mark wahlberg – The Concordian

Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg collaborate on a fifth movie together, Spenser Confidential

Witty and sarcastic, ex-cop Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) is always quick to throw an amusing comeback. Yet, he is also a work in progress, taking every opportunity to help others and better himself.

Spenser Confidential is inspired by the book Wonderland by Ace Atkins, and the characters are loosely based on the ones Robert B. Parker created in his Spenser crime novels.

This action-comedy movie starts with a flashback from five years earlier, showing Spenser, who was then a cop, going to his captain’s house and beating him. At the same time, the narration is him pleading guilty for disturbing the peace, harassment in the first degree and for aggravated assault of a police officer. He ends his confession with “the son of a b*tch deserved it.”

After spending five years in prison, Spenser goes to live with Henry (Alan Arkin), a funny old man who only eats hot dogs, and Hawk (Winston Duke), Spenser’s new roommate.

The movie revolves around this team trying to solve the murder of a woman while looking for enough evidence to get dirty cops arrested. Boston police captain John Boylan (Michael Gaston), who Spenser had assaulted, is killed the night he gets out of prison, and the murder is pinned on officer Terrence (Brandon Scales), who, according to the police, killed himself after killing Boylan. Spenser claims that Terrence wasn’t a crooked cop and that he was murdered, which is why he starts another investigation into Boylan’s murder.

Fights are always happening in this movie. To be exact, Spenser gets into four significant fights and a dog attack. The first fight is during his last day in prison. While in the library, he gets jumped by a group, including Squeeb (Austin Post a.k.a. Post Malone). After the murder is pinned on Terrence, Spenser goes to a cop bar to find Terrence’s ex-partner, where he, once again, gets jumped, this time by a group of police officers. Later on, when Spenser is running after a car, he gets attacked by Lego, a dog. The third fight is at Marcela’s Burritos, where he gets attacked by members of a Dominican street gang involved in drug smuggling. Finally, the fourth and last fight is against Driscoll (Bokeem Woodbine), the main villain and the brains behind all the murders.

This movie is not only funny, but it also examines corruption within the police system. It reminds us that justice is not always served and sometimes, more than we’d like, bad guys get to walk the streets free, framing innocent people for their acts. This movie serves as a reality check while making us laugh about Spencer getting beat up, his crazy ex-girlfriend Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger) and Hawk’s weirdness.

Spenser Confidential is also about relationships. We see Spenser and Hawk’s friendship grow during the movie. They start as rivals, Spenser being jealous that Hawk has been spending more time with his dog, Pearl, while he was away in prison. But the two roommates quickly bond and become friends. Spenser and Cissy’s relationship also improves and in the last scene together, they’re actually getting along and not yelling at each other.

This could easily be one of the best movies of the year, as it’s the perfect combination of an action-comedy and a drama. It’s funny, exciting, and we see the characters developing. For example, in the last fight, Spenser controls his anger and stops punching Driscoll, making a citizen’s arrest instead. As well, the performances are incredible and the plot keeps everyone alert. It keeps the audience wanting to know what Spenser’s next move will be, or when he’ll get beat up again, which is probably the funniest part.

Netflix Party, a new chrome extension, allows people to watch Netflix together virtually and offers a chat section to discuss the show or film. If one person pauses the video, it pauses it for the rest of the group, as if everyone were watching it on the same screen. This extension has gained popularity over the last few days, as people from all around the world are implementing social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Stay at home, talk with some friends and put Spenser Confidential on to enjoy together from a distance. Stay safe!

Deepwater Horizon tells the incredible tale of the people who tried in vain to cap the well during the 2010 disaster

Facing enormous pressure from the British Petroleum representatives, Rig Manager Jimmy Harell (Kurt Russell) didn’t really have a choice but to give the go to start extracting oil from the well. They were nearly 50 days behind schedule. Two tests had been performed on the 1,500 metre pipe and they had passed, although barely. The team needed to move on to the next well. Little did he know, everything would soon erupt into chaos.

Deepwater Horizon, directed by Peter Berg and written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, is based on the true events of April 20, 2010, when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig erupted into flames, 64 kilometres offshore. Eleven crewmembers died during the disaster, and the fallout included 4.9 million barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest oil spill in American waters, according to CBC News.

In the wake of the ecological calamity caused by the oil spill, the loss of life was overlooked—however, the human element of the disaster is the focus of Deepwater Horizon.

The film centers on Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg), an electrician aboard the Deepwater Horizon, as he tries desperately to flee the rig, helping as many fellow crewmen as he can get to the lifeboats.

Cinematically, the film shows how the rig, which had been dubbed “the well from hell” by its crew, became a literal pit of hell. Rolling smoke, powerful explosions and raging fire took over the rig, assailing the crew, one explosion after another.

Crew on the Deepwater Horizon had to dodge fireballs and explosions on their way to the lifeboats in order to survive.

There are several powerful scenes in the film. The viewer already knows that the disaster cannot be prevented, and yet, the build-up to the calamity adds tension and drama, as well as a sense of foreboding for a disaster we know is coming.

While still at home, Williams listens to a presentation his daughter is going to give at school about her father’s profession. She illustrates his job by shaking a soda can, turning it upside down and driving a metal straw through it. Using honey as the mud substance used to plug wells before extraction, she plugs the metal straw, which acts as a pipe. After she finishes speaking, the soda comes gushing out. While the family scrambles away from the rush of sticky liquid, the camera lingers on the can, and the sounds of fizzing soda are gradually replaced by groaning rock.

One of the main strengths of the film is in how it portrays the characters after they’ve been brought back to shore. After being rescued, the surviving crew are checked into a hotel to wait for their families. As Williams walks into the hotel, shell-shocked from the events he just survived, the worried family members of his crew surround him, asking for information on their sons and relatives. Once in his hotel room, Williams collapses on the floor, overcome by heaving sobs.

The film shows the real aftermath of the incident, from the human perspective. The crew that survived might eventually heal from their physical injuries: the burns, the bruises and the lacerations. But cuts and scrapes aside, the crew that walked off that rig were emotionally wounded. After surviving a hellish ordeal by fire, fed by the greed of the corporations that rented out their labour, they must eventually, somehow, return to a normal life.

The film is a reminder of the hell the crew lived through on that fateful night, and of the political decisions that led to it happening. Although it could have put more emphasis on the crew that perished during the fire, overall, it did a good job of drawing attention to the human collateral damage of the disaster.

Deepwater Horizon will open in theaters across Quebec on Sept. 30.

3 and a half stars.