King Richard (5 Stars)

Serena and Venus Williams are the best female tennis players of all time. It's obvious that a documentary or biopic about them will be made at some point. Probably both. But this film takes a different path. It tells the story of their father, Richard Williams. Was he a genius? A madman? Divinely inspired? Based on the film, he was a mixture of all three.

He was a prophet. When he saw Virginia Woolf playing on television he said that he would have two daughters who would become tennis champions. Does that sound mad? Venus Williams was born on 17th June 1980, and Serena Williams was born on 26th September 1981. Two girls, so the first part of the prophecy came true. Now for the hard work. When they were four he began to train them at a public tennis court. He was a hard teacher. Whatever the weather they had to play every evening, even in the rain. It wasn't just about sport. He insisted that they should get top grades in school.

Richard didn't have an easy life. He lived in Compton, California, in a small house with his wife and five daughters. Venus and Serena had to share a bedroom with their three older sisters. He was lucky that he only had girls, or the house wouldn't have fit. His faith as a Jehovah's Witness was important.

Richard knew that he couldn't do everything himself. The film begins when Venus is 11. He keeps ringing tennis coaches, getting on their nerves, telling them that he has two tennis prodigies who need help. That must have sounded mad to anyone who picked up the phone. One tennis prodigy, maybe, but two? Richard kept pushing. He found a coach, Paul Cohen, willing to train Venus for free. To make up for Serena being neglected, he filmed all the training sessions and sent the films for Serena to follow the instructions at home. Is it that easy? Only for a brilliant divinely inspired madman.

The film ends with 14-year-old Venus playing her first professional match against Arantxa Vicario, the world's number one seed. After leading in the first two sets, Venus eventually loses as a result of her poor nerves. Despite her loss, her performance on the court makes her a world star. And the rest can be left to a future biopic about Venus and her little sister Serena.

Success Rate:  - 1.3

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Suicide Squad (4 Stars)

I've often said that I like bad girls. I need to clarify what I mean.

This is the sort of bad girl I like. She's bad, and she lets everyone know she's bad.

This is the sort of bad girl I don't like. She's bad, but she pretends to be good.

Let me test my readers, to see if you've been paying attention. Here are photos of two more bad girls. I like one, and I don't like the other.

Do I like this one?

Or do I like this one?

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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King Richard (5 Stars)

Have you noticed the recent trend of not announcing film titles until the end of the film? It's been happening sporadically for decades, but it's become a big habit in the last two years. It became most apparent to be in this year's Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival, where almost half the films showed the title at the end.

Today I went to see a local cinema's Sneak Peek, as they call it. Every Monday a film is shown before its official release date, but it's a heavily guarded secret what film it is until it starts. Today I sat down and waited with baited breath. The film started. Will Smith walked across the screen, evidently living in a medium quality black ghetto, not too primitive but definitely not posh. I groaned. Will Smith has never been one of my favourite actors, and today I was hoping for "The King's Man". But what was the film called? I had no idea. No title screen. Nothing. When the credits finally rolled, two and a half hours later, I still didn't know. It wasn't until the middle of the credits that the title appeared on screen: "King Richard".

That's unusual, even for today. Many films have the title at the end of the film, before the credits, but I've never seen a film that postpones the title until the middle of the credits. Curious.

Before I describe the film itself, I have to say that Will Smith's performance won me over. I'll never criticise him again. I think my prejudice against him stems from the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" series, which I absolutely hated. I should forget it. He's made many excellent films since then. I think that in every film of his that I've reviewed I write "I don't like Will Smith, but in this film he's great". I have to take that back. He's always great.

The film is the true story about Richard Williams, the father of the tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams. If I was paying attention properly, it takes place from 1990 to 1994. I'm sure about the ending year, but not the start. I'll have to check next time I watch it.

