Hotel Transylvania: Adam Sandler Hits You In The Feels

Hotel Transylvania is an animated family film directed by Genndy Tartakovsky. The plot sees Dracula (Adam Sandler), hide away from the world after the death of his wife. He raises his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), from the safety of his monsters only hotel and everything seems to be working out; that is until one day a human arrives.

Not to begin on too much of an animation rant, but I think when talking about western animation Sony Animation is often treated as the bastard stepchild no one wants around, yes, they have made some stinkers, but I have often found myself enjoying some of their movies. This is one of those times.In short, I don’t think they deserve the hate they get.

Yes, this film suffers from some of the same issues a lot of Sony’s other animated offerings have such as an overreliance on pop songs and flat fart jokes, but what lifts this film up for me is its heart. Say what you will about Adam Sandler he is always very easy to root for and that is incredibly true here. His relationship with his daughter and his arc about learning to trust humans again hit you in the feels in much the same way as some of Pixar’s greatest emotional beats.

I think this film is a lot of fun and very easy to turn your brain off and enjoy, I think the paring of Sandler and Andy Samberg (who plays the human Jonathan), is genius as the two have a great repour in this film; you can also see what I am talking about if you watch That’s My Boy. The two are a great comedic pairing.

Overall, this is a very nice easy to watch film that has a lot of heart and a few laughs here and there, I can’t help feeling like if this was made my Pixar or DreamWorks that it would have gotten more fanfare, but hey it is still an excellent film with plenty of charm.

Pros.

Sandler and Samberg

The right amount of heart

Genndy Tartakovsky

Cons.

The fart jokes don’t work for me

The cringy pop songs

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Vast Of Night: Visitation

The Vast Of Night drama science fiction film directed by Andrew Patterson. The plot sees two New Mexico kids become tangled up in strange goings on in the sky and a military conspiracy.

I won’t say too much about the plot here as I think you will be best served going into this blind. However, what I will say is that I for the most part loved this film. I went in with high expectations, because I had heard a lot of positive talk about this film beforehand, which the film itself more than lived up to.

This film has heavy Spielberg/ 80s vibes, its fees very much like ET or Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, a comparison could even be drawn to Spielberg’s copycat JJ Abrams’ Super 8. There is a wonder and a true sense of the unknow that I find very hard to be able to describe in words, but once you see the film you will know what I mean.

I must say I watch a lot of horror films, as a lot of you know, so I have become desensitised to scares for the most part, but this film creeped me out. Its not that it shows you anything creepy, but that the stories build an increasingly sinister mystery that unsettles you to think about. It nails the atmosphere better than any other film I have seen recently.

The ending is great, as is The Twilight Zone ascetic which adds a nice bit of flavour.

Overall this is a must see and shows great promise, with a slow first act being the only slight issue.

Pros.

The atmosphere.

The chills.

The mystery.

The characters.

Cons.

It is slow to begin with, too slow.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Cheaper By The Dozen 2: Sweet Easily Becomes Sickly.

Cheaper By The Dozen 2 is a family comedy film directed by Adam Shankman, it serves as a sequel to the previous Cheaper By The Dozen film. The plot this time sees the Bakers head to a lakeside getaway where they get into a fierce competition with another family and only one can win.

This film is by far the worst of The Dozen movies, it has no charm. The less than stellar stuff in the first film you could overlook because it had heart and it made you smile but the same can’t be said for this film. In this instalment we see that Tom (Steve Martin), is actively a bad father, he doesn’t care about his family and just uses them to prove that he is better than the rival father. Whatsmore the worldview and messages of this film feel about 50 years behind the times.

Another thing I didn’t like about this film was the sickly-sweet ending. The baby being named Tom after Steve Martin’s character didn’t hit me in the feels, unlike when the family welcomed back its runaway member in the first film, this time it just made me roll my eyes. It is too sweet to the point that it becomes irritating.

There is some fun to be had, if you can ignore everything else wrong with it. Basically it is just more of the same but done worse with clearly less effort.

Ultimately this film proves that not everything needs a sequel, this certainly didn’t.

Pros.

More of the same if that is a good thing to you.

Some of the jokes land, but most don’t.

Cons.

Questionable messages.

A strange perviness in a wandering camera.

It doesn’t justify its existence.

The ending is cringeworthy.

2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Taking Of Deborah Logan

The Taking Of Deborah Logan is a found footage horror film directed by Adam Robitel. The plot sees an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s become possessed by an evil malevolent presence. Of course, there is a student there with a film crew recording the whole thing because she is doing a thesis about the disease. I don’t know, but she is there.

Let’s get one thing nice and clear right off the bat, this film had no reason to be a found footage film, did it add anything? No. Did the constant shaky cam and cuts to black make the film any scarier? No. If anything the use of found footage derailed this film and ultimately killed it; the final sequence boils down to the same thing you have seen a thousand times before shaky cam running down a dark hallway where everything is hard to see and there is a constant screaming that makes you want to say “shut up”. It is aggressively average.

