Jay And Silent Bob Reboot: Who Said All Reboots Are Bad

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a buddy comedy film directed by Kevin Smith. This film sees the titular duo head back to Hollywood to try and stop a remake of The Blunt Man and Chronic movie, facing various foes along the way, and also dealing with Jay finding out he has a daughter he never knew about.

I was not expecting to like this film as much as I did, it was terrific and easily one of the best films of last year at least to me. This film has made its way onto not only my favourite comedy films of all-time list, but also my favourite films of all-time list, it is simply that good.

As someone who has become a lapse Kevin Smith fan in recent years it is nice to see him back in top form. Characters from previous Kevin Smith films such as Matt Damon’s character from Dogma show up here, it is nice to see all the familiar faces and inside jokes. What’s more this film is fantastically meta, it knows it is a film and milks it for all it is worth.

The comedy in this film is great, all of the characters are hilarious; especially Jason Lee who is only in the film for a short amount of time, but he makes the most of every second, that Alvin and The Chipmunks joke made me laugh out loud. This film had me laughing constantly, there was very few to no jokes that didn’t land, as a comedy film this is perfect.

The relationship between Jay (Jason Mewes), and his daughter Millennium (Harley Quinn Smith), is incredibly endearing. We see Jay come to terms with being a parent and having to overcome his own father issues so that he can be a good dad to his new daughter. Harley Quinn Smith does a great job as well, she is loveable and hard not to root for, her dream of having a dad that loves her is as sweet as it is heart-breaking. The final scene of the film acts as sort of a passing of the torch moment between Jay and his daughter and it is beautifully done, ending the film on an extreme high note.

Overall, a bundle of laughs, joy and heart from start to finish. Hilarious and heart-warming, a must see!

Pros.

It’s hilarious.

It has a great heart.

All the cameos from Smith collaborators.

The relationship between Jay and his daughter.

A beautiful ending.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Danny DeVito Is A Cultural Icon

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia is a dark comedy sitcom series created by Rob McElhenney. The series revolves around a group of friends who run a bar and the hijinks they get up to. The series is famous for its pitch-black sense of humour, it is this that sets it apart from other sitcoms; especially ones like Cheers that are also about people running a bar.

*As of the time of writing I am just finishing the 14^th season so the things I say in this review/overview of the series will reflect all of these seasons.

When I first started watching this show I thought it was good and that it had potential, but I didn’t think it was anything special. The first season is by far the worst, it is still very good, but it pales when compared to later seasons. I think the show definitely came into its own in season 2 with the introduction of Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito), to the group. From there It’s Always Sunny managed to do something few other series have done, it stayed good. Seasons 2-14 have all been very consistent in terms of quality, this isn’t like The Good Place that had some seasons stronger than others, no this show has always stayed consistently good.

The majority of the charm this show has, comes from its characters. Outside of Frank, who I previously mentioned there is Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dee (Kaitlin Olsen), Charlie (Charlie Day), and Dennis (Glenn Howerton). All of these characters are richly explored are a multi-layered, there are entire episodes dedicated to fleshing out details about individual characters, which help us the audience to feel like we know them. Even though they’re supposed to be the worst people imaginable they still somehow come across as likeable. Moreover, the world this show creates is fantastic as well with there being a rich cast of supporting characters who all have their own dynamic with the group and a large amount of backstory.

The humour of the show is not for those with a delicate disposition as it is often times incredibly dark with no taboo subject off the table for the gang to debate and lampoon; often in a very clever way. It never fails to make me smile if not laugh out loud or chuckle.

Overall, I can’t accurate put into words what this show is like it is something that needs to be seen to be understood. Other than a weak first season, which is still a solid 4/5, this show is a masterpiece in dark comedy and is something everyone should at least watch an episode of to see if it is for you, as it really is something special.

Ps. My other minor, minor gripe with the show was that they brought back Dennis after they have effectively written him off, I thought that was a cop out and if they had followed through with it could have sent the show as a whole down an interesting new path.

Pros.

It is hilarious.

The cast are great.

It is rewarding to long time viewers.

The surprisingly good world building.

The great social commentary.

Cons.

None really.

