kellym40 film review

‘Going in Style’ needs just a little more style

Rating 2.5/5

The recent release of Going in Style was a remake of a 1979 film of the same name starring George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. It would be interesting and fun to see those actors in that film and I will have to check that out. So that will be on my list for a future post. Not having seen the prior film, I cannot comment on it so I’ll have to rely on what I saw as I viewed this 2017 version.

This 2017 remake stars Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin, and was written by Theodore Melfi and Edward Cannon. At the helm of this production is director Zach Braff. The trailer leads us to believe the film is a laugh out comedy. I believe it was written as a comedy (or at least meant to be a comedy) but it is not what it appears. Of course there were comedic moments in the film, but they were few and far between and those moments did not sustain the film as a comedy. However, I believe this version seemed to be more of a social commentary on big corporations keeping the working-man down and the importance of family. But even those elements did not seem to hold up the film. With all that being said, the filmmakers were more than likely looking at the big names (Caine, Freeman, and Arkin) in the cast to really sell this movie. The film also starred Ann-Margret, Christopher Lloyd, and Joey King.

Even with its flaws, the film was enjoyable. It was probably not as enjoyable as it could have been, but still watchable. One of the main problems with this film, though, is that it plays on and on, seemingly taking forever to really get going. The plot is pretty basic, as the three main characters have been screwed by big banks and a shady corporate deal that robs them of their pensions. So they decide to rob a bank (the same bank that holds the mortgage for one of them). All the planning, family issues, and social issues that are shown through half of the film come together for the actual event of the heist, which remarkably takes only a few minutes of the film. Most of the time for the film is spent looking into the lives of these characters and their reaction to the world around them.

The performances were adequate here for the film, but nearly bordered on low-key performances and almost seemed wasteful of the talents from these three film actors. There have been other films where it seems to have low energy or a lot of excitement infused in the action of the film and I mostly despise those films. I’ve compared those films to seeing a live theatrical play where the energy from the actors is low and the play just seems to drag. That’s almost how this film felt at times, but even so there was a quiet charm to the film. It had just enough to keep me into the film and engaged with the characters and story to see it through, despite its quiet, slow action and soft characters.

If you’re looking for a fun time, laugh out loud comedy, then this film is probably not for you. If you might be looking for stellar performances from three iconic actors, you might look somewhere else. But even with its slow-moving action, low-key performances, it might be good for some simple entertainment for a lazy afternoon. As it did with me, it might just keep your interest just enough to be watchable and enjoyable on some level.

 

kellym40 film review

Some laughs in ‘Daddy’s Home,’ but don’t stay long

Rating 2.5/5

It feels like we were led to believe that Daddy’s Home was going to be a crazy, wildly funny comedy from the previews. Like the saying goes, “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” the same goes for films I suppose in that “You can’t judge a film by its trailer.” I like both of the lead actors, Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, as actors. But in this film, they play as most of Ferrell’s other “screwball” comedies.

Daddy’s Home has a decent message about family and the value of special bond between father and son and husband and wife. Indeed, there are some comical moments and tension between the two characters as they vie for the affection of the children and the mother of those children. For that message, the film seems to achieve some success but falls flat with the comic bits and performances.

The story seems simple enough. Brad Whitaker (Ferrell), a radio executive is married to Sara (Linda Cardellini) who has two children, Megan (Scarlett Estevez) and Dylan (Owen Vaccaro), and tries to fit in with the family. Enter the biological father Dusty Mayron (Wahlberg), who comes in for a visit and stays longer than expected. He left the family because he couldn’t handle doing the “father” thing. He comes back and declares he has changed and wants to be part of the family again as he sees Brad moving in on his family.

Director Sean Anders tries his best with the material in which he co-wrote with Brian Burns and John Morris. The direction seemed to lack the energy needed to make the film’s action come to life. It almost seemed like he wasn’t sure what the film was supposed to be, a raucous comedy or a light-hearted comedy about family values and fatherhood. The film had its potential, but not even the big names of Ferrell and Wahlberg truly save the film. Not even the supporting cast like Thomas Haden Church as Brad’s boss or Hannibal Buress as a handyman, who begins living with the family for some reason after being fired by Brad, appear to really add much to the film, although there were a few moments here and there. But these moments seem to come too little too late.

This film was released at Christmas in 2015. Although it did have a Christmas scene, it fails to deliver much Christmas cheer as it surely hoped to reach.

