Movies and Movies
"Father of the Year"
starring: David Spade, Nat Faxon, Joey Bragg, Matt Shively, Bridgit Mendler, Jackie Sandler, Jared Sandler, Kevin Nealon
written by: Brandon Cournoyer and Tyler Spindel
directed by: Tyler Spindel
Definitely has potential to be one of the worst movies, ever, not just of the year. It was produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison film company for Netflix, perhaps a small sub-piece of his 6 movie deal with the streaming company and a way to keep his ol' buddy David Spade working- those child support bills might be piling up. It's one of those quickie comedies that could have very easily been conceived over beers on a Friday night. Speaking of, David Spade basically plays another version of Joe Dirt for this film- just as a shitty father figure.
The loose plot of the movie is that Spade is the father to a teenage boy who challenges another boy, claiming that his father could beat his father in a fight. The two dads are polar opposites and hi-jinks ensue, as well as a budding romance between Spade's boy and the cute girl (played by Mendler, far from her role on Disney's "Good Luck, Charlie").
Definitely a waste of time.
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"Laggies"
starring: Ellie Kemper, Keira Knightley, Sara Coates, Mark Webber, Chloe Grace Moretz, Kaitlyn Dever, Sam Rockwell, Gretchen Mol
written by: Andrea Seigel
directed by: Lynn Shelton
Ten years after high school, 28-year-old Megan Burch (Knightley) is floating through life, unable to settle into a career and new family attachments like her teenage BFFs have. Lynn Shelton is at the helm, and over the last five years this director has clearly developed a sensibility (with the films Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister, and Touchy Feely) that favors a feeling of improvisational unpredictability – whether material is pre-planned or not.
The storyline fits seamlessly with Shelton’s oeuvre which has centered on young, adrift adults. Megan lives with her high school boyfriend Anthony (Webber) and, despite a master’s degree in counseling, works as an eye-catching sign twirler for her doting father (Garlin) and his accounting business. When Anthony’s awkward marriage proposal coincides with another sudden shock, Megan fabricates a ruse that takes her away from home to a career-guidance workshop for a week. Instead, she falls in with a group of 16-year-olds, whose de facto leader Annika (Moretz, riveting as always) asks Megan to buy them some beer. Megan drinks with them, rekindles her old skateboard moves, and soon goes home with Annika for a weeklong sleepover on the girl’s bedroom floor. Annika’s single-dad Craig (Rockwell, doing his caustic but sensitive thing to the hilt) quickly finds her out, and after a brief grilling, moves her into the guest room, but the way they’re making eyes at each other, you know Megan will soon be switching bedrooms again.
With films like this, it solely depends on the cast and their chemistry with each other. Thankfully, each actor/actress works very well with each other in all their scenes, bringing this decent story to life, and giving it a lift.
...............................................................
"Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story"
starring: John C. Reilly, Tim Meadows, Margo Martindale, Kristen Wiig, Craig Robinson, Harold Ramis, Martin Starr, Chris Parnell, Jack MacBrayer, Jenna Fischer,
written by: Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan
directed by: Jake Kasdan
Here's a "good ol' time" film that's a satire, paying homage to Mel Brooks in some ways, as it takes the serious musical biopics like "Ray" and "Walk the Line" (obviously, given the title), and spins the concept on its head, making everything "funny" about our musical hero, Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) and as over-the-top as possible, in most scenarios. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, thankfully though, it feels very rushed to come to the conclusion as we journey through nearly 70 years of our musician's life.
As a child in rural Alabama, Dewey accidentally slices his older brother in two with a machete. This leads him to take up music, run off with his high school girlfriend (Wiig) and become a star. The story follows a rise-fall-and-rise-again structure as Dewey meets the love of his life (Fischer), develops multiple drug addictions, loses his love, finds her again, and along the way falls prey to every generational music trend in the book. Whether traveling to India with the Beatles, writing protest songs, or hosting a variety show, Dewey manages to enact all the rock & roll clichés. And then some. Simultaneously dumb and enjoyable, the silliness manages at times to be both wonderful and cringe-worthy.
Thanks to the helping hand from Judd Apatow, the film is a "guy's" film, filled with plenty of bathroom humor and dick jokes, etc. The juvenile humor does get in the way sometimes, but it's still difficult not to laugh, even if you hate yourself for it afterwards. Put your maturity on hold for 90 minutes and sit back and enjoy this one.
...............................................................
