Bad Boys: Ride or Die

Tonight, I finished watching “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which came out theatrically back in June but on Netflix last month. How is this new installment in the franchise?

This may be a shocker, but a nearly 30-year-old franchise could have helped this past summer’s box office.

“The Fall Guy” and “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” didn’t do well in the box office, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” succeeded in delivering the success that hurt the movie studios early in the summer.

Not to say that this fourth movie in the franchise staring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence is persuasive, but more of the fact of how entertaining it is.

It is just action, which is meant for audiences to just enjoy for the runtime and forget about everything that is going on.

George M. Thomas said in his review, “It doesn’t hurt that Smith and Lawrence slip into their on-screen personas of Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett as easily as if they were a pair of well-worn Nikes. The chemistry has always been evident between the two as they play off one another with a comfort level not seen with most co-stars. Ultimately, that represents the strongest aspect of the series as a whole, but after so much time it would be easy to assume that chemistry has dissipated.”

What isn’t true is that “Ride or Die” may be the best film in the franchise since the first film back in 1995. Thomas commented, “Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah put their stamp on the franchise with the third film after taking the mantle from Michael Bay (who makes a cameo), but with this one, their comfort level with their subject matter and stars shows in this tight, breezy effort.”

Thomas continued, “With a script from Chris Bremner (“Bad Boys For Life”) and Will Beall (“Aquaman”), the film plays to that chemistry – the word play and the macho-fused affection between the two characters. It does so against the backdrop of jaw-dropping spectacle that explodes off the screen, but wisely acknowledges that these two dudes are now into their 50s and still playing superhero cops.”

That’s not believable, but it’s fun, and this time around, the original crew mostly returns, with a few exceptions.

One is Joe Pantoliano’s Captain Conrad Howard, who was murdered in the last film. He returns through a video to tell that his death wasn’t really what it looked like, revealing that superiors in the Miami Police Department are responsible and trusting Mike and Marcus to uncover it.

That takes them back to their past, including having to get help from Mike’s imprisoned son, reprised by Jacob Scipio, to lead them through something that is not their expertise.

This isn’t going to be easy and there are so many explosive scenarios as they are on their trail. For those wanting to join them, it’s not one to miss.

For Smith, this is a chance to redeem himself after his thrashing of slapping Chris Rock. For Lawrence, who hasn’t been seen much, it makes him one of the people to talk about again.

For the audience, it’s a chance to go into something for a couple of hours for some enjoyment.

If you have been a fan of the other movies in the franchise, this is one not to skip over. The only problem with this film is that you need to have a Netflix plan that doesn’t support ads because of some licensing issues, but this is a film to check out. If you have a Netflix plan that doesn’t include ads, then you should see this film. Otherwise, see if you can find it somewhere else. This is an enjoyable film and definitely not one to miss.

Thank you for joining in on this review tonight. Stay tuned this Friday for the continuation of “Buddy Cop Month.”

Eraser

It helps to have a short attention span while watching “Eraser,” the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. For example, the part late in the film where Arnold is shot through the left shoulder. He grabs his shoulder and smirks. From the bullet’s point of entry, we guess his shoulder bone is broken and there is a lot of muscle damage. Immediately afterward, Arnold is in a fight to the death with the villain, played by the late James Caan, on top of a shipping container that has been lifted high in the air by a crane. The heroine, played by Vanessa Williams, is also on the container, and she falls off. However, Arnold is able to grab her out of the air. He holds her with his right, and supports the weight of both of them with his left hand and arm. That’s nice trick after getting shot in the shoulder by a bullet. However, if you think way back to the movie’s second big action scene, near the beginning of the film, Arnold and Vanessa are the targets of a nail bomb, which explodes, driving a spike right through Arnold’s right hand – the one he later holds Williams with. Roger Ebert said in his review, “A guy like that, he could play basketball on bad ankles for weeks. How does he do it? I guess he has plumb forgotten the spike through his hand. There have been a lot of distractions, like being attacked by alligators at the New York City Zoo, and falling out of an airplane without his parachute, and shooting at a Boeing 727 with a handgun.” Arnold is amazingly calm under this threat. After he shoots the alligator through the head, he tells it, “You’re luggage!” The plot of “Eraser” is about Vanessa Williams as Lee Cullen, an employee of a defense contractor who comes across evidence that a secret cabal inside the U.S. government is illegally transporting advanced weapons systems. Particularly, they’re selling the Rail Gun. Charles Russell, the director of the film, explained that the Rail Gun are “hyper-velocity weapons that shoot aluminum or clay rounds at just below the speed of light.” That is 186,282 miles a second. What happens to aluminum and clay rounds shot at that speed? Ebert said, “They don’t pulverize or anything, do they? That muzzle velocity doesn’t cause overheating or anything, I suppose? At least there’s no recoil when the bullets leave the guns at just below the speed of light. I know that because at one point Arnold holds a Rail Gun in each hand (including the injured right one) and fires them simultaneously.” What is amazing is that Charles Russell wants us to believe these guns are believable. In his press notes, he elaborates:

