Tag Archives: Comedy

Rooster: Release the Brown Fat [S1:E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – While I am not sure it quite got its hooks into me in this first outing, it was more than enough to make me want to see where this goes from a character’s trainwreck perspective.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the HBO Max service that viewed this series.

Greg gives a reading to the class.

Rooster Review Introduction –

Today, we dive into the third Bill Lawrence-associated series to come out in 2026 [and yes, we will also look at Season 4 of Ted Lasso later in the year]. I was intrigued about this show, because the promos were not letting much out, but I do find comedies set in colleges that are not focused on the students can be real gems. But something about the presentation did give me a pause to be concerned. If I should be is what we will examine today.

So, to set the scene, Greg Russo (Steve Carell) is a novel writer who focuses on more pulp productions, fun to read on a holiday, but not that deep. Which is why he is nervous about being asked to go to a college to present his work to a classroom by Dylan Shepard (Danielle Deadwyler). But present he does, and is profoundly destroyed by the students. However, there might have been a slight ulterior motive for him coming to this college, because his daughter Katie (Charly Clive) works there and is going through a scandal as her estranged husband Archie (Phil Dunster) decided to have an affair with a grad student. And that is only the start of a very bad day for both of them. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Scrubs: My Return [S10:E1] – TV Review

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TL;DR – While it is nice to be back with old friends, I was most surprised at who made me tear up in this first episode back.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that aired this episode.

JD in scrubs.

Scrubs Review –

Well, well, well, the show that uplifted me in my youth and also blindsided me with emotions I was absolutely not prepared for … looking at you, My Screw Up. Scrubs is one of those comfort shows that you could sit down and watch any time, and it will bring you joy. However, I have seen old shows being brought back and not being able to work in the modern environment, so I came in here with some trepidation. Turns out I didn’t need it, at least not this time..

So, to set the scene, it has been a long time since JD (Zach Braff) worked at Sacred Heart hospital [which was not torn down, I do not know how that rumour got started]. However, while he spends his days being a concierge doctor for the wealthy, it is not exactly a stimulating profession. But as fate would have it, today he is back at his old stomping grounds, because one of his patients got admitted. It is a place of joy with old friends, old mentors, and more recent ex-wives. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

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The Wrecking Crew – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A solid action film that works as two big personalities collide with vengeance.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Johnny (Dave Bautista) and James (Jason Momoa) in a police office.

The Wrecking Crew Review Introduction –

Today, it is time to dive into an action film full of explosions, guns, big muscles, and bigger personalities. It is the kind of glitzy action film that we would get once a month, but now get sent straight to streaming. But as this is a very dad-film coded entry, it might just be the best place for it.   

So, to set the scene, it’s Chinese New Year on the streets of Honolulu as Walter (Brian L. Keaulana) walks through Chinatown, being stalked by unsavoury people as fireworks explode. But just when he escapes, a van mows him down in the street. The man was a private eye with a long list of carnage in his wake, including two children, half-brothers Johnny (Dave Bautista) and James (Jason Momoa), who have not talked to each other in over ten years. But when the Yakuza show up at James’ place with violent intent, looking for a package Walter sent him before he died, well, it just might be time for James to go back to Hawaii to see who really killed his father.

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Roofman – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A slow meditation on isolation and despair when who you are is not who the world wants.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit sequence.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Channing Tatum dancing through a Toys R Us store

Roofman Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a sort of odd film as we wrap up 2025. Going into Roofman, all the marketing implied that this was a quirky, fun romp of shenanigans. To be fair, there is some of that there. However, the film we got is very different from the one that was marketed.

So, to set the scene, in 1998, Jeffrey Manchester (Channing Tatum) made a living by breaking into McDonald’s via the roof. He felt it was the only way he could provide for his family after leaving the military. After being arrested, he is sent away for 45 years, but the same skills that allowed him to rob the burger places allowed him to escape prison. Prison plans and a truck trip later and he was a ‘free’ man, but with everyone looking for an escaped prisoner, Jeffery had only one place to hide, in a Toys R Us store.

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Anaconda (2025) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is a wildly silly and meta film that holds back when it should dive all the way in.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to view this film.

A production slate for Anaconda.

Anaconda Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a film that sold itself to me by its bonkers premise alone: what if the sequel to 1997’s Anaconda was a meta reboot about a group of filmmakers trying to film a sequel to 1997’s Anaconda. It is a premise so profoundly silly that you must see just how they pull it off, and the answer is very meta indeed.

So, to set the scene, Ronald “Griff” Griffen Jr. (Paul Rudd) is a background actor in Hollywood whose only notable role was a four-episode stint on S.W.A.T. Well, after another failed audition, he sees a poster for the 1997 film Anaconda and gets an idea. He returns home to Buffalo, New York, to inform his friends that he has secured the rights to the Anaconda franchise so they can make one of the films they used to make when they were kids. It is a profoundly silly idea, but soon wedding videographer Doug McCallister (Jack Black), recently divorced lawyer Claire Simons (Thandiwe Newton), and now Buffalo sober Kenny Trent (Steve Zahn) find themselves in Manaus, Brazil, looking at snake handler Carlos Santiago Braga (Selton Mello) and his pet anaconda. They take a boat deep into the jungle to start filming, but little do they know that when filming Anaconda, there may be an anaconda hunting them.      

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Sunny Nights: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This is a profoundly chaotic show, some of that is intentional amusement, and some of that is unintentional interactions of tone and pacing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Stan service that viewed this series.

Will Forte looks at a snow globe covered in blood.

Sunny Nights Review –

There are times when a single pitch is enough to get you to take a chance on something: Will Forte and D’Arcy Carden are siblings who get in over their heads with Rachel House, a mobster, as they try to push their spray tan business in Sydney. That is a sentence that makes you want to see how the hell they pull such a chaotic idea off. Well, it worked for me if nothing else.

So, to set the scene, American siblings Martin (Will Forte) and Vicki Marvin (D’Arcy Carden) have moved their spray tan business, Tansform, to Sydney, Australia. Martin is going to get back with his wife after they separated and she moved to Sydney. Vicki is there to help get out of the life she’s in and make some bank. However, they are both profoundly outside of their element, even before Martin gets catfished, and all of a sudden, they are up to their ears in debt and might just have the mob after them all because of an exploding crocodile. Now, from here, we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

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Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A visual delight, filled with actors giving stellar performances, fantastic chemistry, a riot of emotions, an intriguing mystery, and an honest exploration of motivations as old as time itself.  

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Warning – Contains a scene with flashing lights.

A woman bursts through the doors to a church.

Wake Up Dead Man Review Introduction –

While people say that you should be impartial when writing a review, I find that, to use the words of Benoit Blanc, to be hooey. Art is subjective, and everyone will bring their own interpretations to art. Or to put it more bluntly, we all bring our own baggage along for the ride. But more than that, sometimes a film speaks to you on a fundamental personal level due to things happening in your life right at the moment you see it. Well, for me, we will be looking at just such a film today.  

So, to set the scene, we open with Rev. Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) writing a letter to the famous private detective/investigator Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) about the Good Friday Murder. Jud was a boxer before he found Christ, and sometimes comes out swinging still. This led Bishop Langstrom (Jeffrey Wright) to send the young Catholic priest upstate to the town of Chimmy Rock and to the church of Our Lady of Perpetual Fortitude run by Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Msgr. Wicks rules his congregation with an iron fist, the kind of ministry that creates zealots out of parishioners like Martha Delacroix (Glenn Close), Dr Sharp (Jeremy Renner), Vera Draven (Kerry Washington), Lee Ross (Andrew Scott), Simone Vivane (Cailee Spaeny), Cy Draven (Daryl McCormack) & Samson Holt (Thomas Haden Church). But even in a group as tight as this, there is murder afoot, and maybe Benoit Blanc is the only one who can see through all the hooey.

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Zootopia 2 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – Zootopia 2 captures what made the first film such a joy. Full of energy, full of chaos, and full of delight. But it is also asking the important questions.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid and post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Zootopia.

Zootopia 2 Review Introduction –

There were several thought processes that happened when I started writing this review. The first was discovering that the original Zootopia came out nine years ago, and also that is how long I have been writing reviews for this site. It was an odd moment of reflection, but also a profound look at one of the issues of modern Hollywood, in that it takes forever in between iterations. Well, let’s dive in and see if one of the most stacked cast lists this year can make up for all the time.

So, to set the scene, things have been going well in Zootopia (or Zootropolis, depending on where you live) since the incident that brought partners Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) when now former deputy mayor Dawn Bellwether (Jenny Slate) tried to start a war between the herbivore and carnivore members of the mammal city. After a mission goes wrong, Hopps and Wilde are sent to therapy with Dr Fuzzby (Quinta Brunson), which is make-or-break to see if they can continue being partners in the ZPD. But while the mission might have been a bust, some clues, like some scales, show that there may be more than just mammals in the city of Zootopia and with the Zootenial Gala coming up, is someone about to strike at the heart of the city?

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The Running Man (2025) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While it does not have the legs to get all the way to the end. It is powered by the sheer force of will that is Glen Powell’s charisma, and well, he has it in spades.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

A performance of The Running Man.

The Running Man Review Introduction –

When I first heard that they were remaking The Running Man, I didn’t hold much stock in how it was going to turn out. The original film is iconic for a reason, and in the 40-odd years since it first came out, who could have done a take on the scenario as well? Indeed, we got a film just like that last year with Jackpot!. However, then you find out that it is being written and directed by Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell, who is possibly the last traditional movie star out there. Well, then 2025 remake, you have my attention.
  
So, to set the scene, in the not-too-distant future, the situation in America has descended into complete dystopia, where The Network runs the show both literally and metaphorically. Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is out desperately trying to find work so he can buy medicine for his daughter. The Network blacklisted him because he was caught talking to a union. After all, he was concerned about his workers being exposed to radiation. But as things become desperate, Ben signs up for the one thing he promised never to do: be a runner on The Running Man. There, people run for their lives, and if they last 30 days, they get ₦1,000,000,000. The only problem is that no one has ever made the 30 days, as hunters, police, and even the general public are out for blood.

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Good Fortune – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While this film means well, you can also feel like the scenario presented is not a lived experience for the creatives behind the screen, as the focus is in the wrong place.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

Gabriel looks over LA.

Good Fortune Review Introduction –

Today, we are looking at a film that is a bit of an odd duck all around. It is a film marking Aziz Ansari’s return from a self-imposed exile of only doing stand-up. A reinvention of sorts. It feels like an old-timey morality tale while also desperately trying to be relevant in the now. Also, it wants to be a comedy, but also wants to shine a light. Honestly, it is doing a lot of things; the question is, can it pull all these juxtapositions off?  

So, to set the scene, Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) is a guardian angel, sort of, well, only just. You see, he is not able to make any grand changes, because he is just the angel of texting while driving, giving a helping hand to look up before they crash into something. It is here that Gabriel finds Arj (Aziz Ansari), a man living in his car, working in the gig economy, and trying to find a way out, when all the cards are stacked against him. Well, what if Arj got a taste of what it would be like being rich, so he could learn that his current life has more purpose? Okay. But what Arj doesn’t want to change back?

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