Tag: Eddie Murphy

Quick Thoughts: ‘Parasite’ – ‘The Lighthouse’ – ‘Jojo Rabbit’ – ‘Dolemite Is My Name’


Just as a brief preamble, it’s been a pretty down year for movies, as far as I can see. Other than Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, nothing else has come close to being my favorite of 2019, but, all of the following four are standouts in their own way, and the first two in particular I bet will get some awards love.

From the director of Snowpiercer (a very entertaining movie with a questionable ending) comes a film that I think is getting a little overhyped in terms of the level of praise, but is nonetheless one of the best films of the year.

I say that because I was led to expect that Parasite would be totally mind-blowing, and, well, it didn’t quite reach that level for me (I mean I wouldn’t call it more successful than Burning in that regard), but it’s still a sight to behold (figuratively and literally; the cinematography is wonderful), and it did go places I didn’t expect, so I must give it that credit.

What really makes Parasite go though is the performances. As the plot essentially revolves around a long con, there’s a lot of acting on top of acting that could easily be overplayed, but this ensemble handles it with an impressive level of nuance.

Some have called this movie a dark comedy, and while there were moments that made me laugh I think I’d label it more of a twisty drama, but we’re splitting hairs at this point.

As I said, one of the best of the year, if not totally mind-blowing.

Rating: ★★★★☆



Regrettably, I’ve still not seen Robert Eggers’ previous film, The Witch, though after seeing The Lighthouse I feel even more inclined to seek it out.

I’m not the biggest fan of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, but The Lighthouse definitely cribs some notes from it, in a good way. I wouldn’t say I found The Lighthouse horrifying or unsettling in the way of, say, Hereditary; I’d actually call it a rather entertaining, darkly comedic descent into madness, which I don’t think I really expected from a film about two men stuck on an island, living that harsh 19th Century life.

The most compelling factor by far though, beyond even Dafoe and Pattinson going mad together, is Jarin Blaschke’s cinematography. Forgoing colorful widescreen for 4:3 black & white, every single frame of film is a work of art, to the point that you could populate an exhibit at The Met (or maybe MoMA? Hard to say) with just stills from The Lighthouse.

It’s certainly not cookie cutter Halloween fare, but you could do a lot worse.

Rating: ★★★★☆



Everything I have seen so far from that quirky Kiwi, writer/director Taika Waititi, I have enjoyed, and Jojo Rabbit is no exception.

You might not think a comedy about a 10-year-old fanatical Nazi in late-World War II Germany whose imaginary best friend is Adolf Hitler would work, but somehow Waititi (who also plays Der Führer) pulls it off. Not to heap too high praise on it, but, to me, Jojo works in much the same way that Blazing Saddles works (in fact I’ll go ahead and call it a blend of Blazing Saddles and Moonrise Kingdom) in making a farce of blind bigotry; but it’s not exactly the same in that, despite its fanciful premise, Jojo is a bit more grounded (as opposed to the more cartoonish reality of Blazing Saddles), which allows it to move in some surprising tonal directions. Frankly, it’s the sort of story I think could only be handled by a New Zealander.

It’ll make you laugh, perhaps make you cry as well, but I recommend it across the board.

Rating: ★★★★☆



You could write the history of Black American Cinema without mentioning Rudy Ray Moore (aka Dolemite himself), but why would you want to?

Dolemite Is My Name marks Eddie Murphy’s return to the world of R-rated movies after a twenty year absence (seriously, it’s been since Life), and while he may not look like or particularly sound like Rudy Ray Moore, it doesn’t matter. He’s totally invested in the film and having a great time doing it, which easily extends to the audience.

Beneath the torrent of ribaldry, however, is a rather heartwarming story about chasing (and grinding for) your dreams no matter how far along in life you may be; which is nice, though parts of it feel a bit by-the numbers.

However, as fun as Murphy is in the lead, there’s one actor who steals every scene he’s in, and that’s one Mr. Wesley Trent Snipes.

Maybe I’m insane (or just insanely ignorant), but playing real-life actor/director D’Urville Martin might be the best performance of Snipes’ career, at least comedically. I couldn’t take my eyes off him whenever he was on screen.

All-in-all, much like its namesake, Dolemite Is My Name may not be a total work of art, but for a Netflix watch it’ll be well worth your time.

