Category: comedy
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Birdman [2014] ★★★★
How to describe Michael Keaton’s raw, elemental tour de force as Riggan Thomson in “Birdman”? Think of a stick of dynamite with the fuse lit and ready to blow. That’s how brilliant he is. Keaton gets everything right about this actor who’s not ready to call it quits. Once upon a time, he was the star of a superhero franchise called “Birdman”.…
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The Interview [2014] ★★
The movie North Korea never wanted you to see is finally here. So was it worth the wait? The answer is quite simply no. As someone who enjoys Seth Rogen’s comedy but was disappointed with “Bad Neighbors”, I hoped this movie would hit the sweet spot again, especially since he is working with his longtime…
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Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb [2014] ★★½
As mainstream Hollywood studio movies go, “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” isn’t bad. I’ve seen my share of bad sequels and this isn’t one of them, although the setting couldn’t be more familiar. Ben Stiller is back at it again and this time he’s on a very serious mission: he has to go…
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![Laggies [2014] ★★½](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/laggies-poster-e1417381163779.jpg?w=842)
Laggies [2014] ★★½
“Laggies” is far from innovative, but it’s pleasant enough, and I think that’s the fitting adjective for this coming of age film starring Keira Knightley, Chloe Grace Moretz and Sam Rockwell. Knightley plays Megan, a 20 something woman who is still trying to figure out what to do with her life. When she discovers her father is…
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Horrible Bosses 2 [2014] ★★
Sequels are the curse of modern-day comedies. Occasionally you find a good one, but more often the second installment ruins all the fun and sense of discovery that made the original a hit in the first place. “Horrible Bosses” was one of my favorite comedies of 2011. I tried to remind myself of that as I watched…
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St. Vincent [2014] ★★★
“St. Vincent” is one of the nicest surprises of the year. It entertained me and left me with a feeling of satisfaction that’s all too rare these days. The story is best described as a comedy, but like many of the best films in that genre it’s rooted in truth: honest observations about family and friendship.…
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Dumb And Dumber To [2014] ★★½
The first Dumb and Dumber hit theaters in 1994, which in Bieber years is about a century ago. Did we need a sequel? As a long time fan of Harry and Lloyd, I’d say hell yes. I can’t recall the number of times I’ve seen the first film. But I do recall the number of…
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Love, Rosie [2014] ★★½
“Love, Rosie” feels a lot like deja-vu, but it’s sweet, charming and entertaining. I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of romantic comedies that cover a long time period in a constantly-changing relationship. From the peak of “When Harry Met Sally” to the low of “A Lot Like Love”, we’ve seen it all. So basically the outcome…
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Frank [2014] ★★★
Unleashed imagination is a hell of a rare thing to find at the movies these days. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, sure, but then what? Try “Frank”, an offbeat comedy loosely based on the story of Frank Sidebottom, a Brit comic who enjoyed some underground success in the late 1980s and early 1990s by wearing a fake…
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Two Night Stand [2014] ★★½
“Two Night Stand” is far from original, but it isn’t often one can describe a contemporary romantic comedy as “sweet”, and that’s the fitting adjective for this lightly likable film starring Miles Teller and Analeigh Tipton. It’s so short, and so slight, that it may be better enjoyed at home on DVD or on a date…
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And So It Goes [2014] ★½
If you admire such films as “This Is Spinal Tap”, “Stand By Me” and “The Princess Bride” as I do, you’ll be rooting for director Rob Reiner to score another bull’s-eye with his latest effort. But it’s clear pretty early on that “And so it Goes” is a muddled misfire: a tiresome, talky “romantic” comedy about a…
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Let’s Be Cops [2014] ★½
Lame, one joke comedy about two losers who decide to “play” cops just for the fun of it, with disastrous (pun intended) results. I could go on, but do I really have to? Rating: 1.5/4
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Life Of Crime [2014] ★★
Unlike The Coen’s brothers’ masterpiece “Fargo”, I wasn’t swept away by “Life of Crime”, a movie with similar plot. I certainly appreciate the 1970s period flavor, the funny dialogue in writer/director Daniel Schechter’s screenplay, and the showcase it provides for a group of talented actors. However, about halfway through the movie I came to the realization…
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The Hundred-Foot Journey [2014] ★★★
When a film about food has a solid cast led by the amazing Helen Mirren, you can’t go far wrong, which is exactly the case with Steven Knight’s adaptation of Richard C. Morais’ successful book. And who better to direct this delightful piece than Lasse Hallstrom, the man responsible for such films as “Chocolat”, “The…
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Sex Tape [2014] ★½
“Sex Tape” is the kind of movie that gives sex comedies a bad name. I won’t dwell on its one-joke premise, in which a married couple make a sex tape and then realize that it’s spreading like wildfire to a multitude of iPads they’ve recently given to friends and family. Nor will I comment on whether or not…
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Seven Chances [1925]
Slapstick comedy at its best. Legendary silent movie star Buster Keaton plays a man who will inherit a fortune ($ 7 million to be specific)… if he’s married by 7:00 that evening! Delightfully winning, beautifully shot silent comedy mixes slapstick and verbal jokes in a winning combination. If you’re discovering silent cinema, this gem is…
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Tammy [2014] ★
What can I say about a movie that made me want to walk out? “Tammy” is so lame and downright stupid that I hesitate to review it at all. It has none of the qualities of a good comedy, and it’s a long way from Melissa McCarthy’s Oscar-nominated “Bridesmaids”. In fact, I’d call this movie…
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Think Like A Man Too [2014] ★½
Sequels are the curse of modern-day moviegoing. Occasionally you find a good one, but more often the second installment dissipates all the fun and sense of discovery that made the original a hit in the first place. That’s not the case with “Think Like A Man Too”, since the first one was equally stupid. Now…
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22 Jump Street [2014] ★★★
On my way to see this movie I kept saying to myself, “I hope they don’t ruin it!”. I feared that we might have seen all the funniest bits in the first movie; fortunately, I was wrong. The first “Jump Street” only offers a glimpse of what both Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have to…
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