WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Much bizarre activity follows after a husband and wife bring their newborn infant home from the hospital. When they realize that a demon is stalking their family, they consult paranormal specialists and install numerous cameras to drive out the pesky spirit. Movies that are spoofed in the familiar format include the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, “Mama,” “Sinister,” “Evil Dead,” “Inception,” “Black Swan” and “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

In 2000, Scary Movie debuted in theatres as an example of what belonged to us as a Black community. written by Shawn & Marlon Wayans with direction from Keenen Ivory Wayans, this film mirrored our experiences of watching horror films with family: i.e., what we might say as we view an exciting/terrifying moment. Scary Movie grossed more than $157 million dollars at the box office and has helped redefine the way in which comedy can look/sound today. As one of the individuals who helped create/perpetuate this franchise, I felt incredibly disappointed when I sat in the movie theatre Friday watching Scary Movie 5 treat the franchise like it didn’t matter! The film opens with a scene involving Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan making fun of their own real-life problems. That joke takes up almost the first ten minutes of the movie. Ten minutes. For audiences who follow celebrity gossip, it might get a small smile. But for a Black audience that came to this theater expecting the sharp, self-aware humor that made this series famous, it feels like walking into the wrong house and sitting down at someone else’s dinner table. Anna Faris does not return. Marlon Wayans does not return. Regina Hall does not return. What we are left with is Ashley Tisdale in the lead role, playing a woman named Jody, who moves into a haunted house with her husband and their three children. The film spends most of its time making fun of Paranormal Activity, Mama, Black Swan, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Most of these parody scenes are done in a way that only works if you have seen all of those films very recently and found nothing interesting about them. The jokes do not add anything new. They simply repeat what happened in those movies and expect the audience to laugh just because of recognition. This is a problem that people inside our community understand very well: there is a big difference between pointing at something and making a joke about something. Scary Movie 5 points at things all day long and never once actually lands a real joke. Humor in the Black tradition requires timing, surprise, and truth. This film has none of those three things working in its favor at the same time. Snoop Dogg and Mac Miller appear in a brief scene that feels completely out of place. Erica Ash, who is one of the most talented comedic actresses working today, is given so little to do that it is almost unfair to even list her name in a review. Mike Tyson shows up, swings at somebody, and leaves. That is the entire joke. There is a Black Swan parody section that goes on for a very long time and seems to have been written by someone who has only heard other people describe that film but never actually watched it. What makes this especially painful to write is that Black audiences are not a small part of this franchise’s success. We are the reason Scary Movie became a cultural moment in the first place. We are the ones who quoted it in school hallways. We are the ones who watched it on bootleg before the DVD even came out. We packed theaters for parts one, two, and three. We supported this series even when it started to move away from what made it special. And the studio knew that. They knew exactly who was going to show up on opening weekend. This is the part that needs to be said out loud: most of what is funny to Black people is not something that can be explained to an outside audience. It is not a secret, but it is a specific kind of knowledge that comes from shared experience, from growing up in communities that use humor as a way to survive hard things. When the Wayans brothers made the original film, they were pulling directly from that well. They knew how we talked. They knew how we think. They knew what we found absurd and what we find ridiculous. Scary Movie 5 has none of that DNA left in it. It has been replaced by safe, broad, celebrity-driven jokes that are designed to offend no one and therefore entertain no one. Scary Movie 5 has completely lost touch with where it came from and has shown a lack of respect for its most devoted fans. It has not provided as much real humor as a quiet Tuesday afternoon. You can feel the loss of the Wayans’ family throughout the entire movie. The gags are all either just plain bad or are completed without any effort, and the cultural voice that has been responsible for the success of this film is gone completely. The Black audience is responsible for the success of these franchises, and Hollywood should have at least remembered that when they made this film!

OUR RATING – A MISSED OPPORTUNITY 1.5

MEDIA

• Genre – Sci-Fi
• Street date
• Digital – August 20, 2013
• Blu-Ray/DVD –  August 20, 2013
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 1.78:1
• Sound – English Dolby Atmos/TrueHD 7.1, French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles – English, English SDH, Spanish, French

Extras

·  Deleted and Extended Scenes: A collection of scenes removed or extended from the theatrical cut (HD, approx. 9:51).

·  Unrated Version: The Blu-ray includes an unrated version that runs approximately 2 minutes longer than the theatrical version, featuring raunchier content.

·  Interviews/Behind the Scenes: The Blu-ray generally does not feature extensive behind-the-scenes featurettes or cast commentaries, with “Deleted and Extended Scenes” being the main supplement.