Rating: ★★★½ (out of five)

Quick Thoughts – July Round-Up, Part 2 of 2

‘Kamikaze 89’ (1982)

I wish I could more effectively talk about this film, but it’s based on a book I’ve never read (“Murder on the Thirty-First Floor”) and produced in a language I don’t speak (German), so I’m somewhat limited in my understanding.  However, I can tell you it’s a futuristic dystopian crime story.

‘Kamikaze 89’ is about Inspector Jansen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, in his final film role), who is given charge of solving the case of a bomb threat at “The Combine”, which controls all media in the land.  The biggest problem is that he only has a few days to pull it off, but, fortunately, the list of suspects turns out to be comparatively short.  However, the more suspects he meets, the more he learns that things may not all they seem at “The Combine”.

I wanted to like this movie, I really did, but ultimately I’m going to have to throw it in with ‘High-Rise‘ as another dystopian film that looks good and has a lot of cool retro-futuristic elements, but ultimately is missing something.  With ‘High-Rise’, I wasn’t really sure how to fix it, but with ‘Kamikaze 89’ it’s plain to see that it lacks energy.  I’m usually the last person to call a film “boring”, but ‘Kamikaze’ was definitely leading me down that road.

Some more money in the budget may have helped as well, either that or a director who could do more with less.  In the end though, I can’t give it a solid recommendation.

Rating: ★★½

 

‘Coming to America’ (1988)

It’s cliché, I know, but I honestly don’t know what to say about this movie that hasn’t been said already.

Everybody involved was firing on all cylinders: John Landis in the director’s chair; Eddie Murphy at his apex; Arsenio Hall threatens to steal the movie; Rick Baker with all the special make-up; Nile Rodgers with the musical score; all the supporting actors (too many to list).  Everything comes together to make this a classic (not to mention the New York stuff is great to see).

There are so many great bits and little moments, from “Soul Glo”, to the barbershop, to Reverend Brown.  It’s a wonderfully hilarious comedy, but, in addition, it has some real heart, in the form of Akeem and Lisa’s budding relationship.

I know I say this often, but if you’ve never seen it, get on it!

Rating: ★★★★½

 

‘Wolfen’ (1981)

ⅯⅭⅯⅬⅩⅩⅩⅠ – ANNO LVPVS

1981 – The Year of the Wolf

For those in my generation, the concept of “twin films” is quite familiar.  You know, when two high-profile movies come out in the same year and have major similarities (not to say that they are the same, however): ‘Dante’s Peak’ and ‘Volcano’; ‘Antz’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’; ‘Deep Impact’ and ‘Armageddon’; and so on.

1981 offers us perhaps the ultimate example of “triplet films”, as it gave us three horror movies involving wolf creatures: first, in April, came Joe Dante’s ‘The Howling‘; then came ‘Wolfen’ in July; and then August gave us the most famous of the three, ‘An American Werewolf in London‘, directed by John Landis.

Now, I must specify that ‘Wolfen’ is not about werewolves, but about…super wolves?  Honestly, the movie doesn’t do a great job of explaining exactly what they are, except that they are portrayed on screen by actual wolves, and somehow they tie into Native American history (in the movie; not in real life).

‘Wolfen’ is a movie I really wanted to love.  It has such a cool vibe, it was shot almost entirely in NYC, Albert Finney plays a classic laconic detective, and Gregory Hines absolutely shines in his first movie (technically, ‘History of the World: Part Ⅰ’ was his debut, but ‘Wolfen’ went into production beforehand).  And, of the three wolf films of ’81, I think it’s the scariest.  The problem is that the story just doesn’t quite gel, especially compared with its siblings.

That said, I think it’s definitely a film worth seeing, and I’d be happy to watch it again.  There’s more than enough good work to appreciate.

Rating: ★★★½

Quick Thoughts – June Round-Up

‘Beverly Hills Cop’ (1984)

Maybe I’m a crazy person, but, much like ‘They Live‘ and ‘Point Break‘, I think this movie’s reputation is bigger than it deserves.

I get that Eddie Murphy is funny, and there are some brilliant moments of his improvisational spirit in ‘Beverly Hills Cop’, but the problem with the movie is that it’s too much of a straight procedural and not enough of a comedy.  As a regular police movie, it’s not that impressive when compared to others in the genre, and, as a comedy, it’s not exactly a laugh riot, especially when compared to ‘Trading Places’ or ‘Coming to America’.

