Chef: The Definition Of Food Porn

Chef is a comedy drama film directed by Jon Favreau. The plot sees world renowned chef Carl Casper get into some hot water when his argument with a local food critic blows up online. Faced with needing to start again he opens a food truck with his son Percy (Emjay Anthony), and he teaches him how to cook and they bond.

This is a touching film in a lot of different ways, I enjoyed the father son dynamic of it and how real and genuine it felt. The writing of was spot on and the relationship between these two felt right for the situation. I enjoyed seeing them bond, it brought tears to my eyes on a few occasions I thought it was beautiful done.

The story itself was not hugely complex, but it was very enjoyable; it is hard to go wrong with an underdog story. There is no real conflict, but then again there doesn’t need to be, seeing his once great chef, get to start again and rediscover his passion is already quite the emotional journey.

The side characters were amusing and made me laugh, I especially enjoyed the reunion with Favreau Iron Man co-star Robert Downey Jr. However, ultimately this is a father son film and that is where it shines the best.

A touching tribute to fathers and sons everywhere, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, but more than anything it will make you hungry.

Pros.

The father son relationship

The heart

The comedy

Well done side characters

Great Marvel reunions

Cons.

Nonapparent

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Safety Not Guaranteed: Never Assume Time Travelers Are Crazy

Safety Not Guaranteed is a comedy drama romance film directed by Colin Trevorrow. The plot follows three reporters as they interview a man (Mark Duplass) who say he is producing a means to travel back in time. One of the reporters Darius (Aubrey Plaza), is send in undercover with wannbe time traveller Kenneth (Duplass), only to end up falling in love with him and finding out that he does in fact have a means of getting back to the past.

I enjoyed this film quite a bit, I think that it works on two layers. Firstly it works as a great science fiction film, the time travel stuff is fascinating, and I like how they don’t reveal it one way or the other until the end of the film. Secondly it works as a great rom com as well the relationships feel very genuine and believable, Duplass and Plaza have great on-screen chemistry.

The film has a great heart and a few good laugh out loud monuments. My personal favourite character was probably Jeff (Jake Johnson), because I loved what they did with a character who is basically a jerk to everyone around him showing his tragic motivation, he is fundamentally lonely. Normally I am against subplots about side characters, but in this case it worked. Also I am a huge New Girl fan.

Overall, a very strong indie darling with a great heart and some mind-bending science fiction.

Pros.

The heart

The humour

The chemistry between the leads

The ending reveal

Jake Johnson

Cons.

It starts a little slow.

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Brittany Runs A Marathon: Everything I Feel Pretty Does Wrong

Brittany Runs A Marathon is a comedy drama film directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo. The plot follows Brittany (Jillian Bell), a young women whose life has got out of control. She finds it hard to leave the house, she hates the way she looks, she is surrounded by bad friends, and her body is failing her, medically. Just when things seem their bleakest Brittiany decides to go for a run, she then dedicates herself to training for a marathon and things start to change.

I thought this was just going to be a dumb comedy film, but boy was I wrong. This is far more of a commentary on body positivity and being okay with yourself, this film hits some very dark very personal areas and handles the subject matter beautifully.

So yeah this film isn’t funny, as a comedy film it fails, but as a nuanced drama film with an eye on body image, self esteem and learning to love yourself this film is simply a triumph. Bell takes us on a journey with this character and we feel her pain, we want to see her win, and the moment we see her hurt her leg and not be able to race, the first time, we feel as devastated as she does. This film makes me want to see Bell cast her more dramatic roles as I think she has a real talent.

Overall, this film is what I Feel Pretty should have been, its body positivity message is something that everyone can get behind and honestly it is kind of inspiring. I highly recommend.

Pros.

The message

The well rounded, fleshed out, real character

Bell’s performance

The heart

Cons.

It is not a comedy in any way

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Radioactive: Science’s Double Edged Sword

Radioactive is a historical biopic directed by Marjane Satrapi. The plot recounts the life of famed scientist Marie Sklodowska-Curie, or as the world came to know her Madame Curie, (Rosamund Pike). We see her first breakthroughs, the romance with the love of her life (who was also her scientific partner), and her coming to realise the incredibly harmful side effects of her science changing discovery.

Much like the other Rosamund Pike biopic that I covered recently, A Private War, this is not a cheery watch. It is very informative, and you learn a great deal, even if the film is a little ham-fisted with these ‘lessons’, but yeah maybe you will want to watch something a bit happier once you’re done.

What I mean when I am talking about these ham-fisted lessons, is this film throws everything it can at you to show how destructive radium in its many forms can be; it shows you Hiroshima, it shows you Chernobyl it is very in your face with it. It does show to a much lesser degree the positive impact that Curie’s discovery has had on society, but it gets buried under all the negativity. I understand, the point was probably to show that all scientific discoveries can be both good and bad, but it feels uneven.

Rosamund Pike proves her chameleon like nature once again and becomes unrecognisable sinking into the character. Phenomenal stuff. Her fellow cast mate Anya Taylor-Joy however sticks out like a sore thumb as Curie’s daughter. She doesn’t feel like she exists in that time period, it feels like someone acting, which isn’t a good thing.

Overall, a reverting watch if a little upsetting. Pike once again shines bright.

Pros.

Captivating

Pike

Cons.

It is very sad

Taylor-Joy sticks out

The commentary is a little one-sided

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

An Evening With Beverly Luff Lin: The Sensual Art Of The Grunt

An Evening With Beverly Luff Linn is a comedy crime film directed by Jim Hosking. The plot follows Lulu (Aubrey Plaza), as she runs away from her husband with a hired hitman (Jermaine Clement), to a hotel where her old flame (Craig Robinson) is singing.

So, this was a weird one, I had no idea what this film was about going into it, I was not familiar with Hosking or his other works beforehand, so I was not aware of what to expect. I mainly put this on because it had three of my favourite actors in it, Matt Berry, Jermaine Clement and Aubrey Plaza, and hey it was one hell of a trip.

This film does take some getting used to, as it is unlike most other films that I have ever seen, Robinson’s character mainly communicates in grunts for most of the film, it is bizarre. Think David Lynch, but a little less cerebral.

Plaza is terrific she is giving the character her all and it really shows. She standouts here and proves that she is one of the best young actors currently working. Clement is my personal favourite and I think he is the scene stealer of the film his character has all the best lines and manages to be both threatening and sweet at the same time.

Overall, a very hard film to describe if you haven’t seen it, well worth the watch.

Pros.

The performances

The humour

The building sense of mystery

The ending

Cons.

It is very strange

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Run Fat Boy Run: One Of The Worst Characters In All Of Cinema

Run Fat Boy Run is a comedy film directed by David Schwimmer. The plot sees down on his look loser Dennis (Simon Pegg), decide to run a marathon to prove to his ex-finance (who he left at the alter while pregnant), that he has changed for the better and that she should get back with him.

Before we get into it, I just want to say Libby (Thandie Newton), shouldn’t end the film getting back together with Simon Pegg’s character, he ran out on her the morning of their wedding while she was pregnant; that has to be one of the worst things a person can do. No matter how much the film tries to make Dennis seem like a great guy there is no real getting around that.

I watched this film in the middle of my Pegg phase when I was younger, and I remember having mixed feelings about it, watching it again now years later I can tell you my feelings haven’t changed. It is a very meh film, not Pegg’s best but not his worst either.

The issue with the film for me is that it all feels very been there done that, nothing is new or surprising and everything sticks to a rather played out cliched formula. Even the humour is flat, other than once I can’t remember laughing throughout most of the film, which is bad when you consider this is supposed to be funny.

Overall, just very meh, you have seen this before.

Pros.

The characters are likeable enough

The ending is hopeful

Cons.

Pegg’s character is irredeemable

It feels far too familiar

It isn’t funny

2/5

Scary Movie: What’s Your Favourite Scary Movie

Scary Movie is a comedy film directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans. The plot serves to lambast slasher films of the 80’s and the 90’s. We follow Cindy (Anna Faris), and her group of friends who are haunted down by a masked killer.

So, this film was a huge deal when I was a kid, huge, and yes in recent years it has had some less than stellar attention on it, but it still stands up as one of the best “Movie” movies and one of the best spoof movies of the early 2000’s. I must have seen it well over ten times.

Maybe it talks to my comedic sensibilities, but this film was and still is funny to me, even though a lot of the references from it went over my head on first watching, I still found them and the characters funny. Out of all the Scary Movie films this one was easily the best, though I am partial to all of them.

Faris is a very likable lead and she manages to nail both the comedic moments as well as the moments that required her to be a genuine final girl. Some of the most quotable lines of the whole series are hers.

The best moment of this film to me is the ending, which is a spoof on The Usual Suspects, it is just so cool, and the musical choice greatly enhances it.

Overall, a hilarious gem of my childhood that still holds up, though the comedy won’t be to everyone’s taste.

Pros.

The jokes

The spoof

Anna Faris

The ending

It feels like a loving roast of the horror genre

Cons.

The comedy might not be to everyone’s taste

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Thor Dark World: I’m Guessing No One Was Happy On This Set

Thor Dark World is a superhero action film in The Marvel Cinematic Universe directed by Alan Taylor. The plot finds the evil Dark Elves resurfaced with plans to plunge the entire universe into darkness, there is only one person who can stop them, Thor Odinson (Chris Hemsworth).

