Vol. 13, No. 9 – Jan 29 – Feb 11, 2020 – Events

by Ana Baker

Livingston Camarillo Hospice is pleased to announce a new 10-week closed-ended grief support group program, Understanding Your Grief, written by author, educator and grief counselor, Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD. Wednesdays 6 – 7:30 p.m. February 5th through to April 8th Fridays 10-11:30 a.m. February 7th through to April 10th. Ongoing Support Groups are also offered at Camarillo Hospice. Free of charge and held at 400 Rosewood Avenue, Suite 102, Camarillo. To register for a support group, please contact Stacia Sickle, LCSW, at 805-389-6870 x452 or [email protected].

Free Adult Grief & Bereavement Support Groups. Every Wednesday, from 6:30 – 8 p.m. Free for anyone who has lost a loved one.

Receive emotional and educational support. Meetings held at Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association. Contact [email protected] or call (805) 642-0239 for more information.

The Compassionate Friends of West Ventura County is a support group for those who have experienced the loss of a child. Parents, grandparents, and siblings (over age 14) are all welcome. The group meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7p.m. at the Pointsettia Pavilion, Canada Larga room, 3451 Foothill Road. For more information, contact Laura Lindsay at (805) 836-9100.

Ventura Poinsettia Dance Club Monday nights 7:30 – 9:45 p.m. Poinsettia Pavilion. Ballroom, swing, Latin and line dancing. $12 for live music $10 for Teddy & Betty. Free dance lessons 6:45 – 7:15 p.m. Call Rick (805) 415-8842 for more information.

There will be a regular Ventura Discussion Group meeting at Main Street Restaurant 3159 Main St., Wednesday from 4 – 5:45 p.m. Several people usually stay for a drink and a bite to eat afterward. Bring an interesting topic to discuss if you can.

Ventura’s ACBL Duplicate Bridge Club offers games for all levels of play.  Learn the game, play with your peers, and earn master points while you are having fun.  There is a game every day of the week.  Check out their website at www.vcbridge.org

Country Western Line Dancing every Tuesday 7 – 9 p.m. Instruction every night. Located at the Moose lodge, 10269 Telephone Road. More information at countrylovers.com.

Cross Town Hikers join in on Wednesday nights for a moderate-paced hike that includes views of Ventura from the cross, a walk out to the end of the pier, and a stroll along the Promenade back to the Museum. Four miles with an 800-foot elevation gain. Meet at 7 p.m. sharp at the fountain across the street from the Mission. Join Facebook page for more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/800215670039426/

The members of the Ventura Investment Group meet on Mondays for an informal discussion of recent economic events.  Topics cover current events that affect stocks, funds, real estate, and interest-bearing investments.  The meeting is from 10 – 11:30 a.m. at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at Telephone Road and Main Street.  Visitors and potential members are welcomed.  There are no dues or requirements to participate, and all levels of experience are welcomed.

Brain Injury Center of Ventura County. www.BrainInjuryCenter.org

Support Groups for brain injury/ stroke survivors and their family/caregivers

Learn more about brain injury/stroke and available services. Meet others who are facing or have faced similar challenges. Meet new friends and connections, give and receive support.

Encounter Church 6950 Ralston St., Bldg. #300 (805) 482-1312

2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month, 4-5:30 p.m.

Men are you retired and routine-tired? Ventura Retired Men suggest you visit a Social Lunch Meeting on the first or third Tuesday each month at the Poinsettia Pavilion. Stop in, say hello, have a sip at the bar if you like, they will buy you lunch, and you can sample the hospitality as they go through activities and hear the speaker of the day. Bob Likins can tell you more at 805-587-1233.

Are you a stamp collector? The Ventura County Philatelic Society meet on the first and third Mondays each month at 7:30 p.m. at the Church of the Foothills, 6279 Foothill Rd.

Admission and parking are free. Come for a great evening.

Contact: Bill Garner / (805) 320-1601 or [email protected]

Feb.2: Old-Time Country Bluegrass Gospel Music Assoc. Sun. 2 – 4 p.m.  First Sunday of Every Month
Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Rd. Music on stage. Jamming Room Open. Free Admission. Free parking. Open to Public. For more information call 805-517-1131 or visit Facebook: OTCBGMA

Feb.2: The 1892 Dudley Historic House Museum will be open for docent-led tours from 1 to 4 p.m.  Admission is free.  The museum is located at the corner of Loma Vista and Ashwood streets (197 N. Ashwood).  For information please call (805) 642-3345 or visit the website at www.dudleyhouse.org.

