This Week in Cinema, I Learned…Jun 30-Jul 6 2024
Written by Cameron Geiser
Welcome to This Week in Cinema, a yearlong film criticism project wherein I will be watching a new film that I haven't seen every single day.
We’re halfway there folks! Yes July 2nd marks the halfway point of 2024 and it has been an undeniable success in my daily life. While on occasion I will push a film off to the next day to salvage sleep or prioritize others in my life over my commitment to film, I’ve never strayed more than three missed days resulting in one catch-up day literally full of movie watching. Despite the writing taking a bit of a backseat these last few weeks due to Holidays and Vacations alike, I’m still here and still committed to seeing 2024 through.
This week, Fourth of July week here in the United States of America, was a great week of film watching. Two police procedural films, a couple variations on the buddy cop formula, began the week but it ended up taking a wild turn with the inclusion of two excellent horror movies and a perfect thriller to end the Holiday week. There were only two so-so films this week, a crowd pleasing golf comedy and a slapstick comedy about an idiot cop that somehow saves the day despite himself. They weren’t awful, they just weren’t my preferred flavor of comedy. I think the main takeaway from this week’s films is that the right filmmaker at the helm can elevate simple stories to memorable, impactful, and tantalizing heights. Sometimes the secret sauce is in the execution of ideas rather than the ideas themselves.
June 30th
Beverly Hills Cop 2 (1987)
3.5/5
This sequel had a serious Box Office hit to follow up, and it's certainly a solid effort. When Axel Foley hears about a high profile thief harassing the L.A.P.D. crew he came to befriend from the first film, he heads to the west coast once again to help Detective Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), and Sergeant Taggart (John Ashton) get justice for Captain Bogomil (Ronny Cox) who was shot in the scuffle, but not fatally. As a story it may be a bit predictable, but it's the pumped up cinematic look and style of this film that puts it over the edge for me. Directed by Tony Scott, the film fumbles some structural hurdles in that its a slavish retread of what worked in the first film however, this film is better directed, with “cinematic” cinematography and blocking choices that feel inherently slicker than the tangibility of the first film. Though Murphy’s Axel Foley was a less brash and more clever version of the same character the first time around. There are some solid shootouts, fun car chases, and a general sense of letting Eddie Murphy loose on set as Axel. Both better and worse than the original in differing ways, Beverly Hills Cop 2 is a highly watchable, if flawed, sequel.
July 1st
CaddyShack (1980)
3/5
This one didn't really live up to its massive expectations garnered over the years. While directed by Harold Ramis and starring Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Rodney Dangerfield all at the heights of their various careers- the film lacks focus and story. CaddyShack is more interested in creating the space for comedic bits to be played out by these giants of 1980s comedy rather than forming a tighter story. Some of the scenes were entertaining, Bill Murray's war with gophers destroying the golf course was cartoonishly silly, and every time Rodney Dangerfield arrived onscreen he trounced everybody with raucous vulgar insult-comedy jokes. However, this was the highlight of the film. All of the characters and their ongoing throughlines weren’t really connected or streamlined. Each comedic bit existed in the moment and then the script moved onto the next chunk of comedy while feeling like more of a product than a story, but hey, some of those sketches worked, just not all of them.
July 2nd
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
2.5/5
While I respected the cartoonish levels of visual comedy employed in this movie, it wasn't really enough to merit a better score. In not wanting to be labeled the “No Fun Police”, I understand that this is a comedy and things are meant to be light and silly in tone, however the opening scene alone was like an SNL sketch creating the late 1980s Conservative wet dream of American Exceptionalism in lands abroad. Am I offended by this? No, it just depressed me as it reminded me of where that dog eat dog mentality would take American Society roughly forty years later. So, maybe that was the headspace that coloured my lackluster response to the film's comedic efforts. Though some parts did get a laugh or two out of me, like the opening credits of the police car driving through various ridiculous environments or when Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) exits his car and his airbags inflate so much that the car is shifted into neutral and rolls into traffic as Drebin fires at it asking if “anyone got that guy's plate number?”. The plot doesn't really matter, it's all just a framework for Nielsen's Lt. Drebin to waltz into the next goofy scene, usually with his accompanying Noir-like voiceover. Comedy is subjective, so enter at your own taste!
July 3rd
48 Hrs. (1982)
4/5
Out of all the pairings of “Buddy Cop” movies, this one may be the best I have seen so far. Though, admittedly, there's some latent (and overt) old school racism built into the film that's a bit uncomfortable, but such were the times unfortunately. Moving past that, the chemistry between Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy was superb! Nolte stars as Jack Cates, a renegade cop on the trail of several bank robbers that escaped from a prison chain gang in the film's opening scene. Cates and a few other cops track the criminals to a Hotel in San Francisco but he ends up being the sole survivor of a shootout in the lobby. Cates then tracks down Reggie (Eddie Murphy) in Prison with six months to go on a three year sentence for armed robbery. The wanted vandals used to be partners with Reggie and since they sold him out before they themselves were caught, he heartily agrees to assist Cates with his investigation.
The two bark and bite at each other constantly until they begin to ease up and slowly trust each other as they work together to get the criminals, and the money. Directed by Walter Hill, 48 Hrs. may be his best work, but I haven't seen all the entirety of his filmography. This was Eddie Murphy's film debut and his hunger for authenticity in acting can be both seen and felt. I found his character to be far more immersive and believable than other similar roles, sorry fans of Axel Foley, the Beverly Hills Cop movies are fun, but this is a more well rounded dramatic performance.
July 4th
X (2022)
4/5
Having watched Ti West's X trilogy out of release order, but instead in Chronological order with Pearl viewed first- it really layered X with far more unease than I would have had going into X first. Though the same was probably true for many viewers with Pearl too, but going from Pearl to X still has Pearl as the known threat (for me, the audience) whereas going from X to Pearl is more of a fascinating curiosity in watching how Pearl began to unravel. Having now seen the whole trilogy, Pearl is probably the best of the series, and X was certainly entertaining, but it's also my least favorite of the three films. The whole premise is fairly simple and straightforward. A group of beautiful young people go and rent out the guest house on Pearl’s farm in the summer of 1979. They're not just there to appreciate the country air quality though, they're there to film a porn video.
With a great cast that's slowly murdered off (spoilers? It's a horror movie that's a few years old now, apologies) with creative kills and appropriately gross violence, horror fans will most likely enjoy this one. Mia Goth, obviously, has a great screen presence and that extends to the whole cast honestly. Though I must admit I did not immediately realize that Ti West edited all three films on top of writing and directing them for very small budgets, so it's impressive that the editing stands out in each one with subtle differences in tact and style. X is a solid Horror movie, even though it may not be my personal favorite of the three, it is totally worth the watch and a lot of fun, but especially if you’re a Horror fan of the slasher variety.
July 5th
MaXXXine (2024)
4/5
Fast forward six years after the events of X and Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) has made a name for herself in the adult film industry but now she’s trying to break out into Hollywood. After a particularly successful audition for the lead role in the hotly anticipated horror sequel The Puritan II, Maxine is riding high until her past begins to slowly creep back into the picture. All this while a serial killer called 'The Night Stalker' has been prowling the Hollywood hills killing porn actresses and starlets alike. There are direct and subtle references to other movies all over MaXXXine but I see it as a lovable homage to not only horror, but Hollywood’s past as a whole, the good and the bad. There are several additions to the cast this time around that worked quite well in tandem with each other.
The standout is Kevin Bacon’s greasy Private Investigator, John Labat, a clear visual amalgamation of famous Detective characters’ pasts, but most notably Jack Nicholson’s Jake Gittes from Chinatown. Giancarlo Esposito and Elizabeth Debicki rounded things out as Maxine’s agent Teddy Night Esq, and Elizabeth Bender, Director of The Puritan II. Both were superb, but Bender was more pivotal for Maxine’s character growth as she attempts to straddle her Hollywood schedule with avoiding 'The Night Stalker' and other would-be rapists around town. Personally, I loved this film. I loved the world Ti West built, the characters that inhabit it, but more than anything else I love the style and imagery of the film. Maybe it’s the sprinkling of nostalgia for a time of tapes, wires, and cables- but I did love everything the film was riffing on. The satanic panic of the 1980’s culture around horror movies of the time, paired with brutal violence crafted by practical effects, all with that fierce attitude from Mia Goth’s Maxine. This movie was a riot, and honestly it was pretty gnarly. Highly recommended.
July 6th
Jaws (1975)
5/5
This is the next rewatch of the year, and it just so happens to be my favorite movie of all time. There are very few movies I would call “Perfect” but this is one of them. You know Jaws, I know Jaws, everybody has seen Jaws. I could go over the plot but I believe that would be pointless here. On this rewatch there were a few things that I asked going into it. Does the opening scene still work? You bet it does. Is there anything new I can learn about these characters, particularly the main three in Chief Brody (Roy Scheider), Quint (Robert Shaw), and Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss)? Well, there are subtle performance hints that reveal each character’s different social status. Sure there’s the easy to discern moments like when Hooper cracks “I don’t need this ‘working class hero’ crap” from Quint once all three are prepping for the journey and Quint challenges Hooper’s skills by making him tie basic knots and investigating the hardiness of his hands. It’s a great scene, but more importantly it’s the way these characters clash that makes them operate as a whole that much more interesting.
Then there’s Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton), the perfect profit-minded foil to Chief Brody and Hooper who demands the beaches be kept open as Amity Island’s 4th of July sales carry the islanders through the financial woes of winter. I could go on and on about Jaws. About how that one-shot on the ferry is so well staged. About how the dolly zoom on the beach was an amazingly simple technique. About how every frame is full of characters, even the extras that don’t have speaking roles, all of the people onscreen have that small town charm about them. It’s a simple man versus nature story that Spielberg took and elevated to the perfect thriller. This is the hill I will die on. Obviously, if you haven’t seen this film- drop everything and give this one a watch.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.