I SAW NORMAL

Normal is a modern-day western, with Nobody/Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk as its headliner. It's directed by Ben (John Wick/Meg 2) Wheatley, penned by Derek (John Wick/Nobody) Kolstad, from a  concept conceived with Odenkirk. As publicized and hoped, it kicks ass in a way that would make the great, late Chuck Norris proud. 

The allegorical odyssey places Odenkirk's Sheriff Ulysses (past-plagued and estranged from his wife, Penny; get it?) in winterized Normal, Minnesota, to substitute for a counterpart who's died. Ulysses expects the assignment to be low-key, and at the outset, the townsfolks do, indeed, seem normal enough, even if a trifle off-kilter in the Twin Peaks/Northern Exposure/Key West/Fargo vein. 

The citizens include Jess McLeod's misunderstood Alex Gunderson (the deceased's progeny); Lena Headey's mendacious bartender, Moira; Billy MacLellan's Deputy Mike Nelson; Ryan Allen's Deputy Blaine Anderson; David Lawrence Brown's Dr. Vilie; Meagan MacArton's yarn-store owner, Mary Beth; and Henry Winkler's savvy Mayor Kibner. 

After a spell, Ulysses senses something amiss and questions Normal's contradictions (investigating as would Psycho's Milton Arbogast and/or The Wicker Man's Sergeant Howie), with heightened concern spurred by a bank heist, which involves Reena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher's inexperienced but redemptive robbers. Normal's "good" people, it appears, holds Yakuza ties, monitored by Peter Shinkoda's undercover Joe, and has been drawing more than a few subversive dollars through the arrangement.  

Once the truth is exposed, Normal (much like the Nobody set) gets violent (and more than in the slain-suiter end of Homer's epic poem). Its barbarity is delivered in the over-the-top, explosive, Peckinpah tradition (even if underscored by some dark camp). For the prudish, Normal would be one to evade, but for seasoned old-timers like me, who prefer their action fierce and hard-hitting, the movie is, as Winkler's Fonz would say, perfectamundo.

Odenkirk is, as usual, terrific and is a large part why the action sequences are so enjoyable. It's interesting that he's now an action hero, though one who brings an everyman quality to his neo-pulpy roles. Ulysses, therefore, works as a cathartic force, existing to fix the many grievous vices we hear about (and fear), but are unable to remedy. 

I gotta say, this one sure did hit the spot, and if you have a pair of balls, it'll hit yours, too. Ten thumbs up, way up!

I SAW NOBODY 2

In this frustrating phase when a political faction sides with muggers, molesters and murderers (or just about any cretin who dares to get away with wrongdoing), and law-abiding citizens are vilified and/or tossed to the wayside without a second thought, a movie like Nobody 2 is a breath of fresh air. 

This new Nobody is directed by Timo (May the Devil Take You I & II) Tjahjanto and coproduced by David Leitch, Kelly McCormick, Marc Provissero and Bob (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul) Odenkirk, who resumes his role of Hutch Mansell, an unassuming guy who was once a government, killing-machine operative. 

In this new chapter, Hutch's family gets embroiled in the danger, its members played by Connie (Gladiator I & II) Nielsen, reprising her role of Becca; Gage Monroe as his teen son, Brady; and Paisley Cadorath as his daughter, Sammy. Christopher Lloyd again portrays Hutch's dad, David, a salty, former F.B.I. man; RZA, returns as Hutch's mystic, swordsman brother, Harry. (Colin Samuel re-enters as Hutch's smooth-talking, close-to-the-bone "handler/debtor," the Barber.)

As fate would have it, Hutch and his family come upon a heap of corruption at Wild Bill's Pummerville Water Park, a spot that Hutch visited and enjoyed as a kid, but it's now brimming with consorted characters who rain on their "deescalating" parade: John Ortiz's Henry (Wild Bill Jr.) the park's coerced and cruel operator, Colin Hank's immoral Sheriff Abel, and Sharon Stone's lethal, "bat-shit" Lendina, who's steering the town's big-time, bootlegging network. (It's really a matter of one villainous layer eclipsing the next, where in-fighting and alliances are made, and gory surprises burst through the coincidental seams.)

Watching Odenkirk's "everyman" reveal (and squash) the bad guy's tactics is part of the nerve-rattling fun, and that fun hits its peak when Hutch springs into fighting mode, which is often. As with the first chapter, the result is rather like watching Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill become Daredevil, Batman or James Bond (and if he can do it, maybe so can you, and if not, his casual-wear actions are at least there to experience vicariously).

Nobody 2 is also lean in its meanness, never spoiled by long-winded explanations, but Hutch's love for his family never falls from view, as it presents an identifiable warmth and cause. We don't want to see Hutch or his loved ones harmed, and that makes us root for him (and them) all the more. 

There's no doubt that the Nobody movies hold a Die Hard vibe, and in that respect remind me of Danny Trejo's Bad Ass trilogy or the recent Jason Statham exploits, The Beekeeper and A Working Man, which simulate the vengeful zeal that Clint Eastwood, Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris and Sylvester Stallone paved in their tough-guy roles. The passing of the torch is welcome, therefore, and done with a keen understanding of what makes such this "rise to the occasion" genre work.

Sure, flatulent, out-of-touch, Upstaters won't get it any more than will the packs of crackpot Sineads out there. (I know I've said such before regarding similar movies, but my broken record must remain broken and re-cranked for all its worth.) Nevertheless, for those who place stock in justice (and believe it should be served more than it is in this upside-down world), Nobody 2 will be a gem, and one that I'm hoping births a third. 

I saw Nobody...

Nobody is for anybody who's grown weary of today's disrespect of the please-just-let-me-be working man, not to mention those who have paid their dues through surreptitious avenues. 

Nobody, written Derek (John Wick) Kolstad and directed by Ilya (Hard Core Henry) Naishuller, is in part Death Wish; Taken; History of Violence and any any given Rambo chapter (though mainly the first and last). In this instance, the slow-burn variant stars Bob Odenkirk (who co-produced with David {John Wick} Leitch) as Hutch Mansell, who on the surface appears to be an average enough bloke, weighed by doldrums that he's embraced by choice, until he faces a home invasion (and the symbolic loss of his daughter's kitty bracelet); then things get real, hot-under-the-collar tricky. 

Mansell has a past that gives him cause to seek vengeance, but what exactly are the prompting particulars? Ah, finding out is what makes this story so engrossing, as well as goddamn Bronson-eque. 

Aleksei Serebryakov's Russian mobster, Yulin Kuznetsov is part of the bizarre, reconnaissance equation, but throughout the pulp-ish passages, the Better call Saul actor grants Mansell a consistent, identifiable persona. He remains you and me even when we learn he may be not, leaving his troubled trails close to our fast-beating hearts. 

Abetting Mansell is his dad, David, played by Christopher Lloyd. Though confined to a nursing home, David also has a past and a shrewd sense of what's impacting his son. 

Meanwhile, Colin Salmon, as "the Barber", hovers to advise the younger Mansell, while family members (Connie Nelson, Gage Monroe, Paisley Cadorath, Billy MacLellan, RZA and Michael Ironside) lend their confused, if not sometimes terse support, never knowing what awaits, except that father knows best, bare knuckles and all. (The bus sequence epitomizes the latter.)

The timid won't dig Nobody, but hey, there's always smooth-ass Fantasia or the general, sorcery-school phlegm for them. For those who like their escapism with a blunt, old-school edge, this one's a violent gem. Ten stars all the revenge-ridden way!