Tag Archives: Comedy

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: 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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Fight or Flight – Movie Review

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TL;DR – This is what happens when you build a film entirely around your leading star’s personality, and it works.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

A phone with a bounty image of Josh Hartnett.

Setting the Scene

If there is anything that 2025 cinema is going to be known for, it has been the bountiful number of action films we have gotten. Some look back to the past to find inspiration, some work in the medium as it stands, and some are still looking forward and charting their own path. Today’s entity is trying to do a bit of all three, and while I don’t think it landed all the aspects, it does get points for the pun in the title.  

So, to set the scene, Aaron Hunter (Julian Kostov) is not having a good day because one of the teams he is overseeing just got wiped out in Bangkok by a ghost. Not a literal ghost, but given how The Ghost has eluded capture so far, it might as well have been one. His boss, Katherine Brunt (Katee Sackhoff), knows that capturing The Ghost will be a fantastic stepping stone in her career; the only problem is that, with the Bangkok team dead, and The Ghost heading to the airport, she doesn’t have time to get a team onto the plane to capture the target. She is left with only one choice, Lucas Reyes (Josh Hartnett), a man burned by the intelligence agencies, but might be willing to take the gig, only to get off the no-fly list. He agrees, reluctantly, however, as he boards the plane, what he does not know is that he might not be the only person on the plane hunting The Ghost.

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The Bad Guys 2 – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film full of energetic characters, stunning animation, and a wonderful, uplifting vibe that permeated every part of the story.

Rating: 4.5 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.

The Bad Guys driving a car out of a building.

The Bad Guys 2 Review Introduction –

Back in 2022, Dreamworks Animation was in a bit of a creative quandary. It had just finished up its Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon series, but then it kind of just floundered for a while. But then The Bad Guys happened. It was an explosion of energy in a way the studio hadn’t found in the past years. But it was also stepping into a brand-new animation style that blended 2D and 3D styles into something that perfectly understood the medium they were adapting. We dipped back into this world with The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis earlier in the year, but I am glad to say that it is time to dive into the sequel I have been waiting for.


So, to set the scene, ever since the events of The Bad Guys where the team of Mr Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr Snake (Marc Maron), Mr Piranha (Anthony Ramos), Mr Shark (Craig Robinson), and Ms Tarantula (Awkwafina) turned good to stop the master villain Professor Marmalade (Richard Ayoade). They have been serving their time and trying to reemerge in society. But they can’t find a job, because everyone thinks that they are just undercover waiting to rob everyone. This is made more complicated when the Phantom Bandit starts robbing the city of all its MacGuffinite in the style of The Bad Guys. What’s worse: being blamed for a crime you didn’t commit, or knowing someone’s out there copying your old moves? Well, The Bad Guys need to get to the bottom of this before Governor Diane Foxington (Zazie Beetz) and police commissioner Misty Luggins (Alex Borstein) must act.

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The Roses – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film built entirely on the chemistry of Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman, which is a fundamentally good idea. But then the film makes several choices that make you pause.

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.

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman.

The Roses Review Introduction –

Unfortunately, 2025 has not been kind to the satirical Dark Comedy, with many noted filmmakers falling in the attempt to capture that vibe. With film after film falling in its wake. However, can a remake of a classic from 1989 find its footing? Well, to pull that off, you would need to cast two leads with impeccable chemistry and bring it into the 21st century, but there is a chance you can pull it off.    

So, to set the scene, Theo (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Ivy (Olivia Colman) are both professionals working in London and being held back by their respective bosses. However, fate brought them together one day, and the chemistry was instant, so instant that they took a gamble to fly off to California after one meeting. Ten years later, they are married with twins, and Ivy has put her career on hold to raise the family. But when a calamity strikes and Theo is fired, Ivy steps up to take the slack, working in her new restaurant. It is a complete 180° shift in their marriage dynamic, which I am sure will have no lasting repercussions.   

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