Movie Review: The Other Guys

Details: Released in 2010. Stars Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg. About an hour and fifty minutes long. Rated PG-13.

Up until a few weeks ago, I had never seen The Other Guys. What a fool I’ve been. The Other Guys is one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a long time.

The Other Guys is a Will Ferrell styled comedy about two lame police officers who want to be successful police officers. If you’ve seen other Will Ferrell comedies, then you should know what you’re in for. If not, then expect stupid, toilet humor and lots of celebrity appearances.

This film is largely a parody of police genre shows, but even further, it’s just a setting for Ferrell and friends to launch off into hilarious bits and sketches. There are so many funny scenes in this that were exactly the kind of humor I enjoy. I think there is a valid argument that this is the funniest Ferrell comedy in his career.

Everyone in this movie does a great job. The straight men do their parts well and the funny guys are hilarious when they’re supposed to be. Even the guest stars (like Derek Jeter) are great. Wahlberg and Ferrell were especially good. They make a great team and play off each other well.

The only issue I can think of for the film is that many people might simply hate Ferrell’s style of humor. It’s dumb, childish humor. I love it, but I can foresee other people not feeling the same way.

Overall, a great comedy that I thoroughly recommend. Additionally, it got a PG-13 rating so younger people can watch it, too. I can confirm that there’s nothing that racy in the film, just stupid funny humor.

Score: 8/10

Movie Review: The Lego Batman Movie

Details: Released in 2017. About an hour and forty minutes long. Stars Will Arnett, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson. Rated PG.

The Lego Batman Movie is about Lego Batman (part of the Lego Universe from The Lego Movie). Lego Batman is lonely and tries to deal with his relationship issues while defeating the Joker and his evil plan.

Visually, it’s like The Lego Movie. The film looks like they used lego to build everything and filmed that. It’s fun to look at and try to guess how they will animate something.

While this is a mainstream movie, there are only a few demographics of people I would recommend this film to. I can recommend this film to children, but the truth of the matter is that there are so many jokes that make so many references that are thrown at the audience so quickly that only an adult will likely get full enjoyment from this film. The kids would probably just enjoy watching Lego move around though.

I can recommend this film to Batman fans. Lots of references to the prior movies and other aspects of Batman lore. I found the very funny. I appreciated Tom Hardy reprising his role as Bane. That was a nice touch.

I can recommend this film to people who liked The Lego Movie. The humor and pacing is about the same.

Otherwise, I’m not sure you’re going to like this film. I enjoyed it, but it hits such a small part of the population in terms of interests and type of humor. If you have even a vague interest in any of the things written above, I’d recommend watching the film and giving it a chance.

Score: 6/10

Movie Review: The Big Lebowski

Details: Released in 1998. About two hours long. Stars Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore. There is nudity.

I’ve been hearing about The Big Lebowski for a very long time. Anytime it’s brought up, all I hear is about how great it is. It was finally time to give the film a watch.

The movie is about a guy, named the Dude, who gets involved in a kidnapping and tries to manage the many parties involved in his own, laid back, stoner way.

It’s a standard stoner story that I wouldn’t be surprised to see produced by Seth Rogen, except he wasn’t really as popular back then nor did he play a part in this film. I can sort of see why people would obsess with this film. It gives off vibes similar to Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction in that it’s the kind of script I’d expect to see from a freshman in college who just took his first screen writing course. It’s a very scattered story that doesn’t try to establish a tangible tone, nor does it contain any subjects that require substantive research or knowledge beforehand. I looked up some internet message boards as to why this film is so beloved and I haven’t found anything convincing to change my opinion of the film. It was just an okay film that ranks somewhere on the same level as Pineapple Express does, in my opinion.

There are a lot of recognizable actors in this movie. It’s interesting to see them play these kooky roles versus the more serious work that audiences may be more familiar with. They were all right considering the subject matter of the film.

Overall, an okay movie. I think the real reason why people love this movie so much is for the following reasons:

• Lots of people like drugs and alcohol and the kind of humor associated with stoner movies.
• Lots of people falsely think of themselves as philosophical gurus and ascribe a lot of existential ideas to the film as well as overanalyze it.
• Many people are middle-aged white men and they relate with the middle-aged white men who star in this movie.
• Many people are/were young men who can relate with the crazy/blase attitudes the main characters have.

Unfortunately, none of these reasons applied to me in regards to this movie.

Score: 5.5/10

Movie Review: The Secret Life of Pets

Details: Released in 2016. Stars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, and Kevin Hart. About an hour and a half long.

The Secret Life of Pets is an animated children’s film that centers on talking pets who are left at home when their owners go to work. The premise is this: Max, a terrier, does not get along with Duke, the new dog his owner has adopted. The two get into trouble, lose their way home, and must learn to get along if they are to find their way back.

It’s a simple premise. If you are a child or the type that just likes watching cute, animated animals talk, then you’re probably going to like this movie. For the rest of us, there are a few things to enjoy.

The plot is paper thin, as most of these animated talking animal movies are. Fortunately, the cast is pretty great. The cast is filled with actors and comedians known for their existing personalities which come through in the movie. You have Louis C.K. who essentially plays a terrier with Louis C.K.’s personality. Also extremely noticeable are Jenny Slate and Kevin Hart, who both were actually funny by virtue of their comedic personas. If you like these comedians and their comedic stand up performances, you may like the movie.

Also worth mentioning is the orchestrated soundtrack. I was surprised by how many recognizable New York-y melodies were woven into the music. It definitely helps to create this big city, New York vibe that the film somewhat tries to convey. The melody that surprised me the most was a short bit from West Side Story. I think there are lots of little musical inclusions like that (even thought I couldn’t identify them all) and it’s fun trying to pick them out.

Overall, an okay kids film which has something for adults who are fans of the cast’s comedy.

Score: 4/10

Movie Review: Sing

Details: Released in 2016. A little under two hours long. Stars Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, and Seth MacFarlane.

Sing is an animated movie with talking animals who try to compete in a singing competition in order to win a cash prize. It is a comedy mostly.

The actors are okay, with McConaughey surprising me the most. I had no idea he was capable of speaking in a way not requiring a south Texas accent. I totally did not recognize him. I recognized everyone else though.

I really didn’t enjoy the film. It’s a fluff film with no substance. In a year of really good animated movies like Zootopia and Finding Dory, this really didn’t do anything for me. There were many points throughout the film I wanted to get up and leave.

I will say that the audience I watched this with (mostly kids and their parents) really loved the movie, applauding and cheering at the end of it. If you like seeing anthropomorphized animals doing silly things like singing and dancing or if you are under the age of ten, then you may enjoy this movie.

Score: 3.5/10

TV Show Review: The Grand Tour, Episode One

A while back, to big controversy, Top Gear was taken off the air. For those unfamiliar with the show, Top Gear was an extremely popular car show which featured the humor and personality of it’s three hosts: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May. What had happened was that Jeremy Clarkson, feeling like the diva he is, decided to physically assault one of the producers. BBC, the station the show ran on, decided not to renew their contracts as a consequence. While I thought this was the right move ethically, reality is not quite so just. See, Jeremy Clarkson was the heart of that show and despite his misconduct, the audience of Top Gear generally did not care whether he misbehaved or not, they just wanted to see more of the man and his humor. Furthermore, James May and Richard Hammond declined to renew their contracts and jumped ship with Clarkson. BBC tried to keep the show going with different hosts, but without the three former hosts, there was really no show.

Fast forward to the present day and Clarkson, Hammond, and May have signed a deal with Amazon to create a show that airs only on Amazon’s streaming service through the internet. After watching the first episode, it is clear to me that a mountain of money was thrown at these three guys for this show.

There are number of things one can expect in this show. Firstly, you can expect wildly expensive super cars being driven around a track like bumper cars. That’s always fun. Sometimes they go on road trips driving through various exotic locales, which I’m sure they’ll do at some later episode. The car montages are also some of the best I’ve ever seen. There’s a lot for car lovers here.

I, however, am not a car guy. So what do I get out of the show? Well it’s an extremely hilarious show. For about an hour each episode, I get to watch three British guys insult each other, other countries, and other cars over and over again. For me, Top Gear wasn’t just a car show, it was a comedy. Celebrities came on to interview while Clarkson made fun of them. They would go on road trips while torturing each other and abandoning each other along the way. It was a fun show to watch and it’s clear to anyone that without these three, there is no show. Additionally, it is largely scripted, but it’s still fun.

So now the show is back with a different name and most importantly, the hosts are back. So how is the show? It is exactly like Top Gear, which is a good thing. If you were a fan of the show, welcome back. If you’re curious what all the hub bub is about, give it a watch and see how you like it.

The opening sequence of this first episode deserves a noteworthy mention. I cannot think of a better way to announce the return of these three, old British guys who love cars and love making fun of each other.

Score: 6.5/10

Movie Review: Sausage Party

Details: About an hour and a half long. Came out in 2016. Stars Seth Rogan and Kristen Wiig.

What the fuck did I just watch. I don’t think I hated the movie, but I certainly did not love it.

The premise is this: all the food in this supermarket is sentient and worship humans like gods. The food eventually learn the truth that humans kill and eat all the food at the supermarket and they must stand together to face the threat of the humans.

It’s a trippy story with lots of racial and sexual jokes. This is definitely an R rated movie that is not for kids. I didn’t really enjoy it. It’s just too far out there. The jokes also kind of fell flat for me.

Score: 3.5/10 I applaud the movie studio that approved the financing for this movie, but it was just too weird for me.

TV Show Review: Brooklyn Nine-Nine Seasons One, Two, and Three

Details: About to start its fourth season. Airs on the Fox network. It’s a single-camera, comedic sitcom. That means no audience or laugh track.

I was not a fan of Andy Samberg. I felt like his kind of humor was overacted and I definitely did not want to watch a cop sitcom that seemed to be all about that kind of humor. However, I was at a friends house and he let an episode play on the television for some background noise. Surprisingly, I thought it was great. A couple of days of  binge watching three seasons of this show and I am now a bona fide fan looking forward to season four.

The premise is this: Jake Peralta (played by Samberg) is a star detective in a NYPD precinct and we follow the adventures and misadventures of him and the rest of the detectives at this precinct.

The cast is fantastic. In season one, you could feel that they were getting used to each other and how to play off one another. It was still a great season though. Subsequent seasons let the cast and writers go further with the humor in the way befitting a show that’s been renewed for more seasons. We explore each character further and learn about the hilarious/ridiculous history behind each character. I’d like to name some specific person, but each character is just that good and they all get their time to shine.

Score: 7.3/10 It’s been a while since I’ve had a sitcom to look forward too. Brooklyn Nine-Nine fills that spot and I can’t wait for more episodes.

TV Show Review: Teen Titans Go! (2013)

Details: Currently airs on Cartoon Network. In its third season and is ongoing.

I was in the mood for some lighthearted entertainment and decided to give the cartoon Teen Titans Go! a shot. After watching an episode… I then watched all the episodes in Season 1. After watching all these episodes, I can safely say that Teen Titans Go! is… perfect. It is a perfect, hilarious, lighthearted cartoon and does everything a good cartoon should.

When thinking about Teen Titans Go!, I can’t help but think about other cartoons I’ve loved and laughed at. Cartoons like Recess, SpongeBob, or Kim Possible. Cartoons that can be amusing to kids, but provide an even greater level of humor for an adult.

Each episode of Teen Titan’s Go! is ten minutes long, which is great. Less drag, more focus, and a faster pace. There aren’t really any overarching stories over the season nor are there really any themes and morals. Its just fun and hilarity, childish and amusing.

What is noteworthy are the voice actors. They clearly have mastered playing their respective characters, be it through their performances in the prior Teen Titans cartoon (which was more serious) or the ample voice acting experience they all possess (check their imdb.com pages, very impressive). Each character has their time in the sun and are given plenty of hilarious lines.

Also noteworthy: references. For example, one episode involved a giant robot clearly referencing the Power Rangers. They even used the actual Power Rangers melody. Actually, Batman and Aquaman even make small appearances despite DC’s heavy embargoes. I think its because of the comedic nature of the show, but I still appreciated they actual depictions nonetheless.

Additionally, the music selection used/written for this show is fantastic. Nice one whoever writes/picks the music.

8.5/10 If you want something funny and lighthearted to watch, can’t go wrong with this. Watch the clip above if you’re unsure this is your cup of tea. I have no idea what the showrunners are smoking, but there are some episodes that were clearly written under the influence of something.

Movie Review: The Lego Movie (2014)

Details: Animated adventure film starring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Will Ferrell among others. Run time is one hour and forty seconds.

Since this is my first movie review,  I should state how these reviews will go. I am only going to discuss the aspects of whatever I’m reviewing that were interesting to me. I am unlikely to cover every character and element of the plot in the film. Now let’s get to it.

Originally, I had very low expectations for the movie. It was difficult to imagine a Lego movie that portrayed any kind of meaningful story and was not just one big advertisement for Lego, similarly to how Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle was a big advertisement for those little burgers/digestive-tract-self-destruct devices.

However, a friend raved about the film. Of note is that this friend hypes everything he remotely likes like Macho Man Randy Savage selling a Slim Jim. However, I figured if the movie was not completely terrible, it may be worth a watch.

So, me and two friends went to the movie. There was a Toys R Us on the other side of said theater in case the movie was so great we needed to buy some Legos afterwards.

Overall, the movie wasn’t bad. Frankly, it was exactly what I expected. It was as if someone with an Adderall addiction went off their medication and wrote the screenplay for this film. In other words, it was written to imitate a child’s perspective and it does this well.

There were many funny moments. Morgan Freeman’s performance was noteworthy. Although, I feel like I will love just about anything where I get to hear Morgan Freeman’s voice, i.e. the voice of God.

The funniest moments easily belong to Batman (played by Will Arnett). One scene that stays with me (*SPOILERS*) was when they flew Batman’s Batplane into the sunset, and someone comments that they are going to crash, to which Batman retorts, “Yeah, but it’ll look really cool.” They then fly through the sun leaving a bat shaped hole in the sun (*END SPOILERS*).

Ultimately, should you watch this movie? If you’ve ever owned Legos or if you have children, then yes. I watched the movie in the afternoon with an audience filled with kids.

Speaking of children, sometimes you forget how different adults are from children. In this case, the kids ignored all the parts I found funny and instead laughed at all the places I didn’t. They still seemed to enjoy themselves though.

Score: 7/10