Addams Family Values (1993) Review:

The beginning of the 1990s was a fresh start for Charles Addams’ the Addams Family franchise. After lying dormant for a couple decades, Paramount Pictures managed to get the reboot released in 1991 and with a resounding approval. Even better was the fact that it put director Barry Sonnenfeld on the map as he would go on to direct the popular Men In Black franchise. Usually being considered a Tim Burton film for its gothic style, Sonnenfeld was the head of it and he was gifted the opportunity again to direct the sequel. The fact is much of this sequel is consistent with the first, which is good but also to its issues. And this is weird because the writing changed hands. Not really sure how that happened but this will be gone into shortly.

The sequel’s narrative focuses on the Addams’ trying to find a nanny, after Morticia (Anjelica Huston) becomes pregnant and gives birth to Pubert (Kristen & Kaitlyn Hooper respectively). Finally, the family lands on Debbie Jellinsky (Joan Cusack), a gold digger who finds convenient ways of getting rich without her past partners. With that said, she sets her sights on Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) who is easily swayed by her beauty. Meanwhile, because Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) can see right through Debbie as to who she is, she has them sent to day camp where other hijinks ensue. This time the script was penned by Paul Rudnick who first wrote Sister Act (1992) and the sequel Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). Again with Sonnenfeld heading the execution.

What makes it so surprising is that both Caroline Thompson nor Larry Wilson worked on this feature, yet again there’s more focus than usual put on Uncle Fester. Is Uncle Fester this unsung character everyone enjoys more than the two main love birds? It’s bewildering that for the second time in this franchise that he’s the individual given the attention more than the others. There is a little more balance though as the rest of the cast seems to get in even screen time with each other. The comedic aspects are all there too as the rather eccentric and morbid interests of the Addams confuses basically anyone they come across. Much of this is highlighted in the scenes where Pugsley and Wednesday have to deal the camp counselors Becky Martin-Granger (Christine Baranski) and Gary Granger (Peter MacNicol) for being overly happy for annoying reasons.

While also at camp, Wednesday begins having feelings for Joel Glicker (David Krumholtz) another camper who has no interest in partaking in any of the activities. There’s also other small appearances from Nathan Lane, David Hyde Pierce, Peter Graves, and Tony Shalhoub. For the rest of the cast Carole Kane as Grandmama (replacing Judith Malina from the first) does fine. Carel Struycken as Lurch is as good as he was before, as was Christopher Hart as Thing and John Franklin as Cousin It. And of course Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia thankfully return to have the same energy and charisma as the last film too. As for Joan Cusack, she’s definitely good at portraying herself as a scheming no do-gooder. It’s interesting how she would go on to become the voice of Jessie from Pixar’s Toy Story franchise.

Visually speaking the cinematography which was handled by Owen Roizman in the first is now credited to Donald Peterman. Very masterfully, Peterman kept the look that Roizman shot with just as well as if hands had never changed. Everything from the dance sequence to comedic scenes are filmed competently. Peterman would also shoot for Men In Black (1997) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). Lastly, the score was composed again by Marc Shaiman who worked on the first. Despite not receiving a longer album release like the original, Shaiman keeps the tone and theme motifs the same as the original which is highly welcomed. When it comes to franchises, recurring main titles should remain unchanged unless further developed. Not completely changed. The score to this sequel just serves as an extension to the original album which is fine.

The sequel proves it self to be a little better than the first as it keeps much of what made the original so likable. The actors all do a great job, music is just as fun and camerawork all remain on point. The story is a little more balanced between characters, except for the fact that out of all of them it focuses on Uncle Fester again, which was the first film’s issue.

Points Earned --> 8:10

Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990) Review:

When it comes to main franchises, keeping stories in order can be tricky. For the sequel series to Dragonball, Dragon Ball Z has started out with its episodes and feature films coming out fairly in line with each other. Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989) was right in line with the start of the Saiyan saga that was about to begin as the first season. It’s a nice bridge between the last season of Dragon Ball and the beginning of Dragon Ball Z. As to what it looks like, when the Saiyan saga or first season ended, another feature was released under this title. At this point, things are working out okay, somewhat.

This story follows Earth’s heroes caught in the way of Dr. Kochin (Troy Baker) and his master Dr. Wheelo (R. Bruce Elliott) looking to take over the world. However, in order to do that Dr. Kochin needs to capture the body of the world’s strongest fighter. With that, they capture Master Roshi (Mike McFarland) and Bulma (Tiffany Vollmer) with their bio-engineered fighters. The thing they don’t know is that Goku (Sean Schemmel) is now the strongest fighter and no longer Roshi. With that, Goku is about to face his next biggest enemy. Written by Takao Koyama and directed by Daisuke Nishio who have been the familiar duo for the last few films, this movie remains in line with how the others have been produced. Sort of. There does seem to be some issues though.

As stated before, there are important parts about this film that show that the narrative to this entry is somewhere after season one. Reason for this being Goku is able to perform the Kaoken and spirit bomb techniques. Those moves only existed after the first season. On top of that, Gohan (Stephanie Nadolny) now has a stronger relationship with Piccolo (Chris Sabat). The problem is that in this film Piccolo is alive, and was resurrected in season two. The only time there would be a break was inbetween Namek and Earth that’s after season three and that wouldn’t be until 1992. Everything would have lined up perfectly if Piccolo was not featured in this entry or he was shown to be gone. The introduction of Dr. Wheelo and Kochin is okay though. It’s the same kind of context like the previous film with Garlic Jr.

