In The Blood Trailer

Synopsis: Gina Carano stars as Ava, a trained fighter with a dark past. When her new husband (Cam Gigandet) vanishes during their Caribbean honeymoon, Ava uncovers a violent underworld of conspiracy in the middle of an island paradise. Armed with a deadly set of skills, Ava sets out to discover the truth — and to take down the men she thinks are responsible for his abduction, one by one.

At first I felt indifferent about In the Blood during this trailer but as it went on and I saw several actors I liked were in it, I was like “Maybe I’ll give it a chance.” I am a fan of Luis Guzman, Danny Trejo, and Stephen Lang, the latter two don’t make their appearances until the second half of the trailer. Gina Carano did well in Fast 6 (I forgot she was in that until I looked up her filmography). So now I think I actually want to see it.

It feels a lot like Taken, maybe mixed with some Columbiana.  My biggest fear right now is that In the Blood will be pretty generic.  But with the cast, I am willing to give it a chance.

In the Blood will be in theaters April 4, 2014, starring Gina Carano, Cam Gigandet, Luis Guzmán, Amaury Nolasco, Ismael Cruz Cordoba, Treat Williams, Stephen Lang, and Danny Trejo and directed by John Stockwell.

Lightning Review: The Benchwarmers

Synopsis
Tired of watching kids get bullied, Gus (Rob Schneider), Richie (David Spade), and Clark (Jon Heder) form a baseball team. They enter a round robin tournament, created by Mel (Jon Lovitz), and compete against youth baseball teams as representatives for those who get picked on.

Review
The Benchwarmers is an entertaining movie, but it doesn’t do anything to stand out among similar comedies. Schneider is good, but the role is what I have come to expect from him and wasn’t anything special. Spade and Heder were excellent and had some good jokes, but I was surprisingly drawn to Lovitz character. His gags, pop culture references, comedic timing was spot on. The humor is very similar to other Schneider movies. So If you like those, or Adam Sandler’s movies, then you’ll find this movie enjoyable. There isn’t anything that separates The Benchwarmers from similar movies, but funny characters and a feel good story make it a fun ride.

Rating
3/5