MiTEG's Journal: Friday After Next, Gang Tapes, Mischief 3000

My mini-reviews of movies you probably haven't seen:

The Friday After Next is a truely terrible movie, and I don't often say that. Un-called for stereotypes of homosexuals and women as well as a gratuitous amount of bathroom humor do not make for a good movie. Not blaxploitation in the Shaft sense and definitely not as close as All About the Benjamins, it was still offensive in a not funny sort of way. The only redeeming quality of this movie is that it's the inverse of The Transporter in that the final 15 minutes is its only tolerable content. Friday was funny because it was original and Chris Tucker is hilarious, Next Friday managed to be fairly entertaining for a sequel, but Friday After Next follows the tradition set by Alien 3, Godfather Part 3, and Jurassic Park 3. Definitely what I would consider to be the must-miss of the year.

But if you need some good East LA entertainment, look out for Gang Tapes, a Boyz n the Hood meets Blair Witch. Jerky and raw, it depicts the rough life of a newly initiated gang member in LA. Using the booty of a carjacking, a video camera, he offers a glimpse into his world. I'm not sure which was more disturbing; the simple lesson on how to bake cocaine into crack rock or the graphic portrayal of the virginal drive-by homicide done by our young protagonist. Though not for everyone because of its controversial nature, it is strangely self censoring with a conveniently timed low battery in what is possibly a commentary on socially acceptable content in film (sex vs drugs and violence). It's an exciting film that makes you think.

And if mindless speed is what you crave, check out Teckademic's Mischief 3000, the self purported documentary of the 2002 Gumball Rally, a nearly ruleless race from NYC to Hollywood modeled after that seen in The Gumball Rally. Featuring some of the world's most exotic cars, this film gives an in depth look at the race from the viewpoint of a Ferrari 360 and BMW M3 & M5. One of the most amusing parts is watching drivers' reactions to being pulled over at speeds in excess of 100 mph, the most noteworthy of which was the driver of a Ferrari F50 being clocked at 180+ mph that resulted in his arrest. Dangerous, brash, and over the top, this is not a good film for those that respect speed limits. Unfortunately this is one of those straight to video deals, so the only way to catch it is buy a copy from Teckademic's web site or find a video rental place that has it.

And the joy of writing this entry twice is brought to you by Open Sores Software. Lucky for you I didn't feel like sleeping :] Okay, I'm just bitter that Phoenix crashes all the time for me (usually just as I'm about to submit a length composition), but I think I figured out the problem. I tend to not enter the subject until after I try to preview, and if I start to enter a title that autocomplete thinks is familiar, the browser crashes. Off to bugzilla I go, but first I must disable autocomplete!