Rental Family: Someone Give Brendan Fraser A Hug

Summary, A depressed man finds meaning in playing pretend.

So I got a early screener for this film, not a common thing for me, but there you go. Going to say that upfront.

This film was terribly depressing, I had seen in the trailer it be called a feel good film, I don’t see where that element was.

It felt in many ways like a spiritual sequel to the Whale, it was more of Brendan Fraser being depressed. This time being saved by a little girl and an old man. Each of which have their own horribly depressing stories. I put off writing this review as I knew I would have to go over all this again and feel depressed.

There is some comedy in the concept of the rental family and the inherently silly goofiness of it, but by and large this is a drama film.

I suppose you could argue the ending is somewhat bittersweet, Brendan Fraser gets to continue on in a father like role to the little girl and things seems to change for the better, but at what cost. Likely for the jailbreak Fraser’s character should be in prison.

Overall, not a good way to start the year unless you want to be depressed.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is competently made

There is some novelty to it

Cons.

It is depressing

There really isn’t a lot of levity

The side characters, particularly the people at the agency don’t get much development

It’s badly paced

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Anaconda: A Surprisingly Insightful Meta Comedy About Hollywood

So straight off the bat this film is not a laugh a minute sort of film, there were a few moments that did make me laugh out loud, but they were few and far between.

What I enjoyed was the commentary on what it’s like trying to get into Hollywood, or being a creative who wants to chase their dream yet life or circumstances gets in the way, I thought this was very relatable and showed the film had heart. The meta industry comedy as well was also quite insightful, and showed just for a moment that some people in Hollywood can be self aware.

The cameos from Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez were funny and handled well, they were each given their moment without upstaging things from the new cast.

The main issue with it is that it tries to focus on too many things at once and the pace of the film suffers as a result it would have been better if it got rid of the illegal mining stuff which serves very little point.

Overall, whilst not the funniest film in the world there is enough charm and personality here to make it worth seeing.

3.5/5

Pros.

A few good laughs

Relatable protagonists

The cameos

The meta commentary

Cons.

The pacing

Some of the emotional plot beats don’t land

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Meet Me In St Louis: What Appears To Be A Creepy Age Gap

As I was watching this film I had to look up the age difference between Judy Garland and the male lead as he looked multiple decades older than her and it was distracting in an uncomfortable way, however, upon checking it turns out that it’s only a few years apart.

I think the greatest strength of this film is the characters and the believable stakes of the film, everyone can relate to having to move when you don’t want to, and how your parents don’t care about what you want as a kid or a young person. The character struggles are believable because of that and it helps you to relate to the characters. A lot of modern films aim away from believability or relatable stakes much to their detriment.

The songs are terrific and a good number of them are instant classics, which you will without even having watched the film. I knew of them before I had watched the film and then when I heard them in the film I realised this was where they originated from.

A negative is that this film really isn’t a Christmas film, it was sold to me as one, however it features really only during a tiny portion of the film and as such the labelling is questionable.

In addition the pacing is quite off at times, and does slow down to a point wherein you may begin to lose interest.

Overall, a fun musical.

3.5/5

Pros

The Songs

The reliability

It is fun

It is somewhat Christmassy

Cons.

The pacing

Some of the more old fashioned elements

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Man VS Baby: Putting The Christ Back Into Christmas

Summary

Rowan Attinkson puts the Christ back into Christmas.

I mean that in several ways, he calls the Baby Jesus, this show features a school nativity plot line, and also it has moral lessons about helping the less fortunate at Christmas. This is a million miles away from other recent TV heroes such as LGBTQ+ rapist Carol on Pluribus, or the sea of other morally grey protagonists.

This short series is the short of slapstick you would expect of Atkinson and some times it does get a bit long in the tooth it is quite true particularly as it starts to escalate with the introduction of a dog later on in the run, however, for the most part it lands. Atkinson here, much to his personal chagrin, is probably one of his nicest and most self-less characters and goes out of his way to befriend and be nice to nearly everyone he meets, as referenced by the end feast scene.

Whilst this is more of what you would expect from Atkinson it is a nice winter warmer and does a lot to restore your sense of hope in your fellow man, and gives you a nice positive glow that few shows these days do. Just think of what Netflix could achieve if they made more things like this and less CGI slop about gay kids and monsters.

Overall, one of the better Christmas programs from the season.

4/5

Pros.

It is watchable

It is funny

It has charm

It has old school appeal

Cons.

It gets a bit repetitive in the end

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Ella McCay: A Lisa Simpson Issues Episode

Summary

A Lisa issues episode of the Simpsons stretched for over an hour.

