For It Is Man's Number: cch pounder

Showing posts with label cch pounder. Show all posts

Tuesday, 5 August 2025

The Naked Gun (2025)

I've seen a lot of love for The Naked Gun. I've seen people mention how they were pleasantly surprised by it. Some have laughed harder than they've laughed in years. Some say it's a perfect blend of homage and something a bit new.

I didn't love it, although I will say that a few moments surprised a big laugh out of me. It was certainly a bit better than I expected, considering my apprehension at the poor trailers.

Liam Neeson is Frank Drebin Jr. He ends up investigating some crimes that seem to incriminate the rich and powerful Richard Cane (Danny Huston). He also ends up connecting with Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), the sister of someone who recently died in mysterious circumstances.

Directed by Akiva Schaffer, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, it soon becomes clear that this is something made with the right intentions. While a couple of moments play with the action comedy style I was worried it would focus on, the rest of the film has the expected barrage of visual gags and wordplay, and there's an attempt to maintain an impressive gag rate for every part of the 85-minute runtime.

Highlights include a wild montage sequence showing a whirlwind romance and a snowman being built, a gunfight with Drebin Jr. trying to keep things non-fatal, a running gag about coffee being supplied to our leads, and a genuinely fantastic twist on the standard "pretty boy in prison" speech. But you also get gags that inevitably repeat things that were better the first time around, a really weak sequence showing body-cam footage of Drebin Jr. searching for a toilet after poor diet choices, and a thermal imaging set-piece that reminded me of sillier, and more fun, shadowplay gags in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It's also really disappointing to see them not do more with a character named as Not Nordberg Jr., when more laughs could have been mined from him denying his parentage (but maybe that's just me, and I don't blame the film-makers for staying away from what would have been a potential minefield).

Neeson and co. all do a good job, generally playing it straight, which was always the secret to making these films even funnier. It's just a shame that they make Drebin Jr. capable enough to fend off some villains on purpose, considering how often the original character would stumble his way into his main victories, but the combination of ineptitude and capability works for Neeson. Anderson is also a lot of fun, particularly when performing some jazz. Huston is amusingly suave and cocky, and there are strong supporting turns from Paul Walter Hauser (Ed Hocken Jr.), Kevin Durand (a henchman named Sig Gustafson), and CCH Pounder as the angry and exasperated Chief Davis.

It all could have been much worse, but I'm not sure if I enjoyed this more because of my apprehension and low expectations or if I am just one of the few not drinking the kool-aid. While I didn't hate it, I laughed much more at a few other comedies released in the past few years. In fact, I laughed more at every episode of Angie Tribeca when that used to be on TV.

5/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share

Friday, 9 May 2025

RoboCop 3 (1993)

After my surprisingly positive reaction to RoboCop 2 when I (re?)watched it a few weeks ago, I decided to make a rewatch of RoboCop 3 a top priority. I have definitely seen this before, and I definitely didn't like it. But I went into it with an open mind and a good helping of optimism.

It's Robert John Burke in the main role this time around, and things are still not great in Detroit, which has now been acquired by OCP. OCP isn't the same old OCP any more though, having itself been taken over by a Japanese corporation now holding a controlling share of the stock. As Detroit residents are mistreated and turned out of homes that can then be demolished and turned into more profitable enterprises, growing unrest from civilians becomes such a strong force that it eventually affects the police. But will they continue to work as the strong arm for capitalist bullies, or will they follow RoboCop's lead and develop a moral conscience?

While he cannot match Weller's performance, Burke is very good in the lead role, and he does well with the physicality of the role. Nancy Allen reprises her role for a while, Remy Ryan is good as a talented kid, Nikko, who can also use technology to help those around her fight back against the authorities, Jill Hennessy is the aptly-named Dr. Lazarus, and it's fun to spot familiar faces like CCH Pounder, Bradley Whitford, Stephen Root, and Daniel von Bargen in the supporting cast. Bruce Locke has some very memorable moments as Otomo, most easily described as a kind of robo-ninja, and Rip Torn gets to join in with the fun for a few amusing scenes.

Directed by Fred Dekker, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Frank Miller, RoboCop 3 is a decent, but flawed, bit of sci-fi action fun with the kind of satire and social commentary that fans of the first two movies should expect. Like many perfectly fine sequels, the biggest problem it has is not being up to the high standard of the first film. That is all, although it was received so poorly when first released that it pretty much killed Dekker’s directorial career stone dead.

There's nothing here to shout about when it comes to the technical side of things. The visuals lack some flair, but aren't awful, and the few moments that feel like highlights still pale in comparison to the highlights from both of the previous movies. It's obvious that the budget wasn't there for an epic vision, but it's hard to be sure that Dekker and Miller had any epic vision in mind, as the story we get is much more interested in re-establishing a connection between RoboCop and some real humanity than providing more glimpses of the dystopian future setting.

Yes, a few moments feel unintentionally silly, either due to the plotting or the wonky special effects, but I ended up enjoying the messy mix of capitalist brutality fighting against community warmth. There’s no prime directive to say that you should watch this, but I don’t think that it’s anywhere near as bad as its reputation would suggest.

6/10

Thursday, 26 October 2023

Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)

Although I put it off for many years, and didn’t hear anything from people who might want me to prioritise this as a viewing option, I decided to finally watch the last of the films that make up the original Psycho film series. Considering the obvious diminishing returns of each instalment, although that is not to dismiss the greatness of the second film, I hoped that this would still provide me with some fun.

Listening to a radio show, about killers who have committed matricide, hosted by Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder), Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins once again) decides to call in and share his own informed viewpoint. He doesn’t agree with the views expressed by one of the guests (Dr. Leo Richmond, played by Warren Frost), and decides to give listeners the benefit of his life story. This allows us to then see a young Norman (Henry Thomas) living with his mother (Olivia Hussey).

Written by Joseph Stefano, this is a largely disappointing finale for a very unlikely film series. I am not sure that any of us really wanted to see Norman’s childhood (not until they found a better way to do it anyway, with the Bates Motel TV show) and the third act tries to add suspense and twists that fall completely flat. Having said that, it still partially succeeds as an ending for the character of Norman, giving him a closure that feels deserved, for both himself and fans of the series.

Director Mick Garris doesn’t do anything great, although he’s slightly hampered by a script that feels very comfortably within the TV movie parameters it was given. Things feel as if they are being marked off a checklist, from character details to shot choices, but there’s some fun to be had as viewers watch the important moments that turned Norman into what he is/was.

Perkins is very good once again in the main role, but he’s consigned to a supporting role in his own story, setting the scene for the other main players. Thomas and Hussey do well enough, although both are a bit over the top at times, and the focus is on familiar references and touch points ahead of natural and realistic characterizations. Pounder is perfectly fine as the DJ, Frost doesn’t get to do much (seemingly only there to have a character similarly named to someone else from the very first film), and Donna Mitchell plays someone pivotal to the whole plot, but also disappointingly undeveloped. Maybe giving her a bit more material instead of making time for a John Landis cameo could have helped things slightly, but what do I know?

I can’t say I hated this though. It was a bit of a chore at times, and some moments came close to being laughably bad, but I was ultimately won over by a cast all trying hard with very uneven material. I might never rush to rewatch this, but I am glad I finally got around to it. There’s an inevitable sense of satisfaction after joining Norman for the full journey.

5/10