“These guns represent a whole new technology in weaponry that is still in its infancy, though a large-scale version exists in limited numbers on battleships and tanks. They have incredible range. They can pierce three-foot-thick cement walls and then knock a canary off a tin can with absolute accuracy.” Ebert said, “If I read this correctly, he is talking here about the battleship model.”

Ebert continued, “My curiosity is awakened. To heck with the secret government plot–I want to see the U.S. Navy shooting clay bullets at just beneath the speed of light through three-foot cement walls at canaries. And I want to stay for the credits: “No canaries were harmed during the filming of this motion picture.” But I digress. “Eraser” is actually good action fun, with spectacular stunts and special effects (I liked the sequence where Arnold shoots it out with the Boeing 727) and high energy.” Arnold plays his usual heroic character, an ace operative in the federal Witness Protection Program, and Vanessa Williams is a good partner, running, jumping, fighting, shooting, kicking, screaming, being tied to chairs, smuggling computer discs, and looking great. There is also fun when Arnold contacts an old friend named Johnny C, played by Robert Pastorelli, from the Witness Protection Program. Johnny is an ex-Mafia guy, now working in a drag bar. When Arnold finds out the illegal arms are being shipped from docks controlled by the union, Johnny goes to his uncle, Tony Two Toes, who looks cruelly on anybody moving anything through the docks without union approval. Soon Johnny, Tony Two Toes, and other Mafioso are spying on a Russian ship that’s being loaded. They have the following conversation:

Tony Two Toes: Those dirty commies:

Underling: They’re not commies any more. They’re a federation of independent liberated states.

Tony Two Toes: Don’t make me hurt you, Mikey.

Ebert ended his review by saying, ““Eraser” is more or less what you expect, two hours of mindless nonstop high-tech action, with preposterous situations, a body count in the dozens, and Arnold introducing a new trademark line of dialogue (it’s supposed to be “Trust me,” but I think “You’re luggage” will win on points). Thinking back over the film, I can only praise the director’s restraint in leaving out the canary.”

This is another enjoyable Schwarzenegger flick that everyone should watch. Especially with the lines he says. Every single one of them will be on your favorite Schwarzenegger lines list. That’s what’s so fun about watching Schwarzenegger movies are simply for the lines he says and for the action, because every single one of his action films are enjoyable. This is fitting for a buddy cop movie seeing how him and Williams really have good camaraderie that you believe. Check it out and enjoy yourself.

Next week I will be looking at a film that my friend lent his VHS copy of to me to watch, but I don’t know what to make of it in the continuation of “Buddy Cop Month.”

The Monster Squad

“The Monster Squad,” released in 1987, is really fun, it makes you wish you were a kid again. Even though you can never get your childhood back, you can find the joy in being able to appreciate the work that director Fred Dekker and co-writer Shane Black have brought to this horror comedy-adventure targeted at children.

The story is once every century there’s a chance to shift the balance between good and evil – provided if you can find an ancient amulet, a glowing jewel which controls that balance. Can you guess the amulet is in a rundown mansion on the edge of a usual American town? Count Dracula (Duncan Regehr) is so determined to find the amulet that he’s called on other beings – Frankenstein’s Monster (Tom Noonan), Wolfman (Carl Thibault), Gill-Man (Tom Woodruff Jr.) and the Mummy (Michael MacKay) – to help him out.

What Dracula doesn’t know is the Monster Squad, a group of adolescent boys who have formed a fan club that commemorates their favorite monsters. Not surprisingly, when Dracula starts causing trouble, the boys have to fight off evil, because obviously their parents don’t believe in monsters. “The Monster Squad” honors the imagination of children.

