Tag Archives: J.K. Simmons

Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews

ALL NIGHTER (2017): The Thing I Liked…

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All Nighter (2017), J.K. Simmons, Emile Hirsch
All Nighter (2017), J.K. Simmons, Emile Hirsch

What I liked most about All Nighter is Xosha Roquemore’s version of a drunk party girl. Director Gavin Wiesen’s, story about a workaholic father (J.K. Simmons) who teams up with his daughter’s awkward ex-boyfriend (Emile Hirsch) to find her is not as fun and entertaining as the films trailer led me to believe.

One of my early thoughts as I watched was, ‘This is going nowhere fast.’ A thought soon followed by, ‘All the acting isn’t bad, but this film is boring’. Ultimately, All Nighter just plods along in a manner that had me failing to care about the whereabouts of the missing daughter (Analeigh Tipton). What made the experience even more underwhelming overall is the easy and relatively obvious explanation for the daughter’s whereabouts.

If you were thinking that All Nighter might be a boys’ adventure with a splash of The Hangover (2009) vibes, it’s barely that. More than anything, the film is about a workaholic father’s friendship with his daughter’s ex-boyfriend.

Essentially, if there’s nothing better on and you’re in the mood for an awkward comedy with very few good laughs, then sure, watch it. Otherwise, step away, friend.

Happy Film Loving

G

Comedy, Drama, Musical, No Spoiler Reviews

LA LA LAND (2016): Good Film, Better For Fans Of Musicals…

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La La Land (2016), Emma Stone
La La Land (2016), Emma Stone

Starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend and J.K. Simmons, La La Land is the love story of a jazz pianist and an aspiring Hollywood actress. It is a well-told story that features great dramatic performances, good dialogue, beautiful cinematography, music and costume; I particularly love ‘that yellow dress’.

Written/directed by Damien Chazelle of Whiplash (2014), La La Land is a good movie that’s understandably most loved by fans of musicals. I must confess that, generally speaking, I’m not into musicals. Call it a consequence of my impatient nature, but most of the time, I’d much rather words were spoken rather than sung. The pleasing rhythm of well-written dialogue will always be preferred by me over the sounds of what is often mediocre singing, where musicals are concerned. And, if the singing isn’t mediocre, I find the voices to be regularly quite tedious.

In La La Land, there’s just no faulting the dramatic performances. The cast are a trust worthy bunch acting-wise. As for when it came to Gosling and Stone flexing their vocal chords in the name of song, there are definitely some moments of questionable vocal ability.

La La Land (2016), Emma Stone
La La Land (2016), Emma Stone

I enjoyed the opening song at the start of La La Land, the big ‘audition number’ that Stone sings towards the end, plus the instrumental as the closing credits began. The rest of the music I honestly could have done without.

Watch La La Land for all the reasons it won all those Oscars, and because it genuinely isn’t a bad film. If Chazelle’s Whiplash managed to convince you that jazz isn’t all bad, La La Land is additional material to strengthen the argument.

Happy Film Loving,

G

Comedy

ALL NIGHTER (2017): New Trailer From J.K. Simmons, Emile Hirsch, Analeigh Tipton…

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All Nighter (2017): Emile Hirsch, J.K. Simmons
All Nighter (2017): Emile Hirsch, J.K. Simmons

Read my spoiler-free movie review of All Nighter (2017).

All Nighter is a new comedy starring Emile Hirsch, Analeigh Tipton and J.K. Simmons.

Directed by Gavin Wiesen, at the centre of the story is a workaholic father who teams up with his daughter’s awkward ex-boyfriend to try and find her.

Generally, I enjoy Simmons in comedy roles. Nevertheless, this trailer only has me a little intrigued. As such, my fingers are crossed in hopes that I’ll find Simmons as funny as I did in I Love You, Man (2009), if not more so, naturally.

Read my spoiler free movie review of All Nighter.

All Nighter Release Dates: March 17th, 2017 (US)…

Happy Film Loving,

G

Comedy, Drama, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

THE MEDDLER (2015) Movie Review: The Thing I Liked…

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The Meddler (2016), Susan Sarandon
The Meddler (2016), Susan Sarandon

Directed by Lorene Scafaria, Susan Sarandon stars as Marnie, The Meddler, an ageing widow who moves to LA where her grown up daughter (Rose Byrne) lives, so she can  start a new life.

Soon after, the meddling begins and my sympathies lie with Marbie’s daughter.  The meddling is super annoying, but it’s not the reason for my negative opinion of this movie.

I’m not a fan of The Meddler because I don’t think it’s particularly well executed. Though a comedy/drama/romance, I don’t recall laughing more than once (if at all). There are a couple of potentially heartwarming mother/daughter moments and I did find myself feeling bad for Marnie as a woman seeking new purpose in her life after loss. However, none of that proved enough to change my view of SCafaria’s movie. Additionally, Sarandon’s seemingly ‘ropey’ NYC accent certainly didn’t help matters.

The  few scenes featuring J.K. Simmons were the only real highlights for me. Still, I’m sure I’d have been happier re-watching I’ll See You In My Dreams (2015).

There’s a reason why the trailer for The Meddler is nowhere to be found on this blog. My instincts told me that ‘promising’ is not how it looked. Having now watched the movie, I’m reminded to trust my instincts more.

If you happen to love this movie, please feel free to tell me I’m crazy in the comments. Who knows, maybe I missed something. Though, unlikely is my guess.

Happy Film Loving,

G

Comedy, Drama, No Spoiler Reviews, Romance

THE LATE BLOOMER (2016): The Things I Liked…

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The Late Bloomer (2016), Johnny Simmons
The Late Bloomer (2016), Johnny Simmons

Starring J.K. Simmons, Jonny Simmons, Brittany Snow, and Paul Wesley, The Late Bloomer is unfortunately, not as good a movie as the trailer suggested.

A notable issue is the slow pace and the general mediocre execution of what could have been a great comedy. One about what happens when puberty comes to a man at age 30.

Not only did it take too long to get to potentially the most entertaining part of the film – when puberty finally hits, but, when we got there, it wasn’t worth the wait. Furthermore, the characters introduced in the first 30 minutes are barely interesting and unconvincing. When we do finally get to the puberty segment, the laughs are few. 

The Late Bloomer (2016), J.K. Simmons
The Late Bloomer (2016), J.K. Simmons

As for what I like about The Late Bloomer, I enjoyed Johnny Simmons’s character’s notes to himself about ‘chapter title’ ideas for his new book. I liked the dad character played by J.K. Simmons. His lines were the most amusing and, the father/son conversation towards the end is just beautiful. 

Overall, The Late Bloomer is a movie you should probably watch, only if you absolutely must. I was hoping for something akin to The 40 year Old Virgin (2005). There I go again with my expectations…

Look up I Love You, Man (2009), a well executed comedy where J.K. Simmons plays another good and funny dad. There’s of course, plenty more to the film than that and it’s all good.

Happy Film Loving,

G