·  Ending Credits Outtakes: The film includes outtakes during the credits.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Swapped, the new animated feature from Netflix and Skydance Animation, is not a perfect film. But it is an important one. And right now, in this exact moment in this country, important may matter more than perfect. Nathan Greno is the Director who developed Tangled, which was released in 2010. After that, he waited sixteen years for an opportunity to work again on a project he created with the idea of using animal-anthromorphic characters (animals that assimilate with plant and animal-created wonders). The animals live, they shine, they carry sorrow. The universe has brought these animal wonders into the current events and realities that divide our society by fear and isolation from one another; so in essence, the universe provided an opportunity for Nathan Greno’s work that reflects on the angst and pain caused by contemporary fear-based division within our communities. The story begins with Ollie, a round, curious little creature from a species called Pookoo — imagine something between a groundhog and the softest teddy bear you ever loved as a child. Ollie is voiced by Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan, and from the first moment he opens his mouth, you feel the warmth and the weight of this character. Ollie is the kind of young Black boy we see in every neighborhood — brilliant, restless, full of questions that the adults around him have given up asking. He builds his own underwater breathing device through failure after failure just to see what lives beneath the surface of the water. That scene alone, quiet and determined and beautiful, tells you exactly who Ollie is before a single word of plot arrives. His father, Caloo — voiced with wonderful, familiar frustration by Cedric the Entertainer — wants Ollie to stay with his own kind. The Pookoo do not trust the Javan birds. The Javan do not trust the Pookoo. There are rules about who belongs where, who gets what, and who cannot be trusted under any circumstances. Ollie’s grandmother, voiced by the legendary Táta Vega, tells him the old story: once, enormous ancient creatures called Dzo walked the earth like moving forests, and they carried glowing pods that allowed every animal to transform into another species. Every creature understood every other creature’s pain and hunger and joy. Then a fire wolf killed the Dzo, banished the rest, and the animals — no longer able to step inside each other’s lives — became afraid. Afraid of what they did not know. Afraid of what looked different. Sound familiar? Swapped is now where it stops being just a kid’s movie and starts showing how valuable it is to recognize our past hurts. The “Pookoo” birds, though seemingly wise, did not know the truth behind their fear for the “Javan” (another bird) is that they were fearful of becoming vulnerable again after being hurt by the Javan and the subsequent loss of their berries due to them all working together again with the changed “adult” that was Ollie who showed the Javan how to eat the seed pods because it was starving as a young bird. Years later, Ollie lived with the memories of that act of kindness in a world where you can be punished for acts of kindness when people are separated by judge-made rules. His father turned his back on him because he judged him, too. Anyone else who has been judged for showing kindness to someone outside the community’s walls knows what it is like to have pain. Accidental body-swapping between Ivy (voiced exuberantly by Juno Temple) and Ollie catalyzes an expected adventure but also deeply affects them both. They realize not only do they have emotions, but they are both hungry. The structures they blame each other for also created a mutual prison. While Ollie had been seeking connection prior to the swap, he now must foster trust with the very individual he primarily resented for the grief which occurred prior. The reverse is also true with Ivy. As they make their way towards a potentially fruitful grove of Dzo pods near a grand waterfall, they overcome numerous obstacles, including a vicious fire wolf and a den filled with teeth and shadows. However, the greatest obstacle they face is fear, that resides in equal measure within both. Here’s the part we need to say out loud: The heartbeat of this film is a Black rhythm. Michael B. Jordan, Cedric the Entertainer, Justina Machado, Tracy Morgan, and Táta Vega create the – now, get this – voice cast of this film, but make no mistake, this was intentional and a serious decision. Given the cultural context in which Black stories, Black schools, Black institutions, and Black self-identity are under siege from all angles, and at the same time, this film elevates a Black voice to the forefront of the narrative regarding understanding and finding empathy, community resilience, and the danger of allowing fear to influence your laws. In what Tracy Morgan’s character – a lonely fish named Boogle – expresses about the desire to be understood by someone – anyone – is not merely a comedic moment, it is actually an expression of longing and is something that all audiences of African descent will feel and connect with without needing to read the subtitles. The fact that this story lives inside a fantasy world with glowing plants and deer made of birch bark and elephants built from redwood trees does not hide its meaning. It amplifies it. Black artists have always used fantasy, folklore, and myth to carry truths that the world was not ready to hear directly. Swapped sits in that tradition proudly. Ollie’s grandmother’s origin story of the Dzo — ancient, gentle giants of wisdom who were destroyed by violence and whose absence created a world of fear — echoes the kind of origin stories that Black communities have passed down for generations about what was taken from us, and what we lost when the connections between people were deliberately broken. The animation is breathtaking. Water moves like it remembers being alive. Fire behaves like a creature with its own grudges. The animal character designs — each one part living thing, part growing plant — are some of the most original visual ideas in recent animated film. The underwater sequence early in the film is quietly extraordinary, the kind of scene that reminds you why animation, at its best, can take you places no camera ever could. Jordan and Temple find a real rhythm together. Their back-and-forth does not feel scripted — it feels earned. The film’s screenplay, credited to three writers, does carry some of the weight you would expect from a story built on familiar bones. The opening freeze-frame with the “you’re probably wondering how I got here” voiceover is an eye-roll that the film quickly grows past. The villain — the fire wolf — is fearsome but not fully explored until the third act drops a reveal that genuinely lands hard and reframes everything you thought you understood. That moment lifts the film above the crowd of similar stories it could have stayed comfortable being. Trust is another area in which the film lacks. It is hard to see the weight of many of the quieter scenes and moments as director Greno does not give them time to develop independently, and when the emotional danger of Ollie and Ivy is sufficient enough, he tries to generate action movie thrills and suspense by going back to strong elements that have already been seen. The script also attempts to tell you how to respond or feel when the animation has already provided you with enough ways to interpret or react. As such, I would think that these kinds of flaws and/or mistakes can indeed be forgiven because the film obviously has a sincere intent towards its audience, and that is the most essential thing that I can say about this movie. We live in a time of fear, with people blaming others for their pain just because they don’t look, eat, or live like them. We’re teaching our kids to build walls as a form of protection. The movie Swapped illustrates that through two creatures who must live in each other’s worlds, they realize that, contrary to what you might expect, just because they are different doesn’t mean that they share pain in some way. It is a profound lesson and perhaps the most beautiful animated film I’ve ever seen from Netflix, and produced by black voices that fully understand how it feels to be misunderstood, mistrusted, and still need to be kind to others. Take your children. Take yourself. Take someone who needs reminding that understanding another person does not mean surrendering yourself — it means expanding. Swapped is not just a good film for the family couch on a Saturday afternoon. It is the right film for this exact moment in history. And that, above all, the beautiful visuals and the brilliant voice performances, is what makes it essential.

OUR RATING – A REFLECTIVE 8.5

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Dim-witted Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and her sex-crazed friend, Brenda (Regina Hall), team up with cute-but-clueless Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko) to save the world from a hostile alien invasion, with hints of War of the Worlds, Saw II, Million Dollar Baby and The Village. Celebrity cameos include Carmen Electra, Shaquille O’Neal, Dr. Phil McGraw, Bill Pullman, Molly Shannon and Michael Madsen.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

