Category: comedy
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Ride Along 2 [2016] ★½
Because the first one wasn’t bad enough, here comes part 2, a dreadful collection of ridiculously stupid gags that director Tim Story tries to polish, to no avail. Kevin Hart is now a rookie cop who is trying to prove himself (once again) to his soon-to-be brother in law, played by Ice Cube. That’s right…
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Our Brand Is Crisis [2015] ★★½
A flop in the United States back in October, the underrated “Our Brand Is Crisis” may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but for a political satire set in the 21st Century, I thought it was entertaining and fiercely honest. Sandra Bullock is well cast as an American campaign strategist called “Calamity” Jane Bodine ,who…
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Bennesbeh La Bokra Chou? [1978]
Watching Ziad El Rahbani’s “Bennesbeh La Bokra Chou?” for the very first time in Beirut was a joy, I daresay a privilege. A play that many people talk about with affection and even passion can finally be seen on the big screen starting January 21 and you can’t possibly miss that. Asked what it was like…
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Daddy’s Home [2015] ★½
I love it when everyone is busy with award season and yet studios insist on dumping their worst movies thinking we wouldn’t notice. Well we do notice, especially when it’s a painfully unfunny comedy starring two actors that deserve much much more: Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Ferrell plays a stepdad who is trying to…
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Joy [2015] ★★½
Critics and audiences were raving about director David O. Russell’s previous movies when they opened a few years ago. But it seems that things aren’t exactly going his way this time around. That’s not to say that “Joy” is a bad movie. Far from it. For one, O. Russell has as good an eye for…
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Burnt [2015] ★½
As a sucker for food movies, I thought “Burnt” was tasteless; a mess of a movie that deserves no stars on the Michelin scale. Director John Wells and his writer Stephen Knight (“Locke”) should have known better. Instead, they got all the ingredients wrong, starting with Bradley Cooper who is painfully annoying as an American chef who…
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Man Up [2015] ★★½
As someone who didn’t expect much from this comedy starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell, I actually had a good time watching it. Bell plays an English woman who will very much remind you of Bridget Jones: 34, single, kinda depressed. On her way to her parents’ 40th wedding anniversary, she meets Jack (Pegg), who mistakes…
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Goosebumps [2015] ★★½
I grew up reading the Goosebumps stories. But I knew from the very first moment that a big screen adaptation could ruin all the fun. Which is why I have to credit director Rob Letterman for knowing what the hell he is doing. At a time when kids are only interested in dystopian love stories, Letterman…
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Sleeping With Other People [2015] ★★½
It’s not the romantic comedy of the year, but “Sleeping With Other People” has enough laughs and charm to keep you interested. The movie opens in 2002, where Jake (Jason Sudeikis) has sex for the first time with Lainey (Alison Brie). They reunite years later at a rehab for sex addicts and decide to become…
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Me And Earl And The Dying Girl [2015] ★★★½
This is one of my favorite movies of the year: a coming of age story that turns the familiar into something fresh, funny and poignant. It makes you laugh, then breaks your heart. Thomas Mann plays Greg, a shy teen who is trying to survive high school. One day, his mom “forces” him to visit Rachel (Olivia Cooke,…
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The Intern [2015] ★★★
Nancy Meyers makes adorable movies (yes I’m using the term “adorable” to describe movies now). Her latest movie, “The Intern”, is an agreeable piece of entertainment featuring one of the best actors on the planet, Robert De Niro. If the movie were merely a vehicle for his comedic gifts , that would be enough to…
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American Ultra [2015] ★★
I have no faith in myself to speak coherently about this silly farce. But I do have faith in Jesse Einserbeg. Yes, I liked “Zombieland” and “The Social Network” that much and I’m eager for his next, “Batman Vs Superman” with Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill. Ok so here are the facts: Einsenberg goes crazy in “American Ultra”…
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Ricki And The Flash [2015] ★★½
Here’s the thing about Meryl Streep: I can watch her in almost anything. And now at 66, she’s still constantly looking for new, challenging roles. “Ricki and the Flash” won’t win her a 4th Oscar, but she’s completely convincing and mesmerizing as an 80’s-style rock-and-roller who performs cover versions of familiar hits with her longtime band at…
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Trainwreck [2015] ★★½
As much as I like Judd Apatow and his comedies (from “Knocked Up” to “This is 40”), I didn’t fully appreciate his latest effort. “Trainwreck” is frustratingly uneven and drags at 125 minutes . Luckily, the movie never runs on sitcom empty. How could it, with a terrific cast, led by Amy Schumer as a highly sexual woman…
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Vacation [2015] ★½
As if we needed a “Vacation” reboot. The 1983 original starring Chevy Chase wasn’t exactly Shakespeare, but it was funny and entertaining enough. The new one, starring Ed Helms as a family guy who decides to take his wife (Christina Applegate) and two sons on a “fun” road trip to “Walley World”, has nothing much to…
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Irrational Man [2015] ★★★
It’s difficult to dislike Woody Allen’s latest movie. It isn’t one of his best, and I’ll admit it doesn’t feel as fresh or original as “Crimes and Misdemeanors” or even “Match Point”, but it has all the right ingredients to make you fall for it. The great Joaquin Phoenix is well cast as Abe Lucas, an…
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Limelight [1952] ★★★½
I find it quite ironic that this is the last movie I ever saw with my granddad. Ironic because, unlike many Chaplin movies, this one is tragic. Ironic because my granddad passed away a few months later. Looking back at “Limelight”, there’s always a bittersweet feeling. Even when I saw it again recently, I couldn’t…
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The Man From U.N.C.L.E [2015] ★★★
Caught between James Bond and this year’s surprise hit “Kingsman”,”The Man From U.N.C.L.E” is an elegant combo of action, espionage and comedy that breathes exciting new life into the spy genre. Adapted from a TV series that aired from 1964 to 1968 and directed by Guy Ritchie with the same “anything-goes” ingenuity he brought to “Snatch” and…
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Kind Hearts And Coronets [1949] ★★★★
I can’t begin to describe how funny this movie is. I haven’t recommended a classic movie in quite a while, but “Kind Hearts and Coronets” seemed like a good way to start again. Alec Guiness is brilliant playing not 1, not 2, but 8 characters (!) in this hugely entertaining black comedy about a poor, distant…
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Ted 2 [2015] ★★½
The first “Ted” caught me off-guard. Instead of a silly film about a talking teddy bear, director and co-writer Seth MacFarlane raised the bar by leaving out the cuteness and focusing on the hardcore hilarity. And he found just the right actors to knock it out of the park. In short: I was instantly hooked. The movie was…
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