2025, Jonathan Eusebio (stunt guy; The Fall Guy) -- download
When I wrote about Everything Everywhere All at Once, I commented on Key Huy Quan range in playing a couple of different universe's versions of Waymond. I absolutely, unabashedly loved him in that movie, and while I remain unfamiliar with his work after The Goonies (hint: there's not that much), a fan was made. And just like his being in Loki S2 was a little on the nose (another multiverse show; consequentially, I wrote about the aforementioned movie with a notation [MV1] as if I intended on revisiting many other multiverse properties, but never did), his role in American Born Chinese was a little on the nose for Quan's acting experience, as a stereotyped Asian American -- after being the "iconic" Short Round, how could he not be. So, how to follow these up? Some money, I assume, via a middling effort comedy action thriller playing up on his range as well as his (realistically, non-existent) stereotypical connection to Asian martial arts genre.
But still, I really enjoyed him in this. I also feel it should have, could have been, more.
Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) is a real estate agent who believes his own hype -- fully and completely. He treats each client with care, telling them, very sincerely, that he is providing them their forever home. His staff and coworkers love him, as he takes just as much care with them, and his boss Cliff (Sean Astin, The Goonies) truly sees Marvin as not just his greatest earner, but a brother.
Except, Marvin has a brother, a man by the name of "Knuckles" (Daniel Wu, Into the Badlands) and years ago Marvin, who was a very very different man then, was tasked with dealing with a lawyer who betrayed them, one Rose Carlisle (Ariana DeBose, Kraven the Hunter). Except, Marvin was in love with her. She disappeared, and Marvin left his employ with his brother, as feared enforcer, to start a different life.
Except, years later, Rose has returned, and it unleashes a chain of events that unravel Marvin's new successful life, and with tragic consequences, until he has to face his past.
There is a lot of fun to be had in this violent movie obsessed with Valentine's Day. There are colourful characters, such as poetry quoting killer Raven (Mustafa Shakir, Cowboy Bebop), who catches the eye of Marvin's cynical, depressed assistant Ashley (Lio Tipton, Warm Bodies), and a bond is formed. Except, the movie has stylistic choices that slide the spectrum. Shot in Winnipeg, that provides it a small, low-key gangster culture feel, which worked so well in Nobody (which has thematic connections to this movie as well), but it also wants to slide into a slick, almost nouveau Hong Kong martial arts flick feel, but that doesn't work as well.
Middling. That's my word of late for these decent attempt, not 100% successful, kind of movies.
Of note, if you click the "Winnipeg tag" you only get two movies (well, now three after I click Publish), but if you search Winnipeg, you get many more. And most of them are Hallmarkies. Nothing to be said about it, just wanted to note it.
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