Ghostbusters: Loud Does Not Equal Funny, An Irritation

Ghostbusters is a science fiction comedy film directed by Paul Feig. The plot sees a new group of Ghostbusters rise up to take the fight to everything that goes bump in the night.

Yes, much like my Rise Of Skywalker review this will be a long one so buckle up.

I have seen this film 3 times now, the first two times were on release when I firstly went to see if it was as bad as I had heard, and then secondly went after being invited by a friend. After the second time I vowed that I would just forget about this film and move on, however, the other night (years later), I saw in on streaming and thought ‘eh maybe I am remembering it worse than it is’, nope….. It is just as bad as I remembered.

Do you know what the main issue is with this film? It seems too much creative freedom was given, usually it is a good thing for the creative in control of making a film to have a large amount of freedom, not here however, as they abused that privilege.

This film feels like a sketch that they dragged out for over two hours (that is a common complaint of mine with the films of Kristen Wiig, but it is especially true here). There is far too much improv comedy, that reeks to me of them thinking that they are naturally funnier then they are. The original Ghostbusters were silly, yes they were comedy films, but there was also a seriousness to them. The balance between comedy and seriousness is maintained and used well hence why they are funny, here the balance is way, way off and it is painfully unfunny.

As many others have said, the only funny thing about this film is Chris Hemsworth’s dumb receptionist character, which in itself could be viewed as a harmful stereotype adding to the ‘hot but dumb’ cliché. Hemsworth is the only part of the film that actually worked for me in a comedic sense, there was not even any unintentional humour as you might expect from this kind of thing, no it was all just flat and repetitive.

Moreover, the characters are all almost entirely unlikeable, they all seem to have one personality trait that is played up and up and up to the point of mind-blowing annoyance, to be funny? They have all the depth of a puddle of vomit, and seem to go out of their way to be confrontational towards the audience in kind of a meta way that just comes across as petty that it was left in.

Overall, this will be remembered as one of the biggest misfires in the history of modern Hollywood and for very good reasons the sequel to it is dead in the water, with the next film in the series ignoring it all together. Just bad all-round.
Pros.

Chris Hemsworth is funny when he is on-screen

Cons.

The rest of the cast are painfully unfunny

The comments scene feels overly petty

The characters are one note and annoying

This is a stain on the career of everyone involved in it, with the exception of Hemsworth

The CGI is bad

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Interview with Mike Morelli: Writer/ Director of Sh*t Head

Written by Luke Barnes

Hey Everyone! I recently had the chance to interview Mike Morelli, about this award winning feature film Sh*thead, which is about a man selling his friends baby, so that he can afford to go and see his favourite musical artist. We talk about, wild quests, dancing, and the death of cinema- I hope you enjoy.

Q: If you were to sum the film up in one word what would it be?

A: Stoned.

Q: Do you have any funny production stories?

A: We rented a drone for the concert scene but there was some mix up with the rental house, it came in after we were supposed to shoot with it, so they just let me have it for a full week. We ended up improvising and playing around with that thing literally non-stop the whole week, just trying to get whatever wide-shots I could with it. I had Jordan’s costume and from far enough away, if I put it on you really couldn’t tell as easily Jordan suddenly got like 6 inches taller. I did a ton of those shots, and most of the actors weren’t available on short notice so a lot of times I’d program a route for the drone, run into place and try and get the shot all by myself. It always felt like some bizarre silent film routine.

At the end of the week, I had literally done as many shots as I could possibly think of they were coming out so good, I had one night left with the drone, I was just like, alright, you know what if we get really far away and it’s kind of dark, maybe I could pull off doubling as Janeé too? I had Erica’s costume and a wig, so, yeah I put it on, stuffed some balloons in my chest and set out at 4AM to try and sneak some night shots where no one could see me.

I did like four or five shots, and it really wasn’t working no matter how far away you got you just could tell – that’s no lady. There was no way anyone was gonna’ buy that was Janeé. Ever.

