NEGROMANCER 2.0: Action

Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

Review: "DEADPOOL 2" is Funnier and Friendlier Than the Original

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 33 of 2024 (No. 1977) by Leroy Douresseaux

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual references and brief drug material

DIRECTOR: David Leitch

WRITERS: Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and Ryan Reynolds (based on Marvel Comics characters)

PRODUCERS: Ryan Reynolds, Simon Kinberg, and Lauren Shuler Donner

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jonathan Sela (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Craig Alpert, Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, and Dirk Westervelt

COMPOSER: Tyler Bates

SUPERHERO/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Eddie Marsan, Shioli Kutsuna, Jack Kesy, Michasha Armstrong, and Stefan Kapicic (voice) with Rob Delaney, Lewis Tan, Bill Skarsgard, Terry Crews, Brad Pitt, Alan Tudyk, Matt Damon, Nicholas Hoult, James McAvoy, Evan Peters, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Robert Wellman

Deadpool 2 is a 2018 American superhero film and action-comedy from director David Leitch. It is a spin-off film in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film series and is the eleventh film overall in the series. It is a direct sequel to Deadpool (2016) and is also the second entry in the Deadpool movie franchise. The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Deadpool, that was created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and first appeared in New Mutants #98 (cover dated: December 1990). Deadpool 2 finds the wisecracking Deadpool trying to protect a fiery young mutant from a time-traveling cyborg.

Deadpool 2 finds Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), the smart-mouthed mutant mercenary, doing what he likes to do – brutally slaughter bad guys. However, his violent activities catch up with him at home, and tragedy befalls his beloved Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin). Deep in grief and depression, Deadpool tries to kill himself, but is rescued by Colossus (voice of Stefan Kapicic), the giant mutant who has a body of organic steel. Colossus still wants Deadpool to changes his ways and also wants him to join the X-Men – as a trainee.

On his first mission as a trainee, Deadpool and the X-Men, which includes Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and her girlfriend, Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna), travel to the “Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation.” There, they find one angry teenager, Russell Collins (Julian Dennison), in crisis. He is a young mutant with pyrokinetic power, and he has given himself the unfortunate code name of “Fire Fist.” Deadpool's attempt to save the young man has disastrous results, and now, Deadpool has to save Russell from Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-traveling cyborg who has arrived in the present determined to kill the teen. So Deadpool forms his own X-team, called “X-Force,” with tragically hilarious and hilariously tragic results.

We are nearing the release of the latest Disney/Marvel Studios blockbuster movie, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). I decided to watch and review the previous X-Men films: Deadpool, Logan (2017), and Deadpool 2, that lead up to the new film.

Deadpool is humorous and silly, but it was primarily an action movie with drama and humor. It heavily leans into brutally strong violence, frequent profane language, and explicit sexual references. Deadpool 2 also has brutally strong violence, constant profane language, and some explicit sexual references. However, Deadpool is a comedy, and everything serves the comedy, including the drama, superhero action, and even much of the killing.

As he does for Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds makes Deadpool, a film that could not exist without his schtick. He is the spine of this film's comedy and is the reason so much of it works when it would be disastrous for other performers. The supporting cast is good, but not great. Josh Brolin has his moments as Cable, but the Cable is more of a prop than a persona. Zazie Beetz creates moments for Domino to shine which otherwise wouldn't be there. Julian Dennison is mostly convincing as the angry young mutant, Russell Collins, especially in the second half of the film.

I find Deadpool 2 a definite, delightful surprise. I never expected much of it because I really did not care for what I had previously seen. Now, a full and patient viewing makes me think that Deadpool 2 is an occasion when the sequel surpasses the original.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, July 24, 2024

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Sunday, July 21, 2024

Review: "LOGAN" is Mournful, Violent, and Hopeful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 of 2024 (No. 1976) by Leroy Douresseaux

Logan (2017)

Running time: 137 minutes (2 hours, 17 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for strong brutal violence and language throughout, and for brief nudity

DIRECTOR: James Mangold

WRITERS: James Mangold & Scott Frank and Michael Green; from a story by James Mangold (based on the characters and stories appearing in Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS: Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker, and Lauren Shuler Donner

CINEMATOGRAHER: John Mathieson (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Michael McCusker and Dirk Westervelt

COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

Academy Award nominee

SUPERHERO/ACTION/DRAMA

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, Quincy Fouse, Jason Genao, and Bryant Tardy

Logan is a 2017 American drama, action film and superhero movie from director James Mangold. Starring Hugh Jackman in the title role, it is the tenth film in 20th Century Fox's X-Men movie franchise and is also the third entry in the Wolverine film series. Logan is based on the Marvel Comics character, Logan/Wolverine, that was created by writer Len Wein and artists John Romita and Herb Trimpe and first fully appeared in the comic book, The Incredible Hulk #181 (cover dated: November 1974). Logan the movie focuses on a legendary mutant trying to save a mutant child from the evil people determined to capture her.

Logan opens in the year 2029. Mutants are nearly extinct, and no new mutants have been born in 24 years. The aging and ailing Logan (Hugh Jackman) works as a limousine driver in El Paso, Texas. Once upon a time, he was known as “Wolverine,” and he was a member of the legendary band of mutants, the “X-Men.” Now, he and the elderly founder of the X-Men, Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), live in hiding. Xavier suffers from a degenerative brain condition, and he sometimes has telepathic seizures that render anyone in the vicinity virtually helpless. A mutant known as “Caliban” (Stephen Merchant) helps Logan care for Charles.

Logan has plans for escape, but a complication arrives in the form of a small girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), also known as test subject “X23.” She is a mutant and her abilities are remarkably similar to those of Wolverine's. However, she is being hunted by Donald Pierce (Boyd Holbrook) and his band of killers, the “Reavers.” They are in service of the research institute, Alkali Transigen, and the scientists there want her back no matter what it costs in terms of lives. Will Logan become the hero Wolverine, again, and help Laura get to a place called “Eden?” Or will he run away from his fate, again?

Having seen the first two Wolverine films, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) and The Wolverine (2013), I did not go to the theater to see Logan when it was originally released in 2017. [In my defense, I was knee deep in catastrophic family drama at the time.] With the impending release of the upcoming Marvel Studios film, Deadpool & Wolverine, I decided it was time.

My was I missing an excellent film. Logan is by far the best of the Wolverine films, and at the time of its release, it was the best X-Men since 2011's X-Men: First Class. Truthfully, Logan would end up being the last really good X-Men film produced by 20th Century Fox.

Logan, which was rated “R” by the MPAA, is one of the most violent superhero films that I've ever seen. Logan, Laura, and a surprise character called “X24” disembowel, dismember, behead, eviscerate, stab, and chop up what seems like a small town's worth of deserving men of various stripes. Although I can sometimes be a prude about what I see as gratuitous violence in cinema, I love the brutal violence of Logan. In fact, all the action scenes in Logan are brilliant, from the standoffs to the fights and car chases.

