How I Saw It: Red 2

I'm not new to liking movies that are usually deemed critically-unappealing. After all, what matters to me is I enjoyed myself, cheesy plotlines, flat dialogue, bad acting and all, so I rarely ever listen to "critics" (which, by the way, in this age of the internet, almost everyone is.) And I only read reviews if I think they'll be positive, will agree with me or will entertain me so much that I don't care if they don't agree with me. LOL.

Saying that, don't blame me for liking Red, and for actually looking forward to its sequel. Okay, so it's like an older-people, make-action-stars-out-of-non-action-stars version of The Expendables, but I _love_ it, see? The first movie was funny and I loved the original cast, and I think it's quirky, even if parts of this second one seemed so contrived and forced -- Catherine Zeta, I'm looking at you. You, too, StormShadow. WTH are you doing in this movie?! The action could survive without all the martial arts stuff, screenwriters! I mean, you gave Helen "Queen Elizabeth" Mirren TWO guns and a kickass car scene. Have a little bit of faith!

I fold. Bruce Willis (even though you can be as emotionless an actor as Tom Cruise now), I will always watch your movies, but Helen Mirren deadpan and shooting people was actually the main draw for me. Can I please be her when I grow up?

While I get over salivating over the awesome senior female heroine, the main point of this post was actually to heap tons of praises upon Sir Anthony Hopkins, who, *SPOILER!* plays a villain. Context: His character's been locked up in an asylum for 32 years so he's a bit loopy and scheming, and god, Hopkins plays it so well. It's as if Red 2 temporarily becomes Oscar worthy during his scenes, making you want to squint and scratch your eyes wondering if you stumbled into a weird Hollywood space warp until he exits and oh, it's the right movie again! He just makes it into a different film, and I know I'm exaggerating... but I swear I'm not.

Well now I'm curious and have to see if the "critics" saw this the same way I did just to validate myself. I just know they'll be more eloquent about it, too! (So, yes, that's the real reason why I don't like reading reviews.) Crap.