Starring Dax Shepherd, Michael Peña, Kristen Bell and Maya Rudolph, CHiPs is a new comedy about the shenanigans of two Los Angeles Highway Patrol motorcycle officers…
Written and directed by Shepherd, I’m drawn to chips because they’re delicious… but I’m drawn to CHiPs because I enjoyed some of the jokes in the trailer. Another reason would be that I’m still kind of chasing the excellent onscreen chemistry that Michael Peña had with Jake Gyllenhaal in what is still my favourite cop movie probably always, End of Watch (2012). A great film that features the kind of brotherly love dreams are made of.
I myself would never want to typecast anybody against their will, but I did find myself very glad to learn that inThe Martian, Matt Damon gets to play the role of a hero once more. Having to ‘hate him’ in Interstellar (2014) proved more challenging than expected.
Directed by the rightfully celebrated Ridley Scott and based on Andy Weir’s best selling book of the same name, The Martianis a predominantly mars based adventure with a sprinkle of funny moments.
Like you might imagine, similar to Interstellar (2014), there’s a fair amount of ‘science speak’ in the film. Most of itI personally will probably never understand, but you don’t need to in order to have a good time. The movie works, thanks to the story and the likability of its star.
A few awards bodies placed The Martian in the comedy category. About that… there are a few funny quips here and there – and by ‘a few’ I don’t mean ‘a good few’ in the way that some people use the phrase to mean ‘a lot’. I do actually mean ‘a few,’ meaning no more than 5 laughs / giggles at most – which, in my mind doesn’t equal to a comedy.
The thing I enjoyed most about The Martian is all the scientific problem solving that Damon’s character, astronaut Mark Watney and the wider NASA team do in the effort to bring him home in one piece. I like the movie for this reason and as a story of teamwork and survival. I’ll also confess to getting quite a kick from seeing the female commander, played by Jessica Chastain take charge.
Science fans will likely enjoy this movie most, but everyone else will be pleased also, for the topic of surviving on mars is a relevant and interesting one at this time. With that said, watch it because it’s good. Another reason would be to find out for yourself whether categorising The Martian as a comedy is at all justified. I remain unconvinced.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, Sebastian Stan, Mackenzie Davis and Benedict Wong also star.
Hell & Back (2015), Nick Swardson (Remy), T.J. Miller (Augie)
Set in hell, Mila Kunis, Susan Sarandon, T.J. Miller and Danny McBride make up some of the cast of stop-motion animation adult comedy, Hell & Back.
I definitely smiled more than I laughed as I watched Hell & Back, which I think makes it a mildly entertaining to quite entertaining movie. This of course isn’t the ideal reaction, but I’m glad I made it to the end.
Hell & Back (2015), Bob Odenkirk (The Devil)
Directed by Tom Gianas and Ross Shuman, I enjoyed the voice work and some funny moments such as all the dialogue of the character responsible for welcoming residents to hell and administering torture. I think that Augie, the one that ‘looks like he only eats dough’ is cute in a perfectly adorably cuddly way. There’s also a great joke about cat owners that I won’t spoil.
Overall, the devil, played by Bob Odenkirk is definitely my favourite character. Reason being, his voice, his dialogue and the physicality of the devil when sporting his red ‘suit.’
Tune in for a non-demanding stop-motion comedy, especially if you don’t mind plenty of expletives and adult dialogue.
The new film from Ridley Scott, director of many hit films including Gladiator (2000) stars Matt Damon and looks amazing.
As excited as I undoubtedly am, something tells me I’m probably going to get my heart broken, and by that I don’t mean I’ll be disappointed but that something similar to the end of 1998’s Armageddon might happen.
I’d of course much rather be pleasantly surprised than have that particular theory come to fruition.
Then again, on the other hand, whatever it takes for the film to be great is what I really, really want.
American Hustle (2013), Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale
Director David O. Russell’s film is good and Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence and Jeremy Renner are all great in their roles.
However, I did find myself not as hooked as the story unfolded – at least not early on in the film anyway.
American Hustle (2013), Amy Adams
It’s not that plenty was’t happening – and at a good pace. It’s likely that I just didn’t identify with or get especially attached to any of the characters. Things did get better, particularly at the moment ‘Edith’s veil’ comes down.
Watch it if you’re curious about the story of a con man trying to keep the upper hand and stay alive when forced to work with the FBI in 70s New Jersey.
The Movie My Life 