To do the shot, I’d have to program the drone, run into place and then I’d have 30 seconds before it starts. And I remember, I’m right in the middle of doing one of my last takes and this van full of young, construction guys probably going off to a super early morning job pulls down the road before I had time to hide. And they just stop. And stare at me. And they see this crazy man, dressed as a lady with balloons in his chest, flying a drone. At 4AM. Filming himself.

They didn’t laugh, they simply stared at me for like a full minute trying to piece together what the hell their eyes were seeing. The looks on their faces, thinking about now I’m dead.

None of the shots made it into the film.

Q: What inspired you to make this film, what was your drive, your catalyst?

A: I made a short called “SHITHEAD” that this is loosely based off. I sold weed when I was younger, and I was always fascinated by the delicate juggling act that went into balancing out a serious illegal drug habit. Drugs aren’t free and by the very nature of the activity, they need to be replaced fairly often. So, it becomes this game of constantly trying to make money, find drugs, take the drugs, run out of drugs, repeat.

Now take that dynamic and tell it like a raunchy, Preston Sturges screwball comedy. That was the idea, at least.

Q: Does your film have a message and if so what is it?

A: Don’t sell your baby. Use Birth Control. Liberate Taiwan.

Q: Who is your filmmaking influence?

A: My older brother, John. Authors like Charles Willeford and James Ellroy loom large in the stories I like to tell. There are so many filmmakers from around the world I could name drop to make me sound smart, but I’ll stick with that.

Q: How would you describe the film’s sense of humour?

A: Juggalo Crack. I guess that’s really what Chenko is, anyway.

Q: Have you ever been on any wild quests of your own?

A: Making this movie. Without a doubt the most epic quest that I have ever been on. And I’m still talking about it, right now…

Q: If you had the sum the production up in a word what would it be?

A: Vietnam.

Q: If you could travel back in time to when you were a young filmmaker just starting out what advice would you give yourself?

A: Learn to dance. I’d tell myself that, hey, by the time you’re able to release your first feature film cinema as you know it, conceptually, will be dead. Monopolistic corporations will destroy a lot of the things you hold so dear, and people’s attention spans are going to dwindle to below a minute. Maybe less.. So learn to dance and Tik Tok. It’s your best shot.

Q: If you ever win an award who will you thank in your acceptance speech?

A: I probably wouldn’t attend any awards ceremony. I actually just won something and am trying to get someone to attend virtually in my place. Nobody knows what I look like, it would make me laugh so hard if they cut to a speech by me and it’s like a 90-year-old man from Wisconsin or something.

We did win some awards for Sh*thead, I never attended any of those ceremonies to thank anyone.

That’s not because I’m not grateful, far from it. Making an Independent Film is tough, and you need a lot of passionate, motivated people for it to work. And we had a lot of talented souls come together to make Sh*thead. I really am deeply thankful for so many people. Of course, I gotta’ thank Johnny Smith who is a genuinely great person and good friend of mine. Johnny lit up our film, everyone on set loved being around him so much. And people don’t realize, Johnny had severe back issues from a car accident, he was in a lot of pain during the shoots. And Tom Valentino and Erica Everett, I gotta’ thank them so much, they stuck with the film, and me, to see this through. I’m grateful to everyone that helped make Sh*thead happen, thank you all.

You can watch Sh*thead on Amazon Prime, Google Play and Vimeo and as always my review of the film is up on site right now!

Chocolat: Chocolate’s To Boost Your Sex Drive

Chocolat is a romantic comedy drama film directed by Lasse Hallstrom, based on the book of the same name by Joanne Harris. The plot sees chocolatier Vianne (Juliette Binoche), move to a small religious French town in the middle of Lent, as she begins to sell her devilish wares whilst most of the residents of the small town are fasting she quickly makes herself a number of enemies. Can a good heart and a lot of chocolates change the locals minds about her?

Finally! After all this time, after countless numbers of films that demonise them, finally I have found a film that has positive Traveller representation: honestly it is nice to finally find a film that treats this group of people as humans, as not as some sort of easy scape goat for whatever ills are going on at the time, however, it is also sad as it makes me think of few other films share this film’s progressive outlook.

I enjoyed this film for the wholesome good time that it is. There are some sad things that happen in it, but in the end everything works out and everyone has a nice party- and in the times we are currently living in sometimes that is all you need to stop the nihilism for finally settling in.

There are a number of strong actors giving great performances here. Firstly, you have Binoche who creates a character that is perhaps one of the most likeable characters in all of cinema, and who you immediately want to see succeed, but also one that clearly has a dark past and is somewhat empty. Secondly you have Doctor Octopus himself Alfred Molina, as the films villain who is equally as sublime as the lead. Molina plays the leader of the town who takes an immediate dislike to Vianne and who goes to war with her, the two have an interesting relationship and Molina adds a lot of layers and depth to the character. Finally, you have the always marvellous but often overlooked Peter Stormare, as the real villain of the film an angry drunk/ wife beater shopkeeper who also forms a dislike of Vianne after she has a negative impact on his life. Stormare brings us a character that is easy to hate, but who also has more to him than simple villainy: moreover, he also brings some of his trademark weirdness to the role and gives us a few scenes that are unintentionally hilarious.

Johnny Depp is also in this film, at the height of his heart stealing good looks and he is a perfectly fine romantic lead. Shame they didn’t cast an actual traveller in the role but ah well it is Hollywood after all.

Overall, a lovely heart-warming film.

Pros.

The wholesomeness

A nice happy ending

The romance

Positive Traveller representation

Cons.

A few slow moments

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Map Of Tiny Perfect Things: My 1000th Post!

The Map Of Tiny Perfect Thing is a romantic comedy film directed by Ian Samuels. The plot sees two people stuck in a time loop together, though they don’t realise this until a little bit into the film, who decide to make a map of all the perfect things that happen in their loop in hopes of better understanding it.

I have said before the time loop concept is quickly becoming dried up and samey, however, this film narrowly avoids feeling repetitive, and instead manages to still feel real, genuine and dare I say it fresh.

The romance between Mark (Kyle Allen) and Margaret (Katheryn Newton), feels heart warming and rootable, there are no troublesome elements as there often are in romantic comedies, I am pleased to report. I thought of the two performances Newton vastly outperforms Allen, and it was her character and her journey that made the film.

For the time loop to end, Margaret needs to do something, as she has effectively caused the loop itself: when she finally takes action and crosses that line it really adds to the strengths of the film in a dramatic sense and helps to elevate it in my opinion.

My only issue with the film is that it can be a little too mushy and over sentimental at times and has a very teen feeling to it, which is not a knock against the film as no doubt they are the target audience, but it does put me off a little bit.

Overall, a nice couple watch that though not perfect is entertaining.

Pros.

Using the time loop concept in a way that didn’t feel played out

Newton

The central relationship

The ending

Cons.

Overly sentimental

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Fun Moms Dinner: The Fun Part Is Dead On Arrival

Reviewed by Luke Barnes

Fun Moms Dinner is a comedy film directed by Alethea Jones; the plot sees a group of pre-school mums go on a night out together that quickly gets out of hand.

You have seen this film before, let’s get that out of the way now- there is nothing new or fresh with this film at all. It feels like a retread of a lot of the jokes and ideas from the Bad Moms films, though those films were better in almost every way.

I am not saying this film is bad, not quite, it is watchable but not much more than that. Adam Scott shines as an out of his depth dad and has some nice scenes that are very cutesy. Out of the four titular mums, none really shine. If I was forced to pick one to single out for praise it would probably be Toni Collette who even still is not at her best here.

This feels very much like a for the paycheck kind of film.

The humour, rather unsurprisingly didn’t work for me, again comedy is subjective, but personally I didn’t find a single joke funny, at best the ‘jokes’ are unfunny and at worst they are incredibly cringey and just awful

Overall, a very middling film, watchable, but not funny

Pros

Adam Scott

It is watchable

Cons.