Was Richard Williams crazy or a visionary? If I'd known him at the time I would have said the former. He read that the winner of a women's tennis tournament earned as much in four days as he did in a year, so he decided that his two daughters would become tennis champions. Which two daughters? He already had three daughters, but he was referring to two daughters who weren't yet born. His wife wasn't even pregnant. Does he sound crazy already? The first part of his prophecy came true. His next two children were girls: Venus in 1980 and Serena in 1981. He began to teach them tennis from the age of four. They trained hard. They even had to practise at the local tennis court when it was raining.

And he kept pushing them. He found a professional trainer, Paul Cohen, who recognised the girls' talent and was willing to train Venus free of charge. He was only willing to coach one girl for free, and Richard couldn't afford to pay for Serena. All the time Richard insisted that the girls shouldn't neglect their school education. He said that Venus could only continue with her training if she was top of her class. That's heavy pressure. Most children would turn against a parent like that, but the girls loved their father.

Richard wanted to control the business for his daughters, often contradicting the advice of experts. As their manager, in fact if not in name, he decided what they would sign. When 14-year-old Venus was offered a $3 million advertising contract, he told her to turn it down. The next day the offer was increased to $4 million. He still told her to refuse it. Crazy? Less than a year later she signed a contract for $12 million. Richard Williams seemed crazy, but all of his dreams came true.

The film is overwhelmingly powerful. Richard Williams isn't always a pleasant character, but throughout the film Will Smith plays him in such a way that we sympathise with his faults. "King Richard" is one of the best films I've seen this year. It's almost time to put together my top 10 list for 2021. It'll have a high place.

Gemini Man (5 Stars)

In my review of "Deadpool 2" last year I informed you that I'd bought my first 4K television set and 4K Blu-ray player. What I haven't told you is that since then I've bought a few 4K discs. The first was "John Wick 2", which I actually bought in October 2018, two years before I was able to play it. The reason is that there was a special offer at the time, making the 4K disc cheaper than the standard Blu-ray release.

So far I have mixed feelings about 4K discs. I have to mention that every 4K disc I've bought so far is a dual format release that includes the standard Blu-ray. That means that I'm able to compare them. In the case of "John Wick 2" I can hardly see any difference between the 4K disc and the upscaled Blu-ray disc. (My 4K Blu-ray player upscales Blu-ray discs and sends a 4K image to my television). In the case of the other 4K discs that I own, which include "Red Sparrow" and "X-Men: Dark Phoenix", I can see that the picture is superior, but it's a subtle difference. What I mean is, the picture is better, but if I'd never seen the 4K image I'd be completely satisfied with the Blu-ray disc. Currently, 4K discs cost triple the price of the corresponding Blu-ray releases. Is it worth paying 30 Euros for a 4K film instead of 10 Euros for a Blu-ray? I think not.

It's not just about the video quality. 4K discs also have improved sound quality. I have very sensitive hearing, so I'm sure I would recognise the difference with the right home entertainment system. But that's just it. The sound equipment that I have isn't capable of doing 4K discs justice, so they sound the same as Blu-ray releases.

Now let's talk about "Gemini Man". The 4K release is incredible. It leaves the Blu-ray version far behind. It's the best 4K release that I've seen so far, and it's worth every cent of the price difference.

It's not just a question of the higher resolution. It's not even about the larger colour palette (High Dynamic Range), which makes the colours more vivid. It's the high frame rate. "Gemini Man" was filmed with a frame rate of 120 fps. Blu-ray discs can only handle a maximum frame rate of 24 fps, but 4K discs can use a frame rate of up to 60 fps. The higher frame speed gives the film a big improvement.

"Gemini Man" is only the second film to be made at 120 frames per second. Ever since the beginning of cinema, films have been made at 24 fps. Viewers have grown so used to it that it's deemed cinematic, and increased speeds seem to be hyperreal. Peter Jackson was the first director to suggest a higher speed. He made the three films in the Hobbit trilogy at 48 fps. When I saw the first Hobbit film I was so impressed that I wrote a lot about it. It was an improvement, but the director Ang Lee didn't want to stop there. In 2017 he made "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk" at 120 fps, even though there was no cinema on Earth able to show it. A small number of cinemas were able to show it at 60 fps, but they were only a handful worldwide. Now he's made "Gemini Man" at the same speed.

