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

Dragged Across Concrete: A Pulp Fiction Novel Done In 159 Minutes

Dragged Across Concrete is a Neo-noir action thriller film, directed by S. Craig Zahler. The plot revolves around two cops, Brett (Mel Gibson), and Anthony (Vince Vaughn), who are suspended after an excessive force incident. However, for various reasons both men need to make money, so they decide to rob a group of criminals that have robbed a bank.

Craig Zahler is a very strange filmmaker to talk about as his films have a very specific style to them, if you have ever seen any of them you will know what I am talking about, said style can be incredibly polarising. I enjoyed his debut effort Bone Tomahawk but thought that his follow-up Brawl In Cell Block 99 went a little too far for my tastes and veered into vile and uncomfortable viewing. This film, however, seems to hit a sweet spot, it has moments of extreme violence, but these aren’t excessive rather instead well used.

One of my favourite bits from this film is one of those violent moments. Jenifer Carpenter plays Kelly a recent mother who is having separation anxiety as she has to be away from her baby and go back to work, can I just say here that even though her role is under 10 minutes I think this is one of the best performances of Carpenter’s career, once she is back at work she gets caught up in the bank robbery and killed. What makes this worth talking about is the fact that this is incredibly shocking as she is a recognisable actress, and had a big part in Cell Block 99, we don’t expect her to die so suddenly yet she does. This moment actually made me gasp out loud, I am being serious.

The antagonist of the film is also terrific from the moment we are introduced to Lorentz Vogelmann (Thomas Kretschmann), he is menacing. Furthermore, the choice to have him be in a mask for most of the film really adds to the sense of terror. He is the first ‘bad guy’ in a long time that has actually captured my interest.

Gibson and Vaughn are both solid leads and have a good repour, you can easily buy that these two men have been partners for some time. Moreover, the character motivations for the two are well written as well, Vaughn’s Anthony wants to propose to his girlfriend, he dies as he listens to a voicemail of her rejecting him this perfectly captures that gritty sense of reality that this film is going for. Brett, on the other hand, wants to provide a better life for his family, which in a sense he does, and this provides the film it’s happy ending.

Overall, this film feels as though S. Craig Zahler has brought a pulpy crime novel to the big screen in the best way. Usually, these sorts of films, especially with a run-time as long as this (159 minutes) start to lose my attention, but this one kept me hooked right the way through to the end. A modern masterpiece in noir cinema. A Must Watch!

Pros.

It Is Genuinely Shocking.

It Is Everything A Pulpy Crime Film Should Be.

It Is Gorey But Doesn’t Over Do It.

Great Leads.

A Career Best For Jennifer Carpenter.

Cons.

None.

5/5

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

Parasite: A Chain Of Trust Must Never Be Broken

Parasite is a South Korean dark comedy thriller film directed by Bong Joon-Ho. The film revolves around a poor family (The Kim Family), that one by one infiltrate the services of a rich family (The Park Family), to live the high life as well as to benefit financially. The Kim family uses fake documents to pose as well-trained professionals as well as a series of underhanded tactics, which grow in seriousness across the film.

This film is a dark comedy done right. The tone perfectly straddles the line between comedy and tragedy as all good dark comedies should do. There were moments of hilarity such as when Park Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun) and Yeon-gyo (Cho Yeo-jeong) are engaging in some sexy role play, which to them involves them being poor and dealing drugs, all the while the actual poor members of the Kim family are all hidden under the table. This scene amused me, but also made me think, it furthers the theme of a class divide which is pivotal to this film. It paints the Kim family and the Park family as drastic opposites, almost different species.

The idea of this class divide is best shown in one of the film’s final scenes when Kim Ke-jeong (Park So-dam), gets stabbed by the crazy guy from the basement, more on that later, and no one seems to care. She has been a good friend to the Park family, or at least she appeared that way, but when the time came they didn’t give her a second thought; yes an argument could be made that they were preoccupied with saving their own son, but they could have still done something.

There are parts of this film where it veers into strange and crazy ideas, these are the best bits. As the film escalates it gets more and more manic, the world becomes unstable, with some films especially films that are supposed to be realistic like this one, venturing into this kind of territory can be disastrous, but in Parasites case it works really well; it thrives in the chaos.

