'90s Class: Jackie Brown (1997)

 Another Tarantino Film- why not?

At this point, the guy says that he's going to retire...but I'll believe it when I see it.  For now, he's supposedly got one last Film in him.

This, however, is his 1997 Film Jackie Brown.  It is apparently the only Film that is based on an outside source material- the Book 'Rum Punch' by Elmore Leonard.

Granted- ALL of his Films are based on outside source material, be them Kung Fu Films or a French Arthouse Film that nobody cares to remember.  They just aren't *specifically* based on one that he has to Credit.

Just in time to end February (where did the time go?!?), let's look at his love letter to Blaxploitation.

Since he had just made Pulp Fiction, everyone he wanted was pretty much available and willing to show up.  As such, he got a great Cast here.

Can they overcome the usual Tarantino issues?
Let's find out...

After a long intro seeing the Title Character go through the Airport, we meet Sam Jackson and Robert De Niro.

The former is a Gun Runner who loves to talk and say 'the N-word' as much as humanly possible.
The latter is a Bank Robber just out of Jail and kind of a dummy.

A convoluted scheme is hatched that is all about getting Jackson's money out of Mexico without catching any attention.

The scheme involves bailing out one guy (Chris Tucker!) with the help of Robert Forster (who earned that Academy Award nomination), killing the guy he just bailed out and then using Jackie to get the money in a bit at a time.

The problem- the Feds are onto this part.

They stop Brown as she leaves the Airport (arriving from Mexico) and arrest her for the money and some planted drugs.

She's pissed, but silent.

She's bailed out by Jackson, who then meets up with her with some ill intent on his mind.

He clearly was going to kill her if he thought that she'd talked, so she turns the tables on him.

She sets up the idea of a fake money drop for the Feds and a real one for him.

...while also working with the Feds to, well, do the opposite.

Notably Michael Keaton here plays the same Federal Agent in Out of Sight, another Elmore Leonard adaptation released in the next year.

After a Trial Run, they eventually get around to the real drop-off and switch.

However, Jackie works with Forster to *actually* steal the money.

This leads to us seeing the same Scene three times with more information each time- first Jackie, then De Niro and Bridget Fonda and finally Forster.

It's...very Tarantino.

Jackson does not take the news well, especially when he learns that De Niro both killed Fonda (who annoyed him) and did spot Forster there, but did nothing.

When I was getting this Screen Shot, I started the Scene and had to wait for AN ETERNITY for this to finally happen.

That's Tarantino Dialog Scenes for you!

Forster meets up with Jackson and sets up a deal to return the money.

The latter is understandably not trusting.

How will it all go down?

Brown- knowing that the Feds DO NOT know about the extra $450,000- sets up Jackson to be shot by the Feds when he enters and before he can bring it up.

In the aftermath, she keeps most of the money and goes to Spain alone...or does she?

The Movie acts vague at The End, because why not?

A good Film, as long as you know what to expect.

It is a Quentin Tarantino Film, so expect the following....

* Lots of swearing.
* Long, long dialog Scenes
* Random spurts of violence
* The N-word
* Pace as slow and steady as an IV Drip

If you're a Tarantino fan, this will be exactly what you want.
If you aren't, you'll possibly lose interest before the Film is half over.

It is never what I would call 'bad.'  It can be long and ponderous, but it is always well-acted and well-produced.

I'm glad that Pam Grier got a showcase role like this.  I'm also glad that Robert Forster got the respect he deserved thanks to this Film.

That said, the Film is all of his best and worst excesses on full display.  Of course, he's not the worst person here...

A Film that will 100% please fans of Tarantino and his auteur instincts.  For everyone else, its alright.

Tubi Thursday: Birds of Prey- 'Feat of Clay'

 When one is pressed for time, one improvises.  

In this case, let me look at an Episode of a TV Show when I have less time today.

Let's jump back to a 2002 Show which is the first (of two) Live Action appearances of Clayface.

