Dream Scenario (2023)

Nicolas Cage plays Paul Matthews, a fairly bland and passive professor who hasn’t ever pushed himself out of his comfort zone. His career path seems steady, his home life likewise, if a bit tired, and he tends to see others making progress while he stays in the same spot. This all changes when he starts to appear in the dreams of other people. He doesn’t do anything in these dreams, not initially anyway, but he becomes a presence in the nocturnal slumberland of many people, giving him a strange kind of celebrity. That is all well and good while the dreams are pleasant enough, but it’s not so good when things turn darker. 

Although it makes great use of dream logic and enjoyably cinematic vignettes, Dream Scenario is a very clever way of exploring the modern problem of “going viral”. If everyone views you in a certain context then they start to think they know you, and anything changing their perception of you, real or imagined, can lead to a real backlash. Keep being successful and many people will want to watch you fail. Make one mistake and many people will rush to judgement, a whole tide of opinion turning against you quicker than you can send out a carefully-worded video apology.

Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli has crafted one of the best movies of 2023 here, a clever and pointed exploration of our modern society that has us all putting ourselves into the lives of others, eager for connections and validations that can appear or disappear with one keystroke or touch of a phone screen.

Borgli is helped by another fantastic Nicolas Cage performance, once again performing the kind of schlub he has shown us in one or two of his other films. Cage perfectly embodies the full journey of his character, from curiosity to cockiness, from nervousness to narcissism, and the various dream incarnations of his character allow him to consider his waking life in ways he would never have done before. Julianne Nicholson and Lily Bird are very good as the affected family members, wife and daughter respectively, and there is an excellent supporting cast that includes Kate Berlant, Tim Meadows, Michael Cera, and Dylan Baker, but the film rests on the shoulders of Cage, and he admirably carries it with ease.

I thought I was going to like Dream Scenario since I heard of the concept. The trailer just made me even more keen to see it. It absolutely surpassed my expectations, and is a perfect blend of humour, drama, commentary, and movie magic. I would hope that people are now well aware of how great Cage can be onscreen (he is enjoying a recent renaissance, but I have been a fan of him for decades, regardless of the times when the bad movies far outweighed the bad). If you somehow still doubt his talent, this may very well convert you.

9/10

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It's A Wonderful Binge (2022)

I quite enjoyed The Binge. I didn’t love it, and it isn’t a film I rush to recommend to others, but it was an enjoyably amusing distraction while it was on. So hearing that there was now a Christmas-tinged sequel meant that I had another film to add to my ever-bulging bag of festive viewing options. I wasn’t expecting anything amazing. I just hoped it might be as enjoyable as the first film.

Thankfully, it was.

The premise is similar to the first film. All drink and drugs are illegal, with a notable exception for one night a year, known as The Binge. Deciding that people cannot face the stress, and the family time, sober, The Binge is moved to Christmas. Which makes sense. One of our leads, Hags (Dexter Darden), wants to stay sober anyway, aiming to propose to his girlfriend (Sarah, played by Zainne Saleh), but poor Andrew (Eduardo Franco) may want to get as wasted as possible, considering how miserable he feels after spending a small amount of time with his entire family. Elsewhere, a mayoral candidate (Kaitlin Olson) wants everyone to live better lives, meaning that she wants them to turn their backs on The Binge, while her daughter (Kimmi, played by Marta Piekarz) feels extra pressure to behave in a way that won’t enrage her uptight mother.

While not everyone returns from the first movie, there’s nothing here that feels like viewers are being delivered any lesser options. When your supporting cast features Danny Trejo, Tim Meadows, Nick Swarsdon, and the aforementioned Olson, as well as a number of others helping to add to the fun, it’s enough to at least guarantee you a good time.

Jordan VanDina returns to the writing duties, but also takes over as director this time around. They do a good job helming the film, using the Christmas season as an excuse to heap more pressure upon the characters while also riffing on It’s A Wonderful Life (that strand featuring Trejo as some kind of angel in what I would say are some of the best scenes in the movie).

Franco and Darden may not be the first choice for many lead movie roles, but both do a great job here. Franco has been building up a decent comedy filmography over the past few years, and Darden proves himself just as capable as his co-star, helped by the script giving him wonderfully ridiculous obstacles to overcome as he tries to arrange a well-timed marriage proposal. Olson has fun being stressed throughout, Meadows steals every scene that he is in, and Trejo feels very much like he just came on set and acted like Trejo for a day or two (not a criticism, it adds to the fun of that character). Saleh and Piekarz do well, even if they aren’t given many of the more effective comedy moments, and there  are some great moments featuring Tony Cavalero (returning from the first movie) and Patty Guggenheim.

I cannot see anyone disliking this if they enjoyed the first movie. It’s absolutely on a par with it. Maybe not as Christmassy as it could be, which is a shame, but viewers should find enough to enjoy throughout.

6/10

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Netflix And Chill: Hubie Halloween (2020)

As happens with pretty much every Adam Sandler movie nowadays (every one that isn't directed by the Safdie brothers anyway), the trailer for Hubie Halloween was met with much eye-rolling and groans of despair. Everyone keeps assuming that his next project will be that deliberate attempt to make his worst ever movie after being snubbed by Mr. Oscar. This is, once again, not true. Although it may feel like it to some people.