However, director James Mangold, a filmmaker with a hugely diverse filmography, makes Logan turn on dramatic storytelling and performances. It is obvious that Hugh Jackman as Logan and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier would give fine performances. Still, actor and comedian, Stephen Merchant, is simply wonderful in the important supporting role of Caliban, bringing pathos and depth to a role that could have ended up being an extraneous freak character.

Boyd Holbrook also brings range and a variety of moods to Donald Pierce, another character that could have been a generic mercenary type. Dafne Keen matches the rage and range of Jackman as Logan. Laura could have been lost in the hurricane that is Logan/Wolverine's story in this film, but Keen makes Laura a force of her own. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Eriq La Salle makes the most of his short time on screen as Will Munson.

Logan is a mournful film. It really is not a sequel to the earlier Wolverine films so much as it is the completion of Logan/Wolverine's tragic, but heroic story arc that buttressed the earlier films. Logan is both an ending and a beginning, and I wish that the care and effort put into this film had been put into some of the other X-Men films.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Sunday, July 21, 2024

NOTES:

2018 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Adapted Screenplay” (Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green)

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Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Review: "DEADPOOL" Goes in Through the Back Door on the Superhero Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 31 of 2024 (No. 1975) by Leroy Douresseaux

Deadpool (2016)

Running time: 108 minutes (1 hour, 48 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity

DIRECTOR: Tim Miller

WRITERS: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (based on Marvel Comics characters)

PRODUCERS: Ryan Reynolds, Simon Kinberg, and Lauren Shuler Donner

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ken Seng (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Julian Clark

COMPOSER: Tom Holkenborg

SUPERHERO/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Gina Carano, Leslie Uggams, Stan Lee, and Stefan Kapicic (voice)

Deadpool is a 2016 American superhero film and action-comedy from director Tim Miller. It is a spin-off film in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film series and is the eighth film overall in the series. It is also the first entry in what would become the Deadpool movie franchise. The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Deadpool, that was created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and first appeared in New Mutants #98 (cover dated: December 1990). Deadpool the movie focuses on a wisecracking costumed antihero who seeks revenge against the man who left him hideously scarred after a series of experiments.

Deadpool introduces Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a smart-mouthed mercenary and former special forces operative (“the merc with a mouth”). Wade's life takes a dramatic turn when he meets and falls in love with Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin), a prostitute. However, after a whirlwind romance, Wade discovers that he has terminal cancer, but as he is preparing to accept death, he learns of a lab run by the mysterious Ajax (Ed Skrein). Ajax promises to not only cure Wade's cancer, but to also give him powers and make him a superhero. Unfortunately, Ajax is a lying monster.

Although the experiments leave his face and body hideously disfigured, Wade is rendered virtually immortal when his mutant power activates and gives him incredibly accelerated healing powers. Taking the name, “Deadpool,” Wade goes on a mission of revenge. On the other hand, Colossus, the mutant who has a giant organic steel body, wants Deadpool to join the X-Men and become a superhero. Will Deadpool become a good guy, or will he simply keep piling up dismembered and bullet-riddled bodies on the way to his reunion with Ajax?

We are nearing the release of the latest Disney/Marvel Studios blockbuster movie, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). I had seen Deadpool and Deadpool 2, previously, but I had never reviewed them. I decided that now is the time to foist my opinions upon you, dear readers. I'm also going to watch and review, Logan (2017), the one X-Men movie I have been unable to finish.

Gleefully profane in language and sexual content, Deadpool was a surprise to movie audiences upon its February 2016 original theatrical release. It was an R-rated superhero movie, and it was proud of it. At the time, movie audiences had seen plenty of movies featuring superheroes, ordinary heroes, and anti-heroes, in which the lead character brutally kills his adversaries. None of those films had done it like Deadpool, although 2013's The Wolverine, had tried.

The foul language is in such abundance in Deadpool that there are moments when it all seems like too much, but even in those moments, I started laughing after being repulsed for a few seconds. I think a movie has to be doing something right when it has even Emmy and Tony-winning actress, Leslie Uggams (as Blind Al), dropping F-bombs.

For all the credit I give director Tim Miller and film editor, Julian Clark, for this film's fast action and eye-popping dances of violence, actor Ryan Reynolds makes Deadpool work. Yeah, the sex scenes are a bit too long and too over-the-top, but it never seems as if Wade Wilson/Deadpool is talking too much. Reynolds makes Deadpool different and unique; he makes it work. Eight years after its original theatrical release, Deadpool and its superhero cinema blasphemy still seem fresh.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

NOTES:

2017 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Ryan Reynolds)

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Sunday, July 14, 2024

Review: "SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAAD ASSSSS SONG" is Still Beatin' Some White Ass

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 184 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song (1971)

Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)

Rating: MPAA – X; re-rated R in 1974

EDITOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR: Melvin Van Peebles

PRODUCERS: Jerry Gross and Melvin Van Peebles

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bob Maxwell

COMPOSERS: Earth Wind & Fire and Melvin Van Peebles

CRIME/DRAMA/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Melvin Van Peebles, Simon Chuckster, Hubert Scales, John Dullaghan, Johnny Amos, Mario Van Peebles, Megan Peebles, and Max Van Peebles

Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song is a 1971 action-thriller, drama, and crime film from writer-director Melvin Van Peebles. It is considered a seminal black exploitation film or “blaxploitation” film, being one of the first that kind. The film focuses on a Black man who goes on the run after brutally beating two police officers, with help from other marginalized people and outsiders.

After saving a black protester (likely a Black Panther) by brutally beating the two cops who were brutalizing the protester, Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles), an apolitical sex performer goes on the run from the white pigs and other white law enforcement types. He heads for Mexico with help from the black community and disaffected Hell’s Angels, and he also meets many unique characters on the way to freedom.

Melvin Van Peebles’ Sweet Sweetback Baad Asssss Song is considered by many people to be the film that ushered in the blaxploitation film wave. With its emphasis on fighting “the man” (the white power structure, in particular corrupt city officials and policemen) and graphic and gratuitous sex, the film is the prototypical blaxploitation film. However, there is likely no other film like this one in its portrayal of police corruption and the of the racist attitudes that prevail among white law enforcement officials.

Structurally, the film has a bare and simple plot, and the script is absent of story and character development. In a many ways, the film itself is more impressionistic than literal, while the theme is literally against white oppression and (evil) white cops. Van Peebles in collaboration with Earth, Wind, and Fire, the R&B group who would go on to have huge crossover success on the pop charts provide a constant musical backdrop for the film. So sometimes, this movie seems like an overly long music video. In spite of its narrative shortcomings, Sweet Sweetback’s Baad Asssss Song is bold stroke in using film to not only communicate messages and ideas, but to also be used as a means of protest. The film is the work of an artist/firebrand; one must open up to feelings, experiences, emotions, and thoughts that are alien in order to get to the art, and when you get it, Sweetback will be like nothing else.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

EDITED: Sunday, July 14, 2024

NOTES:

2020 National Film Preservation Board, USA: National Film Registry

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Monday, July 8, 2024

Review: Netflix's "BEVERLY HILLS COP: AXEL F" is a Delightful Surprise

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 29 of 2024 (No. 1973) by Leroy Douresseaux

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)

Running time: 118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)

MPA – R for language throughout, violence and brief drug use

DIRECTOR: Mark Molloy

WRITERS: Will Beall and Tom Gormican & Kevin Etten; from a story by Will Beall (based on characters created by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Danilo Bach)

PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer, Eddie Murphy, and Chad Oman

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eduard Grau (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Dan Lebental

COMPOSER: Lorne Balfe

COMEDY/ACTION/CRIME

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Taylour Paige, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Paul Reiser, Bronson Pinchot, Damien Diaz, Kyle S. More, Luiz Guzman, and Kevin Bacon

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

--Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is probably the closest in spirit and tone to the 1984 original film. It is one of Eddie Murphy's better recent efforts.

--The members of the original cast that manage a return in this new film work quite well and don't seem to be hear for nostalgic purposes.

--The new characters are quite good and are worthy of returning

--Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is surprisingly really good and certainly worth a original fan's time and viewers new to franchise may end up wanting to go back and discover the original after this film.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is a 2024 American buddy-cop film and action-comedy directed by Mark Molloy and starring Eddie Murphy. It is the fourth entry in the Beverly Hills Cop film franchise, and it began streaming July 3, 2024 on Netflix as a “Netflix Original.” Axel F finds Axel Foley returning to Beverly Hills after his estranged daughter's life is threatened.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F opens in Detroit, Michigan. After more than four decades on the job, Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) of the Detroit Police Department is still wrecking cars and tearing up the city via his maniacal car chases in his bid to capture criminals. He has managed to remain on the job under the supervision of his friend, Deputy Chief Jeffrey Friedman (Paul Reiser). Axel's latest antics, however, leads to Jeffrey's retirement.

As Axel contemplates this situation, he gets a call from his old friend, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), former Beverly Hills Police Department detective turned private investigator. Axel has a daughter, Jane Saunders (Taylour Paige), from whom he is estranged. She has taken on the case of a young drug dealer, Samuel Enriquez (Damien Diaz), who has been accused of murdering an undercover cop. Billy informs Axel that Jane is in grave danger

Axel flies to Beverly Hills, but he quickly discovers that Jane doesn't want to have anything to do with him. He also learns that the young policeman, Detective Bobby Abbott (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), investigating the Enriquez case, also has a complicated relationship with Jane. Although Axel's other old BHPD buddy, former detective and now, Chief John Taggart (John Ashton), is happy to see him, Taggart is reluctant to take on the Enriquez case. He seems to have deferred most of it to Captain Cade Grant (Kevin Bacon), a well-dressed cop who acts mighty suspiciously. It will take a mix of old pals and new friends to help Axel Foley unravel a dangerous conspiracy, but will Axel do more harm than good?

This year (2024) is the 40th anniversary of the original theatrical release of Beverly Hills Cop (1984), which I recently watched for the first time in over thirty years. Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F succeeds where the other sequels came up short, but it successfully replicates the best moments from the original film. There are four spectacular car chases that hold the viewer's attention and don't at all seem contrived or desperate to capture the spirit of what came before it. Plus, the “Axel F” theme (composed by Harold Faltermeyer) dominates the film's soundtrack in so many different ways that I could not help but think of the original film, which usually makes me feel good.

Director Mark Molloy gets the best out of the supporting cast, even the old guys, who look really old forty years after their debut in the original film. Still, the script gives the classic characters much to do so that they don't seem extraneous. Kevin Bacon is Kevin Bacon, and that usually means something quite good, as it does here. The new characters – Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Bobby Abbott and Taylour Paige's Jane Saunders – are good enough to carry a fifth film – if that becomes a necessity.

Of course, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is about Axel Foley, and that means Eddie Murphy, who doesn't need a director to tell him how to be him. Still, I think Mark Molly helps. Eddie was Eddie in the Coming to America (1988) sequel, 2021's Coming 2 America (which originally streamed on Amazon Prime Video), and that time, Eddie being Eddie yielded tepid comedic results. So I'm giving credit to the director and the screenwriters, Will Beall, Tom Gormican, and Kevin Etten, for making Axel F something more than just another nostalgic sequel.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is surprisingly entertaining and delightful. It is way better than I thought it would be, and I must say that I won't wait thirty years to watch it again. I have never attempted to watch Beverly Hills Cop III (1984), of which I've heard bad things, but Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F makes this third shot at a sequel a charm.

B+

7 of 10

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, July 7, 2024

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Thursday, July 4, 2024

Review: Original "BEVERLY HILLS COP" is Still Crazy and Cool

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 28 of 2024 (No. 1972) by Leroy Douresseaux

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)

MPAA – R

DIRECTOR: Martin Brest

WRITERS: Daniel Petrie, Jr.; from a story by Daniel Petrie, Jr. and Danilo Bach

PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bruce Surtees (ASC)

EDITORS: Arthur Coburn and Billy Weber

COMPOSER: Harold Faltermeyer

Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/ACTION/CRIME

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher, Ronny Cox, Steven Berkoff, Jonathan Banks, James Russo, Stephen Elliot, Gilbert R. Hill, Art Kimbro, Joel Bailey, Bronson Pinchot, Paul Reiser, Michael Champion, and Damon Wayans

Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American buddy-cop film and action-comedy directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy. This year (2024) makes the 40th anniversary of Beverly Hills Cop original theatrical release (specifically December 1984). The film was the first entry in what would become the Beverly Hills Cop film franchise. Beverly Hills Cop focuses on a cocky young Detroit cop who pursues a murder investigation in Beverly Hills where he must deal with a very different culture and a very different police department.

Beverly Hills Cop opens in Detroit, Michigan. There, we meet Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy), a plainclothes police detective. As the story begins, his unauthorized sting operation goes sour resulting in a disastrous high-speed chase. Axel's reckless behavior earns him the ire of his superior, Inspector Todd (Gilbert R. Hill), who threatens to fire him unless he changes his ways.

Axel returns to his apartment to find his childhood friend, Michael “Mikey” Tandino (James Russo). After doing a stint in prison, Mikey got a job as a security guard in Beverly Hills, California via a childhood friend of both Axel and Mikey's, Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher). However, Mikey has gotten into something dangerous, and it costs him his life.

In spite of threats from Inspector Todd, Axel travels to Beverly Hills and visits Jenny at her place of employment, the “Hollis Benton Art Gallery.” There, he discovers that the gallery's owner, Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), is involved in something very shady, and that he also likely had Mickey killed. Meanwhile, Axel runs afoul Lt. Bogomil (Ronny Cox) at the local precinct of the Beverly Hills PD. Bogomil has two of his detectives, Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and Sergeant John Taggart, trail Axel. Can the street-smart Axel convince Rosewood and Taggart to help him discover exactly what Victor Maitland is doing? Or will Axel end up sharing the same tragic fate as Mikey?

