Tag Archives: Comedies

Mr. Peabody & Sherman  (2014)    63/100

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Rating :   63/100                                                                       92 Min        U

The latest animation from Dreamworks is based on characters from the 1960’s ‘The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show’, and focuses on the father and adopted son relationship of Mr Peabody (Ty Burrell), who happens to be a preternaturally intelligent canine that can talk, is a fully functional member of society and has invented, secretly, time travel, and his young human son Sherman (Max Charles) that he finds abandoned in an alleyway one day and who bizarrely has an IQ much closer to that of the average dog than any well adjusted member of mankind. This is the fundamental problem with the film – although the animation is fine, the protagonist is just too stupid, and his idiocy continues to set up most of the drama in the story as we see him bullied by a girl at school, who then bullies him into taking her on a jaunt through time and space.

It’s not without moral backbone, however, as Peabody attempts to rectify his son’s trouble at school by inviting the young demon and her parents over for dinner, delivering two surprisingly deep philosophical quotes to try and sell the idea to Sherman about the strongest relationships evolving through conflict and issues of self-reflection in hatred. As the narrative continues the father will have to learn to have more faith in his son and give him a bit more freedom, just as Sherman will come to see that the rules he has handed down to him have his own welfare at their heart, and the girl, Penny (Ariel Winter), will need to be rescued several times over and eventually stop being such a pain. A couple of nice jokes for adults, and perhaps a fun spattering of history for youngsters, including ancient Egypt, da Vinci and the Renaissance, the French Revolution and the siege of Troy, almost like ‘Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure’ (89) for a younger demographic (although the time machine here is remarkably similar to the one in ‘Free Birds’ for some reason), it will probably be entertaining enough for kids but I do question whether Sherman is simply so dim and irresponsible that he sets a bad example rather than functioning as the intended parabolic vehicle.

The Lego Movie  (2014)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     100 Min        U

Lego, one of the most enduring and popular toys of the last century (the name comes from the Danish ‘leg godt’ meaning ‘play well’) took a surprisingly long time to bring itself onto the big-screen given the success of the Transformers franchise and the completely unmerited monetary haul of the G.I. Joe films. Here everything, not surprisingly, is made from Lego and all digitally mastered together into a traditional tale of the underdog, Emmet Brickowski (Chris Pratt) – an unexceptional everyday Lego worker with no friends to speak of but who never has a bad word to say about anybody, who must realise his own potential and learn how to help others do the same (with the help of the Master Builders, who can creatively construct things from Lego without using a rulebook, don’t you know) all to undermine the dastardly plans of PRESIDENT BUSINESS (Will Ferrell) who can’t stand all those pesky Master Builders ruining his otherwise regimented and ordered Lego universe. But does Emmet have what it takes?

Initially the story and comedy value are a little flat, and a little predictable, and songs like ‘Everything is Awesome’ (the only song in this incidentally, it’s not a musical) are a little grating, but then … it becomes catchy! And the bland component parts eventually become endearing, partly due to an array of likeable characters, such as Batman (Will Arnett), Bad Cop/Good Cop (Liam Neeson) and Unikitty (Alison Brie), the leader of Cloud Cuckoo Land, domain of rainbows and puppies, who variously becomes Biznesskitty and Iwillripyourfuckingfaceoffifyoudothatagainkitty. Along with everything, she too, is awesome. Overall, it’s a fun trip guaranteed to spike sales of Lego and with a good message at it’s heart of creative self expression and the importance of appreciating this as a universal concept.

That Awkward Moment  (2014)    0/100

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Rating :   0/100           COMPLETE INCINERATION           94 Min        15

If you want to see a film where none of the characters feel like real people then watch this, which is essentially the epitome of woeful modern day romcoms. It’s a very, very familiar set up of three guys who, for the most part, praise the virtues of singledom and sleeping around, but whom we just know will be convinced of the error of their ways by the female characters we are about to be introduced to. The three guys (played by Miles Teller, Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan) couldn’t be any less charismatic and nothing they do or say makes any sense. One of them is annoying to the point where I cannot seriously believe any person would want to be near him without striking him in the face, never mind be friends or otherwise with him. Another thinks the girl he’s just hooked up with might actually be a hooker and so he bolts first thing the morning after, except of course it’s painfully obvious she isn’t, then despite falling for her and dating/sleeping with her he elects not to turn up for her father’s funeral, her father that he met and got along with, as he figures if he goes that means they are officially an ‘item’. This forms the ‘moment guy will fuck up and realise he really was in love as now he is lonely and everyone else hates him’, but seriously, not going to her father’s funeral? That’s a new improbable romcom low, but not apparently so low that she can’t forgive him after he eats a mediocre amount of public humble pie. Imogen Poots plays the not prostitute, but even her natural beauty and charm are not enough to redeem this at all, it’s so far removed from the sphere of likeability and reality as to be just vile.

