Chasseurs de Primes

I was pretty surprised by this flick. It's an action film with a few shots of comedy that actually delivers where it counts. Ice Cube plays it pretty straight here (like all of his other movies, but that's why we love him), and Mike Epps seems to be channeling Chris Tucker. They play off of one another very nicely, though. The mostly formulaic storyline manages to throw them into some very interesting situations.

Of particular note are the "first black President" joke and the torture sequence. And of course, the Cube has his usual cheerful facial expressions glowing throughout the film. Truly, don't miss it.

All About the Benjamins (2002) is a movie that I recently watched for the first time in a long time on Tubi. The storyline follows a bounty hunter whose recent, and most frequent, target hits the lottery, stumbles onto a jewelry heist and runs into the bounty hunter on the same day. When the bounty hunter hears his bounty's story, he sees an opportunity to further his career if he plays his cards right.

This movie is directed by Kevin Bray (Walking Tall) and stars Ice Cube (Friday), Mike Epps (Next Friday), Tommy Flanagan (Sons of Anarchy), Eva Mendes (Hitch), Roger Guenveur Smith (Do the Right Thing) and Carmen Chaplin (Sabrina).

The storyline for this felt like the same old buddy cop movie plot without the characters being cops. The dialogue and circumstances were fun, and entertaining but not elite (this isn't Rush Hour or 48 hrs). Epps and Ice Cube play off each other naturally and flow well together. The villains are well established and this has a great soundtrack. The comedic content and action scenes are entertaining but also not outstanding.

Overall, this is an above average addition to the comedy genre that I would score a 6/10 and recommend seeing once.

Though it may appear as a Friday style film, All About the Benjamins is far from the comedy franchise as possible. Instead of being a slacker, buddy comedy, it's an action cop film similar to 48 Hours or Beverly Hills Cop. It isn't necessarily bad, but it takes a path I didn't expect. How could you blame me for mistaking it was a straight forward comedy? It's in a four pack that includes all Ice Cube movies, and it stars Mike Epps as well. The same characters that portrayed Craig and Dey Dey are in a movie that is included in a Friday four pack. Can't be that far off.

Sadly, it takes the path and cliché of every cop movie out there. There's explosions, swearing, two friends, etc. It gets old very fast. There's not much new or fresh utilized here. If there is a low six star movie rating, this is the one. It's not a five star film, but it's not a seven or eight star film. It's kind of tilting on the edge.

Bucum (Cube) is a bounty hunter who's goal is to get money to open his own investigation firm. Reggie (Epps) is a con artist that somehow escaped Bucum's clutches three times. After winning big on the lottery, but losing the ticket in the back of a van with diamonds thieves, Bucum and Reggie have no choice but to work together to get the thieves and retrieve the lottery ticket so Reggie can claim his riches.

It reminds me of a film I watched not too long ago called Lottery Ticket that also stars Cube, about a young man trying to survive a weekend with a $370 million lottery ticket the whole neighborhood is aware of. The only difference is the ticket never leaves the man's possession. In this one they need to get it back.

The film has frequent chases and action moments, but I find them unappealing and just a little much. I would have liked less of the over exaggerated, played out action sequences and more of the witty dialog. Ice Cube and Mike Epps made a great duo in Next Friday and Friday After Next, and had numerous dialog scenes in the film that were utterly hilarious and clever. This film relies too much on action movie clichés, and a drawn out plot. You know they'll retrieve the ticket, and most likely fight towards the end. The suspense is none.

You may say it's my fault for comparing the film too much to Friday, but I'm not analyzing the film based on my first impression. I'm grading on behalf of the film's plot, characters action scenes, and suspense. The film had everyone of those in decent context. But so decent they were forgettable.

Starring: Ice Cube, Mike Epps, Eva Mendes, Tommy Flanagan, Carmen Chaplin, Valarie Rae Miller, Roger Guenveur Smith, and Anthony Michael Hall. Directed by: Kevin Bray.

After sitting through "All About the Benjamins" it's a real enjoyable action/comedy. This is the story of a bounty hunter (Ice Cube, who also co-wrote with first-time screenwriter Ron Lang and co-produced) who's on the pursuit of a bail jumper ("Next Friday" co-star Mike Epps) and their footchase ends up at drop-off for a major diamond where the killers left a few dead bodies in the process. I'll admit Cube is really showing his talents as an actor, screenwriter, and producer. And, Epps, is real hilarious in this movie. Cubevision projects have been getting better. And, Ice Cube shows a lot more comedic talents than he did in the last two "Fridays". I also like the bad guys, especially the ring leader of the heist. I feel that this is one of the most plot-driven movies Ice Cube has done since "Players Club". And, if you look hard at "All About the Benjamins" it's not just an Ice Cube movie. It's an actor/screenwriter hard at work. But, only one thing this sounds more like a movie that would be released in the summer, not early spring.

I'm afraid it took two times of me watching this to actually appreciate the film. It was quite good for a buddy movie. The comedy was there and so was the action. Mike Epps is a very funny guy. Ice Cube is always good at his characters. The plot was so so. It is kind of like some that have been done before but as for entertainment value it was fun. I would watch this again in hopes that I would laugh even harder the next time.