The squad is led by Sean, played by Andre Gower. His friends are played by little Michael Faustino, aggressive Robby Kiger, and obese but tough Brent Chalem. Somewhat older – the only one in the group who’s found girls – is cool Ryan Lambert, who joins the squad when he rescues Chalem from some schoolyard bullies, played by Jason Hervey.

Kevin Thomas said in his review, “These are great kids, likably real and not maddeningly precocious in the hard-dying tradition of movie brats.” Tagging along but not really welcome (until they obviously need her) is Sean’s little Phoebe, played by Ashley Bank, who befriends Frankenstein’s Monster, who this time around is innocuous.

Thomas said, “Although “The Monster Squad” has for economy been shot largely on sound stages and back lots, there’s been no stinting on special effects. Visual effects producer Richard Edlund, winner of four Oscars for the “Star Wars” trilogy and “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” has come up with such dazzlers as a vortex that sucks people into another dimension. Monster makeup effects supervisor Stan Winston (another Oscar winner with “Aliens” and “The Terminator” among his credits) is another strong contributor.” His monsters tribute the originals yet seem more individual and more expressive than is usual.

Among the adults are Stephen Macht as Sean’s father, a loving husband and parent but overworked as a cop, and Stan Shaw as Macht’s partner. However, the one human adult who really counts is played by veteran character actor Leonardo Cimino, cast as a lonely old man whom the boys call the Scary German Guy.

Actually, what they don’t realize is that he is a concentration camp survivor who knows about evil firsthand and, far from being scary, is actually willing to help the boys. Thomas credited, “In Cimino’s character the film makers score a point about the dangers of judging by appearances--and they afford a fine actor, so seemingly sinister with his heavy-lidded eyes, a welcome change of pace from his usual villains.”

Thomas continued, “Since “The Monster Squad” has been made in a hearty spirit of spooky make-believe, it seems unnecessary that some of its characters actually die before it’s over.” However, perhaps even more awkward is the film’s PG-13 rating, since it’s preteens for who the film is clearly targeting and that’s the only age group likely to find it scary.

I first heard about this film when James Rolfe reviewed it for Cinemassacre’s Monster Madness. Then, Nostalgia Critic reviewed this for Nostalgia-Ween a few years back. Recently, my brother was asking if I wanted to watch some dumb action film that was enjoyable to watch, and this was one of them. I suggested that we watch this film, so we found it on Pluto TV and we both ended up enjoying it a lot. We were impressed with how good the film looked for the time, especially the effects. It was very much a product of the 80s and it is something that everyone can see and enjoy watching around the Halloween time. Check it out on Pluto TV and enjoy yourselves with this fun 80s monster flick.

Happy Halloween online readers. I hope everyone enjoyed “Halloween Month 2024” as there were a list of films I selected to look at for this month. Stay tuned next month for the continuation of “Buddy Cop Month.”

Venom: The Last Dance

Tonight, I went and saw “Venom: The Last Dance,” which came out five days ago. How is this final installment in the trilogy?

James Berardinelli started his review by saying, “In 2018, an argument could have been made that a Venom-centric movie was sensible, preferably as a lead-in to the expected big-screen clash between the inky symbiont and his web-crawling nemesis, Spider-Man.” (The previous film that showed the two fighting was in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 3,” left most fans unimpressed and believing a redo was necessary.) However, in the days before COVID, comic book adaptations were very popular. By the time the first sequel, “Venom: Let There be Carnage,” was released in 2021, the Venom franchise had lost some of the spark (despite the domestic gross was almost identical to that of the original, the international box office was cut in half). Now, with the release of the supposed final sequel in the “trilogy,” there’s a feeling that this franchise is struggling to get to the end. And the anticipated fight with Spider-Man is still not to be seen.

Is this the last time for Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his alter-ego symbiote? That is unknown. The movie gives mixed feelings, almost as if it’s enclosing its bets based on the box office. Hardy is probably done but the Venom character could easily return with or without Brock. As comic book readers will tell everyone, it is a separate being. The movie introduces a new villain, Knull, played by the director of the last film, motion-capture master Andy Serkis, who has very little to do by setting things in motion from deep in the Void, where he is trapped. It looks like Sony might be making him the next Thanos. Let’s see how that turns out.

Narratively, the film is all mover the place. The setup is divided between Eddie, who is running from humans and aliens, and the people working at Area 51. The normal, gentle scientists, represented by Dr. Payne, played by Juno Temple, want to study Venom. The unreasonable, trigger-happy soldiers, represented by Rex Strickland, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, want to kill him. Berardinelli admitted, “My hope is that Temple and Ejiofor were well-compensated for their work here because both are playing characters that could charitably be described as underwritten and underutilized.”

