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Reviews
House Party 2 (1991)
The best hip hop movie of all time
Unfortunately during Hip Hops aegis from 1989 to 1992, there were some horrid movies, shows and rappers that became famous off shamelessly exploiting this amazing undergrould genre. These include Hammer Man, Young MC, Sir Mix a lot and Streetfrogs to name a few, and do not even mention Vanilla Ice. Ironically I like Eminem. I am please to say the first two House Parties are not one of them. The best part about this movie is its blackness, the people are so down home its funny. Kid and Play are all right, but Martin Lawerence is superb as Bilal, loud, abrasive and full of expletives suggesting maternal incest. Also great are Full Force playing the goons, the ad lib rap in Plays record shop is not to be missed. Its a shame they become friends at the end. These goons become the Keystone cops of Blackness, and of course those racist cops. This movie is so 91 it hurts. We have all the record companies named after BBD songs, fruity shirts and flat tops everywhere. This is a time too where fluro was in and there was no commercial gangsta rap. This movie if nothing else is splittingly funny, even the fat dude having sex and then chasing everyone with a gun going "Goddamn peep show mf's". This movie is slammin and is what rap is all about. Its a shame that they had to ruin it in 1994 with Immature (Where are they now?) and half ass acting.
Police Academy 6: City Under Siege (1989)
The vortex
Originally I saw most of these movies at the cinema when I was a child up to Number 4 and thought they were all not bad, considering I was too young to go and see Freddies latest antics. So last year I got all of them out at my store which has a multiple movie discount. I can say 1-4 were great and nic etrips down memory lane. 5 was not bad and this one was shocking, for 1989 it still seems dated like the early 80's and half the best characters are gone. Even the departure of House is noticable, and its only Jones that stops this movie from being a total bomb. It does have its funny moment such as the exploding money and the brick in the canister. Overall it is much better than the 7th movie which was an absolute joke, which I had the misfortune to see on cable.
Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987)
The best of the septet
Despite the fact it has an average Mark of 3 out of 10, I feel this movie was the best of the lot for a number of reasons. I think its been dragged down because of the fact it is from 1987 and seems dated like anything else from the 80's that was not mega budget like ET, and also it had the misfortune to produce a number 7 seven years later. It is significant as it is the last to feature Gutenberg and Goldthwait who went off to make those horrid movies, the one with the horse afterwards. It is also very funny, Captain Harris has prank after prank played on him by Mahoney who he bumps into the first time since the first one (The one that most people actually liked). When the microphone gets glued to his face is too funny to be true. And then theres the Madullah/Freddie Kruger scene with hightower going yama yama because hes hungry!!! There are even a few gimmicks between Sweetchucks and Bobcat that will make you laugh at the end and the balloon scenes are classic filmed in the scenic backdrop of an Ontario October afternoon. Hightower and Hooks also provide some laughs especially where helium is placed in the canister so Harris sounds squeakier than here after abusing her for her voice. All in all the best comedy of the 80's after Ruthless People. 8 out of 10, hint hint people.
Best in Show (2000)
Truly the Grand Champion of Comedy
This has got to be the best movie I am have seen all year. Excellent acting, plot, character development and theme, it is proof that a great movie can be made on a minimal budget. In an age of American movie studios all trying to outdo each other with these 9 figure mega budget remakes of movies like Planet of the Apes, Godzilla, Jurassic Park 3 etc this is truly refreshing. The style is fly on the wall and works on the lead up to an interstate dog show. All the characters are as diverse as the doggies and most are instantly lovable including Miss Yellow Pages, the gay couple, the fastidious perfectionists and the yokel from Carolina being stand out. With the exception of the bimbo and the fastidious ones, they are all believeable human beings. Aside from the humble plot we have the irreverent announcer and other little side jokes such as the man with two left feet. Even the gays who are portrayed as the usual flamboyant and fickle poofters prove to be winners at the end and they love each other. A refreshing change from Godzilla.
Slaughter's Big Rip-Off (1973)
Overall some great acting and you can laugh
Of the two Slaughter movies, this is the better and even though its hardly a Schindlers list in complexity it is bloody funny. All the men are the goodies or the baddies and the women are all just Hos and emotionally needy, eg Slaughters Girl. It is also bloody funny and The Pro has got to be the funniest movie pimp of all time, you just can't get enough of those hats, purple suits, gold chains and jive patois forever. The best bit is where he has the Harem around him going "DO YOU BITCHES UNNASTAN". Everything about him is larger than life and it is reminescent of Morris Day in Purple Rain. Jim Brown also proves hes a private dick for all the chicks and again he kicks whitey ass in every direction. The car scene is very unrealistic that they survive it unscathed, but hey this is the movies. Definitely the finest blax flick and it surpasses Shaft (1971). Even the first movie is pretty good.
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Pretty cliched Afrocentric nonsense
It is amazing how you can take a legend as European as Dracula and turn it into a black thing. This movie is black conciousness at its most developed. We make our vampire black and give him an African name like Manuwalde (I thought it was Minabou) originally and have the victim looking at Tivas necklaces and him as the expert. But its all American down to the haunting song "Im goin to spread my love all over" and Manuwalde sounding rather educated and white. Its not a bad movie, because anyone becomes his victim. First its Willis who bears a resemblence to the young Prince, and then a white girl and some guy with the most outrageous darsheekie I have ever seen. They take over a nice mansion in LA and nearly outwit the cops, but Pam Grier (Lisa)is the hero who finally destroys Manuwalde. It is not believable as Marshall and Grier are hardly the blackest blacks and could pass for mulattos and they hardly have an air of Africanisation around them. But overall its a pretty good movie that is funny. Willis in particular and the two pimps provide the best Jive talk.
The Monkey Hu$tle (1976)
Blaxploitation at its weakest
When I give a movie a 4, I mean it is really bad. This is the kitchen sink mentality of these movies with the violence, glamour and pimps all taken out. Instead we have a now very dated formula of a small time hustler hanging around a group of kids with oversized afros and egos. The best part of it, is Rudy Ray Moore(Dolemite) appearing as Goldie featuring a shirt made out of gold chains, whether hes a hustler, gangster, pimp or leader we will never know. But he steals the show withs his larger than life, style (You're my main man!!). The children do little more than try to make money and use outdated jive lines such as "Slick the slick" and there are the antics of a 12 or 13 year old boy called the kid who has a gang of synchopant kiddies who hang around trying out all sorts of nickel and dime shit. It is funny at least in its use of the cheesiest disco soundtrack possible. The roller skating scene is very funny with the disco music heavy on wah wah guitar and kids with oversized afros and flares dancing around in a bright red rink. The kids fight and steal but there is no real violence or sex involved. Overall the acting is cardboard, storyline tapering and a piece of claptrack that is an embarassment from start to finish. Its only saving graces may be the Keystone cop and Goldie, otherwise its schtick. I think too it portrays African Americans as greedy and over sexed simpletons who just want to make money and have a good time.
Foxy Brown (1974)
Pam Grier at her finest, first rate blaxploitation
Pam Grier at her finest in any movie. This is her as a no nonsense white ass kicking ho in the finest sense of the word. Pam holds up well in this clichefied movie with its tired all the black dudes are pimps, hustlers, gangsters, hos or concerned cops and the whites all criminals and of course racist. Pam is great when she is kicking ass try the old wire coat hanger scene and the way she escapes. It is also disturbing when you see how racist it was back then. I also thought Kathleen was magnificent, a total bitch to everyone else when really all she needs is the love of her man. Well I guess she got to have it all the time afterwards. Not bad, but do not go crazy over it