Tag Archives: Zach Galifianakis

Adventure, Animation, Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews

MISSING LINK (2019): The Things I Liked…

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Missing Link (2019), Hugh Jackman
Missing Link (2019), Hugh Jackman

Missing Link, the story of Mr Link (a Big-Foot-like character) and his adventures with explorer Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman), plus adventurer Adelina Fortnight is an animated movie I found to be fun in parts and watchable.

The reason I’m not more enthused by writer/director Chris Butler’s film is that story-wise, it felt oddly superficial and more basic than I expected.

What I did enjoy are the interactions between Lionel and Link, plus the moments of heart, most of which happen in the more engaging last quarter. Emma Thompson’s character is another welcome highlight, and it proved quite satisfying to see Lionel’s growth/evolution as the story continued.

I watched Missing Link because the cast which also includes Zoe Saldana and Zack Galifianakis intrigued me. Yet, overall, I wish I could include Butler’s film on my list of favourite animated movies I’ve seen in recent years, but I cannot. Nevertheless, I say give Missing Link a chance if you’re particularly curious. It may just be what you need when you’re after an easy-viewing animated film experience.

Happy Film Loving 

G

Action, Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES (2016): The Thing I Liked…

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Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher
Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher

I sat down to watch Keeping Up With The Joneses without any grand expectations and that’s probably the best way to go into it, should you choose to do so. Starring John Hamm, Gal Gadot, Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher, I found this Greg Mottola directed action / comedy only mildly funny.

There are indeed a couple of moments that made the experience less regrettable. The first being the nicely executed snake scene in the Chinese restaurant. The second is when Galifianakis’s character makes a joke at the expense of the British. It could be that I found it particularly hilarious because the United Kingdom is home. It’s more likely though that it’s Galifianakis’s excellent comic timing and delivery. Beyond these two scenes, everything else about Keeping Up With The Joneses just felt like cheap filler because it wasn’t that good.

Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Gal Gadot, John Hamm
Keeping Up With The Joneses (2016), Gal Gadot, John Hamm

One last good thing Mottola’s movie did is remind me that Wonder Woman (2017), my most highly anticipated movie of 2017 will be here in not too many months. I for one cannot wait to see its star Gal Gadot do her thing.

Happy Film Loving

G

Comedy, No Spoiler Reviews

THE HANGOVER (2009) Review: One Of The Very Best…

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The Hangover (2009), Zach Gaifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper
The Hangover (2009), Zach Gaifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper

Starring Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha, there’s plenty to love about the The Hangover. In fact, the Todd Phillips directed comedy is one of those movies that left me with nothing bad to say.

Just to be clear though, the above statement is reserved only for this 2009 movie and not the two embarrassing ‘get as much money out of this as possible whilst we still can’ sequels that shamelessly followed. Moving on…

The reasons I love the hangover are obvious. The story is great, I saw exactly none of the surprising twists and turns coming, excellent casting, writing and soundtrack. The music in the movie really fits. There’s the great chemistry between the four main characters. Their depiction of a realistic bromance / brotherhood really went a long way.

Everything that happened in The Hangover felt so real to me. So much so that the brilliant Inbetweeners comedy series (the UK original version) came to mind because, it too has that combination of the believable male friendship dynamic and comedy.

There are too many great moments in The Hangover for me to pick just one. However, who after seeing this movie has been able to say the word ‘retard’ in just one way?

I haven’t watched all the movies of this genre but I’m committing to calling The Hangover one of, if not the most epic ‘bachelor party shenanigans’ movie ever made. The Hangover also helped wake me up to the charms of Bradley Cooper. By ‘charms’ I mean his acting talents. And yes, that suit in the hotel room scene when he and Justin Bartha’s character walk into Stu’s room definitely contributed to my charmed state. Looking that good combined with such evident swagger seldom goes unnoticed. You see, the typos on my blog aside, attention to detail has never been my problem.

Watch The Hangover again and again for an entertaining ride from beginning to glorious end.

Happy Film Loving

G

Action, Animation, Comedy

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017): New Trailer Starring Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Mariah Carey…

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The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Will Arnett
The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Will Arnett

Fans of Batman, especially Batman from the Lego Movie (2014) will be very happy about today’s trailer…

Teaser 1

Teaser 2

Comic Con Trailer

Directed by Chris McKay; the movie stars Will Arnett, Mariah Carey, Zach Galifianakis, Rosario Dawson, Michael Cera and Ralph Fiennes. I’m sure there’ll be no surprise about what to expect plot-wise, of course. Though, it’s really the humour I’m most interested in.

The Lego Batman Movie Release Dates: February 10th, 2017 (US & UK); February 15th, 2017 (FR)…

Happy Film Loving 🙂

G

Action, Comedy, Crime

MASTERMINDS (2015): More Galifianakis ‘Crazy’, With A Side of Wiig & Sudeikis…

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Mastaminds (2015), Zach Galifianakis
Mastaminds (2015), Zach Galifianakis

Funny and bearded Actor Zach Galifianakis; best known for his excellent turn in the Hangover (2009) movies as the somewhat unhinged Alan is back.

This time Galifianakis comes with Jason Sudeikis, Kristen Wiig, Owen Wilson and Kate Mckinnon in Masterminds – a very promising new comedy due this summer.

I’m most excited about Galifiniakis, of course; but also the character played by Sudeikis.

Fingers firmly crossed that this movie is filled with more great lines and scenes not yet shown in the trailer.

Mastaminds a.k.a. The Bank Heist (2016) Release Dates: September 30th, 2016 (US)…

Happy Film Loving  

G

Comedy, Drama, No Spoiler Reviews

BIRDMAN 2014): Dark And Different

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Birdman (2014), Zack Galifianakis, Michael Keaton
Birdman (2014), Zack Galifianakis, Michael Keaton

My favourite thing about Birdman is the pleasant surprise of Zach Galifianakis in a serious dramatic role. Though not a particularly sizeable one, he does a brilliant job.

Directed by the apparently unpronounceably named Alejandro González Iñárritu, the acting, dialogue and distinct style of shooting are impressive.

It’s clear why critics love Birdman and equally so, why some of the general film watching public don’t. Something to do with the film not being quite ‘traditional.’

Birdman (2014), Michael Keaton
Birdman (2014), Michael Keaton

Regret about familial relationships and difficulty adapting to the changing environment are two of the key themes Iñárritu’s Oscar winning film explores.

The film is dark, both thematically and aesthetically. As such, cheered up is unlikely to be how you feel as you watch. That said however, you’ll be entertained because all the Actors deliver very noteworthy performances that result in Oscar nominations for Michael Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton.

Audiences will get insight into what it can be like behind the scenes of a highly anticipated theatre production. Especially how peculiar things can become when said production is the responsibility of a formerly successful Actor who also happens to be extremely desperate for a comeback.

I particularly love the Time Square scene. Not because of its comedic value, but as commentary on how even when things still continue to go wrong after a long obstacle-filled struggle, you can find a way for the show to go on.

Happy Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 🙂

G