 

kellym40 film review

Four friends bring fun, sentiment to ‘Last Vegas’

Rating 3/5

The premise of Last Vegas brings the idea of four life long friends coming together again for a big hoo-rah after nearly 60 years. This kind of formula has been seen before and since the release of this movie. However, it still works. It works, due in part, to the acting talents of Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, and Kevin Kline. That’s not to say the film isn’t flawed, but the flaws are minor and are somewhat lost through the fun overall story.

The film generally has a nice story of friendship and forgiveness, mixed with a love triangle (twice). The film begins with four young boys who seem to do a lot together. They protect each other. They have fun together. Flash forward to nearly 60 years later and we find the four are living their lives, but they still have a yearning to have some fun. It starts with Billy (Douglas) who is dating a much younger girl and suddenly proposes to her. So what does he do? He calls his childhood buddies to the wedding in Las Vegas. We then see Archie (Freeman), after suffering a minor stroke, living with his son (who treats his father as a child, becoming very protective). Sam (Kline) is married, but still misses his youthful times. Archie and Sam, on their way to the airport, decide to stop by and pick up Paddy (De Niro). Here we learn Paddy and Billy have had a falling out. Paddy reluctantly agrees and the three head off to Vegas.

Upon arrival, they meet up with Billy and get to the hotel only to find the hotel is still being renovated as they squabble over who was supposed to make the reservation. They go to the casino, to the bar, to the pool and manage to obtain a room for the rest of the weekend until the wedding. While there, they meet a beautiful lounge singer Diana (Mary Steenburgen) who Paddy seems to instantly fall for, and Billy is not far behind. This brings up a similar love triangle from their childhood where they both liked the same girl. This ultimately resulted in their riff between each other. This plays out, though, through comedy and a touching gesture that turns their friendship around.

Jon Turteltaub directed the film written by Dan Fogelman who created likeable characters and an enjoyable story with humor, love, and sentiment. The film ran for 1 hour 45 minutes, which seemed a tad long to tell the story, but the story was good and the pace seemed to flow. However, one problem of the film’s story was when the guys meet Dean (Jerry Ferrara), a seemingly obnoxious 20-something and that whole line in the story just didn’t seem to satisfactorily play out. There were a couple of decent moments with the character, but it just didn’t seem to fit in as well with the rest of the film.

De Niro, Freeman, Douglas, and Kline all turned in fine performances, as did the supporting cast. It wasn’t stellar. But it didn’t have to be. It was a very enjoyable film. And now it seems there is a sequel in the works with an unknown release date. Time will tell if it will be as enjoyable and satisfying as this first go around.

 

 

kellym40 film review

‘The Lego Movie’ snaps together, brings fun entertainment

Rating 4/5

When I first saw the previews for The Lego Movie, I wasn’t sure what to think. Of course, it seems like there has been a run of success with Lego video games base on films like Star Wars, so why not have a film like this. I was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly entertained. With the success of this film, another film – the Lego Batman Movie – comes to theaters next year.

I remember playing with my Legos often as a child. I had a series of the Lego spaceships and spacemen. I fondly remember my brother attaching firecrackers to the Lego men. For the longest time, I had several with no hands and burnt bodies.

But I digress. The Lego Movie is a wonderfully crafted piece of animation. The film’s story introduces us to Emmet (Chris Pratt), an average guy who is happy with his life (oh, and by the way he is in construction). He is happy to follow the instructions for living implemented by President Business (Will Ferrell). Soon he meets a fiery adventurer called Wyldstyle (Elizabeth Banks) who lets Emmet in a prophecy stating that a hero will rise up to save the people from President Business’ evil plans of using a weapon of mass destruction known as the Kragle.

As Emmet is seemingly mistaken to be the hero, he is introduced to Virtruvius (Morgan Freeman) and Emmet then becomes aware of President Business’ plan. Virtruvius tries to instill the belief that Emmet can be the hero they need in order to stop the dastardly plan. Along the way, Emmet is introduced the team of Master Builders comprised of a 1980’s Spaceman Benny (Charlie Day), (the exact kind that my brother so eloquently blew up), the pirate Metal Beard (Nick Offerman), Batman (Will Arnett) and others that include a few known heroes from the DC Universe.

Writers/directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller masterfully penned a script that has fun, action, and humor, with just the right amount of sentiment to make these characters fully “animated” with life. I found the film’s theme song, “Everything is Awesome,” was a catchy, entertaining song and added to the fun of the film (and was Oscar nominated). The film was a fun, colorful spectacle of imagination brought to life on the screen. Everything seemed to click in this film, from the dialogue and characters to the story and visual effects. With heart, The Lego Movie also showed the idea of working together (despite differences) and accomplishing great things. It taught us to believe in one self; dream big, and that we can be a part of something awesome. The Lego Movie is charming, fun, and very entertaining.