So I want Hollywood to learn, most people outside the US don’t care at all about their government, or seeing their officials have to negotiate themselves out of law breaking. You, US reader, may care, but the rest of us don’t. This is a film about an elected official who breaks the law and has to find their way out of it which flopped, to no one’s surprise.

Really the only redeeming thing I can say for this film is that Emma Mackey is great, she has a real energy throughout the film. You care about her character and want her to be okay. That is about it.

The side plots about the womanising father or the brother and his ex-girlfriend kill time but do very little else. Jamie Lee Curtis plays a version of the same character she has been playing for the last twenty years, and is quite unbearable at times.

I would argue if this was a quirky sardonic sort of film done in the style of The Thick of It then maybe it could have been good, but American’s don’t understand subtlety so that was never going to happen.

2/5

Emma Mackey

It is watchable

Cons.

The side stories add nothing

No one cares about US politics outside the US

It is predictable

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Emily In Paris Season 5: Making You Want To Burn A US Flag

Summary

The cultural cancer that is Emily In Paris is back for a 5^th season.

I thought that after reviewing the earlier seasons and then taking a break I was done with this show, but I decided to revisit it.

In light of modern events, the idea of American Exceptionalism particularly in Europe is more than a bad joke. Rather than help its allies out The US government would rather hangout with dictators and white supremacists, as such the US is pretty loathed right now by most of thinking Europe. The fact that the US thinks it can lecture Europe on policy, and encourage extremist parties in Europe , and maintain friendly relations is a joke, once again it is bad.

Europe didn’t need Emily’s brand of loud over the top, omg look at me energy, back when the first season came out, but now the idea of an American coming to Europe and telling them how to be, and being met with anything other than hostility is ridiculous to the point of being absurd. Emily doesn’t just spit on the French but the Italians get it this time as well. Every negative cultural stereotype you can imagine happens to Emily almost as soon as she arrives, seems nowhere can be as great as the US which seems to have multiple school shootings per day.

This show was conceived as mindless slop but has become so culturally loaded that I am surprised Netflix even allows this to air in Europe anymore.

Overall, this is why the US is loathed globally at the moment.

1/5

Pros.

At times this almost read like a knowing self-aware parody of American’s abroad, but that would be too clever for this show.

Cons.

American Exceptionalism was never real.

It is a hurtful collection of stereotypes

The characters are unlikeable

It is slop

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Wild West Christmas

Summary

Women can do it all, from photoshoots, to instructing people on how to do TikTok dances to winning horse and sled competitions after only trying it a few times before.

Is this a girl boss Christmas film, yes maybe. The lead certainly gets very good at things she has little to no training in very quicky, she used to ride horses years ago and now is able to simply pick up the horse riding with a new added component of the sledding/skiing, in a few lessons.

The characters all feel one dimension, and as though they are written by an AI after you have used all the free replies from one of the better models. When I heard Christmas in the Wild West I thought it would be a cowboys and Indians Christmas film and so put it on, I was disappointed by what I found.

The film itself is fairly dull as it doesn’t do anything new or interesting it is just a below standard Christmas Rom-Com.

Overall, dull and predictable.

1.5/5

Pros.

It is unintentionally funny

It is short

Cons

It is dull

It is predictable

It has girl boss elements

Its forgettable

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A Merry Little Exmas: Jameela Jamil Should Have Been The Lead

Summary

Two people who are broken up use other people and then end up back together.

Honestly, this is the sort of film you would expect from Netflix at Christmas it is sappy, generic and feels like it was written by AI. Alicia Silverstone does her best here but she is largely wasted on a script that doesn’t seem to understand morality. As I said in the beginning both the characters use other people as place holders whilst they want to get back with their ex which doesn’t make them likable protagonists even in the slightest.

Jameela Jamil plays her usual persona of tall posh English woman with some relish, I enjoyed that she called out the two lead characters and was allowed to have some fun with the role, she probably had the closest thing to funny moments within the film if you want to call it that.

You would argue that there isn’t a lot to say about this film as it is just exactly what you would expect without much to set it apart or make for an interesting aside.

Overall, if you want a low rent Netflix Christmas film and don’t mind morally bankrupt characters then you’ll like this.

2/5

Pros.

Jamil

It is watchable

Cons.

It is generic

It is slow

The characters aren’t likeable

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Fackham Hall: Jimmy Carr Becomes A Saud

Summary

Saudi Arabia’s favourite son Jimmy Carr brings back the spoof film and decides to spoof the most timely of genre’s the period film.