Overall, this is a very entertaining film it had great moments of tension and comedy and it even managed to make me think. The ending even had a tear in my eye. A beautiful film.

Pros.

A Perfect Dark Comedy.

Great Performances.

A Superb Ending.

Embracing The Crazy.

Cons.

Maybe A Little Too Long.

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Murder Mystery: Sandler Is On The Case

‘Murder Mystery’ is a comedy mystery film directed by Kyle Newacheck. The plot follows married couple Nick (Adam Sandler), and Audrey (Jennifer Aniston), who’s holiday is interrupted when they get tangled up in a murder aboard a yacht; they soon get framed for the crimes and then they have to clear their names as well as find out who the real killer is.

I had heard that Adam Sandler’s Netflix comedies were the worst of the worst, lazy, boring and unfunny and I have to say this film disproved that to me to some extent. To elaborate on that point more what I mean is from a narrative standpoint the end twist where it looked like Nick and Audrey were wrong about who the killer is, was good, I wasn’t expecting. However, they then immediately undercut it by being like ‘oh wait yeah it was her’, which I felt was a misstep.

A lot can be said for Sandler’s Netflix fare, but at least it knows what it is. ‘Murder Mystery’ is a good, easy entertainment, you can turn your brain off for an hour and 40 minutes and sit back and have a few laughs, some intentional, some not. The plot is laughably goofy, but then that was always how it was going to be, no one ever thought this film would take itself seriously.

Sandler’s character arc is that he has been lying to his wife about being a detective for a long time and this is then revealed and the two have to work it out, this is not a new or fresh storyline, but it does work to some effect and makes Sandler a likeable, redeemable character. Sandler is definitely more toned down in this film and as such is more tolerable. What’s more it is nice to see him back on screen with Aniston, the two have great chemistry and play off each other with ease.

Luke Evans, Gemma Arterton, Terence Stamp and more are in this film and they are all serviceable, whilst also being incredibly forgettable and devoid of anything even remotely resembling a personality. If I had to guess they were all here for the paycheck.

Overall, Sandler was bearable in this, it was a far cry from something like ‘Grown Ups 2’ he worked well alongside Aniston and the film overall is good if you want something to turn your brain off to.

On the better side of average for sure.

Pros.

Aniston and Sandler.

Dumb Fun.

Sandler Is Always Watchable.

Cons.

The Wider Cast Are Easily Replaceable.

Nothing Fresh Or Original.

2.5/5

Reviewed By Luke

1917: Tick Tock

‘1917’ is an epic war film directed by Sam Mendes. The plot revolves around 2 British soldiers who go on a desperate mission to call off a British attack on the German line, after it is revealed to be a trap, set during WW1.

In many ways this film reminded me of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’. Despite being about different wars and different locations ‘1917’ had that same level of tension as well as being underpinned by a keen sense of futility, as it seems almost impossible the 2 soldiers will make it there in time to stop the advance.

‘1917’ shows the horrors of war and really plays them up to great effect, we see this when Schofield (George MacKay), meets Lauri (Claire Duburcq), a woman who is living in a bombed-out hovel with a baby that is not hers. The thing that makes this scene so tense is that if the baby doesn’t get milk it will die, fortunately Schofield has some, but it makes you think if he hadn’t come along that Baby would have died and there is nothing Lauri could have done about it.

Another ballsy thing this film does that I think makes it worthy of praise is the decision to kill off one of its main characters early and with very little warning. The 2 soldiers who venture out are Schofield and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), but Blake just gets killed seemingly out of nowhere very early into the film. There is a bit in the film where both men are running through a collapsing German trench but emerge okay, at this point it seems as though ‘1917’ will flirt with the idea of these men dying, but it won’t actually go there. Then mere moments later a German Plane crashes and the pilot stabs Blake while Schofield has his back turned. It is that quick. There is no fanfare when Blake dies, no him soldiering on for a few more scenes, or a heroic self-sacrifice; he just dies very quickly in Schofield’s arms- this sets the tone for the film.

My one complaint about this film, the thing that stops me giving it a perfect score, is the fact that it wastes some of its larger cast. Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch are all in this film, but their parts are so small it makes you wonder why they were even cast at all. I think it would have been better if these actors were either given more to do, a la Tom Hardy in ‘Dunkirk’, or if they were played by unknown actors as seeing these big names pop-up for what feels like glorified cameos feels distracting.

