In my search for a list of comedies that I haven't seen, I stumbled on this hidden gem, full of stars, that I haven't seen yet. And half the cast are Marvel characters! Writing, directing and starring in this, Jon Favreau apparently brings a personal twist to the film's lead character - a celebrity chef who has to find himself again after a critic lays into him on Twitter. Based in LA, chef Carl Casper (Favreau) runs a kitchen, alongside his best chefs, Martin (John Legiuzamo) and Tony (Bobby Cannavale). While trying to get adventurous in trying to impress the aforementioned critic, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt), his boss (Dustin Hoffman) demands that he's not cooking fancy food for a critic, but for a crowd of regular people, not looking for anything fancy. The critic says what he needs to say on Twitter, and with the help of his son, Percy (Emjay Anthony), Carl gets onto Twitter and starts a war with him that soon enough leads to Carl quitting his job, and even trending as a viral video when he loses it on Ramsey. He then takes the combined advice of hostess and seemingly intimate friend, Molly (Scarlett Johansson) and ex-wife, Inez (Sofía Vergara) to start a food truck, serving authentic Cuban cuisine. On top of that, he will be able to take his son with him, spending much more quality time with him, and getting to know him. As a chef, he claims not to have any time, and the food truck idea has the potential to remedy that for a summer, driving around America, and setting up shop wherever they may go. By the way, the food truck comes awkwardly from Inez's ex before Carl, Marvin (Robert Downey Jr.). But lucky for us, none of the main focus of this film is love triangle melodrama. This is a great side project from Favreau, who clearly puts his whole heart into the film. You can tell that this was a passion project for him, clearing so much aside to tell us a simple story about father-son bonding, friendships, relationships and food, food and more food. This is a film that will make you wanna eat your TV, everything they make looks so incredibly good. It does start with the slicing up of a pig, so that may be iffy for the vegetarian crowd. But everything beyond that just makes your mouth water. Favreau takes great care here in making everything he makes look not only delicious, but delicately taken care of, and made to perfection. The biggest reason for this movie being so good is that it has absolutely no need to go into anything beyond the simplicity of the story at hand. It dabbles in his personal relationships, but when you get that he takes combined advice from a potential love interest as well as an ex - who he's good friends with, by the way - you get that things flow a little more naturally here, and there's no real drama. The most intense scene is Carl losing his shit on Ramsey, and even that is turned into a bit of a joke. It's a simple, delightful, light-hearted comedy that will leave you with a smile, as well as food cravings - even if it does manage to be a 2-hour Twitter ad. If you're a foodie, this one is for you! 4/5
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Funny story, I definitely remember this one a lot more fondly than upon my re-watch of it, these 15 years later. It's strange, because this one has a great cast of comedic actors, and should otherwise be right up my alley because, much like 'Clerks', it's a look at the retail and restaurant workers that we so often take for granted. Being a retail guy, myself, I tend to enjoy something like this a bit more than others - especially when they really stick it to horrible customers (call it a guilty pleasure). Taking place in a 24-hour period, this one shows an average day in the life of one particular Shenaniganz staff. Headed by Monty (Ryan Reynolds), we get our first glimpse immediately into the material that lies within this movie that simply would not fly today. Monty is a womanizer, trouble-making type, who has the hots for the new 17-year-old hostess, Natasha (Vanessa Lengies) - chomping at the bit for her to turn 18 so that he can make his moves legally. Beyond that, the older boss, Dan (David Koechner) also has his eyes on her, and it's honestly creepy enough that Ryan Reynolds is doing his thing. So, plenty of workplace harassment, even though Natasha pretty well goes with it. Monty spends his day showing the new hire, Mitch (John Francis Daley) the ropes, and introducing him to the other staff. Among them, include the rest of the wait staff, Mitch's ex, Serena (Anna Faris), temper-throwing Naomi (Alanna Ubach), innocent Amy (Kaitlin Doubleday), insecure Calvin (Rob Benedict) and Dean (Justin Long) who is essentially the main focus of the film, while Reynolds provides the overall comedy relief, taking the reluctant Mitch under his wing. Dean's character is basically the guy who doesn't quite know what he wants to do with his life, torn between a huge opportunity at the restaurant, and getting out into the world to do his own thing. We also have the kitchen staff, consisting of sex-hungry Raddimus (Luis Guzmán), the wise Bishop (Chi McBride), and gangsta wannabes, Nick and T-Dog (Andy Milonakis and Max Kasch, respectively). While Dean's story is going on, the rest of the crew are giving whole new meaning to the name "Shenanigans", especially when it comes to a game that involves guys showing other guys their private parts, and in turn, getting to kick them and call them something that would never, ever, ever fly these days. I won't say it, but you can probably probably put the pieces together. And while the underage issue is addressed by the end of the film, the other thing mostly turns into a punchline. So, I can absolutely see there being a strong dislike nowadays for this one. It's sorely dated, and the only leeway I can really give it, is the fact that it's a healthy R-rating on a straight-to-video movie. You kinda tend to expect some over the line stuff in that case. Anyway, the guilty pleasure aspect on this still remains, as this staff kinda just does what we all wish we could get away with. Remember the cardinal rule to not mess with people who handle your food - perhaps the biggest takeaway from this for most people. And they are sure (at least the first time) to show you what a horrible person the customer used for this example is. But I definitely got way less out of it on this viewing. It's actually a pretty harsh and mean-spirited movie, with the main plot at its most simplistic. It's mostly reliant on dialogue and gags, a lot of it pretty low-brow. I definitely liked it better 15 years ago. Nowadays, you can see how badly its aged. 2/5 I've always been a pretty hardcore fan of Edgar Wright, but I had gone this whole time without checking out his completely hidden, underground, humble beginnings. In '93, he did a home movie he called 'Dead Right', which is still something I need to check out. But his first feature film, that might mean a little more to the UK than the US. The North American version of this is, pretty much, Trey Parker's 'Cannibal! The Musical', which predates this by a couple of years. Two completely different stories, but certain elements were a little too close. 