A strange man breaks into a Lab Storage Facility and drinks a strange potion.

When he touches the Guard, the man becomes a clay statue!

This leads back to Clayface, a Villain from Batman's past.

His Daughter- Helena/Huntress- tries to get information from the guy about the serum and who's doing this.

He, well, blatantly turns into Hannibal Lecter.
It's not even a little bit subtle!

The new guy turns out to be Clayface's Son.

For Comic Fans, the old Clayface is Clayface II (who could shapeshift), while the Son is Clayface III (who could mutate people via touch, but not shapeshift).

If I go any further than that, everyone who's not a Comic Book Nerd will be very, very lost!

A B-Plot involves Alfred- Ian Abercrombie- interfering in Barbara's personal life.

She breaks off a vacation with her boyfriend to stop Clayface Jr here...so Alfred just reveals her secret.

Before they can find Clayface Jr, Helena learns a dark truth.

Clayface killed her Mother (aka Catwoman- who somehow returned after, well, Batman Returns in this continuity).

Dun dun dun!

Clayface Jr plans to attack a Fashion Show (as is tradition) and make the Models into his Clay Figures to 'outdo his Father.'

Well, Dad shows up...somehow and Helena now has to stop both of them.

She does and the day is saved...until the Show was cancelled after the next Episode and not mentioned again until 2018.

A good, if a bit busy, Episode.

This is the second-to-last Episode of the Show, as noted.  As such, it needs to wrap up many loose ends for the Finale.

That is compounded with having TWO Clayfaces in this one, as well as Harley Quinn scheming for the last Episode.

As such, we don't get much to do with the new Clayface.  He looks like the guy from Workaholics, is kind of evil and gets really passive around his Dad.

Maybe he would have returned in Season 2, if it happened.

That said, there's an earnestness to the Show that gets you past the cheesy aspects and the limitation of TV.  This Episode also connects in a weird way to an EARLIER Superhero Show.

As such, I'll need to give that a closer look in the future.

A fun Episode with a good morphing effect to boot.  It's just a bit busy for 45 minutes, that's all.

Streaming Standard: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)

 More like 'The LAST Kingdom,' am I right?

All kidding aside, this was the final Film of the DCEU and now I can cross it off of my list.
There's certainly not a 4-hour, sepia-toned disaster that I'm ignoring for my own sanity.

Can the DCEU go down fighting?
Will the final Film show us what we're going to be missing without it?
Or will it be more of the same?

Let's find out...

Aquaman is now the King of Atlantis.

He breaks the 4th Wall a bit (I think he's actually talking to the kid, but whatever) to recap the Plot of the last one.

We learn that the job is not what he expected, as he can't do a whole lot, but does have to sit in on meetings in full costume.

He's also had a kid- Arthur Jr- in the ensuing 4 years.

Just don't expect to see too much of his wife Mera, as Amber Heard was going through lots of legal issues at the time and, even though she won, some people still hate her.
They chopped her role up like fine sashimi.

Look at the cute kid- forget how she's barely more than a Plot Device.

Black Manta is still around and he still wants to kill Aquaman.

Remember- our Hero pinned his Dad to a sub wall (while they were robbing it- TBF) and left him to die in the last Film.

This leads Manta- who is almost always called by his real name for some reason- to find a Black Trident and get put on a mission by a Villain who is totally not Sauron.

After a brazen attack on Atlantis to steal some MacGuffin Minerals, Aquaman decides that the only one who can help him find and stop Manta is his Brother- aka the Villain of the last Film.

Even when Momoa is NOT in a Fast & Furious Film, we're instantly redeeming Villains (that also happen to be Family {TM}) here.

Can they work together?

I should also note the extremely random Voice Cameos.

We get John Rhys Davies as a Crab Man (not this one) and Martin Short as a Fish Man.

Who had Martin Shot Appears in a DC Film on their Bingo Card?