This film is widely regarded as one of the worst, if not the worst film in all of the MCU and there is good reason for it. Unlike most of the MCU that is insanely rewatchable I have only seen this film twice.

The first Thor film was the underrated gem of the first phase of the MCU, and was far better than it had any right to be. Part of the reason for this for me at least was the relationship between Thor and the humans of Earth, but more importantly Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). I enjoyed the dynamic between the two characters, and I thought they had one of the best love stories of the MCU. How they managed to screw it up so much in this film is baffling. Thor and Jane no longer have any chemistry and Portman seems like she doesn’t want to be there, a pattern with her.

However, where the Thor and Jane relationship lacks this film does improve and build upon the relationship between Thor and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), in a way which made them and the film better. This would lead well into Thor Ragnarök.

Another issue with this film is that they entirely waste Christopher Eccleston as the villain Malekith. Eccleston is one of the best British actors without question, so when they gave him such a bland and underserved character it was almost like an insult. I won’t go after the MCU for weak villains as it is an easy and well-worn target.

Also the supporting cast from the first film return and are either wasted or tarnished and embarrassed it is a mixture of the two.

Pros.

The Thor/ Loki plotline

Cons.

Ruins the romance

Wastes Eccleston

Spits on the minor supporting characters

It is dull

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

American Sniper: Eastwood’s Epic

American Sniper is a biographical war film directed by Clint Eastwood. The plot recounts the life of the deadliest sniper in US military history Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), showing his service and the toll it took on him; based on the memoir of the man himself.

For the most part this is gripping and well done in near all regard there is just one thing I want to point out before I get into the review in full. If you read my Midway review then you know that I don’t like war/military films that force in raah raah patriotism and that glorify and romanticise the life of soldiers, this film does that. The film makes it seems like any able-bodied man or woman is honour bound to join the military and defend their country which is not true it is a clear choice. Also the film shows that Kyle is experiencing PTSD, but it doesn’t explain it, it chooses not to focus on it when it is an important part of the conversation. It also suggests that all Kyle needed to do to effectively beat his PTSD was to spend time with other veterans and help out, which simply isn’t true.

That said I thought this film was a tour de force, I think it portrayed war and its horrors in a very realistic way, I think it also benefits from focusing on these solider and the toll they inevitably end up paying for their service. Towards the end of the film two of Kyle’s friends die and it is incredibly impactful because it was so sudden, and we had spent time with these people. It shows the futility of it all.

Also I loved the final sequence of the film, as Kyle is saying bye to his family there is a distinct uncomfortable feeling that something isn’t right, you know something bad is about to happen, but you aren’t quite sure. I was on the edge during this whole scene. The truth of the ending is depressing, but life is.

Overall, this is a harrowing tale of war and sacrifice that could be better served with more of a focus on the mental toll.

Pros.

Cooper

The horrors of war

The final scenes

Tense and gripping throughout

Cons.

It needed to focus more on the PTSD side of things

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Blended: Barrymore And Sandler Are An All Time Great Romance Spanning 3 Films

Blended is a romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci. The plot sees two single parents end up going on holiday together with their kids to Africa. At first the two parents, Jim (Adam Sandler) and Lauren (Drew Barrymore), hate each other and don’t get along, but often as these sort of films go they end up madly in love by the end.

This film is viewed as one of the trash tier Sandler films by a lot of people, but I have to say upon watching it myself I enjoyed it; maybe that says something about my taste. I think this film benefits from being more subdued than Sandler’s normal fare. Yes, you have the cheap poo jokes and what not that are the life blood of Sandler comedy, but you also have this single parent character study where we see that Jim is actually quite a layered person to add on top of those scat jokes. Sandler’s performance here reminded me a bit of his character in Funny People in that he is a tragic character.

On top of this you have the romance between Sandler and Barrymore’s characters, which is incredibly strong. In recent years Sandler has being playing romantic leads by the side of Jenifer Anniston, but his ultimate on-screen romantic pairing will always be Drew Barrymore. The spark that was first shown in The Wedding Singer is still alive and well.

My one complaint would be that Terry Crews character, who is a sort of lounge singer who shows up at inopportune times, becomes tiresome quickly and they beat that joke into the ground.

Overall, a surprisingly sweet, heartfelt film that has a lot of say about grief and raising kids. Benefited immensely by obvious spark between Sandler and Barrymore.

Pros.

Romance

The depth

Some good jokes

Barrymore and Sandler have great chemistry

Cons.

Not all of the jokes land and they keep reusing some of the worse ones

4/5

Reviewed by Luke