'A Fistful of Fingers' is a straight up 'Naked Gun'-like farce on Spaghetti Westerns. But I'd like to give people fair warning that some of this stuff might be a little sensitive - not the least of which is Martin Curtis portrayal of Indian stereotype, "Running Sore". But with that said, again, this is satire. It kinda points and laughs, not at the Native people, but what spaghetti westerns see Native people like. As long as you can see this for what it's trying to do, you should be able to see some of Wright's clever writing techniques that he still applies to his films today. He does enjoy that fine line. The story follows cowboy Walter Marshall (Graham Low), a cowboy whose horse, Easy, was killed (hilariously) by wanted criminal, The Squint (Oli van der Vijver). Essentially, it's a revenge comedy in the spirit of something like 'Looney Tunes', with its snappy writing, and cartoonish sight gags. It's definitely a solid, early start for the guy, but even an Edgar Wright nerd like myself can see a few faults here and there. The biggest, glaring thing to me is that there's actually so much here that feels like it actually takes from 'Cannibal'. I can't very well accuse Wright of this, since at this point, Trey Parker wasn't really even a name yet. But it's remarkable how many things here will remind you of 'Cannibal', if you've ever had the pleasure of seeing it. But perhaps it's just that great minds think alike, and it's all a crazy coincidence. The point is, I've seen a lot of the gags in this done in 'Cannibal' before, right down to having an intimate relationship with a horse (don't worry, it's more lovey-dovey cheesy than gross and revealing). Further flaws in this are pretty simply explained away as it being his first, full-length feature. He had to work with what he had to work with, and even then, this is quite a bit of fun. It feels like something that was filmed in his own back yard or something, but I can't deny that it gave me some genuine chuckles, and it did nothing to ruin the good name of Wright for me. If you're a fan of his work, and can understand that this is more of a spaghetti western satire than something trying to be racey, you can still have a great time with this. Wright has since graduated to write and direct a few titles I hold close to my heart, so this is an easy slide for me. It's fun, but his better movies are the ones you already know of. 3/5 Deciding to take another long-awaited peek behind the dark shroud that is unseen horror, I checked out a special presentation on Prime Video called 'The 50 Best Horror Movies You've Never Seen'. This provided me with a whole whack of titles to check out, so rest assured, I'll eventually return to this theme a few times over for "Under the Radar". For now, however, the first foursome starts with the disturbing but somewhat humorous 'Motel Hell'. Farmer Vincent Smith (Rory Calhoun) and his sister, Ida (Nancy Parsons) are a seemingly friendly couple of farmers and motel owners, keeping the Motel Hello open for business. Farmer Vincent is well-renowned for his famous smoked meats, only available to a short proximity from the farm itself. However, there's a terrible secret behind the meat - it's really human flesh. Vincent and Ida set traps to lure and capture travelers, only to plant them with severed vocal cords, in their secret garden. At one point, Vincent shoots out the tires of a motorcycle, "planting" victim Bo (Everett Creach), and bringing back Bo's girlfriend, Terry (Nina Axelrod) back to the motel, showing her nothing but the utmost hospitality. Here, she also meets Bruce Smith, Vincent and Ida's naive brother, and clueless Sheriff of the town. Much of the film consists of Vincent and Ida trying to successfully keep their horrors hidden, while maintaining peaceful relationships with Terry and Bruce. The film is apparently meant to parody slasher movies more so than actually being one, itself. The ideas are pretty over-the-top and 'Twilight Zone'-ish, and some of the redneck dialogue is kinda laughable. But this is still a very disturbing idea, especially when you hear these still-live humans trying to make any sort of noise. Pretty freaky stuff at first, but after a while, it admittedly does get pretty irritating. Imagine a typical sound of someone being strangled, and that's what we get an abundance of here. Creepy concepts aside though, I'm not entirely sure this one was quite for me. Moments of it just got a little too weird, and even viewing it as a comedy, it just wasn't funny enough. This belongs somewhere on that cult horror list of films I can appreciate, but personally find the execution just kinda "meh". I'd almost rather see it as a full-tilt horror, because they have a good idea here. It could be incredibly unsettling, but the comedic edge of the whole thing prevents it from being very effective. It does, however, carry a great, simplified horror soundtrack with it, right up there with something like the original 'Halloween'. It goes to show how effectively creepy just a couple of repeated chords can be, and proves once again that in horror, subtlety can help make things much more engrossing. I also have to tip my hat at the final line of the film, which I won't spoil, but it provides a good final laugh and close to the film. If you've seen it before, you know exactly what the line is. So would I recommend this one to the horror buffs? I think so. It might not be altogether up my alley, but there's plenty to appreciate here as far as a creepy concept, decent performances, and a pretty high-tension climax. There's plenty here for the gore hounds as well, also mostly towards the end. It's worth checking out, but do bear in mind that things are gonna get weird when you sit to watch it. 3/5 Again, we've got a bit of a short one on our hands here. This was a mainstream release, but didn't have a whole lot of strength. This is one of those movies you'll watch and review it with a simple "meh". Nothing necessarily bad about it, but it's kinda formulaic, taking quite a lot right out of 'Friday'... QUITE a lot! When you have Ice Cube as an Executive Producer, I dunno that it quite counts as a "rip off", but damn. In the first twenty minutes or so, we see pretty much all the similarities. But thankfully, the difference is in the story. Kevin Carson (Shad Moss -or as most know him, Bow Wow) lives in the projects, living a below average life, making ends meet. He's responsible, and is very much the straight man here, or the "Craig" (the comparisons to 'Friday' are just gonna be a thing here, sorry). Word is going