Category: comedy
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A Million Ways To Die In The West [2014] ★★
Welcome to a million ways to laugh yourself silly. Your host? Seth MacFarlane, the genius behind “Family Guy” and the hilarious “Ted”. “A Million Ways” is MacFarlane’s take on the Western genre, with plenty of sex jokes and gross out gags to inspire haters. Fair enough. But for all its ups and downs, the movie…
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The Angriest Man In Brooklyn [2014] ★½
Robin Williams is the angriest man in Brooklyn. And I’m the angriest man in the theater. This movie stinks. Rating: 1.5/4
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Blended [2014] ★★
“Blended” rolls unapologetically off the Adam Sandler assembly line. It’s another farce high on silliness, sentiment, sex jokes, toilet jokes and a love for grossout gags that is too sincere to be faked. Say what you will about him, and to most people, Sandler is the Ed Wood of comedy. He’s a 48 year old…
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Chef [2014] ★★★
“Chef”, featuring all humans all the time, is the kind of comedy you root for even when you know it has nowhere else to go. It’s refreshing to see writer/director Jon Favreau go back to his indie roots, following a series of big Hollywood blockbusters like “Iron Man” and “Cowboys & Aliens”. He also plays…
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Muppets Most Wanted [2014] ★★½
The 2011 movie was one of the best surprises of the year and a huge success at the box office. “Muppets Most Wanted”, while not as good as its predecessor, is still fun to watch. It reunites the team that made the first one so successful (without Jason Segel though and that’s a shame), including…
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Walk Of Shame [2014]
Toss this ugly-ass crap into the scum bucket, along with the other multiplex garbage (I’m talking to you “The Other Woman“), and see a film that gets it right (I’m talking “The Grand Budapest Hotel“). Elizabeth Banks adds a career crushing notch to her career by playing a news reporter who finds herself without a…
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Bad Neighbors [2014] ★★
What can I say about a movie that made me want to slap everyone in the face? “Bad Neighbors” is so shallow, self-satisfied and downright silly that I hesitate to discuss it. It has none of the qualities of director Nicholas Stoller’s debut feature, “Forgetting Sarah Marhall”, and it’s a long way from Seth Rogen’s…
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The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014] ★★★★
The dumb rap against the brilliant Wes Anderson is that his movies (From “Rushmore” to “Moonrise Kingdom”) all hit on similar themes and techniques. Damn him. And damn Scorsese and his obsession with gangsters. And what’s with Tarantino and violence? My point is, an artist can spend a lifetime developing personal themes and deepening their…
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The Other Woman [2014]
You’ve seen it all before. Eight years ago actually, in “John Tucker Must Die”, in which a high school newbie helped three popular girls exact revenge on the man who lied and cheated on them. In “The Other Woman”, directed by Nick Cassavetes, it’s more of the stupid same. I’ve always liked Cameron Diaz, who…
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A Case Of You [2013] ★★
Justin Long and Evan Rachel Wood would be assets to any romantic comedy, but they can’t make “A Case Of You” rise above the routine. He plays a writer who falls for a barista (Wood) at his local coffee shop in Brooklyn. Problem is: he’s too shy to approach her, so he checks her Facebook…
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Casse-Tête Chinois [2013] ★★★
I’ve been a sucker for french comedies for a while now; perhaps it’s because I haven’t practiced my french in a long time, or maybe it’s because they make so many good movies. Either way, I enjoyed Cedric Klapisch’s (“L’auberge Espagnole”) new movie a lot. It’s a commercial, crowd-pleasing piece of work with engaging performances…
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That Awkward Moment [2014] ★★
You can tell “That Awkward Moment” is cheesy and predictable from watching the trailer. There’s Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller (so good in “The Spectacular Now”) doing sitcom shticks as twenty something best buds who decide a marathon of one-night stands is what they need. No relationships or commitments whatsoever. Then Efron falls for…
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About Last Night [2014] ★★½
Audiences gearing up for something sweet like “Endless Love” or “Winter’s Tale” need to adjust. Of all the romantic movies playing at the multiplex, “About Last Night” is probably the only one worth watching. Am I saying it’s a great movie? Not I’m not. But the film lucks out in director Steve Pink (“Hot Tub…
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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues [2013] ★★★
I’m a bit biased when it comes to Ron Burgundy and his Channel 4 news team. But can you blame me? The first movie was a super hit back in 2004 and it made an even bigger star out of Will Ferrell. A decade later and Ferrell is still the go-to guy if you want…
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The Monuments Men [2014] ★★½
George Clooney’s fifth shot as a director (following “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”, “Good Night and Good Luck”, “Leatherheads” and “The Ides of March”) is a wacky World War II film based on a remarkable true story about a mission to save precious works of art during Hitler’s reign. Call it Ocean’s Eleven in helmets…
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Ride Along [2014] ★½
The first comedy of the year has a damn fine chance of being the worst. “Ride Along” isn’t just a lousy comedy flick, it should numb the brains of moviegoers of all sexes and ages. Before you start hating, I think you should know that I’ve got nothing against a dumb comedy film on a…
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Enough Said [2013] ★★★
I’ve enjoyed most of Nicole Holofcener’s movies (“Please Give”, “Friends with Money”) but she has outdone herself with “Enough Said”. Her characters are real, richly drawn and utterly believable. With a light of comic touch, and without a whiff of pretension, she manages to explore some of the craziness of adult relationships, creating superior entertainment.…
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Saving Mr. Banks [2013] ★★★
If you love movies, “Saving Mr. Banks” is hard to resist. It paints an evocative picture of Hollywood and the methodology of filmmaking, circa 1961, while offering juicy roles to Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks, two of the finest actors of their generation. It has a different flavor from most movies I’ve seen in 2013,…
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Blue Jasmine [2013] ★★★½
Woody Allen has had his ups and downs over the years (“Anything Else” was awful for instance), but “Blue Jasmine” is one of his best movies in years. As usual he has assembled an impressive cast and given them interesting roles to play. It’s a treat to watch Cate Blanchett (in an Oscar worthy performance),…
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The Right Kind Of Wrong [2013] ★★
An entirely predictable chick flick that will probably go down much easier on DVD with a few Margaritas and a slice of pizza with extra cheese (pun intended). It’s a date! Rating: 2/4
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