The Sitter: Children Are Evil

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

An unemployed slacker, played by Jonah Hill, takes up a job babysitting three kids little does he know just how much he has taken on and how much trouble it will be.

Okay I’ll admit it, every now and then I like a trashy comedy. I won’t sit here and pretend to be highbrow. My sense of humour is darkly juvenile and/or edgy for sure. As such I actually found this film to be quite funny, I wouldn’t say all of the jokes landed but about sixty percent of them did and that pushes the ratio in a positive direction.

I found the film to be surprisingly heart felt at times as well, yes it won’t win any awards for the more serious moments, but I thought when the film took a break to reflect it really worked well. I particularly enjoyed how Hill’s character realised slowly over the course of the film that he was in a toxic relationship; I thought these moments felt earnt and well done.

Sam Rockwell is a delight as the villain though I would say he is underused.

In terms of issues I would say this film is a little too reliant on gross out humour, or little kids saying bad words humour, neither of which land well and more often than not come across of quite desperate.

Overall, a funny trashy comedy film that won’t blow you away and is a bit too reliant on gross out humour.

Pros.

The heartfelt moments

A good number of funny jokes

Hill

Cons.

Too much gross out humour

The ending

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The Change Up: Man Isn’t Having Kids A Hassle, Who Knew?

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A single guy, played by Ryan Reynolds, and a married guy with three kids, played by Jason Bateman, switch places because…… comedy.

The only word I can find to describe this film is lame. The comedy is lame, the plot is lame, the ending is lame. The whole film is just disappointing and weak. There might have been some comedy to the premise, I doubt it but maybe, however even if there was this film does nothing with and just pumps out deeply unfunny joke after deeply unfunny joke, with some cliches and stereotypes mixed in for good measure.

To some Reynold’s reached the apex of his career with Deadpool, others saw it as the beginning of his decline. However, this film shows how the former is more apt, this is a Reynolds firmly in his trash period where he is just trying to get noticed and hit it big. His charm is mostly wasted here and his character is just presented as the stereotypical guy who has a lot of sex but is actually deeper than that, yawn.

Bateman is like wisely by the numbers and this film feels very much like a pay check role for him.

Overall, films like this need to go away, comedy films deserve to be more than just the trotting out of stereotypes and the same lame jokes.

Pros.

Reynolds still has charm

Cons.

Reynolds is wasted

Bateman is by the numbers

The jokes don’t land

The over-reliance on stereotypes

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Black Friday: Working In Retail Is Hell

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Retail workers on Black Friday must do battle against alien creatures that possess people and turn them into zombie like creatures.

When I saw the trailer for this film I had such high hopes and I was disappointed when I actually saw it.

This film boasts horror icons Devon Sawa and Bruce Campbell but even their horror pedigree can’t help this film, sadly all icons make bad decisions from time to time and this is certainly one of them. Neither Campbell nor Sawa is given anything particularly interesting to do and as such there characters each feel very one note. This becomes even more of an issue as the group of characters that become more of a central focus by the end of the film are both boring and irritating.

In terms of horror this is incredibly by the numbers. You have seen this film before, the premise is nothing new. Some people are praising this film by saying that it is very reflective of the retail experience however, I feel other horror films have done even that better before. There is certainly nothing scary about this film, the only thing scary about it is how long it goes on for.

It has strong pacing issues.

Overall, simply disappointing a waste of good talent.

Pros

It is watchable

A few good moments

Campbell has natural charm that even this film can’t hide

Cons.

It is not scary

It is generic

It has pacing issues

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Year One: Tameness Killed The Dinosaurs And This Films Box Office

1.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Two slacker hunter-gathers, played by Jack Black and Michael Cera, are banished from their tribe and are forced to travel to the Biblical city of Sodom.

I have a fondness in my heart for this film as when I was younger I saw it several times at my local cinema, why? Well because nothing else was on and I liked going. Therein lies the problem. There is something of an acceptance to be average with this film, there are many ways it could improve itself but it doesn’t because it seems to want to try and please everyone whilst also being deeply average.