around about the weekend's lottery winnings being a whopping $370 million, and he's talked into buying a ticket, which happens to be the winner. Now, he and his best friend Benny (Brandon T. Jackson), the comedy relief, or "Smokey" have to survive a three-day weekend when word gets out that he has the winner, and everyone in town wants a piece of the pie. That's pretty much the gist of it. It mostly ends up being Kevin faced with the moral dilemma on what to do with so much money, especially when Benny points out to him how hard it is where they live. Without much more to say about it plot-wise, here's some more 'Friday' comparisons. We also have our responsible love interest, or "Debbie" named Stacie (Naturi Naughton), our bully, or "Deebo" named Lorenzo (Gbenga Akinnagbe), and other colourful, comedic characters within the neighbourhood that are mostly bigger names, like Ice Cube as the local recluse, and a sort of "Yoda" character, Mike Epps, Terry Crews, Charlie Murphy, Kieth David and Leslie Jones just to name a few. At the end of the day, it's kinda just a fun little jaunt of a Sunday afternoon movie. Nothing entirely special, and nothing that must be seen, but not really bad enough to give it a bad review. There's nothing really to dislike here, other than maybe the 'Friday' comparison. But these are really more of a comparison than a complaint on my part. I love 'Friday', but kinda just enjoy this for what it is - simplicity. So, if you're looking for a little giggle, and just something mellow, this isn't really a bad movie to take a look at. You might not get much out of it, but keep in mind that this could almost be seen as a "throwaway" all the same. All I'm saying is, it's not as bad as some might suggest. It gets a 3 from me, but a lukewarm 3. 3/5 For anyone who may have seen the movie 'Next Friday' - the follow-up to the 1995 stoner flick, 'Friday', you've seen the chemistry between the tough-as-nails Ice Cube, and the jittery but hilarious Mike Epps. I have to admit that while their movies aren't amazing, they generally make for a fun time. They're not going for any Oscars, they know their audience, and that's satisfactory enough for yours truly. 'All About the Benjamins' gives us bounty hunter, Bucum (Ice Cube), pronounced "book 'em", which I hope isn't supposed to be a coincidence. In pursuit of con man, Reggie Wright (Mike Epps), the un likely pair find themselves working together in order to locate a stash of diamonds that Bucum is after, along with a missing, winning lottery ticket that Reggie is after. Along the way, Gina (Eva Mendes) and Pam (Valarie Rae Miller), Reggie and Bucum's respective significant others, join them in the search. Added to the batch of characters is our villain and diamond thief, Williamson (Tommy Flanagan) who's a bit over the top at times, but every time he was, I laughed a little. But it's that kind of laugh that you know not everyone would join you in - almost awkward in a way. This one kind of exists in the same vein as something like 'Bulletproof' or 'Nothing to Lose' - a comedy duo action movie that doesn't exactly shine, but it can make for a fun time, nonetheless. There's nothing entirely new or different about it, but it doesn't exactly fall under "guilty pleasures" either, 'cause it's really not that bad. So, we've got a short review here on a movie that's a bit of a throwaway. I can't imagine ever owning it on DVD or blu-ray, but if it comes on TV, I might still sit and watch it for something to do. It offers some decent laughs, some decent action without going full Michael Bay (although this was Kevin Bray), but completely lacks any sort of wow factor. I say this about a lot of movies, but once again, this one is kinda just "there". Something to watch in passing as opposed to something to get excited for. 3/5 If you're on the lookout for a feel-good movie that may have gone sort of underappreciated for its time, look no further than this heartwarming story. On the surface, we have a comedic story of greed, and how people act when ther's a lot of money on the line. But it also gets deeper, going into relationships with loved ones of all sorts; namely best friends. The winner of the Irish National Lottery is found out to be one of 52 people living in the sleepy Irish town of Tulaigh Mhór (Tullymore). Retired best friends Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly), along with Jackie's wife, Annie (Fionnula Flanagan) plan a dinner in order to find out who the big winner is, hopefully make friends with him/her, and hopefully get a piece of the pie. The winner is easily narrowed down to one Ned Devine (Jimmy Keogh), but when Jackie goes to his house to speak to him, he finds him dead, holding the winning ticket, having died from shock. Now it's all about claiming the money one way or another, and when lottery officials come to town looking for Ned, certain comedic precautions are seen through to make sure the money isn't just taken away from not only our two main characters, but the town. A side story to all of this sees Maggie O'Toole (Susan Lynch) continuously turning down the interest of her former boyfriend, "Pig" Finn (James Nesbitt). He thinks he is the father of her son Maurice (Robert Hickey), and is convinced they should be together. However, a constant odour of pigs clings to him, as he's a pig farmer, and that's kind of a turn-off. Pat Mulligan (Fintan McKeown) becomes a rival of Finn's, as they both seek the heart of Maggie, and the whole thing is makes for a charming subplot, as it's all executed just so casually. The film very much does consaist of two ongoing stories, running at a parallel - one a buddy comedy, one a romantic comedy, and it all comes together with an interesting twist in the end, just when you're trying to figure out hat one story has to do with the other. Granted, it feels a little convenient, but it adds a bit of extra charm on top of an already charmingly funny movie. This isn't what you'd call a knee-slapping, laugh out loud comedy, but it's definitely funny, and it tells a good story, taking the time to tug at the heartstrings as well. There is one particular scene in here involving a funeral, and it was certainly enough to cause a few tears, which for me is always a sign of the film doing its job (as long as it's not cheap, but clever, which this certainly was). So, if you find yourself on the down-and-out, may I highly recommend this all-around feel-good movie. It's sweet, it's fun, and it's simple, asking its audience the question of "what would you do in this situation?" So check it out for yourself, keep an open mind about naked old dudes riding motorcycles, and enjoy this lovely story for the simplicity it brings across - a film doesn't need a big budget to be great. 