What makes this sad is the potential the film had. Mental illness, especially the sort of ones that feature in this film, bring a special type of very real fear with them. The film could have played with the idea of is she possessed, or is her mental state getting worse rapidly, that would have been interesting. No, the film just decides yeah lets go for the predictable boring demon angle and it flushes all the potential it had down the toilet.

Overall, this is nothing new. There is promise in the first twenty to thirty minutes, but the rest of the film promptly ruins that. From a filmmaking point of view this film points out to be all the issues with found footage films and the genre as a whole; barely seeing something for half a second isn’t scary. The found footage genre is dead.

Pros.

It has promise

Cons.

It ruins said promise

The storyline is played out

The found footage filming style is grating

The third act is barely watchable

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Extra Ordinary: Meal For One?

Extra Ordinary is an Irish horror comedy film directed by Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman. The plot sees reluctant medium Rose (Maeve Higgins), forced back into the game when Satanists steal a virgin to sacrifice to their dark lord. She must believe in her gifts once again and stop the growing evil.

I actually thought this was rather good, the comedy didn’t always hit the mark for me, but it did make me laugh several times and when it didn’t, I still had a smile on my face. I was surprised to see Will Forte pop up, I was unaware of who was in it when I put it on, but he played a failed musician turned master of the darks arts with a real sense of flare that I enjoyed, he was delightfully over the top.

Moreover the dynamic between Forte’s Christian and his wife Claudia (Claudia O’ Doherty), was priceless. They had a really great back and forth and the chemistry between the two of them was palpable for all to see. O’ Doherty has been popping up in some really heart stuff recently and is really making a name for herself as a comedic actor; she practically stole the show in The Festival.

My one complaint would be the lead, while Rose is likeable enough, I found her to be a bit too bumbling, a bit too awkward, it felt forced and I didn’t really buy it. I also thought that her jokes were by far the weakest, as a lead she was a disappointment.

Overall, a subpar lead doesn’t slow this film down much as it has enough laughs and charm to keep you happy and satiated until the end.

Pros.

The comedy

The world/ the world building

Forte.

Claudia O’ Doherty

Cons.

An unpolished lead.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Addams Family 2019: The Horrors Of Animation

The Addams Family (2019), is a computer animated family film directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, inspired by the classic cartoon. The plot sees the Addams Family having to adapt to life in the 21^st century, whilst still keeping their old-world traditions alive as they become the target of a home renovator and her suburban horde.

When I put this on, I was expecting the worst, I was expecting a film that fundamentally didn’t understand the characters and in the process of making them appeal to a modern market ruined what made the franchise special. I was expecting another Scoob, yes that’s right I am still not over it, however, while this is far from good it is not terrible either.

The two positives I’ll give it are that the villain of the film Margaux Needler (Alison Janney), is incredibly hateable and that Oscar Isaac does a good job voicing Gomez; that’s it. Even these compliments highlight the issues with the film.

Janney’s Margaux is hateable because she is irritating and constantly in your face. Is that the reason your villain should be hated, surely it should be because of their evil actions? Furthermore, the only reason Isaacs’ vocal performance draws any praise is because of how bad the rest of the cast are. Each member of the Addams Family sounds wrong, especially Nick Kroll doing the same voice as one of his Big Mouth characters.

Moreover the animation is not easy on the eye, rather it is horrible to look at and is frequently off putting, not because it is showing you anything grotesque, but because of the way the characters look and the way they move. If you like quality animation this is not the film for you.

Overall, while this film is not offensively bad, it does nothing to resurrect the Addams brand and instead feels like a very blatant attempt to force an old franchise back into the public eye with very poor results. Next time hire a better cast and animators.

Pros.

Isaac

A hateable villain.

Cons.

Miscast.

Hateable for the wrong reasons.

Poor cheap looking animation.

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Finding Dory: A Journey Of Remembrance

Finding Dory is an animated comedy family film directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane. The film serves as a sequel to Finding Nemo, with the premise being that Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), needs to go on a journey to find her family that she has forgotten about; this journey is of course both literal and mental as her past is explored through a series of flashbacks.

Man, this film is a downer. Right from the off it is depressing, baby Dory lost and all alone is heart-breaking and it only gets worse from there. I don’t know if I just have a low tolerance when it comes to sad childhood stuff in films, but this one was a hard watch. There were times I actively wanted to turn it off because it was making me sad.

This is by no means a bad film though however; it is very watchable and entertaining. I found it was able to hold my attention which is usually a good sign. The issue with this film though is that it never does enough to justify its existence, for all the plot and Dory back story we get could have made for a great thirty to forty minute short, it does not however, feel as though it needs an hour and a half runtime.

