Sean’s movie thoughts

 I liked the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie. So, maybe I am not as done with Superhero movies as I thought. Rocket is hurt and his friends in the Guardians try to save him. This brings them into conflict with the High Evolutionary, Rocket's creator. Gamora is back, this is a version of her from her past before she met the Guardians. That was more fun than I expected. I like this. I liked the background of Rocket and I liked the interaction of the characters. I even liked the mid credits scene, for a while I got a little tired of them. Is it a little too long? I didn't think so. Are a few too many characters? Maybe. Overall, I liked the this and might be willing it to watch again in six months.

 Kid and Play star in this comedy. Kid plays Duncan Pinderhughes, a genius. Play stars as Blade Brown, a delinquent. Their identities get confused and they decide, well Blade decides, to keep the situation going. (How their identities get confused is not worth explaining.) This is kind of like the Prince and the Pauper movie except the guys don’t look alike. There are young women to romance and a bully to deal with. Some of these scenes are fun. There are also fashion lessons and dialogue lessons for Duncan. These scenes are also fun. Duncan’s parents start to suspect that he is gay and later are happy that he is not. (This is not mean spirited but maybe it would not be done in a film made today.) It was worth seeing again. Maybe the original House Party movie is better.

I liked the new House Party. The original is better but I thought the remake was fine. Maybe I won't rewatch this one but I don't regret seeing it. Two guys throw a House Party at LeBron James' house to try to launch their music career. Kid and Play have a cameo. (It is a short cameo, don't watch this expecting to see a lot of them.) Kid Cudi appears as himself, that was fun. Maybe I was feeling generous when I saw this. (I watched this before re-watching the original.) Reviews are not good. The Guardian headline said this movie is not worth the invite.  https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/jan/13/house-party-review-lebron-james

 This was fun. Michele Yeoh(Michelle Khan) and Cynthia Rothrock team up in this thriller from 1985. Rothrock is supposed to be British (I watched a version that might have had someone dub over her in Chinese, so I don’t know how her British accent sounded).It is fun. Corey Yuen directed it. It might have a bit too much comic relief. Oh well, that happens. I think I had seen this before but that was long ago. This was Yeoh’s first staring role. Seeing the film now,  this is a bit of a surprise. She seems more confident than you might expect from someone in their first lead role. Is this worth seeing? Yes Is this one of Michelle Yeoh’s best films? No.

It was good to see the original House Party again. Kid and Play might have been better in Class Act (or else I might have seen that one first and like it a bit more than House Party).  Kid plays a character named Kid who wants to go to a party but his strict father objects. There are also some thugs that Kid continues to run into over the course of the day. Play co-stars as Kid’s best friend Play. Play is throwing the party. The late Robin Harris plays the father. It is a simple plot but there are fun some fun dance scenes and a nice sequence where Kid and Play rap. There are also a couple of white cops who pop up from time to time to hassle people. (This was in 1990.) While not a classic, I think it is worth re-visiting. Roger Ebert considered it a musical. Gene Siskel did not care for it.  https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/house-party-1990