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Peppermint

  Peppermint is terrible. Not the flavor, the movie. I mean terrible in the way that Fast and Furious or Mechanic is terrible. Lots of action, plenty of fighting and more than enough blood, ridiculous story. Just the kind of escapism that I usually like.

  Riley North (Jennifer Garner) is a hard-working married woman with a daughter, Carly, and lots of bills. Her husband, Chris, is just as hard-working, and maybe has an easy way to pay those bills. That does not end well.

  While at a Christmas Carnival, Carly, Chris and Riley are gunned down by the henchman of a drug lord who didn’t like Chris’s easy way to pay bills. Riley survives and can identify the shooters. Naturally, bad cops and a corrupt justice sets them free. Riley North disappears.

  Fast forward five years and Riley is back and the people involved in the murder of her family are showing up dead. I totally saw that coming.

  Apparently, Riley has spent the past five years in Europe honing her toughness in underground fight clubs and learning how to handle military-grade weaponry. Kind of like Sara Connor in Terminator 2, only not as psychotic. Now that’s a part of the story I would like to see… instead of just hearing about it from the FBI.

  Peppermint is an action-packed film. Not quite the death toll level of John Wick (or as well done) but respectable in the genre it is meant to fill. Riley is not as hard core as I would have liked, she had a bad habit of getting all wishy washy when she sees a little girl, but Garner can certainly pull off a tough character.

  Three boxes out of five for Peppermint. When the end credits are rolling I mentioned to the husband that I didn’t understand why the movie is titled Peppermint. That word is only said once in the story, when little Carly orders an ice cream cone at the carnival… “peppermint, double scoop”… it’s a mystery. If you like action movies (why wouldn’t you?) then this is a fun two hours. The film is obviously rated R for strong violence and language throughout. A higher level of revenge flick can be found in Kill Bill, Desperado or John Wick. Try those, too. 

  Check this week’s issue of the Frankenmuth News for a complete listing of shows and times.

MOVIE TRIVIA

     Obviously, everyone bought a ticket for Peppermint to see Jennifer Garner. Lately though, she has been mostly making mom movies (don’t get me wrong, I like moms) like this odd 2012 film co-starring Joel Edgerton about a boy from the garden.

LAST WEEK’S MOVIE TRIVIA

  Topher Grace made me think of him as anything but 𠇎ric Foreman” (That 70s Show) in this 2000 Oscar-winning drama starring Benicio Del Toro. Traffic.