The Amateur

“The Amateur” is a 2025 Action/Thriller starring Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead), Holt McCallany (Mind Hunter), Julianne Nicholson (I, Tonya), and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix).

Charlie (Malek) is a CIA cryptographer and when his wife is killed during an attack in London, he uses his skills to find out who is responsible. He takes his info to his superiors, when they refuse to help. He uses his technology skills to track down and kill the men responsible for killing his wife. At first the CIA takes is as a joke but once Charlie starts to become successful, they send one of their own men (Fishburne) to bring Charlie down before he exposes something he shouldn’t.

When I first saw the preview to this one, I knew I had to go and see it. Malek is such a great actor and no surprise he nails this role. The action scenes are really good with high pace action, but there is more lull than I was anticipating in between the action scenes. Making it a little bit of slower movie than expected. It’s still a good action thriller that is worth the watch. I give it a 7.5/10

OldBoy (2013)

Oldboy is a 2013 remake of a 2003 movie with the same name, I haven’t seen the original but from my understanding this one changed a few things. Spike Lee directs this thriller/mystery and brings a huge cast starring Josh Brolin (Avengers: Endgame), Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody).

A man is kidnapped and confined to a single room for twenty years. When he is finally freed after twenty years, he is hellbent on finding his captors and making them pay.

I haven’t heard of OldBoy or didn’t know the star-studded cast that was in it. I just keep seeing it on my suggested movies, and it eventually wore me down, so I gave it a shot. It’s a very weird concept, and it’s dark and twisted on so many levels. The twist is going to have you picking your jaw off the floor, now if that’s a good or bad thing, that’s for you to decide. Josh Brolin is the main guy in this, he’s a fantastic actor, he has a wide range. His most famous role is Thanos, but for this, I think it was an odd choice. He just didn’t sell it for me. Overall, it’s not a movie for the faint of heart, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. For shock value alone I think it’s worth the watch, it’s not one you’ll forget. I give it a 7/10. It’s definitely an interesting movie, you can catch it on Netflix.

The Little Things

I’m excited to be doing my first review of a 2021 movie, and what better one than ‘The Little Things’. This is the biggest movie so far of 2021, which really isn’t saying much considering there isn’t a whole lot being released right now. They bring a heavy hitting cast staring Denzel Washington (Training Day), Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody), Jared Leto (Suicide Squad),and Natalie Morales (Santa Clarita Diet). A burnt out, one time hot shot cop (Washington), returns to his old stomping grounds in L.A. and teams up with new hot shot detective (Malek) to track down a serial killer (Leto).

I’m fortunate enough to be in an area still showing movies in theaters, but if you’re not HBO Max is showing it as well. Washington, Malek, and Leto all play great roles, but the problem doesn’t lie in their acting, but in the story itself. The story really drags for what it is, it feels its full two hour and seven minute run time. Again the acting is great just not the story, I’m a huge fan of Malek, and if you need a weird role, Leto will nail it. My wife described this movie as seriously boring, and two others I talked to about it, one liked and it and one described it as “ok”. I would still recommend seeing it, but don’t be surprised if you find it as just okay. Unfortunately, it’s not the slam dunk we were all hoping for, and falls into mediocracy. I give it a 6.5/10.