Showing posts with label isla fisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label isla fisher. Show all posts

Wednesday, 25 February 2026

Prime Time: Playdate (2025)

Another week, another action comedy movie made specifically for a streaming service. While the action comedy would seem like an easy enough thing to get right, the many lesser examples that have appeared over the past few years prove just how hard it can be. Playdate is another one that doesn't work. In fact, I would say it's almost a complete failure, with very few decent laughs and not enough competent action.

Kevin James plays Brian, stepfather to Lucas (Benjamin Pajak). Trying the usual father-son bonding activities that he knows, which seems to amount to playing catch and trying to present himself as some kind of shining example of manly strenth and reliability, Brian finds himself slightly at a loss as Lucas prefers more artistic activities, such as choreographed dance routines. While at a local park, Brian and Lucas encounter Jeff (Alan Ritchson) and his son, CJ (Banks Pierce). They seem to be the exact opposites of Brian and Lucas, but Jeff immediately claims Brian as a new BFF, which leads to all four of our main characters dragged into a situation that involves a secret science facility, a load of mercs, and one or two completely unsurprising revelations about Jeff and CJ.

This is easily the worst film that I've seen from director Luke Greenfield, and that is saying something, especially when you consider that his first feature was The Animal. As has happened many times before, he's a director who has too much faith in his writer, Neil Goldman, and his leads. Goldman, having done some great work on TV shows over the years, completely misses the mark here, although I have to wonder if he was trying to craft something around two stars who just weren't a good fit for this.

James does what James usually does, which makes him the less problematic of the two leads. It's Ritchson who never feels quite right in his role, forced to make his character silly and over the top in a way that drags down the whole film. Obviously aiming to emulate the kind of mismatched pairing that worked so well for the likes of Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, especially with the latter being quirky and daft in Central Intelligence, nobody seems to have figured out that you need to find a way to still show some heart and humanity if you want viewers to root for your leads. Both Pajak and Pierce are much better, enjoyably contrasting against one another, but also managing to become fast friends in a way that is believable and sweet, just because of them being kids . . . and that is what kids do. Sarah Chalke gets screentime that adds up to about a minute, Alan Tudyk likewise, and there are mildly amusing moments for Isla Fisher, Stephen Root, and Paul Walter Hauser.

I may have chuckled once or twice, maybe (the memory is already hazy as my brain tries to protect me from the pain). I enjoyed some of the fight choreography. That's about all I can say. James was on auto-pilot, Ritchson sorely misjudged his approach to the material, and I spent most of the runtime (which was, thankfully, just about the 90-minute mark) wishing for it to just end. 

3/10

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Sunday, 29 June 2025

Netflix And Chill: Strays (2023)

A comedy so memorable that I actually watched it about a year ago and couldn't bring myself, at that time, to write a full review for it, Strays is a fun concept that I'm sure will amuse many. It didn't work for me though, at least not as well as I hoped it would.

Will Ferrell voices Reggie, a cute little dog who finds himself a stray when he's abandoned by his loser of a human owner, Doug (Will Forte). Reggie soon meets Bug (Jamie Foxx), Maggie (Isla Fisher), and Hunter (Randall Park), other strays who help him adapt to life on the streets. It takes him some time to realise just how awful his owner was though, but eventually he gains some clarity. That's when he comes up with a plan to get home and, well, bite Doug's dick off.

If you like some of the cast members here then you're bound to find a few laughs. Will Ferrell plays Reggie with the kind of comedic innocence that he's done before, and it works well. Foxx is tough, but a very good friend, while Fisher and Park grow close to one another in a way that is obvious to everyone but themselves. Other voices come from Rob Riggle, Josh Gad, Sofia Vergara, Jamie Demetriou, Jimmy Tatro, and a few other fun performers. Forte is enjoyably loathsome, making his apparent destiny something that viewers will really look forward to, and there's a random and very amusing cameo from Dennis Quaid just being a version of Dennis Quaid.

Writer Dan Perrault throws in a lot of obvious gags (things revolving around peeing, pooping, or humping whatever looks humpable), and there's an entertaining sequence that has the dogs tripping after eating the wrong kind of mushrooms, but I will give him kudos for committing to a couple of the darker punchlines in ways that were slightly unexpected.

Josh Greenbaum has about three features under his belt by now. This is the least of them. While not inept or absolutely awful, it's disappointingly . . . basic. That might be down to the fact that this was done in live-action, because it would be a much better fit for some kind of animation, but it's also obvious that Greenbaum consistently makes the most obvious and uninspired choices for source material that is middling, at best.