4/5 I had another movie called 'It's Gawd!' in place of this, originally. However, I've decided to hold onto that one for a differently themed month. Instead, I thought I'd wrap things up... or roll things up?... with 'Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie', just to relive some of those classic moments. The film is really quite simply animation that has been put to various audio tracks from some of their albums. I had 'Cheech & Chong's Greatest Hit', and was able to recognize quite a few of the skits they've thrown in here. - some of it with added dialogue. I was also pleased to find out that there was a lot of this that i was unfamiliar with. This is an anthology films, as well, so really something you'd have to be in the mood for. I'd have to imagine that mood is completely stoned, but I mean, when in Rome, right? Anyway, it sounds an awful lot like I'm praising this film, but nothing could be further from the truth. If I enjoyed this in any way, it was only because I got to listen to those old tracks again, and a few new ones, and they always managed to deliver the laughs. The problem I have with this movie is that it's one of the most unnecessary things ever created. it's kinda neat to see about introducing some of the noobies through this idea, as it's almost a "best of", but in my humble opnion, it all just works better as audio. The cool thing about audio is that you can throw these images on the projector in your head, and come up with any imagery you want. This animation style isn't exactly the best, and there are way too many times it gets unnecessarily gross. If you're a fan of these two, it's just better to imagine the ACTUAL guys pulling these skits off. But God bless them, they tried. It's not anything that I'd call horrible, but it's definitely weak, and it's one of those movies that might be better left on in the background during a house party or something, so people will mostly just be listening to it. And of course, that just circles back to these skits being an audible treat as opposed to a visual one, and my case is now rested. But hey, don't just take my word for this. I can't really recommend this to anyone, but if you are a hardcore fan who's yet unfamiliar with a lot of their audio skits, it might be worth checking out. But again, I'd most highly recommend looking for the audio and just using your imagination to fill in the blanks. It's an altogether unnecessary movie, made only for an easy money grab. May I recommend getting your hands on 'Cheech & Chong's Greatest Hit' instead, and taking it from there. The only reason this is getting a rating as high as it is, is due to the reminiscent audio. This is otherwise a clear 1, or less than 1. 2/5 To be perfectly fair, this isn't exactly a Tommy Chong-centric film. But both Cheech and Chong do show up here as a couple of villains, in this would-be dream of a comedy that otherwise unfortunately falls pretty flat. More on that later. The premise centers on the viscious pirate, Yellowbeard (Graham Chapman) who has been incarcerated for tax evasion. He refuses to give up the wherabous of his hidden treasure, so the Royal Navy plots to keep him imprisoned for another 140 years, knowing that he'll manage escape. Strange that he was already in there for 20 without so easily escaping, but okay. Anyway, Yellowbeard finds out that he has a son with one of his, shall we say, victims, Betty (Madeline Kahn), who happened to tattoo Yellowbeard's treaure map on his head when he was a baby. Now grown, son, Dan (Martin Hewitt) and Yellowbeard assemble a crew of pirates to track down the treasure, not realiing that the Royal Navy plans to follow him on this journey and seize the treasure for themselves. Upon basic plot, it's pretty much just as ridiculous as you can imagine, with some genuine laugh out loud moments, which are unfortunately contrasted by things of poor taste, like rape jokes... of which there are an unfortunate many. Perhaps it flew better in '83, but I recall rolling my eyes at the whole deal. It's an odd combination of comedy. It's almost like best of Python, Brooks and Cheech & Chong meets the respective worst of each. For every laugh, there's a solid cringe. Added to the cast are some more great names in comedy like Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Peter Cook (who co-wrote this with Champan), Eric Idle, John Cleese and Kennith Mars. It really is an impressive cast, especially speaking as a fan of a lot of classic comedy such as these names are associated with. All in all, this one's low-ranked, but in it's own way it's a bit of a hidden gem, if only when it comes to all of the names involved in making this happen. The comedy and situations get pretty tedious at times, but as I mentioned before there are still some solid laugh out loud moments, and I'd definitely say that it's at least worth checking out if you're a Brooks/Python/Cheech and Chong fan. Mostly keeping the first two in mind, as for Cheech and Chong, this isn't their brand of stoner comedy people know and love them for. 3/5 Fair warning, this is gonna be a pretty short review. The only reason being that there really isn't much to this movie. It's essentially a Tommy Chong family project that showcases Tommy Chong's delightfully charming but dumb comedic side. The plot in question centers on Far Out Man (Tommy Chong... no really, that's the name they went with); an ex roadie, hippie, stoner with very strange eating habits. One day his daughter, Rae Dawn Chong (as hersef for some reason - Tommy's real daughter) recommends he visits with psychiatrist Dr. Liddledick (Martin Mull) to help with his problems. While visiting said psychiatrist, he realized that he's down and out due to a disconnect from his previous family. He then heads out on a road trip to reunite with his estranged son, Kyle (Paris Chong - Tommy's real son) and wife, Tree (Shelby Chong - Tommy's real wife). It's your basic road trip comedy where Tommy runs into several characters and situations along the way, including even unknowingly towing the son he's looking for, for most of the ride. In case you're out there wondering where Chong's partner in crime, Cheech is in all this, fear not, he does make a cameo appearance, and a pretty funny one at that. Nothing too special, just a sort of wink at the audience. Other cameo appearances come through as well, including actors C. Thomas Howell and Judd Nelson, playing themselves, and musician Bobby Taylor. Even Michael Winslow makes an appearance, doing his whole sound effect thing. This is a decent stoner flick, but it's important to bear in mind that a stoner flick is exactly what it is, and nothing more. As I said, there really wasn't much to this movie, and it's not knee-slapping hilarious, but the laughs are still there. It's your average Sunday afternoon switch-your-brain-off comedy. But for my money, Cheech and Chong just work better together. This is Chong's solo act, and while it has it's moments, it's nothing too special or memorable. 