The Film Scout Review

Movies of JULY

By John Houzer

I honestly can’t believe we’re in July. You’d have to excuse me, I’m still high from the historical moment that was Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert. I’m still goin on YouTube and playing back parts of that show. I swear for 2 hours I felt like I was from LA.

It’s been hot but let’s cool off in the theaters as we get into my July movie recommendations.

Deadpool & Wolverine

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is directed by Shane Levy and is the third film in the Deadpool franchise, starring Ryan Reynolds as the merc with the mouth and Hugh Jackman returning again 7 years after what was supposed to be his last appearance as the iconic Wolverine. Thank Yoda, Marvel has brought him back, and words can’t describe how excited I am for this film. It might be my most anticipated film of this year. It’s also an exceedingly long time coming for Deadpool fans. One of the “inside jokes” they reference in the past Deadpool movies is the idea of him and Wolverine teaming up together, even going as far to name drop Jackman himself.

The Deadpool movies are fun, and just like how there is only one actor that can really play Wolverine. Reynolds really is Deadpool. Nobody but him could have brought the character to its true form. What I love the most about these movies is how well they balance the comedy and drama. I’m really looking forward to all the fourth wall breaking, cameos, and most importantly, where this movie will put the Marvel Cinematic Universe as far as story – because right now the MCU is really dry. I feel like we are in that stage with comic book films where if this film does not work, Marvel may be looking at some grim days ahead. But I’m looking forward to this one! I’m ready to buy my popcorn bucket!

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ releases in theaters everywhere on July 26.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F

‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ is the fourth installment of the Beverley Hills Cop series made popular by legendary comedian Eddie Murphy. Murphy returns as the iconic Axel Foley as he and his daughter team up with her ex-boyfriend and his old friends John Taggart and Billy Rosewood to uncover a conspiracy.

Now technically, I am still upset with Eddy Murphy because of what he did to ‘Coming 2 America,’ a movie which I crowned as the worst film I saw in 2021. This was right after ‘Dolemite Is My Name’ , a fantastic film which earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor. Murphy is a legend, no doubt about that, but his latest movies like “You People” and Candy Cane Lane’ really have not been doing well. So why is this on my list? I am just a sucker for legacy sequels, no matter how bad they turn out. You would think I had learned my lesson after hyping up that last Matrix movie, but here we are.

This movie does look good from what I have seen in the trailers. For me, Eddie Murphy is in that category of actors I just enjoy seeing in movies still. Like Martin Lawrence, Murphy does not really put out that many movies anymore, so let’s appreciate them while we still can. This film also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Judge Reinhold and John Aston returning as their respective characters from the series. ‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’ releases on Netflix July 3, marking 40 years after the release of the last film.

MaXXXine

‘MaXXXine’ is a horror-slasher film written and directed by Ti West. This film is about an adult film star and aspiring actress who finally gets her big break in LA when a mysterious killer begins to stalk her and a trail of blood threatens to reveal her dark past.

This movie is the third installment of the “X” series created by West. The main link of these films is the working relationship between Ti West and his star lead in each film, Mia Goth. This film is sort of the concluding brainchild of a series that started with the first film ‘X,’ and a prequel released later that same year called ‘Pearl.’

This is one of those movies which are hard to pitch to the average movie goer given their explicit nature. What is interesting is that each film presents itself as a different genre, meaning if you are into ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre,’ then ‘X’ would be your thing, and if you are a fan of a twisted version of ‘Wizard of Oz’ then you would love ‘Pearl.’ That’s the cool thing about these movies. ‘MaXXXine’ takes inspiration from the “slasher-horror” genre. Each movie is great on its own, but my personal favorite so far is ‘Pearl.’ I’m looking forward to seeing how they continue this story, which now spans over decades.

‘MaXXXine’ releases in theaters July 3.