Tag Archives: Romantic Comedy

The Roses – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

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.   

Continue reading →

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy – Movie Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – In a cup, add a heaped measure of situational comedy, a tablespoon of second-hand embarrassment & a squeeze of authentic charm. Shake it up and pour over the realisation that you are getting older & serve with a garnish of the exploration of life after death.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are items during the credits.

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

Three figures release a single balloon into the air.

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy Review –

Now, I should be a bit clear: up until this point, I have never watched a Bridget Jones film before. When they first came out, I was very much not the target audience, but as you get older, you realise that target audiences are bogus and you should be experiencing a variety of medias. It also looked like this was going to be a bit of a soft reboot, so it was the perfect time to jump in. Little did I know just how right I was.  

So, to set the scene, it has been four years since Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) was tragically killed during a humanitarian mission overseas. Since then, Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) has been spending time at home trying to raise her two children alone, working through both their and her grief. But as the anniversary of Mark’s death draws near, Bridget is forced to look at her life and wonder if she is doing the right thing for her and her kids. But even though everyone has an opinion on how she should approach life, especially those nasty school mums, she needs to find her own way. But it won’t hurt if the new teacher Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and local ranger Roxster (Leo Woodall) help change her perspectives.    

Continue reading →

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) Review – Exploring the Past

Posted on by
1

TL;DR –.  While it is showing its age in places, it revels in the chaos of the moment and the power of relationships.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no Post-Credit Scene

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

Crazy, Stupid, Love Review –

I have been sick this week, and what I tend to do is fall back into that realm of comfort films to help me get through it all. For me, that is the Ever Afters and the 10 Things I Hate About Yous. But I was chatting with some friends about what their go-to comfort films are when one of them pointed out a blind spot: Crazy, Stupid, Love. I knew of the film, and I am sure that it got memed for a good reason. Well, what do you do when you discover a blind spot? Well, you shine a light on it, and that is what we are doing today.  

So, to set the scene, we open a very nice restaurant where couples share in the joys of love, well, almost all of them. Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) just asked his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) what she wanted, only to discover that the answer to that question was a divorce. This is just the start of what is a disastrous night for the Weaver family. But out in LA, Jacob (Ryan Gosling) might just be having a typical night as he makes a pass at Hannah (Emma Stone, but fails, but that is fine because Jacob takes a crack at nearly everyone in the bar. Later that night, Jacob sees Cal self-destructive in a bar after being dumped by his best friend. He finds pity for the man in ill-fitted clothes and decides to teach him how to talk to women.    

Continue reading →

Hit Man – Movie Review

Posted on by
2

TL;DR – A wild film with commitment in the subtext, the literal text, and also a promise to the audience.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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

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

Warning – Contains scenes that may cause distress.

Gary just got promoted.

Hit Man Review –

There has been a lot of talk about who is going to be the next leading man in Hollywood. Indeed, I think the last person to claim that honestly might have been Tom Cruise, maybe Robby Downer Jr., but then the question is always who is going to fill that role in the near future. When it came to raw power, we have seen that Glen Powell has that in spades, but does he have the range? Well, that is the question I think we will get an answer about today.   
So to set the scene, Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is the epitome of a mild-mannered professor. Who spends the day teaching psychology and philosophy and nights feeding his cats. Oh, and he just shop happens to have a side hustle working undercover for the New Orleans Police Department. Traditionally, he stayed in the van working on all the tech stuff he installed. Still, one day, when the undercover officer Jasper (Austin Amelio) was not able to make it, his boss Claude (Retta) was out of options. In a moment, Gary was a hitman for hire. At least, that is what he pretends to be.  

Continue reading →

The Fall Guy – Movie Review

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – It’s a wonderful romp, full of pomp and circumstance, and a desperate need for an extra edit.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a sequence in the credits and a mid-credit scene.

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

Filming a car chase.

The Fall Guy Review –

Today, I am looking at a film that is genuinely quite odd. It is an Action-Adventure, Romantic-Comedy, Mystery, Adaption of an Old TV Show, that is also making a meta-commentary on how Hollywood treats people who work on the stunt team. Yet with all of that, they made it work, and a blast of fun at that.

So to set the scene, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) is a suave and super-confident stuntman who knows how to take a fall while on fire and thrown into a rock. When he is not being blown up, he is flirting with the very professional camera operator, Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt). However, when his incompetent actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), who could not do his own stunts in his dreams, wanted a stunt done again because they saw ‘too much face’. But the stunt goes wrong, and Colt breaks his back. Eighteen months later, Tom’s Producer, Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham), calls Colt, who is now a valet. She needs him to come back to Sydney because Jody has her first director role, and they need his stunt prowess. But did anyone ask Jody?

Continue reading →

Kill Me If You Dare (Zabij Mnie, Kochanie) – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – It is an incredibly silly film, but if that is the vibe you are after, then it nails it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

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

A knife falls to the floor.

Kill Me If You Dare Review –

I think there is one thing that is almost universal across most cultures: what would you do if you won the lottery, or as we call it here, the lotto? Just asking that question probably provoked a number of thoughts as to what you would do with such a large amount of money. But what would you do if you were married and things were not as good as they could be?

So to set the scene, we open in this grand romantic gesture as Piotr (Mateusz Banasiuk) races to catch Natalia (Weronika Ksiązkiewicz) before she leaves on the train. But while he misses the train, he does not miss the love of his life, and he instantly proposes. Five years later, the love is not as strong as it once was, but maybe a shock lotto win might change that. Well, perhaps not if each other thinks the other wants to murder them and take the money for themselves.

Continue reading →

Miss Shampoo (Qing wen hai you na li xu yao jia qiang/請問，還有哪裡需要加強) – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – It is a genuinely odd film, sometimes weird, sometimes wondering, often fascinating, but it also has moments where you wonder what it is that you are watching.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There are mid-credit scenes and a slightly mean audio commentary at the end of the credits.

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

A pair of scissors in someone's hands.

Miss Shampoo Review –

Tonight, as I was sitting here cursing the heat and the humidity, I thought I would take my mind off it by watching something different. It was at that moment that I realised that it had been a while since we dived into Taiwanese Cinema, and a new romantic comedy just dropped on Netflix.

So to set the scene, it is a rainy night as Fen (Vivian Sung) is practicing her haircutting technique in the salon. When Tai (Daniel Hong) crashes into the salon badly wounded. Thai mercenaries are chasing him, but some quick thinking from Fen saves his life. All the bosses in town are trying to work out who killed Tai’s Boss. But the last thing that Fen was expecting was to see Tai walk back into her salon to ask for a cut when she is only able to wash hair. Nor was she expecting the world she was about to enter.

Continue reading →

Anyone But You – Movie Review

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – This is a film that is based entirely on the chemistry of the two leading cast members. Thank goodness they have some.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

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

Disclosure – I paid to see this film.

Sydney.

Anyone But You Review –

There is a considerable risk when you base the entire foundation of your film on the charisma of your two leads. There are multiple examples, like Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, where that mistake has caused the film to fall flat on its face. It is a dangerous proposition … but what happens when you get it right?

So to set the scene, it is a typical day in a coffee shop when Bea (Sydney Sweeney) runs into Ben (Glen Powell) while trying to get the key to the bathroom. Some shenanigans occur but sparks fly, and soon they are spending the night together. But the following day contrives a situation where both parties think the other was in the wrong, and they part ways with an odd story of a creep to tell their respective friend groups. Until we discover that those respective friend groups are the same because Bea’s sister Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) is the new finance of Halle (Hadley Robinson), whose brother Pete (GaTa) is best friends with Ben. That animosity gets heightened when both of them end up on a plane to Sydney, Australia, to attend the wedding, only to find both of their exes are there. So they fake being in a relationship. What is the worst that could happen?

Continue reading →

Red, White & Royal Blue – Movie Review

Posted on by
Reply

TL;DR – A perfectly fine rom-com, but the narrative never gets beyond the surface level.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

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

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

A forced photo shoot.

Red, White & Royal Blue Review –

While some might find them sappy, I will openly admit that I love a good rom-com, especially an excellent political rom-com like Dave or The American President. In fact, I have not seen one of these in quite a while, so when I heard there was a new one out on Amazon, well, I had to check it out.

So to set the scene, we are in London at Westminster Abby, where Prince Philip (Thomas Flynn), the future King, has married his childhood friend Martha (Bridget Benstead). But this is not the heart of the story because also in attendance is Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), his sister Princess Beatrice (Ellie Bamber), the son of the President of America Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and the granddaughter of the Vice President, Nora Holleran (Rachel Hilson). Henry and Alex intensely dislike each other, shenanigans occur, and oh, is that a falling cake and a forced fake press damage control tour?  

Continue reading →

Ghosted – Movie Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – While there is potential in the idea we have here, nothing seems to stick, becoming quite frustrating in places.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

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

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

Chris Evans with a shocked look on his face.

Ghosted Review –

When I come into a film, I try to avoid bringing outside baggage, namely any other opinions, with me before I start watching. My own experiences and thoughts, you can’t help them, but with others, that is something you can work on. However, every now and again, there comes a film that you simply cannot avoid the conversation because it permeates everywhere. Today we look at just such a film, and unfortunately for Ghosted, they did not help themselves with some of the most baffling promotion I have seen in a while.  

So to set the scene, on the outskirts of Washington DC, Sadie (Ana de Armas) decided to ditch her therapy session and drive up to the mountains. In a small town, she comes across a farmers market where Cole (Chris Evans) is working, and it is love at first snark. When Cole would not sell Sadie a plant because she would probably kill it, they ended up having some fun together, a night together, and a big move. Followed by Sadie 100% ghosting her [insert title of film reference here]. But when Cole discovers Sadie is in London, he decides not to do the weird stalker thing, but the grand romantic gesture thing, travelling 5000 miles to say hello to the woman he has seen once, and he knows where they are because he accidentally put a tracker on her. But instead of that romantic moment, he is captured, knocked out by assailants, and then subjected to a little light torture.  

Continue reading →