Meanwhile, deep in the Void, Knull wants out and has sent his pawn, called Xenophages, to locate the key that will allow him to escape his prison. This key, called a “Codex,” is conveniently found inside Eddie (as a result of his having been resurrected by Venom), and a Xenophage, having sensed him, is now on Earth causing damage. There’s a catch, however: the Xenophage can only locate the Codex when it is active (meaning when Venom comes out) so, as long as Eddie stays human, the Xenophage cannot see him. In order to keep his secrecy, he catches a ride with the hippies Martin (Rhys Ifans) and Nova Moon (Alanna Ubach) and their kids (Hala Finley and Dash McCloud), who happen to be on a vacation to find Area 51.

All this is build-up to the necessary huge CGI fight that fills up the final half-hour. Berardinelli said, “It relies so little on real actors doing real acting that it might as well be animated. It’s loud, chaotic, and not the least bit interesting. Perhaps recognizing there’s a problem with audience engagement, writer-turned-director Kelly Marcel (who wrote the other two Venom movies before taking the helm for this one) inserts a flashback montage that serves primarily as a reminder of how much younger Tom Hardy looked when he started on this franchise six years ago.”

There are a few nice distractions during the course of the twisting road trip that makes the outcome of “The Last Dance’s” first hour. There’s a nice fight on top of a flying jetliner, however it’s too short to leave much impact. Venom dances with Mrs. Chen, reprised by Peggy Lu, to a famous ABBA song. Also, there’s a sing-along in the hippy van with the Moon family. Sadly, the most memorable part of the first two “Venom” films – the conversation between Eddie and the symbiont – has been lessened this time around. It’s still there but it looks more like a necessary footnote than an element of the story.

When it comes to bringing Marvel characters and superhero elements to the big screen, Sony has had worse moments. Berardinelli ended his review by saying, “Although it would be difficult to anoint The Last Dance as the worst comic book movie of 2024 (it has to contend with another Sony dud, Madame Web, for that dubious distinction), it’s another indication that the time has come to shut down any and all attempts to expand the Spider-Man universe into anything that doesn’t directly involve Spider-Man. As for Venom, the potential inherent in the creature has been wasted and squandered over the course of three movies and this final installment is the worst offender of all. Even John Travolta circa 1977 couldn’t save The Last Dance.”

Overall, I think this film is ok. I don’t think this is bad, but I did find the action enjoyable and there are a lot of funny moments. However, I do see how it can be considered all over the place and that it doesn’t leave off with the indication that this is the last time we will see Venom. There is a mid-credits scene with Knull and a post-credits scene with a cockroach approaching the broken vial that had the Venom symbiote in it, but I don’t know if Sony is thinking of incorporating Venom in the MCU. We will have to wait and see. If you want to check it out in the theaters, it wouldn’t hurt. It’s your choice, but if you don’t, then there’s no big loss.

Thank you for reading this review tonight. Stay tuned tomorrow to see what I will end off “Halloween Month 2024” with.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which came out last month, is enjoyable insane and outrageous in a lot of ways, making it a nice sequel to the 1988 cult classic. Even though the original film was enjoyment, the sequel works hard to match its energy and greatly succeeds with a new story and standout performances. It manages to maintain the silly spirit of the original and, at around 100 minutes, gives so much entertainment, proving the 36-year wait was worth it. This time, the protagonist is Lydia and her daughter Astrid, and with funny dialogue, it keeps you laughing the entire time.

After Lydia’s father, Charles, passes away, the Deetz family moves back to Winter River. Now a widow, Lydia, reprised by Winona Ryder, has become a small celebrity as the host of a paranormal TV show. Life has changed so much. She now enjoys a friendly relationship with her stepmother, Delia, reprised by Catherine O’Hara. However, the memories of Beetlejuice, reprised by Michael Keaton, try to forcefully marry her still haunts her. Everything comes around for Lydia, and just like her own experience with her stepmother, it’s her turn to deal with her complicated relationship with her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, played by Jenna Ortega. Lydia’s worries increase when Astrid finds the model of the town in the attic and accidentally opens the afterlife portal with her boyfriend’s (Justin Theroux) help.