3/5 Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong take a break from their regular stoner routine to offer up a bit of twisted storytelling. This is their take on the Corsican Brothers novella from Alexandre Dumas. So yeah, take that, culture. The story follows two brothers during the French Revolution. Their twins who have this situation going on where if one of them experiences pleasure or pain, the other is the one who feels it. The brothers, Lucian (Chong) and Louis (Cheech) together, attempt to overthrow a nasty member of a monarchy named Fuckaire (Roy Dotrice). Meanwhile there's a bit of a love story going on between the brothers and the Queen's daughters, known only as Princess 1 (Shelby Chong) and Princess 2 (Rikki Marin). The only thing that keeps things remotely interesting is the comedy, and even then it's pretty low-brow. I can only imagine what historians and scholars think of this adaptation. You are still definitely getting Cheech & Chong humour here. Having said that, I tend to enjoy Cheech and Chong's humour, but the thing of it is that it lends itself MUCH more to a stoner comedy. Things can go off the wall in a stoner comedy without many questions needing to be asked. Here, in a piece of literary history, it really doesn't fit. And the sad thing is, this is the only version of the story I actually know. It honestly just makes me wanna do homework and get the real story. If you know and love Cheech and Chong with some sort of passion, by all means, check it out. It's got all the right ingredients to a good Cheech and Chong movie IF you can accept the fact that marijuana doesn't enter into it at all. Otherwise, Cheech still has his quick one-liners, and Chong's still kind of a lovable dope. But I will say this - any way you slice it, this isn't one of their best works. There are moments, but I've gotten a lot more laughs from their stoner works, again, because the comedy fits better. The good news is that if you wanna check it out for yourself, you can actually find it in its entirety on YouTube of all places. It's an easy hour and a half watch, but I'll give you fair warning that it may very well end up being a noisy and convoluted hour and a half you'll want back. The funny thing is, I used to actually like this movie back in the day. I dunno what happened, but I kinda find it aggravating to sit through now. 2/5 The final film of my 'Animation Month' collection is a title I've been meaning to check out for quite some time. It was screened for one night only, on December 6, 2016, then it was released on other services like video on demand and Netflix. The concept has aspiring actor, John (Paul Rudd) and aspiring screenwriter, Elliot (Patton Oswalt) looking for fame, making a pact that after all their failures, they'd become famous within the next 24 hours. The more they go about it, the more in over their heads they get. While on their 24-hour adventure, they keep coming back to this guy dubbed the Nerd King (Hannibal Buress) for advice and help, and for my money, he's probably the funniest character in the movie - just this over the top, ultimate geek guy, who even goes so far as to wear a crown and wield a scepter. He'll probably come off as just cocky and unlikable to others, but for some reason he got me. Think Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons, but cranked to eleven. As far as the other characters, our leads have their moments, but are overall kinda "meh". They're not really people you'd wanna be friends with, but you might have a drink with them at a social event every now and then. You don't hate them, but you're not exactly a fan of them either. However, their love interests, Sally (Kate Micucci) and Linda (Riki Lindhome) are just downright awful. Sally and Linda are just two ditzy airheads with "perfect" bodies and absolutely no personalities, unless you can count "over-the-top valley girl" as a personality. For me, they're what kill the movie - bearing in mind I'm talking about the characters, not the actresses portraying them - them, I actually enjoy. What we had here was bad writing. Now, I didn't HATE this movie, but I didn't come out of it all that impressed either. It ended things on a bit of a weird note, and the overall telling of things was kinda just okay. There are moments the movie pauses just to get weird, and I can't exactly tell if it's for a laugh, or just to get weird for the sake of it. The animation was something I enjoyed, kinda painting this whole dingy world, and often causing discomfort in the appropriate places. I know that sounds weird, but let's just say the animation was effective for what I think they were going for. With that said, it's not really enough to save the overall film. There were things I liked about it, but there's nothing here that's enough to get me to come back for a rewatch. Every voice actor here has better things under their belts, as does writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, who worked on titles like 'Seven' and 'The Wolfman' from 2010 (I don't care what anyone says, that was an underappreciated movie). So as far as their resumes go, this one's one of their lesser titles. 2/5 This is an interesting little jaunt that I couldn't really help but appreciate. Its overall weirdness blends with a surprising form of animation that, although reminiscent of elementary school artwork, remains ultimately captivating. The story centers on two best friends, Dash (Jason Schwartzman) and Asaaf (Reggie Watts) who attend Tides High School - a school located at the edge of a cliff and above a fault line. They write together for the school newspaper. The paper's editor, Verti (Maya Rudolph), one day assigns a solo project for Asaaf, which ultimately angers Dash, leading him to write a hurtful article about his best friend. The article makes their Principal, Grimm (Thomas Jay Ryan) put a blotch on Dash's permanent record. This causes Dash to break into the school archives to retrieve his record, but in turn finds out that the school's overall structure isn't up to code. This will eventually lead to an earthquake that sends the... well, "entire high school sinking into the sea". Added to the cast are a few recognizable names like Lena Dunham and Adam Lustick, but perhaps most interesting is Susan Sarandon as a bad ass, survivalist lunch lady, who helps everyone to try to survive this literal sinking ship of a school. Going back to the animation style, I couldn't help but appreciate it. The story is a recap a major even during high school, being told by a high school student, so the style fits actually quite well, as it's somewhat juvenile looking. But what's fascinating about it is that the atmosphere of the story also gets animated. This movie shows you emotions with its flow of animation, and it really makes for a great, overall art piece of a film. In the long run, this was one of those movies I really appreciated for myself, but I can't necessarily just recommend it to anyone and everyone. I think in order to really appreciate this film as a whole, you'll need to have at least a bit of an appreciation for artsy films, because this most certainly is that. It's almost like watching someone's dream unfold before your eyes. The film can currently be found on Netflix (Canada) if you feel like giving it a whirl. It runs an easy hour and 15 minutes, so it's simple enough to sit though. However, I'd warn not to treat it as just another animated movie so much as an experience. I really enjoyed it for myself. 