Netflix And Chill: They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

Thanks to the cast and the aesthetic I saw in the trailer, I was looking forward to They Cloned Tyrone. Then it dropped on Netflix and, like many a release once it appears on there, I just never made it a priority. Other people got around to watching it though, and many enjoyed it. That spurred me on to get around to it ASAP.

John Boyega plays Fontaine, a drug dealer who works in his home neighbourhood of The Glen. After trying to collect money owed to him by a pimp named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), Fontaine is fatally shot by a rival dealer, Isaac (J. Alphones Nicholson). This shooting is witnessed (sort of) by a sex worker named Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris). It's understandable that Slick becomes confused when Fontaine reappears at his door the next evening still trying to collect his money, and the two then track down Yo-Yo to try and get to the bottom of this mysterious resurrection. It turns out that something odd is going on beneath their feet, something that is affecting the entire local black population. And it might be just the tip of the iceberg.

Writer-director Juel Taylor (assisted once again on the screenplay by co-writer Tony Rettenmaier, the two having also worked on Space Jam: A New Legacy) makes his solo feature debut here, after helming numerous shorts and participating in at least one anthology and one TV movie, and he obviously had a blast making something so stylish, infused with funk and blaxploitation elements, and happily blending genres. They Cloned Tyrone isn't a film that holds back on trying to keep viewers entertained. Superficially, the world onscreen is a well-realised one, the fashion and environments are all very retro-cool, and it's easy to accept everything as it plays out. Superficially. There's one flaw at the heart of the plot though, despite how satisfied you may or may not be by any attempt to explain it, and that's the actual resurrection that kickstarts the entire chain of events. I might have missed something, it's been known to happen, but it felt like this main plot point would, at the very least, simply cause a headache for those trying to mastermind a devious and disturbing plan that is spelled out in the third act. 

Questions about the plot aside though, there's plenty of fun to be had with this cast doing wonderfully clumsy and abrupt detective work. Boyega, Foxx, and Parris are all good performers, but things are always raised up a notch in the many scenes that have them all together. Although I have seen her in a number of other roles, Parris is the standout here, her character having more actual intelligence and more actual courage than the men who spend so much time keeping their own worries and fears hidden behind a mask of macho bravado, but the three leads feel like perfect casting. There are also enjoyable turns from Nicholson, David Alan Grier, and Kiefer Sutherland (playing the aptly-monikered Nixon).

Taylor has namechecked a number of cinematic influences on They Cloned Tyrone and they're all enjoyably obvious, but it's impressive that he has made this feel both laden with homage and yet also highly original. The soundtrack and visuals help in that regard, because the movies being referenced are viewed through the more common white male gaze, but it's also a willingness to go just a bit further than you might expect, with the silliness and the horrible implications of what is going on.

Sadly not great, there are just too many gaps in logic to make it feel as well-constructed as it could be, but this is good fun while it's on and the leads are great company to be in for a couple of hours.

6/10

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

Freeway II: Confessions Of A Trickbaby (1999)

Just as Freeway was a twisted riff on Little Red Riding Hood, Freeway II: Confessions Of A Trickbaby is a twisted riff on Hansel & Gretel. Unfortunately, it's just not as good as the first movie, although that's not to say that it doesn't have its moments.

Natasha Lyonne has the lead role this time, as Crystal, and she ends up getting herself in enough trouble to be thrown into juvenile prison. She's not about to stay there for long, however, and soon makes good her escape with a young woman named Angela (Maria Celedonio). Unfortunately, Angela is a bit more unstable than Crystal, which can often lead to people being killed. Still, that won't matter if they can just get to the potential safe haven provided by Sister Gomez.

Once again written and directed by Matthew Bright, there may be some stylistic similarities on display here, but this shouldn't be viewed as a sequel to Freeway. Consider it more a distant cousin, a younger one that tries to act up and emulate you when it comes to visit during the holidays.

Lyonne is good in the main role, but she's not particularly easy to root for as she ends up spending more and more time averting her gaze from the obvious problems that her companion has. Celedonio gets to cut loose and embrace her freaky side as Angela, and she does just fine. Vincent Gallo appears in a small, but highly amusing, role, David Alan Grier is a very sleazy lawyer, and fans of John Landis may enjoy seeing him in his cameo.

Bright has a bizarre filmography, with Bundy being, arguably, the movie in which he comes closest to normality, but it's a shame that he has been unable, so far, to get anywhere close to the greatness of his debut feature. Everyone wants to see Tiptoes, but not necessarily for the right reasons. This movie may well prove to be the most disappointing to fans. It's not a clever reworking of the familiar material, and it's just not as much fun as it should be.

Worth a watch, but not one to revisit, and I doubt that anyone will end up choosing it as a firm favourite.

5/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Confessions-Trickbaby-SPA-Freeway-II/dp/B003TN8V2E/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1402536474&sr=1-1&keywords=freeway+2+confessions+of+a+trickbaby

Jumanji (1995)

Welcome to the jungle.

Thanks to a mix of great special effects (okay, they don't hold up quite so well nowadays, but they still do a good job), fun performances and a few good one-liners, Jumanji remains an enjoyable family movie that warns everyone against the perils of boardgames.

Jumanji, for the uninitiated, is a boardgame that allows players to pretend that they're avoiding dangers in a jungle environment. The only problem with playing the game is that it really DOES provide those dangers. Robin Williams plays Alan Parrish, a man who was sucked into the game as a small boy and has spent years living in the jungle. He is finally released when young Judy and Peter Shepherd (Kirsten Dunst and Bradley Pierce, respectively) find the game and decide to have a go themselves. With Alan back in the real world and the jungle also spilling out one dice roll at a time, it becomes essential to finish the game. That means getting hold of Sarah Whittle (Bonnie Hunt), the woman who was once the young girl so shocked by Alan's departure into the game many years ago. Things are about to get wilder with every roll of the dice.

Based on the book by Chris Van Allsburg, it may have taken a few writers (Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor and Jim Strain) to craft the final screenplay, but the whole thing is nicely handled by director Joe Johnston, balancing some wonderful dialogue with exciting action moments and genuine tension. Kids should enjoy the movie though, be warned, those of a sensitive nature may find it a bit too intense at times, especially if they don't like spiders or mischievous monkeys or roaring lions or creeping, strangling vines.

As well as being packed with great CGI (and it certainly helped show just what was possible when it was released in 1995), the film boasts a top-notch cast including those already mentioned in the lead roles (and Williams is great at the man-child schtick so his performance is guaranteed entertainment, in my opinion), David Alan Grier as a police officer who also remembers the time when young Alan Parrish disappeared, Jonathan Hyde as both an intimidating father figure and also an intimidating, and relentless, hunter, Patricia Clarkson as Alan's mother and Bebe Neuwirth as the guardian of the Shepherd children.

It may give your children a great excuse to use when you tell them to switch off their videogame systems and spend time with more traditional entertainment instead, but this is a fun time for all, especially if you pair it up with Zathura, another movie based on a Chris Van Allasburg book that also focuses on a very special boardgame.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jumanji-Blu-ray-Region-Robin-Williams/dp/B005KJ65KK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1357712152&sr=8-2