Can they stop Manta (and Not Sauron by proxy) from reviving the monstrous members of the titular Lost Kingdom?

Can they stop the disposable CGI Army?
Can they rip off the ending of Black Panther and get away with it?

Will this Film somehow do the Plot of Black Adam worse than that Film?

To find out, stream it now.

It is certainly lots of Film and lots of money was put into this one!

The Film is a big old bundle of crazy visuals left, right and center.  They clearly spent lots of money on the CGI to create crazy monsters, locations and Villains.

How is the actual Story though?

It's...alright.

I was hoping for better, but they front-load the Story, go on a bunch of adventures and then suddenly remember the Story for the finale.

The Film is mostly made up of silly pretenses for why they have to go to various locales, from a Jungle to a Desert to Antarctica and more.  It is just the flimsiest of flimsy here.

The biggest issue to me is the ratio of Build-up to Payoff.  Without SPOILING the details, the fight with the main Villain kind of sucks.

They literally did this better in Black Adam- something that feels weird to type!

Ultimately, there's two ways to view this Movie. 
In the moment, you'll likely be entertained by the breakneck speed at which they go from place to place.

With time to think about it (and overanalyze), you'll wonder what you just watched.

Iti s not bad.
It is just very busy, visually overloaded and kind of silly when you think about it.

Oh look- another fake AI created Trailer image.  This time with not-so-subtle misogyny (and terrible compositing)...

A fun Film in the moment with bright visual, jokes and action.  In the long run, however, it is about as shallow as a puddle.

Remake This?: Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)

 A John Carpenter Film was always a sight to see.

A John Carpenter Film Remake though?  Hmm...

This is 2005's Remake of Assault on Precinct 13.  It was Directed by a French Director who hasn't done a whole lot in America (save for the recent Plane).

Amusingly (at least to me) there's a weird parallel between this one and The Purge, the Film that put Ethan Hawke back on the map.

Is there a reason to watch a new version of a Film that's already a Remake (of Rio Bravo)?  To find out, read on...

In the Film's Cold Open, Hawke works Undercover making a deal to catch a Russian Drug Dealer (Titus Welliver).

It goes poorly, ending in his two partners being shot and killed.

At least he took out Bosch.

Nearly a year later, he's running Precinct 13 in Detroit.

The place is being shut down in a few days as the Year ends.

Oh shit- this is a Holiday Film!!

A big time Criminal was caught and he was being transported.

However, the roads are bad, so the truck diverged to their Precinct.

A half-drunk, fully depressed Hawke reluctantly accepts it.

As the people party with the prisoners down in the Basement Cells, masked shooters show up.

They take the power out and lay siege.

They want one man- Lawrence Fishburne!

It turns out that the people behind the siege/assault is the lead Cop in the City- Gabriel Byrne.

No joke- when he first appeared on screen, I said 'Well, he's the bad guy.'

They want Fishburne, since they were corrupt Cops and he can testify against them.

Sadly, the united front of the Cops and the Criminals doesn't work out too well.

The criminals- including Ja Rule and John Leguizamo- get killed off as things get worse.

The latter didn't test well in Screenings.

Fishburne doesn't play well with them either, at one point trying to get away by using a Cop as a human shield.

The corrupt cops keep at them as one of the old Cop- Brian Dennehy- betrays them as well.

Fishburne and Hawke end up in the nearby Woods, pursued by the corrupt Cops.

Can they stop the villains?

Yes, but both men are wounded.

Hawke allows Fishburne to get away as the Credits roll.

We get KSI rapping the Plot of the Film and we're done.

A good Film, even if it feels a bit drawn out.  I guess a siege should feel that way, eh?

The Film is alright.  I haven't seen the Original in close to a Decade, but I have good memories of it.  This one doesn't do too much badly.