Feb.2-23: Hill Road Library presents a weekly screening of Black History Month Matinees every Sunday in February. Each screening will begin at 11:30 a.m. The four films highlight different eras and aspects of black history in America. This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, visit our website or contact Linda Cherry, Librarian, at (805) 677-7180. Hill Road Library is located at 1070 S Hill Road. Hours of service are 10 – 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 2 – 6 p.m. Thursday, and 10 – 2 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Feb. 5: Beach Cities Neighbors and Newcomers (BCNN)is a women’s social organization serving Oxnard, Ventura and Port Hueneme. 9:30-11:15 a.m. Coffee, socializing and program. Lyra Quartet, award-winning competition chorus, singing acapella, barbershop style with some doo-wop, spirituals and love songs for Valentine’s Day. Knights of Columbus, 36 Figueroa St. Parking via Santa Clara. Free for guests first time. See www.bcnnwomensclub.org.

Feb.8: February, the month of red roses and all things about expressing your love!  Join us and our guest speaker Berthena Parrish, M.S., L.M.F.T., as she speaks to us about love. You will have an opportunity to share how you express love and to ask questions.  Mark Saturday, February 8th, 2020 at 8:30 am.  Meet us at Mimi”s in Ventura.

Don’t forget, on the afternoon of February 8th (4:30) there is a fundraiser benefiting Ribbons of Life.  Coach Robin of the Ventura Collage Women’s basketball team, will share breast cancer awareness via their 13th annual game at the VC Athletic Event Center.  Silent Auction is before the Ventura vs Oxnard game!  Come cheer them on!!

Feb.9: Celebrating our Young Artists! This year, there are seven! An amazing group of outstanding soloists performing at auditions and they are pleased to present seven young soloists to perform with the orchestra. The highly acclaimed local composer, pianist and conductor, Daniel Newman-Lessler, will step onto the podium as guest conductor for the Young Artists concert. Sunday afternoon, at 3p.m. at First United Methodist Church, 1338 Santa Clara Street.

Feb.18: 20-year-old club “The Model Investment Club of the Channel Islands” meets on the 3rd Tues of the month, 1:45 P.M. People interested in learning more about investment clubs may attend a model club meeting to observe a real stock investment club in action as members review the club portfolio performance, potential buy and sell decisions and stocks that are on the club’s watch list. The club does not sell or solicit any products. These events are free. Please contact hostess Arla for directions to the Ventura location and reserve a spot. (805) 987-2000. For further information visit: www.betterinvesting.org/channel.

March 7: Soroptimist International will sponsor the 13th Annual STOP Human Trafficking Community Walk and Speaker Panel at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main Street. The event starts with a walk down Main Street and followed with a panel of three speakers, two of whom are trafficking survivors. Social service agencies will be on site with additional information. Event is on Saturday from 1- 4 p.m. and free to the public. The five Ventura County Soroptimist International clubs are SI Oxnard, SI Ventura, SI Camarillo, SI The Conejo, and SI Fillmore, launched a “Dream Big” community awareness campaign beginning January-March. The goal is to bring a new and/or renewed awareness about the heinous crime of human trafficking and sexual slavery that happens in cities, including our own, throughout Ventura County. For more information go to www.stoptraffickingventuracounty.org

Vol. 13, No. 9 – Jan 29 – Feb 11, 2020 – Ojai News & Events

The Ojai Library will present a series of Monday Matinees weekly beginning on Monday, February 10. Each screening will begin at 11:30am, with six total films, concluding on Monday, March 23. Please note that February 17 is excluded, as the library will be closed in observance of Presidents’ Day.

Catch up on the excitement of awards season as the library screens the nominees and winners for 2020. See these acclaimed movies again or for the first time, and decide which is the best of the bunch!

Joseph “Joe” Lee Suh will visit the Ojai Library at 4:30pm on Wednesday, February 5, 2020, to present a special talk, “New Year, New Business: Start, Grow, Expand, and Recover with the U.S. Small Business Administration.”