Both films have been released on 4K discs at 60 fps. That's currently the most that 4K Blu-ray players can handle, until the technology catches up.

120 fps is the perfect speed. Supposedly, the human eye can process up to 110 fps, so there's no need to go any higher. 60 fps isn't perfect, but it's a big leap in quality from 24 fps. I knew what to expect today, but if I sat an unknowing person in front of "Gemini Man" in 4K he would immediately notice that something is different, even if he couldn't describe what it is.

The film is about a 51-year-old sniper called Henry Brogan who works for an American organisation that assassinates terrorists. When he decides to retire, his boss decides that he can't be allowed to live, so a young assassin is sent to kill him. This young man, known only as Junior, is a 23-year-old clone of Henry.

Will Smith plays both roles. As Junior his face has been digitally enhanced to make him look younger. I want to be digitally enhanced as well.

But to sum up: I don't recommend that you rebuy your Blu-rays on 4K. It's not worth the money. If you're buying a new film, be selective. I don't think 4K discs are worth the higher price, but it's up to you. However, "Gemini Man" is a special case. Buy it on 4K, however much it costs. You won't regret it.

Success Rate:  - 0.7

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Suicide Squad (4 Stars)

This review will probably be short because I'm suffering from writer's block. On the other hand, does it matter? When I look back at my first film reviews in 2010, they were almost all short. I only wrote occasional long reviews, such as my overview of the Highlander franchise, which I consider to have been one of my best posts, even though it didn't receive many views. Maybe I should start pinning a featured post to the homepage of my blog to encourage my readers to read what I think's reading, rather than relying on Google to send people to posts that accidentally contain topical keywords.

I watched "Suicide Squad" today to remind myself about the film after watching "Birds of Prey" yesterday. For me both films are all about Harley Quinn, exquisitely played by Margot Robbie, however many supporting characters are running around. For that reason I'll compare the two films in relation to her. So, to answer the question which of the two films I like more, I slightly prefer "Suicide Squad", because Harley Quinn is madder, sexier, and overall more enjoyable.

I watched the extended cut today, which is 11 minutes longer than the version I watched in the cinema four years ago. That's too long for me to remember the differences. According to what I've read, the additional time features more backstory about the squad's characters, and it gives the Joker more screen time. Jared Leto is so bleh as the Joker. I'd rather have an extra 11 minutes of Harley Quinn bashing heads.

I'd forgotten that the whole film is one mission, with only a small break for drinks in the middle. That makes the film very compact, despite its running time of two hours.

Success Rate:  + 2.3

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Bad Boys For Life (5 Stars)

This is a film that couldn't possibly be good. The first film was made in 1995, the second film in 2003, so making a sequel after 17 years sounds like flogging a dead cop. And yet the film succeeds. I find it even better than the first two films.

Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) is celebrating the birth of his first grandson. Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) tries to talk him out of it, but Marcus can't back out of his decision now. He has to answer to his wife. After the celebrations Mike is shot and almost killed by an assassin called Armando. He's taking revenge by killing everyone responsible for putting his father in prison, starting with Mike.

It takes six months before Mike heals enough to return to duty. He wants to find Armando himself, even though his boss tells him it's unethical for a policeman to work on a case in which he has a personal interest. Mike doesn't take No for an answer. Marcus returns to duty to help him.

The whole story has a poignancy, because Armando's mother used to be Mike's lover.

The film is full of fast-paced action, but what makes it so good is that however much action is taking place, there's always humour. It's impossible not to laugh at the ridiculous situations, or just the inappropriate dialogue.

The film is still in the cinemas. I recommend that you watch it on the big screen.

P.S. The film ends with a hook, suggesting a sequel. Please don't wait another 17 years.

Gemini Man (5 Stars)

This is the second film made by Ang Lee using the revolutionary frame rate of 120 fps, so revolutionary that there's still no cinema able to screen the film in its original format. Tonight I watched it in the cinema at the traditional 24 fps. I wonder how many years it will take for the film industry to catch up.