Grudge Match  (2013)    65/100

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Rating :   65/100                                                                     113 Min        12A

This starts off really badly, as we are introduced to Henry ‘Razor’ Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) and Billy ‘The Kid’ McDonnen (Robert De Niro), two men who once competed professionally against each other in the boxing ring and each won one match apiece, with Razor denying any chance of a deciding bout over personal reasons – leaving unresolved issues that neither man has ever managed to put behind them, until fate intervenes to spark up their old rivalry once more. Initially it’s all a little humdrum with flat jokes and predictable character development, and scenes generally lacking any pizazz. More or less half way through it does pick up though, the story gains a little momentum, the use of music gets better, the characters come to life a bit more, the training montages go up a gear – all leading to quite a satisfying finale.

The two leads of course are famous for playing boxing roles previously; real life boxing legend Jake La Motta in ‘Raging Bull’ (1980) in the case of De Niro (best actor and editing at the Oscars), and Rocky Balboa for Stallone in his Rocky franchise (The first of which won best film at the Oscars for 1976, as well as best director and best editing) and the expected allusions are there. Alan Arkin takes on the role of the sarcastic trainer for Razor, whilst Jon Bernthal has a strong turn as The Kid’s estranged son B.J. and Kim Basinger appears as Razor’s ex-girlfriend, who is more than familiar with their thirty year grudge …

The Wolf of Wall Street  (2013)    81/100

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Rating :   81/100                       Treasure Chest                      180 Min        18

Martin Scorsese’s latest film once again features Leonardo DiCaprio (after very successful collaborations on ‘Gangs of New York’ 02, ‘The Aviator’ 04, The Departed’ 06 and ‘Shutter Island’ 10) and, as with The Aviator, it has garnered DiCaprio a very well deserved Academy Award nomination. He plays Jordan Belfort, who would later be heralded by the titular moniker after taking Wall Street by storm, starting out with vicious, remorseless and extremely successful penny stock profiteering. The film follows his exploits from his days as a mild mannered and slightly idealistic greenhorn in the industry under the tutelage of a, once more, very on form Matthew McConaughey, through starting a family and his ever surging success along with its associated excess, and I do mean excess.

The film has a very similar to feel to Oliver Stone’s ‘Wall Street’ (87), reason being that in real life Belfort was inspired by that very film, which probably makes DiCaprio the only person to be Oscar nominated for a role based on someone who was inspired by another Oscar winning role – namely Michael Douglas in Wall Street. It has caused lots of controversy by showing just how careless and ready to completely rip people off Belfort and his employees were – the argument being it sets a bad precedent when they seem to be having such a good time doing it, and given another high profile movie effectively inspired the whole thing it is a fair point. However, the film is simply retelling a true story and really all this venom should be directed at the failings in the justice system and the finance sector that it accurately highlights, and in terms of the filmmaking it is a sterling, engrossing, reflective and highly entertaining piece of work. It would not have been amiss to see more of the effects for the people losing all their savings, but the film is still a lot of fun and features good turns from all the cast, including Jonah Hill and a career launching performance from Margot Robbie (pictured above).

This is the first major feature film to be released to cinemas only in digital form, and currently it also holds the record for the most uses of the word ‘fuck’ in any non-documentary film, although the exact number used varies, perhaps due to the news that the DVD will include a longer and more explicit cut of the film. Unusually for Scorsese, The Rolling Stones cannot be heard playing at any point, though this does not detract from a very good and fitting soundtrack.

Delivery Man  (2013)    70/100

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Rating :   70/100                                                                     105 Min        12A

I actually rate this as one of Vince Vaughn’s best films (I am very surprised by this, for all kinds of reasons, the trailer being just one of them). He plays the central character of David, who is a bit of a screw up and finds out his girlfriend is pregnant but that she would rather raise the child by herself than remain with him – about the same time he is confronted with the fact that he is additionally the father of many hundreds of other children due to a mix up at a sperm bank he donated to in his youth; hundreds and hundreds of times. Not quite sure how to deal with this, he decides to secretly spy on some of his now adult children and get to know them a little, and what ensues is actually a fairly touching and slightly redemptive story, despite the potential for a mass scale Greek tragedy, with little dashes of comedy thrown in here and there. It’s directed by Ken Scott and is a remake of his previous film ‘Starbuck’, which is also the name David went by when he performed his services for the sperm bank.