They said lightning never strikes the same place twice. Clearly, nobody told David Zucker. “Scary Movie 4” crashes into theaters this weekend like that alien tripod smashing through your neighbor’s house, loud, ridiculous, and somehow impossible to look away from. And if you are sitting in a theater filled with Black folks right now, you already know something that your coworkers downtown have absolutely no clue about: this movie was made for us. Not marketed to us. Not adjusted for us. Actually, genuinely, organically funny to us in ways that most mainstream critics writing for major newspapers are going to completely miss when they file their reviews tonight. The “Scary Movie” franchise attracts Black viewers because we know absurdity is a basis for comedy, we have always had an appreciation for humor that calls out authority figures and finds humor in the chaos around us – we do not see this form of comedy as lowbrow. We developed this ability centuries ago and can quickly identify films that speak that same language. “Scary Movie 4” speaks that language better than any entry in this franchise so far. Director David Zucker, the genius behind “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun,” returns with screenwriters Craig Mazin and Jim Abrahams to deliver something that works harder and smarter than it has any right to. The film weaves together parodies of “The Grudge,” “War of the Worlds,” “Saw,” “The Village,” “Million Dollar Baby,” and “Brokeback Mountain” into one surprisingly connected story, and the fact that it mostly holds together is its own kind of miracle. Our girl Cindy Campbell, played with absolute fearless commitment by the wildly underrated Anna Faris, is now working as a home nurse caring for a completely unresponsive elderly woman named Mrs. Norris, played by Cloris Leachman, doing what Cloris Leachman does better than anyone alive. The house is haunted by a creepy, androgynous Asian boy-ghost, which connects directly to the world ending outside when massive alien machines called Tri-Pods begin destroying everything in sight. Next door lives Tom Ryan, played by Craig Bierko, as a divorced, working-class father doing his best impression of Tom Cruise without any of Tom Cruise’s movie star smoothness, which is precisely the joke. Brenda Meeks, the role Regina Hall was destined for, is played by Regina Hall with energy and fearlessness in every scene, giving an elevated experience. Brenda is funny, loud, and direct, and represents something real, so when we see Brenda again, we can recognize her. Brenda is not the sidekick or comic relief character; she is the co-lead, and Hall portrays her with the confidence of someone who truly understands their assignment. Leslie Nielsen is the President Harris character, who was obviously written as a parody of George W. Bush. One of the funniest moments in the film involve him receiving notice while in a school that the world is about to be invaded. The original context of this situation is something that a great many Black people can very easily remember, and still talk about, and Zucker’s decision to satirize the event in no other way but this way gives us what we need to feel the right of it. We have always processed our political pain through comedy. This movie trusts us to do the same. ‘The War of the Worlds’ parody is particularly praiseworthy in that it does much more than merely replicate the Spielberg film; rather, it questions it. The film makes a clever joke about the alien machines shutting down mechanical devices in this film (including bicycles and skateboards), and it will be missed by a large number of viewers, while urban viewers will catch it at once. The film shows us and includes us, rather than merely displaying Black characters as decorations surrounding white protagonists saving the planet when the aliens vaporize characters at street level, because the only things left behind after street-level characters have been vaporized by aliens are the characters’ jewelry. Another consideration that further illustrates an understanding of the distinctions in how Black audiences view celebrities and cultural reference points from the mainstream media’s perspective is that the narration is by James Earl Jones rather than Morgan Freeman. The film opens with Dr. Phil and Shaquille O’Neal chained together in the “Saw” bathroom, and the image of Shaq playing this scene completely straight while Dr. Phil loses his composure is one of the funniest opening sequences the franchise has ever produced. It signals immediately that “Scary Movie 4” is operating with both cultural awareness and genuine comedic intelligence, regardless of how juvenile some later scenes become. The fact that these weak points exist and their need for honesty is apparent. The parody of “Brokeback Mountain” feels obligatory, as if it were included solely because everyone expected it, not because anyone had an original take on it. The impression by Craig Bierko as Tom Cruise would have been sharper had the movie been released six months ago, when Cruise’s couch-hopping incident on “Oprah” was still fresh in the minds of the public. The flashback to “Million Dollar Baby” explaining Cindy’s backstory was a painful distraction to the middle part of the movie. Carmen Electra makes every effort to contribute to the physical comedy of the “Village” segment, but the material itself does not match her efforts. None of these failures break the film, because Zucker maintains such a relentless pace that the next joke arrives before the last one fully registers. When the comedy works, it works enormously. When it does not, something else is already happening. Scary Movie 4 is a funny film; however, it is not considered a Classic comedy – yet. Scary Movie 4 wants to be the best film of the franchise and has been released as one of the most aware culturally of any mainstream comedy this decade. The film understands that the communities that are most often the target audience for horror films, and suffer most from the effects of government failings, are those same communities that have learned to use humor as a coping mechanism for their hardships, and they deserve to see in a comedy the reflection of their experiences through the film’s material. Black audiences built this franchise at the box office from the very beginning. This fourth entry finally returns the favor completely. Go see it with your people, in a crowded theater, with plenty of snacks. That is the only way this movie should be experienced.

OUR RATING – A SATISFYING 7

MEDIA

• Genre – Comedy

Street date

• Digital – March 30, 2021
• DVD – August 15, 2006
• Blu-Ray – March 22, 2011
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size 1.85:1
• Sound – English LPCM 5.1
• Subtitles – English, English SDH, Spanish, French

Extras

• Deleted Scenes (SD, 14 min.) — Optional commentary is provided by director David Zucker, writer Craig Mazin, and producer Robert K. Weiss. These more, or less, are alternate scenes that didn’t make it into the movie, instead of completely deleted scenes. Don’t worry, they’re all just as unfunny as the movie itself. Move on.
• The Scary Truth: A Conversation with the Filmmakers (SD, 35 min.) — Mazin, Zucker, and Weiss all sit down and discuss the movie. They’re all bonkers. I can’t believe that they’re able to fill up 35 minutes of time talking about this movie, but somehow they do.
• The Man Behind the Laugh: David Zucker (SD, 3 min.) — Apparently the director, David Zucker, has an annoyingly high-pitched laugh. This featurette is all about his laugh and people on set talking about it.
• Bloopers (SD, 7 min.) — Standard bloopers here.
• Zany Spoof Humor: Zucker Style (SD, 3 min.) — A few talking heads talk about Zucker’s humor style.
• The Visual Effects of ‘Scary Movie 4’ (SD, 8 min.) — Alison O’Brien, visual FX supervisor, comments on the movie’s effects and how they were able to do some of the different CG effects like the tripods.
• YoungbloodZ (SD, 3 min.) — This is a short featurette about the rapper duo that is in the film.
• Rappers…Actors (SD, 2 min.) — Other rappers like Chingy and Lil’ John are featured here.
• The Cast (SD, 16 min.) — An overview of the cast, new faces and recurring roles.
• Improvisation of Craig Bierko (SD, 7 min.) — The most mildly interesting featurette of the bunch. This shows the improv Bierko did when it came to doing the Tom Cruise appearance on Oprah as crazy as he could.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Anna impulsively jets off to Tuscany, Italy, to stay at a stranger’s villa without permission. Caught inside the house by the man’s mother, she convinces the woman that she’s his fiancée. That little lie soon becomes a big problem when Anna develops a growing attraction to the stranger’s handsome cousin.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

There is a moment in You, Me & Tuscany where Anna, played by Halle Bailey, texts her best friend back home after catching a glimpse of Michael, played by Regé-Jean Page, soaking wet and shirtless in the middle of a Tuscan vineyard. That one text says everything. It is real, funny, and the kind of moment that reminds you exactly why representation in film is not just important — it is necessary. When we see ourselves reflected on screen, not as stereotypes, but in ways that feel true, joyful, and free, the conversation shifts. And that shift is so confident, beautiful, and genuine. Set against the rolling hills and golden landscapes of Tuscany, Italy — specifically a small town called Pienza — You, Me & Tuscany follows Anna, a culinary school dropout who has been quietly falling apart since losing her mother. She makes ends meet in New York City by house-sitting for wealthy clients, borrowing other people’s lives because she has lost the thread of her own. After a terrible day that costs her both her job and her housing, Anna meets Matteo, a charming Italian man played by Lorenzo de Moor, and through a series of events that only work in the world of romantic comedies, she ends up staying at his empty family villa in Tuscany. The problem begins when Matteo’s family arrives unexpectedly and assumes Anna is his fiancée. Instead of telling the truth, Anna leans into the lie — and things only get more complicated when she starts developing real feelings for Matteo’s adopted brother, Michael. Yes, the premise is far-fetched. No reasonable person would do what Anna does. But that is the magic of a well-made romantic comedy. You are not supposed to question it. You are supposed to feel it. And You, Me & Tuscany makes you feel every single moment. Director Kat Coiro, whose background is mostly in television, shoots Italy the way it deserves to be seen. The countryside does not just serve as a backdrop — it becomes a character of its own. The farmland, the vineyards, the architecture, and the food all move through the screen and land directly in your chest. This film will make you want to apply for a passport. It will make you want to cook a real meal. It will make you want to call someone you love and tell them you are done going through the motions. That kind of feeling does not come from special effects or a massive budget. It comes from authenticity, and this film has it in abundance. What separates You, Me & Tuscany from the flood of forgettable romantic content that streaming platforms push out every few weeks is the quality of its characters. Halle Bailey carries this film with a quiet strength that does not announce itself. Her Anna is not written as a superhero or a symbol. She is a young woman who is grieving, struggling, and still trying to figure out who she is without her mother’s guiding hand. Bailey does not just play the role — she inhabits it. There is an “I am just trying to get through the day” energy to her performance that is both grounded and deeply relatable. Watching her slowly come alive in Italy, surrounded by warmth and beauty she never expected, is genuinely moving. Regé-Jean Page as Michael brings a different kind of presence. He is magnetic without trying to be. His Michael is thoughtful, a little guarded, and carries a natural authority that never tips into arrogance. The chemistry between Bailey and Page is the kind that cannot be manufactured. It feels lived-in and real, the sort of connection that makes you lean forward in your seat, hoping these two people figure it out before the credits roll. The supporting cast adds tremendous texture. Aziza Scott as Anna’s best friend Claire is sharp, funny, and exactly the kind of friend everyone needs — the one who tells you the truth even when you do not want to hear it. Marco Calvani as Lorenzo, the cab driver, is unexpectedly the emotional core of the film. He is warm, genuine, and so wholesome that every scene he appears in brings an immediate smile. Stella Pecollo as Auntie Francesca rounds out a family unit that feels imperfect in all the right ways — loving, loud, and full of life. Now here is what needs to be said directly, because it matters: most mainstream Hollywood romantic comedies have historically been built around the fantasy lives of White women. Films like Eat, Pray, Love and Under the Tuscan Sun set a standard for what “escapism” looks like on screen, and for decades, that standard did not include us. The dominant entertainment industry has long operated under the assumption that Black audiences would simply watch whatever was placed in front of them, or that our experiences did not translate to the kind of sweeping, joyful romance that deserves a theatrical release and a Tuscany backdrop. You, Me & Tuscany challenges that assumption without making a speech about it. It simply exists, beautifully and unapologetically, with two Black leads at the center of a love story set in one of the most breathtaking places on earth. The movie does not reduce Black people to trauma or conflict — in general, Anna and Michael exist in Italian spaces as everyday human beings, as curious, funny, loving, and warm people. There are small instances of shared experiences that recognize Anna and Michael’s similar identities without making it a lesson for the audience. These moments will resonate because of their subtlety, rather than being written to educate. Black people will immediately identify with those moments. This is the kind of film that communities need to see together, in a theater, not alone on a couch with a phone in hand. It inspires something. It opens a door and suggests that joy, adventure, and romance are not reserved for certain people. They belong to all of us. You, Me & Tuscany is not a perfect film. Certain characters could have been developed further, and the story follows a familiar path from beginning to end. But perfection was never the goal here. The goal was to remind Black audiences that our stories deserve to be told on the grandest stages available — and that when given the right cast, the right director, and the right landscape, we can produce something that does not just entertain. It moves people. It stays with them. It makes them want more. That is exactly what great cinema is supposed to do.

OUR RATING – A TRAVEL-SIZED 8

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Amidst a catastrophic hurricane, a coastal town battles nature’s wrath and an onslaught of sharks. Braving torrential rain, debris, and darkness, they unite to survive the deadly predators and make it through the storm.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

Before we even get into it, there is a version of Thrash that works beautifully. A Category 5 hurricane is drowning a small Southern town. Bull sharks are swimming through living rooms. A pregnant woman trapped in a car. A teenager fighting her own fear just to save a stranger. That version of this movie? I would watch that twice on a Friday night with no complaints. What we actually got, though, is something messier — a film that keeps interrupting itself at the worst possible moments, like someone who tells a great story but stops every few sentences to explain the joke. Tommy Wirkola directed Thrash — just as he also directed the very wild Violent Night — and this picture has had a long, rough road from when it was originally shot back in 2024 and called Beneath the Storm, to when it was going to be a big Sony theatrical release (and was even changed to Shiver), to finally being passed around and then being available now on streaming without much promotion. The behind-the-scenes situations are not visible, which is a statement about the movie’s production. What is visible, however, is the accompanying creative chaos – the movie can’t seem to figure out what it is or who it should follow and exactly how serious we should take all that we see. The setup is strong. Hurricane Henry is about to tear through Annieville, South Carolina, and most people with any sense have already left town. The ones who stay behind form our cast of characters. Lisa, played by Phoebe Dynevor, is nine months pregnant, recently abandoned by the father of her child, and somehow still finishing a shift at a meat-packing plant when she should be heading to the hospital. Dakota, played by Whitney Peak, is a teenager dealing with serious agoraphobia after the death of her parents, choosing to ride out the storm alone in her family home rather than face the outside world. Meanwhile, three foster siblings — Dee, Ron, and Will — are stuck with a guardian who cares more about money than their safety. And out on the water, marine researcher Dale, played by Djimon Hounsou, notices unusual shark activity right as the levees break and realizes his niece Dakota is directly in the path of it all. When the flooding hits, and the sharks follow the blood trail from a wrecked meat truck straight into town, the movie briefly catches fire. There is something genuinely wild about watching a bull shark glide through a flooded suburban street, and Wirkola has a good eye for physical chaos. The storm itself looks massive. The rising water feels dangerous. A few deaths land with real impact, including one that involves the foster kids and a sequence that plays like a dark, underwater version of Home Alone — set to Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles,” of all things — that somehow earns its place in the film. Hounsou consistently puts more effort into the material than it deserves to be done. He brings heft and meaning to all of his scenes, bringing an intensity to the lines about sharks and personal backstory that causes you to lament the fact that what he’s being given to work with doesn’t match his level of commitment. Dakota brings a true vulnerability to her character, creating an authenticity in her fear instead of just another storyline constructed out of convenience. The way in which Dakota’s anxiety creates tension with her need to protect Lisa produces some of the film’s best scenes. But here is where the problems stack up. The screenplay keeps tripping over itself. Lisa, barely rescued from the rising water, immediately starts giving Dakota orders like she has known her for years. There is almost no breathing room given to let these two women actually connect before the film demands we care deeply about their bond. Dynevor is clearly talented, but her character’s arc shifts so quickly and without enough foundation that it becomes difficult to follow her emotional logic. The foster kids’ storyline, meanwhile, exists in an almost entirely separate film. Their subplot involves neglect, possible financial fraud by their guardian, and a full dramatic resolution — all crammed into the margins of a shark disaster movie running under 90 minutes. It is not that the material is bad. Some of it is actually the most entertaining the film has to offer. The issue is that it pulls focus in a story that already has too many places it is trying to go at the same time. And then there is the dialogue, which is the movie’s most consistent problem. Characters stop in the middle of flooding and shark attacks to deliver background information, explain their personal histories, or land jokes that do not quite work. A reporter who tags along with Dale exists almost entirely to ask questions nobody in that situation would actually ask — functioning as a human paragraph of exposition rather than a real person. One moment, Dale delivers a line correcting someone’s assumptions about African geography that is meant to be sharp and pointed, but lands somewhere between confusing and unintentionally funny. The shark effects, it should be said, are uneven. Some shots look polished and convincing. Others look like the budget ran out during the third week of production. For a movie whose central threat is supposed to terrify us, the sharks are not always scary enough to do that job. What Wirkola wanted to make, I think, was a film that balanced genuine human drama with the kind of over-the-top creature feature energy that made Deep Blue Sea a cult classic. That film understood exactly how ridiculous it was and went all the way. Thrash keeps hedging its bets — too grounded to be gleefully absurd, too goofy to be truly frightening. It sits in the middle, trying to appeal to everyone and fully satisfying almost no one. There is still something worth watching here. The performances from Peak and Hounsou carry real emotional weight. Several set pieces land cleanly. The film’s final act finally commits to the kind of wild energy the whole thing needed from the jump. But it takes too long to get there, and too many stumbles happen along the way. Thrash is not a disaster — it is just a movie that almost became something great and settled for being merely watchable. That might be enough for a late-night Netflix scroll. For those of us who wanted more, it leaves a mark like a shallow bite — noticeable, but not quite enough to do the real damage.

OUR RATING – A BAD SHARKNADO CLONE 5

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

After newspaper reporter Cindy (Anna Faris) accidentally watches a strange videotape that causes the viewer to die within a week, she discovers the tape is only one of many weird happenings. Local farmers Tom (Charlie Sheen) and George (Simon Rex) have reported massive crop circles appearing overnight in their fields. Cindy finds a link between the tape and the crop circles with help from the U.S. president (Leslie Nielsen) and a kindly aunt (Queen Latifah).

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

When the Wayans brothers walked away from this franchise before part three even got off the ground, a lot of people in our community were ready to write this whole series off. And honestly? That was a fair reaction. Scary Movie 2 was a mess — rushed, lazy, and running on fumes before the opening credits even finished. But here we are, October 2003, and something unexpected happened. The movie ‘Scary Movie 3’ has managed to be successful, but is not ideal and does not achieve high standards. However, it succeeds at making you laugh so much that your belly aches; it reminds you why this series has been so well received; finally, it shows us that ‘Black talent’ on the screen can still propel a film forward despite a dramatic shift in who’s calling the “shots” from behind the scenes. This is the first film directed by David Zucker, who famously directed Airplane! and The Naked Gun series of films. When comparing both films, you will see a dramatic difference between the two films regarding their respective tones. When the Wayans directed Scary Movie, they brought a very raw, urban feel to their comedy that appealed directly to African American audiences who were raised in a family setting watching horror films with lots of relatives and then laughing at the parts they thought were funniest. In this film, Zucker’s direction relies on a more organized, polished presentation of comedy. The jokes are more compact, the pacing is more rapid, and shock value is not employed so much for just shock’s sake. Nevertheless, it is unrealistic to expect Zucker to understand what appeals to the African American audience; he cannot. The type of moments that the African American audience will enjoy the most, by far, are those that permit the African American cast members to be themselves and have fun. That brings us to the real conversation. Scary Movie 3 is, at its core, a Black film wearing a mainstream costume. The spoofing of The Ring, Signs, 8 Mile, and The Matrix gives the movie its structure, but the soul of this film lives in Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson, and Queen Latifah. Regina Hall returns as Brenda, and she is absolutely electric. Her screaming, her expressions, her complete refusal to play it safe — Brenda is the kind of character that Black women in the audience recognize immediately. She is loud in the way that feels like home, not in the way that embarrasses you. Hall takes every scene she is in and makes it the best scene in the film. When Brenda and Cindy are together trying to figure out the mystery of the killer videotape, the chemistry between Hall and Anna Faris feels genuine and funny in a way that does not require you to have seen a single one of the films being spoofed. You have to give Anna Faris major props as an actress who has a unique set of skills playing dumb in a non-mean fashion; it is hard to do this. Her character, Cindy Campbell, is a television reporter now, and she is happily in a state of complete chaos with all of the charming, sweet, blissful ignorance of being a genuinely clueless person. It is easy to see how committed she is to every joke, regardless of how ridiculous it is, and that commitment is what really distinguishes a great comic performance from a good comic performance. She binds the film the same way a quality point guard does in a basketball game; she may not be the most spectacular player on the floor, but she is the main reason that all of the rest of the players are successful. Simon Rex, who plays George, the wannabe rapper from 8 Mile, is a complete surprise as an actor. He provides so much physical comedy that it never stops, and when he tells a little kid (in his character) that someone just died, Rex says it immediately without any filter, and that is exactly the kind of sick, abrupt humor that black people always laugh at. No one needs to have anything explained to them, and no one needs a laugh track to tell them when there is a joke. Rex understands that, and it really shows. Charlie Sheen does solid work spoofing Mel Gibson’s character from Signs, and the film’s best technical joke involves the spinning camera style that director M. Night Shyamalan became known for. Watching Sheen get dizzy as the camera circles around him is the kind of smart, layered comedy that rewards people who actually pay attention to film. Leslie Nielsen shows up as the President of the United States, and if you have ever seen a Naked Gun movie, you already know exactly what you are getting — and it still works. The film is not without its problems. The opening scene with Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy spoofing themselves goes on far too long and earns zero laughs. The Michael Jackson joke feels tired even in 2003. Some of the alien-related humor in the second half falls completely flat, and there is a segment involving a priest that crosses the line without ever reaching the comedy it was aiming for. Zucker also has a habit of letting scenes drag past their natural ending point, which is a problem the Wayans brothers had as well, so perhaps that particular disease belongs to the franchise itself rather than any one director. But here is what matters most: this film understood, even imperfectly, that Black audiences are not a secondary market. We are the audience. We are the ones who made the original Scary Movie a cultural moment. We are the ones who packed theaters opening weekend, who quoted lines at school on Monday, who debated which scene was funniest. Scary Movie 3 shows up for us with Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Anthony Anderson, Method Man, Redman, RZA, Macy Gray, and D.L. Hughley all present and contributing to a film that, without them, would feel like a film made for someone else entirely. White critics will review this movie and probably focus on whether the parody is sophisticated enough or whether Zucker recaptures the magic of Airplane! They will miss the point entirely. The point is that this film made Black audiences feel seen, made us laugh out loud, and gave us characters that reflected our humor, our energy, and our way of moving through the world. Comedy has always been one of the spaces where Black culture leads, and everyone else follows, usually about five years too late. Scary Movie 3 is not a perfect film. It is not even a great one. But it is a good time that respects its audience more than it has any right to.

OUR RATING – A SPOOFY 6.5

MEDIA

• Genre – Comedy
• Street date
• Digital – September 20, 2005
• DVD – May 11, 2004
• Blu-Ray – September 20, 2005
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 1.78:1
• Sound – English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles – English, English SDH, Spanish

Extras

• Audio Commentary with Director David Zucker, Producer Robert K. Weiss, and Writers Craig Mazin and Pat Proft – Well this was a pleasant surprise. The participants are all very laid back and spend the majority of the time making fun of various scenes that they don’t like, mentioning even worse material that didn’t make it in, and generally joking around together. In between the various amusing, self deprecating comments are some occasional insights into the filmmaking process. These guys all seem like very funny people and while the movie definitely has its moments, it’s a shame that the same level of wit on display in the commentary didn’t make it on screen.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary (SD, 20 min) – Fourteen deleted and alternate scenes are all available to watch separately or together and with or without commentary from the filmmakers. Some of the cut material includes some extra news broadcast scenes, a parody of the horse scene in ‘The Ring,’ and more from Denise Richards. While most of the material is pretty bad, the commentary from the filmmakers is once again hilarious. The group provides a very candid and funny discussion of why the scenes were cut and lament on some of their very poor decisions.
• Making Scary Movie 3 (SD, 23 min) – This is a pretty decent look at the making of the film with behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. While the participants can spend a bit too much time complimenting each other, there actually are some interesting bits of information presented dealing with the script’s constant state of flux and the timeliness of the spoofs (some of the parodied movies hadn’t even been released yet when this was shot).
• Making Scary Movie 3… FOR REAL (SD, 5 min) – Some more additional on-set footage and interviews are included here. I’m not sure what makes this featurette more REAL than the previous, but it’s worth a look.
• Outtakes and Bloopers (SD, 4 min) – This is your standard, mildly amusing set of bloopers and flubbed takes.
• Alternate Ending with Optional Audio Commentary (SD, 15 min) – This is a rather lengthy, elaborate, and very different alternate ending to the film that features parodies of ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ ‘Hulk,’ and more from ‘The Matrix: Reloaded.’ While pretty awful, there are some aspects of this ending that are just as good (or bad) as what was used. Like the deleted scenes, optional commentary with the filmmakers is included that is once again a joy to listen to. The participants rip the scene apart and discuss why certain things didn’t end up working.
• Hulk vs. Aliens – Behind the Scenes of the Alternate Ending (SD, 4 min) – A behind-the-scenes look at the cut ending is included that focuses on the effects work done to bring the aliens and Hulk to life.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

All the scary movie characters are back in a laugh packed sequel that scares up even more irreverent fun than the original. Marlon Wayans and Anna Faris lead a stellar cast that takes extreme pleasure in skewering Hollywood’s most frightening feature films and spoofing popular culture. Starring Regina Hall, Christopher Kennedy Masterson, Tori Spelling and Tim Curry, Chris Elliott and James Woods, nothing’s sacred and anything goes in this outlandish must-see comedy hit.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

When a film is made by Black creators, directed by a Black director, and built on a comedic language that Black audiences have been speaking their whole lives, it does not need the approval of a White critic to be great. Most White critics will walk into a Wayans Brothers film the same way they walk into a barbecue they were not invited to — confused, uncomfortable, and completely missing the point. So when those reviews come in calling Scary Movie 2 “lowbrow” or “technically a mess,” understand that what they are really saying is: this was not made for me, and I do not know how to talk about what I do not understand. Now that we have settled that, let us talk about why this film matters. Keenen Ivory Wayans brought Scary Movie 2 to theaters on July 4, 2001 — and no, that date is not an accident. Independence Day. A Black director dropping a Black comedy on the most American holiday there is. That is a statement, whether Hollywood meant it that way or not. After the original Scary Movie stunned the industry in the summer of 2000 — making back more than double its $19 million budget in a single opening weekend and continuing to pull crowds through the fall — a sequel was not just expected, it was demanded. The studio tagline for the first film boldly read, “No mercy. No shame. No sequel.” For part two, they simply said, “We lied.” And honestly? Thank goodness they did. Where the first film spread itself wide, trying to poke fun at everything from Scream to bodily functions, Scary Movie 2 sharpens its aim. This time, the target is classic and recent horror — and the Wayans crew hits more than they miss. The story, such as it is, borrows heavily from 1999’s The Haunting, dropping a group of college students into a massive, gothic haunted mansion under the false pretense of a sleep study run by their deeply untrustworthy professor, played with delicious creepiness by Tim Curry. Curry, who has made a career out of making audiences squirm in the best way possible, is perfectly cast here. His professor is slick, manipulative, and funny in exactly the way a villain should be funny — you enjoy watching him even though you know he cannot be trusted. Back in the role of Cindy Campbell, Anna Faris has not only maintained her physical comedy, she has improved it compared to critics who did not see how skilled she was when it came to physical comedy. Shawn and Marlon Wayans are back as Ray and Shorty, and the energy that they bring to the screen creates some of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Of all of the actors, Marlon has the best ability to connect with an audience; his comedic timing is so natural that no matter whether he delivers a joke directly or indirectly, his punchlines hit every time. The addition of Tori Spelling (as Alex) to the cast did not expand her ability as an actress. However, she is able to commit to the ridiculous characters that this film requires of her, and her commitment is what gives her character’s scenes a sense of reality. The film opens with an extended spoof of The Exorcist, featuring James Woods as a priest who comes to perform a very unfortunate exorcism on a demon-possessed teenager played by Natasha Lyonne. What follows is one of the most aggressively funny cold opens in recent comedy history. Woods, who stepped in last-minute after an ailing Marlon Brando had to withdraw, goes completely over the top — and that is exactly right. He understands the assignment. The scene escalates past the point of comfort and straight into the kind of ridiculous that makes you laugh even when you are trying not to. Andy Richter appears as well, and the whole sequence sets the tone immediately: this film is not here to be polite. Chris Elliott plays Hanson, the mansion’s caretaker, a lurching, disfigured man whose badly deformed hand becomes a running gag throughout the picture. Elliott’s style is a slow, deadpan kind of comedy that occasionally stalls the momentum — he lingers in scenes a beat or two longer than necessary — but even those moments never fully kill the energy, because the Wayans always have something ready to bring things back. That balance, knowing when to push and when to pull, is actually one of the film’s quiet strengths. Beyond the main storyline, Scary Movie 2 takes well-aimed shots at What Lies Beneath, Hannibal, Charlie’s Angels, Hollow Man, Mission: Impossible 2, Titanic, The Empire Strikes Back, and even a brief, smart jab at filmmaker John Woo’s signature white doves that will fly right over the heads of casual viewers but land perfectly for anyone paying attention. The Charlie’s Angels fight sequence, complete with wirework and our leads ending up in their underwear, is the kind of confident, layered spoof that rewards an audience that actually watches movies. The Wayans Brothers are film people. They love cinema. And that love shows in how specifically they target these scenes — not just making fun of the movies, but making fun of them correctly. Here is what mainstream criticism consistently fails to recognize about this franchise: Black comedy has always required a different kind of intelligence. The humor in Scary Movie 2 operates on community knowledge, on shared experience, on an understanding of what it means to watch horror films as someone who is rarely centered in them. When Black audiences laugh at these films, we are also laughing at years of being the character who dies first, the sidekick who never gets the girl, the background figure in someone else’s story. The Wayans Brothers put Black characters at the center and let them be ridiculous, brave, scared, funny, and human all at once. That is not lowbrow. That is revolutionary — it is just disguised as a comedy about a haunted house. Is Scary Movie 2 a perfect film? No. The editing is rough in places. Some scenes feel disconnected, and a few continuity errors made it into the final cut that a tighter post-production schedule would have caught. But filmmaking perfection was never the goal here. The goal was to give a Black audience — and anyone smart enough to keep up — a comedy that spoke directly to them, with a cast that looked like them, directed by one of their own. On those terms, Scary Movie 2 is a complete success. The film serves as evidence that Black creators can create their own opportunities. Keenen Ivory Wayans constructed a table of his own with his family members and created a decade’s worth of success in the comedy industry. Created independence along with power, then this equals more value than any score that a White critic awards for this film.