Looking to start a new business or to grow, expand, or recover an existing one? As the nation’s go-to resource and voice for small businesses, the SBA provides counseling, capital, contracting, and disaster recovery expertise and assistance for the nation’s 30 million+ small businesses so they can confidently start, grow, expand, or recover.

Events are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Ron Solórzano, Regional Librarian, at (805) 218-9146.

The Ojai Library is located at 111 East Ojai Ave. Hours of service are 10am to 8pm Monday through Thursday and 12pm to 5pm Friday

The Ojai Valley Museum kicks off a new monthly event on Sundays. Family Fun Day Sunday will take place on the last Sunday of every month from 1-3pm. Admission is free. Each month the museum will feature a different family friendly theme. All ages are welcomed and encouraged to attend.

Admission is free to Family Fun Day Sunday. The Ojai Valley Museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Ave; 805 640-1390; OjaiValleyMuseum.org.

The Ojai Studio Artists Second Saturday mini-tours starts on February 8 with five open studios in the Meiners Oaks area of the Ojai Valley. Featured this month are Eilam Byle, new member Eric Dubnicka, Andrea Haffner, Vera Long and Elaine Unzicker. Studios will be open from 10am – 3pm. Admission is free, and the studios are all located within a few miles of each other.

A map for the February 8 mini-tour will be available on the website www.OjaiStudioArtists.org by February 1. Any changes or additions to the list of artists will be posted there.

The Ojai Performing Arts Theater Foundation (OPAT) is pleased to announce that four new members have been added to its board. They are: Stuart Crowner, as Secretary of the board; Richard Camp, as Artistic Director; with Michael Addison and Kathleen Kaiser as Board Members. Crowner has been an OPAT producer for several years, Camp has been Artistic Director, Kaiser assisted with marketing, and Addison has directed Shakespeare plays for OPAT in the past.

On Wednesday, February 5, 7PM, Villanova Preparatory School Wildcats boys basketball team will host their Tri-Valley league game against the Santa Clara High School Saints. Proceeds will be donated to the Leukemia Foundation. The idea to create a fundraiser around the game came from Villanova head basketball coach, Eugene Ayala, whose brother was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in June 2019.

Villanova Preparatory School/Clark Gymnasium

12096 N. Ventura Ave. Ojai.

This event is open to the public and will also include dinner, t-shirts, a silent auction, and other items available for purchase.

On January 16, members of the Ojai Women’s Fund, an all-volunteer giving collective, gathered to honor ten local non-profit organizations receiving grants totaling $110,000. Now in its fourth year, the Grants Gala drew a standing-room-only crowd to hear the inspiring stories shared by grant recipients and to celebrate OWF’s ongoing success. Grants were given in five categories, Arts, Education, Environment, Health, and Social Services.

 

 

EDC welcomes 2020 Executive Board Leadership

Nan Drake installed as chair of EDC.

Nan Drake of E.J. Harrison & Sons was recently installed as 2020 chair of the Economic Development Collaborative’s board of directors at the organization’s 23rd Annual Meeting. She is joined by newly elected officer Ventura County Supervisor Kelly Long as vice chair and Peter Zierhut of Haas Automation, Inc., who is continuing as secretary/treasurer.

“Nan Drake brings extensive experience and in-depth knowledge of our local business community and economy and the challenges we face. Nan has served on our board for 10 years and has worked tirelessly to provide opportunities for business growth and workforce development,” said Bruce Stenslie, EDC’s president and CEO. “We’re excited to have Kelly Long join our executive leadership and we appreciate Peter Zierhut’s continued oversight as secretary/treasurer.”

Drake has served as director of governmental affairs and public relations at E.J. Harrison & Sons for more than 30 years and has been an EDC board member since 2010. In 2019, for the 12th consecutive year, Drake was named as one of the tri-counties’ Top 50 Women in Business, by the Pacific Coast Business Times.

Long was elected as Ventura County Supervisor District 3 in 2016. She has over 25 years of combined experience as an entrepreneur, business executive and school board trustee, and held the office of the Pleasant Valley School Board of Trustees from 2012 – 2016. Long has a degree in mechanical engineering from California State University, Long Beach and holds six patents.

