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

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, June 14, 2024

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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

B

★★★ 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”

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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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

B

★★★ out of 4 stars

Edited:  Friday, June 28, 2024

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Review: "GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE" is Lukewarm

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 of 2024 (No. 1960) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

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

MPA – PG-13 for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references

DIRECTOR:  Gil Kenan

WRITERS:  Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (based on the film, Ghost Busters, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman)

PRODUCERS:  Jason Reitman, Jason Blumenfeld, and Ivan Reitman

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Eric Steelberg

EDITORS:  Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid

COMPOSER:  Dario Marianelli

FANTASY/COMEDY/ACTION/MYSTERY

Starring:  Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, Ernie Hudson, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, James Acaster, Dan Ackroyd, Annie Potts, William Atherton, and Bill Murray

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is a 2024 supernatural comedy, action and mystery film from director Gil Kenan.  It is the fifth entry in the Ghostbusters film franchise, and it is the third sequel to the original film, 1984's Ghost Busters (now known as “Ghostbusters”).  In Frozen Empire, the old and new Ghostbusters must take on an evil force unleashed from an ancient artifact.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire opens in New York City in 1904 where a group of fireman enters a hotel suite and finds an entire party frozen solid in the middle of an extremely hot summer.  In the present day, Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her two children, son, Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), and daughter, Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), have moved from Summerville, Oklahoma to New York City, with Phoebe's former summer school teacher, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), in tow.  The four live in the old Ghostbusters' NYC firehouse that had been maintained by original Ghostbuster, Dr. Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson).

Now, Phoebe, Trevor, Callie, and Gary are the active Ghostbusters, but a particular Ghostbusting case leads to significant damage in the city.  That brings them to the attention of the mayor and leads to Phoebe being forced out of the Ghostbusters because she is underage at 15-years-old.  But the world of the supernatural does not stop because of the human world's concerns.

Original Ghostbuster, Dr. Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Dan Aykroyd), has come into possession of a peculiar artifact, which he turns over to Winston Zeddemore's top-secret research lab.  Meanwhile, Phoebe, sidelined as a Ghostbuster, is trying to find her place in the world of the Ghostbusters.  Then, Garraka, an ancient god, is freed.  He wants to gather all the ghosts ever captured by the Ghostbusters and turn them into his personal army as he brings about a new ice age.  Despite her troubles, Phoebe will have to figure out how to stop the ancient evil that is Garraka before it's too late.

I was a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters films, Ghostbusters (1984) and its sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989).  I enjoyed Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and I thought that film's teen characters, siblings Phoebe and Trevor, and their friends, Podcast (Logan Kim) and Lucky Domingo (Celeste O'Connor), made a great foundation for the new Ghostbusters.

Thus, I was surprised to see Phoebe and Trevor playing Ghostbusters with the adults, their mother, Callie, and their quasi-stepfather, Gary.  Honestly, I find Carrie Coon's Callie and Paul Rudd's Gary to be extraneous here.  I have no interest in their characters beyond what they did in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.  In fact, this film has too many characters.  Bill Murray's Dr. Peter Venkman, Annie Potts' Janine Melnitz, and William Atherton's Mayor Walter Peck are also mostly irrelevant.  Pretty much everything these characters do could have been passed off to other characters or deleted because it wasn't important enough to clutter up the narrative.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire spends much of its first half meandering around assorted relationship dysfunction, including one involving a ghost.  Then, the film rushes to a forced satisfactory conclusion that wastes a truly scary monster in Garraka.  I am glad that Ernie Hudson's Winston Zeddemore has a substantial part in this film, especially because Hudson spent the first two films fighting off Columbia Pictures' executives and Ghostbusters cast mates who were determined to sideline his character.

As a franchise, Ghostbusters needs to move on from its past or just die.  The young characters:  Phoebe and Trevor Spengler, Podcast, and Lucky Domingo are the franchise's present and true future.  When this Ghostbusters film focuses on them, it feels alive and is fun.  When it doesn't, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is frozen and freezer-burned.

[This film has one mid-credits scene.]

5 out of 10

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

Friday, March 22, 2024

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Review: "THE EQUALIZER 2" is Brutal and Personal

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 40 of 2023 (No. 1929) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

Running time:  121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)

MPAA – R for brutal violence throughout, language, and some drug content

DIRECTOR:  Antoine Fuqua

WRITER:  Richard Wenk (based on the television series created by Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim)

PRODUCERS:  Antoine Fuqua, Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Tony Eldridge, Mace Neufeld, Alex Siskin, Michael Sloan, Steve Tisch, and Denzel Washington

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Oliver Wood (D.o.P.)

EDITOR: Conrad Buff IV

COMPOSER:  Harry Gregson-Williams

ACTION/CRIME/THRILLER

Starring:  Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, Orson Bean, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo, Jonathan Scarfe, Kazy Tauginas, Garrett A. Golden, and Sakina Jaffrey

The Equalizer 2 is a 2018 action movie and crime thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Denzel Washington.  It is a sequel to the 2014 film, The Equalizer.”  Both films are based on the television series, “The Equalizer,” which was created by  Michael Sloan and Richard Lindheim and was originally broadcast on CBS from 1985 to 1989.  The Equalizer 2 finds Robert McCall out to make the people who murdered someone he loves pay for their crimes with their lives.

