That Was Something All Right... "Handsome: A Netflix Murder Mystery"

Handsome: A Netflix Murder Mystery (2017)

TV-14

Starring Jeff Garlin, Natasha Lyonne, Amy Sedaris, Stephen Webber, Christine Woods, Hailee Lautenbach,

Written and Directed by Jeff Garlin

The Story:

LA Homicide Detective Gene Handsome (Garlin) and his partner Fleur Scozzari (Lyonne) are hot on the trail of a murderer who chopped up a babysitter and placed her on the lawn of movie star Talbert Bacorn (Webber). Between this case and Handsome's personal life, he's got his hands full.

This is a strange little Netflix Original film.

It starts with Webber addressing the audience as himself, and that sort of sets the tone for this one. Sadly, he says "and I play the murderer..."

So that kind of sucks any and all mystery from the film at that point.

All that said, it's Garlin's baby from start to finish.

There are some genuinely funny bits, some head-scratchers, and some strange, awkward moments that take place.

But the film is never dull, I'll give it that.

His banter with Lyonne is some of the highlight of the movie.

It's an odd duck, but has a lot of charm thanks in no small part to Garlin himself.

Yes, I'd come back for a sequel, but hopefully a little more "Mystery" can be put into that one.

Final Grade: C+ 

The Limo Ride Of Your Life..."Stretch"

Stretch (2014)

Rated R

Starring Patrick Wilson, Ed Helms, Chris Pine, Brooklyn Decker, Jessica Alba

Directed by Joe Carnahan

The Story:

Stretch (Wilson) is a down on his luck limo driver who owes a lot of money to a bookie, and if he doesn't pay it off tonight...well, things are going to get ugly. Luckily, his fare for the evening is Roger Karos (Pine) who makes Stretch a deal. If he can run a few errands for him, then his tip will pay off the debt and Stretch will be free and clear. Somehow, it's not going to be that easy...

This is a crazy ride to be sure.

That Stretch came to LA to be an actor, he'll get to finally hone those skills during his adventures this evening.

He's also accompanied by Karl (Helms) who is the ghost of his mentor. Or Stretch's conscience, if Jiminy Cricket were an overbearing jerk. :)

If you ever saw Smokin' Aces and enjoyed it, then Carnahan brings more of his wit and craziness to the table for you.

You'll get sucked in watching things go from bad to worse for Stretch, and wonder what the heck just happened when it's all over.

:)

Currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: C+

Just Like Old Times..."Back In The Day"

Back in the Day (2014)

Rated R

Starring Michael Rosenbaum, Morena Baccarin, Nick Swardson, Harland Williams, Isaiah Mustafa, Kristoffer Polaha, Jay R. Ferguson,

Written and Directed by Michael Rosenbaum

The Story:

Jim (Rosenbaum) is an actor who left home to become successful out in California. He's doing okay, but not getting the roles he wants. Depressed, he heads back home to Michigan for their upcoming class reunion. He reunites with his best friends (Mustafa, Williams & Polaha) and finds the one that got away (Baccarin). He finds out she's finally engaged after all these years... to his arch nemesis (Ferguson). Cue the hijinks...

Rosenbaum crafts a film that is equal parts raunchy R rated comedy mixed with a romantic comedy.

It's a tough act to balance, but he does balance it fairly well, and the cast is game for everything he throws at them.

Naturally, the story behind the story is a chance for him to reunite with his former love, and the girl that he's never gotten over.

And it appears he might be in luck because she has not moved on after all these years, but with an impending marriage just days away, Jim's got a very limited window of opportunity to win her back.

Meanwhile, his friends are all married now, and Jim isn't the best influence on them.

Jim's got some decisions to make.  Clearly you can go home again, but then what?

Final Grade: C+

Not A Reality Show...Or Is It? "Pawn Shop Chronicles"

Pawn Shop Chronicles (2013)

Rated R

Starring Paul Walker, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Vincent D'Onofrio, Chi McBride, Elijah Wood, DJ Qualls, Kevin Rankin,

Directed by Wayne Kramer

The Story:

A trio of stories involving some meth addicted white supremacists (Walker & Rankin), a man (Dillon) who finds a clue about the disappearance of his wife, and an Elvis (Fraser) impersonator all intersect through a Southern pawn shop.

Doesn't sound like anything you'd be interested in?

You might be right.

