Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006)

Bon Cop Bad Cop (2006)

7/10

Starring

Patrick Huard

Colm Feore

Directed by Eric Canuel

When a movie starts with two cops arguing over whose case it is when a body is hanging on a signpost—with one half in Quebec and the other in Ontario—I knew I was in for a fun ride.
The fun got even better when the two tried to investigate their respective sides of the body and ended up ripping the corpse in half. Now, this isn’t a spoiler because much more happens in the movie, from the weird captain to the hilarious combination of both actors. Both actors will make you wish you were there in person to witness some of the craziness, as their acting chemistry and magnificent character portrayal is the movie's highpoint.

This Canadian dark comedy film mixes French and English dialogue, so if you’re like me and only comfortable with English, you’ll need subtitles to enjoy it. This multilingual movie has everything you’d expect from a buddy cop film, but with its own unique twist. I have to say, I will not put Canada down for making good comedy, so as this is one of the few Canadian productions I have seen, nice work to them.

The film follows two cops, David Bouchard (Patrick Huard) and Martin Ward (Colm Feore), as they try to solve the murder of a body found on the border of Quebec and Ontario.
The jurisdiction of the crime forces the two to work together on the case, which involves a deranged serial killer targeting hockey managers over personal grievances about how they’re selling his favorite players.

By the end of the movie, you’re left gasping. Both men are fathers, and we get to see all the antics you’d expect from a cool dad and a not-so-cool dad.
The movie moves along in a quirky way. David Bouchard’s clumsy attitude leads to things blowing up, while Martin Ward’s good cop persona turns these blown-up events into jokes with his reactions.

The director’s decision to show us what it’s like when these two misfits get high on weed is a welcome addition, as we finally see them get along for the first time.

As fun as the movie is, the pacing feels off at times, with some scenes dragging while others rush by. The humor works, but a lot of it relies on cultural references that might not hit the same for everyone. The plot is simple enough, but the serial killer’s motive feels a bit weak, which makes the stakes less gripping than they should be.

The film was nominated for four Canadian Comedy Awards in 2007 and won three: Best Direction, Best Writing, and Best Actor for Colm Feore. It also won the Genie Awards in 2007 (now called the Canadian Screen Awards, which are like Canada’s Golden Globes) for Best Motion Picture and Overall Sound.

This movie was well done and even got a sequel eleven years after its release.

48 Hrs. (1982)

48 Hrs. (1982)

7/10

Starring

Nick Nolte

Eddie Murphy

Directed by Walter Hill

48 Hrs. is about a cop and a convict, and it’s often tagged as the first action-comedy buddy cop movie in the genre. The movie skips the regular buddy cop theme we’ve come to know, where one is a rule-breaker and the other a rule-follower. Here, the cop is a rule-breaker, and the convict is, well, just a bad guy.
This action-comedy starts off with enough gunfire in the first five minutes and keeps the action going for the next twenty.

The movie’s title is based on the time the two have to solve the crime before Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) gets busted for the phony 48-hour leave he got for Reggie (Eddie Murphy).
The case that pairs the two begins when a killer, Ganz, busts out of prison during a duty shift with the help of a friend. They stage a fight, which leads to the death of two cops.
Once free, the two decide to get even with some of the people they worked with, which also leads to the death of two more cops. This last incident happens while Cates is waiting downstairs in a hotel for his cop buddies to come down, only for Ganz and his accomplice to take them out.

Cates, with the help of Reggie—who knows a lot about Ganz and his crew—starts hunting down Ganz to bring him to justice for his crimes.

What I liked best about the movie is the even balance between comedy and action, similar to what you see in Lethal Weapon. The action keeps moving nonstop, and the comedy happens in between, either through odd on-screen happenings or the actors’ lines.

One of the most popular lines is: “I’m your worst fucking nightmare, man! A n****r with a badge.”

The similarities between Lethal Weapon and this movie are due to the producer, Joel Silver, who also produced the Lethal Weapon series. This was Joel’s first producer credit and Eddie Murphy’s first movie role.

For all its strengths, the plot is pretty thin, mainly serving as a setup to get the leads together. Some scenes drag, killing the momentum between action sequences. Cates leans so hard into the gruff, no-nonsense cop trope that he becomes more frustrating than entertaining at times. The humor still works, but some of the dialogue and character dynamics feel dated.

The movie was a critical success, mostly due to the chemistry between the two leads and the characterization of Cates. It was also a box office hit, which led to a sequel, Another 48 Hrs.
The sequel could be seen as a financial success at the box office, and Eddie Murphy was paid 60 times more for it, plus a share of the profits. However, the sequel was critically panned, and the studio called it a box office bomb since it cost more to make and only earned three times its production cost.

Cars 3 (2017)

Cars 3 (2017)

6/10

Starring the voices of

Owen Wilson

Cristela Alonzo

Chris Cooper

Armie Hammer

Directed by Brian Fee

Dragging a little at the box office, Cars 3 is still a nice movie and a great comeback from the disappointment that Cars 2 (2011) left when it was released.
Disney’s style of sequels with no new ideas is starting to become more of an eyesore than a joy since they took over Pixar. Like Finding Dory (2016) and Monsters University (2013)—both being the last sequels done by Disney/Pixar—Cars 3 isn’t as good as the first, but it’s still a decent movie to see with the family.

This latest addition to Disney/Pixar’s 3D computer-animated films is the eighteenth Pixar feature and the third installment in their comedy-sports genre, Cars.
The movie starts with Lightning McQueen psyching himself up for a race. We see our protagonist continue to leave his mark in history as one of the best racers, but like all good things, Lightning’s time as a top racer is coming to an end.

The rookies are becoming faster and more skilled, causing Lightning to lose race after race and have a bad year overall. His new sponsor owner starts coming up with ideas for Lightning—ideas that don’t sit well with him. He’s assigned a new trainer and racing technician, Cruz, and if he doesn’t win his race in Florida, he’ll retire to focus on brand marketing.

The training with Cruz isn’t going well, and it isn’t making Lightning any faster. He takes his trainer out of the high-tech training facility to the beach, and from there, he keeps showing her how the old racers trained and teaches her the ropes.
But time is running out before the Florida race, and Lightning still needs to get his speed up if he hopes to control his fate and choose when he’ll retire.

Cars 3 plays it safe with a predictable underdog story that doesn’t bring much new to the table. The pacing slows down too much during the training segments, making the movie feel longer than it should. The visuals are as strong as ever, but the story lacks the emotional weight and charm that made the first Cars memorable. Cruz is a solid addition, but Lightning’s old crew barely gets any attention, which takes away some of the series’ original appeal.

Disney bought Pixar due to their poor box-office performances and lackluster stories. Since then, however, Disney Animation has produced more iconic and memorable films than their new subsidiary, Pixar. Releases like Bolt (2008), Tangled (2010), Winnie the Pooh (2011), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), Frozen (2013), Big Hero 6 (2014) and Zootopia (2016) have all been fantastic.
Since 2013, these films have won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, except in 2015 when Disney didn’t release an animated feature.

This year, we’re getting a fresh idea from Disney/Pixar with Coco (2017), but 2018–2019 will be the year of sequels.
Disney/Pixar has The Incredibles 2 (2018) and Toy Story 4 (2019), while Disney Animation has Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) and Frozen 2 (2019).
All four upcoming sequels had great prequels, and I hope Disney doesn’t tarnish their memories with this hunger for milking franchises.