Watched a bunch of new'ish movies over the last couple weeks, here is what I remember:
Mayday (Apple TV)
Tagline: When a U.S. Navy pilot (Ryan Reynolds) on a top-secret mission during the Cold War gets trapped behind enemy lines, his only chance at survival is to form an alliance with an eccentric ex-KGB agent (Kenneth Branagh).
I mostly enjoyed this one, especially for a straight to streaming release. Felt the runtime was a bit longer than it needed to be, and the plot is very familiar territory... but, Reynolds and Branagh were good together and Reynolds dialed it back just enough to not be completely annoying (though he is always moderately annoying after enough time on screen). All in all, it's not going to change your life or go down as a classic.. but, for straight to streaming it's a fun enough watch. 7/10 (eh, maybe it' a 6/10, but I'm always more forgiving with the straight to streaming stuff)
By Any Means (theater)
Tagline: An FBI agent (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) teams up with mob hit man Greg Scarpa (Markie Mark) to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in the 1960s Mississippi.
The wife wanted to see this one for some reason that is unknown to me. I explained that the reviews were pretty bad and it was a topic that would probably irritate her (civil rights), but she was determined to go. She HATED it. I wouldn't say I liked it, but, it was full of unintentional comedy from Markie Mark and I had some good laughs. I'll say this, it's a really bizarre movie. I thought about it for awhile and I have no idea what message they are trying to get across. Violence is good? Torturing confessions out of people is good? Murdering cops is fine as long as they aren't being polite to black people? It's completely unhinged and the messaging is all over the place. I wouldn't recommend anyone pay to see it in the theaters, but if you're a fan of unintentional comedy and/or Markie Mark, you might be mildly entertained in a similar manner to the way I was (I was constantly like, "wait what? who did they make this movie for!?!?!". I will say that it is a shame that Yahya Abdul-Mateen didn't attach himself to a better project, I like him a lot as an actor and thought he was great in Wonder Man. He's fine in this, but the story is so stupidly bonkers it's hard to really think about anything other than how ridiculously unhinged it is. 5.5/10 (for the unintentional comedy, it's a terrible movie by any other measure)
Coyote vs Acme (theater)
Tagline: When ACME products fail him one too many times in his dogged pursuit of the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote decides to hire a down-on-his-luck lawyer (Will Forte) to sue the corporation (John Cena plays lead attorney for Acme).
My daughter wanted to see this, so I took her. I actually ended up enjoying it more than she did. John Cena is kind of annoying, but Will Forte was great and the story was very nostalgic for anyone who grew up watching Looney Tunes or any of the Bugs Bunny-verse stuff from Warner Bros. The humor is a bit hit or miss (to be expected from Looney Tunes), but when it hits it's legit funny. I think the most surprising part of the movie is that it actually did a pretty good job of accurately describing the legal process (sure, there are some liberties... but they get more stuff right than wrong, which was a surprise).. and it actually had some solid subtle messaging against animal cruelty/experimentation and corporate overreach that wasn't of the 'I'm going to bash you over the head with the message so you understand it' variety. I'm not saying it changed my worldview or anything, and I don't think it's going to win any Oscars (nor does it likely deserve to), but, it was a lot more coherent and enjoyable than a movie about Wile E. Coyote had any business being. I hear that Warner Bros was going to tax-write off/destroy this rather than release it... I'm actually glad they didn't. I don't know that it's worth paying full price to see it in theaters, but it's worth a watch when it goes to streaming for 'free' 8/10