In a World...

Review #802: In a World...

Cast
Lake Bell (Carol Solomon), Fred Melamed (Sam Sotto), Michaela Watkins (Dani Solomon), Ken Marino (Gustav Warner), Demetri Martin (Louis), Rob Corddry (Moe), Alexandra Holden (Jamie), Nick Offerman (Heners), Geena Davis (Katherine Huling), and Tig Notaro (Cher) Directed by Lake Bell.

Review
Trailers (whether you love 'em or hate 'em), are certainly an interesting form of promotion for movies, and the voice (or voices) for those trailers certainly try to help sell the movie. The movie starts by showing clips of Don LaFontaine, who (quite possibly) is the most well-known voice actor for trailers, with his popularization of the phrase "In a World..." being the namesake of this movie. Bell also wrote and directed this film, and I'll give her credit for making a movie that at its heart is inherently easy to get behind. It's a movie that is likable enough and it zings with enough barbs to make for a relatively fine film. Bell certainly is a fine lead, having enough charm along with fine comic timing that makes for an interesting character to watch, with her and Martin also having a good chemistry with each other. Melamed certainly does a fine job as well, and while I wouldn't call him an antagonist, he certainly makes for an interesting character to watch with regards to his scenes with him and his (full grown) kids. The characters in the movie are pretty well-defined, all having some sort of quirk or just something that makes you want to watch them. The movie tries to mesh the comedy and drama and while it doesn't always seem to work perfectly, it is at least a movie worth seeing once. Is it for everyone? Probably not, but I felt that it worked on enough levels to work for me.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Black Rock.

Review #764: Black Rock.

Cast
Katie Aselton (Abby), Lake Bell (Lou), Kate Bosworth (Sarah), Will Bouvier (Henry), Jay Paulson (Derek), and Anslem Richardson (Alex) Directed by Katie Aselton.

Review
Well, this is a new one. This is the first film reviewed here that actually had a Kickstarter campaign, raising $33,501, while also premiering at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, though it did not get released theatrically until 2013, with Aselton directing the film with her husband writing the story. While I can appreciate the effort it must've taken to make the movie, the same can not be said for the actual movie itself. In the span of 80 minutes, I can't really remember any time the movie felt thrilling that wasn't just old cliches. Granted, cliched tropes can work under the right mood. With this film, I felt nothing for any of the things that happened because I felt nothing for any of these characters. The acting is okay, but it can't save a movie that tries to be edgy and original, but comes off as a laundry list of horror-thriller flicks. It's a forgettable movie, though at least the creators seemed to enjoy making it.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: What Happens in Vegas.

Review #685: What Happens in Vegas.

Cast
Ashton Kutcher (Jack Fuller), Cameron Diaz (Joy MacNally), Rob Corddry (Hater Lewis), Lake Bell (Tipper Saxson), Dennis Farina (Richard Banger), Queen Latifah (Dr. Twitchell), and Dennis Miller (Judge Whopper) Directed by Tom Vaughan.

Review
Oh look, today's December 30th, the day before New Year's Eve. In honor of that, I decided to watch a movie that I had watched when I was young...by which I mean when I was 14. Yes, I remember watching this way back before this show was even created, because the movie was loaned to us by a friend. I watched it once, and then we loaned it back to them. The only thing I can remember from the movie was that Dennis Farina was in it, who I loved watching on Law and Order, which was a thing I used to watch a little, or maybe because I was bored. Either way, I remember him and his distinctive voice and not remember the plot. So...yeah, what about this movie? Meh. Looking at my old house on Google Maps would've been a better revisiting of my past than this. This is at best a boring movie filled with characters who are as stale as waffles somewhere on your couch that decided to get married to the scissors also lost in the couch. Actually, it would be more beneficial for me to clean my couch and do winter homework than to watch this movie, or to try my fedora over and over again. The main problem with the movie is that it's just not funny, being more tedious than endearing. Maybe it's just me, but going to Las Vegas after being fired (by your dad, no less) is a bad idea. Then again, nicknaming one of your characters "Hater" is also a terrible idea. It's pretty sad when I can't make a Dennis Miller joke because I honestly had never heard of Miller prior to this movie and probably won't mention him again. The characters do change, but it's too little too late by that point as I realize I wasted my time and realized that I had a better time feeding my dog while on a break from this movie. Goldie is such a nice dog, though. Nicer than this movie.

Overall, I give it 3 out of 10 stars.