It feels like it was done for the money by a lot of the cast

It is not funny

The jokes are bad cringe

1/5

The Intern: Recasting Mary Poppins As Robert De Niro

The Intern is a buddy comedy film directed by Nancy Myers. The film sees widower Ben (Robert De Niro), decide to take up an internship for an online retailor after growing bored with his retirement. The rather obvious joke being, he’s an old man intern.

Believe me, I am thinking the same thing as you, I went into this one with incredibly low expectations; to be blunt I just wanted something mindless that I could passively watch whilst doing other things. However, this film soon captured my attention and was genuinely, surprisingly good.

I enjoyed how basically this film takes the idea of Mary Poppins and is like you know what I’d rather see that role played by Robert De Niro, and by God it works. This film is basically Nanny McPhee or Mary Poppins, De Niro’s character fixes the lives of everyone around him, sometimes in laughably implausible ways, whilst also being a font for sagely wisdom.

This film actually made me laugh out loud quite a few times, I really needed it so it was much appreciated, as I often say comedy is subjective so what worked for me might not work for you, but the sheer wholesome appeal of this film is tough to rival. De Niro and Anne Hathaway (who plays the co-lead), are both excellent and bounce off each other with fantastic vigour and chemistry.

Overall, a surprisingly great film.

Pros.

The jokes

The wholesomeness

De Niro

Hathaway

The idea of replacing Mary Poppins with an old man

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Flora and Ulysses: Saving The World One Donut At A Time

Flora and Ulysses is a family comedy film directed by Lena Khan. The plot focuses on young comic book fan and life cynic Flora (Matilda Lawler), who one day saves the life of a squirrel after it has an unfortunate accident with a robot hoover. Said squirrel (later called Ulysses), and Flora form a tight bond and, oh yeah and since its rebirth the squirrel now has super powers- that’s kind of important.

In describing this film on twitter the other day, I called it “the Paddington of 2021”, or something to that extent, and truly that is the biggest compliment I can bestow on this film. It is such a happy, enjoyable good time that you can’t help but fall in love with it.

Firstly, the narration and the dialogue are fantastic, not only are they often punchy they also make a few salient points about society- it is surprisingly sharp. Moreover, if you’re a comic book fan, such as I, then you will get extra enjoyment from this film and there are so many references and shout outs to very comics specific things that serve as loving easter eggs for long time fans of the medium.

As far as child actors go Lawler is actually terrific, she sells everything just as she should and does not overact/ or as child actors often do, underact. She fits the role perfectly. Moreover, her friendship with Ulysses might be one of the cutest things you have ever seen, it is so adorable and heart warningly wholesome that it made me want to own a pet squirrel.

Ben Schwartz play’s Floras dad and carries on this recent strong streak of films, seriously check out some of his recent offerings outside of this and Sonic he is really proving himself to be a talent to watch out for.

Overall, maybe the best Disney + original outside of Marvel and Star Wars- yes, even better than Soul.

Pros.

Flora and Ulysses

Ben Schwartz

The script

The comic book references

The ending

Cons.

None

5/5

It is pure wholesome goodness

Reviewed by Luke

The Flight Attendant: Life After The Big Bang

The Flight Attendant is a comedy drama series based on the book of the same name by Chris Bohjalian. The series revolves around Cassie (Kaley Cuoco), a dysfunctional alcoholic flight attendant, who get caught up in a murder after her one-night stand ends up dead, Cassie ends up at the top of list of police suspects and she must set out to find who really killed this person and clear her name.

So when I put this series on I was not expecting much, I thought it would just be like every other crime thriller tv series- generic. However, I was surprised to find out how much I enjoyed this show to a point where I was actively looking forward to the next episode and thinking about it when I wasn’t watching it.

This is Cuoco’s first big series after The Big Bang Theory yes she is in Harley Quinn, but that is a preestablished franchise and IP and also animated so less on her performance, as such all eyes were on her here. I have to say I was not always convinced by her acting in the BBT, but she really knocked it out of the park here, she fully sold the mania and the downward mental decline her character was going through allowing for me to completely see her as the character with any ideas of Penny disappearing.

The ultimate mystery of the series is handled well, it is not who you originally think it is, and the series goes in a few ways that surprise you. I also enjoyed how, whilst trying to solve the central narrative mystery the series also sets up lots of smaller little mysteries that will pay off when the show comes back for season two.

The wider supporting cast were also excellent Michiel Huisman, Zosia Mamet and Rosie Perez all have strong sense and interesting arcs.

Overall, one of the best series of last year defiantly not one to sleep on, make it your next binge.

Pros.

You can’t stop watching it

It is compelling

Cuoco

Huisman

The mystery and those yet to be revealed

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Eagle Vs Shark: Which Came First?

Eagle Vs Shark is a New Zealand set romantic comedy directed by Taika Waititi. The plot follows the romance of Lilly (Loren Horsley) and Jarrod (Jermaine Clement), with a subplot about Jarrod’s quest to track down his high school bully and beat him up.

As far as Waititi’s film goes this is oddly off beat and almost sad, the wackiness of something like What We Do In The Shadows is a million miles away from this film instead it shares more in common with the darker more upsetting moments in JoJo Rabbit or Hunt For The Wilderpeople. I left this film feeling depressed.

The central romance has quite a few troublesome elements, in that Jarrod treats Lily like trash for most of the film, even dumping her abruptly to run of with his dead brothers girlfriend: the apology for his bad behaviour at the end of the film does not make up for it, and really they shouldn’t be together. However, as far as toxic messages within romantic comedies go, this film is on the better side of the scale and isn’t as offensive.

There are odd stop motion sequences peppered in throughout the film that I am not quite sure how I feel about. On the one had they fit in with Waitit’s quirky sensibilities, however they also feel quite unsettling and troubling for reasons that I cant quite put my finger on, there is just something about them.

The one positive I can find for this film is that the humour worked for me and I found myself laughing quite a bit.

Overall, this film really didn’t jive with me at all which is surprising considering that for the most part Waititi and Clement can do no wrong.

Pros

It has a few laugh out loud funny moments

Cons.

It is a bit too melancholic

The animation is weirdly unsettling

You don’t want the characters to be together in the end

It leaves you bummed out.

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar: Cutting Lose At Forty

Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar is a comedy film directed by Josh Greenbaum. The plot sees recently unemployed middle-aged friends Star (Kristen Wiig) and Barb (Annie Mumolo), decide to visit Vista Del Mar on holiday, very much like the title suggests.

This is a very odd film, it is not quite romantic comedy, not quite a musical and not quite a comedy either- it is something else. Upon watching the first act, I was expecting to be writing a bad review, however, as the film went on it grew on me more and more.

I am mixed on this one, I did not think the film was funny at all, like nearly every time it is trying to be funny it fails, the only time it is funny successfully on purpose is during its songs (which are actually quite good and easily the highlight of the film), the few laughs to be had during this film were found there. Ultimately, it depends what you find funny, as I often say humour is subjective, if you have found yourself laughing and Kristen Wiig’s style of comedy before then you will laugh at this- as it is the same old same old.

The romance elements are likewise as odd as the rest of the film, seemingly trying to be as absurd as possible though I will say in this respect Jamie Dornan exceeds. Truly this might be the film that finally lets Doran move past his overly serious Mr Grey, and his failed leading man career and reminds audiences that he can still be fun. I enjoyed the romance between Dornan’s character and Wiig’s and I though it was easily one of the strong points of the film.

Overall, a very specific, very niche kind of film that will split audiences.

Pros.

It grows on you

Jamie Dornan

The songs

Cons.

It is not funny

It is very niche and very specific

It feels familiar

It would have worked better as a short film or a sketch

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke