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POLICE ACADEMY 4: CITIZENS ON PATROL - REVIEW

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The Police Academy trilogy being the resounding success that it was, there really was no reason for studios to stop making them. And stop they didn't so Police Academy 4: Citizens On Patrol was released in 1987 and pretty much all the main cast returned. Critics may not have been huge fans of Police Academy 3: Back In Training but this sequel was when they started truly getting tired of the franchise as it didn't perform as well at the box-office and it even scored a Razzie nomination. The plot is pretty much exactly the same as in the third movie so right there it's obvious the writers got lazy and a lot of the predictable jokes reflect that. Bobcat Goldthwait is back as the unintelligible Zed and good old G. W. Bailey shows up again for the first time since the original movie as Captain Harris. David Spade and Sharon Stone both get small roles that, frankly, could have easily been cut out of the film entirely. Apart from the fact it's almost completely a retre

BLAIR WITCH - REVIEW

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Because found-footage surprise hit The Blair Witch Project was made for peanuts back in 1999 and made a ridiculous amount of money at the box-office, it was inevitable that a remake would happen at some point. Finally, in 2016 we got Blair Witch , a sequel/reboot looking to revamp the franchise. Like with most modern horror remakes, this is a thinly veiled reboot dressed up like a sequel but there's really nothing about it that directly connects Blair Witch from the original except for the fact that one of the characters is the brother of the girl from the first movie but it's not like we ever see her so it might as well have been a completely unrelated bunch entering the creepy woods many years later. Amusingly, none of the people involved in this new expedition appear to have learned anything from previous events making these guys far dumber than the last ones. James (James Allen McCune) is the brother looking for his sister even though he doesn't seem too concerned

BAD SANTA 2 - REVIEW

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Zoolander 2 wasn't the only belated comedy sequel 2016 had to offer, we also got Bad Santa 2 , the follow-up to the surprisingly good Bad Santa , released back in 2003. It's unclear why we got a second instalment this late in the game or who asked for it but the original was fun so hey, why not have a sequel? Bad Santa was a refreshing remedy to corny, forgettable Christmas comedies: dirty jokes, Billy Bob Thornton in a Santa costume soiling himself, a heist plot. And yet it had just enough Christmas spirit to catch you off guard and work as both a seasonal treat and a dark comedy. In Bad Santa 2, we catch up to the same characters 13 years later as Marcus (Tony Cox) invites Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) to join him for one last job where they would be stealing millions from a charity in Chicago. This time, they are collaborating with Willie's mother Sunny (Kathy Bates) but a lot of back-stabbing quickly takes place. Meanwhile, an all grown up but still completely naive

ALMOST HEROES - REVIEW

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Maybe the least well known Chris Farley movie out there, Almost Heroes was the late, great comedian's final film. Christopher Guest's comedy co-starred Matthew Perry as an aristocrat competing with Lewis & Clark to be the first to cross the USA and reach the Pacific. Released in 1998, almost 6 months following Farley's death, Almost Heroes was not a box-office success and critics didn't much care for it either. Indeed, this is a flawed comedy with a historical setting and plot that's tough to get people excited about. The pairing of the ever-ebullient Farley and the more restrained Perry was a good idea, however, and they are easily the most fun part of the entire movie. There is a feeling when you watch this film that a lot was cut out of it as the editing can be, at times, awkward so it's not too shocking to note that a lot was actually cut out of the film to give the leads more screen time. Originally, this was meant to be more of an ensemble comedy

GODS OF EGYPT - REVIEW

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Few things in 2016 looked quite as ridiculous as the trailer for Alex Proyas' Ancient Egypt-set epic Gods Of Egypt . The film itself turned out to be just as over-the-top as expected and, although it did well internationally, the movie bombed domestically and critics panned it. One of the first things to turn audiences off was the controversial casting of white actors as Egyptian gods. While definitely not the best decision from the producers, I would argue that this is the least of this film's worries. Besides, realism isn't exactly what we should look for in a fantasy film as out there as this. The plot follows young thief Bek (Brenton Thwaites) as he helps God Of Air Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) to fight back against Set (Gerard Butler), the God Of Darkness, who has taken over Egypt, stolen his lover and even his eyes. Bek is hoping that the gods will bring back Zaya (Courtney Eaton), his girlfriend who was killed by one of Set's men. Making a big blockbuster a

