuously put out those CVs, attend interviews and convince him/her you are the ideal employee for the position that you are applying for. The more you do so, the better your prospects for success.
As the saying goes, ''we work to live, not live to work'', and thus, it is important to be employed up until you choose to retire.
