Category Archives: Comedy

Robot & Frank

Robot & Frank                   4 stars

For a simple yet elegant story about aging we go back ten years to 2012’s Robot & Frank starring Frank Langella as Frank, an elderly man living alone who spent time in prison for some heists committed in his younger days. Frank has two adult children who he wasn’t exactly a model parent to, but son Hunter (James Marsden) who looks after him on occasion has decided that Frank needs the assistance of an in home robot that can cook, clean and care for Frank. Frank soon figures out that the talking robot can also be commanded to assist him in committing burglaries so starts a new project training the robot to commit crimes and getting it to tell him the chances of success. It’s a pleasing comedy-drama that is driven by the excellent acting skills of Langella whose versatility has been featured in roles such as President Nixon, Chief Justice Warren Burger, Perry White in Superman Returns and Count Dracula in his long career. The movie was directed by newcomer Jake Schreier, who followed up with Paper Towns in 2015. I was very entertained by this comedy. Look for Susan Sarandon as the town’s librarian and Law & Order’s Jeremy Sisto as the sheriff.

Mr. Malcolm’s List

Mr. Malcolm’s List                            3 ½ stars

In Mr. Malcolm’s List we travel back to the London of the 1810’s in a Jane Austen-esc period comedy romance about beautiful people of high society. I understand this type of thing is on TV now in Bridgerton, but Mr. Malcolm’s List is a much lighter version that should appeal to a variety of audiences. Mr. Malcolm (Sope Dirisu) is rich and single and is London’s most sought after bachelor who is on a mission to find his perfect mate. One candidate for Malcolm’s affections, Julia Thistlewaite (Zawe Ashton) has accompanied him to the opera and was embarrassed to have answered a question about local politics in a peculiar way and is ridiculed in a local publication. She is incensed to discover from her silly cousin Lord Cassidy that Mr. Malcolm has a list of traits that must be met for any potential mate. Julia must get her revenge and the perfect plan is to enlist her poor childhood friend from the country, Selina Dalton (the beautiful Freida Pinto) to fulfil the list’s requirements and then reject Mr. Malcolm. What a dastardly plan! The movie has all the features of a romantic story for this period: the grand balls, the polite conversation, the horseback rides and the secret meetings. It has a nearly all female production staff and a very diverse cast that gives a different look to London high society of the early nineteenth century. Previously, it was a short of the same name featuring the same two main actors, Dirisu and Pinto, in the main roles. It’s not quite Jane Austen but it will do for one and a half hours of light entertainment.

Bullet Train

Bullet Train         3 ½ stars

When I saw the preview of David Leitch’s Bullet Train it had to go on my must see list for this summer. This adaptation of a Japanese crime novel by Kotaro Isaka gets the John Wick and Kill Bill treatment in a non-stop action movie starring Brad Pitt as an unlucky assassin known as Ladybug who is trying to get back in the game with a simple snatch and grab assignment while being coached by his handler over the phone. His job is to board the world’s fastest train in Tokyo, Japan and grab a briefcase filled with cash and get off at the next stop without getting caught. What our self-deprecating criminal doesn’t realize is that this bullet train is also occupied by four other paid assassins all with interconnected and conflicting missions and a few other shady characters each with their own objectives. Throughout his acting career Pitt has done a variety of types of roles in dramas, comedies and action movies, not relying on one type of role. Here he plays the character strictly for comedic effect as mayhem surrounds him. Also on the train are two British assassins known as Tangerine and Lemon (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Tyree Henry) who must deliver the son of a Russian crime boss called White Death back to him along with the ransom money (in the previously mentioned briefcase) after rescuing him from a gang of kidnappers. One of them has an odd obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine and who can be characterized as a “diesel”. There is the young Japanese man (Andrew Koji), the son of a “yakuza” who is there to take revenge on the person responsible for pushing his young son off a rooftop who now lies in a hospital clinging to life. Joey King (actress in innumerable roles in teenage movies that I never heard of) shows up as the young woman who is much more dangerous than she seems. And there is an assortment of other suspicious characters who appear on this nearly vacant train traveling at incredible speeds through Japan. To fill in the story we get flashbacks to the events that led this deadly batch to the train that are filled with bloody killings in long action sequences. Once the killers meet, the anticipated fight scenes ensue, mostly involving Pitt’s Ladybug who is bewildered as to why all this is happening to him. Also, throw in an escaped venomous snake that is missing from a local zoo. (Snakes on a Train?). Thanks to the natural charisma of Pitt, Bullet Train rises above being just another violent action movie with two dimensional characters. There are a few notable cameos that you must watch for. This includes the reuniting of three well known stars who appeared together in another action comedy from earlier this year. I leave it to you to find out who they are.