I laughed a few times, and I was grossed out by one sequence that led to an inevitable poop-centric set-piece, but, overall, this feels like a film made about 30-40 years too late. Oh, dogs pee on things to claim them, hahaha, dogs hump lots of things, hehehe, dogs do poop a lot sometimes, hohoho. If you're going to fill your film with old standards then you need to find new or interesting ways to frame them. This doesn't.

4/10

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Thursday, 6 April 2023

The Great Gatsby (2013)

It feels like a lose-lose situation when it comes to adapting The Great Gatsby into film form. Often in the conversation when people are considering the “great American novel”, it’s a fantastic tale that means many different things to many different people. I have read it, amazingly enough, and what I remembered most about it was the feeling of ennui and boredom that seems to cover the central characters like an umbrella, underlining the idea that money can’t buy happiness. There’s also a commentary on permitted behaviours in different social classes, and the fluidity of Gatsby’s personal history, a story people keep gossiping about, feels very much about the bemusement of those who have always had money and wealth reacting to someone new to their particularly privileged strata.

While the story is interesting, it’s also one that superficially appears to be one long sequence of parties that go on for a bit too long. Thinking back on The Great Gatsby, I think of those parties. I think of a feeling of haziness, that moment in between pure joy and paranoia, when the time seems too early to leave but you already know you have stayed up too late. You’re going to be in trouble the next day, but that doesn’t matter right now. Right now is all about the music and dancing and good company.

So who better to convey that feeling than Baz Luhrmann, the master of the numerous loud and brash cinematic equivalents of a party megamix? 

Leonardo DiCaprio is Gatsby, the enigmatic figure who changes the life of Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). Their relationship is the heart of the film, although Gatsby has a yearning for Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan), who is already married to the rich, but unrefined, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), and tension builds between all four characters as the story hurtles towards a finale that may change the lives of everyone forever. Or may prove merely a small bump in the road for those who can speed away from their problems in a fancy sports car.

Adapting F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work for the big screen, writer Craig Pearce and Luhrmann (who have collaborated on almost every other film that Luhrmann has directed) allow themselves plenty of time to unsurprisingly lead viewers into a world of indulgence and excess. That really is Luhrmann’s M.O. A lot of The Great Gatsby is as stylish and beautiful as you would expect from a film set in the 1920s, but Pearce and Luhrmann both do a great job of letting viewers sense something unpleasant beneath the polished veneer. It’s a grand hotel suite, full of flowers and pleasant scents, but one with a decomposing body hidden under the floorboards.

Maguire and DiCaprio are perfectly cast, with the former acting wide-eyes and easily manipulated by those around him while the latter simply embodies what you think absolute charm and charisma wrapped immaculate clothing should look like. Mulligan and Edgerton aren’t as natural a fit in their roles, but both do well, and it’s always believable enough when Mulligan plays someone beloved by those around her (she has had amazing screen presence in every single role of her career). Jason Clarke and Isla Fisher do decent work in their roles, but the real star amongst the supporting cast is Elizabeth Debicki, who I wanted to see much more of. Debicki feels the most at ease in the trappings of the time period, and her character sits nicely in between the extremes of the other personalities in her circle of friends.

I haven’t seen any of the other film versions of The Great Gatsby (I THINK there are about 4 or 5), but it’s hard to imagine them rivalling this. As usual, Luhrmann creates a complete audio and visual blend that both bombards and immerses viewers. He directs his movies like he’s presenting a magic show, plenty of misdirection and distraction delivering straightforward fun in between the moments that show what he was really up to all along.

This may not be one of THE great American films, but it’s a damn fine adaptation of the source material. And it’s a damn fine film. I recommend it to everyone. If you don’t enjoy it then all I can do is apologise, old sport.

Note - I HIGHLY recommend seeing this in 3D if you can. I have the 3D Blu-ray and it was even more brilliant and bedazzling than expected. Although, knowing Luhrmann, I should have known he would have a blast with that format.

8/10

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Friday, 23 July 2021

Greed (2019)

Another collaboration between writer-director Michael Winterbottom, also helped here by Sean Gray, and star Steve Coogan, Greed is a fictionalised look at the life of someone not a million miles away from high street business mogul Philip Green. While it is not up there with their best work (24 Hour Party People is a tough one to beat), Greed is a smart and funny way to deride the rules and tricks in place to allow capitalism to thrive, as well as a comment on the high cost of cheap “fast fashion”.

