Prime Time: Another Simple Favor (2025)

The simple addition of one word to give the title of this sequel could be seen as a relatively amusing and clever bit of work. Or it could be seen as unimaginative and lazy. Considering the film itself, I am going to go with the latter option.

I enjoyed A Simple Favour when I caught up with it about six years ago. The leads did good work, and it was a pleasant distraction. I have never spent any time since wishing that it had a sequel though. But it seems that director Paul Feig wanted an excuse to spend more time with the characters played by Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively, which explains why writers Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis came up with this load of nonsense. 

Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) is trying to boost her book sales and stay relevant, which makes a surprise reappearance by Emily Nelson (Lively) both a blessing and a curse. Emily is out of prison on appeal, which means she can go gallivanting around Italy as she prepares to marry Dante Versano (Michele Morrone). For reasons that never quite make sense, Emily wants Stephanie to be a major part of her wedding, which allows both ladies to be put in danger when people start dying.

Lively is the star draw here, revelling in her callous and bitchy persona (even if the first half of the film seems to think it will be hilarious and shocking to have her overusing the word c**t), but it's always good to see Kendrick able to give some shading to her perky and sparkly onscreen persona. Alex Newell is fun as an eager agent, Henry Golding returns to the role of Sean Townsend, but with much more alcohol and bitterness added this time around, and there are a few decent moments for Allison Janney and Elizabeth Perkins. Morrone isn't great though, which is in line with most of his acting performances, and both Taylor Ortega and Elena Sofia Ricci feel sorely wasted. I could mention one or two others, but why bother putting more effort into this review than seems to have been put into crafting the narrative of the film?

Look, it's sometimes hard to really explain the full range of reactions to a movie. I thought that Another Simple Favor was pretty rubbish. It never made sense, it never had any actual tension, and there were too few laughs scattered throughout the screenplay. I wouldn't ever choose to rewatch this. BUT, mainly thanks to Kendrick and Lively, I still kind of enjoyed some of it. Despite the awful plotting, despite the fairly flat direction from Feig, there was some fun to be had here. Not much, but enough to save me from feeling pained.

I'm sure everyone enjoyed spending some time in Italy, and I hope they all enjoyed each other's company, but it doesn't translate to any more fun for viewers. Some of the scenery is nice. It starts to look less nice when blocked by unfolding events that are as irritating as they are illogical. 

You might end up liking this more than I did, despite me somehow still ending up not judging it too harshly (and, trust me, this is me not being harsh), but I would suggest that you do yourself a favour and just pick something else to watch ahead of this.

4/10

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Prime Time: The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)

I believe I have said this before, and probably quite recently, but Guy Ritchie has moved into a phase of his career where he seems quite accomplished at delivering what can be commonly referred to as "dad films". There's often a central mission at the heart of things, a band of talented individuals are thrown together, and The Ministry Of Gentlemanly Warfare also presents things in the setting of WWII, which immediately calls to mind films like The Dirty Dozen and The Wild Geese, two titles it is definitely happy to sit alongside.

Things are tough, with the German forces looking set to retain the upper hand in the war due to their dominance of the sea, thanks to their many U-boats. It would be good if the U-boats could be taken out of the equation, or at least minimalized, but that's unlikely. The big ship that supplies the U-boats, however, could be a viable target, although it's docked in a harbour that cannot be the target of an officially-sanctioned military mission. But if a team could be assembled and convinced to do something that wasn't official . . . that could be a good chance to strike a blow against the Nazis. Which is why we end up spending a lot of time in the company of Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza González, Babs Olusanmokun, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Henry Golding.

Working this time with writers Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson, and Arash Amel, and helping to adapt the book by Damien Lewis, Ritchie cannot really be faulted here for taking the bones of a true story and using it as a frame upon which to hang some enjoyable tension and violence. While it's another Ritchie movie that doesn't really feel like it's full of his style, the argument can be made nowadays that he's simply showing one or more strings that he's added to his bow. Not that any of this is a radical departure, especially in the scenes that have the characters engaging in witty banter with one another as bullets and shells fly around them, but the period setting and the tally-ho spirit of the whole thing helps it to feel a step removed from many other Ritchie films.