Bodies Bodies Bodies

Bodies Bodies Bodies     4 stars

Bodies Bodies Bodies by director Halina Reijn is billed as the slasher movie of the summer. This hip comedy horror features a young Gen Z cast full of digital social media references and a hip hop soundtrack so it is obviously meant for a younger audience. That said, the script is surprisingly smarter than one would think. The premise is that a group of young people of privilege gather for a night of partying at one of the member’s father’s house in the path of a hurricane because that is a thing that people do. The young cast includes Amandla Stenberg (star of The Hate U Give) as Sophie who is just out of rehab and Maria Bakalova (from Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) as young immigrant Bee who is in a romantic relationship with Sophie. (Don’t worry if you don’t remember Maria Bakalova because Rudi Giuliani will.) The pair arrive at the house where the rest of the partiers have already gathered. There is a history of relationships among the group that will become apparent as the night progresses. As the storm approaches the group plays a game called Bodies Bodies Bodies, a sort of role-playing murder game that serves as a precursor of what is to come. Among the group is David whose father is the owner of the afore-mentioned house. As played by SNL’s Pete Davidson, David is a first class dick and really gets on the nerves of some of the partiers as he ridicules some of the jargon they use. Inevitably one of the members turns up dead from horrible injuries which leads to the chaos of the rest of the movie. Waves of suspicion and accusations emerge among the group as they try to cope with this rapidly changing situation. Conflicts based on relative wealth and race emerge as the arguments rage. Much of this is filmed with low lighting and hand-held cameras which lends itself well to the confusion among these Gen Z children of privilege. The intelligently written movie is not so much a slasher film, but more of a lesson in the consequences of a breakdown in trust and understanding. Of course there is more than enough blood and mayhem to satisfy the true horror fans out there.

Official Competition

Official Competition        4 ½ stars

Official Competition by Argentine directors Mariano Cohn and Gaston Duprat brings together the great talents of Penelope Cruz, Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martinez in a satirical comedy that absolutely skewers the filmmakers of “art” movies and the mega-wealthy. Cruz plays internationally renowned film director Lola Cuevas who has a curly head of hair that must be seen to be believed. She is hired by a millionaire owner of a pharmaceutical company to make a movie based on an award-winning novel called Rivalry, though the millionaire is clueless about art or movies. Lola decides that the two greatest actors in Spanish cinema must be a part of this great venture: the legendary actor Ivan Torres (Oscar Martinez) who despises the movie industry and the star of mega-hit blockbusters Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas) who is obsessed with his own stardom. The book being adapted concerns the conflict between the two brothers played by Ivan and Felix where one of them blames the other for their parents’ death. Most of the movie (Official Competition) focuses on the rehearsal process which takes place in the wide open spaces of a modern architectural marvel that epitomizes great wealth. As the two starring men begin rehearsing under Lola’s direction we get a taste of their eccentricities and how differently the two view their craft. Lola has her own methods that sometimes make the actors endlessly repeat their lines until they are perfect and makes them participate in “exercises” that cause them tension and pain to the point where a normal person would just walk away. (In one scene the two actors must bombard one another with the most vile insults they can think of.) Their remarks and actions reveal how much Ivan and Felix despise each other. Their acts of one-upmanship get increasingly absurd as each is determined to show just how “great” they really are. Eventually the absurdity turns to an unexpectedly dark level. In its satirical fashion, the movie never deviates from the theme of showing how pretentious and narcissistic those in the art world can be. The movie belongs mostly to Penelope Cruz who brings her acting to genius levels as she conveys emotion with the slightest stare. Despite the focus of the movie on the art world, it can be enjoyed by all audiences. This is the kind of movie I think of for my favorite kind of comedy.