Henry Brogan is a hitman for the Defense Intelligence Agency who decides to retire, against the wishes of his superiors. Now 51 years old, he wants to settle back and enjoy a quiet life, but he isn't afforded that luxury. He knows details about his last operation that make him a liability, so he has to die. The agent sent after him is a clone of himself, only 23 years old, with less experience but at the peak of his physical capabilities.

This is a different sort of film for the director Ang Lee. Instead of the usual quiet introspection we're used to, there's a lot of action. He handles this genre well, and he still manages to weave in a few philosophical questions.

The acting by Will Smith in both of the lead roles is outstanding. His younger self, known only as Junior, is made younger by computer technology. If I ever star in a film I want to look 30 years younger as well.

The critical response to the film is generally poor, praising the acting and the special effects, but criticising the story. I checked the reviews on Amazon's website, which uses a one to five rating system like mine, and I was surprised to see that it only had one star or five star ratings, nothing in between. It's a film that people either love or hate. I love it.

Men In Black 3 (5 Stars)

I've always liked girls with big guns. Unfortunately, Lilly Poison doesn't get very far. She's betrayed by the man she loves after freeing him from prison. There must be a motto to that. It's worth watching the film twice in one week just to see the brief appearance of Nicole Scherzinger in her only film role so far. I hope there will be many more.

Last time I watched the film I neglected to mention Griffin, a five-dimensional alien being who can see all possible futures. He's a cool character who wears a woolly hat whatever the temperature. He doesn't wear a black suit, but he still does his bit to save the world.

There's a scene which briefly shows a newspaper with an article about the launch of Apollo 11 on 16th June 1969. Supposedly. The headline is about the mission, and it's a photo of Buzz Aldrin, but what's the article about. You can click on the picture to enlarge it, but here's a transcript to help you.

(Paragraph 1) Future plans will, of necessity, have great bearing on the situation as it now stands. Decisions will have to be made of the actual planning of the project will take considerable time but it is felt that these steps are very important.

(Paragraph 2) The facts regarding the situation remain the same, state the authorities. Details concerning the action have been given a preliminary investigation but it is felt that only by a more detailed study will the true facts become known.

(Paragraph 3) Thus at this conference all our governments found themselves in unanimous agreement regarding this undertaking. Arrangements for dealing with questions and disputes between the republics were further improved.

(Paragraph 2 repeated)

(Paragraph 3 repeated)

(Paragraph 4) Of no less importance was the common recognition shown of the fact that any menace from without to the peace of our continents concerns all of us and therefore property is a subject for consultation and cooperation. This was reflected in the instruments adopted by the conference.

(Paragraph 5) A suggestion that public hearings on applications be limited to one every six months was taken under advisement by the commission.

(Paragraph 2 repeated)

(Paragraph 6) Many persons feel at this stage that some legal action is forthcoming but it now becomes common knowledge that there is pressure from the inside which will materially change the aspect of the case.

(Paragraph 3 repeated)

(Paragraph 4 repeated)

(Paragraph 5 repeated)

(Paragraph 2 repeated)

(Paragraph 6 repeated)

(Paragraph 4 repeated)

(Paragraph 7) An immediate investigation is assured and indications are that some new light will be shed on the situation in the near future. Available facts seem vague but authorities feel that time will disclose some means of arriving at a solution.

(Paragraph 1 repeated)

---

To sum up: the article has nothing to do with Apollo 11, and even the incorrect text is repeated ad nauseam. That's sloppy.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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Men In Black 3 (5 Stars)

This is only the second time I've watched this film. The first time was six years ago, and after reading my old review I'm puzzled. I don't understand why I wrote some of the things I did. I felt tempted to delete my old review, or at least change it, but I don't do that. I only edit old reviews if I find spelling or grammatical mistakes, and I never ever delete old reviews. The only thing I can do is write new reviews in which I put things right.

To be honest, I'd totally forgotten the film. I had no idea what happened, and when I watched it today I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. I didn't write anything about the plot in my first review, so there was nothing I wrote to remind me. That's nothing unusual in itself. I often don't describe the plot, especially if it's a film I see in the cinema. It depends on my mood. Today I'm in the mood to write about the plot, at least briefly.