The Equalizer 2 opens on a train headed to Istanbul, Turkey.  Robert “Bob” McCall (Denzel Washington) is about to serve his unflinching brand of justice on man who kidnapped his daughter in order to punish his ex-wife.  McCall still lives quietly in Boston, where he works as a Lyft driver and assists the less fortunate, the exploited, and the oppressed.  Among the people he is currently helping include Samuel “Sam” Rubinstein (Orson Bean), a Holocaust survivor trying to recover a painting of his sister, Magda, who died in a Nazi death camp.  Lately, he has taken an interest in Miles (Ashton Sanders), a troubled African-American teen who lives in the same apartment building.  Miles has tremendous artistic talent, but he is also being recruited by a violent, drug-dealing street gang.

However, the big action is in Brussels, Belgium.  There, Robert's friend and former DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency) colleague, Susan Plummer (Melissa Leo), is investigating the apparent murder-suicide of DIA “agency affiliate” and his wife.  That investigation costs Susan her life.  McCall begins investigating Susan's murder with the assistance of her colleague and his former DIA teammate, Dave York (Pedro Pascal).  Determined to avenge Susan's murder, McCall will have to go deep into his past and risk endangering people very close to him.

With his Oscar-winning turn in 2001's Training Day, Denzel Washington proved to be a convincing bad guy.  With 2010's The Book of Eli, Washington showed that he could be a bad-ass, kick-ass, action hero with fancy martial arts-styled moves.  The first take on The Equalizer allowed Washington to blend hero and anti-hero in a visceral mix.  So in anticipation of The Equalizer 3, I decided to see The Equalizer 2, of which I have seen bits and pieces on television over the past few years.

In the original film, the screenplay by Richard Wenk had McCall constantly in peril or made it seem as if he were in danger even when he was not.  Wenk returns for the sequel and delivers a script that adds compassion to the standard revenge thriller.  McCall can be a gentle soul helping a teen go through growing pains that are filled with danger, and he can lend a kind ear to an old man whose current quest could be the real thing or the result of a failing memory crashing from the accumulation of data over a long life.  On the other hand, McCall will also break a mutha down to the blood and bone if he deserves such a reckoning, even if it means killing him.

The Equalizer would be a standard revenge thriller if its avenger were portrayed by just any other movie star, but Denzel Washington is a consummate professional and charismatic actor.  That means he can deliver the meat and potatoes and the art to every performance – whether it is Shakespeare on stage or Hollywood entertainment product destined for the multiplex.  In this second film, Washington super-charges his performance in order to make the personal so personal that it is murderous. 

Director Antoine Fuqua plays Washington's skills for everything he can get out of this brilliant actor.  Fuqua is an impressive director in his own right, especially when it comes to dark, violent, dramatic thrillers, such as Shooter (2007).  Together, Fuqua and Washington deliver in The Equalizer 2 a film that slightly surpasses the original.  I find myself endlessly fascinated by it because The Equalizer 2 is a really good thriller.

7 of 10

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

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Review: "65" is Lean, Mean, and Much Better Than I Expected

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 30 of 2023 (No. 1919) by Leroy Douresseaux

65 (2023)

Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and peril, and brief bloody images

WRITERS/DIRECTORS:  Scott Beck and Bryan Woods

PRODUCERS:  Scott Beck, Bryan Woods, Sam Raimi, Zainab Azizi, Deborah Liebling,

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Salvatore Totino

EDITORS:  Josh Schaeffer and Jane Tones

COMPOSER:  Chris Bacon with Danny Elfman

SCI-FI, ACTION, THRILLER

Starring:  Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, Chloe Coleman, and Nika King

65 is a science fiction action-thriller film from writer-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods.  The film focuses on a pilot and a young girl who fight for survival after their starship crashes on a mysterious planet.

65 opens on Planet Somaris.  There, a spaceship pilot, Mills (Adam Driver), convinces his wife, Alya (Nika King), that he should take on a two-year space expedition to earn the money needed to treat their daughter, Nevine (Chloe Coleman), who is suffering from a deadly illness.

Later, Zoic Exploratory Charter 3703 is deep into its journey when it is hit by a mass of asteroids and crash-lands on an alien planet.  The Zoic is damaged beyond repair, and Mills discovers that all the ship's passengers, except one, have been killed.  The other survivor is a young girl named Koa (Arianna Greenblatt), and she does not speak the same language as Mills.  Meanwhile, Mills has sent a distress beacon, and he has also discovered that the spaceship's escape shuttle is still functioning.  However, it is 15 kilometers away (a little over nine miles), resting on the side of a mountain.

Now, Mills and Koa must track across an unknown landscape that they discover is home to dangerous and aggressive creatures.  What the duo doesn't know is that this planet is actually Earth 65 million years ago, and the animals are dinosaurs.  Plus, another danger has followed Mills and Koa from space.

Once upon a time, 65 would have been referred to as a “high concept film,” which is a movie with a premise that can be easily pitched or summarized.  65 is written and directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the duo who wrote the initial story and screenplay that became the 2018 hit film, A Quiet Place, a high concept film.

65 turned out not to be the hit that A Quiet Place was, but I found it to be a hugely entertaining film.  Yes, it shares elements with another film about humans from another planet, crash landing on Earth, After Earth (2013), and also, Pitch Black (2000), which finds humans stranded on a mysterious planet and facing monsters.  Still, Beck and Woods have so tightly written and directed 65 that I found myself enjoying it even when I was questioning its plot and narrative choices.  For instance, the human characters seem surprisingly unsophisticated considering they come from a race that possesses the technology to span the stars.  Also, Mills uses tech that can track objects in space, but it doesn't have a simple translation app?

The intense dinosaur attacks really don't start until after the 38-minute mark of the film, and I think that serves the story well.  First, this gives the directors and the cast the opportunity to gradually depict the growing bond between Mills and Koa.  Secondly, making the audience wait for the baddest and the biggest dinosaurs can create a sense of anticipation that is satisfied when the most awesome “thunder lizards” finally arrive.

Some of 65's plot and action stretches credulity past the breaking point, but this movie is a pop corn thriller that would be a great choice for a movie night.  For families with children, this film is appropriate for teens, but it is a little too dark and violent and has adult subject matter that is a bit much for elementary school age and maybe even middle school age children.  I love it and give it an unqualified recommendation.  I plan on watching it again, and truthfully, I'm curious about the world/universe in which this film is set.  65 is not a 10, but as far as dinosaur movies go, I found it more fun and entertaining than Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).

7 of 10

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Spielberg's "1941" - Raiders of the Lost Invasion (Countdown to "The Fabelmans")

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 67 of 2022 (No. 1879) by Leroy Douresseaux

1941 (1979)

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

MPAA – PG

DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg

WRITERS:  Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale; from a story by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, and John Milius

PRODUCER:  Buzz Feitshans

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  William A. Fraker (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Michael Kahn

COMPOSER:  John Williams

Academy Award nominee

COMEDY/HISTORICAL/WAR

Starring:  John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Christopher Lee, Nancy Allen, Ned Beatty, John Candy, Elisha Cook, Jr., Bobby Di Cicco, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Dianne Kay, John Landis, Michael McKean, Tim Matheson, Toshiro Mifune, Dick Miller, Warren Oates, Slim Pickens, Mickey Rourke, Lionel Stander, Robert Stack, Dub Taylor, Treat Williams, and Frank McRae

1941 is a 1979 comedy, war movie, and period film directed by Steven Spielberg.  Although not as popular or critically acclaimed as Spielberg's earlier films, 1941 began to gain in popularity after an expanded version of the film aired on television.  1941 is set almost a week after the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and finds various California residents in a state of panic about an alleged inevitable Japanese attack on the state.

1941 opens on Saturday, December 13, 1941, at 7:01 a.m. (six days after the attack on Pearl Harbor).  Surfacing off the Northern California coast is a submarine of the Imperial Japanese Fleet, commanded by Akiro Mitamura (Toshiro Mifune).  Also aboard, as an annoying advisor, is Nazi Kriegsmarine officer, Wolfgang von Kleinschmidt (Christopher Lee).  Because he did not participate in the attack on Pearl Harbor, Commander Mitamura wants to destroy something in Los Angeles, in an act or honor.  He has decided to target “Hollywood,” although he and his crew are having trouble finding the place.

Meanwhile, in Santa Monica, servicemen from the U.S. Army and Navy have overrun the town.  Wayward youth, Wally Stephens (Bobby Di Cicco), is trying to hold on to his girlfriend, Betty Douglas (Dianne Kay).  She is the target of the unwanted attentions of Corporal Chuck Sitarski (Treat Williams), a member of a 10th Armored Division tank crew.  The crew, which also consists of Sergeant Frank Tree (Dan Aykroyd) and Private First Class Foley (John Candy), is suddenly dealing with its newest member, Private Ogden Johnson Jones (Frank McRae), a Black serviceman!

In Death Valley, the cigar-chomping Captain Wild Bill Kelso (John Belushi) of the United States Army Air Forces aims his fighter plane towards L.A. where he believes he will help fight off a Japanese attack.  Everything is going crazy around everyone, and there seems to be a hundred melodramas and subplots.  Can Americans stop fighting Americans long enough prevent a real Japanese attack on Los Angeles and the surrounding area?

I recently saw 1941 for the first time in preparation for this review.  Although I am a huge fan of Steven Spielberg, 1941 was one of his films that I was not really interested in seeing.  I found a DVD copy containing a “restored version” of the film that is almost half an hour longer than the original theatrical release.  When I was a kid, 1941 was considered a “box office bomb,” which is apparently not true.  The film reportedly did make a profit, but it was not as financially or as critically well received as Spielberg's previous films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and Jaws (1975).

For what it is, 1941 is way too long, even at its original length (1 hour, 58 minutes).  Still, it is funny in many spots, and, in spite of a really large cast, all the individual subplots and comic melodramas do come together so that the film does not feel disjointed.  I like that 1941 gives me a chance to see some of my favorite actors:  Toshiro Mifune, Christopher Lee, Warren Oates, Ned Beatty, and character actors:  Dick Miller, Dub Taylor and Elisha Cook, Jr., all of whom are now deceased.  Another favorite, Robert Stack, practically steals the film as Major General Joseph W. Stillwell, a character that seems to center the film.  And I'm always happy to see Dan Aykroyd.

One thing that really stuck out to me is that much of 1941 seems like a dry run for the action sequences in my favorite Spielberg film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which would be his next film after 1941.  The action in 1941 is conveyed in a humorous mood, and Raiders, more of an adventure film than an action film, features action scenes that are breath-taking, but are delivered with something like a wink and a nod.

Regardless of where it is positioned in Steven Spielberg's filmography, 1941 shows that, as the guy at the helm, Spielberg's most impressive talent may be his ability to gather a large cast and crew and very talented collaborators in order to make really spectacular films that are epic in scope, even in their quite and funny moments.  1941 is not a great film, but there are moments during this movie when it is obvious that one of the greatest filmmakers of all time is the guiding force and the main man behind it.

5 of 10

B-

★★½ out of 4 stars

Saturday, November 5, 2022

NOTES:

1980 Academy Awards:  3 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (William A. Fraker), “Best Sound” (Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougall, and Gene S. Cantamessa), and “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (William A. Fraker, A.D. Flowers, and Gregory Jein)

The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Wild, Uneven "BULLET TRAIN" Has a Killer Last Act

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 of 2022 (No. 1878) by Leroy Douresseaux

Bullet Train (2022)
Running time: 127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)
MPA – R for strong and bloody violence, pervasive language, and brief sexuality
DIRECTOR:  David Leitch
WRITER:  Zak Olkewicz (based on the novel by Kotaro Isaka)
PRODUCERS:  Antoine Fuqua, David Leitch, and Kelly McCormick
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jonathan Sela (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Elisabet Ronaldsdottir
COMPOSER:  Dominic Lewis

ACTION

Starring:  Brad Pitt, Joey King, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Andrew Koji, Hiroyuki Sanada, Michael Shannon, Sandra Bullock, Benito A Martinez Ocasio (Bad Bunny), Logan Lerman, Zazie Beetz, Masi Oka, Kevin Akiyoshi Ching, Johanna White, and Karen Fukuhara with Channing Tatum and Ryan Reynolds

Bullet Train is a 2022 action movie from director David Leitch.  The film is based on the 2010 novel from author Kōtarō Isaka, Maria Beetle (which was titled Bullet Train for its U.S. and U.K. Editions).  Bullet Train the movie takes place aboard a swiftly-moving bullet train where five assassins gradually discover that they have several things in common.

Bullet Train opens in Japan and introduces “Ladybug” (Brad Pitt), an assassin turned “snatch-and-grab man.”  In Tokyo, he enters a bullet train bound for Kyoto.  He is initially wary of accepting this job from his handler, Maria (Sandra Bullock), which involves him retrieving a briefcase that contains ten million dollars.  Also on the train is a young woman known as “Prince” (Joey King); the assassin brothers, “Lemon” (Brian Tyree Henry) and “Tangerine” (Aaron Taylor-Johnson); and the revenge-seeking Yuichi Kimura (Andrew Koji).

They are all passengers on this particular bullet train, directly and indirectly, because of “The Son” (Logan Lerman), the kidnapped son of the Russian-born Yakuza boss known as the “White Death” (Michael Shannon).  Ladybug, who is begrudgingly working this job, believes that it is bringing out the worst of the bad luck that he believes plagues him.  Gradually, he finds himself fighting off an ever-growing gathering of killers and miscreants.  And waiting for everyone at their final stop in Kyoto – at least for those that survive – is an ultimate showdown with the White Death and his hired killers.

Directly or indirectly, Bullet Train is a movie influenced by the films of Oscar-winning filmmaker, Quentin Tarantino.  The dialogue – full of chatter, threats, and banter – is supposed to come across as cool, but it is merely blather from a third or fourth or fifth generation take on a Tarantino screenplay.  The characters are also Tarantino retreads, and so are their actions and inaction.  Still, I must admit that I like some of them, especially Brad Pitt's Ladybug.

So is Bullet Train any good, you might ask?

Well, two-thirds of it is uneven and moves in fits and starts of violence and murder.  I was mostly uninterested, but there are some surprising cameos that captured my interest.  For instance, Zazie Beetz is the assassin, “The Hornet,” and recording artist, Bad Bunny, is the Mexican assassin, “The Wolf.”  Both, however, are barely in the film.  I think they would have improved Bullet Train a good bit had their roles been enlarged.

However, the first 80 or so mediocre minutes of this movie are worth it for the last 40 minutes.  It is as if Bullet Train suddenly explodes in its last act to reveal a much better movie that had been hiding inside the fairly awful movie.  Everything is better, even Brad Pitt, who keeps this movie from being an absolute disaster.  Sometimes, it is worth having a genuine movie star, like a Brad Pitt, star in a genre movie.  The first two-thirds of this movie deserves a grade of “C-” at best, but the last third deserves an “A.”  So I'll average that out to a “B,” and I will recommend Bullet Train because of its last act.  It really is spectacular, and it is a pay off for your patience.

6 out of 10
B
★★★ out of 4 stars

Saturday, October 29, 2022


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Review: Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (Countdown to "The Fabelmans")

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 64 of 2022 (No. 1876) by Leroy Douresseaux

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Running time:  135 minutes (2 hour, 15 minutes)
MPAA – PG
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Steven Spielberg
PRODUCERS:  Julia Phillips and Michael Phillips
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Vilmos Zsigmond (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michael Kahn
COMPOSER:  John Williams
Academy Award winner

SCI-FI/ADVENTURE/MYSTERY/DRAMA

Starring:  Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Terri Garr, Melinda Dillon, Bob Balaban, and Cary Guffey

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 science fiction film written and directed by Steven Spielberg.  The film follows an everyday blue-collar worker from Indiana who has a life-changing encounter with a UFO and then, embarks on a cross-country journey to the place where a momentous event is to occur.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind opens in the Sonoran Desert.  There, French scientist Claude Lacombe (François Truffaut), his American interpreter, David Laughlin (Bob Balaban), and a group of other researchers make a shocking discovery regarding a three-decade-old mystery.