I think the supporting cast definitely add a lot to this film and help pull the heavy weight. The two supporting characters I would point to are Destiny (Kaitlin Olsen), and Hank (Ed O’ Neil). Olsen’s character has a surprisingly warmth to her that makes her easy to root for from the moment we are introduced to her and O’ Neil’s character pulls expertly on our heart strings and makes us feel a lot while revealing very little.

Overall, a needless Pixar sequel that while emotionally weighty doesn’t do enough to justify its existence. Also this one might not be good family viewing as like I said before it is madly depressing.

Pros.

The emotion.

The supporting characters.

Dory herself.

Cons.

It does not justify its own existence.

It is thoroughly depressing.

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Returning To The Cinema

Hey guys, I thought I would take a break from reviews for a second, to talk about a current cinematic issue, the pandemic and returning to the cinema. These are just my scattered thoughts and feelings on the matter.

In pre-pandemic life I was going to the cinema at least once a week, so when they closed and everything went into lockdown I was bummed out, I missed going and couldn’t wait for the day they reopened. However, during lockdown I realised that I enjoyed watching old movies that I haven’t seen before from the comfort of my own home more.

As a result of this I will not be returning to the cinema anytime soon and will instead talk about the big movies when they come out on VOD here’s why.

To me the idea of going to the cinema and having to wear a mask and not be able to sit near the people I came with doesn’t sound fun. For me the process of going to the cinema is expensive and time consuming as I use public transport, so it is a hassle to go. Moreover, to all those people who say watching a film on the big screen is the only way, I say the big screen experience was ruined years ago. People talk, go on their phones and just generally behave like arseholes a lot of the time in my last few trips to the multiplex pre-pandemic this was the case nearly every time.

So, with all that said and with shorter VOD releases for the big blockbusters I think I will be giving the cinema a miss for a while.

Ps. I didn’t even mention the fact that they will inevitably close again when the second wave comes around, and also going to the cinema and not properly socially distancing is hazardous to your health and those around you, something to bear in mind.

Luke

Mrs Doubtfire: A Tribute To A Great

Mrs Doubtfire is a family comedy film directed by Chris Columbus. The plot sees Daniel (Robin Williams), lose custody of his kids, so to keep seeing them he pretends to be a Scottish nanny called Mrs Doubtfire. As the film goes on Daniel’s two lives become more and more unstable leading to an inevitable conclusion.

Before I get into the review I just want to say that the message of the film, if you lie to your ex wife and pretend to be someone else she will end up letting you see your kids again and warm to you, is more than a little off. However, it is family comedy movie so I guess we can look past it.

For the most part, message aside I thought this film was a barrel of laughs, Williams is giving it his all and you can really tell. He shines as both Daniel and Mrs Doubtfire, both have incredibly funny and memorable scenes that will easily put smile on your face. I also think that Williams shines in the more dramatic moments that are a lot more strait laced and serious. The final courtroom scene when he loses any hope of regaining custody of his kids is a tour de force for Williams as a dramatic actor, he more than sells the scene; you feel his pain.

My other very minor complaint is the ending is too sweet. I know that it is a family comedy, so it is hardly going to end with Daniel sitting alone depressed, but the ending didn’t feel real or earned to me, it felt too neat and unbelievable.

Overall, if you can get past the sappy ending and the questionable message of the film, then there is a lot of enjoyment to be had with this film; turn your brain off and be entertained.

Pros.

Robin Williams.

The comedy.

The drama.

The wider supporting cast.
Cons.

The message.

The ending.

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Toy Story: They’re Alive!

Toy Story is an animated family comedy film directed by John Lasseter. It shows us a world where Toys are sentient, alive, and exist souly to entertain their human owner; who of course have no idea that they are walking and talking when he/ she leaves the room. As the story begins, we meet a handful of these toys, but the main two that we follow for the rest of the film are Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), and Woody (Tom Hanks). Buzz is the new toy on the block and must adapt to his new life, whereas Woody knows the game and becomes jealous of Buzz and he seems to be the new favourite. The two go on an adventure together which proves eye-opening for the both of them.

This is a Pixar masterpiece for a reason. A fond remembrance made me put this film on and boy was I impressed, despite this film coming out over 20 years ago the animation and the themes put some of the animated films of recent years to shame in my mind. To say it holds up would be an understatement, it is timeless.

There are so many iconic moments in this film that would become legend as the series progresses, you get things like the abused toys rebelling against Sid, the first time we are introduced to the aliens and many more. It was nice to see these moments again.

The heart of this film is the relationship between Buzz and Woody and the friendship that forms between them over the course of the film. I have to say watching it back all these years later it still got me; forget Disney magic this shows us the now extinct Pixar magic when they had a direct line to your heat.

Overall, if Toy Story was released now even in all of its late 90’s glory it would still impress people and blow them away, it transcends time and manages to make you feel the same sense of wonder and joy as the first time you watched it.

Pros.

The animation quality.

The theme song.

The fond sense of nostalgia.

The themes are still timely.

The friendship between Buzz and Woody.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke