Spenser (Mark Wahlberg) — an ex-cop better known for making trouble than solving it — just got out of prison and is leaving Boston for good. But first he gets roped into helping his old boxing coach and mentor, Henry (Alan Arkin), with a promising amateur. That’s Hawk (Winston Duke), a brash, no-nonsense MMA fighter convinced he’ll be a tougher opponent than Spenser ever was. When two of Spenser’s former colleagues turn up murdered, he recruits Hawk and his foul-mouthed ex-girlfriend, Cissy (Iliza Shlesinger), to help him investigate and bring the culprits to justice. From director Peter Berg, Spenser Confidential is an action-comedy co-starring Bokeem Woodbine, Marc Maron and Austin Post. Inspired by Robert B. Parker’s Wonderland, a best-selling novel by Ace Atkins.

Another one that could have easily landed on the big screen but Netflix quickly capitilised and is instead making it easier for us to indulge in in the comfort of our homes…just perfect. Also interesting to see one of our music faves also form part of the movie in Post Malone! Spenser Confidential is all set to land on March 6, pin it on your calendar.

Thanks to Ster-Kinekor this past weekend I got to see one of the hottest movie on circuit at the moment, Deepwater Horizon. What made this occasion more special was the fact that it was done in the all new and recently revamped cinema at Cresta Shopping Center. But wait there’s more, we got to see what is known as the “beautiful disaster” of a movie in Cine Prestige! Quite a great treat and experience it was which you can read more about later this week.

Onto the movie, I mentioned earlier that it is a “beautiful disaster” (a phrase I came across from one of the international reviews on the movie) and that’s probably the best way to describe it. So is that a good or bad thing you might ask? Let’s see. Deepwater Horizon is an American biographical disaster thriller film directed by Peter Berg, written by Matthew Sand and Matthew Michael Carnahan and starring Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien and Kate Hudson. It is based on the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Based on a true story, Deepwater Horizon comes hot on the heels of another movie I recently reviewed that’s also based on true events, Sully. Horizon though kind of makes Sully feel like a walk in the park with more heart wrenching and tense moments. Whilst watching you can’t help but wonder why people do such things…being in the middle of the ocean, nowhere really and you are drilling deep down the ocean where you can’t be too sure what lies down there? Even if it is for oil…I still don’t get it. Maybe it’s just me but then again, what do I know.

You might be safe in your theater seat when watching but you can’t help but feel the emotion. The filmmaking is outstanding in that respect. The only thing I will say though is it does take a while to get going with the first hour or so dedicated to introducing the characters and not much really going on but when you consider that it’s not that long of a watch it makes sense why they would do that.

The movie eases us through by focusing on the working-class crew on the oil rig, that include chief electrician Mike Williams (Mark Wahlberg) and dynamic positioning officer Andrea Fleytas (Gina Rodriguez). Once everybody’s aboard the rig, located 65 km off the coast of Louisiana and drilling 5,000 feet below sea level, the situation starts heating up and gets interesting – On the record, the current job is $53 million and 43 days over budget, crazy right? The workers – led by Jimmy “Mr Jimmy” Harrell (Kurt Russell) start feeling the pressure from BP (yip that one) bigwigs like Don Vidrine (John Malkovich), who are supposedly “visiting” to make sure things start moving more efficiently. With the pressure building there’s a need to start speeding things up with the right safety measures being ignored in the process. That then sets the scene for what’s to come and what the whole movie is centered on.

Cast – Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez, Dylan O’Brien, Kate Hudson

Genre – Biographical thriller

Director – Peter Berg

Running Time – 107 minutes

As always, not going to spoil it for you, what I will say is it’s a great movie and indeed a beautiful disaster that was well crafted and a great tribute to the lives that were lost (see below image for those and here for more info on the real story).

Deepwater Horizon gets a solid 3 out 5 rating from me.