The 4th of July was this week, so before we get to this week’s reviews, a quick power ranking of the cinematic treasure “Independence Day” based on who is most responsible for the planet not being destroyed by aliens.
8. Albert Nimzicki – Secretary of Defense. Dude knew about theses aliens and Area 51, did not tell President Whitmore, doubted the Levinson Plan, also touchdown danced a failed Nuclear attack in Houston.
7. Russell Casse – Drunk crop duster (of incorrect fields), claims he was abducted by aliens years ago, does sacrifice his life by flying plane into aliens ship’s main weapon seconds before it can devastate Area 51. Also transports Captain Hiller and his alien to Area 51.
6. Julius Levinson – Father of David, is the one to spark the idea of the Levinson Plan by telling David he will catch a cold if he doesn’t put on a jacket.
5. Dr. Brackish Okun – Scientist in charge of research at Area 51. Is able to give details on what they have learned of the aliens, and show they have working spaceship. Does almost die when alient biopsy goes wrong, but this does give President Whitmore added intel.
4. General William Grey – Commandant of the US Marine Corp. Is the one to nudge President Whitmore into approving the Levinson Plan
3. Captain Steven Hiller – Marine F/A-18 pilot. Fights and wins air battle with aliens, and brings said alien to Area 51. Pilot of alien ship in the Levinson Plan. Marries Jasmine Dubrow.
2. President Thomas J. Whitmore – Approver of the Levinson Plan. Has personal mind battle with alien after failed Area 51 biopsy. Gives best Presidential speech that has ever been made. Pilots fighter jet in final battle and makes a second attempt to see if alien sheilds are down when everyone wanted to give up
1. David Levinson – Creator of the Levinson Plan. Hacks alien mother ship, which in turn brings all protective alien shields around the world, allowing them to be destroyed. Discoverer of countdown to initial alien attack, which saves the life of President Whitmore, as well as others.
On to the reviews!
To start off with, yes, this is better than BHC III’s adventures in Wally World. The bar wasn’t very high after that one though. This was a pretty enjoyable entry however. It doesn’t really feel like the 1984 original or the 1987 sequel, but that is due to Murphy not quite being the same comic he was then. Time comes for us all. It was nice seeing the original trio of Foley, Rosewood, and Taggert together again, and their inclusions actually felt like part of the story. Too many times we get a legacy sequel and the original cast all just look older and not really adding anything. The story in this one is kind of simple with Foley’s lawyer daughter taking a case that puts her in danger. That means Foley has to go investigate in California. Before he leaves for there, the customary opening action scene was cool this time. As a Red Wings fan, it was nice to see LCA being part of the opening. The master plan by the antagonists is a little low stakes compared to previous entries, but that was ok. It was better than printing counterfeit money below a theme park. That would be really dumb if they did that in one of these though.
There are some movies that you can just feel were a whole lot of fun to make. You can also tell when there wasn’t a lot of money to make it. In Hundreds or Beavers, both of these cases were true. In a movie that looks like a Looney Tunes live action movie, this is about a fur trapper trying to win the right to marry the fur buyer’s daughter. It’s a really basic plot. What makes this film so great is how it looks. All the animals are just people in mascot costumes. With it filmed in black and white, it really feels in place. Also, this might be the funniest movie in a couple years. The humor is slapstick in the style of the old silent films, and while this isn’t a silent film, there is next to no dialogue. This is completely worth the $3 rental on Amazon, and if at least one part of it doesn’t make you laugh, you are probably dead inside.
There aren’t too many franchises where the fourth movie is a good one. Toy Story 4 and Shrek Forever After are the worst of their series, and this one is the worst of the Despicable Me series.While it’s not as boring and bad as Garfield back in May, it still didn’t feel like a whole movie. It was like they had 4 small stories and put them all together somehow. It just didn’t work for me or the other adults that was part of my group at the theater. The kids though really liked it, so there you go. This isn’t Inside Out 2 where it works for everyone. It also doesn’t make me excited for another Despicable Me movie. 
Next week, Gru and crew try to do what Inside Out 2 did last week: win back to back weeks. The competition isn’t very big next week, so it should win the weekend again.
- Despicable Me 4
- A Quiet Place: Day One
- Inside Out 2
- Fly Me to the Moon
- Bad Boys: Ride or Die
I’m still in the county until Friday, so no movies for most of the week. Then it’s 3 theater visits when I get back to Detroit. Wednesday, I have post making the case for theaters. Longlegs might be a bad choice more me next week…..
Mitten Film Nerd 
Leave a comment