Then, the film introduces Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), an rural electrical lineman living in Muncie, Indiana with his wife, Ronnie (Terri Garr), and their three children.  One night, while working on a power outage, Roy has a “close encounter” with a UFO (unidentified flying object).  The encounter is so intense that the right side of Roy's face is lightly burned, and it also becomes a kind of metaphysical experience for Roy.  He becomes fascinated with the UFO and obsessed with some kind of mountain-like image that won't leave his mind.

Roy isn't the only one who has had a close encounter.  Single mother Jillian Guiler (Melinda Dillon) watches in horror as her three-year-old son, Barry Guiler (Cary Guffey), is abducted, apparently by a UFO.  Now, Roy and Jillian are headed to a place they have never been, Devils Tower in Moorcroft, Wyoming, where they will hopefully find answers to the questions plaguing their minds.

As I await the release of Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans, I have been re-watching and, in some cases, watching for the first time, Spielberg's early films.  Thus far, I have watched Duel (the TV film that first got Spielberg noticed), The Sugarland Express (his debut theatrical film), and Jaws (which I have seen countless times).  I did not see Close Encounters of the Third Kind when it first arrived in movie theaters, but I finally got to watch it when it debuted on television.  I recently watched a DVD release of what is known as Close Encounters of the Third Kind: The Special Edition, a shortened (132 minutes long compared to the original's 135 minutes) and altered version of the film that Columbia Pictures released in August 1980.

The truth is that I have never been as crazy about Close Encounters of the Third Kind the way I have been about such Spielberg's films as Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jurassic Park.  I liked Close Encounters the first time I saw it (a few years after its theatrical release), but I had expected a lot from it after hearing such wonderful things about the film from acquaintances who had seen it in a theater.  I was a bit underwhelmed,.  I liked Close Encounters, but was not “wowed” by it, and was less so the second time I saw it a few years after the first time.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a combination of science fiction, adventure, drama, and mystery.  The drama works, especially when Spielberg depicts the trouble that Roy Neary's obsession causes his family and also the terror of the “attack” on Jillian Guiler and her son, Barry.  Roy's adventure and journey are quite captivating and result in the events of the film's final half hour, which is the part of the film that many consider to be marvelous.  Close Encounters' last act certainly offers an impressive display of special effects and a dazzling light show.

I am attracted to the sense of wonder and discovery that infuses much of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  I think my problem is that it seems like three movies in one:  Claude Lacombe and Davie Laughlin's story, Roy's story, and the the big “close encounter” at Devils Tower.  None of them really gets the time to develop properly, so the film's overall narrative and also the character development are somewhat shallow.  There is a lot to like about Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and it is an impressive display of Spielberg's filmmaking skills.  However, I am done with it.  I don't need to see it again, although I am a huge fan of UFO-related media.  I simply cannot warm to Close Encounters of the Third Kind the way I have with other Spielberg films.

7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars

Thursday, October 27, 2022


NOTES:
1978 Academy Awards, USA:  2 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Vilmos Zsigmond) and a “Special Achievement Award” (Frank E. Warner for sound effects editing); 7 nominations: “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Melinda Dillon), “Best Director” (Steven Spielberg), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Joe Alves, Daniel A. Lomino, and Phil Abramson), “Best Sound” (Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougall, and Gene S. Cantamessa), “Best Film Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Roy Arbogast, Douglas Trumbull, Matthew Yuricich, Gregory Jein, and Richard Yuricich), and “Best Music, Original Score” (John Williams)

1979 BAFTA Awards:  1 win: Best Production Design/Art Direction (Joe Alves); 8 nominations: “Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music” (John Williams); “BAFTA Film Award     Best Cinematography” (Vilmos Zsigmond), “Best Direction” (Steven Spielberg), “Best Film,” “Best Film Editing” (Michael Kahn), “Best Screenplay” (Steven Spielberg), “Best Sound” (Gene S. Cantamessa, Robert Knudson, Don MacDougall, Robert Glass, Stephen Katz, Frank E. Warner, Richard Oswald, David M. Horton, Sam Gemette, Gary S. Gerlich, Chester Slomka, and Neil Burrow), and “Best Supporting Actor? (François Truffaut)

1978 Golden Globes, USA:  4 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Director - Motion Picture” (Steven Spielberg), “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Steven Spielberg), and “Best Original Score - Motion Picture” (John Williams)

2007 National Film Preservation Board, USA:  1 win: “National Film Registry”


The text is copyright © 2022 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Young Stars Bring "GHOSTBUSTERS: Afterlife" to Life

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 of 2021 (No. 1804) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Running time:  124 minutes (2 hours, 4 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for supernatural action and some suggestive references
DIRECTOR:  Jason Reitman
WRITERS:  Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman (based on the film, Ghost Busters, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis)
PRODUCER:  Ivan Reitman
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Eric Steelberg
EDITORS:  Dana E. Glauberman and Nathan Orloff
COMPOSER:  Rob Simonsen

FANTASY/MYSTERY/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring:  Mckenna Grace, Finn Wolfhard, Carrie Coon, Paul Rudd, Logan Kim, Celeste O'Connor, and Bokeem Woodbine with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a 2021 supernatural comedy, action and mystery film from director Jason Reitman.  It is the fourth entry in the Ghostbusters film franchise and is a kind of sequel to the original film, 1984's Ghost Busters (now known as “Ghostbusters”), which was directed by Jason's father, Ivan Reitman.  In Afterlife, a single mother and her two children arrive in small town Oklahoma, and the children discover their grandfather's amazing and secret legacy.

Thirty-two years after the events of Ghostbusters II (1989), Callie Spengler (Carrie Coon) and her two children, son Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and daughter Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), arrive in Summerville, Oklahoma.  Currently homeless, they will try to make a new home in the rundown farmhouse owned by Callie's late father, Egon Spengler.  While rooting through some of Egon's belongings, Phoebe discovers a P.K.G. Meter (a ghost-tracking device).  While digging around, Trevor finds a beat-up old car that sports the “Ghostbusters” logo.

Phoebe, who does not believe in the supernatural, makes a friend, a boy named “Podcast” (Logan Kim), who believes in the strange and unusual and discusses it in his podcast.  Trevor makes a friend in a local, a teen girl named Lucky Domingo (Celeste O'Connor).  Eventually, the children discover that Phoebe's summer school teacher, Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), is quite familiar with their grandfather, Egon's legacy as a scientist, an inventor, and a member of “Ghostbusters,” the ghost-catching organization that was famous for its activities in 1980s New York City.  Now, the four youngsters and Callie and Gary must face the same great evil that once confronted the original Ghostbusters.

I was a huge fan of the original Ghostbusters films.  When I first saw Ghost Busters in a movie theater in 1984, I laughed so much that the other people in the theater were giving me the side eye.  I enjoyed the sequel, Ghostbusters II (1989), although many people I knew at the time did not like it all that much.  Still, I was happy, but over the years, Ghostbusters became a fond memory that I sometimes relived via my cable TV package.  In the years that followed Ghostbusters II, there was always talk of a third Ghostbusters film, but I was only mildly interested.

For some people, however, the Ghostbuster films and the related merchandise became a lifestyle choice, something to which they dedicated themselves as if it were hobby, a second career, and maybe even a quasi-religion.  Those were the people who claimed to have been traumatized by the 2016 franchise reboot, Ghostbusters, which featured an all-female cast as the Ghostbusters (and which may have since been re-titled “Ghostbusters: Answer the Call”).  I was only mildly interested in that film, and have seen most of it via cable TV.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is supposed to remedy the trauma of Ghostbusters 2016.  Afterlife director Jason Reitman once said that his film was giving Ghostbusters “back to the fans.”  I never felt like something had been taken from me.  After all, as I've said, I can see the original films at least a few times a week on television.  That said, I do like Afterlife.

Reitman offers an exciting film that is as much a mystery film as it is a comedy, and the secrets of the town of Summerville and its surroundings are quite intriguing and provide a nice setting for the story.  I do wish that the film had given us more on the town and its inhabitants.  However, there is much focus on the darkness at the edge of town – the big bad supernatural being.  Reitman and his co-writer, Gil Kenan, work overtime to make sure everyone understands that the villain is connected to the events of the original film.  I didn't find that connection necessary, but I understand why Reitman and Sony Pictures felt that it was very important to make a hard connection between the events of 1984 and the events of 2021.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife's shining light isn't the desperation to connect to a 37-year-old movie.  Afterlife's true treasures are its young stars:  Mckenna Grace as Phoebe, Finn Wolfhard as Trevor, Celeste O'Connor as Lucky, and Logan Kim as Podcast.  As Phoebe, Grace is totally capable of carrying this film's emotional center and of stabilizing its subplots and narrative threads until they come together.  When Jason Reitman focuses on his young cast, turning them into young supernatural investigators and Ghostbusters, Afterlife explodes with life and has all the magic of an old-fashioned summer blockbuster movie in spite of its November release date.

Yes, it was good to see the original cast members.  No, Paul Rudd is not the star of Afterlife, as the film's trailers and commercials suggest, but he is important to the development of the story.  Yes, Carrie Coon is good as the kid's mother, Callie.  However, it is time for this franchise to move on from nostalgia and fanservice if it is going to have a future.  These four young actors and four new characters are why Ghostbusters: Afterlife can be a true resurrection story.

7 out of 10
B+

Friday, November 19, 2021


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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"The Craft: Legacy" Hits PVOD Tonight at Midnight

Blumhouse’s and Columbia Pictures’ The Craft: Legacy from Writer/Director Zoe Lister-Jones, to Hit PVOD and EST in North America for Halloween, Starting Midnight October 28, 2020

Culver City, CA – Blumhouse Productions and Columbia Pictures announced today that The Craft: Legacy will be available widely on PVOD this Halloween with leading digital retailers for a 48-hour rental period at a suggested retail price of $19.99, and for premium digital purchase at a suggested retail price of $24.99. An international theatrical release is anticipated in several territories, with details to be solidified in the weeks ahead.

Zoe Lister-Jones’ film, from Blumhouse and Red Wagon Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, is a continuation of the cult hit The Craft (1996), in which an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers. Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, the film stars Cailee Spaeny (Bad Times at the El Royale, On the Basis of Sex), Gideon Adlon (The Society, Blockers, The Mustang), Lovie Simone (Selah & the Spades, Greenleaf), Zoey Luna (Pose, Boundless), Nicholas Galitzine (Cinderella), with Michelle Monaghan and David Duchovny.

“I'm thrilled to be able to share The Craft: Legacy with audiences all over the world this Halloween," said the film’s writer and director, Zoe Lister-Jones. "It's been a true privilege to take on such an iconic title. I can't wait for the world to meet the incredible young women who make up our new coven.”

“Zoe Lister-Jones has put a bewitching twist on continuing The Craft franchise, and October is the perfect season for it,” said producer Jason Blum. “We’re thrilled that our partners at Sony Pictures are looking at the landscape opportunistically this Halloween, for audiences to watch at home in the U.S.”

Zoe Lister-Jones is writing, directing, and executive producing. Jason Blum is producing for Blumhouse. Academy Award®-winning producer Douglas Wick (who also produced the original film) and Lucy Fisher are producing for Red Wagon Entertainment. Executive producing are Andrew Fleming, who directed and co-wrote the original film; Lucas Wiesendanger, from Red Wagon Entertainment; Daniel Bekerman; Beatriz Sequeira, Jeanette Volturno, and Couper Samuelson for Blumhouse; and Natalia Anderson.
 

About Sony Pictures Entertainment:
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.

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Columbia Pictures Announces "The Craft: Legacy" for Premium Video on Demand

Blumhouse’s and Columbia Pictures’ The Craft: Legacy from Writer/Director Zoe Lister-Jones, to Hit PVOD and EST in North America for Halloween, Starting Midnight October 28, 2020

Culver City, CA – Blumhouse Productions and Columbia Pictures announced that The Craft: Legacy will be available widely on PVOD this Halloween with leading digital retailers for a 48-hour rental period at a suggested retail price of $19.99, and for premium digital purchase at a suggested retail price of $24.99. An international theatrical release is anticipated in several territories, with details to be solidified in the weeks ahead.

Zoe Lister-Jones’ film, from Blumhouse and Red Wagon Entertainment for Columbia Pictures, is a continuation of the cult hit, The Craft (1996), in which an eclectic foursome of aspiring teenage witches get more than they bargained for as they lean into their newfound powers. Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, the film stars Cailee Spaeny (Bad Times at the El Royale, On the Basis of Sex), Gideon Adlon (The Society, Blockers, The Mustang), Lovie Simone (Selah & the Spades, Greenleaf), Zoey Luna (Pose, Boundless), Nicholas Galitzine (Cinderella), with Michelle Monaghan and David Duchovny.

“I'm thrilled to be able to share The Craft: Legacy with audiences all over the world this Halloween," said the film’s writer and director, Zoe Lister-Jones. "It's been a true privilege to take on such an iconic title. I can't wait for the world to meet the incredible young women who make up our new coven.”

“Zoe Lister-Jones has put a bewitching twist on continuing The Craft franchise, and October is the perfect season for it,” said producer Jason Blum. “We’re thrilled that our partners at Sony Pictures are looking at the landscape opportunistically this Halloween, for audiences to watch at home in the U.S.”

Zoe Lister-Jones is writing, directing, and executive producing. Jason Blum is producing for Blumhouse. Academy Award®-winning producer Douglas Wick (who also produced the original film) and Lucy Fisher are producing for Red Wagon Entertainment. Executive producing are Andrew Fleming, who directed and co-wrote the original film; Lucas Wiesendanger, from Red Wagon Entertainment; Daniel Bekerman; Beatriz Sequeira, Jeanette Volturno, and Couper Samuelson for Blumhouse; and Natalia Anderson.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment:
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.

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Recent Release, "Bloodshot," Now Available on Digital

Columbia Pictures’ Bloodshot To Be Available For Digital Purchase Starting March 24

CULVER CITY, CA — Given unprecedented theater closures nationwide, Columbia Pictures has set the sale date of Bloodshot on EST (electronic sell through) for March 24, 2020. The Valiant comic-book property will be available for digital purchase for a suggested retail price of $19.99 in the U.S. with all leading digital retailers. International digital sale dates will be solidified in the days ahead with territory-specific COVID-19 impact considerations.

“Sony Pictures is firmly committed to theatrical exhibition and we support windowing,” said Tom Rothman, Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group. “This is a unique and exceedingly rare circumstance where theaters have been required to close nationwide for the greater good and Bloodshot is abruptly unavailable in any medium. Audiences will now have the chance to own Bloodshot right away and see it at home, where we are all spending more time. We are confident that -- like other businesses hit hard by the virus -- movie theaters will bounce back strongly, and we will be there to support them.”

Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out.

Bloodshot is presented by Columbia Pictures in association with Bona Film Group Co., Ltd. and Annabell Pictures & The Hideaway Entertainment. Directed by David S. F. Wilson. Screenplay by Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer. Story by Jeff Wadlow. Based on The Valiant Comic Book. Produced by Neal H. Moritz, Toby Jaffe, Dinesh Shamdasani and Vin Diesel. Executive Producers are Dan Mintz, Louis G. Friedman, YU Dong, Jeffrey Chan, Rita LeBlanc, Buddy Patrick and Matthew Vaughn. The film stars Vin Diesel, Eiza Gonzalez, Sam Heughan, Toby Kebbell and Guy Pearce.


