Open Season: Brother Bear without the Charm

Open Season is a family animated film directed by Roger Allers, Jill Culton and Anthony Stacchi. The plot sees show bear Boog (Martin Lawrence), go on step to far and get sent by his human owner to go and live in the woods. His life of comfort and domesticity has left him soft; how will he get tough enough to survive in the wild, especially in hunting season.

I remember, vaguely, watching this when it came out in the cinema. It left very little impression on me then and watching it now, I can say it does leave an impression, but an odd one.

So, there is an off-kilter nature to this film, maybe it was just me, but I didn’t find this film funny or charming like family films often try and be, instead I found it to be sad and even melancholic at times. It felt like there was something off just beneath the surface of it. Maybe that was my viewing of it.

None of the voice cast do a particularly good job, Lawrence tries but his material seems like a parody at best, and the rest fair far worse. Ashton Kutcher as Elliot, Boog’s deer side kick is thoroughly annoying and doesn’t have any real redeeming qualities. The rest of the voice cast is wasted, veterans like Patrick Warburton are just reciting clearly joyless lines and it is painful.

Overall, something seems off about this film, it is not terrible, I have seen far worse animated fare, but it is incredibly average and depressing.

Pros.

Lawrence is trying

It is watchable

Cons.

None of the characters are likable

Kutcher is annoying

The supporting cast are wasted

I left watching this feeling depressed

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

Bridesmaids: Melissa McCarthy Is Actually Funny, For Once

Bridesmaids is a comedy film directed by Paul Feig. The story follows Annie (Kristen Wiig), a woman whose life is coming apart at the seams, yet she handed the responsibility of being her best friend Lillian’s (Maya Rudolph) maid of honour. What follows is a struggle for power between Annie and Helen (Rose Byrne), Lillian’s new fancy friend who seems to upstage Annie at every turn, with the struggle between the two threatening to take over the whole wedding.

I have been meaning to watch this for some time, I enjoy the films of Paul Feig for the most part, with the exception of his Ghostbusters film, so I went in with high expectations. It does serve to be a more nuanced version of a gender swapped Hangover, which many accused it of being, and is probably the better of the two films.

I appreciated the comedy of this film it was far more subtle then I was expecting to be. When I saw the names of those involved with it, I was expecting gross out jokes and a lot of physical comedy, and though that is a part of the comedy profile of the film there are also a lot of smart jokes as well. In that regard Melissa McCarthy was actually bearable, not only that but she made me laugh.

Overall, this film showed off the talent of all involved except Byrne who it wasted badly, a strong comedy film and a mostly enjoyable watch.

Pros.

The comedy

Reigning in McCarthy and the others

Not relying on gross out gags and slapstick and having some actual well thought out smart jokes

Nailing the drama

Cons.

There is no reason that this film is on for two hours and ten minutes

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

This Is Where I Leave You: Depressing Realities, Don’t Watch This For A Laugh

This Is Where I Leave You is a comedy drama film directed by Shawn Levy. The plot follows a family as they grieve the death of their father, and are trapped together for a week, by their mother. Old rivalries are reborn and the past rears its ugly head once again.

So, this is a depressing watch. I put it on because I enjoy the comedy of Tina Fey and I thought it might make me laugh, boy was I wrong. I didn’t laugh once not once, and that wasn’t through a lack of trying on the films part, but when I left it I was bummed out. I had to watch a series of funny shows and programs to try and shake it off.

It is a failure as a comedy film, that we have established, thought comedy is subjective. Sadly, it is not much better as a drama film, I felt like the film was not as deep as it thought it was and a lot of its big revelations about life just came off as obvious clichés. The writing just wasn’t up to snuff to make it an impactful drama film in the way it wanted to be.

Overall, this is a failure as both a comedy and drama film, moreover it manages to waste a great cast and be thoroughly disappointing

Pros.

The actors are trying

Cons.

Sadly they have nothing to work with

The writing is bad and over reliant on clichés

It is not funny

It feels laughably shallow when trying to be deep

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sleepover: Possibly The Worst Child Actors Ever

The Sleepover is a comedy crime family film directed by Trish Sie. The plot sees a quiet suburban mum Margot (Malin Akerman), have her super thief origins exposed to her family and then promptly get kidnapped along with her Husband (Ken Marino), and her ex-partner/ fiancé Leo (Joe Manganiello). It is up to Margot’s kids to save their parents.

So this is yet another miss in the original film category for Netflix, it has very little going for it and is borderline unwatchable. It seems to want to be so many different films, namely Adventures In Babysitting and Spy Kids, and fails miserably at both.