OUR RATING – A CREATIVE 8

MEDIA

• Genre – Comedy
• Street date
• Digital – Aug 2, 2016
• DVD – December 18, 2001
• Blu-Ray – September 20, 2011
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 1.78:1
• Sound – English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
• Subtitles – English, Spanish

Extras

• “Behind the Scenes” Featurette (SD, 8 min) – This is a basic behind-the-scenes promotional piece offering interviews with the cast and crew, and on-set footage. The Wayans Brothers joke about the studio rushing the sequel into production to make money, and while they may get to laugh about it, the audience certainly doesn’t. Other topics touched upon include choosing which films to spoof and details on Keenan Ivory Wayans’s directing style. Being pretty standard promo material, there isn’t a lot to get out of this.
• Deleted and Alternate Scenes (SD, 44 min) – Twenty two deleted and alternate scenes, including three alternate endings, are all available to watch separately or together. These scenes essentially amount to a lot more backstory and set up for the plot, and while story really isn’t much of a factor in the movie, some of these scenes actually seem kind of important, but you know, who cares, right? While the majority of the material is just as painfully unfunny as what’s in the movie, I actually liked the first alternate ending a little bit more than what was used — which is to say I hated it a little less.
• Special Effects Tour (SD, 6 min) – Here we are treated to a tour of the SFX truck by the film’s SFX supervisor. We also get to see how some of the effects were created including an absolutely fascinating look at the complicated vomit rig used for the opening of the movie.
• “Here Kitty, Kitty” Featurette (SD, 2 min) – This featurette places the focus on the various animatronic kittens that were used for the kitten fight scene. Obviously, this is a must watch.

“Scary Effects” Featurette (SD, 2 min) – Here we get more behind-the-scenes footage featuring fake glass, skeletons, and a legitimately interesting rotating room.

• “Behind the Makeup” Featurette (SD, 4 min) – Here we learn how the ‘Exorcist’ and various ghost effects were achieved using makeup. Like the rest of these brief featurettes, this is only marginally interesting, so, you know, watch it… if you must.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Defying the very notion of good taste, Scary Movie out-parodies the pop culture parodies with a no-holds barred assault on the most popular images and talked-about moments from recent films, television and commercials. The film boldly fires barbs at the classic scenes from Scream, The Sixth Sense, The Matrix, I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Blair Witch Project, then goes on to mock a whole myriad of teen movie clichés, no matter the genre.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

When Keenen Ivory Wayans puts his name on something, there are two things you already know before you even sit down in that theater seat: it is going to be loud, and it is going to be unapologetically Black. “Scary Movie” is both of those things and then some. Released in the summer of 2000, this film does not just make you laugh — it reminds you that humor has always been a weapon, and the Wayans family has never been afraid to use it. Here is what the mainstream press will miss entirely when they write about this movie: “Scary Movie” is a cultural statement dressed up as a comedy. For Black audiences, watching the Wayans brothers flip the script on every tired horror movie trope — the helpless white girl, the clueless police deputy, the screaming final act that leads nowhere — carries a weight that goes beyond entertainment. We have spent decades watching horror films where Black characters are the first to die, where our fear is played for somebody else’s laugh. Keenen turns that formula upside down and sets it on fire. That matters. That matters deeply to a community that has long watched Hollywood treat us like props in somebody else’s story. The movie “Scary Movie” and its director, Marlon Wayans, rely heavily on Wes Craven’s original movie “Scream” was the movie “Scary Movie” based on “Scream”.  The main character, Cindy Campbell, played by Anna Faris, has a unique personality defined by her pinpoint comedic timing.  She is a high school student that becomes involved in solving a murder mystery when she and some other friends cover up a hit-and-run car accident during Halloween. Does that sound familiar? The way Wayans takes this typical story and makes it into a reflection of itself (a “mirror”, if you will) is by mocking all of the clichés, cheap scares, lazy writing, and movie-making assumptions.  And that is exactly what he did in “Scary Movie”. Carmen Electra opens the film playing Drew Decker, a riff on Drew Barrymore’s now-famous ten-minute appearance in “Scream.” Electra stumbles around her kitchen, gets chased by a masked killer, and somehow finds time to strike poses in the yard sprinkler before meeting her end. It is absurd, it is over the top, and the audience I watched it with never stopped laughing. That opening scene alone signals exactly what kind of movie this is going to be — shameless, fearless, and operating completely on its own terms. Anna Faris manages to carry this film with an unbroken persona, which was the appropriate style of spoof to use, as all best spoof performances occur without any winks toward the camera; Faris plays her role as if the circumstance were absolutely real, therefore, that commitment allows for the humor of the joke to work. Faris’ character is unaware of the danger she is in, cannot see obvious danger signs, and somehow survives; that is both a satire of the tradition of “final girl” of horror films, but also a more subtle critique of the absurdity of that long-standing tradition. Shawn Wayans is genuinely funny as Ray, a football player whose every sentence somehow curves back around to reveal something he clearly does not want anyone to know about himself. The running joke around his character builds steadily through the film and earns its laughs honestly. Marlon Wayans and Jon Abrahams work well together as the two most obvious suspects in the film, playing their scenes with the kind of energy that makes you realize they are having the best time on that set. Dave Sheridan’s Deputy Doofy is one of the film’s most committed performances. His parody of David Arquette’s bumbling deputy from “Scream” goes to uncomfortable places, but the payoff at the film’s end lands with the force of a punch line that has been charging up for ninety minutes. Cheri Oteri brings her usual controlled chaos as reporter Gale Hailstorm, though the role feels underwritten given what Oteri is capable of. Shannon Elizabeth, on the other hand, does not quite find her footing here. Her scenes drag, and one extended death sequence loses the audience’s attention before it finds its conclusion. That is one of the film’s honest weaknesses — not every joke earns its running time. A sequence referencing “The Matrix” feels disconnected from the rest of the film’s energy, and the final act stumbles when the movie tries to land its ending. It becomes clear at a certain point that the writers, all six of them, were more comfortable building jokes than closing them. And yet. The film’s success rate is surprisingly high for the genre. The theater scene — borrowed from “Scream 2” and set during a showing of “Shakespeare in Love” — is one of the sharpest sequences in the movie. Regina Hall as Brenda commands that entire scene with nothing but nerve and volume, and Black audiences will recognize immediately what Wayans is doing: he is honoring the way we actually watch movies together, the call-and-response, the running commentary, the communal experience that Hollywood has always filmed as if it were embarrassing. Here it is, the funniest thing on screen. The reason the mainstream critics will completely dog or ignore “Scary Movie” is that the Wayans brothers are aware that Black humor isn’t just something that’s humorous. It’s also about someone deciding what humorous is, and for too long that decision has been made by others. In this instance, at a sold-out theater full of people laughing together in unison in the summer of 2000, that decision belongs to us. Let there not be any illusion that “Scary Movie” is a perfect film; it’s misshaped, it’s mis-evaluated, and at times uses shock as a means of humor; however, it’s also one of the most comical films thus far this year, it represents one of the few landmark comedic films from Black Hollywood (in years) since “I’m Gonna Git You Sucka!” (1988); finally a film that exemplifies that the Wayans family can voice their opinion loudly and unapologetically. Keenen Ivory Wayans created “In Living Color” as a launching pad for future careers while completely redefining the look and feel of Black comedy on television. “Scary Movie” brings all of that energy back into a movie theater near you. Go see it! Take your family! Laugh unapologetically loud! That is the entire purpose.