Last Vegas  (2013)    66/100

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Rating :   66/100                                                                     105 Min        12A

The story is achingly lame, and yet the acting makes it not only palatable but also reasonably enjoyable. Billy, Paddy, Archie and Sam (Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline respectively) have been friends since they were kids, now Billy is finally tying the knot with a young hottie half his age and he wants his friends with him for his bachelor party in Vegas, only a seemingly impassable rift between he and Paddy will have to be crossed first – and so the other two simply trick Paddy into turning up.

Enter the very fine and sultry looking Diana (Mary Steenburgen) into the equation and old rivalries are renewed, and past secrets ousted, with Douglas and De Niro primarily signed up for the drama, and Kline and Freeman the comedy. One of the most striking things about the movie is just how tall Freeman is compared to Douglas and De Niro – he towers at least half a head over the pair of them. The fact that this is one of the most memorable things about the movie probably gives you some indication of the level of comedy involved, but it is nevertheless a likeable, decent film.

Look out for the involuntary leg shake from De Niro when the four of them get to rate a series of bikini clad nubile young girls. It’s good to see the ‘Method’ is still going strong …

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty  (2013)    71/100

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Rating :   71/100                                                                     114 Min        PG

The second cinematic adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 short story (the first was in 1947 with Danny Kaye as Mitty) this time starring and directed by Ben Stiller as the titular central character. Stiller excels at playing the sympathetic everyman, and never has he been more successful at doing so than here, as we see our hero to be daydreaming about winning the girl of his dreams (we see these phases of zoning out as over the top action sequences that he plays out in his head) whilst he remains quiet and somewhat under the radar, dutifully adherent to his routine job and routine lifestyle, until one day adventurer and photographer Sean Penn inadvertently sends him on a trip that’s a million miles (well, not quite a million) outside of his comfort zone.

It’s a feel-good film that really works, as Mitty rediscovers a sense of joie de vivre whilst we learn more about his character and backstory. It ebbs and flows, as the real world quenches his new found optimism when he returns from his first adventure, but ultimately there is a real sense of cathartic satisfaction from this film, and the wonderful location shots of Iceland are enough to make anyone want to do a spot of travelling. With Kristen Wiig and Adam Scott.

Anchorman 2 : The Legend Continues  (2013)    61/100

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Rating :   61/100                                                                     119 Min        15

Equal parts slightly entertaining and just plain cringe worthy, this sequel to one of Will Ferrell’s best comedy films does not live up to expectations. All the cast have returned, as news anchorman Ron Burgundy and his team are put on the night shift of the new innovative 24hrs news channel, and to liven things up they effectively invent reality television. The very heavy advertising unleashed for the movie to give it a chance against the likes of The Hobbit, has ruined a lot of the comedy as cinema goers will be familiar with many of the jokes by now, and some of the others could have been good but the delivery is just not quite right. Keeping some laughs and losing others to just plain silliness, the film is redeemed somewhat by having a pretty good scene toward the end with a smorgasbord of famous faces joining in. Starring Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Christina Applegate, Meagan Good, Kristen Wiig and James Marsden.

Powder Room  (2013)    63/100

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Rating :   63/100                                                                       86 Min        15

Focusing on one central character Sam (Sheridan Smith) and the events of one evening’s session in a night club and, predominantly, the gossip/social haven of the ladies toilets this has the distinct feel of a theatrical piece, no surprise then that it is based on the comedy play ‘When Women Wee’ by Rachel Hirons. Sam must balance her existence for the evening between two different, mutually exclusive sets of friends – the upper class and well to do Jess and Michelle (Oona Chaplin and Kate Nash), and the not so haughty Chanel, Paige, and Saskia (Jaime Winstone, Riann Steele, Sarah Hoare), or scrubbers if you prefer, neither of which two groups really know about the other’s existence. In the spaces between this balancing act she must also weigh out the measure of her own existence, as she tries to desperately avoid the truth that her own life has not turned out the way she thought it would.

The comedy aspect is a little too obvious, and it takes a very long time to get into, but overall it is a decent drama, dealing in a reasonable way with the sort of things one might expect to find in the female latrines of a dingy nightclub, although in modern day times Sam’s life is not really nearly as bad as she makes out – she does for example have a job and money, which already puts her above the swell of misery still undulating around the shores of Europe. Credit is certainly due for taking a rare look at this aspect of British life – the nightclub culture that all young Brits will be familiar with to some extent. Indeed, one of the most common things that visitors from abroad have to say about this country is (along with the insanity of having one tap for cold and a separate one for hot) that they simply can’t believe the lack of clothing exhibited by people out on the town in all kinds of weather. It would indeed be most interesting if an equally mainstream, exciting social alternative to drink, hangovers and vomit were to arrive on the scene – perhaps more cinematic social satire and commentary on the issue is no bad thing.