Cavill is having a whale of a time, portraying the fearless leader of this merry band of killers with a fine swagger and a readiness to often let out a hearty laugh. Ritchson is savage, killing off people with knives, arrows, and, in one memorable sequence, a fire-axe, and he is also always ready to grin and chuckle while turning his foes into corpses. Eiza González and Babs Olusanmokun are eminently watchable as they work on the ongoing intelligence side of the operation, keeping themselves close to the open jaws of the lion (personified by Heinrich Luhr, played brilliantly by Til Schweiger) in a way that nicely builds the tension in between the scenes of fighting and Nazi bloodshed. While Tiffin, Pettyfer, and Golding are slightly sidelined, they each get at least one moment to make a solid impression, and that also leaves room for enjoyable supporting turns from Danny Sapani, Cary Elwes, Freddie Fox, and Rory Kinnear (the latter two portraying Ian Fleming and Winston Churchill, respectively).

The performances are all good, the music by Christopher Benstead has some key pieces that are fantastic, and the overall look and design of the film makes it feel as if a decent budget has been well-used by everyone involved. This aims to entertain, and it succeeds. It's a bit uneven, especially when the third act fully kicks in, and the action becomes less interesting as it grows in scale, but there are enough great individual moments to satisfy viewers who are prepared for a standard "men on a mission" adventure

Considering that we live in a world where you can now get your social media content flagged for being "inappropriate" or "hatespeech" when you remind people that it's always moral and justifiable to punch a Nazi, The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare gains a lot of goodwill for unapologetically keeping us onside with characters who want to do just that. Sometimes you may sigh as you watch the news headlines recently, and this might be just what you need to remind you that good people are still out there, willing to get their hands dirty in any battles they need to win to keep themselves on the right side of history. Of course, I know that "the right side of history" is a very subjective thing, but not so much when you're talking about those who helped defeat Hitler and co. in WWII.

7/10

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Snake Eyes (2021)

AKA Snake Eyes: G. I. Joe Origins.

Directed by Robert Schwentke, who very possibly thinks it a minor miracle every time he is handed another film project, and written by Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse, and Evan Spiliotopoulos (the first two having worked together on many films before this one), Snake Eyes isn't a film with many signs of greatness from the list of names who worked on it. But it's a lead role for Henry Golding, and another film giving some screentime to Samara Weaving, so I decided to give it a go. 

It's not good.

It's not really that bad either. It's just there, not as much fun as the first live action G.I. Joe movie, but a bit better than the second one (which was weighed down by the presence of a somnambulistic Bruce Willis, who actually appears in dictionaries now right beside the definition of somnambulism). Annoyingly, this had potential. Some key characters are cast well, others not so much, and I'd love to see Golding get a vehicle that takes him to the superstar level he deserves. This isn't that.

Golding plays Snake Eyes, of course, a young man out to avenge the death of his father. He'll do anything to find his father's killer, and that journey places him alongside a powerful clan that includes Tommy (Andrew Koji), Akiko (Haruka Abe), Sen (Eri Ishida), and a powerful jewel which is desired by the dangerous Kenta (Takehiro Hira). Snake Eyes is tested a number of times, in challenges that involve characters played by Iko Uwais and Peter Mensah, and the second half of the film also brings in familiar characters such as the Baroness (Úrsula Corberó) and Scarlett (Samara Weaving).

There’s some stuff to like here. Golding being the main highlight, but also Abe, Ishida, Uwais, and Weaving. That’s a good selection of players. Unfortunately, they are alongside Koji, who drags down almost every scene he is in, saddled with a character who has to do little more than look brooding and wait to take on the name that fans of this property will know is coming. 

The action isn’t terribly done, but you wouldn’t always know that when the editing gets in the way of it. Whether out of necessity, to cover up some limitations from cast members, or due to a misjudged idea of stylisation, the editing gets in the way of most of the energetic set-pieces. It is far from the worst we have seen in this kind of fare, but this material was crying out for more fixed camera shots that could highlight the fluidity and speed of the fighters. 

The other disappointing main element here is the lack of wit. People may not want their action films to be overfilled with humour, but being too serious throughout feels just as bad, especially when you’re presenting a film developed from a toy line. The only person who gets to really have fun is Weaving, which then makes it feel as if she has wandered in from another movie. 

I know that I will end up watching this again, and probably owning it at some point, but that is more to do with my completist approach to movies. I wouldn’t really recommend it to many other people though, unless you are as big a fan of Golding as I am (which you should be). Maybe next time he will get a better script, or better director, or maybe he needs a better agent.

6/10

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The Gentlemen (2020)

I absolutely understand that Guy Ritchie movies aren't necessarily designed for anyone other than Guy Ritchie fans (and I'm not talking about his studio work here, I am talking about GUY RITCHIE movies), and I also absolutely understand that another crime comedy from him will be about as appealing as a smack on the back of the head from an irate Jason Statham, but The Gentlemen actually ends up being a lot of fun. Ritchie is confident enough in his own abilities, and he seems to relish the chance to get down 'n' dirty with a great cast who will help him create his most blatant homage yet to The Long Good Friday.

Matthew McConaughey is Mickey Pearson, the mastermind behind a superbly profitable drug business. It's pot he sells though, which means we can still view him as a good guy compared to other criminal types onscreen. Charlie Hunnam is Ray, Mickey's trusted right hand man. Mickey wants to retire, which sets off a twisted and violent chain of events as people try to nominate themselves as worthy successors. The prime buyer would seem to be a savvy businessman named Matthew (Jeremy Strong), but Dry Eye (Henry Golding) is an up-and-coming boss/thug who wants to get a big piece of the pie. We learn all of this through a lengthy conversation between Ray and a bloodhound journalist named Fletcher (Hugh Grant).

The Gentlemen is a film that does everything well, and is elevated by the cast. From those just mentioned, the only performer I didn't really enjoy was Strong, who delivers a performance that feels just a bit too weak and lacking in confidence for his character (despite his character being the kind of brain who outsources to brawn).McConaughey is his usual cool self, and very laid-back until he has to pounce on someone, Hunnam is the best I have seen him be, Golding is enjoyable in a role that thankfully doesn't have him yet again showing all of us men up as inferior and unromantic souls, and Grant has an absolute ball playing the kind of unscrupulous journo he has often publicly berated while working in support of Hacked Off, a campaign group set up to hold members of the tabloid press to account over their illegal tactics of phone hacking to gain private information that would provide them with juicy tabloid gossip. Michelle Dockery is a fitting queen to McConaughey's king, Eddie Marsan has fun in a small role that leads to a punchline both hilarious and appalling, and Colin Farrell once again proves that he can be relied upon to do his best work when not constrained by the packaging of a mainstream star vehicle.

There are only two main problems, and they're problems you find in most Ritchie movies (although I hadn't realised it before). First of all, every character feels like a character written by Ritchie. Nobody has their own voice here, although Grant almost overcomes this with the strength of his performance. Secondly, the large selection of characters inevitably delivers some that you wish weren't given much screentime (in this case it's a bunch of amateur criminals who upload their exploits to YouTube).

Those with sensitive ears will want to give this a miss, because the word "cunt" is bandied about more than it would be at a Christmas night out with a bunch of gynaecologists, and those who prefer their tales of crooks and crime to be told in a more straightforward fashion may also be a bit peeved, especially during the indulgent moments that allow for some playful unreliable narration from Grant's character. Everyone else should have a great time.

8/10

Yule Love It: Last Christmas (2019)

It's an odd thing to make a movie out of, right? George Michael songs? And using a cheesy Wham hit to inspire the whole thing? It's weird. But we're kind of living in peak weird. Okay, that's not true, I don't want to tempt fate here, but we certainly seem to be living in a time that rewards strange films that seem ripe for dismissal, yet build up an appreciative and loyal fanbase. I'd point towards the likes of the Mamma Mia! movies, The Greatest Showman, and Bohemian Rhapsody as prime examples. Although not all musicals, the music used is a vital part of their appeal.

Emilia Clarke plays Kate, a young woman who seems to spend her time being selfish and making one bad decision after another. That's when she's not spending her time being elfish, due to working in a Christmas store, run by a woman who goes by the name of Santa (Michelle Yeoh). Kate wants to fulfil her dream of being a great singer, and she cares more about her auditions than anything else, including her concerned mother (Emma Thompson). But she also finds herself caring for a handsome, quirky, stranger named Tom (Henry Golding). Tom might just be the person to help her start living her life again without flying off the rails, and it could all work out well just in time for Christmas.

Directed by Paul Feig, the big draw here is the script, co-written by Emma Thompson and Byrony Kimmings (based on the story by Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise). I've enjoyed all of Feig's movies over the past decade, don't get me wrong, but I forgot that he was the director here until I saw his name in the opening credits. That's because, for me, I developed blinkers when I heard of Thompson's involvement, and just immediately figured this would be more interesting for her involvement. And it is.

It's also lifted by the involvement of the other three leads. I couldn't be happier to finally see a movie role for Emilia Clarke which finally lets her be as likeable as she so often is offscreen. I may have missed some others, considering I've only seen her sci-fi blockbusters (so that is on me), but I had a fear that Clarke would languish for a while after Game Of Thrones finished, before finally fading into obscurity. That looks less likely now, and rightly so. Clarke is able to keep you on her side even as she moves from one mistake/bad decision to the next, and the third act rewards viewers for sticking with her, of course. Yeoh and Golding will continue to win over fans who enjoyed their performances in Crazy Rich Asians. Yeoh is a lot of fun as the tough, but soft-centred, boss, and Golding will put every guy in the shade with his positive attitude and romantic gestures. He may have to play things a bit too quirky at times (I saw someone mention, rightly, that he's the male version of the "manic pixie girl" rom-com trope) but he's also able to take a breath and take a moment with Clarke whenever things need to settle into something a bit more serious. Thompson gives herself an accent (the family moved to the UK from the former Yugoslavia when Kate was young), and also gives herself a couple of the best lines, while Lydia Leonard does well with the hard role of the sister who is fed up with her sibling being able to get away with whatever she likes. Boris Isakovic does just as well, playing Kate's father, saying enough with what he doesn't add to conversations that have people reminding others of what he gave up to settle his family in the UK.

Feig directs capably enough, having shown with both this and A Simple Favour that he's moved away slightly from presenting every film as a box-ticking "Paul Feig film". And, despite his vocal critics, he often seems to know what will please audiences. He has faith (no pun intended) in the material, which pays off for anyone wanting to snuggle up and watch something fairly cosy and predictable.

What Last Christmas gets right is all of the stuff that some will hate. The Christmassy cheer, the cheesy love story, the collection of characters that feel like they're all waiting for their own spin-off sit-com, the mix of jokes ranging from sweet to just rude enough to prompt a guffaw from your eternally-well-manicured Aunt Helen. But it's not without some wrong choices, in my opinion. There's an indirect, and direct, positioning of the movie just around the time of the Brexit referendum. Part of me understands what it adds to the texture of the story, part of me thinks the film could have done without it (or could have done something with it without making it SO focused on the actual referendum result itself). The other wrong choice . . . well, it's the use of George Michael songs. Fans of the singer will be delighted, and I know that is part of the crossover appeal here, but the soundtrack felt like every song choice was shoehorned in there, just to ensure that fans heard his voice every five minutes. I love the way the titular song is used, I just didn't think the rest worked that well, with one notable exception that had me hiding my watery eyes.

Last Christmas is good. It's solid seasonal fare, and a delightful rom-com. But if they had set it in the late '80s or early '90s, had Kate trying to make something successful out of a pipe dream, and perhaps ended at some big concert event, it could have been a bit better. You could have still had the moments of xenophobia, you would have had more reason to use all of the featured songs, and the ending could be very similar. But that is why I write movie reviews and not movies.

7/10

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Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Crazy Rich Asians is a bright and fun romantic comedy, made into something that feels a bit different from so many others thanks to the cultural caricatures and lavish displays of wealth. Both of these things could put off anyone looking for reasons to be put off, but they work well in service of the actual focus of the movie, which is a very standard tale of love, family, and identity.

Constance Wu plays Rachel, a young woman who is about to accompany her boyfriend (Nick, played by Henry Golding) to a wedding that will allow her to finally meet his family. What she doesn't realise is that Nick is part of a ridiculously wealthy family. We're talking "let's just buy the island" kind of money. Hoping to make a good impression, Rachel soon realises that she doesn't have a fan in Nick's mother (Eleanor, played by Michelle Yeoh).