Coogan plays Sir Richard “Greedy” McCreadie, a businessman looking to have a memorable birthday party for his upcoming 60th. He wants famous guests in attendance, an extravagant Roman theme, and time with the slightly awkward journalist (played by David Mitchell) who has been hired to write his memoir. Unfortunately, the planned celebrations are soured by the fact that Sir Richard seems to be losing his popularity, due to being hauled in front of some politicians to answer questions about his business practices, and the Greek beach party setting being made into a temporary home by some Syrian refugees.

Showing key points in the life of someone who decided early on that money was the best idol to worship, Greed uses a non-linear structure to highlight the ways in which bad behaviour are rewarded by those who can strong-arm their way further and further up the business ladder. Negotiations shown here aren’t subtle and considerate of the various supplier issues, but rather the bullish haggling of someone who believes all that matters is getting stock for their shops at the lowest possible price.

Coogan delivers a great performance, defined by his tan and shiny teeth, and equally defined by his need to overcompensate after dragging himself to a position of great power and wealth. Shirley Henderson, not very far removed from Coogan in age, plays his mother, and does an excellent job of showing the attitude and strength that would be passed along to her son, just as some of those values are then passed along to the next generation (with Asa Butterfield getting the best moments in that regard). Mitchell is perfectly cast, Isla Fisher is a lot of fun as McCreadie’s ex-wife, who stays a good friend to him, and Dinita Gohil is the embodiment of someone with a life affected by the repercussions of the immorality of such rampant capitalism. 

The script is solid, although it definitely allows Coogan to stay within a comfort zone of playing someone full of arrogance (so I am not sure how much was on the page and how much, as usual, was brought to life by allowing Coogan to improvise), and Winterbottom does his best to fill every scene with little moments that show how ridiculous people are when they consistently need to show off wealth that they have spent their entire lives pursuing.

You may not enjoy the film at times, which just proves that you are not as slavishly worshiping at the altar of capitalism as the main character, but it is definitely worth your time, and some information provided at the very end of the film allows for viewers to ponder what they might do differently in an effort to try and make the world just a slightly better place for people who are trapped in poverty. No matter what the rich and powerful tell us, trickle down economics just keeps seeming to trickle up, and Greed illustrates that perfectly.

8/10

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Friday, 15 January 2021

Godmothered (2020)

Crashing through from the fairytale world to the harsher realities of our own world is a seam that has been mined by Disney before, most notably with the very enjoyable Enchanted. And if you liked that movie then you should like this one. It's very similar.

Jillian Bell plays Eleanor, a fairy godmother in her training years. Unfortunately, by the time/if she ever qualifies, it may all be too late. People don't seem to need fairy godmothers any more. Nobody is getting their "happy ever after". Eleanor decides to change things by making things right for a young girl named Mackenzie, after finding her letter in the archives. That letter, however, was written some time ago, and Mackenzie (Isla Fisher) is now a stressed-out single mother, working for a news station that seems determined to gain ratings by focusing on negative stories and fear-mongering. Mackenzie seems to have accepted that she's not going to have a "happy ever after", but she may also be holding back her daughters, Mia (Willa Skye) and Jane (Jillian Shea Spaeder).

Your enjoyment of Godmothered will depend on a number of factors, not least of which is how much you warm to Jillian Bell in her main role. I tend to find Bell very hit and miss, depending on how irritating her character is supposed to be (and she tends to be given irritating characters in many of her films), but she's a lot of fun as the trainee with more enthusiasm than natural talent, doing her best to get results without the full skillset that some others have. You also have to accept the predictability of it all, the weak mix of characters, and the sweetness of the big main lesson. Having said that, you usually have to accept those things with most Disney movies, so it's no major inconvenience if you know the kind of film you're about to watch.

Although the script by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack doesn't take any chances, director Sharon Maguire keeps everything moving along nicely enough, and staves off boredom with some smaller-scale set-pieces (be it Mackenzie being inconvenienced by a huge ballgown that has magically appeared on her or a race-against-the-clock finale that relies on Eleanor finally perfecting one or two of the traditional spells).

Bell and Fisher have fun together, Spaeder and Skye are just fine, Santiago Cabrera is a prospective "prince", literally named Hugh Prince, and Utkarsh Ambudkar provides some laughs as the boss who thinks bad news = ratings. June Squibb is a delight as Agnes, the fairy godmother who narrates the tale, and Jane Curtin is the strict head of the fairy godmothers who ends up racing to stop Eleanor making what she assumes will be a big mess of things.