But this is a straight up, B movie, let's throw everything at the wall and see what the heck even sticks.

Surprisingly, more of it sticks than misses.

Each tale unfolds one by one, and it's not until you see the next story where you realize they intersect to tell of a single crazy day.

The glue to each tale is the pawn shop run by Alton (D'Onofrio) who sits around being harassed by Johnson (McBride) all day long.

Each tale stands on its own, with its own strengths and weaknesses.

The cast is top-notch playing some of the oddest characters in their careers.

Walker is much missed, and he's hilarious in this role as a white supremacist who finds out the real reason that they even go to the meetings is for the delicious buffet that's served. Otherwise, they really don't have a problem with the people they are supposed to hate.

Yep, that's the kind of crazy we're dealing with.

Or you have an Elvis impersonator who sucks at what he does who is offered a deal with the devil and takes it.

Like I said, it's unusual, but the cast and story kept me involved from beginning to end.

Final Grade:  B-

You'll Have It His Way...Or Else! "The Founder"

The Founder (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern, Linda Cardellini,

Directed by John Lee Hancock

The Story:

Ray Kroc (Keaton) was a salesman on the road trying to make a fortune. When a restaurant out in California ordered multiple milkshake makers, Kroc assumes it's a mistake and heads west. When he meets the McDonald brothers (Offerman & Lynch) he is struck by how efficient, and delicious, their restaurant is. He wants to franchise their restaurant. The boys are reluctant at first, but eventually relent.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Keaton is on fire with his acting career over the last few years. The Founder is no exception. He plays Kroc with a drive and ambition to get his franchises off the ground and turn them into a household name.

Stymied at nearly every turn by the McDonald brothers, he can't seem to figure out how to turn a profit on the restaurants.

Then, as Lucy Van Pelt once lamented that all she wanted was real estate...

Kroc is told to buy the land, and rent the property to the new franchises.

Not only does this turn the tables for Kroc, it also establishes McDonalds as one of the largest property owners on the planet.

Highly recommended.

Final Grade: B+

Cruise Control..."Jack Reacher: Never Go Back"

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh,

Directed by Edward Zwick

The Story:

Jack Reacher (Cruise) has been helping Major Turner (Smulders) on a recent investigation. He promises to stop by for dinner when he finds himself in DC. When he finally arrives, he learns that Turner is in jail for crimes Reacher believes she could not have committed. So he decides to get her out and uncover the truth for himself. However the bad guys may finally have the edge on Reacher, and a way to hurt him personally.

Game on.

In all honesty, I barely remember the first Jack Reacher movie.

I think at the end of the day, there were some stunts that were pretty good, but if memory serves, they seemed to make Cruise more of an 80s throwback action hero, but it was still watchable.

So nearly 5 years later, I approach the sequel with a shrug and a "we'll see" attitude.

I honestly had no problem with this movie.

It told the story it wanted to tell, kept me interested and entertained along the way.

The lethal game of cat and mouse moves across country as Reacher tries to stay one step ahead of those chasing him, while hunting down the people in charge so they can get their lives back.

I may have to go back and see if the first one still holds up, because this may be a case where the sequel outperforms the original.

And either way, I'll take this series over any of the Bourne films any day.

Final Grade:  B-

DeNiro Tries To Be "The Comedian" To Mixed Results

The Comedian (2017)

Rated R

Starring Robert DeNiro, Leslie Mann, Danny DeVito, Patti LuPone, Edie Falco, Charles Grodin,

Directed by Taylor Hackford

The Story:

Jack Burke (DeNiro) is an aging insult comic who is relegated to playing small clubs because that's all his manager (Falco) can get him booked for. However, when he's booked for assault, his community service leads him to new opportunities, both personally and professionally.

I guess the biggest question from this film would be "what went wrong"?

The cast, including those named above and those that I didn't list are a phenomenal group of actors and real life comedians.

Yet the biggest complaint of this movie is that it isn't funny.

I don't think it was supposed to be.

It's a dramedy.

There is humor in it, but the proceedings aren't slapstick fall down funny.

Perhaps it wasn't dramatic enough, or funny enough, as it tries to tow the line and be the best of both worlds.

Or perhaps it's the romantic subplot between Jack and Harmony (Mann) who meet during community service?

Not sure.

It wasn't a must-see movie, but it held my attention throughout.

I laughed at the actually funny parts, and it held my interest through the dramatic.

Hey, I didn't turn the movie off, and since I consider that a sign of a really bad movie, it can't be all bad.

So it's not exactly what went wrong, more of what could they have done better?

I think the biggest thing, as an insult comic, the world has to love the man doing the insults.

See Don Rickles.

In this movie, nobody liked Jack, except his old fans, and they only liked the old sitcom Jack, a character he was desperately trying to forget.

So if you start with an unlikable character, you're already facing an uphill battle to earn the love from the audience.

It's a hard balance to achieve, and I think that all things considered, they did the best job possible.

Final Grade: C+

Every Father's Worst Nightmare..."Why Him?"

Why Him? (2016)

Rated R

Starring Zoey Deutch, James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Megan Mulally, Griffin Gluck, Keegan-Michael Key,

Directed by John Hamburg

The Story:

Stephanie (Deutch) invites her family out to visit her at Stanford for the holidays. When they arrive, they meet Laird (Franco), her millionaire boyfriend that she's been keeping a secret for months. This doesn't sit too well with her father (Cranston) and when he realizes that Laird wants to pop the question, well daddy's going to do whatever it takes to keep his daughter safe.

Here's the bottom line:  it's crude and it's stupid.

But...

It's also very funny and underneath the f-bombs and bluster is a comedy with a well-meaning heart of gold.

What wins you over is the cast who play their characters perfectly and imbue them all full bodied personality and not just one dimensional cardboard cutouts.

Cranston, as usual, is superb, and a far departure from dramatic roles proves he can pull off straight comedy with ease.

Franco is his comedic foil and plays the slacker millionaire perfectly.

He's not a bad guy, he's just awkward around people, and the results are often hilarious.

I would also be remiss to not single out Keegan-Michael Key as the right hand man that keeps everything in Laird's world running on time.

He also provides Laird with his own personal Kato in the film.

Now, if you don't get that reference, that's a shame, but it's also a running joke in the film as well, and it was hilarious.

It also shows that you're apparently old enough to be the dad, and congratulations, that means your daughters will be bringing 'him' home soon enough.

Good luck!

:)

Final Grade: C+ 

All That Glitters..."Gold"

Gold (2016)

Rated R

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Edgar Ramirez, Bryce Dallas Howard,

Directed by

The Story:

Kenny Wells (McConaughey) is a down on his luck miner who has one last shot at the big time. He heads to Indonesia to meet Michael Acosta (Ramirez) and promises to get him the money to search for gold. Kenny gets the investments to come pouring in, and Acosta gets Kenny the gold that he promised, and even more money pours in.

Of course if that were the full story, it wouldn't be a very good movie.

And since this story is based on true events, it seems like something is missing.

Ah yes, the fact that there was no gold, or at least, not where they were looking.

Acosta delivers some gold in the core samples to Kenny to pass off to Wall Street and other investors.

They hear "gold strike" and they literally threw money hand over fist to get in on the deal before it passed them by.

Follow the twists and turns as Kenny balances the high-wire act to secure the financing and all the ups and downs that met him along the way.

Then there is the finale of the movie and it resonates with a did it or did it not really happen that way?

Only a few people know for certain, and they sure aren't telling.

Final Grade: C+

Boston Strong... "Patriots Day"

Patriots Day (2016)

Rated R

Starring Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, J.K. Simmons, Kevin Bacon,

Directed by Peter Berg

The Story:

A beautiful morning for the Boston Marathon in 2013 gives way to chaos as the Tsaranaev brothers (Wolff & Melikidze) detonate bombs near the finish line. Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg) is pulling security and is near ground zero when the bombs explode. He helps lead the Boston Police Department and the F.B.I. manhunt to capture the suspects before they can strike again, or leave the city to strike elsewhere.

Naturally, this is based on a true story.

The 2nd true story for Mark Wahlberg to save the day is better than Deepwater Horizon.

As I mentioned in that film review, it's hard to accurately gauge the entertainment value on a movie where lives were lost and every day people step up and do heroic things.

The main argument that Patriots Day seemingly endured was the every man police sergeant who was in the right place at the right time at every step of the investigation.

Well, it's called a narrative device people. :)

It allows the story to flow a little better instead of jumping around from points A-F and introducing new characters along the way.

It's not a documentary.

It is engrossing and engaging.

It's also uplifting and poignant.

