Tim joined Don Shelby, Brittany Arneson and Rudy Pavich on the “Tom Barnard Morning Show Podcast,” Adam Carter and Jordana Green on “Adam and Jordana” show on WCCO-AM, and Kelly Cordes on “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” Friday to review the new theatrical release “Creed III” and the streaming releases “The Mandalorian” Season 3 and “The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.” Click to listen to below. All of Tim’s segments are brought to you by Michael Bryant, and Bradshaw and Bryant.
BELOW: “Tom Barnard Show” (segment begins at the 2 hour 41 minute mark)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “Adam and Jordana” with Adam Carter and Jordana Green on WCCO Radio, “It Matters with Kelly Cordes” on WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere, and reviews streaming programming on WCCO Radio’s “Adam and Jordana” as well. On radio, Tim previously made hundreds of appearances on “The KQ Morning Show” with Tom Barnard on KQRS-FM. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on NBC affiliate KARE on the news program “KARE 11 News at 11.”
Action star Sylvester Stallone is back — presumably for the fifth and final time — as former Green Beret-turned-mercenary John Rambo in “Rambo: Last Blood,” an ultra-violent revenge thriller that does nothing to add on to the Rambo lore apart from finding new and inventive ways for the indestructible screen hero to dispatch the bad guys.
Rambo starts “Last Blood” peacefully, as a rancher living in a southwestern town on the Mexican border whose biggest concern is the well-being of his niece, Gabriella (Yvette Monreal), a grown teenager getting ready to go off to college. Gabriella’s plans change, though, when a sketchy friend claims to have found the teen’s estranged father in Mexico, leading the naive girl into a trap of human traffickers.
AUDIO: Hear Tim’s review of “Rambo: Last Blood” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show” on KQRS-FM. Segment is brought to you byMichael Bryant and Bradshaw & Bryant.
Determined to save Gabriella at any cost, Rambo crosses the border and confronts the traffickers, who brutally prove to him that they have no regard for human life. When Rambo exacts his revenge on the traffickers, they decided to take the fight to former soldier at his ranch, which the former military man has been meticulously prepared for battle.
“Rambo: Last Blood” feels like a combination of three movie series — “John Wick,” “Taken” and naturally, the previous “Rambo” films. And while the “John Wick” and “Taken” films mostly have positive outcomes and a sense of humor (well, at least “John Wick”), there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for Rambo. Since the film is rooted in a deep tragedy, there’s no way for the character to win, which ultimately makes for brutal, dark and deeply depressing movie. Sure, “Rambo” fans will delight in how Rambo gives the bad guys exactly what they have coming to them, but the story is paper think and does nothing to advance the story that began with 1982’s “First Blood” as a whole.
Whether there will be more “Rambo” after this or not is yet to be seen (and God forbid anybody utters the word “reboot”), but the end credits, which shows highlights from the “Rambo” series since the beginning, suggests Stallone is finally ready to let the character go.
If that’s the case, it’s shame it couldn’t be done more gracefully like the way his Rocky Balboa grew and transitioned to a supporting character in the “Creed” films, but storywise, it’s hard to do something with character like Rambo’s since exacting revenge is his clearly his game. Anything other than that wouldn’t make any sense. If Stallone wants to keep the action career going, perhaps he should reassemble “The Expendables,” which was clearly the best film series he’s taken part in after “Rocky” and “Rambo.” At least those films give us something to laugh about while entertaining us with over-the-top action. “Rambo: Last Blood” just makes you squirm and feel terrible afterward.
Lammometer: 5 (out of 10)
Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for “The KQ92 Morning Show,” WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere. On TV, Tim has made hundreds of guest appearances on “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC).
Sylvester Stallone is back and better than ever in “Creed,” a smartly plotted Rocky Balboa film that forgoes the formula of the previous “Rocky” installments and instead frames Stallone as a crucial supporting character. The film naturally feels like a Rocky film since it involves the family of his late formal rival-turned-friend Apollo Creed, yet moves the story of the boxer saga ahead with a fresh and plausible storyline.
