Movie Review - The Naked Gun

Director: Akiva Schaffer
Genre: Comedy/ Action
Runtime: 85 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Danny Huston, Paul Walter Hauser, CCH Pounder, Kevin Durand,
 
Description: Only one man (Liam Neeson) has the particular set of skills – to lead Police Squad and save the world.
 
Review: “The Naked Gun” is a new film, not so much a remake of the 1988 version, but more a continuation. Because Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., the son of the late Sr. (Leslie Nielsen). Together with his partner he is investigating a seemingly innocent accident involving a self-driving car. The victim’s sister, Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson), approaches Drebin with suspicions that this is not what it seems. She turns out to be right, and Drebin starts his investigation.

That this new version takes over the same humor from the original series is immediately clear from the opening scene, in which a little schoolgirl walks into a bank during a robbery and turns out to be Liam Neeson ins disguise. You know it’s silly, but you laugh anyway.

As it should be, this film is crammed with jokes from start to finish. Not all of them are brilliant, but because they keep coming, you can’t help but laugh. The plot, present but paper-thin, is purely a hook for adding as much nonsense as possible. There is even room for a parody of Wham’s “Last Christmas” music video, which takes a very bizarre turn.

For some reason, Liam Neeson is the perfect man for the job. Known for mainly serious roles, and in the last years action films, it’s somehow a breath of fresh air to see him in such a ridiculous role. And Neeson delivering silly lines with a straight face somehow works perfectly.  

Pamela Anderson is also surprisingly funny. Her singing the fictional jazz song “Sassafras Chicken” is super weird, but kind of funny too. She is on par with Priscilla Presley (who appears in the movie for a quick second) from the original series.

The running gag in this film is the coffee joke, where Frank is always being handed a cup of coffee, no matter what situation he is in. It works best when the joke hasn’t been used for a while and then suddenly reappears in an unexpected situation. They do miss the mark a bit when the are lowering themselves to the easy poop and sex jokes, which hardly ever works for me. But fortunately they are limited.  

If you’re a fan of the original films and you like silly humor, you will not be disappointed. When the film was first announced, I never expected it to work as well as it did.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

00s Movie Review - Avatar

Director: James Cameron
Genre: Action/ Adventure/ Science Fiction
Runtime: 161 minutes
Year: 2009
Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Lang, CCH Pounder, Joel David Moore, Dileep Rao

Description: Paraplegic Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home..

Review: “Avatar” had to be a movie that would start a small revolution within the film industry. Our movie experience would change. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spend to create a new technology, with 3D and motion capture. Because of that, “Avatar” is the most expensive movie ever made. 

Ex-marine and paraplegic Jake Sully is send to the moon Pandora to be part of a big scientific project. He is there to replace his twin brother, who died. Because they share a DNA profile, Jake is the only one that can control the avatar created for his brother. Through a link Jake can control the body and brain of the avatar, which resembles one of the Na’vi, the folk that inhabits Pandora.

The project is led by doctor Grace Augustine. Jake has to collect samples from Pandora, but accidentally meets Neytiri, a female Na’vi. She starts to welcome Jake to her world and his mission changes. Colonel Miles Quaritch wants Jake to infiltrate the Na’vi and make them find a new location to live. The tree they live under is filled with Unobtainium, something that will sell for lots of money. But the closer Jake gets to the Na’vi, the more he adapts to their way of life and he wants to help them fight Quaritch and his men.

It’s a modern ecological fairytale that should teach us about the love for nature. The world of Pandora is totally credible, which is interesting because the entire world is completely computer generated. And the world has a breathtaking beauty. The movie and story have many layers and there are several lessons to be learned.

Because of motion capture, the Na’vi also look very realistic. This technique offers us many possibilities. And because it’s not just animation, the actors really need to act. Especially Zoe Saldana is a breath of fresh air. Her performance is fantastic. 

“Avatar” is not just another movie, it’s an experience. One of those movies that is even better on the big screen.

Rating: 5/ 5