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.

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.

Movie Night: The Way Way Back.

Review #575: The Way Way Back.

Cast
Liam James (Duncan), Steve Carell (Trent Ramsey), Toni Collette (Pam), Sam Rockwell (Owen), Maya Rudolph (Caitlyn), AnnaSophia Robb (Susanna), Allison Janney (Betty), Rob Corddry (Kip), and Amanda Peet (Joan) Directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

Review
The Way Way Back may feel cobbled together out of tropes (The loner, the parents who are useless, the northeastern setting (I suppose), the one villainous character, the romance subplot, the quirky qualities of one or more characters), but at least this is a well made cobble of tropes. The movie has its quirks, it has moments of zing that try to make for a fun movie, which it does for the first half. The second half isn't exactly as good, but I guess it could be worse. Sam Rockwell is just a joy to watch, he has a level of quirk to him and he works well with James. James himself is a decent child actor, he works well with Robb, the chemistry awkward, but it does feel just right. I wasn't aware how effective Steve Carell could be in portraying an irredeemable character (no, Gru from Despicable Me doesn't count), which essentially tells me I should watch more of Carell's work. The second half just isn't as great, maybe it just feels so downbeat mixed with some sweetness just for kicks. The movie just has a bittersweet ending that either breaks the movie due to it being a buzz kill on the fun or it just wraps the movie up nicely and makes the movie work. I'm more on the former, but this is at least is an decent comedy that works for someone looking to spend an afternoon on a hot summer day...

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.