Overall, a fantastic war film that doesn’t pull any punches, it is clear to see why this is up for Best Picture at the Oscars. Mostly Marvelous.

Pros.

Great Leads.

Ballsy Shocking Decisions In Storytelling.

A Sense Of Dread And Futility.

An Ever-Present Ticking Clock.

Cons.

Wastes Some Of It’s Bigger Stars.

4/5

Reviewed By Luke

East Is East: Life Is What You Make It

‘East Is East’ is a British comedy-drama directed by Damien O’Donnell. The plot revolves around a mixed ethnicity family with a Pakistani Father, George (Om Puri), and an English Mother Ella (Linda Bassett). The film explores ideas around identity and heritage, as George thinks his kids have become too English and have lost their culture, while his kids despise him for his strict, antiquated ways. The film is based on the play of the same name written by Ayub Khan-Dim, who also writes this film.

Over the years, I have seen this film many times, and the more you watch it the more layers you see are visible in it. Because on the surface it is mainly a comedy film with a few dramatic scenes thrown in, but if you look a bit deeper you see it is about a generation of kids that want to make their own identity, want to go down their own path; they don’t want to be told by their dad how to be, they just want to be themselves.

The kids all give great performances that have range, there is Tariq (Jimi Mistry), who is rebellious and wants to be in charge of his own destiny and then there is Maneer (Emil Marwa), who is everything his father would want him to be obedient. This film likes complexity, it likes to show how all the characters want freedom, they want to be able to shape their own destiny, but they are all going about it in their own way. The situation is affecting them all differently

Furthermore, this film has some really uncomfortable scenes, namely when George beats Maneer and then his wife. These scenes sharply contrast the comedy that we have so far been laughing along with and show a whole other side to the dynamic of the film that is deeply unpleasant to see. These scenes do have something to say and are not just put in for shock value, the abusive behavior feels natural for George’s characters, who as we already know is the sort of person who would completely disown one of his kids.

Overall, this is a staple of British Cinema for me and I think it has a lot to say about life and identity and it does it all well, with a healthy dose of laughter and a few scenes to hammer home the more serious points; both of these elements are in perfect harmony with each other. If you have already seen this then it is a must watch.

Pros.

Representation.

Characters You Care About.

Not Afraid To Get Real.

Charming And Funny.

Great Performances From Everyone.

Cons.

None

5/5

Reviewed By Luke

Adult World: A Sex Shop Of Love

‘Adult World’ is a comedy drama film directed by Scott Coffey. The plot follows Amy (Emma Roberts), an aspiring poet who is waiting on her big break. After she gets kicked out of her parents’ house, she is forced to take up a job at a sex shop which she eventually grows to love over time, despite not being happy to work there in the beginning. She also becomes some what of a protegee to famous American poet Rat Billings (John Cusack), who she has idolised since she was young.

This film deals with themes of growing up and accepting your place in the world. Throughout the film Amy is stressed as she feels she is not making enough of her golden years and that if she is not a published poet by the time, she turns 22 it is all over for her. However, at the end of the film Amy realises that it is okay to not be where she wants to be, and that life can be surprising. Indeed, if there is a message to this film it is that failure is okay, it has a comfortability to it.

The on-screen chemistry between Amy and her co worker Alex (Evan Peters), is palpable. Any scene the two shares together is fantastic, and captivating and it makes sense that this film was the beginning on their real-life relationship. Both, actors I believe are criminally underrated and both do a great job with what they are given here.

My one issue with this film is that John Cusack’s tired angry mentor character feels cliched and done before. He gives a good enough performance don’t get me wrong, but I do believe that he lets down the scenes between him and Emma Robert’s character which is a real shame as he is capable of much better.

Overall, this film has beautiful message of expanding your mind and being tolerant towards others which is something I think we all need to be reminded off every now and again. It is a shame that John Cusack is past his prime, but at least Roberts and Peters are fantastic and make this a film worth watching. There is a beauty to this film that needs to be seen.

Pros.

Roberts And Peters’ Great Chemistry.

It Is Unique.

It Has A Beautiful Message.

It Leaves You With Something To Think About.

Cons.

John Cusack Is Phoning It In.

3/5

Reviewed By Luke