It has been well over 30 years since I had watched Beverly Hills Cop in its entirety. As far as I can remember, I definitely saw it in a movie theater sometime in December 1984, likely with some or all of my sisters. I may have watched it once or twice more before the 1980s came to an end. In anticipation of the just released sequel, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (a “Netflix Original”), I decided to watch the first film again. Just for starters, the film's soundtrack is still perky, although a bit quaint. Harold Faltermeyer's score, especially the instrumental title tune/theme, “Axel F,” still seems pitch perfect for this movie, as if nearly four decades had not passed.

I wondered if I would like it as much as I did the first time I saw it, and I absolutely loved it back then. This film made Eddie Murphy, for a few years, the biggest star in Hollywood. Watching Beverly Hills Cop now, I feel as if I have fallen in love with it again. Beverly Hills Cop was originally meant to be a star vehicle for Sylvester Stallone and be a straight action film. Instead, it became an Eddie Murphy star vehicle, and a comic action film that has numerous funny moments, most of them executed by Eddie Murphy. Here, you can see what made Murphy a transcendent star; he has true movie star qualities and loads of charisma. Still, Judge Reinhold and John Ashton have their chances to be funny as Rosewood and Taggart, respectively. Of course, Bronson Pinchot as the museum employee, Serge, steals every scene in which he appears. He would go on to use this role to launch himself into television stardom.

As funny as Beverly Hills Cop is, it retains some of the edge that was probably in the early versions of its screenplay. The beginning of the film shamelessly displays the inner city ruins of Detroit. There are also multiple violent deaths, beginning with Mikey's, but I find that the excellent car chase scenes and gun battles are a bit of pop movie fun that balance out the poverty, deprivation, and violent firearm deaths that pepper this film.

Director Martin Brest, who made a career out of turning plain genre films into something just a bit more special, eagerly keeps his camera on his star. Brest records every last bit of Murphy's talent, star power, and comedy modus operandi on the way to making Beverly Hills Cop a cop movie like nothing audiences had seen before or have seen since. In spite of its sequels, Beverly Hills Cop remains one of a kind, and is surprisingly (at least to me) still crazy as heck and funny as hell.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Thursday, July 4, 2024

NOTES:

1985 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen” (Daniel Petrie Jr.-screenplay/story and Danilo Bach-story)

1985 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical” (Eddie Murphy)

1986 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Score” (Harold Faltermeyer)

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Tuesday, July 2, 2024

Movie Review: "DESPICABLE ME 2" Will Make Kids Happy, Happy, Happy...

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 27 of 2024 (No. 1971) by Leroy Douresseaux

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

Running time: 98 minutes

MPAA – PG for rude humor and mild action

DIRECTORS: Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud

WRITERS: Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul

PRODUCERS: Janet Healy and Chris Meledandri

EDITOR: Gregory Perler

COMPOSERS: Heitor Pereira (score) and Pharrell Williams (songs)

Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY and ACTION/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring: (voice) Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher Russell Brand, Benjamin Bratt, Moises Arias, Ken Jeong, Steve Coogan, Pierre Coffin, and Chris Renaud

Despicable Me 2 is a 2013 computer-animated action-fantasy and comedy film directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. The film is produced by Illumination Entertainment and distributed by Universal Pictures. It is a direct sequel to the 2010 film, Despicable Me. Despicable Me 2 finds bad guy-tuned-dad guy, Gru, recruited by a secret organization to discover who stole a deadly chemical.

Despicable Me 2 finds Gru (Steve Carell), formerly the world’s number one super-villain, settled into his role as the adopted father of the three orphan girls: Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Edith (Dana Gaier), and Agnes (Elsie Fisher). All is not well at home, however. Gru is trying to get his “jams and jellies” business to succeed, while one of his female neighbors tries to set him up on a blind date. Also, Gru's longtime gadget man, Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), quits so that he can take a job that will allow him to be a bad guy again.

But Gru's old life comes calling when the Anti-Villain League (AVL) demands that he help them discover who stole the dangerous transmutation serum, “PX-41.” They appoint AVL agent, Lucy Wilde (Kristen Wiig), as his partner. The two set up in a fake business, a bakery named “Bake My Day,” in Paradise Mall, a shopping mall near Gru's home. As for the thief of the serum, Gru has a suspect in mind, a former super-villain who supposedly died in a volcano, but AVL doesn't believe him. Meanwhile, someone is stealing some of Gru's little helpers, the Minions.

I really liked the original Despicable Me, but when Despicable Me 2 arrived back in 2013, I decided not to see it because... well, because the first was enough. I'd gotten all the cuteness of Margo, Edith, and Agnes that I needed, and I had gotten the best of Gru's character arc and transformation from villain to father.

However, I was shocked to find that I really liked the first full-length trailer for the upcoming Despicable 4 (2024). So I decided to watch Despicable Me 2 for the first time, and I was right the first time. The first film was really enough for me. The girls are still cute, but there is less of them so that there can be more screen time for Gru's burgeoning relationship with Lucy Wilde. I'm only kinda interested in that. Gru's character arc in this film isn't as engaging as it was in the first film. Clearly, the Minions needed more screen time than they got here, although they do play a pivotal part in the villain's wacky plot. In fact, two years after the release of this film, the Minions got their own movie, 2015's Minions.

Despicable Me 2 isn't bad, but the film's storytellers play it safe rather than advance the elements that made the first film a surprise hit. It earned two Oscar nominations, one for Pharrell Williams' song, “Happy,” which was practically ubiquitous from July 2013 to well into 2014. I'm just not sure how invested I can be in this franchise, although the fourth film has sort of captured my interest. It is really in the last twenty minutes of the film before the end credits that Despicable Me 2 really comes to life. That's okay for me, but I'm sure family audiences will find it more than okay.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Tuesday, July 2, 2024

NOTES:

2014 Academy Awards, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin, Christopher Meledandri) and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Pharrell Williams-music and lyrics for the song, “Happy”)

2013 BAFTA Children's Awards: 1 win: “BAFTA Kids Vote – Feature Film”

2014 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (Chris Renaud and Pierre Coffin)

2013 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”

2014 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Song” (Pharrell Williams-Performer & Writer for the song “Happy”)

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Friday, June 14, 2024

Review: "BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE" is the Best Buddy Cop Action-Comedy in Decades

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 of 2024 (No. 1969) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPA – R for strong violence, language throughout and some sexual references

DIRECTORS: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

WRITERS: Chris Bremner and Will Beall (based on characters created by George Gallo)

PRODUCERS: Doug Belgrad, Jerry Bruckheimer, Chad Oman, and Will Smith

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robrecht Heyvaert (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Dan Lebental and Asaf Eisenberg

COMPOSER: Lorne Balfe

ACTION/CRIME/COMEDY

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Paola Núñez, Alexander Ludwig, Jacob Scipio, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Melanie Liburd, Rhea Seehorn, Tiffany Haddish, John Salley, Quinn Hemphill, Dennis Mcdonald, Tasha Smith and Joe Pantoliano

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is the best entry in the series to date

The comic timing and humor of Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett is unleashed in his best work of comedy in ages. Lawrence gives this movie so much energy, and he kept the audience where I saw this film laughing almost the entire time.