OUR RATING – A ROLLING IN THE ISLES 8

MEDIA

• Genre – Comedy
• Street date
• Digital – October 23, 2007
• DVD – December 12, 2000
• Blu-Ray – October 23, 2007
• Video – 1080p
• Screen size – 2.35:1
• Sound – English PCM Uncompressed 5.1, English Dolby 5.1, French Dolby 5.1, Spanish Dolby 2.0
• Subtitles – English, Spanish

Extras

• Video Trailer

WHAT’S IT ABOUT

Two friends navigate the dangerous world of organized crime, testing their loyalty and survival skills as they get deeper into the criminal underworld.

MOVIESinMO REVIEW

When a film drops on a streaming platform with a title that sounds like a roll call gone wrong, you expect to be let down. But Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski, earns every single minute of your attention — and then some. Here is what you need to know going in. Mike, played by James Marsden, is a tired gangster who wants out of the criminal life. He has been secretly seeing Alice, played by Eiza González, who happens to be the wife of his partner, Nick, played by Vince Vaughn. On the same night Mike and Alice plan to disappear together, Nick shows up asking Mike for one last favor. That favor leads Mike to a door, and behind that door is another Nick. A second Vince Vaughn. Because, as it turns out, the Nick who came asking for help is actually a time traveler from six months in the future. He jumped back in time using a machine built by Symon, played by Ben Schwartz, to save Mike’s life, because in the future, Mike ends up dead. Layered on top of all of this is a furious mob boss named Sosa, played by Keith David, who believes Mike is the person who sent his son Jimmy Boy to prison. Sosa has hired a cannibal assassin called the Barron to handle the situation. Yes, a cannibal. Yes, it gets that wild. What Grabinski understands, and what many directors working in this space completely miss, is that a high-concept story only works if the people living inside it feel real. The time travel here is not explained in detail, and that is the right call. The movie does not need you to do math. It needs you laughing, wincing, and occasionally feeling something you did not see coming. The time machine exists to create problems, raise stakes, and put these people in rooms together where they have no choice but to figure things out. That is it. That is enough. Now, Vince Vaughn. Brother has been away from comedy long enough that seeing him return here feels like a reunion you did not know you needed. For years, Vaughn leaned hard into dark, brutal, dramatic roles — and he was genuinely good in that lane. But watching him play two versions of the same man, separated by six months and a whole lot of pain, reminds you that he is a rare talent. Future Nick is calm, measured, and almost gentle. Present Nick is reactive, short-tempered, and harder to like. Vaughn keeps both versions separate and clear without ever making it feel like a trick. You always know which Nick is in the room, and more importantly, you care about both of them. Marsden plays Mike with a kind of exhausted charm that works perfectly here. He is the straight man surrounded by chaos, but he is not boring. He runs with full-force physical ability through the entire production, from the fighting sequences to the humour, where he lands punches and moments with naturally timed delivery on both sides of the equation. But it is the rhythm defined by his and Vaughn’s chemistry that helps define the structure of this piece. There is a conversation in this film about which boyfriend was best for Rory on Gilmore Girls that should not matter to the plot at all, and yet, by the time it circles back around, you realize Grabinski has been using it to show you exactly who these people are. That is smart writing hiding inside ridiculous comedy. González holds the entire emotional center of this film together without making it look like an effort. Alice is sharp, quick, and the most strategically aware person in nearly every scene she enters. She does not exist simply to be fought over. She has her own perspective on the situation, and González makes sure you feel the weight of the choices Alice is carrying. Her chemistry with Marsden reads as genuine, and her scenes with Vaughn, both Vaughns, carry real tension that the movie earns. Keith David’s portrayal of Sosa exceeds expectations. Each of his lines is delivered with such authority that one can believe he would run a crime syndicate while also planning an after party, after after party, and after after after party for his son’s welcome home. Jimmy Tatro as Jimmy Boy is entertainingly dimwitted, believing himself to be more menacing than he really is; the contrast between father and son is another, more subtle source of humor in the film. The soundtrack deserves its own recognition. Grabinski uses music the way a good chef uses seasoning, not to cover things up, but to bring the flavor forward. There is a moment involving Oasis’s “Don’t Look Back in Anger” that genuinely lands with feeling, which is something you do not expect from a film where a cannibal assassin is also a major plot point. And the Blade club scene music makes an appearance that will have a certain generation of viewers sitting straight up in their seats. Where the film loses a small amount of footing is in a stretch through the middle where the momentum softens, and the energy drops below what it needs to be. There is also a late twist that feels like Grabinski second-guessed himself at the finish line. Neither issue ruins the experience, but together they keep Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice from reaching the same level as the films it is clearly drawing inspiration from, movies like The Nice Guys and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which found a near-perfect balance between action and comedy. But here is the truth: this film is a genuine crowd-pleaser that should be seen by far more people than a Hulu release will likely give it. Grabinski, who also shaped the tone of the animated Scott Pilgrim Takes Off series, demonstrates that he knows how to manage tone, juggle ideas, and still keep the audience connected to the characters doing all of this ridiculous living. He is a filmmaker worth following. Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is funny, fast, occasionally touching, and built on a cast that is clearly having the time of their lives. Do not sleep on it.

OUR RATING – AN ALL-OVER-THE-PLACE 8

What’s It About

After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.