"Finding Dory"
starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brookes, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Idris Elba, Dominic West
written and directed by: Andrew Stanton
How does Disney Pixar know that we don't exactly know that we need a sequel to certain movies? And then, how do they make the sequel (even years after the first one) so relevant and heartfelt?? Well, somehow they know exactly what they're doing with their sequels to hit us right in the feels, every time- whether it's with Monsters University, or the Toy Story franchise, or with this excellent Finding Nemo sequel focused on the forgetful but certainly not forgettable character, Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres).
Wisely, the film takes full advantage of what was “Finding Nemo’s” greatest asset besides its lushly multi-hued underwater inhabitants and plant life: Ellen DeGeneres’ buoyant spirit and child-like glee as she vocally gave life to Dory, the forgetful yet fearless blue tang whose struggles with short-term memory loss proved to be a crucial plus whenever the going got tough as stressed-out daddy clownfish Marlin searched for headstrong young son Nemo. After all, nothing is more freeing than barely being able to summon your past, which is why the impulsive Dory is so good at acting in the moment.
At the heart/core of both film's stories is the sort of overprotective nature of first-time parents (and single parents in Nemo's case) and the ultimate desire to protect your child from any sort of harm out in the world. There's a lot of metaphors throughout both films (re: the fishtank versus the open ocean, the pipes navigated through, etc.).
“Finding Nemo” was propelled by its perceptive depiction of a single parent’s overwhelming need to protect a child, especially one with an undersized fin, instead of letting him fend for himself and gain a sense of independence. Here, Stanton calls upon the same sort of primal instinct when we initially meet Dory as an innocent, big-eyed, kiddy-voiced guppy whose concerned parents Charlie and Jenny (portrayed by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton) explain how she must always tell whoever she meets, “I have short-term memory loss.” Or, as she sweetly calls it, “short-term remember-y loss.” Instead of her daffy-go-lucky grown-up self, Dory is a helpless tyke whose recall vaporizes almost instantly because of her learning disability and she inevitably wanders off into the undertow, leaving her despairing mom and dad behind to devastating effect.
There are plenty of great moments throughout the film and you cannot help but cheer for Dory to find her happy ending.
.............................................................
"Life After Beth"
starring: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, Anna Kendrick
written and directed by: Jeff Baena
This film came out in 2014, amidst the zombie craze that had taken over the mediums of film and television. The thing that sets this indie film apart from the rest though, is the rom-com effect. It is also filled with smart, intellectual-sounding, yet biting dialogue thanks in large part to the fact that it's coming from the mind of the co-writer of "I Heart Huckabee's" (one of my favorites). When we first meet Beth (Aubrey Plaza, when is she ever bad?!) she is alive and well, hiking; then, we meet everyone else- at her funeral- most importantly, we meet Zach (Beth's boyfriend) as well as Beth's parents. And something is just not right.
Afraid he’s getting shut out, Zach starts snooping around their house and makes a shocking discovery: Beth isn’t dead after all. Initially certain he’s the victim of a hoax, Zach breaks in and demands an explanation, only to quickly realize there’s something not quite right about this new Beth. Geenie insists she’s been resurrected, and Maury prefers to not think too hard about the topic. Zach, naturally, worries his lost love might be a zombie. Since Beth’s worst symptom seems to be a case of mild amnesia instead of a craving for human flesh, Zach happily jumps at the chance to pick up where he and Beth left off — both emotionally and physically. In fact, Zach is rather relieved that Beth can’t remember she was close to breaking up with him right before she died.
It's a slow-burning zombie apocalypse type of film and we are realizing it along with Zach, as he notices a few things going awry. The world is falling apart, but in such an incremental fashion that hardly anyone notices, or is it rather that no one really cares to notice?
Even as the action grows in scale with every reel, Baena maintains a tight focus on Zach and Beth throughout and uses their connection as an extreme example of the “be careful what you wish for” adage. Anyone who has wished a loved one would return from the dead knows the feeling, but there’s a reason these stories always wind up in the horror genre. Baena has fun exploring blurred lines between line and death and manipulating zombie movie tropes to play with audience expectations. Viewers may find themselves rooting for Zach and Beth to find a happy ending even when logic — and foreshadowing — make it clear things are only going to get worse.
