Day 322: The Brothers Grimsby (2016)

the-brothers-grimsby-red-band-trailer-2I was surfing my local cable company’s on-demand service searching for a film to watch when I stumbled upon today’s film. Whether you love him or hate him, you cannot deny that Sacha Baron Cohen (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street) has been an important figure in the comedy world which is why I chose to watch his latest film The Brothers Grimsby. Nobby (Cohen) is an imbecile English soccer hooligan who lives with his girlfriend and his nine kids. He has been in search for the last 28 years for his brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) who were separated after their parents died. One day he finds out that his brother is a MI-6 agent so he goes to see him. Sebastian uncovers a sinister plot, but is falsely accused of something after running into Nobby, but he’ll realize that he needs him more than he thinks he does. The film also stars Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) as Dawn Grobham, Ilsa Fisher (Now You See Me) as Jodie Figgis, Lex Shrapnel (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Steven Marber, Rory Keenan (Reign Of Fire) as James Thurbeck, Scott Adkins (Doctor Strange) as Pavel Lukashenko, Penélope Cruz (Zoolander 2) as Rhonda George, Barkhad Abdi (Eye In The Sky) as Tabansi Nyagura, Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) as Banu The Cleaner, and the film was directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk).

img4Listen I am going to tell you that you know exactly what to expect from a film that was written and stars Sacha Baron Cohen. You have to completely let go of any inhibitions and just enjoy a stupid comedy. I knew what to expect from it and I completely enjoyed the film because I wasn’t trying to see how smart it was. I mean come on now, there is a scene where Sebastian and Nobby are completely up an elephants you know what and they get boned by a whole village of elephants. So you tell me what kind of film are you expecting from that? Now that you’ve let go, the film is has some real hilarious moments in it from the opening scene of Sasha boning Rebel Wilson in a mattress store to Nobby pretending to be a spy when his brother accidentally takes heroine. Mark Strong does a terrific job balancing the fact that he is supposed to be a bad ass and deal with an imbecile like Nobby which forces him to let go. The cinematography in the film is actually very appealing and the story is actually pretty decent even though a lot of it is pretty far fetched. It’s a comedic take on the spy genre that has populated Hollywood and as I said you know what you are getting. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade.

 

Day 190: Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016)

mike and daveToday’s film that I chose was one that I really wanted to read the book before going to see it, but I never got the chance and it was officially released today. So for today, I chose to watch Mike And Dave Need Wedding Dates which stars Adam Devine (Pitch Perfect) and Zac Efron (Neighbors) as Mike and Dave Stangle. The Stangle brothers are a couple of guys that are absolutely inseparable. They work together, they party together, and they screw stuff up together, but there are people that want it to stop.  You see their sister Jeanie (Sugar Lyn Beard) is getting married in Hawaii and their parents are worried that they are going to screw it all up. The only way they can go is by finding wedding dates, but when they do they get more than they expected. The film also stars Aubrey Plaza (Dirty Grandpa) as Tatiana, Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) as Alice, Stephen Root (Office Space) as Burt, Stephanie Faracy (Hocus Pocus) as Rosie, Sam Richardson (Veep) as Eric, Alice Wetterlund (Girl Code) as Cousin Terry, Lavell Crawford (Breaking Bad) as Keith, Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley) as Keanu, Jake Johnson (Let’s Be Cops) as Ronnie, and the film was directed by Jake Szymanski (7 Days In Hell).

mike-and-dave-need-wedding-datesI was a little skeptical about the film heading in because I thought it was going to be one of those films where the trailer was funnier than the film itself.That was definitely not the case whatsoever with this film. This definitely has to be a contender for comedy of the year and I know there’s a lot of time left, but I couldn’t stop laughing. If Adam Devine and Zac Efron weren’t making you laugh, Aubrey Plaza and Anna Kendrick were definitely there to provide some laughs as well. There was just a lot of great chemistry going around in this film and you could definitely see it all around with every moment in the film. It’s hard to choose a favorite scene because any moment with the Stangle brothers was absolutely hilarious like the push pop scene or even the ATV aftermath scene was great. Sugar Lyn Beard has her moments in the film too tat were great whether it be with the masseuse or getting high on Ecstasy. After seeing this film, Zac Efron has definitely grown on me and he plays the role of funny, but sensitive dumb jock guy every well in some of his movies. The proof is in the pudding with the Neighbors series and this. I’m not sure I like where Aubrey Plaza is going with her career, but I an’t complain cause I am a huge fan of hers. I didn’t realize until now that this is the second straight film I have watched and reviewed that takes place in Hawaii. Maybe this is a sign of a new vacation spot that I should go to. Nevertheless, this is definitely a comedy to check out and with that being said I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.

Day 104: Sisters (2015)

sistersThe 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).

151216095613-sisters-still-fey-poehler-super-169First 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.