4/5 In my search for interesting Under the Radar ghost-themed movies, I stumbled on this comedy title on Netflix. Knowing nothing about it, I still figured the team of actors involved messing around as ghost hunters might just tickle the funny bone enough to, at least, get by as a decent paranormal comedy. Unfortunately, however, the most the film ever got from me was a slight giggle or two - generally based on stupidity. We meet Louis (Jon Heder); a die hard fan of the paranormal, and copy shop owner, and his best friend, Stan (David Krumholtz); a man depressed over his bride to be mysteriously disappearing at his wedding, leaving him at the altar. He theorizes that it was alien abduction. One day, a customer comes into Louis' copy shop, asking for "No Trespassing" signs. The customer tells Louis that the barn is probably haunted because it looks creepy, and this encourages Louis to recruit a ghost hunting team. The team, in question, includes mouth-breathing security dope, Ross (Justin Long), obvious love-interest-like character, Ellie (Melonie Diaz), token asshole trying to be comedy relief character, Zak (Paul W. Downs), and apparent psychic, Victoria (Amy Sedaris). Together, the crew head to the man's barn to check things out over the course of a night. Things are pretty passable for a little while, although not great, but then the movie just totally drops the ball, just as things start getting (somewhat) interesting. I won't spoil it, but it's the kind of movie where some big reveal happens that just plain kills the mood, taking you out of a movie that really wasn't that good to begin with. I even went back and checked out the trailer, which made it worse, because there's absolutely no hint to what this big reveal is. This was a decent team of actors that were given a bad script and bad direction. While none of them generally blow anyone away with their talents, they all still have some great roles out there that prove they're pretty flexible with their craft. This was kinda their most basic of basic performances, with jokes and gags that pretty much just fall flat. Again, this one barely gave me a laugh at all. But what really bugs me here more than anything is that reveal. It happens just as the movie is getting dark and entertaining. I like the comedy-horror blend more than any other blended genre, so when things started going down and I finally started to get interested, it all got taken away from me in an instant. Then, I just kinda waited for the movie to end 'cause I was so taken out of it. It's honestly one of the cheapest twists I've ever seen. They could have had something half-decent here. I know I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but I wish writers didn't have to get so cheap with their craft sometimes. It was almost like half-way through, they just gave up. Anyway, disappointing to say the least. 1/5 Now, here we have something I consider very close to my heart. When I was a kid, and had no patience for old, black and white films (I've missed out on a lot of good stuff due to such stubbornness), this was my 'Christmas Carol' story. It was fun, had a great atomsphere to go along with it, and featured some favourite Characters, including Scrooge of 'Duck Tales' fame (a cartoon I really loved back then) in the lead role. Back when I caught it on TV, it was a 30-minute special that aired after another 30-minutes or so of fun Disney Christmas stories. The grouping of it all together really used to ignite the Christmas spirit in me, as it all managed to capture everything great about the holiday. But of course, our main focus here is the story of Scrooge. For the two or three people out there who don't know this story at all, Scrooge is a greedy old meiser who sees Christmas as a poor excuse to pick his pockets, and a holiday that hasn't exactly been kind to him. Upon coming home on Christmas Eve, he runs into the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley (a rather hilarious rendition from Goofy) who tells him he's gonna be visited by three spirits. These spirits are gonna help him sort his life out before it's too late and he has to walk around the afterlife as a lonely, chain-wearing ghost. The spirits in question are the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Jiminy Cricket), Present (that Giant from 'Mickey and the Beanstalk') and Future (A mysterious hooded character with a reveal I'm not sure is worth calling a "spoiler" or not). They all show him shadows of things that were, are, and are to become, giving him a reality check and hopefully, getting him to change his ways. One can probably imagine how it all ends, but the journey is always interesting. In this version, so much of the story is punctuated by a humor to make it kid-friendly. However, something to be admired here is the overall atmosphere of things. It still carries a darkness to it, like any version should. But it also, otherwise, features great animation in front of some beautifully drawn set pieces that really and truly manage to give you some sort of Christmas spirit injection. The funny thing is, it's not even really bright and colourful, due to the mood that's being established. But somehow, you still get it coming through. I have this one as "Under the Radar", because I find that no one ever talks about it anymore, or even knows it exists. Most of my generation remembers it, but there's a whole gap going on between us and the younger generation (ie, kids and teenagers nowadays). While there are plenty of other versions of this story to chose from, this is a great one that's short, sweet, does everything it needs to, and ages extremely well. I highly recommend finding it in some way, shape or form and checking it out again - if nothing else, it kinda hits you right in the nostalgias. 5/5 I had to see it, eventually. Most people I know have at least heard of this. Some have even seen it. But the general consensus is that this is by far one of the strangest decisions for a Christmas special that has ever existed. As one could imagine, it's based on the song of the same name - a pretty strange thing to land on in the first place. However, much like the song, I've always considered this special to me more of a humorous novelty than something to be taken too seriously, so in all honesty, I've gotta cut this special some slack here and there. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's pretty bad. But it's also fascinating in what decisions it makes, which ultimately does make it pretty fun to watch, I'm not gonna lie. Much of the plot involves the Spankenheimer family (yeah, I know) dealing with the cousin Mel (Michele Lee) that the song mentions. Someone playing cards in the song turns into a full-fledged villain here, as her big story is trying to get her money-grubbing hands on the family store. In the confusion, our "hero", Jake (Alex Doduk) is sent to go find Grandma, whom he discovers has been the victim of a Santa's reindeer hit and run. The rest of the special balances Jake constantly trying to locate his grandmother, and prove to everyone that Santa is real. So, here's the thing. The plot is pretty ridiculous as it is, but there are parts to this that just go way overboard for a kids special, almost making it more of a cartoon for adults. One of the local cops even utters the word "broad" when referring to Grandma. But then, we have the overall random stuff to this as well, which is mostly what makes it so hilariously awkward to get through. It is actually kinda hilarious how off his rocker Grandpa (Elmo Shropshire) actually is. There's a scene with Grandpa making a deal with cousin Mel where he randomly breaks out into song because he misunderstands a word. He also has my favorite bit of dialogue with Jake - when Jake tells him straight up that he's going out on his own to search for Grandma and prove Santa is real, he does it pretty casually, and Grandpa's response would be equivalent to Jake telling him that he was just going next door to his buddy's house. You kinda have to see it for yourself, but I can't deny it gave me a decent chuckle. This is such a strange title. It doesn't fall into the "so bad its good" category, and it's not really good by any means, yet not necessarily that bad, if your mind can open up enough to it. What can I really say? It's worth checking out once, just for its craziness, but it's not necessarily worth revisiting - unless of course you're like me and wanna show your friends how goofy it is. 2/5 This one isn't what you'd call entirely "under the radar", but it does seem to be a title that no one really talks about. It's the same with the Halloween Special. Garfield pretty much just takes a back seat to that 'Peanuts' gang (which is fine, 'cause Peanuts does have more substance). I always enjoyed 'Garfield' (as long as he was being voiced by Lorenzo Music), but I do get that it's the same jokes over and over again. 'Garfield' is just a big part of my childhood, so naturally, I watched his specials with as much interest as I watched the 'Peanuts' specials. This was one of the stand-outs. It's Christmas Eve morning, and Jon (Thom Huge) wakes up Garfield (Lorenzo Music) so they can head to the Arbuckle family farm for the night, along with Odie (Gregg Berger). The rest of it, is just family bumbling, as the Arbuckles celebrate their traditional get-together. There's sincerely nothing much to it, at all. But it still carries this particular charm with it, and does have a few good laughs, even today, with some of the dialogue. We also get to see a bit of Garfield's sensitive side in the end, which doesn't seem out of character for him here, so much as a nice moment. I suppose the thing that keeps this Special good for me is, in fact, it's simplicity. It's just a family Christmas with some likable characters who could reflect almost anyone's family. Most notably, there's Grandma (Pat Caroll), a feisty, go-getter type, despite her age. There's a pretty tender moment in this special where she reflects on her late husband, and even though we never meet him, we get an idea of what he was about in just a couple of minutes. The scene is the heart of the special, to me, even though it really just comes out of the blue and has little to do with anything. I suppose, in a way, her monologue remains grounded in the comfortable family atmosphere, and it adds some Christmas heart to the otherwise whacky family. So yeah, I suppose this is a pretty short review for a short special that no one talks about, but I recommend checking this title out at least once, just to see if you get the same feeling I get from it. In short, it's just a very simple and cozy family special. There really isn't a whole lot of depth to it, but that's what makes it appealing. We have movies that show family Christmas hubbub like 'Christmas Vacation', sure, but they tend to get a little over the top a lot of the time. This is just... comfort food. You know it's not great, but there's something appealing about it. 3/5 Going back to 1987, this particular Christmas special that has remained completely under the radar for audiences ever since, IS my all-time favourite TV Christmas Special. That's saying a lot, seeing as it has such things like 'Rudolph', 'Frosty', 'The Grinch' and of course, 'Charlie Brown' to contend with. But this came along when I was 5, and for whatever reason, very much into the California Raisins. For anyone unfamiliar, the California Raisins were claymated jazz raisins for kids, who sang real soul songs our parents probably enjoyed. Their biggest hit was 'Heard it Through the Grapevine', and they were often used for advertising. For many of us kids, it worked... I still dunno why, but it is what it is. Here's a quick pick of their raisin commercials. Anyway, they had their share of specials for kids, but their best featured appearance was probably right here in this one. They do their rendition of 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' as the big finale song for this special. And yes, I'm a 36-year-old man who still considers this to be the best version of the song, even over the talents of Burl Ives (whose rendition is from the 'Rudolph' special). A bold statement, perhaps, but there you have my unpopular opinion. The special is hosted by a Tyrannosaurus named Rex (Johnny Counterfit) and a Triceratops named Herb (Tim Conner). Together, they go through the 24-minute special, introducing us to claymated music videos that cover specific Christmas traditions. Aside from 'Rudolph', they also tackle 'We Three Kings', 'Carol of the Bells', 'Angels We Have Heard on High', 'Oh Christmas Tree', 'Joy to the World' and 'Here We Come a Wassailing'. All are done in comedic fashion, except 'Joy to the World' which... honestly just plain looks awesome, and is probably my favourite version of THAT song too. The special can be easily found to stream on-line, and each music video is easily found on YouTube. It sadly made its last run on television (that I'm aware of) some time back in the 90s, and has been well-hidden ever since. It's a special that, when brought up to people, no one seems to really remember. However, more people remember the next special I'm about to cover more, and it ran back-to-back with this for a little while. It's funny what our minds retain. If you ever get curious about more claymation and those crazy raisins, however, check out this special's director Will Vinton. He directed pretty much all of the 'California Raisins' specials, along with an Easter special (that I have yet to see) and much more. He was an interesting and unique talent, who really seemed to understand that some kids wanted the strange and unusual. He only just passed away on October 4th of this year, and didn't seem to get any recognition for his work, even if it's completely dated. It should be known that most of the songs on that list, I was introduced to through this special. It's worth a watch for a mere good 24 minutes. Good laughs, good music, good animation, and a good way to get into the festive spirit. 5/5 Here we have a pretty touching tale, based on a true story, where two unlikely people become pen pals. Two people becoming pen pals isn't exactly unheard of, but there's something a little more taboo about this pair because one is an 8-year-old girl and the other is a 44-year-old man. It may sound creepy, but stick around for the rest of this review and ask yourself in the end whether it's creepy or sweet. We open up in the early 70s as we're introduced to a little girl named Mary Daisy Dinkle (Bethany Whitmore/Toni Collette). She lives a lonely life, is constantly teased at school for a poop-like birthmark, and her parents consist of a distant father and an alcoholic, kleptomaniac mother. Her best refuge is to watch a show called the Noblets (basically the 'Smurfs', but very phallic-looking) while hanging out with her pet rooster, and eating sweetened, condensed milk straight from the can. She ends up being a very unusual character, but one feels for her because she's that unusual. She never really tries to fit in, she's just herself, and she manages to test the viewers opinions by making her seemingly as bland as possible. If you can stick with it after a very strange intro, you'll see Mary, randomly mailing a guy named Max (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), who resides in New York City, asking where babies come from. Max, himself, turns out to be a lonely and misunderstood individual as well. He doesn't particularly like or understand the human race, enjoys eating chocolate hot dogs (literally a chocolate bar in a hot dog bun), and deals with a truckload of anxiety issues. The film then gives us their back and forth, and we see just how much a lonely middle-aged man can understand the troubles of a lonely little girl. They pretty much become best friends through being pen pals, and the story challenges society's norms by giving us an otherwise creepy scenario between two very misunderstood people. This is one of those movies you might only find somewhere online through that grey area of streaming or torrenting. I think it may still be available on American Netflix, but otherwise, it can be tricky to come across. But if you can find it, it's a film I'd recommend to almost anyone. If nothing else, it's just to see how very strange and funny, yet heart-felt and emotional it is. With narration like that of a children's story, there's still swearing, suggestive themes, and yes, even a tiny bit of nudity, so it's certainly not for kids. But what I could call it is a sort kid's-like film for adults. Again, the whole opening sequence pretty much tells you what you're in for. The film is largely about being different, dealing with it, and being thankful to have someone in your corner through your tough times. There's some kinda heartbreaking moments throughout this as well, when we see them get into a bit of a fight and crippling loneliness and anxiety take things over for Max. Indeed, it's hard to deal with such an issue in your life. But the film also manages to show us that with time, unexpected things can happen. To me, it's very sweet, although quite dark, and it dares to go places other films don't quite manage. It's unlike a lot of animated films out there, and it's always been a personal favorite to refer to on those rough days when I'm feeling different, alone, or upset. An oddity of a film that's right up my alley. 5/5 In Richard Linklater's overall style, he has a tendancy to keep us engaged with a more realistic looking take on things. I feel like whatever you're watching of his tends to have a natural feel to it as opposed to a bunch of actors just acting. 2016's 'Everybody Wants Some!!' is no exception. However, some may see it as trying to be 'Dazed and Confused 2', which would be one of those sequels the world simply doesn't need. But I would emplore those thinkers to treat this as it's own film. It's to 'Dazed and Confused' what 'Waking Life' is to 'Slacker' - plenty of similarities, but totally its own thing. In this one, we're visiting college with baseball pitcher prodigy, Jake (Blake Jenner). He moves into a house he shares with several other teammates on the Southeast Texas Cherokees, and the basic plot is that we follow his journey over a few days before classes start as he bonds with these guys, attempts to find love, and gets introduced to a whole bunch of college fun, be it clubbing, bar hopping, or just getting high in their rooms. Again, similar to the following of Mitch Kramer in 'Dazed and Confused'. There's actually not a whole lot to be said about this one though. Where 'Dazed and confused' took you on that similar journey, it also had a plot point surrounding a senior who didn't wanna listen to authority. 'Everybody Wants Some!!' is far more of a relatively plotless, fun time. Almost more comparable to something like 'Project X' in that sense. But that's not to say that this film isn't still a good time. If you need to just shut your brain down and enjoy something for a couple of hours, this is a decent enough option. It's kinda like you go through this movie just hanging out with these guys. It ends up being a stoner/college/party movie, so if you're into that kind of thing, I'd recommend giving it a whirl. The cast is generally unknown here, but they do a good job playing who they're supposed to be playing. The one guy I actually recognized was Wyatt Russell, mostly from '22 Jump Street', but otherwise, just a few familiar, yet unknown faces. So if you like the idea of watching some newcomers to the industry, this might be a cool place to turn. It strikes me as one we might look back on and recognize more people as time goes on. All in all, this is just meant to be a good time, living almost vicariously through Jake. But there's not much more to it than that. So check it out for yourself and see if you enjoy the hangout, or despise the overall lack of substance. I'd just recommend keeping an open mind abut it, but never forget that 'Dazed and Confused' is much better. 3/5 |