The child acting in this film is mind numbing they might be the worst child actors in the history of film, everything they say is so asinine and cringe that it proves whoever wrote the dialogue has never met a teen or a young person. The line about the Dewey decimal system was the moment I knew this film was utter trash. Stranger Things’ Sadie Stanley is probably the best of the child stars, but that is by no means an endorsement.

The adult sections of the film are better, in that they give my eyes a reprieve from rolling, and if the film had given them more focus then the film would be a hell of a lot better. Akerman kicks ass and is believable as a super thief, Manganiello plays the hammy villain well; spoilers but you weren’t really going to watch this dumpster fire were you? However, the standout of the whole film is Ken Marino as the bewildered but well-meaning husband to Margot, he actually made me laugh quite a few times and made the torture of watching this film somewhat bearably, if they do a sequel cut everyone else keep Marino.

Overall, maybe Netflix should stop letting a computer green light their films, maybe that is a good idea; obviously it is.

Pros.

Ken Marino

The adult sections and storyline

Cons.

The kids are awful

The dialogue is heinous

It is so dumb

It is a waste of your time

1/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: Going Back For Round 2

The Second-Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a comedy drama film directed by John Madden. The plot this time around is far more centric to Sonny (Dev Patel), seeing him and Muriel (Maggie Smith), attempt to secure finance to build a second hotel.

I enjoyed this film more than the first, there was an air of finality to it that I thought worked well. The spectre of death hung over the characters, but rather than be depressing it felt real and earned. It furthers the idea that we have to enjoy the time we have while we have it, which is the philosophy these films seem to live by.

Judi Dench takes a backseat, really only having a b side plot, with Smith taking centre stage, I believe this is for the best as of the two Smith delivers a better more nuanced performance in both films. As Judi Dench is just playing Judy Dench.

I enjoyed see Dev Patel getting more of the centre stage, he is a very likeable lead and an enjoyable on-screen presences; the first film wasted him, but he is given time to shine here. The new additions to the cast are okay, they don’t bring much to the dynamic and fail to match the energy of some of the actors that didn’t return.

Overall, a better more thought out film.

Pros.

Giving Patel centre stage

Feeling like the end

Maggie Smith

Cons

The new characters don’t add much

Some of the drama feels a little clunky and forced

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Patrick The Pug: Choose Drugs Not Pugs

Patrick The Pug is a romantic comedy film directed by Mandie Fletcher. The plot sees young woman Sarah (Beattie Edmondson), become stuck with her grandmothers’ pug after she dies. At first Sarah hates the dog as it screws up her life in many ways, but then she learns to love it. Also there is some kind of Bridget Jones esque romantic comedy happening in the background.

So, this is very watchable but also very tame. The issue with it is that it doesn’t seem to know who it is aiming itself at. On the one hand it is playing up all the dumb humour with the dog, which by the end of the film seems to have supernatural powers, that clearly appeals to kids, but then it has all the romantic comedy stuff for grownups. So who is it for?

The humour is passable, and Edmondson is fine in the lead role, that is the thing, nothing is never bad or good with this film everything is just fine. I enjoyed seeing some other famous British faces filling out the cast, though for the most part they only had very small roles, but still somehow managed to out act Edmondson.

There is also a troubling underdone of a white saviour narrative here and there in it, with Sarah appearing to lead her non white students away from a life of crime, which has some not so stellar implications, but hey maybe that was just how I read it.

Overall, this is not good or bad just very meh, but watchable meh. A knock off Bridget Jones with a pug.

Pros.

It is very watchable’

It feels like comforting junk food

Cons.

It isn’t very funny

It feels too safe and as though it doesn’t know who it was made for

The racial undertones

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Lego Movie 2: How The Overuse Of Songs And Poor Writing Kills Excitement

The Lego Movie 2 is an animated action and adventure film directed by Mike Mitchell. The plot see Emmet (Chris Pratt), try and become tough so he can still be appealing to Wild Ride (Elizabeth Banks), however in doing so he accidentally ends the universe.

If you’re thinking that premise feels familiar that because it is. In the first film Emmet has to become a certain type of person, in that case the mythical chosen one, to impress Wild Ride and gain confidence; the story telling is recycled.

As are a lot of other beats from the first film such as the emotion family stuff in the real world, though this time it is far less impactful.

Repetition never makes a film better and that is very true here, this film probably shouldn’t have been made it lacks a lot of the charm and the heart and soul of the first film. The story feels forced and the characters feel like they’re back for the sake of it. They introduce a new villain an evil queen played by Tiffany Haddish, who they use for a “clever” twist, when they reveal that she isn’t the real villain of the film and that it is actually evil Emmet from the future. Yes it is dumb and obvious and no the film pointing that out doesn’t change the face; it just makes it lazy storytelling

Another thing that bothered me were the songs. The first film used them sparingly and to make a point, here they are ten a penny, there incessant and it gets annoying quickly.

