The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989)

I thought for today that I would check out a film from Troma Now which is only $4.99 a month and I realized that I had never seen any of the The Toxic Avenger sequels and it was definitely time to start watching them. So for today's film, we are checking out the 1989 sequel The Toxic Avenger Part II which was once again directed by Lloyd Kaufman (Class Of Nuke 'Em High) and Michael Herz (Troma War). Things in Tromaville have definitely changed since the events of the first film and not just in the sense that things improved in Tromaville since the arrival of Toxie (Ron Fazio). The only problem is that a lot has changed for Toxie in the sense that he has no evil to fight so he feels like he has no purpose. so as an evil corporation starts to move in , they have his shrink trick him into going to Japan to find his dad while they take over. The film also stars Phoebe Legere (King Of New York) as Claire, Rick Collins (Class Of Nuke 'Em High) as Apocalypse Inc. Chairman, Rikiya Yasuoka (Black Rain) as Big Mac Bunko, Mayako Katsuragi (Angel To Be Sacrificed) as Masami, Jessica Dublin (Fellini Satyricon) as Mrs. Junko, Erika Schickel (Aaahh!!! Real Monsters ) as the Shrink, Joe Fleishaker (Tromeo & Juliet) as Apocalypse Inc. Employee, Michael Jai White (Spawn) as Apocalypse Inc. Thug, Dan Snow (Return To Nuke Em High Volume 1) as Cigar Face, Paul Borghese (The Family) as Lou Sipher, and Benny Nieves (The Devil's Advocate) as Apocalypse Inc. Employee.

What can I say about this film that probably wasn't already said before other than the fact that it was fun to sit back cracking a couple of cold ones and just enjoying the show. One of the best sequences of the film is the opening fight scene which is just epic in my opinion because it's literally one guy after another and each one is as interesting as the last. My only problem with it is that I wanted a full fight with Michael Jai White and we never got that through out the whole film. They teased us at the beginning of the film, but they never followed through because the rest of the return to America is spent with him chasing after the motorcyclist. The film has everything you would love about a Toxic Avenger film from the outrageous stunts, kills, and even all of the breasts, but this one kicks up a notch and takes us to Japan. One of the things I loved was seeing the Japanese people and their reactions to Fazio dressed up as Toxie because some of them seemed generally surprised and amused while others were told to act scared, but I feel that not everyone in Japan was aware of him. That was definitely a fun aspect of the film, but I have to be honest in saying that the parts in Japan were cool to have, but it doesn't top the first film. I definitely want Michael Jai White to be in the next film, but I am not sure if he actually is, but nonetheless I am going to give the film an B- for a final grade.

Fun With Dick and Jane (2005)

It's Monday, it's a new month, and it's a new week of films that are available on every streaming services everywhere and I was in the mood to watch a comedy for today and I looked to someone who I adored as a child. The man I am talking about is none other than Jim Carrey (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) who I have followed since his days on In Living Colour and for today we are checking out 2005's Fun With Dick and Jane which was directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest). The film stars Carey as recently promoted VP of public relations Dick Harper who works for a major cooperation that threw him out to dry when all of their stocks plummeted. With his back against the wall and everything being taken away from them, Dick and his wife will turn to a life of crime to make ends meet. The film stars Téa Leoni (Jurassic Park III) as Jane, Alec Baldwin (A Star Is Born) as Jack McCallister, Richard Jenkins (Step Brothers) as Frank, Carlos Jacott (Grosse Point Blank) as Oz, John Michael Higgins (Yes Man) as Garth,  Richard Burgi (The Green Inferno) as Joe Cleeman, Aaron Michael Drozin (The Ant Bully) as Billy, Gloria Garayua (Driving While Black) as Blanca, and Angie Harmon (Agent Cody Banks) as Veronica Cleeman.

Originally as I was watching this film, I thought that the plot and the events of the film sort of mirrored the events of Enron so that's what I thought the film was about. I had no idea that the film was actually a remake of a 1977 version that starred Jane Fonda. So upon reading that, it changes my perspective on the film a tiny bit, but I just want to be clear that I really liked the film. I definitely believe that this is not the best Jim Carrey film in the world, but it was a lot better than a lot of the films he was coming out with. While the film wasn't laugh out loud funny all the time, it had a lot of great moments in it and that starts when they turn to their life of crime. That right there was some dynamite stuff that made me laugh and they did something with the story that I loved. We all thought that Dick and Jane were going to screw Baldwin's character at the bank, but when it failed we were all like wow no happy ending? Then they throw you a curveball out of left field that was satisfying because you wished this had happened to the Enron people. Unfortunately real life is a hell of a lot crueler than Hollywood and that happy ending did not happen, but there was a quick reference at the end of the film to Enron. The film is available right now on Netflix and I definitely think it's a film worth checking out especially if you want to hear Baldwin's ridiculous southern accent. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.