The Reel World

We are living in the era of the “legacy sequel”, it seems all sorts of properties that began in the late 70s or 80s are getting sequels and for the most part they have been rather successful at the box office. This is the part that frustrates me with streaming services, a film like Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F has been gestating for years, it even went to becoming an a TV series that failed to take off but after the success of Top Gun: Maverick, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and the Creed films it seems Hollywood execs have decided maybe a new Beverly Hills Cop film might be a good idea after all. Then factor that this summer isn’t all that stacked with tent-pole films you’d think Netflix would take a chance and give Axel Foley his time on the big screen like he deserves, but nope this new film is exclusive to Netflix and while I get their motivations, I still think they are stupid for missing out on the potential added income, just like they’ll most likely forego releasing the film on physical media. It is an interesting time in film and I don’t feel it is a good thing, streaming may be huge but most of the films that are direct to streaming whether it is Netflix, Prime, Apple and so on…most of these films just are not very good and unfortunately it seems audiences are fine with settling for mediocrity. Sure there have been a few gems that are good but this reminds me of the days on VHS with the straight to video market, sure some were good but the majority of the films were crap. So where does this new adventure with Axel Foley land? Well sort of in the middle.

The film opens up with Axel (Eddie Murphy) some how still employed with the Detroit PD and he is on an undercover operation at a hockey game and it should come as no surprise that things go wrong. We get a car chase with Murphy in a snowplow causing havoc as some familiar songs from the earlier films play as though to remind us what franchise we are watching. I got to address how this just didn’t work for me, as much as I love the classic songs it just felt forced and I immediately started to worry if this is how the rest of the film would go. It was great seeing Paul Reiser reprising his role now as Deputy Chief Friedman. Man this had me missing Gilbert Hill chewing out Foley, it seems so minor but he was part of the dynamic that made the previous films fun (at least the portions in Detroit) but I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on the film yet.

It’s the little things I supposed. When forced to confront the prospect of your own death, what will you do with the time you have left. Some fight against their own extinction. Some seek help from a higher power. While some cling to the past and seek comfort in their treasured memories. In a Quiet Place: Day One we see a bit of all three. While Day One marks the third installment in the Quiet Place franchise, it serves as the prequel for the series showcasing how the world went silent after sightless aliens with sharp hearing and impenetrable armor plating take over the planet and attack the human population. For me, this is a welcome addition to the franchise because while watching the first two films, one of my recurring thoughts was I would like to see how the world went quiet. Imagine my excitement when I this movie was announced. In my mind, I figured the prequel would continue to follow the Abbott family. However, Day One is comprised of a predominantly new cast, with the exception of Djimon Hounsou, who was introduced in the second film. While I was initially disappointed, I got over it quickly as new blood provides a new opportunity to expand the story rather than restricting yourself. Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, and Alex Wolff represent our new additions to the franchise, and they don’t disappoint.

We’ve seen the result of the invasion. Now see how it began. The film centers around Nyong'o’s character Sam, as she finds herself trapped in New York City during the early stages of an invasion by alien creatures with ultra-sensitive hearing. As the central character, Nyong'o is our lens into this situation. A loner type with a pessimistic outlook of the world (there is a justifiable reason for outlook that I won’t spoil for you), she elects to go it alone. Obviously, that won’t do. It is in this vein that we are introduced to Quinn’s character, Eric. While their pairing was inevitable and expected, their endgame was not and leads me back to my opening statement. When faced with the prospect of your own death, what will you value the most. While I can’t fault what Sam and Eric valued, it truly embodies that opening sentence.

“You're my bad boys. Now clear my name.”

Slipping back into their roles as Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett must be as easy as slipping on their favorite jacket for Will Smith and Martin Lawrence at this point. Their chemistry has been what has sustained this nearly thirty-year franchise, and they continue the trend with the latest installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. If this is to be the final addition in the franchise, I would be more than satisfied, and Ride or Die would be a very good high note to go out on in my opinion, as it offers a measure of catharsis for both characters. Not to mention paying homage to an O.G. character who was tragically killed (I’m still upset about it) in the previous film. Naturally Smith and Lawrence are the returning vets for the series, but there are also a few other returning faces, such as Paola Nunez, Jacob Scipio, Vanessa Hudgens, and Alex Ludwig, who were introduced in the last film. However, that’s not all, as the film demonstrates excellent character continuity by including characters introduced in the first movie. Characters like Dennis Greene as Reggie, and even better, a surprise cameo from a very tall former criminal that dates to the original film. You’ll know him when you see him. Unfortunately, Theresa Randle (who played Marcus’ wife in the other installments) does not return, due to what I’ve been led to believe were medical concerns. Wishing her a full recovery. Meanwhile, Tasha Smith graciously steps into the role.