Overall, a very subpar sequel that really didn’t need to be made.

Pros.

The characters are still mostly likeable

Cons.

The repeated character arc

Side-lining a lot of the best characters from the first film

The very obvious twist

The songs

1.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Tammy: Proof That Couples Shouldn’t Make Films Together

Tammy is a comedy film directed by Ben Falcone. The plot follows Tammy (Melissa McCarthy), a woman who is fired and then then finds out her husband is cheating on her so decides to hit the road with her mother to try and start over.

Why Mark Duplass? Why did you appear in this, did they force you? This film is a mess from start to finish and proves without a doubt why Falcone and McCarthy shouldn’t work together, they just make trash. The pair are married, and no doubt cheered on the others bad decisions and that is how you end up with a film as bad this one, a film that underutilises the ever wonderfully Mark Duplass and tarnishes his filmography.

If you have ever seen one of her “comedy” films before you know what you are getting in for, McCarthy is painfully unfunny near constantly and has to rely on very juvenile slapstick humor to try and get a cheap laugh and guess what, not even that is funny. Almost ever line is either cringe or capable of drawing out a groan.

The characters and plot are non-existent, what do they matter right. Tammy herself as a character is one of the most unlikeable personalities ever set to screen, you struggle to feel any kind of sympathy with her and by the end of the film actively want to see her life be left in ruins.

Overall, this is a waste of your time it is not even funny in the slightest way and makes Adam Sandler and Johnny Knoxville look like wise comedy masters by comparison.

Pros.

It is short

Cons.

It is not funny

I wanted to turn it off multiple times

It wastes Mark Duplass

There is a distinct lack of characters or plot

0.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Daddy’s Home: Having A Laugh At Male Infertility

Daddy’s Home is a comedy film directed by Sean Anders. The plot sees Brad (Will Ferrell), a new stepfather who just wants to be loved by his wife’s kids, become forced out of the picture as his wife’s much more handsome and assertive ex husband Dusty (Mark Wahlberg), remerges on the scene.

So, I always enjoy the Ferrell Wahlberg dynamic on screen, even if it is lesser when compared to Ferrell and Riley, however here it goes past the point of being funny. Keep in mind a lot of my issues with this film stem from its humour which is entirely subjective.

This film feels like an extension of the Other Guys which also stared both leads, the comedy is very similar, however there it felt like a good back and forth, here it just feels mean spirited. This film goes blue several times with the humour going places that I thought was a little needless. Call Ferrell’s character a “pussy”, sure but don’t make fun of the fact he is infertile it just leaves a bad taste.

On the writing front this is an incredibly generic comedy, there must be thousands of others like it that treat the premise with more of a clever take. You can accurately predict this film scene by scene before you have even seen it, and this obviousness makes the film boring in the long term.

Overall, despite having a few good laughs the humour mostly leaves a bad taste in your mouth and this film will go down as yet another miss for Ferrell.

Pros.

One or two laughs

The ending with John Cena

Cons.

The humour is mean spirited

The characters are oddly inconsistent

The story is laughably predictable
2/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Lego Movie: Everything Is Indeed Awesome

The Lego Movie is an animated action and adventure film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. We follow the tale of Emmet (Chris Pratt), a construction worker who is just like everyone else: he follows the rules of life and suffers for it. However, one day he meets master builder Wild Ride/ Lucy (Elizabeth Banks), who tell him that he is destined for greatness.

Can I just say before we get into this that the live action section in this film, when we see the evil Lord Business (Will Ferrell), is actually just the avatar of a dad in the real world who goes down and plays with Lego’s after work, is shockingly well done and poignant. I enjoyed the analogy; I thought the father son stuff was a very sweet turn that also brought with it a great surprise.

I also enjoyed the social commentary and punchy dialogue that features in almost every scene, it often made me laugh and took me off guard as I was not expecting it from a kid’s film. Furthermore, I think the level of imagination in this film surpasses the director’s other effort Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs by a mile.

Obviously, the film is very wholesome with a nice message that everyone could do with heeding and has sweet characters that you want to see more of, but these are things I’ve come to expect from good family films, so I won’t go on about them.

Overall, a gem of the early 2010’s for sure, proving the talent of both the directors and everyone involved, very much a lightning in a bottle firing on all cylinder’s type affair.

Pros

The real world section

The smart dialogue

The imagination

All of the characters are likeable and have distinct and varied personalities

It made me laugh a few times

Cons.

Some of it is a little cliched

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke