Contraband

Contraband was the DVD in the PS3 last night, courtesy of Netflix. If you don't know already, Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark!) plays Chris Farraday, a used-to-be smuggler turned family man who gets pulled back into the game to help bail out his brother-in-law, played by Caleb Landry Jones (Banshee from X-Men: First Class; see, trying to help y'all out on 6DofKB!), who gets mixed up with a funky-sounding Giovanni Ribisi playing the bad guy role.  Kate Beckinsale (who I think is lovely) plays his wife, and Ben Foster (another X-Men alum, though not the same movie) is his best friend.  Movie is set in New Orleans, which, incidentally, I think about 1 in 4 movies is now shot in part in the great state of Louisiana.  Hollywood execs love them tax breaks.  Lots of shots of the river and the boats that be floating down the mighty Mississippi.

Anywho, Chris decides to help out his bro-in-law--the kid is forced to dump a drug stash he was smuggling in because of a boarding by CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) and then is in trouble with the bad dudes paying him to smuggle said drugs--because he's family, even though it's obvious he thinks the kid is out of his mind for getting involved in anything resembling what used to be the family business (Chris' dad is in prison for smuggling and is just happy his son never got busted).  The wife is grateful for the help but not happy Chris is reverting to his old ways.  Chris is bound and determined to not smuggle drugs, and decides on counterfeit bills from Panama.  Yeah, who knew?  It follows his escapades down there including a run-in with a semi-bad dude and new tips on testing money to see if it's counterfeit. (I always wondered what they were looking for with those brown pens at stores.  Now I know.)

There's a decent twist at the end and one that I had already anticipated; no, I won't give out any spoilers, but will say not too surprising.  Mark Wahlberg is his usual self; Ben Foster does a good job as the almost-brother with issues of his own, and David O'Hara pops into a few scenes and is pretty fantastic (maybe it's just because of his accent).  Overall, not too bad, but glad I didn't spend $15 to see it at a theater.

Agree?  Disagree?  Let me know at sixdegreesofkb@hotmail.com.