The drama of the police hunt, the emotional barrage of the victims of the bombing.

Keep a tissue handy, you might need it.

Very well done, but I've also come to expect that from Peter Berg who continues to craft very well made movies throughout his career.

While I rarely go back and watch movies like this again, I could see this as being an exception to that rule.

Final Grade:  B+

The Most Must-See Direct To DVD Sequel..."The Marine 5: Battleground"

The Marine 5: Battleground (2017)

Rated R

Starring Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Nathan Mitchell, Anna Van Hooft,

Directed by James Nunn

The Story:

Jake Carter (The Miz) has moved on from private security to being an EMT. His first night on the job sees him trying to save the life of a man (Mitchell) that a biker gang wants dead. Jake is going to have to use all of his skills to save the man, his partner (Hooft) and himself.

And the WWE Studios franchise smash The Marine now enters its fifth installment.

Long gone is John Cena, this franchise firmly belongs to The Miz at this point.

Along for the ride this time, playing members of the gang: Heath Slater, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Naomi and the Miz's real life wife, Maryse in a brief role.

They do fine on screen, and for some, this is the most screen time they've had in ages with WWE.

:)

If you've been following the franchise over the years, you'll enjoy this latest installment.

If you rolled your eyes when I said WWE Studios, then nothing I can say could change your mind.

Enjoyable B-movie fare, and we'll see what Jake is doing for a living in the next sequel.

Final Grade: C+

Checking The Calendar... "Almost Christmas"

Almost Christmas (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union, Mo'Nique, Kimberly Elise, Romany Malco, J.B. Smoove, Jessie T. Usher, John Michael Higgins, Omar Epps

Written and Directed by David E. Talbert

The Story:

Walter (Glover) is the family patriarch, and all of his kids are coming home for Christmas. It's the first gathering of the entire family since their mother passed away. Naturally, each of the kids come home with their own life difficulties, but perhaps they can keep the drama to a minimum since it's...Almost Christmas.

Yeah, not likely.

Between 2 sisters that have never seen eye to eye (Union & Elise) a son that is running for office (Malco) regardless of how he might have to compromise his principles, or the aspiring pro athlete (Usher) who may or may not have an addiction problem, there is no shortage of issues among the kids.

Add in some spouses and children, and the household is full and the crazy level is rising with just days before the big event.

There's also some small character moments that bring real life to some of the crazy drama.

Thankfully, nothing is played too crazy; these could be real issues for real families.

It's sweet, sincere, honest and at times very touching.

The cast gels together and the chemistry keeps the family dynamic going.

You may have missed this one in theaters last year, but you've got a chance this upcoming holiday season to add this one to the list and see if it becomes a perennial holiday favorite in your home.

Final Grade: B

Quirky Yet Charming..."The Matchbreaker"

The Matchbreaker (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Wesley Elder, Christina Grimmie

Written and Directed by Caleb Vetter

The Story:

Ethan (Elder) is a hopeless romantic that always finds good reason, at least to him, to set the ladies in his life free. When he loses his job, he lands a one-time gig of being hired by the parents to break their daughter up from her boyfriend because they don't like him. Ethan does, and voila, a new career is born. However, when the girl he has had a crush on everyday of his life for the past umpteen years suddenly comes back into his life, Ethan will do whatever it takes to not let Emily (Grimmie) go this time. Lucky for him, her mom hires him to make the boyfriend go away.

What could possibly go wrong?

This scenario, or one very similar has played out a million times in the cinema already, and I'm sure it has at least a million more variations that will come out in the future.

But that's okay, because it's a formula that works.

Whether paid to break up the couple, or to get a couple together, or to make a bet to make the ugly duckling into a swan...

All related.

When done well, all enjoyable.

This one does just fine as a no-names, no budget indie romantic comedy.

Elder doesn't have the look and appeal of the handsome leading man mold, but he works perfectly as the guy that can charm his way into a girl's life and make her realize the neanderthal she's dating really isn't good enough for her.

Grimmie seems familiar, and carries an almost Anna Kendrick vibe to her. She's plucky and full of spirit.

Sadly, this was her only performance, so the world was robbed of what could have been for years to come.

I caught it on disc, but it's now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

If this genre is your cup of tea, then this is worth a spin.

Final Grade: C+

"Sing" Was A Bit Pitchy, Dawg.