THE BFG - REVIEW

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Steven Spielberg directs this live-action adaptation of Roald Dahl's timeless story in a film that may not have done all that well domestically but was a success everywhere else. The Summer release may not have been a good fit for what seemed like more of a Christmas-friendly film but it did OK. The BFG stars Mark Rylance in the titular role and follows young orphan girl Sophie (Ruby Barnhill) as she is taken by The Big Friendly Giant one night because she knows about his existence and can never reveal it. On paper, this may sound like a somewhat creepy synopsis but the film couldn't be sweeter as Sophie and The BFG become friends and the latter shows her where dreams literally come from. Unfortunately, some man-eating giants who live nearby start sensing a human in the vicinity and The BFG fears for Sophie's safety. The motion-capture and visual effects used to bring the giants and their world to life are impressive and make something like Jack The Giant Slayer look

GOTHAMIZED: FAWLTY PENGUINS - PODCAST

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Gothamized  is a completely unofficial guide to new series  Gotham  and a debate arena for all things Batman.   DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE HERE In this 29th episode, I discuss episodes 14, 15 and 16 of  Gotham  Season 2 and review Tim Burton's  Batman (1989) . (for my written review of the Gotham Pilot,  click here! ) Hope you enjoy it! You can also find us on podcast  The Big Rewind  (available on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher and Player FM) and send us emails with your Bat-questions, Six Degrees challenges and riddles here:  gothamized@gmail.com (for the pilot episode  CLICK HERE )

MR. MAGOO - REVIEW

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One of the 90's big ideas, among others, was to adapt animated shows into live-action feature films. From The Flintstone s to Inspector Gadget , it didn't matter how obscure or unadaptable the source material was as long as an attempt was made to cash-in on its name somehow. Leslie Nielsen was therefore cast as Mr. Magoo , the old man with poor eyesight who very nearly misses fatal accidents thanks to pure luck. Nielsen, while not really looking much like the character, was a solid choice since, even in the worst movies, he can usually get a laugh. The film opens appropriately by showing you a short Magoo cartoon but as soon as the live-action part starts, you'll be wishing the cartoon had kept playing. This should have been an easy project: give Leslie Nielsen some funny lines, follow him as he goes around causing mayhem all around him. And yet, right off the bat, it's impossible to hear Nielsen's incessant ramblings due to an annoying over-the-top score under

LITTLE NINJA BROTHERS - GAME REVIEW

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One of the NES games I hear the least about is Little Ninja Brothers , an action RPG developed by Nihon Game (aka Culture Brain), released in 1990 in North America. The sequel to Kung Fu Heroes (known as  Chinese Hero in the Arcade), took what made the original game so much fun and added RPG elements to it. While this kind of transition doesn't work for certain games, here it actually makes sense. You still jump around, punching and kicking your enemies in the same way except, this time, you find them in the wild and gain experience points as well as money when you defeat them. Those mini-fights become much more stressful when they pop up again before bosses. After levelling up, picking up all sorts of weapons and talismans in the towns you visit along the way, you enter various castles where you have three big fights with some of the most annoying enemies in the game before facing off against the main enemy, usually a witch or a sorcerer. You play as Jack and Ryu, t

THE BIG REWIND: THE WORST REWIND - PODCAST

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I n this 72nd episode of  The Big Rewind , I review   La La Land , Bruce Lee movies and talk Oscar nominations. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE EPISODE Email us here if you have any questions, requests or contributions:  bigrewindpodcast@gmail.com Special thanks to Will Walker (@Forgeyboy) and  @digituba for their answers! Oh and you can also find us on  iTunes ,  Stitcher ,  Soundcloud  and  Player FM  where you can subscribe to the podcast and download every episode thusfar! @TheRetroCritic #TheBigRewind retrocriticblog.blogspot.com thebigrewind.blogspot.com youtube.com/TheRetroCritic youtube.com/Cablogula