"Seems like a nice day for a swim."

Walt Disney Studios has struggled of late. It's been a while since they've had much of a hit, and that includes their Marvel and Pixar components. In the years just before the pandemic the studio was outperforming anyone in the industry. One Disney executive once said that actually printing money would be less profitable than the billions the studio was raking in. But something changed around the pandemic, and it had little to do with a virus. The studio started to flex its muscles in the political arena, and those elements started to dominate the on-screen product. It doesn't really matter if one agrees with them or not. I think it's tricky when a part of the entertainment industry starts to get too involved with a particular social ideology. Just ask the Dixie Chicks. The who? That's my point. It's cost the studio a considerable sum and an over 50% plunge in their stock value over three years or so. Why would you alienate half of the prospective audience? Forget politics. It's just not good business. So this was the backdrop in which I attended our screening of Young Woman Of The Sea. If ever there was a film that looked to really pile on, that sure sounded like the title to me. To my surprise, the film appears to avoid all of that and ends up being the best Disney film I've seen in a few years.

My favorite food has always been lasagna.  All those special noodles, layers of cheese and ricotta, beef, sausage, sauce, and more cheese into an absolutely perfect dish.  Furthermore, if you let the dish sit overnight in the refrigerator, it was somehow even better than the day before.  Unfortunately, lack of true gluten-free options for lasagna noodles (Barilla makes one, but they are hard to find) and nobody to really make it for beside myself (my wife and son are lactose intolerant) have created a situation where I haven't had a true lasagna in years.  But perhaps with today's film review of Garfield, I can find the inspiration to recreate my favorite dish.  Let's take a look at the movie.

For a lot of cat owners, I'm sure their realized horror is their feline learning how to use a cell phone.  Apparently Garfield (voiced by Chris Pratt) has this down pat, as he uses it to order Mamma Leoni's via drone delivery.  Meanwhile, Odie (voiced by Gregg Berger) barks for a treat, which he quickly receives.  In a few moments, a drone arrives with a pizza for Garfield.  Several seconds later, the pizza is eaten as if Garfield was a paper shredder.   That should tide him over until breakfast.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Start your engines.”

Back in 2015 when Mad Max: Fury Road was released, it was a film that I don’t think anyone expected audiences to respond to as they did. It was 30 years since audiences had last been to the Australian Wasteland when they previously saw Max, then played by Mel Gibson, play the title hero in a dystopian trilogy that has a very loyal fan base. Fury Road managed to exceed expectations as it delivered on having over-the-top chases through the desert wasteland, spectacular stunts, a great score, and then there was the character of Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, as a one-armed badass who managed to steal the film from Tom Hardy, who was now starring in the title role of Max. While I do love Fury Road, my major gripe was with the over-simplicity of the film. Basically it is nothing more than one large chase where our heroes spend 2/3 heading in one direction and then in the final portion decide to turn around and continue their chase. I have nothing against a great car chase; after all, I still think Vanishing Point is hands down the ultimate car film with the best chases put to celluloid, but considering George Miller had 30 years to brainstorm ideas and come up with a script, I would have hoped for a better story. Now we have Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, this time only nine years in the making. Expectations are pretty high, and with the summer box office looking pretty bleak, theater chains are in need of a hero, and it looks like Furiosa could fit the bill. Does the film succeed in being everything audiences could hope for and need, or is this just another dumpster-fire cash grab by the studios just churning out a sequel hoping it will stay in theaters longer than a few weeks before hitting VOD?

“In their time, humans were capable of many great things. They could fly, like eagles fly. They could speak across oceans. But now, it is our time ... and it is my kingdom. We will learn. Apes will learn. I will learn. And I ... will conquer.”

Just as you think that the Planet of the Apes franchise has run out of story to tell, especially following the death of the protagonist in the preceding film, they find a way to bring the story full circle with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the first of a new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films. In the Andy Serkis-led Caesar, we observed apes’ ascendency to becoming the dominant species on the planet. However, with this new franchise, we will get to see if absolute power truly does corrupt absolutely. I have to take my hat off to this franchise, not only for its ten installments, but for its successful execution of long-term storytelling. When the series rebooted back in 2011, I assumed that we were just getting the origin story for the films that came before. Following that logic, I presumed that following apes ascending to the top of the food chain would be the end of the journey. However, that is not the case, as things have been brought full circle, and there is still much story to tell. Caesar’s journey was merely a chapter in a larger story that is still being written. King of the Planet of Apes marks the beginning of that new chapter, and I for one am happy to be along for the ride.

