NEW MOVIES: “Highest 2 Lowest.” / “The Thursday Murder Club.”

“Highest 2 Lowest” (2025, Apple TV) crime thriller directed by Spike Lee, an English-language remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 Japanese film “High and Low,” itself based on the 1959 novel “King's Ransom” by Ed McBain. The film stars Denzel Washington.

       I haven’t seen Mr Kurosawa’s movie or read Mr McBain’s book so I don’t know if this “joint” did those justice, confused them, or I should treat Spike’s 2025 work as an original work, which I did. Was it expected? Praise from critics? Rotten Tomatoes, 87 percent of 197 critics' reviews are positive. These superlatives: “A swaggering thriller that lovingly showcases New York City” and “Spike is wielding a plethora of inspirations—musical, cinematic, and historical—to reunite with an old friend. He is making a Spike Lee joint. And it's exceptional.”

       I beg to disagree though. I didn’t really think the movie deserved those fine words. Sure, Denzel is Denzel (no biggie) + a nice try at rapping? Funny. Jeffrey Wright gets to deliver the funny/corny lines, such as: Denzel, referring to a gun: “What is that?” / Jeffrey: “Insurance. From Jake of State Farm.” But most of the dialogues (or language) are Black cliches. I couldn’t figure out if ASAP Rocky was acting or rapping or just spitting words out in a typical music video. 

       This plot: “When a powerful music mogul is targeted by a ransom plot, he is forced to fight for his family and legacy while jammed up in a life-or-death moral dilemma.” But I got lost in translation somewhere. The message that I got: The more the artist or act or goon is bad, as in locked up in jail, the more that they’d sell. 🎥💻📽

“The Thursday Murder Club” (2025, Netflix) crime comedy, based on the 2020 novel by Richard Osman, and directed by Chris Columbus of “Mrs Doubtfire” and the “Home Alone” franchise fame. Four retirees spend their time solving cold case murders for fun, but their casual sleuthing takes a thrilling turn when they find themselves with a real whodunit on their hands.

       In terms of the clean and tidy laughter genre, Mr Columbus doesn’t lose. That’s proven. But the winner in this movie is the ensemble of A-1 performers, who are mostly known in heavy drama cinema: Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, and Celia Imrie, Jonathan Pryce, and Richard E. Grant. A perfect leisure watch on a lazy weekend! 🎥👍📽