Beverly Hills Cop (7.7/10)

This is a 1984 action-comedy starring Eddie Murphy, and watching it now, it feels ahead of its time. These days it seems like almost every action movie has to work comedy into the mix, and this film was doing it 40 years ago. Murphy carries the whole thing with his fast-talking energy, and the humor and action balance each other well without either one taking over. It’s nothing major, but it’s a very solid watch and an easy one to recommend if you want to see where the modern action-comedy got its start. "After his childhood buddy is murdered while visiting Detroit, rebellious cop Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) follows the leads to Beverly Hills, Calif., under the auspices of a vacation. He checks in with old friend Jenny Summers (Lisa Eilbacher) and starts to believe her boss, art dealer Victor Maitland (Steven Berkoff), might somehow be involved in the murder. However, Lt. Bogomil (Ronny Cox) of the Beverly Hills Police Department does not trust Foley, and hinders his search for evidence."