"This is the story of one of America's great unsung heroes. I mean, you've seen him, but you never knew who he was. You've cheered for him and cried for him, and women have wanted to die for him. But did he ever get any credit, or the girl? No! He's what we call the "Stuntman", and the reason I'm talking so fondly about him is, well because it's me, Colt Seavers. Anyway, picture work isn't wall-to-wall employment, so maybe you wonder how a guy keeps his head together? Well, one way is to wait by the phone ... and wait and wait. The other is to take an occasional job with the court system of the United States of America, where a man is considered innocent until proven guilty. Unfortunately, sometimes a lot of these people get out of jail on what we call bail and they'd run like hell! ... and that's where I come in. I sometimes pick up rent money trying to find them and bring them back to justice." - Television series open.

Lee Majors performed a pretty solid television hat trick in his television career. Over three decades he starred in three iconic television shows that defined him for three successive generations. In the 1960's he was Heath Barkley on the TV western The Big Valley. Like the Cartwrights in the more popular series Bonanza, the Barkleys faced all of the elements of the Wild West, and Lee Majors was there for it all. From 1965 to 1969 he was in 112 episodes of the hit show. Then the 1970's arrived, which was the decade in which I became  acquainted with Majors as Steve Austin, "a man barely alive" until a secret government organization made him "better than he was" as The Six Million Dollar Man. He was "reassembled with a bionic arm, eye, and two legs. It made him "stronger ... faster ..." I spent many a summer afternoon running in slow motion and making that "chichichi" sound as a young boy. The Six Million Dollar Man ran from 1974 to 1978 and went 99 episodes, a couple of spinoffs, and several television movies. The show has been kicked around in Hollywood for decades with several attempts to make it a film franchise, often updated to The Six Billion Dollar Man. I guess a million bucks just doesn't go as far as it used to. Now it takes $126 million to put Majors' third series on the big screen. That happens to be the role of Hollywood stuntman-turned-action-hero Colt Seavers, and it ran from 1981 to 1986 and another 112 episodes. If you're keeping score at ,that's an amazing 323 + episodes of television over three decades. And now it's Colt who beats Steve and Heath to the big screen in The Fall Guy, directed by David Leitch and starring Ryan Gosling in Majors' Colt Seaver role and Emily Blunt as his co-star, playing Jody Moreno, originally played by Heather Thomas. But is this a movie that audiences are going to fall for?

“What can I say? I like playing with my food.”

I have to say, I was expecting more blood. When the cast speaks out and calls the film “the bloodiest thing they’ve ever worked on in terms of volume,” or “the most traumatic experiences,” and the director describes it as “just a bloodbath,” I guess I was just expecting it be pouring down from the walls. However, that was not really the case. In truth, I barely noticed a difference between this and your typical horror film. Granted, other horror films have less exploding vampires, which I assume was the reason for the film earning its gory reputation. I suppose that is to the film’s credit, the ability to use close to 30,000 liters of fake blood, yet I was no more disturbed than watching any other traditional vampire films. Aside from that surprise, I have no complaints about Abigail, a reimagining of the Universal horror classic, Dracula’s Daughter, starring Melissa Barrera, Dan Stevens, Kathryn Newton, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud, and Giancarlo Esposito. For Angus Cloud, this serves as his final role due to his passing in July 2023. Also noteworthy was that production wasn't completed until months after his death due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. However, Cloud managed to film all of his scenes before production was shut down.

“I've never been so scared in my entire life. And I've never felt more alive.”

Civil War paints quite the picture and is likely to leave a lasting impression. I know it did with me. Despite awareness of the film’s premise, I didn’t know what to expect from the film written and directed by Alex Garland, the filmmaker responsible for films like 28 Days Later, 28 Weeks Later, and Ex Machina. I suppose given his storied career in the dystopian film genre, I expected that this film would follow suit. However, while the film does fit comfortably in that genre, it also had the makings of a cautionary tale. The film, which follows a team of journalists who travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating second American civil war which has engulfed the entire nation was an intense and engaging experience that is not easily forgotten. Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Cailee Spaeny serve as our journalist team, and each and every one of them shine as they embark on this rollercoaster journey that leaves it mark on each character.