About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, 3000 Pictures, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.

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"Spider-Man: Far From Home" Breaks Sony Box Office Record

Spider-Man™: Far From Home Breaks Sony Pictures Record As Highest-Grossing Film In Studio’s Ninety-Five Year History

Never-Before-Seen Extended Cut Featuring New Action Sequence To Be Released Labor Day Weekend

CULVER CITY, Calif. – Columbia Pictures’ Spider-Man: Far From Home has officially become Sony Pictures’ highest-grossing film of all time, passing the global box office gross of Columbia Pictures/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures/EON Production’s Skyfall. Through Sunday, August 18, 2019, Spider-Man: Far From Home made $376.7 million domestically and $732.9 million internationally for a worldwide cume of $1.109 billion.

Starting Thursday, August 29, 2019, ahead of the holiday weekend, an extended cut of the film featuring approximately four additional minutes of a never-before-seen action sequence will be released in theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The film will also be available in IMAX® and large formats in select locations.

On its path toward this record-breaking milestone, Spider-Man: Far From Home showed incredible power at the global box office.

The film’s North American opening at $185.06 million for the six-day holiday weekend was an all-time opening six-day record for Sony Pictures, the best-ever six-day opening for a Spider-Man film, and the best six-day opening for a film launching over the Fourth of July holiday. On opening day, July 2, the film opened to the biggest Tuesday numbers of all time with $39.3 million.

Spider-Man: Far From Home became the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie overseas and opened at #1 in 65 markets including Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The film’s global rollout began on June 28 in China, Hong Kong, and Japan with a $111 million cumulative opening. China debuted to $97.7 million – the seventh-largest opening of all-time for a studio film in the market and Sony Pictures’ second-biggest opening there. Japan opened with $9.4 million – the second-biggest superhero movie launch in the last decade. Hong Kong opened with $3.7 million – the fifth-biggest Friday-to-Sunday opening of all-time, and Sony Pictures’ best-ever opening in the market.


About Spider-Man™: Far From Home
Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever.

Directed by Jon Watts. Written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers. Based on the MARVEL Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Produced by Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Thomas M. Hammel, Eric Hauserman Carroll, Rachel O’Connor, Stan Lee, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach serve as executive producers. The film stars Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Cobie Smulders, Jon Favreau, JB Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Martin Starr, with Marisa Tomei and Jake Gyllenhaal.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition, and distribution; television production, acquisition, and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. SPE’s Motion Picture Group production organizations include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films, AFFIRM Films, and Sony Pictures Classics. For additional information, visit http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html.

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Sony Acquires Film Rights to Image Comics' "A.D.: After Death"

SONY PICKS UP THE FILM RIGHTS TO A.D.: AFTER DEATH

Writer Scott Snyder and illustrator Jeff Lemire's A.D.: AFTER DEATH, a three-part epic series published by Image Comics, has been acquired by Sony in a significant deal in a multi-party bidding war, to be developed into a feature film. Snyder and Lemire will serve as Executive Producers on the project.

Josh Bratman of Immersive Pictures will work alongside Eric Fineman at Columbia to produce the film. Bratman is also developing Lemire and Dustin Nguyen's comic series DESCENDER into a feature film franchise.

A.D. is set in a future where a genetic cure for death has been found. One man, years after the discovery of the cure, starts to question everything, leading him on a mind-bending journey that will bring him face-to-face with his past and his own mortality.

A.D. is the first project Snyder and Lemire, longtime friends and both acclaimed and bestselling comic creators in their own right, have worked on together. This is the first project Lemire has illustrated that he has not also written. Book 1 was published November 2016, with Book 2 available December 21, 2016.

Snyder is a New York Times bestselling author and an Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer (AMERICAN VAMPIRE with Stephen King, SWAMP THING, BATMAN). His short story collection, VOODOO HEART, was published by Dial Press in 2006. The collection received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and was a Kirkus Reviews "Hot Debut" of the year. WYTCHES, his creator-owned Image Comics graphic novel series with illustrator Jock, is under option at New Regency with Plan B producing.

Lemire is a New York Times bestselling author and the creator of the acclaimed graphic novels SWEET TOOTH, ESSEX COUNTY, THE UNDERWATER WELDER, and TRILLIUM. Having won the American Library Association’s prestigious Alex Award—recognizing books for adults with specific teen appeal—and having been nominated for multiple Eisner awards and Harvey awards, Lemire currently writes the monthly adventures of MOON KNIGHT (DC Comics), THE X-MEN (Marvel), and his creator-owned ongoing DESCENDER (Image Comics). The rights to Lemire and Emi Lenox's PLUTONA at Image Comics have been acquired by Ken Kao to produce as a feature film. Lemire's graphic novel trilogy ESSEX COUNTY is under option to Canadian production company First Generation Films with Christina Piovesan producing as a TV series.

The deal for A.D.: AFTER DEATH was brokered by Angela Cheng Caplan of Cheng Caplan Company, Inc., along with Lemire's attorney Allison Binder of Stone, Genow, Smelkinson, Binder & Christopher, LLP and Snyder's attorney Lillian Laserson of Laserson Law.

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