The endlessly quotable (‘The night the reindeer died’ stays with me!) Bill Murray holiday film, Scrooged hits 4K from Paramount Pictures just in time for the holidays. A riff on the classic Dickens’ tale, A Christmas Carol, Bill Murray brings the laughs in this delightful film helmed by the legendary Richard Donner. Murray plays Frank…
Tag: comedy
TIFF ’23: Hell of a Summer
Long-time friends Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk share directing, producing, writing and starring credits in their enjoyable and goofy riff on camp slasher films. It’s summer, and Camp Pineaway is gearing up for another round of campers and counsellors. In fact, the counsellors gather the weekend before camp opens to prepare, get reacquainted, drunk, high,…
Family Ties (1984) – Go Tigers, ‘M’ is for the Many Things, and Say Uncle
Alex (Micheal J. Fox) is heading up to Princeton by train for an interview with one of the admitting deans. Mallory (Justine Bateman) tags along to see her boyfriend, Jeff (John Dukakis) with unexpected results. Go Tigers was written by Micheal J. Weithorn and it had an original airdate of 12 January, 1984. Back at…
Cocaine Bear (2023) – Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks settles into the director’s chair again and delivers a mostly entertaining comedy thriller, which is loosely based on a true story, Cocaine Bear. Featuring an all-star cast led by Keri Russell, the film swings from working brilliantly to just falling a little flat. But damn if Banks doesn’t swing for the fences. There…
Family Ties (1983) – Sherry Baby, The Fugitive Part 1, and Part 2
Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Alex (Micheal J. Fox) find themselves manipulated and used in Sherry Baby. Written by Barbara Hall, it first aired on 12 January, 1983. Mallory is intent on getting into a sorority and her classmate, Sherry (Lisa Lucas) may be the key. But Sherry has her eye on Alex. So Mallory attempts…
Rush Hour 2 (2001) – Brett Ratner
So the racism, sexism and homophobia are back on display in the follow-up to the break-out hit, Rush Hour. Rush Hour 2 brings Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker back into action as Lee and Carter in a sequel that looks worlds better than the first but is still steeped in the same racist issues as…
Men at Work (1990) – Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez writes, directs, and stars alongside his brother, Charlie Sheen, Leslie Hope, and Keith David in a goofy comedy that allows Estevez to give nods to other films, like Rear Window and his own Stakeout. It’s silly, not entirely engaging, and it seems Estevez, even in his own films, likes to chew some of…
The Menu (2022) – Mark Mylod
The Menu is a remarkable thriller sauteed with a little comedy to deliver a confection that may not meet with delight with all moviegoers’ palettes, but if you’ve got a cynical streak, especially as it leans towards societal behaviours and elitism, this one will be met with a chef’s kiss. The story follows a group…
The Unbearable Weight of Immense Talent (2022) – Tom Gormican
Nicholas Cage plays a hyper version of himself, Nick Cage, in Tom Gormican’s hugely entertaining and laugh-filed action-comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Immense Talent. Nick Cage is haunted by a version of himself that pushes him to be a movie star, not a constantly working actor. His daughter, Addy (Lily Mo Sheen), wants to be…
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) – Dan Kwan, and Daniel Scheinert
An epic and hilarious story with an intimate tale of family and love at its heart. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed Everything Everywhere All at Once. I knew I would, but I was completely swept up in the tale, it’s toying with the multi-verse, and letting Michelle Yeoh show off all of her…
The Mind Reels 