FILM REVIEW OF ''TYLER PERRY'S BOO 2! A MADEA HALLOWEEN"

Compared to the nine other movies about Mabel Simmons, “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween!” (** OUT ****) qualifies as surprisingly lame and lightweight.  I’ve laughed myself silly at all of Madea’s madcap misadventures, but this sequel to last year’s box office sensation “Boo! A Madea Halloween” is the least maniacal Madea movie in the franchise.  Naturally, not only does the multi-talented Tyler Perry play Madea, but he also chews the scenery as Joe as well as the straight-laced Brian.  The problem with “Boo 2” is Madea winds up blending into the background.  Indeed, dope-smoking, promiscuous Joe with his profane lips lands all the best lines. Meanwhile, Madea ends up doing little if anything until this parody of “Friday the 13^th” slasher movies enters its second half-hour.  The best Madea movies are those where Madea looms front and center as well as loud and proud.  She dominates everything and divides her enemies and relatives like Moses did the Red Sea.  Unfortunately, writer & director Tyler Perry has hobbled the world’s looniest lady.  She doesn’t engineer the outcome of his middling comedy of errors about a dysfunctional African-American clan.  Furthermore, Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis) and Hattie (Patrice Lovely) get more laughs than Madea. 

If you skipped “Boo” last year, you probably won’t understand why the situation has changed.  Bryant’s oldest daughter has finally turned 18, and she believes that this solidifies her status as an adult, particularly the things she sought to do before she was 18.  Brian and she initiate everything in “Boo 2” with their contentious father & daughter relationship, while Madea appears on the fringe like a guest star and exerts little, direct impact on these events in general.  In other words, she doesn’t save the day.  Nevertheless, Madea fans will find enough to laugh and smile at even when they aren’t laughing and smiling at Madea.  Produced at a cost of $21 million, “Boo 2” has lots of polish, atmospheric locations, and set-design, and the acting is tolerable. Those goofy fraternity brothers—Vin Diesel lookalike Yousef Erakat and his pal Mike Tornabene—return for more mischief.  However, Joe, Bam, and Hattie steal “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” from the monstrous matron.

“Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” opens as Brian (Tyler Perry) waits at his teenage daughter’s prep school, wearing a cone-shaped party cap, and with a gift in a decorative sack.  Tiffany (Diamond White of “The Lion Guard”) isn’t pleased to see her father.  Usually, Brian takes her home where the family assembles to eat cake and celebrate the occasion.  Tiffany thinks the tradition stinks and wants nothing to do with it.  Brian presents Tiffany with a pair of headphones as her birthday gift, so he won’t have to contend with her music when she is in his car.  Tiffany labored under the delusion that Brian was going to give her a shiny, new car for her birthday, since she is an adult with plans to attend college.  Brian tells Tiffany that she is too irresponsible to have a vehicle.  No sooner has he asserted himself on the subject than his ex-wife, Debra (Taja V. Simpson of “The Preacher’s Son”), parks at the school and hands Tiffany the keys to a new red Mini-Cooper.  Naturally, Brian is disturbed because Debra has given Tiffany something that his daughter hasn’t earned.  Brian reminds Debra that Tiffany is hopelessly irresponsible and will probably get a ticket for reckless driving. As soon as she gets behind the wheel, Tiffany careens off to the Upsilon Theta Fraternity house where she crashed their Halloween party last year with her friend Gabriella (Inanna Sarkis of “A Killer Walks Amongst Us”) in the first “Boo.”  Initially, Tiffany learns that the Upsilon Thetas are throwing another party, but her interference in last year’s party has forced them to hold it somewhere else than their frat house. The fraternity leader, Jonathan (Yousef Erakat of “Natural Born Pranksters”), is relieved to hear that Tiffany is now old enough to drink. As it turns out, they are holding the party at the dilapidated, off-limits Derrick Lake campground where two savage killers attacked amorous couples necking in cars years ago.  Worse, the authorities never caught those homicidal maniacs! 

Back at Brian’s house, the unfortunate father must endure no end of ridicule from his relatives, including Madea (Tyler Perry), Joe (Tyler Perry), Aunt Bam (Cassi Davis of “Daddy’s Little Girls”) and Hattie (newcomer Patrice Lovely), for letting his ex-wife one-up him with her birthday gift.  So certain is Tiffany that Brian will not let her attend the Upsilon Theta party that she persuades Debra to let her sleep over at her mother’s house.  Furthermore, she convinces her mom to let her attend the Upsilon party.  As luck would have it, Madea eavesdrops on their conversation and warns Brian about Tiffany’s scheme.  None of this prevents Tiffany from attending the party, and the party goes into full swing with lots of drinking and drugs, until two boogeymen in gas masks wielding chainsaws attack an Upsilon Theta pledge.  A creepy girl who resembles the demons in those Japanese “Ring” horror movies watches them.  At this point, Madea cruises into the haunted campground with Joe, Aunt Bam, and Hattie, collides with another demonic girl, and then confronts the Grim Reaper.  Meantime, Jonathan, Tiffany, Dino, and Gabriella flee from Derrick Lake and take refuge in an abandoned house. Eventually, Brian and Gabriella’s father, Victor (UFC fighter Tito Ortiz of “Cradle 2 the Grave”), ride to the rescue.

“Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” is harmless, half-baked hokum bristling with low-brow slapstick comedy.  Basically, the tenth Madea movie works on the level of an animated “Scooby-Doo” movie.  Of course, everything works out well for everybody, but Madea doesn’t dominate the shenanigans.  Instead, Brian has a large hand in what happens at Derrick Lake.  Far from qualifying as a treat, “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” amounts to little more than a trick.

