There are moments that happen in the world that are just magical and if you don’t capitalize then you lose out. The Lonely Island was one of those moments that Andy Samberg (Hot Rod) needed to capitalize on and he did just that with today’s film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. The mockumentary style film follows former Style Bros member Connor4Real (Samberg) as he is about to embark on one of the biggest world tours of his career alongside his best friend Owen (Jorma Taccone) and his other 32 members of his entourage. Soon though, Connor will learn that fame doesn’t last forever as the problems begin to pour in for the popstar. He’ll have to dig in deep to try and figure out a way back to the top, but that could mean conjuring up some skeletons in the closet. The film also stars Akiva Schaffer (The Watch) as Lawrence, Sarah Silverman (Wreck-It Ralph) as Paula, Tim Meadows (Mean Girls) as Harry, Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids) as Deborah, Joan Cusack (Say Anything…) as Tilly, Imogen Poots (Need For Speed) as Ashley, Chris Redd (Empire) as Hunter, and the film features cameos from Ringo Starr, Usher, 50 Cent, RZA, Nas, Justin Timberlake, Carrie Underwood, Mario Lopez, Simon Cowell, and so many more.
If I had to find the right way to describe this film in one sentence it would be that the film is this generation’s This Is Spinal Tap or CB4. What This Is Spinal Tap did for the 80’s, CB4 did for the 90’s, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is going to do the same for this generation that worships popstars who do not write their own material and take themselves way too serious. The film itself was based off of Justin Bieber’s life according to one report that I read and it certainly makes sense after seeing the film. Just as This Is Spinal Tap had hilarious and outrageous songs, this film certainly had it and they were hilarious. One of my favorite songs from the film is Finest Girl (Bin Laden), the song is so outrageous that I couldn’t stop laughing, but I was also singing along too. There’s also plenty of funny moments in the film like Justin Timberlake’s cameo as Connor’s soft spoken personal chef and some of the testimony from the celebrity cameos. One of the scenes that I thought was funny at first, but then in my opinion they dragged it out too long was the CMZ (instead of TMZ) segments. It was cool at first like I said, but they kept the joke going too long in one of the scenes leaving me wanting them to move on. They also tried hard to put in some drama in the film like Connor hitting rock bottom, but even that was too funny not to laugh at like Seal getting attacked by wolves. Nonetheless, I am proclaiming that this is a contender for Comedy Movie Of The Year in the Monster Entertainment Awards next year. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade because I loved it for what it was.
The minute that I saw that Today’s film was available to rent at my local Redbox location, I jumped at the chance to watch and hence that there is no Ass Whoopin Wednesday film this week. When I think of great combinations in comedy, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler of Saturday Night Live fame come to mind and today I chose their 2015 film Sisters. For Maura Ellis (Poehler) she is always trying to fix everything in everyone else’s lives other than her own. For Kate Ellis (Fey), she has just never been able to get anything straight in her life and is a hot mess. One day the sisters find out that there parents are selling their childhood home in Orlando and the two decide to throw the biggest party in honor of all the great memories there. The film also stars Dianne Wiest (The Lost Boys) as Mom, James Brolin (Hotel) as Dad, Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors) as James, Maya Rudolph (The Way Way Back) as Brinda, John Cena as Pazuzu, John Leguizamo (Carlito’s Way) as Dave, Bobby Moynihan (Saturday Night Live) as Alex, Greta Lee (St. Vincent) as Hae-Won, Madison Davenport (Noah) as Haley, Rachel Dratch (Saturday Night Live) as Kelly, and the film was directed by Jason Moore (Pitch Perfect).
First I want to start by saying that Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have always made an amazing combo even in their days on Saturday Night Live when they did The Weekend Update. That amazing chemistry more than definitely transferred it’s magic into this film about two sisters who are having trouble letting go and finding responsibility. I also love how they incorporate different stars from Saturday Night Live into the film, it’s nice to see them giving people jobs. I also want to say how amazing Tina Fey looks in this film as the girl definitely ages very well and Kudos to Amy Poehler who looks amazing as well in the film. There are some scenes that are definitely funnier than others in the film and you can tell as some jokes fall flat while others prosper. I have to definitely give props to John Cena who looks incredibly bigger than usual in this film, but he definitely delivers. He plays a drug dealer in the film who has some amazing one liners with Tina Fey. Their interactions together are priceless and was definitely necessary in the film. One scene that while I did think it was funny, I thought it would be funnier was the scene where Ike Barinholtz’s character falls butt first into that Ballerina wind up thing. One thing that kind of bothered me was the interactions between Fey’s character and her daughter. The only reason it bothers me is because it’s not really explained well why she refuses to trust her. I mean all that we know is that she is mad over thew fact that Tina Fey’s character can’t really hold down a job and there is some mothering issues, but that is all we know. It’s one of the main sub plots that runs along with the main plot. Anyways, the film was definitely enjoyable to watch so I am going to give it an B+ for a final grade.
Just about every month, I have watched a different animated film so I decided to keep it going by watching another one for the month of April. The film I chose for today is called The Nut Job and it’s one that wasn’t done by Disney or Sony. The film follows Surly (Will Arnett), a squirrel who never seems to get anything right in his life and to the point that everyone in the park hates him. One day after a routine heist of nuts goes wrong, Surely is banished out of the park and all of the creatures in the park are left with no food to survive winter. A store that is being disguised as a nut store, but really is a front for a ban heist is opened nearby and Surly will try everything he can to pull off the biggest heist to regain the trust of the park. The film also stars Liam Neeson (Taken) as Raccoon, Brendan Fraser (School Ties) as Grayson, Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up) as Andie, Stephen Lang (Avatar) as King, Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids) as Precious, Jeff Dunham as Mole, Gabriel Iglesias (Magic Mike XXL) as Jimmy, Sarah Gadon (Enemy) as Lana, and the film was directed by Peter Lepeniotis Gotta Catch Santa Claus).
What is the great thing about all or most animated films these days? Every great or good character has a comedic relief sidekick that keeps the audience glued and kids laughing. In this film, it would have to be Buddy The Rat who is constantly there to help his friend Surly no matter what. The one thing about this film that I really liked is that every character is very likable even the villain Raccoon (voiced by Liam Neeson). This was definitely an interesting and funny animated film for one that wasn’t made by either Disney Pixar or Sony, but it didn’t have a heck of a lot of laughs. It was definitely entertaining and it didn’t bore me, but it just didn’t have a lot of those funny moments in it like some of Disney’s films. I wondered why Psy’s music and song Gangham Style was attached to this film and it’s because it was funded by a bunch of different Korean producers hence the appearance he makes as an animated character. I was also surprised to see that Jeff Dunham voice acted in this film because I thought he only did the puppet gigs, but he was great as the mole. This is definitely a film that will more than likely fun for the kids and it will teach you the lesson that no matter how much of a screw up you think you are you can always redeem yourself. The film is available right now on Netflix as we speak so check it out. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 