Comedy

Emma.

Keith Young

Directed by Autumn de Wilde best known for her work on music videos and based on the beloved novel of the same name written by Jane Austen and published in 1815, Emma. is a terrific and entertaining adaptation of a story that has been made into movies and television series many times, and it stands out with its sumptuous settings and costumes as well as the mischievous performance given by Anya Taylor-Joy. The plot follows the wealthy young lady Emma Woodhouse, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who lives a spoiled life with her English aristocratic older father Mr. Woodhouse, played by the perfectly cast Bill Nighy, in a lavish mansion on the fictitious Hartford estate in the English countryside outside of the stereotypically charming village of Highbury. Emma has everything going wonderfully in her life as a young, beautiful, and smart woman of means and loves to play the matchmaker for all of the single gentlemen and ladies on the surrounding estates and in Highbury. She is very much preoccupied with finding a proper husband for her orphaned friend Harriet Smith, played by the innocent Mia Goth, but Emma’s burgeoning desire for her own husband complicates things in her normally ordered life. The rather controlling Emma sometimes viciously tries to get her way by hoping to arrange Harriet with the young minister Mr. Elton, played by the terrific Josh O’Connor, even if it is against the wishes of both parties involved. The movie shows Emma attending over-the-top country parties and balls where she gossips and tries to work her magic to set up Harriet and others with suitable bachelors. However, her perfectly arranged plans are led astray by the arrival of another handsome young man named Frank Churchill, played by Callum Turner, and the mysterious beautiful woman Jane Fairfax, played by Amber Anderson. As she does throughout the film, she talks about the issues that come about by confiding in the wealthy bachelor George Knightley, played by Johnny Flynn, who lives on the estate next to Hartford. Meant to be a comedy, the story is full of rather awkward and funny events that poke fun at the wealthy aristocrats and their frivolous lives and lifestyles. For instance, one of the more interesting and unintentionally hilarious characters is the poorer Miss Bates, played by the very funny Miranda Hart, who tries to ingratiate herself with the Woodhouses but often ends up talking too much, which bothers the oblivious and callous Emma. Overall, I found it to be a very clever and visually stunning adaptation of the classic Jane Austen comedy of manners that will definitely please fans of British period pieces and broaden the appeal of Jane Austen beyond devotees of her timeless writings.

Downhill

Keith Young

A remake of the critically acclaimed 2014 Swedish movie Force Majeure, Downhill has the elements of being a great dark comedy as a result of its terrific casting of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, but, unfortunately, the slow and rather boring script does not translate into the same level of success enjoyed by the original film. The very simple plot follows an American family on a ski trip in the beautiful Austrian Alps and repercussions suffered by the couple stemming from a single incident. Pete Staunton, played by the usually very funny Will Ferrell, and his wife Billie Staunton, played by the terrific comedian Julia Louis-Dreyfus, are enjoying a nice vacation with their two young sons until a supposedly controlled avalanche comes dangerously close to the family. The main plot device reveals itself as how inappropriately Pete reacts to the avalanche by walking away instead of trying to protect his family from the avalanche that turns out to be safe. Billie is visibly upset with her husband and is not afraid to let other people at the resort, including Pete’s co-worker and his girlfriend, hear about her great displeasure. The movie tries to work as a dramedy in which the married couple’s relationship is strained as a result of one traumatic event and layers in extremely awkward dark humor created by the very different reactions to the situation. Quite surprisingly, the film’s comedy mostly goes downhill and is unable to use the comedic talents and chemistry of Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus who have never worked together in the same movie. Of course, it does have its moments that are uncomfortably funny, especially in the scenes with the sex-obsessed resort worker who is played by Australian actress Miranda Otto, and incisive about the ups-and-downs of marriage and how it evolves from the young love on display by Pete’s coworker and adventurous girlfriend. Overall, I found the film to be a lost opportunity to really harness the full comedic potential of the comedy greats Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus and makes you question the reason why Hollywood had to remake a well-received and creative movie in the first place.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Keith Young

Based on the video game series created by Sega and first released in 1991 as Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog is a surprisingly amusing and creative video game adaptation that has fun and thrills for the whole family and is enhanced by the terrifically manic Jim Carrey. We first meet the blue extraterrestrial hedgehog named Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, escaping his home planet and living for ten years in a cave outside of the small town of Green Hills, Montana. Watching the townspeople from afar for so long, Sonic increasingly feels lonely living by himself. He particularly becomes attached to the local sheriff Tom Wachowski, played by James Marsden, and his wife Maddie, played by Tika Sumpter, but he must stay hidden and not reveal his ability to travel at supersonic speeds. However, after growing upset one night, he inadvertently creates an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out power across the entire Pacific Northwest, alerting the federal government. Unable to discover what really happened, the United States government covertly enlists the mysterious genius Doctor Robotnik, played by the perfectly cast Jim Carrey, who has a truck full of highly advanced drones and gadgets. Following the unusual power outage, Tom is horrified to find the strange-looking Sonic who is obviously from another world. The villainous Robotnik also eventually discovers Sonic and becomes obsessed with capturing Sonic in order to use his body for scientific research and develop ultra-powerful technological devices. Sonic needs the still bewildered and hesitant Tom, who is considering transferring to the San Francisco Police Department, to take him to San Francisco to retrieve a very valuable item that would allow him to escape to safety. They embark on a silly and hilarious road trip in which Tom is obviously exasperated by Sonic who will not stop talking and desperately wants to be Tom’s best friend because he has been all alone for the past few years. Along the way, the over-the-top Doctor Robotnik chases Sonic and Tom across the country in a series of bizarre and cartoonishly funny moments extremely well-suited to Jim Carrey’s slapstick comedy style. Overall, I was rather shocked to find the movie to actually be an entertaining adventure that is somehow able to recreate the energy of the title character Sonic the Hedgehog and the beloved video game series.

Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)

Keith Young

The follow-up to 2016’s Suicide Squad and the eighth installment in the DC Extended Universe comic book movie franchise, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) is a visually dazzling and over-the-top violent anti-hero comic book film that is definitely one of the better recent DC adaptations as a result of the terrifically zany performance given by Margot Robbie and the new and creative approach to the story of Harley Quinn. Taking place sometime after the events of Suicide Squad, we first meet the nihilistic freewheeling Harley Quinn, played by Oscar nominee Margot Robbie, devastated by her recent breakup with the Joker and decides to become a vigilante heroine by herself. She causes mayhem throughout Gotham City and eventually finds herself pitted against the vicious criminal kingpin Roman Sionis also known as Black Mask, played by Ewan McGregor, who is searching for a missing diamond previously owned by a mob family that has secrets worth millions. As narrated by Harley in very colorful ways, the movie introduces us to other strong female anti-hero characters that will later band together and be known as the Birds of Prey. They include Dinah Lance also known as Black Canary, played by Jurnee Smollett-Bell, who is forced to be Sionis’ driver; Helena Bertinelli also known as Huntress, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who wants to avenge her mob family’s murders by killing those responsible; and Detective Renee Montoya, played by Rosie Perez, who is belittled in the Gotham City Police Department and is pursuing Sionis. The flamboyantly dressed and tattooed Harley finds herself protecting a young pickpocket named Cassandra Cain, played by Ella Jay Basco, from Sionis and his sadistic henchman Victor Zsasz, played by Chris Messina, because the orphan Cassandra is in possession of the extremely valuable diamond. The acclaimed filmmaker is able to craft a wholly unique cinematic experience full of brightly colored and frenetic action sequences that are not for the faint of heart and infuse the rather bizarro movie with gallows humor. Overall, I found it to be a very entertaining and eccentric comic book movie that excels by pushing the envelope led by Margot Robbie’s extremely charismatic and wacky performance as the ultimate anti-hero Harley Quinn.

The Gentlemen

Keith Young

Directed by Guy Ritchie best known for such comedy crime films as 1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and 2000’s Snatch, The Gentlemen is, for the most part, an entertaining and fast-paced gangster comedy set in London that effectively returns back to what made Guy Ritchie such a unique and brash filmmaker. The story, which can be sometimes hard to follow because of the fast-talking dialogue and alternate timelines, revolves around the criminal exploits of an American marijuana kingpin named Mickey Pearson, played terrifically by Matthew McConaughey, who is trying to sell his massive illicit cannabis empire in Great Britain. In a rather creative twist, a majority of Pearson’s story is told by Fletcher, played by the perfectly cast Hugh Grant, who is a shady private investigator hired by a British tabloid edited by the vindictive Big Dave, played by Eddie Marsan. Marked by amusing banter and bravado, the greedy Fletcher recounts the events over the course of an evening at the London residence of Pearson’s right-hand man Raymond, played by Charlie Hunnam best known for his role on the TV series Sons of Anarchy. Because they are told by an unreliable third party witness, the flashbacks shown throughout the movie are suspect at best and tell a particular story in which major details may have been excluded, which leaves the audience guessing about what is really happening. Pearson wants to get out of the business because he believes it is the right time before marijuana is legalized and to spend more time with his posh car-loving wife Rosalind, played by Michelle Dockery. In typical Guy Ritchie-fashion, the film is filled with charismatic yet foul-mouthed unsavory characters involved in the criminal underworld and who are depicted as comically over-the-top but always ready with witty puns that are rather profane. Pearson encounters difficulties as he navigates the sale of his almost half a billion dollar business to the American billionaire Matthew Berger, played by Jeremy Strong best known for his role on HBO’s TV series Succession. One such group that complicates things is Chinese gangsters led by a mysterious man named Lord George and his powerful underling nicknamed Dry Eye, played by Henry Golding best known for his role in the 2018 romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians, who are also interested buyers that brazenly commit criminal deeds in order to reduce the sale price. The plaid-suited Colin Farrell shows up in the story as a somewhat reformed criminal simply known as Coach after a group of teenagers he is mentoring at a boxing gym break into one of Pearson’s secret marijuana growing labs. Towards the end of the movie, things get increasingly complex and at times confusing for the audience as a result of the rapid-fire script and the revelation of several big twists in the plotline that puts into question the narrative told by Fletcher who has ulterior motives for recounting the story to Raymond. Overall, although occasionally the film is slow-paced and not as flashy as one would expect from the filmmaker, I found it to be a refreshing revisit to a classic Guy Ritchie movie after a string of bad movies very much out of line with his well-known gangster comedies.

Bad Boys for Life

Keith Young

The third installment in the Bad Boys franchise that first started in 1995 and later with a 2003 sequel, Bad Boys for Life is a highly entertaining action comedy that revitalizes the long-running movie series anchored by the charismatic duo of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence and has a perfect mix of explosive action sequences and comedic banter between the two very different characters. The plot follows two old-fashioned police officers Detective Lieutenant Marcus Burnett, played by the very funny Martin Lawrence, who is contemplating retirement after the birth of his grandson and Detective Lieutenant Mike Lowrey, played by action super star Will Smith, who still wants to remain a cop and has no desire to settle down with a family. Their long-serving boss Captain Conrad Howard, played by character actor Joe Pantoliano, assigns Marcus and Mike to the newly-created tactical division AMMO led by Mike’s ex-girlfriend and well-respected lieutenant Rita, played by Paola Núñez. Being part of the joke about their age, the team is made up of younger police officers with technological knowledge and include a character who is played by Vanessa Hudgens. Their mission is to help solve the murders of several law enforcement officers involved in a drug cartel case years ago and track down the suspected killer Armando, played by Jacob Scipio, whose mother Isabel, played by Kate del Castillo, is a ruthless drug cartel leader living in Mexico City. Like its predecessors, the movie is filled with over-the-top action sequences in which gun battles and explosions are going off all over the place throughout the city of Miami and eventually Mexico. Things go terribly wrong for both Marcus and Mike that make them reconsider retirement and think about their future lives together and with family. In between the thrilling action scenes, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are perfect as buddy cops as a result of their believable chemistry and hilarious rapport in which they make fun of one another but no matter what see themselves as brothers. The movie was a nostalgic look back on the 1990s and early 2000s when theaters were filled with action comedies, including the original Bad Boys and other action flicks starring Martin Lawrence. Overall, I found it to be a first-rate action comedy that is much better than the original two versions of the Bad Boys franchise as a result of its effectively timed action and comedy that makes for a fun and exciting blockbuster movie.

Spies in Disguise

Keith YoungLeave a comment

Produced by Blue Sky Studios best known for the highly successful animated Ice Age franchise first released in 2002, Spies in Disguise is a delightfully entertaining family-friendly animated movie that is of the same quality as a Pixar movie as a result of a terrific voice cast and unique story. The plot follows super spy Lance Sterling, voiced by Will Smith, who is the top agent at a fictional secret American spy agency run by Joy Jenkins, voiced by Reba McEntire, but runs into trouble after the appearance of the super villain Killian, voiced by Ben Mendelsohn. Killian who has a powerful cybernetic arm is trying to steal a highly dangerous drone in order to kill Lance and all of his fellow agents. Eventually, the proudly self-sufficient Lance who loves to use lethal weapons must get help from a very unexpected source, a lonely and nerdy weapons lab technician named Walter Beckett, voiced by Tom Holland. Walter has always been an optimistic inventor who wants to make non-lethal weapons to make the world a safer place, and he discovers what he believes is a game-changing way to disguise anyone. To Lance’s great horror, he inadvertently uses Walter’s new weapon and is transformed into a talking pigeon. He eventually realizes in a series of funny moments that being a pigeon actually has its advantages, particularly as he is being chased by Killian and his own agency led by a security agent of the agency’s internal affairs Marcy Kappel, voiced by Rashida Jones. Over the course of the film, Walter and Lance begin to understand one another and become friends who are in it together to fight off Killian and reclaim their reputation that was tarnished by Killian. Overall, I found it to be a fun animated feature that can appeal to both kids and adults as a nice time to the cinema and brings a fresh story to the action-adventure animated genre.

Bombshell

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Directed by Jay Roach best known for such comedies as 1997’s Austin Powers and 2000’s Meet the Parents and written by Charles Randolph best known for co-writing the Oscar-winning movie The Big Short released in 2015, Bombshell is a well-crafted yet rather unusual movie in that it is both a comedy and drama about the downfall of Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes amidst a flurry of sexual harassment allegations from the female employees of the network. Unlike the recent Showtime TV mini-series The Loudest Voice following Fox News from its inception, the movie has a narrow focus on the year 2016 as the presidential election is in full swing and Roger Ailes is finally facing repercussions for his history of sexual harassment over the years as the head of the conservative news network. The film is full of a bunch of characters based on real life individuals working at Fox News and are portrayed as preposterous caricatures of themselves. However, the main focus of the story is the star female anchors Megyn Kelly, played by Charlize Theron who uncannily resembles her character, and Gretchen Carlson, played by Nicole Kidman, as well as a fictionalized producer named Kayla, played by Margot Robbie. The three main actresses are the real draw of the movie because they give such excellent performances that make you believe that they are actually the characters they play. Throughout the movie, the offices and studios of Fox News are depicted as extremely toxic work environment in which harassment and crude jokes are the norm. The filmmaker effectively discusses the serious issue of sexual harassment by juxtaposing the political rise of Donald Trump who makes inappropriate remarks about women, including Megyn Kelly, with the powerful but feared leader of Fox News Roger Ailes, played terrifically by John Lithgow. Particularly in the case of Gretchen Carlson, the women of Fox News are shown debating whether to finally stand up to the sexual harassment of Ailes by making formal complaints to Fox Corporation run by the Murdoch family or filing lawsuits. Such a seemingly depressing subject matter is made entertaining through the use of office gossip circulating Fox News that first begins as whispers and eventually leads to the rapid demise of Roger Ailes and the top anchor Bill O’Reilly. It is very similar to the 2015 movie The Big Short in that it delves into serious subject matter with a fast-paced and witty script that constantly keeps the audience engaged. Overall, I found it to be a surprisingly entertaining film that is also a very empowering tale of people standing up for what is right and having the audacity to go against their powerful boss. It may not be the best treatment of the Fox News sexual harassment story as it relates to the now disgraced and deceased Roger Ailes, but it does an excellent job of exploring the mindset of the three female protagonists brought to life by the powerhouse acting combination of Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie.

Jumanji: The Next Level

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The sequel to 2017’s Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle that is a reboot of the 1995 movie Jumanji starring Robin Williams, Jumanji: The Next Level is a very entertaining and fun adventure movie that relies on recapturing the magic of the 2017 version of the Jumanji franchise, with its creative plot and funny characters. Like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, the same group of now college-age students find themselves sucked into the video game Jumanji after realizing that the nerd in the group Spencer has possibly entered the game by himself. However, some of the characters become different avatars in the video game, as well as the addition of two new characters of Spencer’s grandfather Eddie, played by Danny DeVito, and Eddie’s old friend Milo, played by Danny Glover. Due to all of their hilarious surprise, the grumpy Eddie becomes the strong archaeologist and explorer Dr. Smolder Bravestone, played by Dwayne Johnson, the slow talking Milo becomes the scrawny and squeamish zoologist and weapons valet Franklin “Mouse” Finbar, played by the hyperactive comedian Kevin Hart, the popular jock “Fridge” becomes the obese middle-aged archaeologist and cartographer Professor Sheldon “Shelly” Oberon, hilariously played by Jack Black, and the shy unpopular girl Martha remains the attractive commando and martial artist Ruby Roundhouse, played by Karen Gillan. While searching for Spencer in the Jumanji world, they are given a new mission that must be completed to return to the real world: retrieve the Falcon’s Heart jewel from the powerful villain Jurgen the Brutal, played by Rory McCann best known as The Hound in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones. Eventually, the very mismatched group reunite with the beautiful popular girl Bethany who was left behind but found her way back into the game as a horse named Cyclone with help from the pilot and adventurer Jefferson “Seaplane” McDonough, played by Nick Jonas. They also finally discover Spencer as a new and rather unexpected avatar and says he wanted to re-enter Jumanji because he feels out of place in the real world and estranged from his friends, especially Martha after they started a long-distance romantic relationship. Extremely similar to the previous installment, the film uses the effectively fun formula of creating eccentric characters who find themselves in rather hilarious situations dealing with their new bodies as they embark on a dangerous adventure. Overall, I found it to be a highly entertaining blockbuster movie that may have recycled the same premise as the previous movie but did so in a way that did not lessen the audience’s enjoyment and was helped by the addition of Danny DeVito and Danny Glover.

Knives Out

Keith YoungLeave a comment

Written, produced, and directed by Rian Johnson best known for 2005’s Brick and 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Knives Out is a modern take on the classic murder mystery whodunit that has a brilliant script with many twists and a terrific ensemble cast, making for one of the most entertaining movies in recent memory. Similar to an Agatha Christie murder mystery, the story revolves around the mysterious death of a wealthy crime novelist named Harlan Thrombey, played by Christopher Plummer, whose entire dysfunctional family are gathered together for his 85th birthday in his remote grand old mansion in Massachusetts. After discovering his body in what looks like a suicide, the police led by Detective Lieutenant Elliot, played by Lakeith Stanfield, as well as a stereotypical Southern private detective named Benoit Blanc, played by a very memorable Daniel Craig, begin an investigation to see whether there was foul play so they begin interviewing each member of the family. There is the oldest daughter Linda, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, who has an air of self-importance; Linda’s husband Richard, played by Don Johnson, who may be having an affair; the youngest son Walt, played by Michael Shannon, who runs his father’s publishing company but feels underappreciated; and the daughter-in-law Joni, played by Toni Collette, who always tries to ingratiate herself to her father-in-law who financially supports her and her daughter. Equally unique characters, the younger generation is comprised of the spoiled socialite Ransom, played by Chris Evans; the conservative Internet troll teenager Jacob, played by Jaeden Martell; and the liberal college student Meg, played by Katherine Langford. Detective Blanc, very reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s famous detective character Hercule Poirot, is a rather funny character who is brilliant but sometimes is a over-the-top buffoon throughout his investigation in which nobody is eliminated as a suspect. An unexpected central character of the plot is Harlan’s young Hispanic caregiver Marta, played by Ana de Armas, who genuinely cares for Harlan unlike his rather unpleasant money-grubbing family. The filmmaker does an excellent job of having the eccentric characters play off one another as they are really competing to see who will benefit the most financially from Harlan’s will. Besides the excellent cast, what really sets the movie apart is the script full of entertaining surprises and unexpected twists that harks back to the classic murder mystery movies that relied less on bloody violence. What makes it different is it is much more of a comedy that pokes fun at upper class families who are very much out-of-touch with the rest of the world and only think about maintaining their wealth and status. Overall, I found the film to be true cinematic gold that is so entertaining that one feels as if they are a part of the investigation and playing a game of Clue. Rian Johnson creates something that feels so new and extraordinary for such a old-fashioned style mystery; he was also blessed by a wonderful cast that really pulled the whole thing together. Three words: go see it!