This could have been a much more unpleasant movie to watch if everyone had been snotty and quick to look down at those who don't have a gazillion pounds in their bank account, which is why the script from Peter Ciarelli and Adele Lim (adapting the novel by Kevin Kwan) is commendable for offering such an enjoyable array of characters. There are plenty who enjoy their wealth, some who prize it above everything else, and some who couldn't care less about it. Of course, it's easy to say you don't care less about wealth when you have it, which is why Rachel is the constant we root for in the busy series of gatherings, parties, shopping, and general socialising. Things are also helped along by a prologue that shows part of why this very rich family may have such an ingrained desire to keep hold of their position in society.

Wu and Golding are a solid central couple. The film focuses on the former, of course, but Golding isn't shown as a complete pushover. He's a nice guy who doesn't want his wealth to affect the woman he loves, and the film keeps him around long enough to remind viewers that he's exactly how he puts himself across. We never have doubts about Wu, or the integrity of her character, so making time for Golding is equally important here, underlining the fact that the main obstacle in this particular romantic adventure is the close family, the matriarch driven by self-preservation and a misplaced notion of what is best for her son. Yeoh is excellent in her role, easy to dislike while also easy to grudgingly admire. Everything she does is for her family, even if that doesn't mean things are going perfectly in the lives of her children. Gemma Chan is quite lovely as Astrid, Nick's sister and a shining example of how to act while representing the public face of the family (despite personal difficulties), and there are laughs to be had in most scenes that involve Awkwafina (playing Rachel's friend, Peik Lin Got) and Ken Jeong.

Director John M. Chu does a great job, crafting a layered film that provides plenty to think over while it also provides simple entertainment. The subgenre tropes may be hidden under a different coating but they're all there, nonetheless, and Chu makes sure to tick them off the checklist. He also takes the script and embellishes the dialogue with relevant mise-en-scènes, great work that peaks in a third act scene showing an important game of Mahjong between two central characters.

Everything is topped off by a soundtrack full of great cover tunes, plenty of moments that will have people daydreaming about what they would do if they ever had their own overstuffed bank accounts, and a standard rom-com finale that proves to be as satisfying as expected.

8/10

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Americans can buy it here.

A Simple Favour (2018)

After a string of hit comedies that ended with his take on Ghostbusters (which I liked anyway, even if it failed to live up to its potential), director Paul Feig has returned with something a bit different. It's still in the realm of comedy, but it's a different kind of comedy, and it's mixed into a plot that is decidely . . . well . . . Hitchcockian. And very enjoyable it is too.

Anna Kendrick plays another typical Kendrick role, a single mother named Stephanie who spends her time vlogging, looking after her children, and trying to sign her name up for every school project that requires volunteers. The other parents seem to gently mock her, from a slight distance, but her hyper-busy and efficient lifestyle eventually leads to her meeting Emily Nelson (Blake Livey), a successful married mother who isn't adverse to using foul language and taking a very relaxed approach to home-made happy hours. But the new friendship is not due to last long, mainly due to the sudden disappearance of Emily. Stephanie starts trying to find out exactly what is going on, and uncovers some truths that prove that she probably didn't really know anything about the woman she quickly became firm friends with.

Based on a novel by Darcey Bell, A Simple Favour is a slick film that could have easily gone so wrong. Keep piling on the jokes and you remove any intrigue in the actual mystery, make the mystery too dense and you threaten to lose those who have been enticed by the glossy, easygoing, opening act.  Thankfully, Jessica Scharzer's script deftly balances those two different main aspects, helped immensely by the central performances.

Kendrick is as easy to like as she usually is, but she's almost overshadowed by a ridiculously fun turn from Lively, wonderfully droll, sharp, and giving not one care about anyone other than herself. I did say almost, and the film allows each of the leads to make the most of some great moments. Henry Golding is the other main adult character, Emily's husband (Sean aka prime suspect #1), there's an all-too-short bit of screentime for Linda Cardellini, and the child actors all do well enough.

Strangely enough, despite the sterling work of the writers and the stars, it's hard to take credit away from Feig. He may not have a signature style, or even much style at all, but he's skilled enough to work on this without messing it all up. Much like the script, the direction could have easily unbalanced this. Considering the material that Feig has previously seemed most comfortable with, his ability to stop himself from breaking something that didn't need fixed is admirable.

If Nancy Drew ever became friends with Patsy or Edina from Absolutely Fabulous then the end result would be very similar. And if you like the sound of that then you're bound to enjoy this.

7/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.