Zierhut, an EDC board member since 2012, has served as EDC board chair in 2016 and as secretary/treasurer consecutively since 2017. Zierhut is a senior-level manager at Haas Automation, Inc., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial machine tools, where he is responsible for oversight of Haas Automation’s motor-sports programs, including sponsorships in NASCAR and Formula 1 racing.

EDC is a private, nonprofit organization that serves as a business-to-government liaison to assist businesses in Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties by offering programs that enhance the economic vitality of the region. For more information about the EDC Small Business Development Center, loan programs, manufacturing outreach and international trade programs, or other services available to businesses through EDC, contact 805-384-1800 or visit www.edcollaborative.com.

Senior troupe to put on show about avoiding senior scams

Troupe members of the “Stop Senior Scams (SM) Acting Program” ham it up to help others learn how to protect themselves. Courtesy photo

In collaboration with the Ventura County Adult Abuse Prevention Council (VCAAPC), please join Cypress Place Senior Living in Ventura for a fun, free and educational program on avoiding senior scams.

The Stop Senior Scams (SM) Acting Program uses theater to dramatize senior scams. Members of the troupe, ranging in age from 60 – 97 years-old, write and perform skits based on their own personal experiences. Many of the actors have been scammed, or nearly scammed, themselves. The presentation is a memorable way to equip those who are vulnerable with the knowledge they need to protect themselves.

​Using popular songs like the Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”, “Getting to Know You “, from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical “The King and I”, and Abba’s “Money, Money, Money”, the troupe brings theatricality, laughter and excitement to a commonly frightening and frustrating topic.

The program was founded in 1997 by director Adrienne Omansky, who teaches commercial acting classes for older adults. Her students are trained in commercial and theatrical acting. Many now have agents, and have appeared in hundreds of commercials, movies, videos, television shows, and theatrical productions. 

The Stop Senior Scams (SM) Acting Program came out of Omansky’s classes and has been recognized by the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging and the California State Assembly, according to Nancy Cole, an eldercare manager and board member of VCAAPC. The program also provides a safe venue for seniors to share their own experiences with each other and with the acting troupe after the performance.

A representative from the Ventura County Adult Protective Services office will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. Also on hand during the event will be vendors who provide a variety of services to the senior population. Attendees will be able to ask questions and receive materials from these corporate sponsors.

This not-to-be-missed program takes place on February 20, 2020 from 1:30p.m. to 3:30p.m. at Cypress Place Senior Living in Ventura. Seating is limited so please call to reserve a seat. Cypress Place Senior Living is located at 1200 Cypress Point Lane in Ventura. For more information or to RSVP, please call 805-765-1066.

Cypress Place Senior Living is a premiere senior community in Ventura County. The beautiful senior living campus features an Active Senior Living community and adjacent Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s/Dementia Care community connected by a lushly landscaped courtyard.

To learn more about Cypress Place Senior Living of Ventura, visit their web site at www.cypressplaceseniorliving.com.

The Ventura County Adult Abuse Prevention Council is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to the prevention of elder and dependent adult abuse. To learn more about VCAAPC please visit their web site at http://vcaapc.org/.

Ventura Film Society screenings

The Ventura Film Society has recently announced three screenings, new for 2020:

February 1, the VFS will screen On the Basis of Sex (2018) directed by Mimi Leder. The film focuses on the early years of the career of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the numerous obstacles she would overcome in her fight for equal rights that eventually changed the way the courts view gender discrimination. The film will be shown at the Museum of Ventura County on Feb. 1, with generous support provided by the League of Women Voters. Doors open 6:30 with a no host bar and a performance by Vision 2020 Suffrage Passion Players before the 7:30 screening.

February 22, the VFS will be adding a third venue to our roster of screening partners with the presentation of Councilwoman (2019), directed by Margo Guernsey at Bell Arts Factory at 6pm. This recent award-winning documentary follows Carmen Castillo, a Dominican hotel housekeeper, as she campaigns and wins a seat on the city council of Providence, R.I. She has to manage her day job cleaning hotel rooms while advocating for low-income workers as a rookie politician. This free screening is sponsored by the Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law. Following the screening, the film’s subject, Councilwoman Carmen Castillo will participate in a panel discussion along with Oxnard Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez. Free babysitting and light refreshments are provided.

Tickets for Marianne and Leonard and On the Basis of Sex are available online through Eventbrite and through our website at venturafilmsociety.com. Prices are $12 for General Admission, $10 for seniors and $8 for students with valid ID.