Light and enjoyable from start to finish, the biggest thing going against Godmothered is that, while it wanders through some very similar terrain, it isn't Enchanted. That's no reason to criticise this movie too harshly though. One Disney movie being very similar to another Disney movie is hardly anything new. It's often part of the appeal.

6/10

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Friday, 15 February 2019

Tag (2018)

Based on a true story, to a degree, Tag is a comedy all about a group of friends who have tried to stay young at heart by competing in an ongoing game of, as you may have guessed, Tag. It happens every year, throughout the month of May. That last one who is tagged as "it" is the person who has to spend a whole year knowing that they were the loser. One member of the team (Jerry, played by Jeremy Renner) has never been tagged, but this is the year when that changes. It's also the year of his wedding.

Marking the feature directorial debut of Jeff Tomsic,  Tag is about as middling as mainstream comedies get. I'm not going to deny that I laughed a few times, which is a few times more than I expected to, but a lot of the humour here comes from the cast, who elevate the fairly weak script by Rob McKittrick and Mark Steilen.

Renner is a lot of fun here, his ultra-serious approach to covering all of the bases to avoid being tagged a highlight of the film, and the rest of the team do well. Ed Helms is the one who seems to have things planned out best, Jon Hamm looks to be a viable threat at times, Jake Johnson is in unfocused stoner mode, and Hannibal Buress amuses with a number of timely, but unhelpful, observations. Isla Fisher is very good, playing the wife of the character played by Helms, her intensity turned all the way up to 11 for many of her scenes, Leslie Bibb isn't bad as the bride-to-be, and Annabelle Wallis follows the group to get an unexpected story for her newspaper, the Wall Street Journal. Rashida Jones is always a welcome presence, but she's shoehorned in here as a distraction for two of the main male characters, and subsequently given nothing decent to work with.

I'm surprised that we don't get a selection of upbeat pop hits but, otherwise, this ticks all of the expected boxes. You get flashbacks to the characters playing the game as kids, you get a number of tag-related set-pieces, there are some underhand tactics, and you also get a secret revealed towards the back end that is supposed to underline everything with some additional emotion and poignancy (although it doesn't). Fisher aside, the women onscreen are mostly sidelined by the men running after one another and being big kids, and it's all presented as a wonderful way in which friends stay bonded over the years and hang on to their youth.

It's a shame that this is so mediocre throughout, but then it's also hard to see how it could have been anything more than that. How, after all, do you flesh out a film that is based around such a silly, and lightweight, concept? Maybe you decide that it's not really film-worthy and move on to something better instead.

Some may, of course, like this more than I did. Many may liked it even less. Aside from the lack of major laughs, I just found myself often watching the carnage onscreen and wondering just why these people were being celebrated for being selfish men-babies who didn't care about the damage they were causing to bystanders and property as they raced to tag one another. That may just be a sign that I am now officially middle-aged. Or it MAY be that these characters aren't really worthy of a whole movie.

5/10

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Friday, 20 June 2014

Bachelorette (2012)

Kirsten Dunst plays Regan, a tense, controlling young woman who starts to fret when she finds out that her friend, Becky (Rebel Wilson), is about to get married. Becky wasn't supposed to be the first one of the group to get married, as Regan reminds Gena (Lizzy Caplan) and Katie (Isla Fisher). Things weren't supposed to happen that way. Regardless, the time comes around for the bachelorette party, something that Becky wants to be a quiet affair. It doesn't pan out that way, of course.

Written and directed by Leslye Headland, based on her own play, Bachelorette is saved from being completely unwatchable by Kaplan and Adam Scott (playing Clyde, the ex-boyfriend of Caplan's character). James Marsden also puts in another great performance - the more I think about it, the more I like Marsden - and Rebel Wilson is likable enough in her role. But that's where the good stuff ends.

While I watched this movie I started to suspect that it was from a first-time director. Some of the mistakes here aren't that bad, but then there are glaring flaws that unsettle the whole thing, and ultimately sink it completely.

First of all, most of the characters are loathsome. Movies can feature loathsome characters, but this lot really take the biscuit. And there's no reason to believe that they would be friends. As the old saying goes: "with friends like these, who needs enemies?"

Second, stemming from the first, everything that goes wrong and puts the characters under pressure is caused by the characters themselves. Everything onscreen here could have been easily avoided if the lead characters weren't so selfish/stupid.

None of the drama is effective, none of the comedy is funny, and you may spend most of the movie, as I did, just wishing for it to end. It doesn't help that Dunst and Fisher aren't on good form, although they may have simply been unable to overcome the weak material.