That said, having Maria Bello to be around just to act scared, nervous and die is a damn waste.  I'm supposed to feel sad when she dies.
I'm just annoyed at how pointless this is.

Outside of that, the Film has good action, drama and was shot well.

I didn't hate this one.  I just ultimately lost interest before it was all over.

While this one didn't have John Carpenter there, it did have a 'Carpenter' on Set...

Next up, a pretty famous Crime Film that is appropriate for this Month.  It has great critical acclaim, but will I like it?  Stay tuned...

Tubi Thursday: Black Eagle (1988)

 It wouldn't be Black History Month without a Film featuring a Japanese Man and a man from Brussels in the Isle of Malta.

This is a truly '80s Film in all of the best ways.

A man- Sho Kosugi, who's not dubbed for once- is sent to track down a crashed plane.

As luck (for the Tourism Board) would have it, it is in the waters near Malta.

He has to go undercover.

He pretends to be an Oceanic Scientist to go down and search for it in the Ocean.

Whose idea was it to put Sho in a speedo and why was it clearly Sho?

The Russians are looking for it too.

Their lead Henchman is Jean Claude Van-Damme.
Who kept going 'This guy from Brussels should play a Russian?' more than once?!?

The Film- in retrospect- is marketed heavily around Van Damme.

That said, he has about 15 minutes of screen time.  He's good when he's there though.

He does, however, lead the group that kidnaps Sho's kids (played by his actual kids) to stop him.

The Film builds up to a fight between them, surrounding by a ring of fire.

Of course, that's not the actual climax of the Film.

Sho manages to stop the Russians by blowing up their model...I mean, real boat.  The End.

Kosugi- Sho Kosugi.

This one is essentially a James Bond Film with Sho Kosugi.  It kind of works.

I can appreciate that they didn't dub him in this one.  His broken English is better than someone who's clearly not him.

The whole thing where his kids want him to be around is good, accentuated by them actually being his kids.

It's a shame that this one didn't have fun Spy Gadgets or anything.  So close.

Van Damme- in his limited Screen Time- is fun to see.  As you can tell, he did the splits.  
The fights the two have are enjoyable though.

If you're looking for a decent Action Film with some nice scenery, check this out.

Now then, en francais...

A pretty good time, but nothing amazing.  If it had more of Sho's usual ninja tricks, it would be a surefire recommendation!

Shudder Day: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster (2023)

 A Film like this is an interesting attempt to look at a Classic Tale in a new light.

Does it work?

A young woman faces a series of tragedies so early in her life.

She was there when her Mother was shot.
She's just witnessed her older Brother being shot and killed in the open.

There's a Drug Kingpin in their Neighborhood who her Brother worked for.

After the son's death, her Father is now an addict under the Dealer's thumb.

What can she do?

Turn her Brother into a Frankenstein Monster, of course.

That's the most obvious solution!

The problem- she can't control him!

He attacks one of the Dealer's men and causes trouble.

Since she was spotted near him, things go poorly for her.

Can she get her Monster in check?
Can she bring peace to the neighborhood?
Can she stop the killing?

Do I need to sign a Form saying 'Please don't make me a Frankenstein Monster' before I die?

To find out the answer to some of those questions, watch the Film.

A good Film that takes a bit to get going.

The Plot is pretty bleak.  There are some jokes, but it is mostly serious and often pretty rough.
Just know what you're getting into.

The Monster Effects are often understated but look good.  The dreads sticking out from the hoodie are a nice accent.

The real draw here is the Drama.  It really humanizes all of the Characters.  Everyone save for the guy who's just a murderous psychopath gets a bit of an Arc here.

They all feel real, in spite of the bizarre situation.

If you like your Horror Films without Social Commentary, look elsewhere.
Otherwise, this one is a strong recommendation for Indy Horror Fans looking for something familiar, but different.

Just prepare to make this face at least two or three times.

A good Film that is a slow burn that leads to something big.  Along the way, you'll care about these poor people.