Sing (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly,

Directed by Christophe Lourdelet and Garth Jennings

The Story:

Buster (McConaughey) plans a singing competition to keep his struggling theater alive. But when a typo changes his $1000 prize into much, much more, hundreds of critters are there to audition the next day. The show truly must go on, but what will happen to the singers that are chosen when they discover the prize isn't nearly all it's cracked up to be?

From Illumination Entertainment, the folks that brought us Despicable Me, and have been coasting on that success ever since...

;)

Comes Sing. Anthropomorphic animals that decide to have a talent contest to save an old theater from going out of business.

It sounds cute and harmless, and it pretty much is just that.

It's also very bland.

To the credit of the movie, it actually gets better by the 2nd act, once all of the characters are established and their storylines start to build towards the finale.

The vocal cast was fine, both in dialogue and singing.

It's weird that McConaughey was the lead character, as his usual Texas twang is nowhere to be found in Buster at all.

Or if it was, I sure didn't hear it.

It's fine enough for kids, but it's definitely not on my list of favorite animated films of the year.

Maybe someday they'll make the cut, but with more sequels to Despicable Me, Minions and a Sing 2 on the horizon, I somehow doubt it's coming any time soon.

Final Grade: C

I Will Be Your Father Figure..."Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2"

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff,

Written and Directed by James Gunn

The Story:

The Guardians of the Galaxy are back! In the months that have passed, the group of travelers have started to become a family, or at least that's what you would assume from all the bickering. However with the arrival of Peter's (Pratt) dad, Ego (Russell), everyone is about to learn the secret behind their family heritage. That's assuming the Guardians live long enough to find out, as a bounty is put on their heads that sends Yondu (Rooker) and the Ravagers looking for them.

There, hopefully that doesn't give anything away that you haven't already gleaned from the trailers.

Here's the bottom line:

Did you like the first Guardians of the Galaxy?

Then you're probably going to like this one.

Is it better?

Probably not.

Sequels rarely are.

The first one was simply...wow...they're doing this...they're doing that....

It was this generation's Star Wars.

So now we've seen all the wows, as we've been introduced to Marvel Studios space side.

That said, this is a worthy successor to the franchise, and doesn't have any significant drop off in quality. Like I said, we now know all the characters, so there is a lot less exposition this go round in bringing the team together.

This becomes catching up with old friends who have settled in to be family.

Even if they haven't figured out they are family yet.

The laughs flow freely.

Baby Groot is adorable.

Drax continues to steal every scene he is in.

The soundtrack fits perfectly.

And you might even have an occasion or two to need tissues.

:)

Your mileage may vary.

Final Grade: A

You're No Groot! "A Monster Calls"

A Monster Calls (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson,

Directed by J.A. Bayona

The Story:

Conor (MacDougall) is caring for his terminally ill mum (Jones) when a giant tree monster (Neeson) comes calling on him. He demands that Conor do the one thing he cannot do...tell the truth. The monster will then share some stories with Conor that will teach him valuable life lessons.

Of course by the 30 minute mark, I being the heartless monster that I am was so bored to tears by this movie I took it out and mailed it back to Netflix.

Blasphemy, I know.

This is yet the latest festival darling, well-regarded film that I absolutely didn't care for.

Conor's mom is going to die. He despises that his grandmother (Weaver) is there, because that's sealing the deal.

And the monster will help Conor face the pain and reality of what is about to happen.

Yeah, I get it.

I made it through the first animated story that the monster tells, and I found myself just really not caring.

Saved an hour of my life, and undoubtedly needing Kleenex to wipe away the tears they were going to bring about in the final act if I finally started caring about the characters.

I'll go see about watching Rogue One instead, that way I can make sure I see Felicity Jones die in that one instead.

:)

Final Grade: D

The "Collateral Beauty" Of Life

Collateral Beauty (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightly, Jacob Lattimore,

Directed by David Frankel

The Story:

Howard (Smith) is an advertising executive who owns his own firm. After a personal tragedy, he retreats within himself and his behavior grows stranger and stranger. His three best friends (Norton, Winslet and Pena) also work with him and they are growing concerned that his reckless behavior is going to cause the business to fold and all of their employees will lose their jobs. When they discover that he has written letters to Love, Death and Time, they hire actors (Knightley, Mirren and Lattimore) to play those parts.

Needless to say, the three friends get much more than they bargained for in this endeavor.