Black and Cera are fine they are trotting out more of the same shtick that we have seen from them time and time before, so your enjoyment of them here will be dependent on how you feel about their respective shticks. The comedy is mainly misses however there are one or two funny moments especially with the Biblical characters that make cameo appearances.

This is one of those films that I would not be surprised to hear the studio was heavily involved in. There is a tameness to the comedy and the film as a whole that feels very marketed research and corporate. On the whole this film feels very much like a bill paying exercise where no one really cared.

Overall, it is watchable for sure but not much else.

Pros.

I like the shtick of both Black and Cera

It is watchable

Cons.

It has pacing issues galore

It is too tame

It feel content being average

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Ghostbusters Afterlife: The Freakiest Third Act Surprise You Will Ever See

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A family move into an old farm house left behind by their deceased grandfather, shown to be Harold Ramis’ character from the previous films, there they learn a little bit about themselves and their family history and of course save the world from a ghostly invasion.

This film did everything correctly that the previous film, the reboot, botched. It merges the older films and a soft reboot perfectly; it is a legacy sequel done right. There is enough call backs and involvement of surviving cast members to touch on the nostalgia factor of fans of the original whilst also giving us a new generation of Ghostbusters to care about.

In many ways this is Mckenna Grace’s film, she is the central character and carries the film for a lot of the run time. However, Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd are also scene stealers and make the most out of the scenes they are given, hopefully a sequel will do more with them and give them more on screen time together.

I found this film to be quite funny at times, again particularly Grace’s lead. The older Ghostbusters have some good lines but I would say on the whole they are used sparingly as to not upstage the new characters. I am split on the CGI Harold Ramis, I do like that they give him a proper emotional send off and have each of the characters have a moment with him, however I don’t like the use of CGI to bring back dead actors as a concept, it is troubling.

Overall, a strong revival for the franchise.

Pros.

Grace

Coon

Rudd

Giving the older characters one last hurrah

Cons.

Pacing issues

Finn Wolfhard’s role could be played by anyone

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Easy A: Who Cares Who Sleeps With Who

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Olive, played by Emma Stone, becomes the subject of vicious rumours about her character after she lies and tells her friend that she lost her virginity.

I think at times this film plays like a horror movie, the monster: the prudish, judgemental young Christian- the proto Karen if you will. Truly not only does this film have you caring for Olive but it also has you hating on nearly everyone she is in class with and their stupid pearl clutching morality. I think this film expertly comments on the way teen girls are treated when they try and talk about sex and highlights how we as a society are failing them.

There are a lot of very generic teen film elements on display here, and no having the film call these out doesn’t mean they are somehow good or not their it just shows that the writers think they can excuse themselves from it. I found a number of moments quite groan worthy throughout the film and it is all very predictable.

That said, despite the rather obvious nature of the plot Emma Stone manages to elevate the film into being more than the sum of its parts, with her bringing every ounce of Charisma she has to the role and making her Olive easily the highlight of the film. We do end up feeling attached to Olive and want to see her be happy, and I think the film delivers on that and has the appropriate emotional impact as a result: again thanks in large part to Stone.

Overall, a fun film that whilst predictable has a good message.

Pros.

The message

Stone

The ending

Cons.

It is very predictable

Calling out cliched writing doesn’t fix the issue

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The Princess Switch 3: Vanessa Hudgens Is A TALENT

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Vanessa Hudgens is back switching places with people who look exactly like her again, this time it is because an expensive Christ ornament is stolen.

I unironically like these films, yes I know many think they are trashy and they certainly won’t win any awards for their plot or their characters any time soon, but there is just something so happy and fun about them that I will watch them every year as soon as they come out.

Hudgens does a good job of playing three separate characters and giving each their own moments and character traits so they can feel different and important narratively. I think this film is a little Fiona heavy, she was the character introduced in the last film and is the bad cousin, however I am not complaining really as Fiona is probably the most fun out of the three. It is clear that Hudgens is having a lot of fun here and it is very infectious.

