Dragged Across Concrete (2018 movie)

Category: Crime drama/thriller

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They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but I'm sure Hollywood big names like Harvey Weinstein and Mel Gibson would disagree. And so we come to one of the biggest conundrums I felt when I hit play on this movie: despite all the horrible things Mel Gibson has been recorded as saying and has been sued for as well as any number of other things, can we still appreciate his work as an actor?

Well, you better, because you're going to miss out on a LOT if you let your personal feelings about Mel Gibson get in the way of what is an outstanding performance in the 2018 crime drama, Dragged Across Concrete.

This movie is actually three stories that eventually weave in to one:

South Park: Joining The Panderverse (2023 Animated Film)

Category: Animated comedy/social commentary

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South Park are an acquired taste, even for people of my generation. I remember when South Park first hit the screens in the late 90s and while all the uni kids loved the low-brow humour, the older generation made sure that South Park made the news for its ability to offend. And the church I was in at the time may or may not have had a thing or three to say about it as well.

But you have to give Trey Parker and Matt Stone credit. Where The Simpsons have gone on to die a slow, painful death after bowing down to the deity of political correctness, Parker and Stone have been able to keep the creative juices flowing BECAUSE they don't tow any line and let EVERYONE cop a serve.

So if you like offensive comedy as much as I do, this will be right up your alley.

There are two plots running side by side in this movie that eventually tie up. The minor plot is that Randy, Stan's father, needs his oven door fixed. However, because very few people know how to actually fix things anymore due to the proliferation of electronic entertainment devices, the only two handymen in South Park are able to charge what they want and become very rich. Randy attempts to buck the duopoly created by the handyment by going to a hardware store to find an illegal immigrant who will do the job for cheaper, but all he ends up finding are more professional men like himself who also need things fixed.

The Hate U Give (2018 movie)

Category: Race-relations/social commentary drama

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It takes balls to create a movie revolving around black-on-black crime and still think that it's white people that need to take notes. Maybe the people behind this movie went to the same school of logic as the people who made Candyman.

And it takes even more balls to be half-Dutch half-American actress from Los Angeles, consistently get work as you grow up, become a trained violinist but somehow still say your people are opressed and that "white people crying was the goal!". Seriously - get over yourself!

My children had to watch this movie as part of a school project, which they liked it enough to make me watch it. And look, as a movie, The Hate U Give (based on the book of the same name) is not bad - the story is easy to follow, pulls at the heartstrings in all the right spots, all that stuff.

But there's a reason why fictionalised drama is just that - fictionalised.