Meet The Fockers: One For The Family

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

After meeting her parents, now it’s time for them to meet his.

In some respects I thought this was better than the first film but in other ways it was worse. As a sequel I would say it finds it hard to progress beyond what the first film did and instead doubles down on it, this is both a blessing and a curse.

In regard to what I enjoyed I thought the new parents played by Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand both added a lot to this film, heart and laughs respectively. Moreover, I thought the ending of this film was more fun than the last and felt less cliched.

The comedy was something of a mixed bag for me, as I did find myself laughing harder when there was a joke that resonated with me, but I also found myself laughing less than I did in the previous film. I appreciated the fact that the comedy of this film was far less cringe than that of its predecessor.

Regarding what I didn’t like, I found this film went too far with DeNiro’s character making him too over the top and ridiculous. The narrative of this film implies the character learnt nothing from the first film and continues to distrust Greg, played by Ben Stiller, which makes no sense. Moreover, the means by which he tries to prove that Greg is a bad guy are way more sinister than they were in the first film which makes the character far more unlikeable. I can see why the film chose to take this character in this over the top direction yet I am left to question did no one see this as an issue at the time?

Overall, two steps forward one step back.

Pros.

Hoffman and Streisand

A few good jokes

The ending is a lot better

Cons.

DeNiro

The funny jokes were few and far between

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It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 15: The Gang Explore Their Roots.

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A season of two halves, one which resembles the classic structure and one that moves more towards serialisation.

I did find it odd how the first few episodes of this season were very much reminiscent of older seasons in that each episode had a standalone quality but then the latter episodes moved towards serialisation and a focus on one storyline. That is not to say it didn’t work, however I do wish the season had decided to go one way or the other with it, as it is it works but it does feel a little jarring.

With regard to continuity I liked that the series progressed the running plot lines of the show and answered a number of questions fans have been asking for a while such as who is Charlie’s, played by Charlie Day, dad, it was a shame it wasn’t Frank, played by Danny DeVito, but I thought what the series ended up doing was actually better than having that be the case.

I thought for the most part the series still maintains its quality, being able to mock things like diversity casting and covid without fear of offending people on twitter. I found myself laughing a good number of times each episode of this season with only The Gang Buys A Roller Rink falling down for me.

Overall, another good season though maybe they should have shot it all in Ireland.

Pros.

It is still funny

It still keeps an edge

The reveal of Charlie’s dad

The emotion

Cons.

The roller rink episode

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Sundown: Tim Roth In All His Topless Glory

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A rich man, played by Tim Roth, deliberately stays behind, abroad, after his family holiday is suddenly called off so that he can enjoy single life.

This one will be a hard one for a lot of people to get into, it is doing something quite specific and it doesn’t go where you are expecting it to. Often the pace and the way the film is structured can also be quite off putting as it is slow and at times seemingly random. When the narrative reveal comes late into the film that explains why Roth’s character is doing what he is doing it both allows you to understand the film but also depresses you at the same time. The ending is a real downer.

The only reason this film gets half marks from me is because Tim Roth manages to make what would otherwise be quite a boring and sad film somewhat watchable. Roth seems to be having fun and that translates into you having a bit as well, this film truly owes a debt to Roth as without him it would be scoring much lower.

Overall, certainly not for all, only people with a certain disposition will enjoy this.

Pros.

Roth

It doesn’t go where you expect it to

It is watchable

Cons.

The pacing

The ending

It is dull

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Talladega Nights, The Ballet Of Ricky Bobby: A Real American Hero

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

NASCAR hotshot Ricky Bobby, played by Will Ferrell, is brought low after a humiliating defeat and must regain his former glory.

I think this film mostly still holds up, yes there are one or two yikes moments by today’s standards but for the most part this is still a good film.