Will Smith as Mike Lowrey is a solid action-movie hero. Smith, who is also quite funny in this film, makes sure that Bad Boys is truly an explosive, violent action flick.

I unequivocally recommend this film to fans of the “Bad Boys” series and to fans of both Smith and Lawrence.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is a 2024 American action, crime, and buddy cop film directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, better known as “Adil & Bilall.” It is the fourth entry in the Bad Boys film series, which began with 1995's Bad Boys, and it is a sequel to Bad Boys for Life (2020). In Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Detectives Lowrey and Burnett, the “Bad Boys,” have to take on their own department and a group of professional killers in order to clear their late captain's name.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens four years after the event depicted in Bad Boys for Life, Detective Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) marries his physical therapist, Christine (Melanie Liburd). However, at the reception, Detective Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) suffers a serious medical emergency, but worse is to come.

The FBI claims it has discovered a paper trail which proves that the late Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) was tied to drug cartels. Determined to stop the posthumous tarnishing of Capt. Howard, Mike and Marcus discover that Mike's imprisoned son, Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), has information that might help their case. Eventually, Mike, Marcus, and Armando must join forces with new Miami PD Captain Rita Secada (Paola Núñez) and the remains of her “AMMO” (Advance Miami Metro Operations) unit – Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig). In order to clear Capt. Howard's name, however, Mike and Marcus' crew will have to take on a vicious killer, James McGrath (Eric Dane), and his secret mole inside the Miami PD.

I'd seen Bad Boys (1995) and Bad Boys II (2003), so I had to see Bad Boys for Life in preparation for Bad Boys: Ride or Die. It is a good idea to see the 2020 film because quite a bit of its plot and many of its character carry over into the new film. Being somewhat familiar with the Bad Boys film franchise will make the already enjoyable Bad Boys: Ride or Die even more enjoyable.

I think the thing that makes Bad Boys: Ride or Die such a joy to watch is that the team of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence seems to be re-energized. In Bad Boys for Life, Lawrence looked a bit bloated and slow, but here in Ride or Die, he has recovered his comedy mojo. Now, we get a Martin Lawrence that is like the Marty-Mar who was at the height of his powers in the 1990s. He kept me and the audience with which I saw Ride or Die last night in stitches. Lawrence was a constant barrage of comedy one-liners and comic riffs, and none of them seemed contrived. I'm happy for him because Lawrence has not been this good in well over a decade.

Will Smith's notorious slap has apparently not delivered a knock out to his talents as a film actor and movie star. I can't speak for the rest of y'all, dear readers, by I ain't canceling Will over that. Smith is most solid as an action movie hero in the Bad Boys franchise, and he is at his best here. Smith is quite funny himself, but as a gun-totting, pop-capping deliverer of justice and vengeance, Smith is as good as any other movie star. In Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Will Smith is as sturdy and as robust as Bruce Willis was in Die Hard and in its best sequels. As of right now, Smith is the king of action cinema.

Now, I won't act as if Bad Boys: Ride or Die is without problems. The plot strains credulity; honestly, it us obvious that Capt. Howard is being framed, but in order for the narrative to work, the audience has to act as if such a scenario as this would happen. Still, the directorial team of Adil & Bilall have made magic with their two entries in the Bad Boy series, and have delivered a new film that should thrill audiences throughout the summer movie season. Bad Boys: Ride or Die even has a cameo by the series' original director, Michael Bay.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, June 14, 2024

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Saturday, June 1, 2024

Review: "BAD BOYS FOR LIFE" Takes a Bit to Come to Life

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 of 2024 (No. 1968) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

Running time: 124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual references and brief drug use

DIRECTORS: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah

WRITERS: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig & Joe Carnahan; from a story by Peter Craig & Joe Carnahan (based on characters created by George Gallo)

PRODUCERS: Doug Belgrad, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Will Smith

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robrecht Heyvaert (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Dan Lebental and Peter McNulty

COMPOSER: Lorne Balfe

ACTION/CRIME/COMEDY

Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Paola Núñez, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano, Jacob Scipio, and Theresa Randle

Bad Boys for Life is a 2020 American action, crime, and buddy cop film directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, better known as “Adil & Bilall.” It is the third entry in the Bad Boys film series, which began with 1995's Bad Boys, and it is a sequel to Bad Boys II (2003). In Bad Boys for Life, Detectives Lowrey and Burnett, the “Bad Boys,” face off against a mysterious killer whose campaign of revenge is centered on Lowrey.

Bad Boys for Life opens in Mexico at the Santa Maria Ixcotel Prison. There, Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo) escapes with the help of her son, Armando (Jacob Scipio). Isabel is the son of the late cartel kingpin, Benito Aretas, and she wants revenge against the men who helped take down her husband twenty-four years ago. Armando, a highly-skilled criminal, savvy fighter, and vicious killer, is the instrument of her revenge.

One of those men is Detective Lt. Michael “Mike” Lowrey (Will Smith), and Armando comes close to killing him. Mike is a hard man to keep down, and he wants payback. His boss, Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), wants Mike to let a new, tech-driven police unit, called “AMMO” (Advance Miami Metro Operations), hunt the shooter. Mike doesn't like that, especially as his former girlfriend, Lieutenant Rita Secada (Paolo Nunez), is head of AMMO. Even worse, Mike's longtime partner, Det. Lt. Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), has retired and wants to stay that way. But when things get worse, will the Bad Boys be forced to unite for one last ride?

I still laugh at the fact that the film that became 1995's Bad Boys was originally written for actor-comedians, Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz. Bad Boys would go on to become a signature entry in the filmographies of both eventual Oscar-winning actor, Will Smith (King Richard), and Martin Lawrence, who would go on to star in such films as Big Momma's House (2000) and Wild Hogs (2007). The duo eventually reunited for 2003's Bad Boys II. Because the fourth entry in the Bad Boys series, Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), is about to be released, I decided to go back and watch and review the one film in the franchise that I had not seen in its entirety, Bad Boys for Life (2020).

A close friend told me that he thought Bad Boys for Life was bad. I did find the first hour to be rather poorly developed. After all, Lowrey and Burnett seem pretty slow in figuring out that the shootings of Lowrey and others are obviously related. All these veteran cops and young, smart, new-school law enforcement are working on this case, and they are as clueless as can be.

However, in the film's second hour, directors Adil & Bilall make the most of their creative cohorts, especially their stunt coordinators, lighting department, and film editors in order to deliver a film that is fast-paced and slickly violent. The filmmakers also bring out all of the colors and life in both the Miami and Mexican locations Adil & Bilall do their best to summon the spirit of Michael Bay, the director of the first two films. I wonder what he thought of the new directors' homage to his style. I must say that Adil & Bilall eschew Bay's over-the-top theatrics for a slick visual, action style that is more focused on the characters than on sweeping shots and a deafening score and soundtrack.