The Ventura Film Society believes in the transformative power of film. We are a non-profit organization under the fiscal sponsorship of Bell Arts Factory. Join us as we build a film culture in Ventura County with a curated collection of local, independent and documentary films, presented through imaginative cinematic experiences.

Ventura Film Society www.venturafilmsociety.com

Glaucoma tests

“Is this an eye test or have we been invaded from outer space”

Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers glaucoma tests once every 12 months.

You’re at high risk if one or more of these applies to you:
You have diabetes.
You have a family history of glaucoma.
You’re African American and age 50 or older.
You’re Hispanic and age 65 or older.

You pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount and the Part B deductible applies.

To find out how much your test, item, or service will cost, talk to your doctor or health care provider. The specific amount you’ll owe may depend on several things, like:

Other insurance you may have
How much your doctor charges
Whether your doctor accepts assignment
The type of facility
Where you get your test, item, or service

Ventura County Library received national grant from the American Library Association

Ventura County Library was named one of 59 libraries nationwide to receive a $2,000 Library Census Equity Fund grant from the American Library Association (ALA), which awarded the grants to bolster library services to hard-to-count communities and help achieve a complete count in the 2020 Census.

“We are thrilled to be selected to receive these ALA grant funds in support of the Census 2020 effort,” said Ventura County Library Director Nancy Schram. “Our county libraries will play a key role in the census, and this grant will help us reach more community members with the equipment and information they need to be better informed about Census 2020 and to complete the census survey. Librarians across the county have been working with the Ventura County Complete Count Committee and representatives from the U.S. Census Bureau to plan for Census 2020; and, this grant project will help us to leverage and build upon those partnerships to have even more impact.”

Ventura County Library is dedicating grant funds toward computer equipment for the Mobile Library to facilitate participation by people in underserved areas of Ventura County in special Census 2020 Mobile Library events.

“The efforts of Ventura County Library,” said ALA President Wanda Brown, “will shine a light on all the library workers across the country who are shouldering efforts to reach and inform their communities—especially vulnerable and hard-to-count populations—about the importance of a full and inclusive count.”

The results of the 2020 Census will affect communities across the country. More than $1.5 trillion in federal funds are allocated each year to state and local governments based on Census data. When residents are missed in the Census, their communities miss out on needed funding for services such as libraries, schools, healthcare, and transportation.

The U.S. Constitution requires a census of all residents every ten years. In the 2020 Census, residents will have the choice to respond online, by phone, or by mail. The U.S. Census Bureau will send mailings to households prior to Census Day, which is April 1, 2020.

For additional information on Ventura County Library and the 2020 Census, contact Nancy Schram, Ventura County Library Director at (805) 256-8535

To help achieve a complete count in the 2020 Census, America’s libraries are informing their communities and providing access to the online response option. To learn more, visit ala.org/census and follow the conversation on social media with #CountOnLibraries.

Marching for Unity

The organization was thrilled with the turnout and successful march. Photos by Richard Lieberman

by Amy Brown

In a sea of pink knit hats and creative signs with humorous and pointed political and social messaging, a crowd of approximately 1,500 attended a rally in Plaza Park in Ventura on January 18th and then marched through downtown for Justice For All Ventura County’s (JFAVC ) 4th annual event, held in conjunction with women’s marches nationwide. JFAVC is a non-profit focused on the environment, women’s issues, LGBTQ issues, health care, economic equity, immigration, education, and cultural equity.

According to Christine Burke, JFAVC’s President and the emcee of the rally, the organization was thrilled with the turnout and successful march. “We hope that people get out and get invigorated about working to make the world a better place. And for us, this is such an important year because the vote is coming up in November, and we’re going to be hosting, cohosting and partnering with other organizations throughout the year that are affiliated with topics being discussed on the stage,” said Burke.

Most of the attendees seemed united on the importance of exercising the right and power of voting, and passion for equality and environmental issues. “The most important things are rationality, sensibility, reason, and compromise. Absent of that, the most important thing is to get enough people mobilized to vote to make a difference. In this country, there are more people that are progressive or left leaning, but don’t seem to get up the nerve to vote,” said Jeff Kirby, who participated in the rally and also served as a volunteer marshal guiding marchers on the sidewalk.