That said, I’m not trying to say ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ is terrible.  I’d call it more than adequately entertaining.  Murphy is his usual self, the criminally underutilized Lisa Eilbacher is perfectly lovely, and Judge Reinhold and John Ashton are a wonderful pair of Keystone Kops.

It’s a fine film, just not an all-timer in my book.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

‘Blue Velvet’ (1986)

My only previous experiences with David Lynch prior to seeing ‘Blue Velvet’ were ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’, which are two films that work out mental muscles you never knew you had, like waking up the next morning after shoveling sixteen inches of snow.  To put it succinctly, this movie was much more straightforward than I was expecting, which is totally fine.

At the time of its release, Gene Siskel compared ‘Blue Velvet’ to Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho‘, and I’m inclined to agree; not in the sense that it’s a beat-for-beat rehash (like Brian De Palma’s ‘Dressed to Kill‘), but more in the sense of digging beneath the surface of everyday life and discovering some rather shocking evil at work.

There’s also a fairly strong coming-of-age dynamic as we follow young Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) on his journey, as not only is he trying to solve a mystery (at great risk to life and limb), but he’s trying to properly manage his relationship with Sally (Laura Dern) along the way.

It might not be a perfect film, you might be weirded out by some of the typical David Lynch oddball elements (and uncomfortable Isabella Rossellini nudity), but ‘Blue Velvet’ is a strong enough effort in spite of all that for me to give it an enthusiastic recommendation.  It’s one of the best classic thrillers I’ve seen in a while.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

‘Nighthawks’ (1981)

I’m not sure how or why “A.T.A.C.” became the fictional acronym du jour (I’m pretty sure they even use it in ‘Under Siege 2’), but I do find it funny that two films released in the same year used it for very different things.  In ‘For Your Eyes Only‘ it’s the MacGuffin that James Bond spends the entire movie chasing after, and in ‘Nighthawks’ it’s the Anti-Terrorist Action Command, a special unit that our heroes get recruited into in order to chase the bad guy.

Anyway, I feel like a say this a lot, but ‘Nighthawks’ is another one of those New York movies that’s perhaps more interesting as a time capsule than as an actual film, although it is notable for many reasons beyond that.  For one thing, it introduced American audiences to Rutger Hauer (which is a big plus); it was Sylvester Stallone’s first A-level action movie; and, it’s only feature film Billy Dee Williams did between ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’.  It’s also the first major motion picture to show off the Roosevelt Island Tramway in its full glory, and, it features a rare score from the late, great Keith Emerson.

All that aside, the movie’s a pretty typical cat and mouse affair.  There isn’t too much here to truly blow your socks off, but it’s worth seeing once.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

 

‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1978)

Best remake ever?

My money’s still on John Carpenter’s ‘The Thing’, but 1978’s ‘Body Snatchers’ certainly belongs in the conversation.

Whereas the original film was steeped in the Red Scare of the 1950s (whether the filmmakers intended an allegory or not), Philip Kaufman’s version is undoubtedly a product of post-Watergate America, richly soaked in conspiratorial and governmental fears.

More importantly, however, is the question all remakes must answer, which is, “What can you do bigger/better than the original?”  In that regard, the ’78 version answers with aplomb.  Color over black and white?  Check.  Big city over small town?  Check.  Great cameos from both the original lead actor and director?  Check.  State of the art special effects (and sound effects from the one and only Ben Burtt)?  Double check.

Perhaps an even bigger question is how this movie snagged a PG rating, what with Brooke Adams running around without much cover, not to mention some rather grisly violence at times (albeit momentarily).  I guess the MPAA was just feeling generous that day.

Regardless of its roots, the movie is pretty great on its own terms, and belongs in the pantheon of ‘The Thing‘ and ‘Alien‘ among the best sci-fi/horror motion pictures.  Donald Sutherland is on top of his game, as is a young Jeff Goldblum, and Brooke Adams, Veronica Cartwright, and Leonard Nimoy round out a first rate cast.

Whether you’ve seen the original or not, I highly recommend 1978’s ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (although it might be a while before you eat edamame again).

Rating: ★★★★☆

P.S.
So, we’ve got space aliens, Leonard Nimoy, and “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes, but this isn’t ‘Wrath of Khan‘?  Fascinating.