We Own This City Review

Every now and again a series completely immerses you because it tackles real world stories that need to be told. We Own This City is one of those such series that relies on the true events it details to show both the ins and outs of systemic corruption.

Led by Jon Bernthal in what may be his finest acting to date, We Own This City is a resounding success because Bernthal is able to do his thing and fully trust that everyone else will do the same. They definitely do, and there is a reason why this has not fully happened since The Wire 20 years ago. The series is produced by the same crew and uses the setting of Baltimore police.

We Own This City shows just how far police units are willing to go in order to abuse the power that comes with a badge. It truly is the first show in a long time that goes to great lengths to fill in the smaller details. These are the types of shows that are enjoyable because they are pushing boundaries without the over the top shenanigans that come with most modern films and television. It showcases a series of events that unfold over a 15 year time frame all which are integral to how a series of actions have a set of consequences. 

That is one of my favorite elements of this series. Comparing it to The Wire which is tense because it unfolds in a linear fashion, this series opts to show us from the past how our sins will always catch up with us if we don’t follow the rules. It shows how easily one can be influenced by the questionable behavior that is on display around them. What that leads to is the majority of a system becoming corrupt because it is the easy way out and standing up against it is the harder option in most cases. We should never settle for the Status Quo if we know the bar being set is wrong. We need more of these stories so we can hold people accountable for their crimes and their actions that affect many. How many innocent lives did these cops ruin? Just to line their own pockets.

Had there been more time to explore the fallout on the street level this show could have been even better and it already is the best show of 2022 without a doubt. It does all the things right that a drama should do. It builds around a morally bankrupt character who was not always that way. It shows how those around him even at times tried to distance themselves from that but never quite could. It truly should make you think we as a society can treat people better. We can stop marginalizing people into two categories. Cops or criminals. Everything runs much deeper than that and we need to do better and hold everyone accountable. The world sees too much death and destruction and too much finger pointing instead of figuring out a way to make things better for everyone. Deep within this series are hidden messages and it truly does shine light on a subject more people need to educate themselves on. Please do yourself a favor and go check this one out. 

Baltimore Police, David Simon, George Pelecanos, HBO, Jon Bernthal, The Wire, We Own This City, George Pelecanos, Jon Bernthal

The Domination of Big Budget Blockbusters.

Comic books and superhero movies and shows have taken over mainstream culture. Everywhere you look there are posters for the latest big budget comic book movie or show. It has almost reached the point in popular culture where things have been forgotten unless they are based on a comic book.

Martin Scorsese spoke out about how CBMs were the majority of what can currently be viewed in cinemas and everytime I visit the cinema I am reminded that he is correct. I went to check out a film the other day with an open mind. I just wanted to see a movie. When I got to the cinema, the only movies that were playing in my small local cinema were Doctor Strange 2, Top Gun 2, Lightyear and Jurassic World 3. There was no option to see the latest Indie Darling taking the scene by storm. No smaller scale horror film playing for a mid afternoon scare. No raunchy comedy with an R Rating that would leave me in stitches. It just felt wrong. That no matter what I chose it felt like I was choosing one formula. The Hollywood big budget action adventure or the Nostalgia bait sequel. 

It does not seem all that long ago where it felt like the two co-existed and the world was happy. I know the Pandemic changed a lot about how we do things as a collective. However with the world opening back up and things feeling somewhat like they used to pre-2020 I hope cinema can do the same. I ended up choosing Jurassic World that day and it did not live up to the hype at all. Which was also somewhat unfortunate because with my spare time being so limited I don’t want to be seeing movies that leave me feeling absolutely nothing.

It brings me momentary sadness to think about the time listings that day when I went into the cinemas. The focus seems to be shifting towards streaming and it seems like we must adjust with the times or end up being left behind. Lets hope there is still enough time for course correction on this ship’s course.

Jurassic World: Dominion Review

Jurassic Park was a popular series in the 90s so of course instead of letting it be a standalone thing, Hollywood producers sought to try and recreate that success with Jurassic World and the subsequent trilogy.

It is safe to say they have failed after seeing Jurassic World Dominion. What should have been a proper send off for the beloved characters felt like a forced narrative just to give us nostalgia beats and very little true dinosaur action. It featured way too much focus on the human drama and not enough time was spent on the dinosaurs being part of society.

Bringing back the original three even felt forced  and there were very little moments that stood out with them in them. To be fair, no moment really stood out at all. All the cool action scenes were basically on display in the trailer and the conclusion was predictable from a mile away. For a day out at the cinema where it costs almost an arm and a leg to attend a movie, I desperately held onto hope this was going to deliver more than it did.

The best scene in the movie was the first sequence which was presented as a news report. Everything seemed to just derail after that, becoming a mess of a simplistic plot that genuinely felt like it could have been in any generic action film. New company pops up supposedly doing good but harbors a shady secret? Been done before. Two classic characters realizing they are meant to be together? Been done before. Two characters survive a wild action adventure to reunite their family? Literally the plot of every big budget action adventure. 

Maybe hoping for different takes and different plot lines is my mistake at this point. Perhaps hoping for something other than a paint by numbers Hollywood big budget film is asking too much and I should simply sit back and hand my hard earned money over for mediocre writing and bad use of amazing characters.

One of my friends said this movie was about something other than the dinosaurs and that was the film’s first and biggest mistake. Even the film’s greedy corporation style villain just missed the mark because we are truly seeing that in the real world (minus the dinos of course). What makes Jurassic Park special is the dinosaurs. What makes every action movie generic is subpar writing and action sequences. 

This should be the end and not because it brings everything full circle but because it just shows the most predictable way to end a series one can think of. Fill it with nostalgia, fill it with lacklustre action and no stakes and bill it was the return of the main actors. Jurassic World Dominion is the weakest in the series and that is saying something given Jurassic Park 3 did not cease to exist.

The Hierarchy of Power looks to remain the exact same. Black Adam trailer reaction!

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been teasing for years now that the hierachy of power is about to change when Black Adam finally makes its way to cinemas. That is a bold and powerful statement but after viewing the first trailer it honestly does not feel like this statement is true to his word.

After my initial viewing of the trailer nothing blew me away. Absolutely nothing. The most striking image from the trailer is Black Adam and Hawkman staring each other down for 3 to 5 seconds and the rest seemed fairly generic and just a wide array out of context action scenes. As a fan of comics and what has come throughout history I was hoping to see a little more of what will make this a unique Black Adam story. This trailer basically served as a reminder “Hey don’t forget about us, we have a movie coming out later this year.”. Yet it failed to do what a movie trailer should do. Which will make your jaw drop and leave you immediately running to where you keep your calendar to circle the date with excitement. It does none of those things.

There are a couple of reasons why it does none of those things. One it shows too many comedic moments in a story that would have been better served to play the darker tone through-out. Two it felt like every other big budget movie of the last 10-15 years with the only hook being he starts out as a villain. Three, I am still yet to be convinced The Rock has a ton of range beyond being a physically dominating presence in any of his films. Those three things to me paint the picture of what may end up being DC’s most cliche film to date while they claim they have done big things to change the game.

To me after all this time this was not the first trailer that I was expecting and it honestly failed to grip me as a long term fan of DC and its vast library of characters. For what is supposed to be a passion project and a labor of love it sure felt generic in every way possible.