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Good Place: In Memoriam

The Good Place is a fantasy comedy series created by Michael Schur, of The Office, Parks And Recreation And Brooklyn 99 fame. The series follows Eleanor Shellstrop (Kristen Bell), a woman who awakes in the Good Place/Heaven even though she doesn’t deserve to be there. The first series sees her try to blend in and not be discovered, taking ethics lessons from her assigned soulmate Chidi (William Harper Jackson), who eventually finds out that she does not belong in the Good Place as well. Then there is a masterful reveal at the end of the first season that they are in the Bad Place/ Hell and the events of the first season have been an elaborate form of torture. The following seasons see Eleanor and the others try and earn entry into Good Place, become better people and reform the afterlife system in general.

The reason why this series became such a successful phenomenon is because it is so well written, it has it’s finger on the pulse of pop culture and has characters that you can see grow on screen. The Good Place works because it is such a novel take on the sitcom genre, the show’s approach to morality and ethics make for some great laughs and also some scenes and decisions that really make you think.

What’s more just like Parks And Recreation before it The Good Place has an incredibly loveable main cast of characters. Along with Chidi and Elanor who I have already mentioned, we have Tahani (Jameela Jamil), Jason (Manny Jacinto), Janet (D’Arcy Carden) and Michael (Ted Danson), all of these characters are unique and interesting, they have distinct types of personality and comedy styles. For me either Michael or Eleanor are the funniest and consistently make me laugh across all the series.

Overall, The Good Place was a landmark for comedy and sitcoms in general, it was consistently funny across its run and had some of the best characters on TV. It will be a shame to see it go, but hopefully the ending will live up to the rest of the series and it will go out on a high note. As of the time of writing I have not yet seen the final episode, so these are just my thoughts on the series so far, but unless the ending is terrible this series will always be 4.5/5 for me. Some of the seasons are stronger than others but, overall it is a hell of a show!

*Edit, I loved the ending it was terrific.

Pros.

Strong characters.

Interesting ways of storytelling.

Characters that you can see grow.

Very Funny.

Cons.

A few weaker moments across the seasons.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Rocketman:A New Blockbuster Star Is Born

Rocketman is a musical biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher. The film shows the troubled life of world- famous musician Elton John (Taron Egerton), his rise to fame and the trouble he had once everyone new his name.

This film is one of those films that came out in the middle of the Musical Biopic fad, that saw the likes of The Dirt and Bohemian Rhapsody be released to various levels of success. What’s more it also marks a return for Egerton to working with Fletcher as his director; after they worked together on another biopic Eddie The Eagle.

Egerton has proven himself over the last decade to be one of the best up and coming actors. He possesses not only an easy-going charm that makes him near impossible to root against, but also a great versatility of emotional range. He brings all of these considerable talents to his take on John. No punches are pulled here, John is shown as a broken and self-destructive character, but also the victim of a hard life and a cruel family. John’s desire to entertain and be loved bleeds through into every scene and it is all thanks to a magnificent performance from Egerton.

Not only can Egerton act, he can also sing. Unlike Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody Egerton is actually singing and performing all of the songs and he does a really good job of it; if the acting doesn’t work out, which it will, he always has a back up career in music, which he proves here.

This film also strikes a nice balance between comedy and tragedy, as there are good laughs to be had, but also real emotional stakes. Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton John’s mum is haunting, her toxic relationship with her son can’t help but make you feel uncomfortable.

My one criticism with this film is that some of the songs and more fantastical elements feel forced in. With many musicals the songs are the highlight and to an extent that is true here, but there were a few times when I was like “another song really” because I felt like the scene didn’t need it. This is especially true in the beginning of the film where it feels like they have a musical number every 5 seconds. Moreover, the fantasy elements like when John converse with a younger version of himself at the bottom of his swimming pool feel strangely out of sync with the rest of the film, which for the most part feels like a grounded realistic affair.

Overall, this is a very entertaining musical biopic that has heart and laughs. Taron Egerton once again delivers a masterful performance that was deserving of wider acclaim.

Pros.

Laughs.

Heart.

A Great Elton John.

Cons.

Some Of The Songs Feel Forced In.

As Do The Fantasy Sequences.

4/5

Reviewed By Luke

Mascots: Life Behind A Costume

Mascots is a mockumentary film directed by Christopher Guest. The plot of the film revolves around several mascots who are competing for the World Mascots Association championship’s Golden Fluffy Award; hilarity and hijinks ensue.

I have had this film in my Netflix que for quite some time, there has always been other films that have got in the way of me watching it, that should have told me something.

Mockumentary films for me are incredibly hit and miss, for every What We Do In The Shadows there are thousands of others that are either middling or bad. This I would say is on the better side of middling, but only just.

For me, the idea of people who dress up as mascots and have that be a big part of their life is an intriguing concept. There is a lot to mine from this topic as a lot of people, myself included, only have a very surface level knowledge about this subject. To an extent the film does dive deep into the topic albeit in a humorous way.

That was my main issue with the film, the comedy. This is a very quirky film and a lot of the comedy steams from that, however, for me 98% of it didn’t land. A lot of the time Mascots may have got a weak smile out of me, but that was it. I found a lot of the jokes to either be hitting low hanging fruit or incapable of delivering. The film did make me laugh once though, when one of the characters was explaining to the other about Furry culture; that amused me greatly. Take all of that with a pinch of salt of course because as we all know comedy is incredibly subjective and personal.

I thought a lot of the characters were unique and memorable, especially Chris O’ Dowd’s Zook. In my opinion this is one of this film’s greatest strengths; it’s originality. The characters are all very different to one another and have different motivations and drives, as such it is interesting to see them interact on the big screen. The wide variety of different characters helped to keep my interest spread across the whole ensemble.

Overall, this is a quirky and deeply original film, however the comedy really didn’t land for me, which meant in the end I didn’t feel much for this film. It is nice to see Chris O’ Dowd give a good performance for a change.

Pros.

Novel and Original.

Interesting Characters.

Chris O’ Dowd.

Cons.

The Comedy Didn’t Land.

It Was Mostly Forgettable.

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

BoJack Horseman: Back In 2014 Netflix Made The Best Animated Show

BoJack Horseman is an adult animated comedy series, which along with Big Mouth and a few other series make up the bulk of Netflix’s original animated content. The plot revolves around BoJack Horseman (Will Arnett), a past his prime actor that still likes to pretend he is relevant. Over the 6 seasons of BoJack so far, we have seen him be plagued by his demons and then try to overcome them. As well we have been introduced to a wide cast of characters that are all rich and varied, in many ways the supporting cast help to make the show what it is.

BoJack Horseman is known for being deep and mature, the show often goes to the darker side of life and has a lot to say while it is there; often times having a very nuanced take on said topics and themes. Part of what makes this show so special is how well it works as a character study, the character of BoJack has been broken down and rebuilt time and time again as such we feel like we, the audience, know him; he is a three dimensional character which is nice to see in an animated show. The other characters that appear in the show get as much development as the titular horse if not more, characters like Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris), have whole episodes dedicated to their characters as such we care deeply for them all.

What’s more the writing of the show present Hollywood, here called something slightly different, in a very realistic way, it does not sugar coat it. BoJack Horseman shows the ugly side of Hollywood, the side that can drive a person to drugs or alcohol or many other vices; it handles this in a very mature way. This is a show that can make you think/feel just as much as it can make you laugh.

Overall BoJack Horseman is one of Netflix’s best shows, it is one of the most widely praised as well, the writing is nothing sort of superb and does a lot of things that you wouldn’t expect to see from an animated series let alone an animated comedy series. It has made me personally consider things about my own life and has had an emotional connection with me, it is a real shame that the series is coming to an end tomorrow, as of the time of writing, I just hope that the series can end on a high note and becomes one of the best series of modern times.

I can’t rank the series as a whole yet, as it hasn’t ended and this is an overview of the show as a whole, as opposed to an individual series review, I can’t make a final judgement, but if I was ranking the seasons so far it would have to be a 5.

Reviewed By Luke

The Do-over: Sandler At His Most Unlikeable?

The Do-Over is a buddy action comedy film directed by Kevin Barnett. The plot follows Max (Adam Sandler), a man who has recently found out that he has cancer, he then, very fortunately, finds out that there is a drug that can cure cancer on a recently dead doctors I-Pad, he then fakes his and friend’s death, because why not, and then takes over the life of the dead doctor and his friend as a means to find out the cure.

