From Space Cadet to Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Should You Add These To Your Watchlist?
From a girlboss astronaut to a conspiracy mission, here’s what you should add to your watchlist.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F
Detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) is back in Beverly Hills after his daughter’s (Taylour Paige) life is threatened. As a father-daughter team, they pair up with a new partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and old pals Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) and John Taggart (John Ashton) to uncover a conspiracy within the Beverly Hills police department.
In a world of endless prequels, sequels, and spinoffs, this fourth installment of the franchise seems to have struck the perfect balance of nostalgia and new. Axel F is still his old self, but brought to new life through action, family connection, and crime drama elements. Eddie Murphy carries the film, but is refreshed with new faces like Joseph Gordon-Levitt who makes witty and funny references to the past films. It fits to satisfy both the old fans and newcomers to the Beverly Hills Cop films.
Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is streaming on Netflix.
- Jordan Bohan
Space Cadet
Space Cadet stars Emma Roberts as Florida party girl Tiffany “Rex” Simpson who takes a leap of faith and applies to become an astronaut. Destined to live out her dream, Rex must live up to her embellished application made by her bestie Nadine (Poppy Liu) to become everything she and her mother hoped for.
Roberts delivers a palpable performance as Rex with all her quirks on full display. This film falls under your typical summer fun film to watch with some friends and eat popcorn. It’s not groundbreaking, but, in the midst of remakes and reboots, the original idea has a lot of heart and humor. The vibes of the film is Legally Blonde meets Roberts’ 2008 project Wild Child. Like Elle Woods, Rex is very capable of achieving her dream even though people doubt her because of her attire and perky can-do attitude in a sea of pretentious candidates. The overall message of never giving up on your dreams even when it feels like it might be too late is relatable and delightful to see.
Space Cadet is on Prime Video.
- Paola Cardenas
That 90s Show Season 2
The Point Place crew is back for more summer fun in season 2 of That 90s Show. Picking up where last season’s cliffhanger left off, Leia (Callie Haverda) and Nate (Maxwell Acee Donovan) have to navigate telling Jay (Mace Coronel) and Nikki (Sam Morelos) about their almost kiss. Meanwhile, Gwen (Ashley Aufderheide) faces a new relationship that might become serious.
I can confidently say that this season is better than the first. The actors are really coming into their own with their respective characters and it’s enjoyable to watch. They are focused more on the teen character growth rather than relying on cameos to do the work, which brings a better vibe to the series. I only wish to have seen more emotional depth between the serious moments like Gwen’s experience as a Black teenage girl in a predominantly white town and Ozzie (Reyn Doi) finding other queer friends.
That 90s Show season 2 is streaming on Netflix.
- Paola Cardenas