There were hundreds of young women, in groups, and with their families at the diverse event. 14-year-old Amelia Beving and 13 -year -old Natalie Schermer held signs that read ‘Be the Change and Drive an EV’ and ‘I’m With Her…Mother Earth’ and they both expressed specific concerns about the environment and human rights. “I’m worried about the fact that we’re close to the point where we can’t turn it around. I’m excited to get to the age to get to vote—I know a lot of kids that are already politically in tune,” said Schermer. “I feel like now, with the internet and news moving at a fast pace, we are more aware of the problems we face and it kind of scares us, and we want to make a change.”

Speakers at the rally included congressional representatives from the House and the Senate and also from the State Assembly, as well as Ventura Mayor Matt Lavere, city council members, and local organizations including the Ventura County Community Foundation and Climate Strike 805—all urging unity and action for social justice.

One key topic shared was that 2020 is the 100 anniversary of the 19th amendment being passed in this country, which allowed women the right to vote. “It took 100 years of fighting for women in this country to get the right to vote,” said California Congresswoman Julia Brownley. “When women vote, we win!” Several speakers also celebrated Virginia becoming the 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which reads, in part: ‘Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.’

Planned Parenthood had strong support at the event, with many men and women holding signs in support of the organization and women’s right to choose. Maple Umscheid, 14 and her 15 year old sister Jasmine attended with friend Taylor Gonzalez, age 17. They held Planned Parenthood signs and a sign that called for both reproductive rights and LBGTQ rights. Gonzalez shared that she grew up in a conservative household and felt that she had not previously had an outlet to express her views as a woman. “It’s really beautiful to see us all coming together here to fight for these important causes.”

Vol. 13, No. 9 – Jan 29 – Feb 11, 2020 – Movie Review

Movie Review by Cindy Summers
Bad Boys for Life

Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

Bad Boys Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back out on the streets of Miami for one last time to settle issues from a past criminal mastermind. Released by Columbia Pictures, Directed Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Written by Chris Bremner, Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan and Starring Will Smith as Mike Lowrey and Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett.

After spending 25 years on the force, Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) makes the decision to retire and spend more time with his family, having just had a new grandson born with his namesake. Having been partners for 20 years, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) wants to continue working on the force but doesn’t want to work without his partner. Burnett stubbornly refuses until Lowrey is shot repeatedly in front of him, giving him no other option but to help Lowrey “just one more time” pursue the shooter after having regained his health.

Due to the fact that Lowery was the victim in the shooting, Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) forbids Lowery to work on the case, though Lowery is unstoppable so Captain Howard relents and allows Lowery to work the case as long as he follows Howard’s guidelines regarding working with the force to solve the case instead of on his own. Lowery learns that the killings are related to a drug cartel leader who had recently broke out of prison in Mexico City and with whom Lowery has a complicated past.

Complicated pasts seem to be Lowery’s M.O. as he is also forced to work with an internal agency named AMMO (Advanced Miami Metro Operations) that’s headed by his ex-girlfriend Rita (Paola Nunez). Throughout the movie Lowery tries to leave AMMO out of the loop, while Burnett secretly contacts them every time for backup and support.

Lowery eventually comes to the conclusion that Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo) is behind his attempted murder and a rash of killings involving local public officials after having broken out of a Mexican prison seeking personal revenge and to avenge the death of her ex-husband. Unfortunately, Captain Howard is targeted by the same man that shot Lowery and kills Howard at his daughters event in front of Lowery, spurring Lowery and Burnett to Mexico to find the killer.

Aretas actually sent her son Zway-Lo (Nicky Jam) to kill the group responsible for her incarceration and her husband’s death, requiring Lowery to be the last one killed and the only target left for Zway-Lo when Lowery and Burnett arrive in Mexico. A bloody battle ensues at an abandon palace, leaving Aretas dead and Zway-Lo alive but injured.

The buddy banter between Smith and Lawrence will have you laughing from beginning to end, while the action will have you on the edge of your seat, wincing at every painful experience of which there are many as unlike other big actions films, these heroes actually get shot and injured at lot as would be expected but mostly rejected by big film directors. The final scene also points to a plot line for the Fourth installment of the ‘Bad Boys’ film franchise.

R (for strong bloody violence, language throughout, sexual references and brief drug use)
123 minutes