The silver lining for Leslye Headland is that she can only get better from here.

2/10

http://www.amazon.com/Bachelorette-Blu-ray-Wilson/dp/B00B17U2VS/ref=sr_1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1399528406&sr=1-3&keywords=bachelorette



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Saturday, 9 March 2013

The Pool (2001)

Having heard about, but not seen, The Pool for years, I was expecting something awful. Something so bad that it would easily become a movie by which I could judge all others (e.g. "well, it's bad, but it's no The Pool"). So when it turned out to be a decidedly average slasher with one or two half-decent moments I was pretty disappointed. I had to throw away the list of derogatory words I had noted down for the review and start with a completely blank page/screen.

A bunch of bright young things decide to celebrate their freedom from a prestigious European school by partying in a swish swimming pool. The big problem is that they're not alone in the building. There's also a masked killer eager to hack and slash through them before the night is over.

Directed by Boris von Sychowski, The Pool is absolutely generic stuff. If one or two more death scenes had shown some wit and imagination or if some more style was layered over everything then that wouldn't have been so bad. However, style is in short supply and there's really only one death scene that shows both wit and imagination.

The most fun to be had comes from spotting familiar faces among the cast. Isla Fisher and James McAvoy are the most recognisable of the bunch, but UK viewers might also know Cordelia Bugeja and/or John Hopkins while German viewers may have already seen Paul Grasshoff and Elena Uhlig in other projects. Jonah Lotan has done his fair share of TV work, as has Linda Rybova. While many of the faces may be familiar to viewers in different parts of the world, it's a shame that almost everyone is pretty bad. Perhaps it's because they have been thrown into such a strange mix or perhaps they just ARE that bad, it's hard to tell. At least Fisher isn't in it for that long and McAvoy is always dependable (though even he struggles).

The script, by von Sychowski and Lorenz Stassen (with some help from Ryan Carrassi in adapting the dialogue), doesn't help anybody. Exchanges between characters are dull and there are no memorable one-liners that you'll find yourself quoting once the end credits have rolled. In fact, there is nothing here that you will remember, or even want to remember, once the end credits have rolled. It's not eye-searingly awful to endure, but it's just not worth bothering with. Mercifully, it's beginning to fade from my memory already.

4/10

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Saturday, 2 February 2013

Hot Rod (2007)

Personally, I think that Hot Rod is hilarious. It's inconsistent and not one of my favourite comedies of all time, but it's damn good during the many moments when it hits that sweet spot. I also know that many people absolutely hate it so do remember that, just in case you somehow take in my praise of the movie, give it a watch one day and end up hating it so vehemently that you feel the need to track me down at home and urinate all over my movie collection.

Rod Kimble (Andy Samberg) is a young man who spends his time creating and taking part in fearless stunts. He's supported by a team that includes his younger brother (Jorma Taccone) and two good friends (Danny McBride and Bill Hader). The only problem is that Rod isn't a very good stuntman. In fact, he's rubbish. When it comes to light that his stepfather (Ian McShane) is very ill, Rod is determined to finally do something right and to raise the money needed to save his life. He will have his own courage, the spirits of the animal kingdom, a number of '80s power ballads and a very cute lady named Denise (Isla Fisher) to help him. But will it be enough?

You either like this kind of comedy or you don't. It's not surprising to learn that this was initially created as a vehicle for Will Ferrell, but Samberg brings the same unrelenting silliness to the role and proves to be fairly likeable in the lead role, even if his character teeters on the edge of being a complete douchebag at times.

Director Akiva Schaffer does a perfectly acceptable job with the material and the script by Pam Brady is full of fun lines, though I assume that a lot of improvisation was also incorporated considering the people involved.

Ian McShane has good fun throwing insults at his onscreen stepson and beating him in many fights, Will Arnett sneers dismissively (and hilariously) at Rod and his chums and there are many great lines and moments from Taccone, McBride, Hader, Fisher, Chester Tam (always dancing and eager to help the troupe) and Chris Parnell (promoting the magic of AM radio). Sissy Spacek may not get as much to do, but she's the kind, calm centre of Rod's life.

Featuring the best use of classic tune "You're The Voice" by John Farnham and a hilariously brilliant spoof of a memorable Footloose scene, this movie may have its heart in the '80s, but it's a comedy that fans may well find themselves revisiting again and again in the future.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hot-Rod-Blu-ray-Sissy-Spacek/dp/B001S3GDQS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1359208278&sr=8-2