After being deneuralysed in the second film, Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) has decided to remain an active member of the Men In Black. It's better than working in a post office. Once more his past catches up with him. An alien called Boris the Animal escapes from a high security prison on the Moon. He returns to Earth to get revenge on Agent K for shooting off his arm 40 years ago. More than that, he wants his arm back. To do this he travels back in time to 16th July 1969, the day when K stopped him. This changes time, and when Agent J (Will Smith) wakes up the next day he finds out that K died 40 years ago.

The fact that J can remember K when nobody else can makes the new head of the Men In Black, Agent O, suspect that time has been altered, so she sends J back to 15th July 1969, a day earlier, to prepare K for Boris returning.

The younger Agent K is played by Josh Brolin. So 40 years is all it took to morph him into Tommy Lee Jones. Amazing!

The film is full of temporal paradoxes which are dealt with in a humorous manner, and yet it all makes sense. I like films with mind-bending temporal paradoxes, which makes it all the stranger that I forgot what happened.

"Men In Black 3" was the least successful film in the series, but it's arguably the best film. Apart from the time travelling, there are also emotional scenes which are more moving than anything in the previous two films.

Now I can hardly wait to see "Men In Black: International" in the cinema next week.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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Men In Black 2 (5 Stars)

This is the second film in the Men In Black series, made five years after the first film. There's a threat to the Earth that only Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) can solve, but his memory was wiped at the end of the first film. He was neuralysed, though I don't remember that expression being used previously. I think that this word for the wiping someone's memory isn't used until the second film. He has to be deneuralysed before he can go into action

The film opens a few years after the end of the first film. Agent J (Will Smith) has developed from the confused new agent that we saw in the last film. He's self-confident to the point of being unfeeling towards his fellow agents. He neuralyses anyone who makes the slightest mistake. His superior, Agent Z, criticises him for neuralysing too many agents, but that doesn't stop him.

Now the Earth is threatened by an alien shapeshifter called Serleena. She's come to Earth to get the Light of Zartha, which was brought to Earth 25 years ago. Agent K was responsible for sending it away from the Earth, so he's the only one who knows where it is. Serleena claims it's still on Earth, so he needs to get his memory back. He's found working in a post office on the East coast.

Serleena takes the form of a Victoria's Secret model that she sees in a magazine, thinking that with the right mammary glands she can conquer the planet. "Terminator 3" copied this idea a year later, with greater success. The actress Lara Flynn Boyle doesn't have the right mammary glands. She's under-developed, and not even her tight bra can make her look bigger. A bustier model should have been used, but there aren't many to choose from, because Hollywood is prejudiced against busty models. Kristanna Loken is better, but still not perfect.

The film also stars Rosario Dawson as a waitress in a pizza parlour. She doesn't need to show her mammary glands. Don't you think she has one of the most beautiful faces you've ever seen?

We see Frank the Pug again in this film. He's now become an agent for the Men In Black.

This film was less successful than the first film, undeservedly. Its strength is that it doesn't fall into the temptation of repeating the humour from the first film. This keeps the film fresh. The last time I watched it was before I started my blog in 2010, so today it seemed like a new film. It's a great film, worth watching again. Even though Lara Flynn Boyle is miscast.

Success Rate:  + 1.2

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Men In Black (5 Stars)

I've returned to this film after only six weeks, and I had to increase my rating. After I watched it today I asked myself, "What is less than perfect about this film?" and I couldn't give an answer.

Agents J and K are a perfect team. I don't mean that they're the perfect team to save the universe, although that's probably true. I mean they're the perfect team to entertain the viewer. The two bounce off one another with humorous intensity. K is disciplined and sad, while J is spontaneous and happy to do his job. Come to think of it, why does K come before J? Agent Z is the boss, so maybe the letters are assigned in reverse order.

The most hilarious scene is the interrogation of the dog. If I weren't aware of the level of computer technology today I'd be rushing to the post box to mail a letter complaining about cruelty to animals.

Now I need to watch the second and third films, finally, before the fourth film is released. So many films, so little time.

Success Rate:  + 4.5

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Aladdin (2019) (4½ Stars)

This film is based on the 1992 Disney animated film with the same name, rather than being a direct adaptation of the tale of Aladdin from "1001 Nights".

I've been seeing the trailer in the cinema for weeks, and I was fascinated. It looked like a bloated comedy romp, silly but entertaining. I had to see it. What I didn't realise until I saw the film today is that it's a musical. That wasn't made clear in the trailer. That made the film even better in my eyes. I also didn't know the film was directed by Guy Ritchie. Despite a few mediocre films in his career, he's still a director whose films I need to see.

Aladdin is a young thief who lives on the streets of Agrabah. He meets and falls in love with Princess Jasmine, who has sneaked out of the castle where she's usually confined for her own safety. Aladdin guesses that she's from the palace because of the expensive bracelet she's wearing, so she lies and tells him she's a handmaiden. After stealing the bracelet he wants to give it her back, but his monkey Abu has already hidden it. He sneaks back into the castle at night to return the bracelet, but he's captured by the Sultan's second-in-command, the Grand Vizier Jafar, who used to be a thief like Aladdin.

Jafar takes Aladdin to retrieve a magic lamp from the Cave Of Wonders in the desert. Aladdin is trapped in the cave, and when he rubs it a genie appears. The genie offers Aladdin three wishes, although it's a standing joke throughout the film what counts as a wish and what doesn't. The genie, hilariously portrayed by Will Smith, takes an immediate liking to Aladdin, because he's not like the previous owners of the lamp. Everyone else wanted wealth and power, but Aladdin just wants to get the woman he loves.

The film is excellent in its comedy and its pacing. The songs are never out of place, always complementing the action. What I like about the film is that even though the two main characters, Aladdin and the genie, are men, it's a tale of female empowerment. The princess isn't happy with the prospect of marrying and obeying a prince after having obeyed her father all her life; she wants to live her own life and become a ruler in her own right. I'm sure that this message wasn't in the ancient tale of Aladdin, and probably not in the 1992 film either. This is a very topical message for the 21st Century.

Maybe not all the women are as liberated as the princess. Jasmine's handmaiden Dalia, shown her on the left, just wants to marry a man and have children. I suppose that after being a servant all her life it's difficult for her to change her ways.

Naomi Scott, who plays Princess Jasmine, is an amazing singer. This is the perfect film for her to show off her talent. I look forward to seeing her in other films in the future, preferably musicals.

When I arrived today children were walking out of the previous showing. I asked two young girls, aged about eight and ten, what they thought of the film, and they both said it was great. That's the mark of a good film, that it can appeal to both children and adults.

Men In Black (4 Stars)

This is a film that I recently added to my rewatch list. I need to watch the first three Men In Black films before the fourth film is released next month. It's amazing that I've gone so long without watching the first two films. It's like I forgot they even existed. Yes, they're silly, but it's all good humour. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are the perfect buddy cops, totally unlike one another but perfectly complementing one another.

First the film introduces Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) on the Mexican border. Illegal aliens are being driven into the USA, but there's only one alien that K is interested in. It's Mikey, a visitor from another planet who's an undesirable citizen because he's been in jail.

Then we meet Agent J (Will Smith) before he becomes Agent J. James Darrell Edwards is invited to apply for membership of the Men In Black, a bureau that licenses, monitors and polices alien activity on the planet Earth. At any time there are about 1500 extraterrestrial beings on Earth, most of them in Lower Manhattan. After his initial scepticism he signs up.

Together the two agents have to prevent a galactic war after a member of the Arquillian royal family is assassinated. They have to retrieve something called "the galaxy".

The film is based on a Marvel Comics series, but only just. The comics were originally published by the Canadian company Aircel Comics. In 1988 Aircel was bought by Malibu Comics, who printed another Men In Black mini-series. In 1994 Malibu Comics were bought by Marvel. After only a few months Marvel cancelled all comics printed by Malibu, because Marvel was only interested in Malibu's advanced colouring technology, not the comics themselves. After the first Men In Black film was made the comic was revived.

A few days ago I was talking with a friend who reads my blog, and he asked me why I'm writing so many posts that aren't about films. My immediate reply was "Because I want to", but that was only because I didn't have an answer ready. My full reply, and I hope he's reading this, is that my blog is meant to give readers an insight into me and my raison d'être rather than being a pure film review site. I don't write emotionally neutral film reviews, I write about how the films affect me. Films are a big part of my life, so they're the main topic of this blog, but other things affect me as well. Marvel comics have always been a big influence on me, so they deserve to be part of my blog. For many years music was the biggest part of my life, now to a lesser extent, but it's still important enough that I should write something about it as well.

I'm making sure that I write more about films than I do about other topics. My Marvel Years posts are very time consuming, so it's doubtful that I'll be able to write more than two posts a week. My Klaus Schulze posts are shorter, so I could write about his music every day, but I don't want to flood my blog with music posts. I've actually written a few posts in advance, but I'm not posting them all at once. I'm spreading them out, about three posts a week maximum.

The music posts are a temporary subject. When I've finished writing about Klaus Schulze's albums, which will take me about a year, I doubt I'll write about any other artists. The Marvel posts are a different matter. When I started in January 2018 I thought I could write about all of Marvel's comics from 1961 to 1972 within one year. I underestimated the volume of the work. It's more realistic to schedule five years of Marvel comics per year, and I now intend to continue up to 1984, which means I'll be writing about Marvel for another four years, maybe longer.

My Marvel Years posts weren't very popular at first, based on the number of readers. Now they've become more noticed, and I usually have two or three of them in my ten most popular posts each day. I suspect that I have regular readers who wait for each new post. My Klaus Schulze posts are less popular, and none of them have entered my top ten popular posts list. Yet. I'll see how things progress.

Success Rate:  + 4.5

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Bad Boys II (4 Stars)

I can't believe I've waited so long to watch this film. My excuse was an irrational aversion to Will Smith as an actor, which now seems like a pretty dumb excuse. What's wrong with his acting? Absolutely nothing!

"Bad Boys II" was made in 2003, eight years after the first film. The plot is more complicated, and the action is more over-the-top. Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett are still partners, and they still work for the narcotics division of the Miami Police Department. A new character is Marcus' younger sister Syd, who works for the DEA. The local police and the DEA get in one another's way due to lack of communication. They're both pursuing the same criminal gang, but they don't realise it at first. Mike and Marcus are trying to investigate the influx of ecstasy into Miami, while the DEA already knows who the supplier is and is looking for proof to make an arrest.

It isn't just about selling drugs. The Cuban drug lord Johnny Tapia is trying to take over the Miami underworld by putting the Russian Mafia out of business. Syd is working undercover as a money launderer for the Russian Mafia, but she changes sides to work for Johnny when she realises that the Russians are on their way out.

The film has been criticised by many critics for its over-complex plot. I understand the criticism, but I disagree. You just have to pay attention if you want to know who's shooting who. The car chase alone is worth the price of the film. Eight minutes of pure chaos.

All films profit from having a beautiful woman, and Gabrielle Union adds the glamour to "Bad Boys II" as Syd. To Mike she's a red hot woman that he wants to date, but to Marcus she's just his little sister. The budding relationship between Mike and Syd is kept secret because Marcus would never allow it. Marcus considers Mike to be a disgusting womaniser. He's probably just jealous because he's settled down into married life too soon.

This is a crazy film, and I'll get round to watching it again, eventually. Probably shortly before the third film in the series is released next year.

Success Rate:  + 0.1

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Bad Boys (4 Stars)

Will Smith is one of a small number of actors that I avoid. There's something about his street level talk that gets on my nerves. However, I recently sat down and thought to myself that he was good in "Suicide Squad". And he was fantastic as the Devil in "A New York Winter's Tale". He was pretty good in "Collateral Beauty" as well. Oh yes, I also liked the three "Men in Black" films. That's six films. So what films have I seen him in that I didn't like? There's "Independence Day", which is a pretty cruddy film overall. And then there's... nothing!

That means I've liked him in six films and disliked him in one, yet I say I don't like him and routinely avoid his films? There's something wrong with me. If I were sitting opposite him I'd have to apologise to his face.

So I watched "Bad Boys" this evening, and surprise surprise... I liked it a lot. Will Smith does a remarkable job in his portrayal of the unorthodox Miami policeman Mike Lowrey.

Mike Lowrey is unorthodox because he's rich. He's inherited a large sum of money from his parents, which we see in his lifestyle when he's off duty. He has a luxurious apartment and he drives a Porsche. He doesn't need to work, but he says that all his life he's wanted to be a cop. Fair play to him. He also enjoys a wild life as a single, having a string of girlfriends. This leads to some amusing repartee with his partner, Marcus Burnett. Marcus is a happily married man with three children, except for one gap in his happiness: his marriage has become sexless. He warns Mike against marriage, telling him that it's normal that after you marry a hot woman the sex stops. My own experience confirms that. When you're single you have sex for fun. When you're married you have sex to have children. When you no longer want children, what's the point of sex? It doesn't have to be that way, but it happens a lot, and usually it's the women who lose interest in sex.

But I'm getting off the subject. Thieves break into the Miami police station and steal over $100 million worth of heroin from the police evidence room. Internal Affairs claims (quite rightly) that the thieves must have had help on the inside, and if the heroin isn't returned within a week the police station will be closed down. So Mike and Marcus go to work, and they have to work fast.

The rest of the film is characterised by fast action and occasional comic moments. I'll just point out one small subplot that runs through the film. Mike asks his ex-girlfriend, a call girl called Maxine, to watch out for any suspicious activity in the underworld. Together with another call girl, her best friend Julie, they visit the ex-policeman Eddie Dominguez for business. Eddie's associates burst in and execute him for throwing his money around. Maxine is shot, but Julie escapes. Julie tells the police she will only speak to Mike Lowrey, who she's never met, because Maxine has highly praised him as a policeman she can trust. Mike is out on a job, so Marcus impersonates him. He shelters Julie in Mike's apartment, and Mike has to pretend to be Marcus when he returns, moving in with Marcus' family.

This is a very good buddy cop film, and the only weakness is in the character development. The criminals especially are too anonymous. I would have liked to know more about them, rather than seeing them as random bad guys running around with guns.

I shan't be avoiding Will Smith's films in future. That's a promise.

Success Rate:  + 5.4

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Collateral Beauty (4½ Stars)

Here we go again. It's another one of those films. I mean the films that prove that the critics have lost touch with the public. This is a wonderful film, deeply moving in its romantic moments. It's a box office success. The public loves it. I love it. But the critics hate it. I shan't even bother trying to explain to you what they don't like about it. I'll just say that they're wrong.

The film is about Howard Inlet, the founder of a highly successful New York trading company. He has three business partners, but it's his genius and his charisma that carry the company. His life changes when his six year old daughter dies. His marriage breaks up. He becomes depressive and unable to work any more. After two years his partners lose their patience and want to have him declared mentally incapable of running the company. They find out that he's written letters to Love, Time and Death, complaining about what they've done to him. The partners hire three actors from a small theatre company to pretend to be these entities. They also hire a private detective to film him when he meets and argues with these three people, in the hope of making him seem unbalanced.

I shan't say anything else about the plot. You can already imagine that as soon as Howard is convinced that they're who they're pretending to be they have a profound effect on him. Unexpectedly, the three actors also connect with the three partners, helping them deal with their respective problems.

For years I've never liked Will Smith as an actor. That's beginning to change. He's no longer typecast as the brash kid from the ghetto. As he's getting older he's playing more serious roles, like this one. The film features several of my favourite actors, but Will Smith stands above them.

I repeat once more. This is a wonderful film, so don't let anything the critics say put you off watching it.

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