Movie Stakeout Reviews 29/05/20-04/06/20

All the latest Movieland investigations from detectives Dick japowski and Joey Arizona.

Dick Japowski's Japanese Journey
Tokyo Cowboy (1994)
A western loving Japanese man drops everything to visit his school penpal from Canada.
This has Canadian tax incentive written all over it! But that's not a bad thing for a gentle comedy drama about cultural understanding. The best parts are the day dream sequences where characters are put into old cowboy movies.
First watch: 2.5 out of 5 sushi rolls 🍥

The Arizona Case File
Insidious: The Last Key (2018)
Prequel installment of the Blumhouse horror franchise. Medium Elise Rainier returns to her family home to exorcise some demons, personal and residential.
One of the things I enjoyed in the original movie were Rainier's associates/sidekicks, and you get to see a lot more of them in this installment.
However Mrs Arizona claimed it felt 'more like an episode of Emmerdale than an actual movie', make of that what you will.
First watch: 3 Doughnuts

The Many Views of Detective Dick Japowski
Diary of a Wimpy kid 4: The Long Haul (2017)
A 47 hour roadtrip to see an elderly relative, with plans unbeknownst to mum and dad to divert past the gaming convention. The tastiest recipe for disaster is cooked up by the brothers Heffley!
This is guilty of one of my least favourite moves in movies. Replacing all the actors from the other 3 films but once you settle in you soon forget and have a good time.
I laugh harder and more consistently watching this series than 99% of current comedies so kudos where kudos belongs!
Rewatch: 3.5 Doughnuts

The Arizona Case Files
Frozen II (2019)
Take the basic premise of The Fifth Element, add a splash of Annihilation, stir in generous handfuls of bland musical numbers, and bake until mixture resembles a Disney movie.
First watch: 3 Doughnuts

Dick Japowski's Japanese Journey
Parasyte: Part 1 (2014)
Not to be confused with this year's Oscar winner but instead an adaptation of the popular manga series, which sees alien parasites finding human brains to feast.
When one of these crawlies enters school boy Shinchi's hand, he ends up forming a symbiotic friendship, and earning new power ups tries and stop these grizzly murders..
Japanese Venom, high school drama with a pinch of gory goodness. Familiar but still fresh and if you do enjoy, there is a sequel! Available on drama cool
First watch: 3.5. out of 5 sushi rolls 🍥

The Arizona Case Files
I Am Mother (2019)
Grown in a lab, and raised by a robot to be the first building block of the new human race, a young girl known only as Daughter, begins to question everything when a survivor comes knocking at the door.
It speaks a lot for a movie with only three characters that you're never bored, and invested from the get go.
First watch: 4 Doughnuts

The Arizona Case Files
The First Purge (2018)
Prequel to the Purge franchise showing you how it all began, with a test run based only on Staten Island. A impoverished area where people are given financial incentives to participate.
By now you know what you're getting with these movies, although this one does have a character who goes from gangster to John McClane, complete with vest.
The current world climate also gave the film more poignancy than it would have normally.
First watch: 3 Doughnuts

The Many Views of Detective Dick Japowski
The Velocipastor (2018)
After a family tragedy, a young priest goes to China to find himself and is given a mysterious artefact from a dying ninja. Returning home he discovers the Dino within, and with God on his side vows to stamp out evil.
I was apprehensive about taking this case on but I was more than surprised at how funny and enjoyable it was! Very much from the Trey Parker/South Park school of comedy in the delivery of lines and looks to other characters. An hour, ten is the perfect length and you won't regret it!
First watch: 3.5 Doughnuts

Have you witnessed any of the movies we've investigated? What's the verdict? Let us know in the comments below.