The first-time director certainly knocked it out of the park and got quite lucky with a stellar cast that brings his vision to light in a perfect zombie rom-com for the end of the world, as we know it.
starring: David Spade, Nat Faxon, Joey Bragg, Matt Shively, Bridgit Mendler, Jackie Sandler, Jared Sandler, Kevin Nealon
written by: Brandon Cournoyer and Tyler Spindel
directed by: Tyler Spindel
Definitely has potential to be one of the worst movies, ever, not just of the year. It was produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison film company for Netflix, perhaps a small sub-piece of his 6 movie deal with the streaming company and a way to keep his ol' buddy David Spade working- those child support bills might be piling up. It's one of those quickie comedies that could have very easily been conceived over beers on a Friday night. Speaking of, David Spade basically plays another version of Joe Dirt for this film- just as a shitty father figure.
The loose plot of the movie is that Spade is the father to a teenage boy who challenges another boy, claiming that his father could beat his father in a fight. The two dads are polar opposites and hi-jinks ensue, as well as a budding romance between Spade's boy and the cute girl (played by Mendler, far from her role on Disney's "Good Luck, Charlie").
Definitely a waste of time.
...........................................................
"Laggies"
starring: Ellie Kemper, Keira Knightley, Sara Coates, Mark Webber, Chloe Grace Moretz, Kaitlyn Dever, Sam Rockwell, Gretchen Mol
written by: Andrea Seigel
directed by: Lynn Shelton
Ten years after high school, 28-year-old Megan Burch (Knightley) is floating through life, unable to settle into a career and new family attachments like her teenage BFFs have. Lynn Shelton is at the helm, and over the last five years this director has clearly developed a sensibility (with the films Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister, and Touchy Feely) that favors a feeling of improvisational unpredictability – whether material is pre-planned or not.
The storyline fits seamlessly with Shelton’s oeuvre which has centered on young, adrift adults. Megan lives with her high school boyfriend Anthony (Webber) and, despite a master’s degree in counseling, works as an eye-catching sign twirler for her doting father (Garlin) and his accounting business. When Anthony’s awkward marriage proposal coincides with another sudden shock, Megan fabricates a ruse that takes her away from home to a career-guidance workshop for a week. Instead, she falls in with a group of 16-year-olds, whose de facto leader Annika (Moretz, riveting as always) asks Megan to buy them some beer. Megan drinks with them, rekindles her old skateboard moves, and soon goes home with Annika for a weeklong sleepover on the girl’s bedroom floor. Annika’s single-dad Craig (Rockwell, doing his caustic but sensitive thing to the hilt) quickly finds her out, and after a brief grilling, moves her into the guest room, but the way they’re making eyes at each other, you know Megan will soon be switching bedrooms again.
With films like this, it solely depends on the cast and their chemistry with each other. Thankfully, each actor/actress works very well with each other in all their scenes, bringing this decent story to life, and giving it a lift.
...............................................................
"Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story"
starring: John C. Reilly, Tim Meadows, Margo Martindale, Kristen Wiig, Craig Robinson, Harold Ramis, Martin Starr, Chris Parnell, Jack MacBrayer, Jenna Fischer,
written by: Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan
directed by: Jake Kasdan
Here's a "good ol' time" film that's a satire, paying homage to Mel Brooks in some ways, as it takes the serious musical biopics like "Ray" and "Walk the Line" (obviously, given the title), and spins the concept on its head, making everything "funny" about our musical hero, Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) and as over-the-top as possible, in most scenarios. Clocking in at just over 90 minutes, thankfully though, it feels very rushed to come to the conclusion as we journey through nearly 70 years of our musician's life.
As a child in rural Alabama, Dewey accidentally slices his older brother in two with a machete. This leads him to take up music, run off with his high school girlfriend (Wiig) and become a star. The story follows a rise-fall-and-rise-again structure as Dewey meets the love of his life (Fischer), develops multiple drug addictions, loses his love, finds her again, and along the way falls prey to every generational music trend in the book. Whether traveling to India with the Beatles, writing protest songs, or hosting a variety show, Dewey manages to enact all the rock & roll clichés. And then some. Simultaneously dumb and enjoyable, the silliness manages at times to be both wonderful and cringe-worthy.
Thanks to the helping hand from Judd Apatow, the film is a "guy's" film, filled with plenty of bathroom humor and dick jokes, etc. The juvenile humor does get in the way sometimes, but it's still difficult not to laugh, even if you hate yourself for it afterwards. Put your maturity on hold for 90 minutes and sit back and enjoy this one.
...............................................................