FILM REVIEW OF "JENNIFER'S BODY" (2009)

Megan Fox takes top billing in “Æon Flux” director Karyn Kusama’s evil girl horror comedy “Jennifer’s Body,” (**** out of *****) an original, R-rated, feminist chiller about a lusty succubus and her vengeful adversary. Of course, “Transformers” babe Megan sheds not a stitch, but she chows down on dudes with an appetite. Although it lacks the onion layers of detail that characterized Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning “Juno” script, “Jennifer’s Body” possesses a mischievous “Heathers” meets “Carrie” quality that transcends its blood and gore basics. Indeed, the dialogue bears the quintessential Cody quality. Meaning, it is self-conscious, flirtatious, and quotable, like nothing you’d expect in a standard issue scary movie. The characters aren’t the usual ensemble of fish bait waiting to be munched by the bunch. “Jennifer’s Body” never wears out its welcome and Kusama keeps it compelling, even when she is not trying to jolt up with a scare.

Anita ‘Needy’ (Amanda Seyfried of "Mamma Mia!") and Jennifer (Megan Fox) have been best friends since they met in a sandbox. Indeed, they wear matching necklaces with heart-shaped pendants bearing the initials BFF in them. They attend the same high school in the small town of Devil’s Kettle, Minnesota. The town takes its name from a local waterfall that apparently has no bottom. Scientists have been tossing everything known to mankind short of humans into the pool, but nothing has come back. Jennifer convinces Needy to ditch her drummer boyfriend, Chip (Johnny Simmons of “The Spirit”), for the evening and accompany her to a honky-tonk called The Melody Lounge Tavern where a big city indie Goth band named ‘Low Shoulder’ is scheduled to perform. Chip warns them that the bar is a dive. Nothing, however, can distract Jennifer from sexy lead singer Nikolai Wolf (Adam Brody of “Grind”) and he reciprocates her interest. In fact, the whole band agrees that Nikolai has chosen well. During their performance, a fire erupts in the tavern and flames engulf everything. Several people perish, but Needy and Jennifer escape without a scratch. Right behind them with a drink in his hand appears Nikolai.

Not surprisingly, Nikolai has mesmerized Jennifer and persuaded her to jump into his sinister van with his fellow musicians. Needy turns them down. The next time that Needy sees Jennifer, our hot chick protagonist stands drenched in blood and projectile vomits black goo all over Needy’s linoleum kitchen floor. Needy describes it to Chip as “roadkill and sewing needles mixed together.'' The next morning Needy sees Jennifer in class looking none the worse for wear. Before she was just a cheerleader, but now Jennifer has mutated into pure evil. Indeed, Jennifer lives to gobble up guys. Literally, she feasts off the flesh of teenage boys. She lives to kill and she doesn’t care who she gets. Jennifer’s lack of discrimination spells big trouble for her. Sometimes, she attracts an audience of woodland creatures who join in on the human buffet after she has stuffed herself.

One of the high school teachers, Mr. Wroblewski (J.K. Simmons of “Extract”) stumbles out into the woods behind the school and finds the star linebacker, Jonas Konelle (Josh Emerson of “Comeback Season”) dead on his back. Jennifer has ripped Jonas’ stomach wide open, and a “Bambi” type doe licks his innards. Eventually, Jennifer lets Needy in on her secret. The Goth band sacrificed her to Satan and carved her up. Nikolai and company thought Jennifer was a virgin, but she wasn’t one. Now, she has come back as a demon with a need to feed. When she looks her best, Jennifer has been feeding. When she runs out of guys to eat, she looks horrible. She doesn’t wear make-up and her hair loses its fluff. Eventually, Jennifer begins to eyeball Needy’s boyfriend Chip so Needy ditches him at the spring high school formal. Needy and Jennifer part company as friends when the latter attacks Chip. This is about the time that things really start to happen, emphasizing the dominant theme of gals versus gals in a struggle between demonic titans.

Basically, “Jennifer’s Body” qualifies as a standard Dracula versus Van Helsing type yarn. No, vampires do not infest in this outstanding fright flick. A monster roams the land, feeding off defenseless mankind, specifically teenage guys, and a hero—heroine in this instance--must destroy it after acquiring the knowledge. Happily, this formulaic nail biter told in flashback mode springs a sufficient number of surprises. The action is narrated from Needy’s perspective and her first line is: “Hell is a teenage girl.” This film chronicles the friendship between Needy and Jennifer and their virtually psychic bond. For example, Needy has an uncanny way of knowing where Jennifer is and she can sometimes experience what Jennifer is doing. Director Kusama, who also directed “Girlfight,” splashes buckets of bloods all over “Jennifer’s Body,” but she draws the line at gratuitous nudity, though a gratuitous lesbian make-out scene occurs over half-way through the pictures’ 101 minutes.

Sometimes the predictable occurs as it should, but sometimes Kusama and Cody pull a switcheroo. Primarily, Megan Fox has to look spectacular with lots of lip gloss, but Kusama never lets her starlet embarrass herself. Fox gets to play a round character in that the character undergoes change. She starts out as straight vampy cheerleader Jennifer and turns into demonic Jennifer. On the other hand, Seyfried and a strong supporting cast, including J.K. Simmons, as a teacher with a prosthetic arm, get a lot of mileage out of their contribution. The ending is terrific, too.