The silliness of the plot and the surely known cheapness only serves to make the film more endearing and likeable as you can’t help but laugh at how dumb it all is. Certainly this isn’t one that you need to pay attention to and can just space out whilst watching, but again that not a bad thing here.

Overall, the film is a lot of fun and if like me you enjoyed the previous Switches then you will most likely like this one too.

Pros.

Hudgens

The dumb fun

The feel good ending

How needlessly over the top it is

Cons.

Hudgens other two characters, who aren’t Fiona, could have done with a bit more

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Deadcon: Influencers Finally Having To Face Their Fans

1/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A group of influencers head to a convention where they are met by an evil spirit.

My oh my this film was poor on so many fronts it is hard to know where to begin with it. Firstly, unlike something like Big Foot Famous that I reviewed recently that used this idea of influencer culture in a meaningful way, this film relegated it to a gimmick at best. All of the usual cliches were there, most of which are born out of an out of touch fear of the young people and their ways on the part of aging executives.

Secondly, I understand that this film is going for the B movie esque approach and not trying to take itself too seriously but that backfires into massive tonal inconsistencies. With some moments feeling too silly and others feeling too dower, and this imbalance is something the film never recovers from.

Thirdly, the plot is incredibly contrived and has been done much better in the past. I feel like I have already seen this film several times over before, with this iteration of it almost feeling like a spoof film.

Overall, the best thing I can say about this film is that it is short. It is so riddled with problems that it is doomed from the start.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It feels played out

The horror doesn’t land

The tone is deeply inconsistent

The influencer characters are awful

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Pottersville: Furies Taking Over Small Town America, Who Can You Trust

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A drunk man, played by Michael Shannon, accidentally convinces his townsfolk of the existence of Bigfoot after a drunken stumble through the woods.

There wasn’t very much to this film. In truth it was nothing I hadn’t seen done better before, with almost everything being deeply played out and predictable. There was not a single moment in this film that took me by surprise.

However, that is not always a bad thing and sometimes there is a comfort in a familiar narrative where you know everything that is going to happen and to an extent that is true here. This film is watchable and none of the characters are particularly offensive in any way allowing you to playfully switch off whilst watching this as it requires nothing from you.

I liked Ian McShane’s drunk old hunter character I thought he was easily the funniest character of the piece and the only one I cared about. Though I did also like seeing Ron Pearlman in a role where he was having a laugh at his own expense and wasn’t taking himself too seriously.

To me the ending was a bit sickly sweet and I didn’t care for that at all if anything I found it to be very false and feel forced.

Overall, a deeply average film but one that is fine to watch if you have nothing better to do.

Pros.

Ian McShane

Ron Pearlman

The tease of a real Big Foot at the end

Cons.

There are no surprises

It is deeply generic

It isn’t funny

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10 Things I Hate About You: Getting Paid To Date, The Solution To An Aging Population

2/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

A modern remix of Shakespeare’s The Taming Of The Shrew.

Honestly upon watching this for the first time I don’t see what so many people like about it, it just seems like a fairly generic teen movie about the perils of dating and the horrors of high school. Couple this with a wealth of outdated views and yes, I didn’t see what the big deal was about.

I thought the film had some heart, not all the time, but in parts it did come through sweetly. I found myself enjoying the relationship between Julia Stiles’ character and Heath Ledger’s, those were the only characters that I found myself rooting for and if anything this film just served to remind me how much I miss Ledger. Both Ledger and Stiles do their best to elevate the source material, and give this film some kind of personality outside of Shakespeare. However, the over-reliance on cliches and thoroughly predictable dramas drag this film back down again.

Overall, I didn’t see the appeal of this one it reminded me of just another teenage high school movie. Yes, it had heart in some places but it also had multitudes of cliches and more than its fair share of iffy moments. A mixed bag.

Pros.

Hedger

A few sweet moments

Cons.

The Shakespearian dialogue really felt out of place

It had pacing issues

It felt deeply generic

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