Tag Archives: Comedy

Quiz Lady – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While deeply predictable, there is still a fun charm to the absurd proceedings.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this film.

bowties

Quiz Lady Review –

As we get to the end of the year, I get a drive to start catching up on the films I have missed during the year, but also a need for something less serious. It is the time for comedies of all kinds, and on that front, we start with two siblings who could not be further apart.  

So to set the scene, Anne Yum (Awkwafina) had a very dysfunctional childhood, but the one good thing in her life was Can’t Stop the Quiz hosted by Terry McTeer (Will Ferrell). Her one only relationship is a hostile daily barb with her neighbour Francine (Holland Taylor). But when her sister Jenny Yum (Sandra Oh) comes back into her life and films her rattling off quiz answers. The video goes viral, which is mortifying for Anne, even more so when a gangster (Jon “Dumbfoundead” Park) kidnaps her dog, Mr. Linguini (Crosby Cookie), to pay for the gambling debt of Anne and Jenney’s mother. She has to get $80,000 quickly, which means doing what she dreads: being in front of people.

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TV Review – Rick and Morty: How Poopy Got His Poop Back  

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TL;DR – While not a revolutionary episode, it wisely knew that bringing the gang back was the right thing to do as we step back into this universe.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this episode.

Ghost Robot.

Rick and Morty Review –

We have a new season of Rick and Morty, a show I have both loved and become frustrated with in almost equal measures. They take wild swings of greatness that leave you awestruck and then follow it up with the most asinine story imaginable. However, we are entering its post-Justin Roiland era, so it is time to see if that changes the game or not.

So to set the scene, it is the first cold open of Season Seven, and suddenly, there is Mr. Poopybutthole (Jon Allen). Reversing his usual appearance at the end of the season, it is a deep despair as things have not gone well with his life. It has gotten so bad that Beth (Sarah Chalke) has put her foot down, and Rick (Ian Cardoni) must do something about Poopybutthole. Well, it is time to round up the team for an intervention. I just hope no one forgot a birthday. And is that Hugh Jackman (Hugh Jackman)? We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

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The Great Seduction (La Gran Seducción) – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While you will know the story from the opening moments, it was still a fun ride.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Santa María

The Great Seduction Review –

I know it is seen as almost a bad form to re-make films in different countries in the modern discourse. However, I am always fascinated to watch adaptations to see how a familiar story gets reinterpreted in a new context. Today, we get an excellent example of this as we visit an island off the coast of Mexico.  

So to set the scene, Santa María is a small town of 120 living on an island, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in heart. But when a neighbouring village opens a fishing factory, the town loses all their jobs, and soon, people fall away. Germán (Memo Villegas) wants to stay in his home, but that is becoming increasingly difficult each month. But if they can get a doctor to live on the island, maybe a new packing plant might follow. It feels like a lost cause until Dr Mateo Suárez (Pierre Louis) gets passed over at the local hospital and drinks just enough to cause a scandal. Well, the town has one month to make him want to stay and seduce him to stay.    

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Strays – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While some moments made me laugh, and the film grossed me out in the places they expected it to, I found the ending left a bad taste in my mouth.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – This film depicts scenes of abuse.

Reggie jumping through grass.

Strays Review –

Comedies are always the most challenging films to review because while all movies are subjective, humour is the most personal form of art you can get. Point and case, our film today, where half the audience sat in disgust, and the others were laughing with all their hearts. With that in mind, let us dive into Strays.

So to set the scene, Reggie (Will Ferrell) is a little mutt that lives with Doug (Will Forte). Reggie loves Doug, and Doug hates Reggie. When Doug is given an eviction notice, he starts playing a game with Reggie where he plays Fetch and Fuck. He drives Reggie far away from his house, throws a ball, and then utters the expletive when Reggie eventually finds his way home. After this happens repeatedly, Doug finds a different tactic and drives Reggie to a city a long way away. Reggie is lost and finds some friends in Bug (Jamie Foxx), Maggie (Isla Fisher), and Hunter (Randall Park), who help him realise that he has been abandoned. He is a stray. But now it is Reggie’s time to get some revenge.

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Ready or Not (2019) – Exploring the Past

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TL;DR – An electric tense film with more than one moment that made me audibly gasp

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

The family lines up to start hunting.

Ready or Not Review –

Every year there are films you want to see that just slip you by, and today’s film is one of those. I had always meant to see Ready or Not in cinemas, but the session times never lined up. It also missed my end-of-year wrap-up because it didn’t have a solid streaming option yet. This week, I was reminded again of how interesting this film is, and now is better than never.    
 
So to set the scene, Grace (Samara Weaving) is back in her husband-to-be Alex’s (Mark O’Brien) old house, well more mansion. It is a tradition in the le Domas household that all weddings happen on the manor grounds, and while Alex has been estranged from his family for a while, tradition is tradition. Alex’s mother, Becky (Andie MacDowell), hopes this could start a reconciliation between Alex and his family. Grace hopes this could be the family she never had growing up. The le Domas family has a lot of traditions and a weird aunt Helene (Nicky Guadagni), but mostly traditions. One is that on the day someone marries into the family, they must draw a card at midnight and play a game. The le Domas made their money in board games, so this is not completely weird. But what is odd is that when Grace pulls the ‘Hide and Seak’ card, weapons start being removed from the walls.

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Asteroid City – Movie Review

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TL;DR – The framing device does not work, but that is not a significant issue, as it is still an entertaining romp even without it.

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.

Mechanics.

Asteroid City Review –

Wes Anderson is one of those filmmakers with entirely his own style and can delight or confuse. Before I see one of his films, I am always wondering which way the pendulum will swing for me, and I think this is one of his works that will hit people differently. As I have heard people gushing over it and others bringing a more meh response. But it is finally time for the film in Australia, and it is time for us to check it out.

So to set the scene, we are introduced to a Host (Bryan Cranston) that introduces us to an anthology TV series that is showing the story behind the stage play Asteroid City by noted playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton), which is then presented to us as the movie proper. In a small out of the way town of Asteroid City in the middle of the American desert, there is a crater, an inn, a research centre, and an unfinished overpass. Augie Steenbeck (Jason Schwartzman), a noted war photojournalist, has arrived officially because his son Woodrow (Jake Ryan)  is a Junior Stargazer. Still, unofficially because their mother is dead, and he is about to dump his kids on their grandfather Stanley (Tom Hanks). But things change when he meets Midge Campbell (Scarlett Johansson), and oh, the world changes.  

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Deadloch: Season 1 – TV Review

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TL;DR – This might be one of the most absurdly fascinating, profane, and profound shows I have watched.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

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

Looking down at a murdered body.

Deadloch Review –

I always wonder how profoundly Australian things translate to a more global audience. Can you make the jump across the ocean without getting hacked to pieces? Well, anything is possible in the era of Bluey, but today might be the biggest test yet.

So to set the scene, Deadloch is a small coastal town on the tip of Tasmania in Australia. Once the purview of loggers and fishing, it is going through a sort of renaissance as those from the big cities look for a country escape. There, two teens, Miranda Hoskins (Kartanya Maynard) and Tammy Hampson (Leonie Whyman) stumble across a naked body missing a tongue washed up on the beach. The Mayor/Doctor Aleyna Rahme (Susie Youssef), is upset because the Winter Festival is about to start, and Phil McGangus (Shaun Martindale) and the old guard are upset that a good-old-boy is dead. The local police force Senior Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box), Abby Matsuda (Nina Oyama), and Sven Alderman (Tom Ballard) are stuck in the middle, made even worse when the brass sends in detective Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) from Darwin who just wants to close it and leave. It is a recipe for disaster, which is when a second body appears. Now we will be looking at the season as a whole, so there may be some [SPOILERS] ahead.

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Barbie – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A deeply sincere film, swinging for the fences. Not everything lands, but you can’t dismiss the passion.

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.

Barbie and Ken.

Barbie Review –


If you had asked me which film would have captured everyone’s attention in 2023, I honestly would not have expected it to be Barbie. That is just my biases being shown in full light for all to see. But with every set photo, every casting announcement, and every trailer, you could feel this surge of excitement, and it shows just how good the marketing team behind the movie is and the building excitement to see what a live-action Barbie film could look like. Well, today, that wait is over, and we can dive into a world full of pink where life might still be plastic, but it’s fantastic.

So to set the scene, in Barbie Land, we have a world where a day is not a day without a blowout party with a bespoke song and extensive choreography. In this serene world with pink buildings and gleaming coast lives Barbie (Margot Robbie). Things are looking good. Well, when you have a waterslide from your bedroom to the pool, that is a certain wondrous luxury. But in this wonderous world, Barbie starts to have an existential crisis that manifests itself in different ways, like flat feet. Trying to find a purpose, Barbie decides, after some pushing from Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon), to visit the real world to find the truth about the universe, oh and Ken (Ryan Gosling) stowaways for the ride as well.  

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Red, White & Brass – Movie Review

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TL;DR – A film that brings you joy from the moment they start in a house covered in Tongan flags till those final credits roll.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The band performs.

Red, White & Brass Review –

There are many emotions that cinema can bring forth, and if I am honest, my favourite is joy. You are just sitting there beaming with a smile stretching from one side of your face to the other. It is so easy for films to come off as disingenuous that it is hard to nail joy in its purest form. However, today, we look at a movie that not only nails it, it revels in it.

So to set the scene, it is Wellington, and the 2011 Rugby World Cup is descending on New Zealand. Flags are popping up all across the city as everyone gets into the celebratory mode. But Veni (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) was not quite prepared to find his house covered, and I mean covered, in the red/white cross of Tonga’s flag. His best friend Maka (John-Paul Foliaki) has been trying to get enough money so all of his church can see the Tonga v France match live. However, when several of his schemes fall through, he discovers a way forward, but it just means getting everyone to become a proficient brass band, oh and only in a couple of weeks.

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No Hard Feelings – Movie Review

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TL;DR – While I appreciate that it is trying to have something to say about class relations and Jennifer Lawrence’s physical comedy chops, the narrative just didn’t land for me.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Jennifer Lawrence

No Hard Feelings Review –

Comedy films directed only at adults can be a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they can go to extremes that you just can’t do in more family fair. However, it can just be an excuse to hit below the most common denominator. If you will be crass, you need to be at least thoughtful about it. Today we are looking at a film that is at least trying the latter.

So to set the scene, Maddie Barker (Jennifer Lawrence) is an Uber driver and waitress in the summer holiday town of Montauk, New York. While she lives in the house bought by her mother, she can’t afford the property tax that has dramatically excecated as all the rich people from New York come to buy summer homes. After having her car towed, her primary source of income, she is lost with what to do until she sees an ad in the paper. Laird (Matthew Broderick) and Allison Becker (Laura Benanti) are concerned about their son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), who is primarily a recluse. Percy is going to Princeton next year, and they fear he will not survive. So, they are paying Maddie with a car to “Date” their son and get him out of his shell.

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