Addams Family Values (1993)

The same director and most of the same cast return for a superior sequel. It kept everything that was good about the first film but tied it to a more interesting story. In fact, there are two stories running concurrently, neither of which is very complicated but both have some fun moments.
Overall, it’s much more blackly humourous than before. I’d have preferred if the slapstick moments had been eliminated completely, but they needed something to keep the younger viewers happy.
As before, the expressionistic lighting is the real star.

3 gifts for Fester out of 5

The Addams Family (1991)

I'd not watched this before. I've always been more of a Munsters fan.
The whole thing seems tailor-made for Tim Burton, but then we probably wouldn't have had Anjelica Huston, we'd have had whomever he was married to at the time and Johnny Depp.
The casting in general was great, especially Raúl Juliá as Gomez and Christina Ricci as the deadpan Wednesday. It was nice to see the concern they each had for each other so well-developed.
It never takes itself too seriously, which was the correct approach.
The sets were fantastic and the entire thing was beautifully lit, but the story was disappointing and left me wanting.

2½ displacements out of 5

MEN IN BLACK 3 [2012]

After a 10 year absence, Agent J & K are back in the third installment of the Men In Black series.

It's nice to see Will Smith & Tommy Lee Jones back in black but it's Josh Brolin who steals the show as a younger version of Jones' Agent K character.  The film starts off pretty slow but once Smith jumps back in time things pick up and never slow down.   Rick Baker's alien designs are particularly disgusting this time around causing extreme delight in this gorehound.  

It's not as great as the first film but lightyears better than the second.  

3 pug mugs out of 5

MEN IN BLACK II [2002]

Tommy Lee Jones & Will Smith reprise their roles as Agents J & K in this dismal 2002 sequel to the sci-fi comedy Men In Black.  

All the same elements of the first film are here only this time it simply just doesn't work.  What was a perfect blend of silly, bizarre and creative, is all pulverized into an uneven pile of mush in the second film.  Set in New York,  MIB II fell victim to heavy edits because of 9/11 and the Two Towers originally being featured quite heavily in the original cut, so that might have a lot to do with the sloppy mess that it is. 

...and Lara Flynn Boyle just plain sucks.

2 Rick Fuck Yeah Baker is the STAR out of 5

MEN IN BLACK [1997]

Based on the premise of the Malibu comics, Barry Sonnenfeld's Men In Black adaptation is considerably lighter in tone and just right for popcorn munching & shit-eating grins aplenty.

Tommy Lee Jones & Will Smith seem to be having a lot of fun hamming it up and looking good doing it, while Vincent D'Onofrio steals the show as the "bug man".  The humor and sci-fi elements are spread evenly throughout this smoothly paced story which make for good mindless fun.

Rick Baker's hilariously bizarre creature effects are the main star here.

4 galaxy sporting cats out of 5