Does that plot sound confusing to you? It should do. I tried my hardest to sum it up for you all in the clearest way I could, but it was hard. It doesn’t help that every word that comes out of Sandler’s characters mouth seems to be a lie, which makes understanding what is going on quite hard.

Netflix era Sandler is near-universally hated, I personally don’t think his Netflix work is as bad as some people say it is, but it does have some woeful moments and bad Sandler performances. The Do-Over is one of those performances, Sandler’s character Max is loathsome, Sandler takes some of his less likeable qualities from his other movies and turns them up to 11 here. If I didn’t know better, I would say he must have thought he was playing the villain. Every single bad thing a person can do Sandler’s Max does and then some; all the while we are supposed to cheer for him.

You know it is a bad state of affairs when Sandler’s Co-Star David Spade vastly upstages him. Spade plays Charlie, Max’s childhood friend who ends up taking over the life of the deceased doctor I mentioned before. Spade himself is a terrible actor and has given many many bad performances, but here he is charming and likeable; more so than Sandler. In a lot of these films that Sandler does he likes to include his real-life friends, they are usually there to support Sandler and take an easy paycheck, they aren’t supposed to upstage him crucially, however, Spade does.

Can I say before I wrap this review up, that this film much like Let’s Be Cops that I reviewed recently features Natasha Leggero, here playing Charlie’s Wife Nikki. Leggero is a hugely talented comedic actress and I am tired of seeing her only getting bit parts in films, she deserves parts that reflect her talents. She is one of the highlights of the film.

Overall this film is not offensively bad, which is my personal measure for Sandler quality, there are a few good jokes here and there and Spade and Leggero are good. My issue with this film that stops me from scoring it higher is the fact Sandler is just so damn unlikeable in it.

Pros.

Spade Is Actually Good.

Leggero Is Great For The Short Amount Of Time She Is On Screen.

There Are Some Laughs.

Cons.

The Plot Makes No Sense At All.

Sandler Is Deeply Unlikeable And Almost Unwatchable.

3/5

Reviewed By Luke

Dolemite Is My Name: Eddie Murphy’s Masterpiece

Dolemite Is My Name is an autobiographical comedy film directed by Craig Brewer. The film stars Eddie Murphy as Rudy Ray Moore, real-life comedian and the filmmaker responsible for Dolemite in 1975. This film charts Rudy’s rise to fame and shows the trials and tribulations he went through with both his comedy career as well as his filmmaking.

This is a wonderful, wonderful film. I didn’t realise how much I had missed seeing Eddie Murphy on screen until I saw this film. This is a triumph for him as well as the rest of the cast easily being one of my favourite films of last year. Murphy plays Rudy with such a sense of plucky optimism that he perfectly captures the underdog spirit. Right the way through the film you are cheering for Rudy and you want to see him do great things, he is instantly likeable and relatable and that is this film’s greatest strength. Given to a lesser actor, the character might not have had these charming qualities which would have lessened the overall emotion of the film.

An example of what I am talking about is during the film’s third act as the crew are driving to the Dolomite premiere, they read some negative reviews of their film, this is quite a down note, but Murphy’s Rudy turns around and makes it positive. Later on, when Rudy realises that people will have to wait for hours to watch his film, he decides to entertain them while they wait, rather than see his own film, it is touching. This film has such a good-natured soul to it, and I believe that is all down to Murphy and his remarkably positive energy.

The supporting cast is also incredibly talented, and they all give good performances. Chris Rock, Snoop Dogg, Tituss Burgess, Wesley Snipes and more are in this film and though a lot of them only have bit parts they all deliver memorable and important performances. Da’Vine Joy Randolph is the female lead of the film, Lady Reed, she gives a particularly moving performance as someone who conquers their inner demons and comes out on top, she overcomes her shyness and does great things and I for one found that inspiring. She also has great on-screen chemistry will Murphy which is a treat to see.

Overall, this is an incredibly strong, incredibly sweet film that needs to be seen. This is more than a comeback for Murphy this is proof of his talent both as a dramatic and comedic actor; he was robbed of a nomination for Best-Actor which I believe he deserved. This is a must-watch!

Pros.

Eddie Murphy.

An Uplifting Story.

A Great Supporting Cast.

A Good Nature.

A Near Perfect Ending.

Cons.

None.

