Ben and Keith circle back on some movies that premiered this month:
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F: 1:09
MaXXXine: 4:10
The Movies & A Meal Podcast
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F and MaXXXine
(upbeat music) - Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Movies and Meal, a podcast where we talk about movies and other things while we eat. I'm your co-host Ben, and this week we're gonna have a buffet style episode, Keith, Brad, and I all saw Deadpool, but because Brad's selling vacation, we're gonna hold off a week. And I think we'll do it next week with a special guest star. So what you're gonna hear this week is just a hodgepodge of different movies that Keith and I have reviewed. You know, originally I think Keith had sent his sound bites in earlier this month, but we just scheduling and there's a bunch of other stuff. We just didn't get a chance to rerun it. What you're gonna hear is reviews for Beverly Hills Cop, Axle F, the sequel to the Eddie Murphy franchise. It goes all the way back into the '80s. Keith and I both saw that separately. It's on Netflix, and then we're gonna close out with Maxine, a horror movie. Horror movie? I'm not even sure, actually. I just know that it's by the same people who did Pearl and it stars Mia Gough. Let me just go ahead and transition to Axle F. I've been a fan of this franchise for a long time. I think Beverly Hills Cop II. Probably my favorite Eddie Murphy movie. You know, this franchise, geez. It started way back in 1984 with Beverly Hills Cop. Beverly Hills Cop II was in '87. They followed up with another sequel in '94, Beverly Hills Cop III, that no one really wants to talk about and I think was part of the impetus of Eddie Murphy trying to restart this franchise 'cause he just didn't wanna end on a bad note. And for the most part, I enjoy this movie. I'm not sure if it's for anybody that's probably younger than 40. I don't even know if Brad would watch this movie. I think he's seen the Beverly Hills Cop's movies, but Eddie still has it. It's not like it was in the prime time, but he's still pretty solid. He's a veteran, he's crafty. He knows how to pitch six innings with some smarts. And, you know, they really pull out the stops as far as playing all the hits. Literally, we have all the famous needle drops from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtracks over the years, including the heat is on, shake down and neutron dance. Even though Eddie obviously is showing his age as well as the other class members that they brought back, specifically Judge Reinhold and John Aston. You know, it was still a treat to see them there. Taylor Page plays Eddie Murphy's daughter and there's some chemistry there and I enjoyed that. And the new editions of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Kevin Bacon, you know, they ran out the movie, okay? All right, I think I've rambled enough on this. I'm gonna go ahead and give my review. I'm gonna give it three out of five. You can catch it on Netflix and now you're gonna hear Keith talk about his two movies starting with his take on Axle F. There's a fine line between great nostalgia and cloning fan service. And I went through Axle F with no idea where this one would land. Thankfully, it's almost entirely the former, with a pretty great story that delivers fun turns while you're in a favorites for a pretty entirely fun stream. From the outset, you can tell the first time future director Mark Malloy and the Trio screenwriter's credit of the year about how to make a Beverly Hills cop movie. Starting, of course, with insanely silly chase to the streets of Detroit. And of course, this is Beverly Hills cop. And the story that gets Eddie Murphy's Axle Foli once again to the West Coast was surprisingly much better than I expected. That's welling you at all. It evolves in a big way. The return of Judge Reinhold's Billy Rosewood, which of course just made me smile. And even better is Beverly Hills cop newcomer Taylor Page who came to the world's attention in the series Zola. Here she plays Axle's estranged daughter, Jane, who's of course caught in the middle of the case. She and Murphy have a natural chemistry that also gives a surprising heart. So that's the good, but what's the bad? Well, in six degrees of Kevin Bacon, he's in both new movies I watched this week. And while he's much better here than he was in Maxine, his cap and grant is just the most cookie cutter of characters. Joseph Gordon Levitt, who I always like to see, is really given little to do with the inevitable role of the LA cop who teams up with Axle this time out. But even with those reservations, I pretty much entirely loved Axle F. And for why, compared to another Eddie Murphy nostalgia fest, this is the point in coming to America's sequel. That one just felt like it had nothing to the formula at all. And even worse, wasn't terribly fun or funny. That's certainly not the case with Axle F, which delivers plenty to make Beverly Hills cop fans cheer. Eddie Murphy says he might indeed be down for a Beverly Hills cop five. And for this outing, I'll definitely be going along for the ride if so. This time out, I'll give Axle F an affectionate three stars. It's hard to overstate with Ty West and his muse, Miyagoth, created with their first two collaborations, X and Pearl. Without exaggeration, it was a creation of a whole new horror cinematic universe. Which just makes the third installment in that trilogy, this week's long-awaited Maxine, all the more disappointing. The first to look back at what made X and Pearl so special. They couldn't be more different, except that they had electrifying performances from Goth at their core, and each had a lot to say beyond their surface motif. X was a thoroughly fun slasher flick inspired by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but also had a lot to say about the end of the freewheeling spirit of the '60s and early '70s. Pearl switched things up entirely with a searing psychological horror story by the original Pearl herself. With Goth making her into one of the most beloved, but equally twisted heroines in recent memory. So what a Maxine? Well, the third installment in the trilogy follows a story of Goth's Maxine from X, who is now the poor star Maxine Mix, and ready to make her big move into mainstream movies. While the style is still here, a lurid look at LA of the early '90s, there's absolutely nothing beneath it. West's most obvious influence here is the Palma, and so he saturates his LA and Paul Saint-Mion, but sadly makes little to no use at all of the typical or inspired anti-Hollywood protesters of that era. West's first surprising misstep here is basing this on the real life story of LA's Night Stalker, a true man who has murdered at least 14 people. I won't reveal too much more than that, but West does little to really recreate the Paul of pure terror this must have cast over Southern California. Instead, he also underdeveloped a parallel storyline about a killer inspired by the Night Stalker, who sets his sights specifically on Maxine. All that said, it's not all bad here, and that's almost entirely due to Goth, who dives into her signature role with all the gusto she has for the entire trilogy. And Elizabeth Debicki, as the imposing director who casts Maxine in her first big role, the horror sequel to Puritan 2. There are scenes together of pure electricity and a joy to watch. Sadly, Kevin Bacon is a PI hired to track down Maxine in LA is just a buffoonish mess. Oddest and saddest of all here is that tries she might to carry this, Goth's Maxine becomes just a passenger on this journey, which along with it being a pretty empty vessel is Maxine's biggest problem. Goth does have two entering roles coming up in Blade with Mahashila Ali, if that ever happens, and in Yerma Dottoro's Frankenstein. As for West, he said he may not be done with the character of Maxine, but here's hoping he too moves on to another project with as much spirit and style as X and Pearl. But as for Maxine, I sadly can only give it two and a half stars and call it a regrettable misfire. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [MUSIC PLAYING]