In some ways, Bad Boys for Life is this series' best entry. Yes, Martin Lawrence looks a little pudgy in the face, but his comic timing and humor eventual rev up. Will Smith still looks lithesome and on the edge. While it starts clunky, Bad Boys for Life doesn't show its age, but it does show that – surprisingly – there is still life in these cinematic bad boys.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, June 1, 2024

NOTES:

2021 Image Awards (NAACP): 1 win: “Outstanding Motion Picture” and 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Will Smith)

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Review: "BAD BOYS II": What'cha Gonna Do 'Cept Watch This

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 114 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bad Boys II (2003)

Running time: 147 minutes (2 hours, 27 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong violence and action, pervasive language, sexuality and drug content

DIRECTOR: Michael Bay

WRITERS: Ron Shelton and Jerry Stahl; from a story by Cormac Wibberley & Marianne Wibberley and Ron Shelton (based upon the characters created by George Gallo)

PRODUCER: Jerry Bruckheimer

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Amir Mokri (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: Roger Barton, Mark Goldblatt, and Thomas A. Muldoon

COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin

ACTION/COMEDY/THRILLER/CRIME

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Gabrielle Union, Joe Pantoliano, Theresa Randle, Jordi Molla, Gary Nickens, Jason Manuel Olazabal, John Salley, Henry Rollins, and Dan Marino

Bad Boys II is a 2003 American buddy-cop film and action-comedy from director Michael Bay. It is a sequel to the 1995 film, Bad Boys, and is also the second film in the Bad Boys film series. In Bad Boys II, loose-cannon Detectives Burnett and Lowrey investigate the flow of illegal drugs into Miami and end up on the middle of a battle for control of the ecstasy trade.

In a crowded field of auteurs, director Michael Bay (The Rock, Armageddon) strives to become the director god of action movies; indeed, he may already be there. He returns for the sequel to Bad Boys, the film that put him on the map as a big time director of insane gunfights, fiery explosions, and slow motion ballets of unabashed violence. And since we must not worship any god before the god, this Zeus of adrenaline films unleashes a film of wall-to-wall mayhem that overwhelms the audience to paranoiac exhaustion just to show us what he can do.

Bay is fortunate (if a god can ever be called fortunate) to have two talents who are very good at what they do, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. It’s ironic that these roles weren’t originally written for them, but the two actor/comedians have made the bad boys, Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Smith) of Bad Boys II, their own because Burnett and Lowrey could not exist without them.

The plot is a confused half-assed muddle involving stereotypical Russian, Cuban, Jamaican, and redneck drug dealers battling it out in Miami for control of the ecstasy trade. If that wasn’t addled enough, Marcus’s sister, Sydney (the beautiful and sexy Gabrielle Union), is an undercover DEA agent caught in the middle of some mismanaged surveillance operation of a Russian and Cuban money-laundering scheme.

Smith and Lawrence are absolutely wonderful as the bad boys. They have to be because they’re on a very short list of actors whom Michael Bay cannot overwhelm with his thunderous conflagrations of balls-to-the-walls violence. Smith is pure bravado, sweating confidence with cartoonish machismo. His physical bearing and rapid-fire delivery of his dialogue create a seamless presence in the film that leads you to believe that Smith is always Lowery, even when you know that a stunt guy has to step in every now and then. He’s no bossy director’s action marionette or pretty boy A-list actor frontin’ like he’s all that. Smith is all that.

When he has good material, Martin Lawrence is a riot act of physical and facial humor. He’s a comedian, born to make us laugh despite his own personal demons. Lately, he’s sold himself for movies that treat him like a minstrel, when he’s at his best skewering the mainstream. In Bad Boy II, he reveals himself to be the best graduate of the Richard Pryor school of facial contortions, which Lawrence uses to grand effect to make us believe that the film’s juggernaut of violence actually scares him.

Even the overwhelming performances of Smith and Lawrence are almost no match for the overwhelming violence of Bad Boys II, but the actors are game. They do an admirable job keeping up with the exploding body parts, flying corpses, decapitated corpses, defiled corpses, gunshot wounds, gratuitous ass shots, the bare breasts of a naked corpse, flying cars, disintegrating cars, exploding cars, car wrecks, car crashes, and flesh wounds to the buttocks. There was a point early in the film when I was sure that Michael Bay was a fabulous artist of the absurd, cinema his canvas, and wanton violence his raw materials. The action was great and invigorating, the violence was cathartic and deliriously funny, and I wanted to revel in the excess. Lawrence and Smith were so on that I screamed with the kind of laughter I reserve for classic Richard Pryor, Mel Brooks, Marx Brothers, Lenny Bruce, and Burns and Allen.

After awhile, I realized that this was as much popcorn cinema as it was art. I still believe that Bay is on to something. One day, we will see him a great filmmaker who pushed the envelope with his inventiveness and imagination, but in Bad Boys II, he went too far too soon. It’s more popcorn than an even an audience ravenously hungry for Circus Maximus bedlam can stomach. With this film, Bay made the mistake that Martin Scorsese did with Gangs of New York: end the picture early enough and he has a cinematic classic, a truly great film. Overstay his welcome, and the director spoils his film.

As mean-spirited as this film gets, I’d still recommend this to die hard action fans and fans of Smith and Lawrence. I’d only recommend that they just have a bib ready for when you spit up from overeating this cinematic pandemonium.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Edited: Monday, July 1, 2024

NOTES:

2004 Image Awards (NAACP): 3 nominations: “Outstanding Motion Picture,” “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Will Smith), and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Gabrielle Union)

2004 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Film: Best Soundtrack”

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Review: "BAD BOYS" Has Had a Surprisingly Long Life

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 113 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bad Boys (1995)

Running time: 119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)

MPAA – R for intense violent action and pervasive strong language

DIRECTOR: Michael Bay

WRITERS: Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland, and Doug Richardson; from a story by George Gallo

PRODUCERS: Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Howard Atherton

EDITOR: Christian Wagner

COMPOSER: Mark Mancina

ACTION/COMEDY/THRILLER/CRIME

Starring: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Tea Leoni, Joe Pantoliano, Tcheky Karyo, Theresa Randle, Marg Helgenberger, Nestor Serrano, Julio Oscar Mechoso, Saverio Guerra, Michael Imperioli, and Karen Alexander

As usual, a cog in the Hollywood system had written an action/comedy for Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey, two funny white men. Perhaps, the white studio bosses never thought of persons of colors playing the parts and playing them not only well, but also better than the actors of the default skin color. By happy accident, two tremendously talented comic actors, who also happened to be men of color inherited the parts, and, thus was born Bad Boys. Lord knows, we can never again think of Lovitz and Carvey, two milky-white Americans, as proper for these roles, not that there’s anything wrong with one’s skin color being that white.