“Creed” re-teams Michael B. Jordan and his “Fruitvale Station” director Ryan Coogler, and the actor and filmmaker deliver another solid one-two punch with “Creed.” Jordan plays Adonis Johnson, a troubled youth who, as it turns out, is the product of an extramarital affair Apollo Creed had near the end of his career. However, Apollo died before Adonis was born, and after his mother dies, the angry young son of Creed becomes a ward of the state. However, when Creed’s widow, Mary Anne (Phylicia Rashad) discovers the boy, she adopts him as her own and raises him into an upstanding young man.
Even though Adonis’ future appears bright, he can’t resist the urge to fight and pursue a career as a professional boxer. But if Adonis is ever to forge the same sort of path as his famous father he needs to find the proper trainer to guide him, and his only choice is Rocky. However, the former champ is worn down emotionally by a life that includes the loss of his wife, Adrian, and physically by years of beatings in the ring. But since Adonis is like family to Rocky, he reluctantly takes on the upstart Adonis, who clearly has the same fire in his belly as the father he never knew.
Naturally, “Creed” has a similar feel to the “Rocky” films, because you simply can’t have a story of a fighter without the requisite training and fight sequences if you’re going to properly tell the story. But that’s where the similarities begin and end. The key to the success of this film is the realistic storyline of a fighter who’s unwilling to fight under the name of his famous father, and the heartfelt connection between him and Rocky. Like the first two films in the “Rocky” saga, “Creed” contains both the raw intensity of the fight game, which is met in equal measure by an emotionally engaging narrative.
While Jordan displays a great range as the hungry Adonis, Stallone – who is clearly in his element as Rocky – is tasked with most of the emotional heavy-lifting. With “Creed,” we see a side of the character we’ve never seen before: a former champ nearing the final stretch of his life who is physically a mere shadow of his famous former self. Stallone is simply brilliant in the way he brings the character full circle.
The great thing about “Creed” is its one of those movies that seems to be going down a predictable path, until a vicious left hook knocks you for a loop and changes the way you’ll look at the outcome as the film plays out. Maybe “Creed” won’t end up being this year’s box office champ, but the film – and Stallone in particular – certainly have earned the right to be a serious contender this awards season. It’s a real winner.
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“The Good Dinosaur” (PG) 3 1/2 stars (out of four)
Pixar Animation hits paydirt once again following the phenomenal success of “Inside Out” with “The Good Dinosaur,” a prehistoric tale that doesn’t have quite the complexity of this summer’s smash brain tale, but contains just as much emotion and heart. Clearly tailored for the youngest of audience members, “The Good Dinosaur” still manages to entertain the kid in all of us with a parade of colorful characters, wondrous animation and lots of action to fill its vast landscape.
“The Good Dinosaur” begins 65 million years ago with a simple yet fascinating premise: What if the asteroid that once obliterated the dinosaurs completely missed Earth and the creatures lived? Because of that, the dinosaurs survived, evolved and thrived, and millions and millions of years later, they confront a completely different sort of animal.
Jeffrey Wright and Frances McDormand voice Poppa and Momma, an Apatosaurus couple who hatch three dinosaur babies: Libby, Buck and Arlo. As Libby and Buck grow they quickly adapt to their surroundings and find their place in their lives, but the under-sized Arlo (Raymond Ochoa), clumsy and fearful, never seems to fit in. Tasked to protect the family’s food supply, Arlo discovers the creature that keeps breaking into their storage is actually a wild cave boy – and while the young dino is on the hunt for him, he is swept up in a river current and finds himself lost, alone and far away from home. Saved by the boy, who he dubs Spot, Arlo befriends the curious creature, and the two team together as they begin a trek that will hopefully lead back to Arlo’s family.
“The Good Dinosaur” begins more as cute film that seems to only appeal to young kids at the outset, but once Pixar takes a page out of the Disney playbook and a tragedy rocks the narrative, it suddenly becomes emotionally engaging for the entire audience. While the film is at its core a heartfelt coming-of-age tale for both Arlo and Spot, it’s enhanced by every colorful character they encounter on the long and winding trek home. The voice cast is excellent (particularly Sam Elliott as a T-Rex named Butch), making for a completely lovable supporting cast (apart from a trio of bad creatures). A film ultimately about the importance of core families and adoptive families, “The Good Dinosaur” is a perfect family film for Thanksgiving weekend.
Original Interviews, Reviews & More By Tim Lammers
