Tag: Bill Hader

Thanksgiving Smörgåsbord: ‘The Front Runner’ – ‘Creed II’ – ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ – ‘Robin Hood’ (2018)

One of these things is not like the other…

Let’s get it on.

Directed by Jason Reitman
Written by Matt Bai & Jay Carson & Jason Reitman, based on the book All The Truth Is Out by Matt Bai
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, J. K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, Sara Paxton, Mamoudou Athie, John Bedford Lloyd, Bill Burr, Kaitlyn Dever, Molly Ephraim, Josh Brener, Mike Judge, Kevin Pollak, Ari Graynor, Mark O’Brien, Alex Karpovsky, Toby Huss, Tommy Dewey, Spencer Garrett, Nyasha Hatendi, Steve Zissis, Chris Coy, Jennifer Landon, Oliver Cooper, Courtney Ford, Jonny Pasvolsky, Randy Havens, Steve Coulter, Jenna Kanell, Gabriel Manak, Evan Castelloe
Soundtrack: Rob Simonsen

The Front Runner has gotten mixed reviews, and I think I know why (Rorschach test-type situation), but ultimately I don’t understand why.  Given that we live in the Golden Age of the Documentary, and based-on-true-story movies often fail to justify themselves, this one was a refreshing exception.

I’ll admit that I haven’t seen a Jason Reitman film since Thank You for Smoking, which I enjoyed and which The Front Runner compares favorably to, though they are distinct from each other, but to me you can’t really ask for more from a non-fantastical film-making perspective.  It’s a period piece that takes itself very seriously in that regard (which I appreciated to no end), it’s slick, the performances are by-and-large very good if not excellent (a few questionable casting decisions, but nothing unforgivable), and, at least in my opinion, it lets you make up your own mind (which is perhaps why some people are down on it).

Truthfully though, this is the Hugh Jackman show.  Not that he doesn’t have plenty of help (Vera Farmiga in particular is her usual wonderful self), but it’s certainly among the best performances I’ve ever seen from him, maybe the best so far.  I don’t know if it’ll be “impressive” enough to earn him awards season love, but it would not shock me to see him earn some nods.

It may not be an entirely life-changing experience (although it is about not only a life-changing experience, but a societal-changing experience), but given how down this year has been for movies, I have no problem giving The Front Runner a quality recommendation.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Directed by Steven Caple Jr.
Written by Sylvester Stallone (story and screenplay), Juel Taylor (screenplay), Sascha Penn (story), and Cheo Hodari Coker (story)
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Wood Harris, Russell Hornsby, Andre Ward, Phylicia Rashad, Jacob “Stitch” Duran
Soundtrack: Ludwig Göransson

Alright, Rocky IV: Part 3-D.  Let’s do this.

It’s crazy, because the main fulcrum of Creed II is like something a couple of kids would have thought up on a playground thirty years ago: “What if Apollo Creed had a son and Ivan Drago had a son and they fought each other?”

And yet, it works.  As predictable as it may be at times, as a sequel to a sequel to a sequel will be, Creed II still has enough in its core to be satisfying.

Story-wise, it’s not as cohesive as I remember its predecessor being, but it brings out just as much emotion (cribbing good story elements from Rocky II, III, and IV helps with that), and, frankly, from a visual standpoint, I actually think it’s a better looking film (I can’t find any numbers, but I’m guessing this had a bigger budget than the $35 million for Creed, which would be one explanation why).

In terms of performances, not everybody gets a whole lot to do (even Stallone seems to have less screen-time than in the last one), but I can’t think of anyone who sticks out in a bad way (except maybe for Max “Where’s My Camera” Kellerman).  Even Dolph Lundgren (who I like more than most other people seem to) brings his fair share to the table.  And, he only gets about three scenes, but I really liked Russell Hornsby as the fight promoter.

I know I rag on Hollywood’s lack of originality these days quite a bit, but at the same time I try to judge every movie I see on it’s own merits, and I like what Creed II brings to the table, especially as a Rocky IV fan.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Directed by Phil Johnston & Rich Moore
Written by Phil Johnston (story and screenplay) & Pamela Ribon (story and screenplay), Rich Moore (story), Jim Reardon (story), Josie Trinidad (story)
Cast: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Gal Gadot, Taraji P. Henson, Bill Hader, Alfred Molina, Alan Tudyk, Ed O’Neill, Flula Borg, Hamish Blake, Ali Wong, GloZell Green, Timothy Simons, Ana Ortiz, Jason Mantzoukas
Soundtrack: Henry Jackman

On the one hand, I want to hate on Ralph Breaks the Internet for being a giant corporate self-pleasure session (which, to be fair, it is).

On the other hand, it’s a lot of fun and it tugged at my heartstrings.

Life is complicated sometimes.

I don’t remember why I didn’t see Wreck-It Ralph in theaters, I think I was just too skeptical to pull the trigger, but eventually I came around to it on DVD and was pleasantly surprised; and the sequel is an even more pleasant surprise because it might actually be better than the original.

Does it go too far sometimes with the references for references’ sake?  Most certainly yes, but, strip all of that away (and, honestly, sometimes it is handled in clever and humorous ways, especially the princess elements), and you still have a solid story of friendship.  Simple, but solid.

It might seem obvious, given that it’s an animated film, but beyond the voice performances, which are by-and-large on point, and the music, the movie’s biggest strength is it’s detailed visual creativity.  Little things like how players in the not-Grand Theft Auto game move with a little lag as opposed to the free-flowing non-player characters, and just overall in how the Internet as a setting is portrayed, as I said, it’s a lot of fun.

Will Ralph Breaks the Internet hold up in ten to fifteen years?  Maybe, maybe not, but somehow it feels more substantial than a lot of other “time-capsule” movies.  I mean, it’s clearly geared towards Disney fanatics, of which I am not one, and I still give it a high recommendation, so, take that for what it’s worth.

Rating: ★★★★☆

 

Directed by Otto Bathurst
Written by Ben Chandler (screenplay and story) and David James Kelly (screenplay)
Cast: Taron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Tim Minchin, Jamie Dornan, Paul Anderson, Josh Herdman, Cornelius Booth, Björn Bengtsson
Soundtrack: Joseph Trapanese

Hey, remember Batman Begins?  That was a good movie.

No, but seriously, as much as this version of Robin Hood wanted me to hate it, I can’t say I hated it.  I wouldn’t say it’s good, but it’s not all bad either.

I don’t know that it entirely works or makes sense (in fact, it’s a bit jarring at times), but I don’t fault the filmmakers for trying to do something different in terms of visual style and fight choreography.  After all, when you’re the fifty-seventh (numbers approximate) Robin Hood movie in film history, you’ve got to do something to distinguish yourself.

Honestly, even story-wise, I wouldn’t say things are entirely poor, but there are moments when the writing is so awful you can’t even believe it.  Add to this a dose of ham-fisted social and political commentary (The War on Terror is the new Crusades!  The Church is evil!), which is no surprise given that one of the producers is Leonardo DiCaprio, and some related tonal inconsistencies (much of the movie is played pretty straight, but then there are scenes, in order to paint people as cartoonishly evil, that are like The Hunger Games meets Mad Max), and you go from a pretty good movie to something you’d randomly find in a Redbox.

As I keep saying though, it’s not all bad, and most of the good comes down to Taron Egerton as Robin Hood.  Occasionally there’s a line or two that not even Laurence Olivier could make good, but on the whole his performance is charming and enjoyable, yet deeply human.

Still though, as most remakes are, 2018’s Robin Hood isn’t really worth your time or money.

You might even say that it’s a Thanksgiving turkey.

Rating: ★★½ (out of five)

Movie Review – ‘Sausage Party’ – What’s the point?

Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon
Written by Kyle Hunter (screenplay) & Ariel Shaffir (screenplay) & Seth Rogen (screenplay and story) & Evan Goldberg (screenplay and story) & Jonah Hill (story)
Cast: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, Sugar Lyn Beard, Anders Holm, Harland Williams
Soundtrack: Christopher Lennertz and Alan Menken

It would be a lie to say that ‘Sausage Party’ is completely lacking in creativity, as there are many imaginative visuals and a handful of jokes that are at least somewhat funny and clever.

However, and with respect to Tim League, it would also be a lie to say that ‘Sausage Party’ is “the ‘Blazing Saddles’ of our generation.”  That’s a bit like comparing ‘Revenge of the Sith’ to ‘Citizen Kane’.  Sure, ‘Blazing Saddles‘ has a lot of subversive commentary, but it’s nicely blended in to a [mostly] cohesive comedic story; it wasn’t a thinly-veiled effort at megaphoning a specific agenda (‘Blazing Saddles’ is also legitimately hilarious).

I feel a bit strange talking about this, because I rarely, if ever, get into discussion of messages in movies I review, but ‘Sausage Party’ has forced my hand.

Before we get to that though, let me first cover some standard ground.

The premise of ‘Sausage Party’ is that all of the food (along with some non-perishable items) at our local supermarket is alive, similar to the toys in ‘Toy Story’, and they await being chosen by us in order to enter the great beyond.  The hard truth, of course, is that we just eat it, and it’s up to one brave sausage to shed light on this and take the humans down.

If this sounds like a comedy set-up that doesn’t resolve, it’s because it doesn’t; which makes the whole exercise rather pointless, which I guess is what the filmmakers were going for, which brings me back to my main point.

The “tl;dr” version of what ‘Sausage Party’ is really about is simply this: religion is stupid, and Stephen Hawking is our true savior.  Not to mention that we should give in to every desire we have because moral constructs aren’t real.  Sure, sometimes the movie randomly splashes into other topics, but by and large it does everything it can to hammer its true message home.

You’d think that ‘Sausage Party’ would be able to handle its social commentary more seamlessly because it’s a silly animated film, but, again, the core concept of the story is so nonsensical and unresolvable that it makes the real motive of the movie that much clearer.  Honestly, it would work better as a series of non sequitur shorts, rather than trying to stretch it to a single feature-length film.

Ultimately, I don’t find ‘Sausage Party’ offensive because it’s offensive, I find it offensive because it’s so obvious, in addition to not being very funny.  Honestly, I was in a full theater on opening night, and there wasn’t one moment where the entire audience erupted with laughter, so I know it’s not just me.

‘Sausage Party’ isn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen, there were some funny moments I liked here and there, but, as an entire movie, I absolutely cannot recommend it.  It’s too juvenile and too crass without the intelligence to back it up, but worst of all it’s utterly transparent in its intentions.

There’s a big difference between wannabe smart and actually smart, kids.

Rating: ★½ (out of five)

Movie Review – ‘POPSTAR: Never Stop Never Stopping’ – Like A Boss

Directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
Written by Andy Samberg & Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Tim Meadows, Bill Hader, Imogen Poots, Sarah Silverman, Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, Chris Redd, Ithamar Enriquez
Soundtrack: The Lonely Island

Whether you’re familiar with them by name or not, you probably know The Lonely Island.  From “Lazy Sunday” to “I’m on a Boat” to their first feature film, ‘Hot Rod‘ (which, like many classic comedy films, was under-appreciated at the time of its release), the trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone has left an indelible impact on comedy and pop culture at large.

With ‘POPSTAR’, The Lonely Island brings their own twist to the mockumentary sub-genre, no doubt inspired by the recent wave of tour docs from the likes of Katy Perry, One Direction, and, especially, Justin Bieber.  You could say ‘POPSTAR’ is the ‘Spinal Tap‘ of the 21st Century, although I don’t think the boys ever intended on the same level of verisimilitude as Rob Reiner and Christopher Guest, as there are moments where their absurditst tendencies shine through, similar to ‘Hot Rod’.

Unlike ‘Hot Rod’, however, ‘POPSTAR’ is no PG-13 affair.  On the contrary, the movie does everything in its power to earn that R rating, from language to various sorts of nudity, including [possibly] Judd Apatow’s penis; and yet, somehow it doesn’t feel quite as dirty as the average raunch-com (Apatow-produced or otherwise), perhaps because the movie is genuinely funny.  And I do mean really funny.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, my standard for comedies is whether or not they make me laugh, and, in that regard, ‘POPSTAR’ succeeds.  There are great comedic performances everywhere, obviously from Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone, and other SNL alums like Tim Meadows and Bill Hader, but also from Sarah Silverman, who I normally find to be grating, and especially from Will Arnett, who has a recurring cameo as a Harvey Levin knock-off.

If I have one particular criticism, it’s that the many celebrity cameos, largely done in interview format, could have been played a little more deadpan to give that aspect of the movie more believability, but I understand that most of these people aren’t trained actors, so it’s somewhat forgivable.

Even if you don’t think you’re hip enough to understand everything ‘POPSTAR’ is satirizing, it’s still hilarious on many levels. and there are so many wonderful surprises that I can’t help but recommend it.  Go see it if you’re up for a good laugh (although not before you go see ‘The Nice Guys‘, jerkwad).

Rating: ★★★★☆