Tag: Comedy

New Satire “Greed” Misses the Mark

Throughout years of film criticism, it has become cliché to say that a film “defies categorization” in reference to genre. Many times, the greatest films of this nature find a way to weave together distinct tones and elements from a wide array of classifications, developing something truly unique and memorable. Unfortunately, in other situations, the […]

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JOJO RABBIT – Taika Waititi’s Hitler Satire is Humorous, Tragic, Hopeful, and Uplifting.

“Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” – Rainer Maria Rilke WOW. This quote that flashed across the screen to close out JOJO RABBIT literally brought me to tears. What a moving story. A true testament to the powers of compassion, acceptance, and tolerance. It explores one […]

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Stripes (1981) – Another Bill Murray Classic

Director: Ivan Reitman Writers: Len Blum, Dan Goldberg, and Harold Ramis  ———————————————————————————————————– For the first two acts of this film, I was like “Man, another great throwback Bill Murray comedy! I cannot stop laughing!” Which of course was all true, but for some reason, the third act became a straight-up war film. Some viewers will […]

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Zombieland: Double Tap – A Satisfying Decade-Later Reunion

Director: Ruben Fleischer Writers: Dave Callaham, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick ———————————————————————————————————– While Zombieland: Double Tap does not quite have a narrative as focused and succinct as the original, the cast and characters remain just as wonderful, the humor lands land most of the time, and the action is dialed up a few notches, including […]

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Caddyshack – A Comedic Classic

The plot for this film is so simple that it borders upon directionless. However, there is just enough narrative structure present, that the story can be considered acceptably coherent. Comedies which have stories so weak that the movie is basically a series of unconnected gags seem to be commonplace in the genre, but the architecture […]

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“Blinded by the Light” – Another Wonderful Music-Based Feature in the Summer of 2019

Joining “Rocketman” and “Yesterday” in the category of music-based narratives this summer, “Blinded by the Light” is easily one of the best films I have seen this year. Director and co-writer Gurinder Chadha offers this story inspired by true events, detailing one young man’s struggles to hold onto his cultural roots, while still searching for […]

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“Phil” – Greg Kinnear’s Directorial Debut is a Respectable Effort that Ultimately Struggles with its Rich Subject Matter

Oscar-nominated actor Greg Kinnear makes his directorial debut with the new film Phil, and also stars in the lead role as the eponymous character. Phil McGuire is a fairly successful dentist who runs his own practice, yet struggles with deep depression and all of its accompanying horrendous aspects. He is desperately searching for some form […]

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Spider-Man is Far From Home, but the MCU is Right Where it Needs to be

There is quite a lot to unpack in this review. It took me two viewings to decide exactly how I felt about this film. Nevertheless, here we are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s 23rd film, and it does not show signs of slowing down anytime soon. ———————————————————————————————————————- After the universe-shattering events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Peter Parker […]

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