Sandler is Hubie Dubois, a man devoted to helping the people of his hometown, Salem, and keeping them safe. And none of them really appreciate his work, or the impressive array of extras that he has fitted to his Thermos flask. Maybe that will change this year though, considering there's an escaped patient from a local institution, and a deadly presence that seems to be whisking away a number of residents. The people in trouble may not like Hubie Dubois, but that won't stop him from trying to save them. Which is why the lovely Violet Valentine finds him so attractive.

Directed by Steve Brill, and co-written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, this is a typical Sandler joint in so many ways. The cast includes Kevin James, Rob Schneider, Steve Buscemi, and more familiar faces (and things start with a fun little gag involving Ben Stiller reprising a role from far in his past), this is a performance from Sandler that has him putting on an annoying voice, and the whole thing requires a suspension of disbelief that will be a lot harder for those who dislike the lead.

The cast all do well though, especially when not playing characters who are harder to believe (Julie Bowen suffers the most here, as her character is the one inexplicably attracted to Hubie). Noah Schnapp and Paris Berelc are Tommy and Megan, a young maybe-couple who help Hubie, and are in turn helped by him, and there are very fun turns from Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, June Squibb (playing Hubie's mother, and rocking a number of amusingly inappropriate t-shirts), Ray Liotta, Karan Brar, and Shaquille O'Neal. Everyone seems to be having a really good time, but not in the overly smug way that can emanate from films like the Grown Ups movies. In this case, those having a good time onscreen are also helping viewers to have just as good a time. Sandler is arguably the worst person in a main role, because of his penchant for silly voices, but his character is pitched almost at just the right level, firmly in between sweet and innocent and annoying as hell. This film won't win him any new fans, but I don't think he's been bothered about converting people for many years now.

Hubie Halloween is not the funniest film you'll see this year. It's not one of the best. It's not even the best thing that Netflix has delivered in time for seasonal entertainment on the run up to Halloween this year. But it IS a fun family film that actually does a great job of mixing some laughs with a surprisingly hefty dollop of spooky atmosphere. These are safe scares, and this is a safe film, but everyone deserves to enjoy some thrills and chills during October, and this is an attempt to provide a seasonal treat for everyone.

7/10

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April Fools: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

I first watched Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story a year or two ago, and I was underwhelmed. But I didn't write up a review, because although I hadn't seemed to like it while it was on I kept thinking of individual lines and moments long after the end credits had rolled. That was a good sign, surely, and another good sign was the fact that it had so many fans trying to convince people that it was a great comedy. So I decided to buy it and give it another chance. I'm glad I did, because I now agree with those who were telling me how good it was. It's one of the best comedies that Judd Apatow has had his name attached to in the past few years, thanks to a mix of great gags and spot on parodies.

Predominantly riffing on the life of Johnny Cash, as depicted in Walk The Line, John C. Reilly is the talented, but afflicted, Dewey Cox. Haunted by a tragic accident that led to the death of his brother, Dewey spends some years trying to prove to his parents (Raymond J. Barry and Margo Martindale) that he can make it as a talented musician. Unable to win over his father, he heads off with his teenage love (Kristen Wiig) and starts his musical career in earnest. In between singing his way to success, fathering numerous children, and discovering the joys of a variety of drugs, Dewey meets and falls in love with Darlene Madison (Jenna Fischer). But Darlene won't stray beyond the close friendship zone until married.

While it's incredibly silly throughout, Walk Hard is also incredibly smart. The songs, for one, are good enough to be the genuine article, especially the title track. And the script, written by Apatow and director Jake Kasdan, manages to fit in every cliche and homage without, somehow, feeling overstuffed. And then it throws in hilarious lines such as: "Did you hear that? I'm Dewey's 12 year-old girlfriend!"
Okay, that might not seem so hilarious now, but when you watch the whole scene, and hear Kristen Wiig triumphantly delivering that line, you may well find it as funny as I did.

Reilly, Wiig, Fischer, Barry and Martindale all do a great job, with the leading man proving to be quite the asset to the movie, but this is a film taken up a notch by a supporting cast full of talented and funny people clearly enjoying what they have to work with. Tim Meadows almost steals the film, as the band member who introduces Dewey to a variety of drugs, but Chris Parnell, Matt Besser and David Krumholtz are all worth mentioning, as are Jack White (with a hilarious Elvis impression), Harold Ramis, Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins and many more. And then there's the added bonus of hearing the strange accents affected by Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Justin Long and Jason Schwartzman as they attempt to mimic the Beatles in a scene that I find fairly amusing, but others may find annoying and a bit too self-indulgent.

Jake Kasdan has been proving himself quite a capable director for years now, and this is another title that nestles comfortably alongside the other successes in a feature filmography that, for the most part, aims for quality over quantity.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Walk-Hard-Dewey-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B0014T7EV4/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1397246079&sr=1-2&keywords=walk+hard