Next Friday (2000)

A sequel to the really rather good Friday (1995) that's nowhere near as good. It takes Craig (Ice Cube) out of South Central, 'Fresh Princing' him to the California suburbs, perhaps in the hope that removing the character from a setting that was complementary and placing him into one that isn't will engender not just comedy but sympathy. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

It adds some Chicano neighbours for him to tussle with, most of whom are played too heavily for laughs. Also, Deebo (Tommy Lister) has unfinished business, so he's shoehorned into the plot, too. The script certainly wasn't Ice Cube expressin' with his full capabilities.

2 ghetto knocks out of 5

RIDE ALONG [2014]

Fuck Tha Police co-writer Ice Cube & uber-zippy pint-sized comedian Kevin Hart play a cop & a cop-to-be in director Tim Story's bickering buddy action/comedy Ride Along.
Atlanta Police Academy newbie Hart rides along with gruff detective Cube in order to prove that he is worthy of marrying the hard-assed cop's younger sister.  Wacky hijinks ensue and everything falls in place in the end.
Based on the late-night talk show interviews I saw with these guys I loved their comedic chemistry so I figured this flick would be good for a few laughs.  Technically it offers a few mild belly laughs but nothing worth noting.  In fact, it's kind of a major disappointment, especially when you weren't asking for much in the first place.

2 Black Hammers out of 5

FIST FIGHT [2017]

Batman versus Superman.  Godzilla versus Mothra.  Mega Shark versus Crocosaurus.  Joe versus a volcano.  And now, Ice Cube versus Charlie Day.
Director Richie Keen's mean-spirited comedy Fist Fight pits the two guys against each other as high school teachers that find they have nothing to lose amidst the chaos that surrounds them.
With the folks involved, the movie should have been funnier even if the script fell a little flat in all it's stupidity.  Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much a script and it feels more like they just cobbled together a bunch of Best Of improvisations which isn't all that great to begin with.  There's a few chuckle worthy moments and the actual fight itself is well worth the time wasted on the rest of film.  In the end, it's not a comedy worth recommending unless you really, really think it'd be a blast watching Cube & Charlie trading blows.

2 horses on meth out of 5

Friday After Next (2002)

The third film goes Xmas. I shit you not. Seasonal plot-desperation is typically a bad sign, and Friday After Next is no certainly exception. Craig (Ice Cube) is back in the ghetto, sharing an apartment with his cousin Day-Day (Mike Epps), who we met in the previous film, Next Friday (2000).  For a while things are good and interactions are sharp, but once the cops leave so too does the fun. I found it impossible to care about any of the new characters and a struggle to sit through the wafer-thin additions to existing ones.

Credit, however, is given for the title. I can't think of any other series that has titling as clever as the Friday films. That trend is set to continue if the rumoured fourth film ever gets made, Last Friday.

1½ pimps and some ho ho hos out of 5

PSYCHO III [1986]

Anthony Perkins claims the director's chair in the third instalment of the Psycho series.
Having not seen this film since I was kid, I recalled it being not as good as the second film and boy, was I right.  This film is pretty terrible.
While I admire Perkins' not trying to imitate Hitchcock's style, I find it offensive that they'd turn the series into a cheap 80's slasher flick with more graphic violence and bouncing boobies.
Even though the second film ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger I would have preferred this film had never been made.

1 bloody ice cube out of 5

Friday (1995)

A comedy about two unemployed friends, Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker), that's set during one hot Friday in the hood. Craig is lazy and a bit of a moocher. Smokey is a small-time weed dealer. The duo sit on mismatched chairs on a porch, shooting the shit while watching passers-by and trying their best to keep a low profile with a 'you don't bother me and I won't bother you' attitude. But, as is often the case in neighbourhoods, unwanted interruptions aren't far away - one of which is Deebo (Tommy Lister).

Nothing much happens, but it's totally engaging. It's a bit Spike Lee, minus the crushing political weight. There are stereotypes, but they're clearly and purposefully written that way. And the small but important level of social commentary that surfaces elevates it above similar location-set comedies.

3½ rotations out of 5

Ghosts of Mars (2001)

Taken as a whole, GoM isn't very good. The illuminated nights make everything look set-bound even though all exteriors were shot on location. Stath’s single-note action hero style doesn't fit well in the Carpenter world, and Ice Cube lacks any kind of menace. The SFX budget was small and it really shows. The generic, metal chugga-chug guitar stuff is awful.

Conversly, the ambient music is good, Pam Grier is cool and Natasha Henstridge is a perfect fit. There’s a strange, recurring use of a flashback within a flashback, having one character tell the tale of a different character.

The real saving grace is the commentary; I love a Carpenter commentary.

2 bottled teeth out of 5

RIDE ALONG 2 [2016]

Director Tim Story brings back Ice Cube & Kevin Hart for another comedic romp in the sequel to the 2014 hit, Ride Along.
This time around the bad boys are heading to Miami to bring down a dangerous drug lord who's supplying their hometown with his product.
While the first film failed to muster a whole lot of laughter from me, this second outing somehow managed to improve upon it's tired formula with a breezier pace.  Tossing Ken Jeong into the mix to form a mismatched trio works incredibly well and offers most of the film's laughs.  The story-mapping is pretty sloppy, the character arcs are terrible and it's more predictable than downing a boxful of laxatives but at least it's pretty damned funny.

3 brother-in-laws out of 5