Michael Keaton is great once again, flawlessly reprising his famous role with remarkable spark. Like in the first film, he makes a late appearance, but his silliness and swagger are very captivating. It’s clear that he’s fully in control of the character. Winona Ryder and Jenns Ortega give strong performances as mother and daughter, but it’s Catherine O’Hara as Delia who has the spotlight. Abhishek Srivastava credited in his review, “Her self-obsession remains, but she has evolved with age.” Willem Dafoe as Wolf Jackson and Monica Bellucci as Dolores are perfectly cast in their roles.

Srivastava said, “Tim Burton’s film is skilfully designed to pull both die-hard fans of the original and a new millennial audience.” It stands strong enough to be enjoyed as a standalone movie. Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder reprise their roles with the same energy as before, adding depth with new characters like Lydia’s husband, Richard, played by Santiago Cabrera, and Beetlejuice’s former wife, Dolores. The film has all the classic elements – black-and-white striped suits, stop-motion sandworms, and scary ghosts. Mirroring the famous Harry Belafonte’s Day-O dinner scene from the original, there’s a similarly enjoyable scene inside a church. The film doesn’t only give laughs but also proves that even after all these years, Burton’s formula is still enjoyable.

After talks of this movie for years, we get a sequel that is heavy on nostalgia. If you were a fan of the original, then you should definitely see this sequel in theaters. You will enjoy it a lot. It’s not as good as the original, but that is to be expected with a majority of sequels. However, this fits in with the Halloween time, so check it out.

Stay tuned later in the week for more reviews in “Halloween Month 2024.”

Stephen King's It

Tonight, on Max, I finished watching the 1990 miniseries, “IT,” something I have been wanting to watch for a long time. When I found it on Max, I watched it while exercising, seeing the runtime. Now, I will let everyone know what I thought about it.

This ABC miniseries based on Stephen King’s best-seller about an entity that can turn itself into a person’s worst nightmare.

The story starts with a little girl (Chelan Simmons) mysteriously murdered in the small town of Derry, Maine, which gets the town librarian Mike Hanlon (Ray Campbell from “Sister, Sister,” Tim Reid) remembering back in 1960, when he and six other kids destroyed It, a frightful entity that 30 years ago murdered several children of the town. “There is something terribly wrong in Derry, and you know it,” Hanlon tells the police chief, played by Terence Kelly.

Now Hanlon calls up the six others who as kids (the late Jonathan Brandis, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizl, Seth Green, Ben Heller, Emily Perkins, Marlon Taylor) weren’t too popular yet came together to beat It. While Hanlon calls the others, night one of “It” is shown in flashback, showing how the entity worked.

Miles Beller said in his review, “What we learn is that the youngsters’ battle is literally an underground war, waged below the city, in its drains and sewers, a struggle culminating in the alleged defeat of It, which has made itself incarnate as a fanged circus clown called Pennywise.”

However, while the children have banished It, they pledge to regroup if “It” ever shows up again.

In the second night of “It,” we have the adults reuniting as a new cases of murders occur in Derry, Hanlon calling screenwriter-horror novelist Bill Denbrough (Richard Thomas), Atlanta businessman Stan Uris (Richard Masur), noted architect Ben Hanscom (John Ritter from “Three’s Company”), famous comedian Richie Tozier (Harry Anderson), successful designer Beverly Marsh (Annette O’Toole), and owner of a limo service company Eddie Kaspbrak (Dennis Christopher).

Now finally and definitively defeat the fearsome entity, surviving group members have to regroup themselves with one another, defeat their own fears and return to the dark, rotten tunnels of doubt and terror where Pennywise, played by Tim Curry, awaits. “I am your worst dream come true…I am eternal.”

Beller noted, “A horror sci-fi miniseries these days is as rare as moon rocks, as far and few between as known inhabited planets. And make no mistake, It is a humdinger, one big kicky ride thanks to the charismatic acting of Curry as savage, sneering malevolence.” On top of that, the acting from Reid, Anderson, Christopher, Ritter, Thomas, O’Toole, and Masur make for some of the pros in “It.”

Tommy Lee Wallace directed this miniseries, and Lawrence D. Cohen wrote the script, and Cohen and director Wallace did a decent job on the film, which looked good for the time.

Richard Leiterman was the director of photography and Robert F. Shugrue and David Blangsted were the editors, who all did a decent job.

