Category: comedy
-
War Dogs [2016] ★★★
A cross between “Wolf of Wall Street” and “The Hangover”, “War Dogs” arrives to theaters with no particular expectations, and that’s probably a good thing. Good, because, despite its familiar premise, the movie is highly entertaining. Director Todd Phillips has been itching for a comeback after a series of disappointing films, and “War Dogs”…
-
Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates [2016] ★½
It’s not really a movie. Zac Efron, 29, and Adam Devine, 33, still acting like hormonally charged teenagers at their sister’s wedding in Hawaii. And yet they’ve been warned by their parents not to show up unless they find decent dates for the occasion. That would be Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick, who aren’t as innocent…
-
![Bad Moms [2016] ★★½](https://tlkabtmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/bad-moms-poster.jpg?w=1012)
Bad Moms [2016] ★★½
Surprise: it isn’t bad. A Hangover type of movie featuring moms. Bad moms. Terrible moms. I’m talking Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and an absolutely hilarious Kathryn Hahn, who are crazy fun company. They’re also under-appreciated moms who can’t seem to catch a break. What to do? Ditch all responsibilities and have a crazy good time.…
-
Captain Fantastic [2016] ★★★
In a summer filled with lousy remakes and crappy aliens (I’m looking at you, “Independence Day”), it’s refreshing to encounter a movie as original as “Captain Fantastic”. It’s one of my favorite movies of the season. Viggo Mortensen is a standout, playing a devoted father who lives with his six young children deep in the…
-
Ghostbusters [2016] ★★
How you react to this remake will have a lot to do with your expectations. If you’re expecting something as memorable as the 1984 original starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykyord, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson and the late Harold Ramis, you will probably come away disappointed. I approached it with no particular expectations and took nothing home…
-
Now You See Me 2 [2016] ★★½
Unlike many friends and colleagues, I wasn’t a fan of the first “Now You See Me” movie, released back in 2013. While I enjoyed the cast and the premise, I didn’t care much for all the twists and turns that director Louis Leterrier threw at us. That being said, I didn’t mind this sequel so much.…
-
Welcome To Me [2015] ★★
“Welcome to Me” offers Kristen Wiig a juicy role (think less “Bridesmaids” and more “The Skeleton Twins”) and she delivers. What’s more, she is surrounded by a talented cast that brings out the colors in Eliot Laurence’s funny, often dramatic screenplay. With all these good ingredients involved, it’s a shame that the movie left me…
-
The Nice Guys [2016] ★★★
It’s not “LA Confidential”, but “The Nice Guys” is smart, funny and a treat to watch. Detective movies have been around for a very long time that it’s bracing to still find one with the smarts to laugh at itself, not to mention the 1970’s recreation that is so remarkably good, from costuming to the…
-
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising [2016] ★★
Unlike many people, I wasn’t a fan of the first “Neighbors” movie, released a couple of years ago. But since the movie was an instant box office hit, a sequel sounded like a no-brainer. Take the exact same ingredients, turn the frat into a sorority, bring in Chloe Grace Moretz as the head of the…
-
All Roads Lead To Rome [2016] ★
Terrible comedy will make you cringe over and over again. Sarah Jessica Parker plays a single mother who decides to reconnect with her troubled daughter by taking her to Italy. Everything that follows rings cringingly false, from Parker’s ridiculous romance with an Italian man to her annoying daughter. There’s not a genuine laugh here, unless…
-
The Boss [2016] ★½
Pairing likable actress Kristen Bell (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and the funny Melissa McCarthy (who was hilarious in last year’s “Spy”) as the title character in “The Boss” would seem like a perfect setup for yet another instant hit. Right? Wrong. The result is a painfully unfunny film and that’s putting it mildly. McCarthy plays a…
-
Eddie The Eagle [2016] ★★★
“Eddie the Eagle” is one of the nicest surprises of the year so far. It’s formulaic and unashamedly manipulative, but it’s played with sincerity by the entire cast and, against all odds, it works. It’s the true story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards, a Brit “athlete” with no particular talent, who went on to compete at the…
-
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 [2016] ★½
It took me a few days to actually sit down and write a review about “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2”. Was I trying to convince myself that what I witnessed wasn’t a disaster? Perhaps. But it was. It really was. The first movie was released back in 2002, and while it didn’t reinvent the…
-
Zoolander 2 [2016] ★½
Somebody owes me an explanation. I left “Zoolander 2” wondering how bad things happened to two of my favorite comedians, Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. What the hell happened dudes? You guys were funny in the first “Zoolander” movie back in 2001, and I still have fond memories of 2004’s “Starsky and Hutch”. So why…
-
Hail, Caesar! [2016] ★★½
The Coen brothers’ love letter to post-WWII Hollywood is no match to their older films, but it has a great cast and enough production values to keep you amused for a while. It paints an evocative picture of Hollywood and the methodology of filmmaking from that era, while offering solid roles for Josh Brolin and Georges Clooney,…
-
Deadpool [2016] ★★★½
“Deadpool” is everything an R-Rated superhero movie could hope to be: fast-paced, hilarious and incredibly entertaining. And yet I have to admit that I didn’t know what to really expect given its odd (but brilliant) marketing campaign (oh, Betty White) and the fact that Ryan Reynolds fucked up (excuse the language but it is an…
-
How To Be Single [2016] ★★½
It doesn’t break any new grounds, but “How To Be Single” provides light entertainment for anyone seeking a chick flick for Valentine’s weekend. Built on a template that’s familiar to anyone who has seen such movies as “Bridget Jones’ Diary” and “He’s Just Not That Into You”, this comedy uses an engaging cast that includes Dakota…
-
Dirty Grandpa [2016] ★
The worst movie of the year so far has a fine chance of retaining the title for the rest of the year. Robert De Niro’s career hits all time low (give him an award for worst performance already), playing a perverted grandpa (*cringes*) who goes on a road trip with his grandson (the always horrible…
-
Sisters [2015] ★★½
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are a funny duo. We know it. They know it. So watching them in a movie together for the first time since 2008’s “Baby Mama” sounds like an instant hit. Well…not entirely. But at least I can begin on a positive note: Fey and Poehler are both well cast as 30-…
-
Truffaut: the adventures of Antoine Doinel
Way before “ Boyhood ”, François Roland Truffaut, French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic, as well as one of the founders of the French New Wave, directed “ Les 400 coups ” (“ The 400 blows ”), a childhood movie featuring his own alter ego: Antoine Doinel. Years later, Doinel appears in four subsequent films (including one short: “ Antoine…
Let's Talk About Movies 