Tag: Comedy

REVIEW: ‘The Big Sick’ Is A Triumph Thanks To Great Humor, Meaningful Drama

Once in a while during a summer, a great movie comes out that’s in a genre not associated with super heroes or action stars. “The Big Sick,” a romantic comedy, is one of those flicks.

The picture stars Kumail Nanjiani and is actually inspired by the story of how he met his wife Emily Gordon. The film follows Nanjiani through his life in Chicago as an Uber Driver and a stand-up comedian. By way of the latter, he meets Emily, played in the film by Zoe Kazan, and the two start a relationship. Things get a bit complicated, though, as Nanjiani’s family wants him to marry a Pakistani woman.

The situation becomes more complicated when Emily comes down with a sudden illness just after the couple has a fight and she is placed in a medically induced coma for treatment. This leads to Nanjiani having to balance his relationship with his parents and building a new relationship with Emily’s parents.

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REVIEW: Main Concept Of ‘The House’ Not Fit For A Feature Film

“The House,” unfortunately, is another example of a film having comedic talent, but not the material to back it up.

The film revolves around the lives of two middle class, small town parents, Scott (Will Ferrell) and Kate (Amy Poehler). The movie picks up in the summer just after their daughter Alex (Ryan Simpkins) graduates from high school and prepares to go to a seemingly large, expensive college.

At first, this seems to be fine as Alex has been selected for a major scholarship. However, this is soon flipped as the city revokes the scholarship for a different use. As a result, the two parents become desperate to find another way to pay for tuition. At that moment, their friend Frank (Jason Mantzoukas) comes up with an idea for an ‘at home’ casino where they can make money and give the small town some thrills.

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REVIEW: Good Cast Doesn’t Save Clichéd Comedy ‘Rough Night’

It’s always surprising when a movie comes along boasting plenty of talent that ultimately disappoints. “Rough Night” is a picture that falls into that category.

The film revolves around the character Jess (Scarlett Johansson) and her group of friends who are reuniting after quite some time. Friends since their days in college, the group decides to go to Miami for a bachelorette party for Jess, whose wedding day is close by.

While their party does get somewhat crazy, all seems to be going relatively well. That is until a male stripper whom they’ve hired ends up getting killed by way of an accident. As a result, the friends begin panicking and start trying to figure out how they can get out of the situation.

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REVIEW: ‘Snatched’ Earns Some Laughs, But Not Every Attempt At Comedy Works

Comedic actresses Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn partner up in this flick and on occasion they’re able to deliver some solid humor. However, both have been in better projects in the past.

In “Snatched,” Schumer plays a young woman who’s more or less hit rock bottom. She’s been just dumped by her boyfriend and fired from a rather dead-end job. Making matters worse, her breakup came just as her and her boyfriend were about to go on an exotic vacation to South America.

Because she still wants to go on the trip, though, she invites her mother Linda (Goldie Hawn) to go along. The two eventually make their way to the resort to begin their vacation, yet the two are somewhat at odds in how to spend their time. The two have to reconnect and repair their somewhat strained relationship in quick fashion, though, when they are abducted by a criminal enterprise.

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REVIEW: ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ Is A Hilarious Take On The Dark Knight’s Recent Edgy Trend

He has the suit, the gadgets and the raspy voice. By all means, this is a “Batman” movie, but it’s certainly a lot more comical than its counterparts.

“The LEGO Batman Movie” starts off showing another average night in Gotham City, with a whole group of famous and not so famous villains launching an assault. Per usual, Batman (Will Arnett) comes in to put a stop to them, but in the process of doing so, things start to change. More specifically, hints of Batman’s lonely life begin to come in to play.

As the movie goes on, the film (in humorous ways) explores Batman’s tendencies to do things on his own rather than accept help from anyone else. This becomes more complicated, though, with the arrival of new Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon (Rosario Dawson) and Dick Grayson/Robin (Michael Cera).

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REVIEW: ‘Sing’ Largely Forgettable Besides Fun Musical Numbers

The makers of “Minions” took a different direction in their latest animated film, “Sing.”

The picture tells the story of numerous characters living in a big city, all having dreams of being a performer. However, the film especially shines a spotlight on Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), the owner of a theater that’s fallen on hard times.

In order to save the theater and turn around his entire business model, Moon decides to have a signing competition. As a result, many different people from unique backgrounds come out to compete.

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REVIEW: Streep, Grant Shine In The Fantastic ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’

Meryl Streep could very well get some award attention again for her performance but Hugh Grant shouldn’t be overlooked in this picture.

“Florence Foster Jenkins” follows the story of a real life New York City woman who was heavily involved in the area’s musical scene. While she knew and was on largely good terms with many of NYC’s musicians, artists and composers, though, she herself didn’t have the best singing talent.

The film picks up with her taking singing lessons in 1944 with help from her husband St Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) and a young composer named Cosme McMoon (Simon Helberg). Despite her continued practice, though, Jenkins doesn’t particularly improve over time. However, Jenkins believes she’s a world class singer and it’s up to the film’s other character to help her continue to believe the product she’s putting out.

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REVIEW: The Political Satire In ‘Sausage Party’ Works, Everything Else Not So Much

Director Greg Tiernan and actor Seth Rogen take animated pictures to a whole new level with this feature, mixing ideas of a raunchy comedy and a Pixar-like adventure.

The film takes place in a supermarket like any other and shows that all of the food and items in the store are sentient. Additionally, the products view humans as gods, meaning that when they are bought and taken out of the store they’re going to a sort of heaven.

Much of the flick revolves around the characters Franks (Rogen), a sausage and Brenda (Kristen Wiig) a bun. The movie picks up with them getting lost with other foods in the store when a mishap happens preventing them from being purchased. In the process, they start to learn some of the truth behind what the humans do.

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REVIEW: ‘Central Intelligence’ Starts Strong But Loses Energy As It Goes On

It’s another team up movie for Kevin Hart and this time around he’s joined by one of the biggest action stars in Hollywood.

In “Central Intelligence,” Hart plays a man who was once the most popular and active kid in high school, but is now stuck at a rather dead-end job as an accountant. His situation makes him less than eager to attend his upcoming 20 year high school reunion, but one day at work, he gets a message from Bob Stone (Dwayne Johnson).

Bob, who was also a senior when Calvin was in school, was bullied for much of his time there. However, that has turned around as Bob has become a jacked up super agent for the CIA. Calvin, unfortunately, finds this out the hard way as he’s dragged into an international operation by Bob to help him accomplish his mission.

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REVIEW: Shane Black’s ‘Nice Guys’ Is A Fun Throwback To The 70s

Director Shane Black takes audiences back to the 1970s in “The Nice Guys,” a movie that brings together Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.

The movie begins with Crowe’s character Jackson, an enforcer and Gosling’s character Holland, a private investigator, at odds with each other over a case.

Circumstances related to the case force the two into a team-up, though, and they get some help from Holland’s daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) along the way, too.

The mismatched buddy comedy is a genre that’s been around for quite some time, so it’s always nice to see one that brings a fresh take. “The Nice Guys” is exactly that.

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