Logan Lucky

I know I'm late to the party with this review. While it is still in cinemas, I want to urge you to go and see it. Steven Soderbergh returns to the silver screen with Logan Lucky. Soderbergh previously brought us Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen. Next year he will produce Ocean's Eight. It is without doubt that Soderbergh knows how to film a crime caper filled with complex plotting, serious human moments, dead-pan humour and a significant twist at the end. The plot is straight-forward. Two brothers (played by a charming Channing Tatum and a brilliantly dead-pan Adam Driver) attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina. Along the way they enlist the help of an explosives expert, appropriately names Joe Bang (played by Daniel Craig, who clearly has been let loose and chews up the scenery with gusto). Set in the heart of Trump-land (it is a thing you know) and close to recent racial protests in Charlottesville, this caper is Ocean's Eleven in a hillbilly world. Are there stereotypes? Yes. Are there southern tropes? Yes. Does it take itself seriously? No. The film is well put together based on the screenplay by Rebecca Blunt (As of July 2017, suspected to be a fictitious person; a pseudonym for an, as yet, unidentified person. The real person exchanged emails with Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Daniel Craig, cast members of Logan Lucky (2017), during filming. They believed she resided in the UK). To invoke a litotes, the film is not without it's faults but where it succeeds is in the performances of this stellar cast. They clearly had fun. The late introduction of Hillary Swank as an FBI agent assigned to investigate our villains/heroes is a masterpiece of casting and Swank makes the most of her limited screen time. Too much analysis will spoil what is a thoroughly silly, yet enjoyable film. Enjoy! 3.5 out of 5

This film was better (and much different) than I expected. At first the pace seemed very slow and the story predictable and seen-it-before. But then the pace picked up and you really get into the characters (of which every single one was cast and played their role perfectly) and the story (which overall was very well written - especially the ending). The ending had an obscure twist forming, but right at the very end, it comes together for a grand finale! Very enjoyable and I'm definitely watching this one again. It's a 9/10 from me.

One of the main reasons that I began writing movie reviews is to bring attention to good, entertaining flicks that might be flying under your radar.  Such is the case with Steven Soderbergh's latest heist flick LOGAN LUCKY.  This is an entertaining movie that moves quickly and has much more under the surface than you might first think. Strongly and ably directed by Soderbergh, LOGAN LUCKY tells the story of the "cursed" Logan family of West Virginia (Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Riley Keough) who are facing tough times.  The solution to their problem?  Rob the vault at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.  They enlist the Bang brothers (Jack Quaid, Brian Gleeson and a surprisingly, effectively funny Daniel Craig).  One problem there, Craig's character is currently in jail. Can this group of seemingly dimwitted West Virginians pull off the caper?  That's the fun of this movie and it's territory that Soderbergh has covered before with the OCEAN'S 11 films (there is even a callback in this flick to those movies when someone calls the robbery OCEAN'S 7/11) and he covers this territory well.  The caper is clever, yet simple.  Soderbergh (or, rather, writer Rebecca Blunt - which is believed to be a pseudonym for someone else) does a clever job of having Tatum's character keep a list of 10 things to think about during a robbery and the script follows these rules, which makes things easy to follow. But, of course, in these types of films, it is the characters that make (or break) things and Soderbergh has assembled a a crew that is very enjoyable to watch starting with Channing Tatum  (MAGIC MIKE) as Jimmy Logan, a former high school and college football "legend" (at least in West Virginia) who is having trouble making ends meet as a result of a career ending knee injury.  Tatum does a nice job of showing us a thoughtful, rounded human being under the veneer of a West Virginia "hick".  He is joined by his one-armed brother, Adam Driver, (Kylo Ren in STAR WARS)  in another interesting and watchable performance and their sister, Mellie (Riley Keough, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD) a performer who I knew little about before this film, but is one that I will be keeping an eye on going forward. The film picks up energy with the introduction of the Bang brothers.  Dim-witted (and I do mean dim-witted) Fish and Sam Bang (an unrecognizable Jack Quaid and Brian Gleeson, son of Brendan) - who gave me 2 or 3 strong, burst out-loud laughs and their older brother, explosives expert Joe Bang.  This was the best, most surprising part - Joe Bang is played with a continual twinkle in his eye by James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.  You can see the danger in his eyes and movements but you can also detect a layer of intelligence in his portrayal, all the while keeping the "wink" in his eye that let's you know that he (and we) are having fun.  Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Dwight Yoakim's turn as the head of the prison where Joe Bang is incarcerated.  I want to see a film of Yoakim running this prison.  There is so much story there to mine. The film isn't perfect - there is a subplot involving a NASCAR driver (Sebastian Stan - Bucky in the AVENGERS films) and his owner (a miscast Seth McFarlane) that goes nowhere and Katherine Waterston is wasted in the "love interest for Tatum" role, but all-in-all, I had a good time at this film and I think you will, too. It's the perfect film for a rainy Saturday afternoon, which is what most of Minnesota (and Texas!) will be having today. Letter Grade B+ 8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)hat to the Bank (ofMarquis)

Each and every cast member seems to be perfectly picked to play their part with the exception of Hilary swank. Wowza. She was like a robot. IM FBI AGENT. ME SPEAK MONOTONE. MEANS I AM IMPORTANT AND BY THE BOOK.... Other than that, this is a great movie that is different than the average crap shoved down your throat regularly. Adam driver and the two brothers made me laugh. Daniel Craig with a southern accent and that feeling like he was always a second away from murdering somebody...The father daughter relationship with Channing and the super cute little girl was something that almost could have felt forced but it certainly didn't. Very well written (by whomever) screenplay and even better casting.... I could go on. Skip the blockbuster crap and watch more movies like this so hopefully more movies like this get made..