I think at the heart of that is the fact that this is probably, in a broadly comedic sense, Will Ferrell’s most earnest film. Yes, in his dramatic work he has done more of this kind of thing but I am coming at it from a place of comedy, and within that genre Ferrell tends to play incredibly over the top characters that scream a lot, he doesn’t do that here, not really. I think though Ferrell’s Bobby is an eccentric out there character at his core he is likeable and that is why this film works, because of this his fall from grace and then resurgence become engrossing as you care about the character and become invested in his journey.

Moreover, I also think this film has a surprisingly strong supporting cast with John C. Riley, Leslie Bibb, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Amy Adams and Jane Lynch all giving incredibly strong performances that are both memorable but that also add key dynamics and elements to the film.

Sasha Baron Cohen’s villain is were some of the film’s more problematic elements come out. However, I think for the most part the film errs on the side of comedy and avoids bad taste issues. Cohen for his part is on top form and delivers a number of solid laughs.

Overall, despite a few troublesome moments this film still holds up.

Pros.

The wider cast

The more earnest performance from Ferrell

The ride it takes you on

Cohen

Cons.

Pacing issues

A few troublesome jokes that haven’t aged well

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Meet The Parents: Cats Do The Darnedest Things

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A young male nurse, played by Ben Stiller, meets his partner’s, played by Teri Polo, parents. Trouble ensues.

To some this film is a classic comedy, and whilst there are some solid and memorable gags, there are also some incredibly painful jokes that make you cringe so hard you almost turn the film off.

This film really is the origin story of Robert DeNiro as a comedy actor and he actually manages to be quite funny here. A lot of the jokes centre around misunderstandings and issues that he has with Ben Stiller’s character, but of the two he probably steals the show the most. Stiller has the everyman factor but DeNiro has the charm.

In terms of narrative this film is very, very familiar to the point of cliché. The plot beats head exactly where you think they will go, and the ending feels not only expected but also overly sentimental. I think with regard to the wider tone of the film, the sentimentality comes across as a little bit convenient and forced in.

Overall, a comedy film that has its moments but doesn’t fully hold up.

Pros.

Robert DeNiro

A few funny moments

Owen Wilson

Cons.

Ben Stiller tries his best but a lot of his jokes don’t land

Overly sentimental

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Cyrano: Dinklage’s Best Performance

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Cyrano, played by Peter Dinklage, loves from afar and is confined to do so for the rest of his life, until his romantic words find a vessel in the form of Christian, played by Kelvin Harrison Jr, sadly Cyrano finds loving someone through the guise of another is not the same as real love, and so a tragic love story is born.

This film is a deeply mixed bag, on the one hand you have a series of very good performances from Haley Bennet, Harrison Jr, Mendelson and Dinklage, with the latter being especially good perhaps even a career best. However, on the other side you have musical numbers that don’t feel needed, that often aren’t very good and that are bafflingly choreographed.

The tale is a classic one so of course the narrative felt familiar, yet for the most part I felt like the film kept me guessing. The ending was particularly bleak, so make sure you are ready for it because I wasn’t expecting such an ending and it really hit me hard, it depressed me for the whole afternoon.

Overall, a lot of strong performances especially from Dinklage, however it is ruined somewhat by the songs.

Pros.

Dinklage

Bennet

The emotions

Cons.

The ending

The songs

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The Boss: The Peak Of McCarthy’s Humour

0.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

There seems to be noting worse in modern cinema than a film directed by Ben Falcone and starring his wife Melissa McCarthy. This film proves this rule to be true and is every bit as terrible as you would expect it to be.

Melissa McCarthy is not funny; I feel like collectively we as humans know this and yet these films keep getting made. There is only so many fat jokes she can make before you’re pleading for the film to be turned off, really it is quite depressing that McCarthy has to degrade herself like this for a laugh. Watching her falling over isn’t funny, it just isn’t.

Moreover, the film’s sense of humour marches into the camp of annoying very early on and it never leaves. This film runs all of it’s ‘jokes’ into the ground by recycling them over and over again, most likely because they are too lazy to come up with anymore.