"Finding Dory"
starring: Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brookes, Ed O'Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Hayden Rolence, Ty Burrell, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Idris Elba, Dominic West
written and directed by: Andrew Stanton
How does Disney Pixar know that we don't exactly know that we need a sequel to certain movies? And then, how do they make the sequel (even years after the first one) so relevant and heartfelt?? Well, somehow they know exactly what they're doing with their sequels to hit us right in the feels, every time- whether it's with Monsters University, or the Toy Story franchise, or with this excellent Finding Nemo sequel focused on the forgetful but certainly not forgettable character, Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres).
Wisely, the film takes full advantage of what was “Finding Nemo’s” greatest asset besides its lushly multi-hued underwater inhabitants and plant life: Ellen DeGeneres’ buoyant spirit and child-like glee as she vocally gave life to Dory, the forgetful yet fearless blue tang whose struggles with short-term memory loss proved to be a crucial plus whenever the going got tough as stressed-out daddy clownfish Marlin searched for headstrong young son Nemo. After all, nothing is more freeing than barely being able to summon your past, which is why the impulsive Dory is so good at acting in the moment.
At the heart/core of both film's stories is the sort of overprotective nature of first-time parents (and single parents in Nemo's case) and the ultimate desire to protect your child from any sort of harm out in the world. There's a lot of metaphors throughout both films (re: the fishtank versus the open ocean, the pipes navigated through, etc.).
“Finding Nemo” was propelled by its perceptive depiction of a single parent’s overwhelming need to protect a child, especially one with an undersized fin, instead of letting him fend for himself and gain a sense of independence. Here, Stanton calls upon the same sort of primal instinct when we initially meet Dory as an innocent, big-eyed, kiddy-voiced guppy whose concerned parents Charlie and Jenny (portrayed by Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton) explain how she must always tell whoever she meets, “I have short-term memory loss.” Or, as she sweetly calls it, “short-term remember-y loss.” Instead of her daffy-go-lucky grown-up self, Dory is a helpless tyke whose recall vaporizes almost instantly because of her learning disability and she inevitably wanders off into the undertow, leaving her despairing mom and dad behind to devastating effect.
There are plenty of great moments throughout the film and you cannot help but cheer for Dory to find her happy ending.
.............................................................
"Life After Beth"
starring: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, Anna Kendrick
written and directed by: Jeff Baena
This film came out in 2014, amidst the zombie craze that had taken over the mediums of film and television. The thing that sets this indie film apart from the rest though, is the rom-com effect. It is also filled with smart, intellectual-sounding, yet biting dialogue thanks in large part to the fact that it's coming from the mind of the co-writer of "I Heart Huckabee's" (one of my favorites). When we first meet Beth (Aubrey Plaza, when is she ever bad?!) she is alive and well, hiking; then, we meet everyone else- at her funeral- most importantly, we meet Zach (Beth's boyfriend) as well as Beth's parents. And something is just not right.
Afraid he’s getting shut out, Zach starts snooping around their house and makes a shocking discovery: Beth isn’t dead after all. Initially certain he’s the victim of a hoax, Zach breaks in and demands an explanation, only to quickly realize there’s something not quite right about this new Beth. Geenie insists she’s been resurrected, and Maury prefers to not think too hard about the topic. Zach, naturally, worries his lost love might be a zombie. Since Beth’s worst symptom seems to be a case of mild amnesia instead of a craving for human flesh, Zach happily jumps at the chance to pick up where he and Beth left off — both emotionally and physically. In fact, Zach is rather relieved that Beth can’t remember she was close to breaking up with him right before she died.
It's a slow-burning zombie apocalypse type of film and we are realizing it along with Zach, as he notices a few things going awry. The world is falling apart, but in such an incremental fashion that hardly anyone notices, or is it rather that no one really cares to notice?
Even as the action grows in scale with every reel, Baena maintains a tight focus on Zach and Beth throughout and uses their connection as an extreme example of the “be careful what you wish for” adage. Anyone who has wished a loved one would return from the dead knows the feeling, but there’s a reason these stories always wind up in the horror genre. Baena has fun exploring blurred lines between line and death and manipulating zombie movie tropes to play with audience expectations. Viewers may find themselves rooting for Zach and Beth to find a happy ending even when logic — and foreshadowing — make it clear things are only going to get worse.
The first-time director certainly knocked it out of the park and got quite lucky with a stellar cast that brings his vision to light in a perfect zombie rom-com for the end of the world, as we know it.
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