5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Fist Fight: I Would Rather Take A Beating Than Watch This

Fist Fight is a comedy film directed by Richie Keen. The plot follows Andy (Charlie Day), an English teacher who on the last day of term gets one of his colleagues fired. As such the teacher who was fired, Ron (Ice Cube), challenges Andy to a fight after school. Andy knows the fight won’t turn out well for him, so he does a series of things to try and stop it from happening, but he is ultimately unsuccessful, and the fight happens anyway. The two then become friends and learn a little something from one another.

Boring, boring, boring and done before.

This film feels like it was made in the early 2000s, it feels dated. All the jokes, if you can call them that, don’t make you laugh, but rather starch your head as you wonder which executive got fired for making this film; as someone should have been. This is one of the most painfully unfunny comedies I have watched in my entire life, not a single joke lands, there is not even a small chuckle to be had; essentially this is a comedy film that is not fun to watch.

I understand that when watching a film, one has to suspend their disbelief, but in the real-world Ron would never have been hired, as he has clear anger problems and is a menace to the children. Andy getting him fired is arguably the right thing to do, but instead, it is positioned in the film’s narrative as though Andy did a bad thing that he needs to atone for. Ice Cube’s character is a straight-up villain, that the film tries to make you root for, he is through and through a bad person. This then makes the end of the film worse when the two men are friends and Andy is more like Ron, so now Andy is becoming more of a bad person.

What’s more and I must have said this 1000 times Ice Cube can’t act, he plays the same character over and over again and I for one am starting to get sick of it.

Just a brief aside before I conclude, what is with Christina Hendrick appearing in all of these terrible comedy films? I understand that maybe the post-Mad Men world hasn’t been kind, but she is capable of so much more than this.

Overall, this is a lazy, deeply unfunny film that has a bad message. A horrible film.

Pros.

Charlie Day Is Okay.

Cons.

This Is A Major Step Down For Christina Hendricks.

Ice Cube Can’t Act.

It Is Painfully Unfunny.

It Has Some Very Nasty Messages.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Special Correspondents: A Crime Against Humanity

Special Correspondents is a satirical comedy film about a journalist (Eric Bana), and his sound guy (Rickey Gervais, who also directs the film), who are supposed to be covering a foreign war, but end up losing their tickets. As such they decide to pretend that they have gone and fake all their coverage from a room above a restaurant.

This film doesn’t know the meaning of subtly. It is the most garish, in your face, forcing itself down your throat film I have ever seen. The characters are all caricatures and are played up to a ridiculous degree. It is clear from the beginning that Eleanor (Vera Farmiga), doesn’t love her husband Ian (Gervais), as she sleeps with Frank (Bana), this would have been enough to set her up as a bad character and one we as the audience are not supposed to like. But No!

The film then does one better and has her trying to profit off her husband’s disappearance and refuse to pay his ransom, which would obviously come out in public but never mind. At this point, the film takes all the subtly and nuance that it could have had and sets it on fire. They make Eleanor almost like a cartoon villain.

The two main guys are themselves just stereotypes Bana is the gruff tough action hero type and Gervais is basically playing a slightly nerdier version of his character from The Office, neither one of them is developed any more than that, the characters actually have no arcs at all. What’s more the one singular good thing about this film is Kelly Macdonald’s Claire. Macdonald is the only person in this whole waste of time movie that seems like she is trying to give a good performance, but she is hamstrung by the fact that she is given little more to do than being seen worrying for the two leads. She has a little B plot that goes nowhere, but essentially, she is just a love interest for Gervais’s character, which is again the most obvious thing in the world.

This film is so bad that you sign off midway through it, you don’t care what happens to any of the characters because the film can’t make you care about them. The confrontation between Ian and his wife that you had hoped would happen since the beginning of the film is handled in the weakest possible way, feeling like one final slap in the face from the film. I have seen some bad films in my time but, this is a special kind of bad. Please stick to in front of the camera stuff Ricky.

Ps. America Ferrera you deserve better than this stinker of a film.

Pros.

Kelly Macdonald.

An Interesting Concept That It Then Wastes.

Cons.

The Characters Have No Arcs.

The Ending Is A Slap To The Face.

It Is The Most Aggressively Average Film You Will See All Year.

1.5/5

Reviewed By Luke