Dr. Broadway

Dr. Broadway     3 ½ stars

Over the weekend I viewed some of a collection of B film noir movies from the forties at a local Chicago theater and enjoyed Dr. Broadway the most. This film was made in 1942 and is rarely seen by audiences. It was written by Borden Chase (known mainly for spaghetti westerns of the fifties, but here he ventured into the crime drama world). The director was Anthony Mann known for El Cid and Winchester ’73 (starring Jimmy Stewart). The movie starred a young MacDonald Carey as Timothy Cane or Dr. Broadway, a medical doctor in New York who makes use of his many contacts among the police and the criminal underworld in his thriving practice. This is one of Carey’s earliest roles who went on to star in Days of Our Lives for three decades. I enjoyed this short movie (1 hour, 6 minutes) mainly for the charming lead character and the classic style of the film. It was intended that this would be the first of a series of films for this character, but no others were ultimately made. In the story Cane is approached by a man who he had put in prison earlier. Cane is asked to give the man’s fortune to his estranged daughter, as the man has a short time to live. Unfortunately, there are others who believe they should get the money instead. Film Noir is regarded as black and white darker stories of crime dramas where the lead individual is tasked with solving the crime. The films were generally made in the forties and fifties by American studios. They are not necessarily dark in tone as the B movies generally had many comic moments which is true of Dr. Broadway. The term film noir literally means dark film and it did not become a widely used term until the nineteen seventies.

Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul

Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul   4 stars

Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul written and directed by Adamma Ebo is a satirical comedy that takes on organized evangelical religion as its target, one that is well deserved. Regina Hall (of The Best Man, Love & Basketball and Girls Trip) is Trinitie Childs, the first lady to mega-church pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (This Is Us’ Sterling K. Brown) of an Atlanta megachurch that once was the church home to thousands. But lawsuits resulting from the sexual misconduct of the pastor led to its closing and now it is up to the super couple to bring it back to the glory of the past. The fictional story is done almost entirely in the form of a documentary with a film crew following the couple in the ornate church, their Italianate villa and Trinitie’s shopping sprees at the mall. The fake documentary style isn’t one of my favorites, but the comedy successfully skewers the self-delusion and complete blindness of the shortcomings of the Lee-Curtis character. Hall, one of my favorite comedic actresses does an excellent portrayal of the devoted wife who will do anything for the church and her flawed husband until it all starts to fall apart. The movie really rests on the two main actors as there is little for the various other characters representing former congregants, rival pastors and the victims of misconduct to do. I generally favor movies that target the rich and self-important as the move does, but the style of the fake documentary is not one I am used to. The movie was featured at the Sundance Film Festival this year where it first premiered. I suggest that you go see for yourself and have a few laughs.

Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2                        4 ½ stars

Nine years ago, Pixar thrilled us with an innovative animated film about childhood emotions in Inside Out. The five emotions managed a child’s feelings about the things going on in the girl’s life all to great comic effect and with compassion. The emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Liza Lapira) and Fear (Tony Hale) are back in Pixar’s sequel where the child, Riley, just turns thirteen, bringing a whole new set of challenges for the emotions to deal with. Riley starts out as a normal well-adjusted child who likes to hang out with her two friends and play on the middle school hockey team. Things are going fine for Joy and company until an alarm on the console goes off, that is the warning for the arrival of Puberty! A construction crew suddenly arrives causing chaos followed by the new emotions led by Anxiety (Maya Hawke) who try to take over Headquarters. Accompanying Anxiety are Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) and Ennui (French for Boredom) (Adèle Exarchopoulos). In the real world we follow Riley who is attending a hockey skills camp with her old friends, but now faces the chance to be accepted by more mature and talented girls at the expense of leaving her old friends behind. Anxiety takes over control at HQ, sending the old emotions to long term storage in the Vault and Riley’s sense of herself to oblivion where all her bad memories go. It’s up to Joy and company to escape and take control of HQ back from Anxiety. The movie is a creative and imaginative way of portraying the changing emotions of a teenage girl and is done in the usual Pixar comedic fashion of Pixar. The picture is very colorful and full of action and especially shows the concern that Joy has for Riley’s well-being. The movie is completely appropriate for children and does not deal directly with changing bodies or attraction to boys. It focuses on a child’s sense of themselves and how they relate to other children, or the usual things that teenagers go through. Inside Out 2 is recommended for all ages.