It is sad to see Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage here as they deserve so much better than this.

Overall, this film should really be avoided at all costs and there should be some sort of legal agreement that McCarthy and her Husband won’t make films together anymore.

Pros.

If you turn it off and put something else on it really isn’t that bad

Cons.

McCarthy

The jokes

It wastes its supporting cast

It is repetitive

It is dull

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Peacemaker: Stop Dragon My Heart Around

5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

With enemies closing in, the team must decide who they are fighting for and unite in order to defeat the butterflies.

I think this episode was perfect, it was clearly everything the series has been building towards, even the stuff I didn’t like and criticised at the time. All of the emotional through lines converge here and we finally get to see Peacemaker, played by John Cena, and his dad, played by Robert Patrick, come to blows with it being an emotionally charged scene nailed perfectly by Cena.

Moreover, we also get to see Harcourt, played by Jennifer Holland, become team leader in a magnificent slow motion sequence. I think this is well deserved and is the culmination of Harcourt’s arc as she finally feels part of the team, in terms of emotional pay offs this one certainly feels satisfying.

I appreciate that this show is able to balance both really silly and crass moments with emotional intensity and never have the two negatively impact each other, it is a sure sign of good writing. I thought in this regard the Peacemaker flashback was particularly effecting.

All of this sets up one hell of a finale in the next episode, I really hope Gunn can nail the landing.

Overall, easily the best episode of the show yet.

Pros.

Harcourt finally getting what she deserves

Peacemakers’ childhood flashback

The emotion

Cena

What it sets up for next time

Cons.

None

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Kimi: All The Different Hair Colours Can’t Distract From The Blatant Plagiarism

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An agoraphobic tech worker, played by Zoe Kravitz, discovers a murder and becomes tangled up in the latest blatant copy of Rear Window.

If I had to describe this film in a sentence it would be a rehash of Rear Window told through the lens of something like The Woman In The Window, which is also incredibly similar to Rear Window, mixed with a dash of covid to date it immediately.

In that vein, I have written before about how I think it is far too early for films about covid, it is still on going and is still very raw for a lot of people, as such seeing it in films is off putting. People go to the cinema to escape the world around them not to just live it through someone else’s eyes.

A lot of the praise for this film is being heaped on Kravitz, somewhat unduly I would say. Kravitz is fine don’t get me wrong, but I wouldn’t say this is an awards worthy performance or even her best. Though that is not necessarily Kravitz fault as the character she is playing is a cliché through and through.

Overall, this one really did little for me, it was far too familiar.

Pros.

It was short

It was watchable

Cons.

It feels too familiar

Keep covid out of films

Kravitz’s character is a cliché

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Evil Dead 2: Beware The Evil Hand At Work

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Ash, played by Bruce Campbell, once again runs afoul of the Book of the Dead.

For the most part I thought this was more of the same, in a good way. However, I didn’t like that this film went even further with the jarring and out of place claymation. It felt to me like Raimi was going a little wild on his first proper big budget, as a lot of the time these claymation elements added little to the film overall.

Furthermore, I also thought the narrative of the film suffered some issues as it makes no sense that Ash would bring a date back to the Cabin wherein he had lost all of his friends, or that he would hit play once again on the tape which releases the demonic spirits. I had to look up what was going on as I was honestly baffled by it and still don’t really understand why it went that way.

That said however, I thought the film was still a lot of fun. It managed to balance its horror and its humour well and deliver on each in equal measure, I would say the first film was slightly more funny but that is just my specific taste.

Additionally, Campbell is still a lot of fun to watch on-screen. If anything he takes the wackiness up a notch in his performance and executes a wonderful sense of mania.

Overall, in many ways more of the good stuff, but a few issues are becoming apparent.

Pros.

The wackiness

Campbell

The gore

The humour and the scares

Cons.

Too much claymation

Plot issues

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