Bad Boys is a 1995 American buddy-cop film and action-comedy directed by Michael Bay. Bad Boys focuses on two savvy, Black detectives who try to protect a witness to murder while also investigating the theft of heroin from their police precinct’s evidence room.

Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) are two hip detectives; at least they seem cooler than their Miami PD colleagues, but they can take the heat that comes with their job. As the film begins, they’ve already made a major heroin bust, but a gang of well-equipped thieves breaks into the precinct’s evidence room and steals the dope. Obviously, the raid is an inside job, so the precinct takes the blame. Burnett and Lowrey’s Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) feels the heat and returns it to the boys, putting the onus on them to find the dope. Making matters more complicated, they get saddled with protecting Julie Mott (Tea Leoni) a murder witness somehow connected to the smack thieves.

According to stories from the set of Bad Boys, director Michael Bay, Lawrence, and Smith hated the script, so they ad-libbed a lot of the dialogue. This was Bay’s first feature film, but he’d made a name for himself directing music videos for Tina Turner and “Wilson Phillips” (among others) and commercials for Nike and Budweiser (among others). Bay brings all the visual flair and clichés you could expect from music videos: quick-cut editing, dark alleyways full of steam, sexy chicks, and hot cars. He mixed in car chases, tremendous explosions, cartoonish violence, and gunfights with hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Smith and Lawrence brought the comedy and the hip sensibility to play the characters so over the top that you’d think they were heroes right out of a comic book. It works to an extent. Bad Boys is a very funny, exciting, and visually agile action movie.

If anything, it’ll be remembered for its African-American leads, unusual for an cop buddy movie/action flick. Beyond that, Bay introduced his over the top visual style that he would bring all his heart-pounding, action vehicles: slow motion camera buzzing around a posing action stud, panoramic shots of the sky, narrow escapes from devastating fire balls, etc. Bad Boys is pleasant and fun, nothing important, but it stands out in the white bread world of Hollywood action romps. Certainly, Lawrence and Smith are more believable as renegade cops than say, Josh Hartnett or Ben Affleck.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

Edited: Friday, June 28, 2024

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Sunday, May 5, 2024

Review: "DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES" Goes Ape Sh*t

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 21 of 2024 (No. 1965) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)

Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief strong language

DIRECTOR: Matt Reeves

WRITERS: Mark Bomback and Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver (based upon characters created by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver)

PRODUCERS: Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, Rick Jaffa, and Amanda Silver

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITORS: William Hoy and Stan Salfas

COMPOSER: Michael Giacchino

Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Gary Oldman, Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kirk Acevedo, Toby Kebbell, Nick Thurston, Karin Konoval, and Judy Greer

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a 2014 American science fiction-thriller, action, and drama film directed by Matt Reeves. It is a direct sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011) and is also the second installment in the Planet of the Apes reboot film series.

It is the eighth entry in the overall Planet of the Apes film series, which began as an adaptation of the 1963 French science fiction novel, La planète des singes, by Pierre Boulle. In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, apes and humans are thrown together for the first time in years, and a fragile peace is threatened by mistrust and betrayal.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes opens ten years after the birth of “The Simian Flu” pandemic (as seen in Rise of the Planet of the Apes). Deadly to humans, the flu has reduced the worldwide human population, and only 1 in 500 humans (.20 percent) are genetically immune to it. Human civilization has been destroyed after societal collapse.

There was a large group of apes that were all bestowed with genetically enhanced intelligence by the virus. They established a colony in the Muir Woods National Monument near San Francisco. Their leader is the chimpanzee, Caesar (Andy Serkis), who protects the colony with his lieutenants. Among them is the sinister and treacherous bonobo, Koba (Toby Kebbell).

One day, for the first time in years, apes and humans meet. A group of humans, led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), unknowingly enters the apes' territory in search of a hydroelectric dam that could restore power to a rag tag human community living in the ruins of San Francisco. As level-headed as Malcolm is, there are hotheads among the humans, like their leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman), an ex-police officer. Among the apes, Koba is the hothead, but a fragile peace develops between the two tribes. However, mistrust and betrayal threaten to plunge both humans and apes in a terrible war for control of the San Francisco area and ultimately, for dominance over the Earth.

I have been a fan of the Planet of the Apes film ever since I saw the original film, Planet of the Apes (1968), back in the day when CBS broadcast it on a regular basis. Its sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), thrilled and chilled me. I also enjoyed Tim Burton's 2001 Planet of the Apes, a remake and re-imagining of the original film.

I was skeptical of Rise of the Planet of the Apes when it was first release, but I thoroughly enjoyed it when I first saw it. I could not believe how exceptionally well made it was. As we all prepare for the impending release of the franchise's latest film, 2024's Kingdom of the Planets of the Apes, I am going back to watch and review, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War for the Planet of the Apes (2017).

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a really entertaining film. Director Matt Reeves has spearheaded a pulpy, post-apocalyptic drama that thrives on inter-tribal conflict. However, I don't think Dawn's drama is quite as substantive as its predecessor, mainly because this film focuses so much on the apes that, except for Malcolm, the film glosses over the human characters that have the most potential.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a true Planet of the Apes film. The apes are more important, and the humans exist mainly to cause conflict among the apes. Rise of the Planet of the Apes's drama was more grounded in reality, and its subplots mattered beyond being fuel to light the flames of conflict. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is very well made and is fun to watch. Still, I feel like I'm waiting for a bigger and more important film.

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Sunday, May 5, 2024

NOTES:

2015 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Daniel Barrett, and Erik Winquist)

2015 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, Erik Winquist, and Daniel Barrett)

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Friday, March 29, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE" is Entertaining, Imaginative and Extraneous

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 18 of 2024 (No. 1962) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for creature violence and action

DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard

WRITERS: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Jeremy Slater; from a story by Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, and Adam Wingard (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS: Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSERS: Tom Holkenborg and Antonio Di Iorio

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House, Ron Smyck, Chantelle Jamieson, Greg Hatton, and Kevin Copeland

SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:

-- Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is as visually stunning as the two previous MonsterVerse series films, and the monster-fight action is awesome.

-- However, the story is not compelling, and the characters feel like props. Thus, Godzilla x Kong is really for fans of the series.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014). Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire brings the two ancient titans together in order to fight an ancient, prophesied threat to the surface world.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens some time after the defeat of Mechagodzilla (as seen in Godzilla vs. Kong). In the “Hollow Earth,” Kong is in the process of establishing his territory, which means defeating vicious predators. Monarch has planted a base in Hollow Earth, Monarch Outpost One, in order to monitor Kong. That outpost itself is monitored on the surface by a Monarch base in Barbados, which is where Kong expert and Monarch scientist, Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), lives with her adopted daughter, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the last living member of Skull Island's indigenous tribe, the Iwi.

Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language. She has begun experiencing dreams, flashbacks, and hallucinations that seem to be related to a signal emanating from somewhere in the Hollow Earth. Godzilla, who has been romping across Europe is also sensing that signal, and the King of the Monsters is absorbing energy in preparation for some unknown, coming battle.

Kong explores a sinkhole near his home and discovers an uncharted region hidden within the Hollow Earth. Exploring it, he finally encounters other giant apes like himself, including an adolescent giant ape. However, these giant apes are aggressive and apparently serve a mysterious alpha giant ape leader, and this leader controls something that not only endangers the Hollow Earth, but also the surface world. Only Kong and Godzilla can end this threat, but will the Earth's two greatest Titans join forces or just try to kill each other, again?

The “MonsterVerse” is an American multimedia franchise that includes movies; a streaming live-action television series (Apple TV+) and a streaming animated series (Netflix); books and comic books; and video games. It is a shared fictional universe that includes the character, “Godzilla” and other characters owned and created by the Japanese entertainment company, Toho Co., Ltd. The MonsterVerse is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise. It is also a reboot of the King Kong franchise, which is based on the character, “King Kong,” that was created by actor and filmmaker, Merian C. Cooper (1893-1973).

In preparation for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, I watched and reviewed the previous four films in MonsterVerse series. They are Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021).

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has a hard act to follow in the previous film, Godzilla vs. Kong, and while the new film is entertaining, it never really establishes the stakes of the conflicts it depicts. To me, the threat didn't really seem like it would lead to the end of the world. Godzilla x Kong is loud and proud, a true monster movie built on sensations, muscular CGI, and visually stunning visual special effects. Godzilla x Kong is big, bigger, BIG, and it probably should be seen on IMAX, but its story is no bigger than a mini-max.

Godzilla x Kong exists because Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment want it to exist as a product designed to make a lot of money now and to continue contributing to the MonsterVerse revenue stream for some time to come. It's not that I did not enjoy Godzilla vs. Kong. I laughed several times, and it did hold my attention. It is probably the least dark film in the series, but it is also the least important. Honestly, I think Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard made a much more compelling film with his 2011 feature, You're Next, which was made for .007 percent of Godzilla x Kong's budget. [You're Next's screenplay was written by Wingard's frequent collaborator, writer Simon Barrett, who is also a co-writer on Godzilla x Kong.]

Another strange thing about this film is that the characters all feel unnecessary. Kaylee Hottle's Jia is very important to Godzilla x Kong's narrative, but Jia often feels like a prop. Dan Stevens' Trapper is a generic character, played by Stevens with generic verve. I liked Brian Tyree Henry's Bernie Hayes in Godzilla vs. Kong, but here, he feels too frantic and forced. I get that Hayes is comic relief, but has become too much comic relief. Hayes is utterly wasted here – half chatterbox, half-on-the-edge-of-being-substantial.

I pushed Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire from my mind as soon as I got up from my seat in the theater. Still, fans of the MonsterVerse films will likely really enjoy it.

6 of 10

★★★ out of 4 stars

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Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Review: "GODZILLA VS. KONG" Rocks 'n' Roars

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 of 2024 (No. 1961) by Leroy Douresseaux

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of creature violence/destruction and brief language

DIRECTOR: Adam Wingard

WRITERS: Terry Rossio and Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields; from a story by Max Borenstein and Eric Pearson (based on characters owned by Toho Co., Ltd.)

PRODUCERS: Jon Jashni, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers, and Thomas Tull

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Seresin (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Josh Schaeffer

COMPOSER: Tom Holkenborg

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ADVENTURE

Starring: Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Bryan Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza Gonzalez, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kaylee Hottle, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Ronny Chieng, Demian Bichir, and Kyle Chandler

Godzilla vs. Kong is a 2021 monster movie and science fiction-fantasy adventure film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, this film is the fourth entry in the “MonsterVerse” film series, which began with Godzilla (2014). Godzilla vs. Kong finally brings about the long awaited confrontation between Godzilla and Kong.

Godzilla vs. Kong opens three years after the dragon-like extraterrestrial King Ghidorah awakened the monstrous “Titans” around the world before being defeated by Godzilla. On Skull Island, Monarch has imprisoned Kong within a game preserve that is covered by a giant dome where they monitor him. Skull Island has been taken over by the storm that previously kept it hidden from the world. Kong has befriended Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the island's last native human and the young adopted daughter of Kong expert, Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall). Jia is deaf and communicates with Kong via sign language.

Across the world, at Apex Cybernetics in Pensacola, Florida, CEO Walter Simmons (Demian Bichir) is up to something sinister, and that has drawn the attention of Godzilla, who reappears after three years and attacks the facility. That doesn't stop Simmons, who travels to Denham University of Theoretical Science in Philadelphia, in order to recruit former Monarch scientist, Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgard), to lead a mission into the legendary “Hollow Earth,” which is Lind's area of expertise. But the mission needs Kong, and that's where Ilene and her daughter, Jia, come in.

Meanwhile, Bernie Hayes (Bryan Tyree Henry), an Apex Cybernetics employee and a Titan conspiracy podcast host, is investigating Apex's activities. Hayes finds a kindred spirit in Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), daughter of Monarch scientist, Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), who is also suspicious of Apex. With her friend, Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), in tow, Millie joins Bernie on an adventure that will take them halfway across the world to where Apex is hiding its most sinister secret, one that is tied to the mission into the Hollow Earth and its secrets.

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is due to be released March 29, 2023, so I have decided to watch and review the previous four films: Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong (which is the subject of this review).

Godzilla vs. Kong is, thus far, the best of the “MonsterVerse” films. Each film is its own thing, although they are all monster movies. Godzilla 2014 is a science fiction mystery film. Kong: Skull Island is a lost world story, thoroughly wrapped in pseudo-science and weird fiction. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a VFX-slick, CGI-fuel-injected, modernized take on the original 1950s, Japanese Gojira/Godzilla films.

Godzilla vs. Kong is the monster movie as an old school science fiction-fantasy action-adventure film that has been all gussied up with CGI and dazzling, glowing, supernatural special effects. I could feel the science fiction mood through Tom Holkenborg's score which reminded me of Daft Punk's glorious score for Tron: Legacy (2010). Godzilla vs. Kong's “Hollow Earth” subplot is the film Fantastic Voyage (1966) wishes it could have been. Godzilla vs. Kong is wall-to-wall adventure. It is a sci-fi travelogue from one end of the Earth to the other, whether it is breathlessly racing from Florida to Hong Kong for a mecha showdown or plunging into a mind-bending journey inside the deepest reaches of the planet.

As for the confrontation between Godzilla and Kong: the first one in this film is an impossible battle that is a work of genius on the part of everyone involved. What is more shocking is that the second confrontation, which occurs in the film's last act, is even better and even more eye-popping.

Godzilla vs. Kong is the ultimate monster showdown spectacle. I was not able to turn away from it, and a day after seeing it, I'm still buzzing from it as I write this review. Godzilla vs. Kong is peak “MonsterVerse,” and I pity the films in the series that come after it.

8 of 10

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

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