See How They Run

See How They Run           4 stars

For a fun time you won’t be disappointed with the new whodunit “See How They Run” by director Tom George and writer Mark Chappell. The comedy mystery does a variation of the play within a play theme, using Agatha Christie’s popular stage play “The Mousetrap” that has reached its one hundredth performance in 1953 London’s West End. There is a plan to turn the hit play into a film version to be directed by Hollywood director Leo Kopernick (Adrien Brody who I have not seen in ages) and written by Mervyn Cocker-Norris (David Ayelowo). Early on in the movie one of the film crew turns up dead at the play’s after party, done in by a mysterious dark figure in a coat and hat. In steps Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell of Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) of Scotland Yard to be aided by rookie officer Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan of Brooklyn and Lady Bird) who are tasked with identifying the murderer. Stoppard sets about interviewing the myriad of suspects all of whom seem to have a possible motive while the enthusiastic Stalker tries to help in amusing fashion. (She writes everything down in her notebook including Stoppard’s advice of Do not jump to conclusions.) The suspects even include famous actor Richard Attenborough (Harris Dickinson) who stars in the play. The movie features multiple flashbacks and on screen titles to show the passage of time that all serve to fill in the details. Especially entertaining are the interactions between the experienced but put upon Stoppard and the rookie Stalker who proves to be somewhat annoying, but observant. Of course, we eventually reach the inevitable gathering of the suspects in a room that even includes the famed Miss Christie where the murderer is to be revealed. For Agatha Christie enthusiasts there are many references to her works and characters that I will not go into. The movie is a good time with a story containing many red herrings and a few twists as a good murder mystery should. The advice “Do not Jump to Conclusions” is a very good rule to follow.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam        4 stars

The new comedy mystery drama Amsterdam by writer-director David O. Russell has a very long and winding plot that takes us through three countries over 15 years, involves a murder mystery of a war hero, a murder frame job, an extended love affair, a massive political conspiracy and a truly lasting friendship at the heart of everything. Those familiar with some of Russell’s past works won’t be too surprised at this. (See I Heart Huckabees, American Hustle and Joy for some very involved plots.) In Amsterdam we meet our three close friends who meet as a result of The Great War and the injuries sustained in this war to end all wars. There is Dr. Bert Berendsen (a very talkative Christian Bale) whose mission is to care for all those war veterans suffering after the war and honor them at an annual gala. His best friend is Harold Woodman (John David Washington who we remember from BlacKKKlansman), who he met while commanding a unit of African Americans in France in the war who is to become an accomplished lawyer. And there is the American nurse Valerie (Margot Robbie) who cared for them after they were severely wounded in battle. Together, the three banded together in Amsterdam to care for damaged soldiers from the war. When we jump ahead to 1933 the three of them become ensnared in the suspected murder of their commanding officer from the war that may lead to one of the greatest political conspiracies this country has ever experienced. Did I say that the movie has wandering plot? It needs to have a lot going on to give its all star cast the roles that tell the story. Apparently, Hollywood stars are clamoring to work with Russell as I counted no less than sixteen recognizable names among the cast. This includes Michael Shannon and Mike Myers, as two ornithologists who work for the government (British and American), Matthias Schoenaerts and Alessandro Nivola as two cops investigating a murder and Taylor Swift as the daughter of the murdered victim. Much of the comedy seems to be in the tradition of the zany comedies of the nineteen forties, especially that of Robbie who really lets it fly. You will have to be patient to get to the point when all is revealed. Eventually the climactic scene is reached when a critical choice must be made that will affect the lives of millions. Many people will see it as a cautionary tale about what America is going through today, but the film has been in development for many years so you can judge for yourself. In the end the film is about the friendship of our trio of heroes that wins out in an ending that is reminiscent of Casablanca. You may hear some negative reviews about Amsterdam. Many critics hold the meandering plot against what Russell has done here, but I found it all to be very entertaining.