This film serves one purpose as far as I am concerned it shows why the parody film died and why it should not be brought back. It’s humour is juvenile and repetitive, it even has a misunderstanding of someone’s last name being what, which is the most played out joke possibly ever. The film didn’t make me laugh once. I laughed more as I saw Jimmy Carr had removed the Saudi gig from his tour schedule.

This film could be a British nasty that tarnishes our reputation, I say as a native, not as someone who lives there anymore, much like the Catherine Tate Granny movie from a few years ago. However, it ropes in some actual talent, God knows how, and manages to tarnish all of their reputation as well. You have Katherine Waterston, and Damien Lewis who both have prominent roles here, and yet will likely regret it until their dying day.

There is something also incredibly dated about fixating your mockery on a genre that is basically none existent anymore.

1/5

Pros.

It is short

Cons

It is not funny

It is irritating

It is dated

It has weak performances

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Futurama Season 10 Overview: Dead Behind The Eyes

Summary

Season Three of the Hulu/Disney run may be the worst.

As you know I am a huge Futurama fan, I enjoyed the Fox era, I enjoyed most of the Comedy Central era, I enjoyed the films, however, the Disney/Hulu era for me has been the most contentious. As you know when I reviewed the first season of this era I didn’t like it, outside of one or two episodes, then the second season came out and I was warmer towards it without it being anywhere near the old stuff, I ended my review of last season on a positive note thinking that it was only up from there. Then they made this season……. Which may be the worst in the shows history.

I think the main thing ruining Futurama in the current moment is the modern dayisms and the lectures, older episodes took political problems or concepts and made them into something fun or treated them as an aspect in a wider adventure, like classic Star Trek. Here it just becomes the writers talking at you.

I will go through this season quickly to make my point. The first episode opens with one of the famous Bender being insecure or threatened episodes, these are always good, and this one is serviceable, its about his height rather than one of his long standing insecurities. There is a better Bender episode later in the season. You will see he is one of the two bright spots of the season. The second episode may well be the worst of the series as a whole. It is a climate change episode wherein they repeatedly say if only this information, that the earth was heading for a climate emergency, was available in 2025, and then go it is over and over again. They also condemn the people of our modern age for not doing more to stop it despite having the information. Despite trying to put this in an adventure it just turns into a lecture its awful. Then you have a horrible Fry and Leela episode where episode now being engaged, she just decides randomly she doesn’t like him as the episode needs a conflict and then sets up a narrative that she is going to get into a relationship with someone else, again. How many times across the show have they done this, it is not trolling the audience it is just disrespecting the world and the characters at this point, they are a couple you went there stick with it, stop breaking them up for episode drama, It is cheap and lazy. The double whammy of these two episodes back to back almost made me stop watching all together. Then you have a very generic and forgettable adventure with talking numbers, it isn’t good but at least it isn’t as horrible as the two previous episodes. The fifth episode of the season starts out as an episode about the parents being upset that kids today are on their phones, you can feel the age of the writers, but actually ends up turning into a delightful tale about Kiff and his son bonding. Kiff, Amy and Bender are the bright spots of the season. The Sixth Episode is about the rapture and has a very solid premise but the payoff is weak and feels like some of Rian Johnson brand audience expectations subversions. The seventh episode is a commentary on Pizzagate, multiple years after it happened and you could interpret it to be an attack on MAGA, it is boring, cringe and played out. Then you have a Zoidberg episode, which despite messing with cannon and still not bringing back his girlfriend, is sweet and does land in the feels. Then there is the second adventure of Bender where he becomes a truffle farmer which is entertaining, it is Bender being Bender. Finally you have an incredibly dull finale that has an overly convoluted premise.

So out of ten episodes you have two strong episodes in Sacred Screenless and Crab Splatter, Two entertaining episodes with Bender in the Trouble With Truffles and Destroy Tall Monsters, then a few mixed bag or generic episodes with The Numberland Gap, Wicked Human and The White Hole, then three outrightly bad episodes with Murderoni, The World Is Hot Enough and Fifty Shades of Green. As such there are only four entertaining or good episodes in a season of ten episodes, that means you are more than likely to find a bad or generic one, that is a shocking inditement on the show.

The worst thing about this season is how it has moved away from being from science fiction adventures to the writers lecturing the audience about what they saw in the news, or some political event that has already faded from memory. This is what happens when the magic is lost from the writing and you are just writing to fill an episode count.

I would say that if the next season is not better I hope this series ends as I don’t want to see it further tarnished.

Overall, a truly bad season.

2/5

Pros.

The four good episodes

Bender, Amy and Kiff’s character work

Cons.

The lectures

It is dated

It ruins the Fry and Leia engagement.

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