Although Dr. Wheelo and Kochin were never shown in the Dragonball series, them being written in works despite it not being the best. It is interesting to know that even for the supporting characters like Bulma have villains tied to them and not just Goku. The voice acting for this feature now has all the current actors behind the characters. Stephanie Nadolny as Gohan, Sonny Strait as Krillin, Cynthia Cranz as Chi-Chi and Bradford Jackson as Oolong all reprise their roles as their respective characters. Nothing can replace those voices as they are the most iconic of the English dub of the anime. Troy Baker as Dr. Kochin and R. Bruce Elliot as Dr. Wheelo have gone on to voice for various other animes but start off here sounding convincing too.

The animation style to this feature is as what one would expect it to be from this era of 1990s. Anime during this time had a certain charm about it only true fans can appreciate even with its flaws. While it still doesn’t make sense as to why cinematography is needed by Motoaki Ikegami, doesn’t go explained or is seen very clearly. Surprisingly again, the musical score to this entry was rewritten as well. Composing the new score this time was Nathan M. Johnson which fits the scenes shown. For a lot of the scientific aspects for Dr. Wheelo and Kochin, Johnson relies on creepy sounding synthesizers. Again, it fits but if Shunsuke Kikuchi      had originally scored the feature, so why change it? Kikuchi’s music needed no changes at any point for any aspect of the franchise. It makes no sense to do such things.

This feature almost fits perfectly from a timeline perspective but it doesn’t because of Piccolo. Cinematography and the new score is unnecessary too. The animation, voice acting and new batch of villains make it still interesting to watch.

Points Earned --> 5:10

The Toxic Avenger Part II (1989) Review:

Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz are not directors of Oscar awards caliber due to their version what they consider entertainment. The kinds of movies they make lean on the edge of soft core pornography with the amount of gratuitous sex involved. This however only amplifies those who enjoy movies in this kind of raunchy genre. Considered among their best work though was The Toxic Avenger (1984). Not because it was deep in any aspect, but because of the pure spectacle the movie created with its limited budget, gory practical effects and simple story of seeing good triumph over evil. It was their way of doing a superhero story in the style they knew best. With that success in viewership, the two felt it was time for a sequel five years down the road. Maybe sticking with one was enough.

The story continues a little time after the events of the first. Melvin Junko now known as Toxi (John Altamura) has rid his home of all the evil from Tromaville. That is until another evil entity enters the picture under the name Apocalypse Inc. headed by the chairman (Rick Collins). In order for the company to take control the last place they need to conquer is Tromaville and they need Toxi out of the way. With that, they trick him into traveling to Japan to find his estranged father. This time, this sequel was penned by Kaufman and now Gay Partington Terry who helped provide additional material to the first film. The second entry isn’t far worse than the first but it is not easy to get through a lot of the time. Continuity is a bit of an issue here.

For one, Toxi’s original love interest Sara (Andree Maranda) doesn’t appear here. Instead, his new interest is Claire (Phoebe Legere), who also happens to be blind. So what was the point of renaming the character? The continuity seems to be unchecked here. Additionally, the story is lacking being that the original film had a basic idea which was understandable and got to the point. This particular entry has less of a story as the main characters are boiled down to one dimensional individuals with no real depth. The Apocalypse Inc. company is just an idea. It has no real weight in the story as the people behind it have no significance either. Again though, this is probably what Kaufman found to work in the original and just amplified it more. Worser still, the run time is unnecessary as the extra twenty minutes pads out the experience.

Scene after scene it feels like things carry on for far too long. Fight sequences drag, dialogs feel like they go nowhere, while car chases go on and on. Either the pacing needed to be sped up or the run time needed to be cut. The acting from the main cast is as campy as one would expect after seeing the original film, which at this point is okay and expected. John Altamura as Toxi looks very much like Mitch Cohen of the first movie. Phoebe Legere as Toxi’s new girlfriend is fine too. Rick Collins as the chairman bares his teeth for almost every scene he’s in. Rikiya Yasuoka who plays Toxi’s father does the same thing by over exaggerating his facial expressions. Helping Toxi find his father in Japan is Masami (Mayako Katsuragi) who is played okay for an actress with broken English.

Believe it or not, this was also the film debut for Michael Jai White who would later play in Spawn (1997). Visually speaking Kaufman kept the over the top gore and practical effects which come into play for this film. It is still quite grotesque and disgusting but that is what gave the first film its charm too, so credit is due there. The camerawork fits in line with keeping the effects realistic but that’s about it. James A. Lebovitz who did an okay job on the first seemed to have missed the mark here. While the some of the settings take place on the streets of Japan, there’s nothing that exciting to see or watch when it comes to the action. Even more interesting is that the music improved a little with the help of composer Barrie Guard actually creating a recurring theme for Toxi but overall, since there is no official score it is still not that noticeable.

While acting and practical effects remain the strongest attributes of the franchise in terms of likability, the rest of the feature is hard to get to the end. Music and cinematography aren’t that special with really bare bones storytelling. Plus, the runtime and pacing make it painfully slow to watch.

Points Earned -->4:10