Tag Archives: No Spoilers Review

LOVE THE COOPERS (2015): The Things I Liked…

Christmas With The Coopers (2015), Olivia Wilde, Jake Lacy
Christmas With The Coopers (2015), Olivia Wilde, Jake Lacy

I would describe Love The Coopers as less like Elf (2003) and more like ABC TV series, Brothers & Sisters.

Directed by Jessie Nelson and starring John Goodman, Diane Keaton, Ed Helms, Olivia Wilde and Steve Martin,  Love the Coopers is one of those holiday films that reminds you that every family has unpleasant tensions and challenging relationships. Nevertheless, the good news is, in this film, the tense moments are wisely interspersed with humour and cheer.

The character Wilde plays is my favourite, partly because I find Wilde rather likeable in real life. Also, I relate most to aspects of her character, above all the others.

I wanted to watch something that didn’t demand too much from me, and that’s exactly what I got. Love the Coopers is unlikely to make my list of top 10 favourite Christmas movies, but it is easy, relaxing viewing with a side of romance – and surely, one can always make a little time for something like that.

Anthony Mackie, Jake Lacy, Amanda Seyfried and Marisa Tomei also star.

Happy Film Loving,

G

HELL & BACK (2015): The Good Things…

Hell & Back (2015), Nick Swardson (Remy), T.J. Miller (Augie)
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 remain glad I made it to the end.

Hell & Back (2015), Bob Odenkirk (The Devil)
Hell & Back (2015), Bob Odenkirk (The Devil)

Directed by Tom Gianas and Ross Shuman, I enjoyed the voice work moments of funny dialogue. For example, words spoken by the character responsible for welcoming residents to Hell and administering torture.

Augie, the one that ‘looks like he only eats dough’ is cute in a perfectly adorably and cuddly way. There’s also a great joke about cat owners that I won’t spoil. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the devil, played by Bob Odenkirk is definitely my favourite character, thanks to his voice, his dialogue and his physicality when sporting his red ‘suit.’

Watch Hell & Back for a non-demanding stop-motion comedy, especially if you don’t mind plenty of expletives and adult dialogue.

Happy Film loving,

G

THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015): For Tarantino’s Mastery Of Storytelling, Suspense…

The Hateful 8 (2015), Samuel L. Jackson
The Hateful 8 (2015), Samuel L. Jackson

I think that my initial lacklustre enthusiasm after seeing the first teaser trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film, The Hateful Eight likely had more to do with the film’s genre than anything else.

Admittedly, the Western will probably never be my first choice in film genre. Nevertheless, I have absolutely zero regrets after watching The Hateful Eight and Tarantino’s previous movie, Django Unchained (2012), also a Western.

Good servings of expert story-telling, entertaining dialogue, great music and camerawork are all very present in The Hateful Eight – A film I consider a well-sculpted two-plus hours of suspenseful entertainment with an ending you will love.

The cinematography in the movie also manages to stand out even though everything in the film happens at precisely 3 locations.

I liked the pace and the way things really started to build up, especially around the moment that the audience started to hear ‘Silent Night’ on the piano. The tension and suspense at this point are really something to experience, and part of the reason Tarantino is considered a master filmmaker.

The Hateful 8 (2015), Walton Goggins
The Hateful 8 (2015), Walton Goggins

If you haven’t already guessed, I think that The Hateful Eight is a movie worth seeing. Certainly, one I’ll be watching again very soon. I don’t know if it’s quite Tarantino’s best, but perhaps that would depend on one’s preferred movie genre.

Walton Goggins’s portrayal of Sheriff Chris Mannix, Tim Roth’s Oswaldo Mobray and  Samuel L. Jackson’s Major Marquis Warren are my favourite of The Hateful Eight characters. The first two are because of the humour, and the latter, thanks to the dialogue, style and undeniable cool.

Watch The Hateful Eight for the storytelling and filmmaking mastery. Lastly, if you can make out the first lines of dialogue that come out of the mouth of Jody, played by Channing Tatum, please let me know in the comments below because I really tried yet failed to make sense of any of it.

Happy Film Loving,

G