This ABC miniseries did give some good moments, like the children actors are pretty good and Tim Curry being a lot of fun, but some of the adults were bad. The plot can come off as confusing and convoluted, you may say it is melodramatic, and you might see some Stephen King stereotypes that get old and tiring. Especially with the overuse of balloons, as if they were trying to make that scary, but it failed. Now you might think that I don’t like this movie after reading this, but no. I thought this film to be decent. It’s not terrible, but just alright. The final showdown may come off as a disappointment for viewers, which I can understand.

If you want to check this out on Max, you may, but be forewarned, this is a three-hour movie. You will have to watch it in parts. I don’t think anyone can sit through a three-hour movie in one sitting. You will need to take breaks. This is a movie to watch around Halloween time, but I don’t know how many people will love or hate it, as this is a mixed bag of a miniseries. Just watch it and see for yourself. However, I don't recommend it for those who have a fear of clowns.

Look out for a few more reviews coming at you this month.

Candyman (2021)

“Candyman,” released in 2021, has a violent horror social commentary shown by impressive newcomer Nia DaCosta. She directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Jordan Peele and Win Rosenfeld. The sequel is worth it to the 1992 original, making for a great double feature.

A ghost story has haunted Chicago’s Cabrini Green for many years. Daniel Robitaille, a brief cameo by Tony Todd, is the real name of the urban legend that scares the residents. Say his name five times in a mirror and he will appear, but it will be the last thing his prey sees. The renovation of Cabrini Green has made for an updated Cabrini Green.

Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is an artist who lives with his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris). When he is told about the legend of Candyman, he becomes inspired to include it into his art. However, Anthony soon finds out that the scary stories of the supernatural are very true. He tries to balance his art career, a relationship, and the fear brought on by the Candyman.

Jeff Nelson said in his review, “Candyman directly links to the first installment and doubles down on the social commentary. Gentrification is a major theme that runs throughout the film. As a result, Cabrini Green looks very different from how it did in the first film. The urban legend of Candyman sticks in the minds of the longtime residents, but his story is only one of many horrors of injustice that have taken place in these streets.”

Nelson continued, “In turn, DaCosta’s story takes Candyman’s mythos to the next level.” The racist attacks on members of the community are the real fear. Candyman is still a very scary slasher, but there’s also focus on those who made him who he became. He’s to be feared, but the hatred and violence targeted towards people of color is the actual constant threat.

However, DaCosta is still making a slasher movie. There’s a body count with different levels of violence throughout the movie. Nelson noted, “Candyman hooks, rips, and disembowels his victims, but most of it isn’t shown directly. There are plenty of goopy gore effects, although DaCosta approaches the carnage through other human senses. The audio depicts most of the violence, as she crafts a variety of ways to deliver violence that isn’t gratuitous.” “Candyman” isn’t about the violence, but rather a look at who it’s being done to and why.

DaCosta has proven herself to be one to watch. She visually captures the story in a way that is completely unique and consistently worth it for the eyes. There are few nice mirror tricks that make for memorable moments. Robert A.A. Lowe’s score is amazing, as it perfectly captures the essence of both the character and the movie of “Candyman.”

Nelson said, “However, the movie lacks many scares, but rather holds a mirror up to society. It references an abundance of horror tropes, which are generally for comedic effect. The body horror element feels like an abandoned piece of the plot that isn’t entirely addressed. The third act takes a strange turn that doesn’t fit tonally fit with the rest of the movie, although it does manage to drive its point home.”

Aside from some flaws, “Candyman” is a good sequel to the 1992 original. It’s well-paced and it builds on the franchise’s mythology in a great way. Nelson said, “Some of the social commentary is a bit heavy-handed, although it’s further proof that the horror genre is a wonderful vehicle for dissecting complex social issues.” DaCosta worked on “The Marvels,” but we’ll see if she returns to horror in the future.

This is the only good sequel in the franchise. If you saw the first one, skip the other two and go straight to this one. You will be satisfied when seeing this. It will make you remember what made the first movie so scary and worth seeing. This is currently streaming on Prime so you can check it out on there. I was scared when I saw this, especially with the murders and with the bees. Aside from the bees possibly being CGI, it was a scary moment. Check it out and be scared.

Thank you for joining in on “Candyman Month.” I hope all of you enjoyed it, but we’re not done with “Halloween Month.” There will be a few more reviews coming up, so stay tuned. Sorry for the late posting. I ended up falling asleep because I was so tired after coming home from work.