Look Who's Talking Now! (1993)

After the disappointing second movie in this short series, I was not looking forward to Look Who's Talking Now! Surely the fact that the film was about to focus on a pair of dogs didn't bode well. But those dogs being voiced by Danny DeVito and Diane Keaton was a small plus point.

Anyway, John Travolta and Kirstie Alley return as James and Mollie Ubriacco, the married couple bringing up two children together, Mikey (David Gallagher) and the younger Julie (Tabitha Lupien). James is encouraged to make a better career move, which he does, becoming the main pilot who flies a woman named Samantha (Lysette Anthony) to her various meetings. Samantha seems to take quite a shine to James. It's not long until there is strain in the Ubriacco marriage once again, a situation made slightly more fraught when the household also ends up with two dogs, one very well-behaved and "posh" (voiced by Diane Keaton), the other lovely and seemingly averse to any training (voiced by Danny DeVito).

Look, this is not going to top any list of best movies ever made, it's not really that well put together (especially with the annoying dream sequences that punctuate the storyline every so often), but it's perfectly fine entertainment for anyone who enjoyed the first movie, and who also happens to love dogs.

Travolta and Alley work even better together here than in the previous two movies. They feel more like a natural couple, two people who are closer than ever before after going through some major ups and downs. Gallagher and Lupien are both okay in their roles, I guess, although Gallagher fares better, being the older child and having a bit more of an idea of what he is doing in front of the camera. Anthony does well as the successful businesswoman who takes an interest in her married employee, and there are one or two scenes that allow Olympia Dukakis and George Segal to return for what are basically cameo appearances. As for the voices of the dogs, the wrong cast members would make this a tougher watch, but DeVito and Keaton work well as the canine additions to the family.

The second, and last (to date), feature film from director Tom Ropelewski (who had previously written and directed Madhouse, another Kirstie Alley vehicle), he may not have the good qualities of Amy Heckerling, but he also avoids the excessive nonsense that marred her own second time round with the material. The script, co-written by Ropelewski and Leslie Dixon, usually works well enough for this kind of thing. There are no big laughs, but there are a number of little moments that should have you smiling enough until the dogs come along to steal a few scenes.

If you saw the first two then you may as well see this one. It's not as good as the first film, but it's a step up from the dire second. I'll end this review with that ringing endorsement.

5/10

Here's a triple-pack for you.

Boogeyman 2 (2007)

I can't, in all honesty, say that Boogeyman 2 is a GREAT horror movie. But I can easily say that it's quite a step up from the first movie. In fact, apart from one main connection, you could happily avoid the painful experience of watching the first film and just skip straight to this one.

Danielle Savre plays Laura Porter, a young woman who decides to check into the mental health facility that seemed to do so much good for her brother (Henry, played by Matt Cohen). Laura and Henry were scarred many years ago by a traumatic night that led to the loss of their parents. As Matt heads off to start rebuilding his adult life, Laura puts herself in the hands of Dr. Jessica Ryan (Renee O'Connor) and Dr. Mitchell Allen (Tobin Bell). Unfortunately, it's not long until a number of her fellow patients start dying, and in ways that seem tied to their deepest fears. Is the boogeyman real, or have one of the doctors decided to try more radical methods of treatment?

While the script by Brian Sieve is simply competent, and the direction by Jeff Betancourt is perfectly fine, Boogeyman 2 actually manages to impress with one or two moments of real nastiness. The dressing may be standard, sanitised stuff, but the death scenes here are sometimes wince-inducingly painful, which is all the more surprising considering the blandness of some other aspects of the film. The supporting characters are a mixed bad, and it's hard to care for most of them, the facility always feels like a horror movie set as opposed to a real building (like, for example, those many horror movie hospitals that never have more than one or two staff working in them at night), and the final act revelations will neither surprise nor impress full-time horror fans.

Savre is fine in the lead role, I guess, but it's the supporting cast that provides more fun for movie fans. The appearance of Bell, of course, immediately makes him a prime suspect (due to his prominent role in the Saw franchise), but O'Connor also plays up to the fact that her character could be good or evil, simply because all of the adults disbelieving younger characters with legitimate fears can be viewed as potential baddies in a movie series that has shown how far things can be affected by the fear of fear itself. Then we have Mae Whitman and Johnny Simmons as two patients, the former unable to stop her habit of cutting herself and the latter suffering from OCD relating to hygiene. They both stand out, making the film much more enjoyable than it otherwise would have been. The same, sadly, can't be said for Christine Griffith, Michael Graziadei, Lesli Margherita, or any of the others that I may have already forgotten. Cohen does okay, but he's not onscreen long enough to make much of an impression either way.

If, like me, you never thought of checking out the sequels to the awful Boogeyman then it may be worth reconsidering your stance. You're not missing out on too much if you never watch this movie, but it's an easygoing bit of entertainment if you have 90 minutes to fill and you're in the mood for something undemanding and gory.

5/10

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