She Might Kill Them First... "Madea's Witness Protection"

Madea's Witness Protection (2012)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tyler Perry, Eugene Levy, Denise Richards, Doris Roberts, Tom Arnold

Written and Directed by Tyler Perry

The Story:

An investment banker (Levy) is framed in a Ponzi scheme by his boss (Arnold). His entire family gets relocated to live with Madea (Perry) who's going to teach them some good ol' fashioned family values, and save their lives in the process.

I usually come across pretty hard on Tyler Perry's non-Madea films.

Either too boring, or with just characters that make me want to punch the tv.

:)

I normally say, "not as good as his Madea films".

Then along comes Witness Protection, which most will say is the bottom of the barrel with this franchise.

Meh.

It's not so bad.

Your typical fish out of water as the uptight, dysfunctional New York family is forced to live with Madea and learn to live life on her terms.

This falls in the realm of mostly harmless fun, and as always, Levy is a delight, making movies more enjoyable just by being himself.


Available to stream instantly on Netflix or Amazon Prime

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: It's been about 2 years since I last saw it. Harmless mostly. Another few years, might watch the Madea movies again.

Today's Review Is Designed To Fly Under The Radar... "Stealth"

Stealth (2005)
Rated PG 13 for Language

Starring Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Sam Shepard

Directed by Rob L. Cohen

The Story:

The Navy has developed a fighter jet with an artificial intelligence running the show.  Teaching it the ropes are three of the Navy's best, Lt's Gannon (Lucas), Wade (Biel) and Purcell (Foxx).  But when lightning strikes the jet, the A.I. malfunctions and decides it must take out all hostiles.  Can the 3 humans talk some sense into their computerized counterpart before World War III starts?


Remember War Games and Short Circuit?  Mash the two together, and there you go.

:)

Okay, not quite, but that might have been more interesting than what we got.

And really, this film isn't really that bad...

It just wasn't as good as it should have been.

Josh Lucas does fine as the leading man, and perhaps of the 3, is the most believable as a great Navy pilot.

Does This Flight Suit Make Me Look Fat?

Biel suffers a similar fate to Denise Richards in a Bond movie, and she just doesn't seem that believable as a fighter pilot.

Then there's Jamie Foxx who rebounded from this one to snag an Oscar for Ray.

Does This Flight Suit Make Me Look Like An Oscar Winner ?

Shepard plays the human villain role, but his is more from a misguided duty than pure evil.

Most disappointing were the cheesy special effects.

No offense, but when a jet smacks into a mountain, don't go slow motion, it just really destroys the credibility of your movie.  Better to just hit it with an explosion than show a really poor model crumbling into a ball.

This is the 2nd time I've seen it since it was released.

I think I liked it better the first time I saw it and thought I would purchase it in the future.

Now?

Final Grade: C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah, future me has talked myself out of it. ;)

Don't Mess With The Fro... "Undercover Brother"

Undercover Brother (2002)
Rated R for language

Starring Eddie Griffin, Chris Kattan, Denise Richards, Aunjanue Ellis, Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, Neil Patrick Harris

Directed by Malcolm D. Lee

The Story:

"The Man" has plans to take aspiring political candidate, General Boutwell (Billy Dee Williams) off the map, and have him start a fried chicken franchise with a mental drug in the coating which will brainwash the black customers that eat the chicken, and make them act "more white".  Well, the secret group, The BROTHERHOOD is trying to stop The Man, but they need the help of the coolest agent of them all: Undercover Brother (Griffin).  Who will win this high stakes race war?!?

Forgive my description of the movie, but it's one that I have to either reveal very little, or I have to spill the whole thing.

I'd rather err on the side of caution.

This Review Is Solid!

This is one of the funniest movies I've seen, and I've watched it dozens of times since it first came out.

Hilarious from start to finish.

Griffin is on fire as Undercover Brother, and the entire cast assembled around him is terrific.

As the agents of The BROTHERHOOD, you have The Chief (McBride), Sistah Girl (Ellis) Conspiracy Brother(Chappelle) and Smart Brother (Gary Anthony Williams).  They are joined by the token white guy, Lance (Harris).

Solid!

 

To say that Harris steals nearly every scene he's in is an understatement.

And that takes some serious doing, because so does Chappelle every chance he gets, and Griffin works overtime to make sure that he remains consistently hilarious.

Success all around.

I would be remiss to not mention that Kattan probably has his best movie role as Mr. Feather, the # 1 henchman for The Man.

Then there's Denise Richards who carries herself better here as White She Devil than she ever did as a Bond Girl.

Truth in Advertising

Go ahead and watch this movie.

I dare you not to laugh.

:)

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Love it. Own it.  Watch it at least once a year.  Still hilarious every time.