It was a very tricky movie to pull off, because quite frankly, aside from a brief glimpse at Howard at the beginning of the movie, there was nothing in the first act of the film that inspired that kind of friendship and loyalty from his friends.

Quite frankly, if not for the rest of the cast, it would have been easy to turn it off.

Howard was so undeserving of anything at all from any character or the audience for that matter.

Thankfully when he finally gets around to interacting with Death, Love and Time, his character finally begins to regain some humanity, and then you can sympathize with what he is going through.

It does indeed pick up though, and the rest of the cast soars as they bring the emotional weight of the film full circle.

A stronger beginning, yes, maybe even making this film a little longer, would have possibly made this an even stronger movie.

I still recommend having a tissue nearby before it is all over though.

Final Grade: B

Social Media Takes A Dark Turn..."Unfriended"

Unfriended (2014)

Rated R

Starring  Heather Sossaman, Matthew Bohrer, Courtney Halvorsen, Shelley Hennig, Moses Storm, Will Peltz, Renee Olstead, Jacob Wysocki

Directed by Levan Gabriadze

The Story:

On the anniversary of Laura's (Sossaman) death, a group of her friends are video chatting online when they are joined by someone pranking them using her account. Only it's not someone pranking them, it's Laura, and she's back from the dead to get her cyber-revenge!

So forgive me if this movie is redundant or derivative from any other horror movie of the "you watch it and you die" genre.

I haven't seen many, if any of them, but I know they exist.

This film is very simple in the execution. It is literally shot from the point of view of the computer being used by Val (Halvorsen) as she navigates multiple browser windows at once trying to figure out who the mysterious hacker is.

No big names, clearly no big budget.

Just enough suspense to keep you interested until the final frame.

As each of the teens reveals their duplicity in Laura's death, they are met with their final fate.

Most are cut away, leaving your brain to provide you the gruesome details of their ultimate demise, but you're teased with enough to know how to finish the picture.

Nothing that reinvents the horror genre, but it keeps your interest, and that's better than being bored...

to death!

:)

Final Grade: C+ / B- range

Tis The Season..."Office Christmas Party"

Office Christmas Party (2016)

Rated R

Starring Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, Jennifer Aniston, Kate McKinnon, Rob Corddry, Courtney B. Vance

Directed by Josh Gordon & Will Speck

The Story:

Carol Vanstone (Aniston) is going to shut down her brother's (Miller) branch of Zenotek to save the company money. Hoping to land a big client (Vance) and save his branch and the jobs of all of his employees, he grabs his right hand man (Bateman) and decides to throw an epic Christmas party like his dad used to do in order to have a Christmas miracle.

What could possibly go wrong?

There were a few surprises in store for me when I watched this movie.

The trailers, and the title, suggested some R-rated debauchery stupid comedy... and there are moments the film lives up...or down...to that stereotype.

Plus, it wasn't laugh out loud funny throughout, though there were several moments it hit the mark.

Instead, it stayed amusing and interesting throughout.

I was expecting Bateman to play the businessman who might lose the business because of an employee who goes too far in Miller.

With the roles reversed, and it's Miller in charge, and he's just a big goofball, and I mean that with all sincerity. I will watch T.J. Miller in just about anything he does, because he plays his parts so well and they are almost always the roles that steal the show.

As he leads the charge, it's Bateman who has to try and reign him in, while also realizing he's got to loosen up a bit if they have any chance of landing the client.

While the movie unfolds and the party gets a little crazier, you get sucked into the proceedings hoping that the movie ends well for the characters.

Yes, it is a bit of a Christmas miracle, because this is one of those "stupid comedies with a heart".

It's a great cast, and they're all making the most of their characters and situations.

I can't say I'd add it to the list of annual Christmas movies, it's a little too crude for that, but I'm glad I saw it, and I wouldn't be opposed to watching it again sometime down the road.

 Final Grade: B-

A Disney Princess By Any Other Name... "Moana"

Moana (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Auli'i Cravahlo, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jermaine Clement,

Directed by Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams

The Story:

Moana (Cravahlo) is the daughter of the Chief (Morrison) but dreams of a life beyond their island's reef. With fish becoming scarce, she wants to lead their people to new and exciting places, but is landlocked by her father and their tribe's ideals. When she discovers an ancient artifact, she sets out to find the demigod Maui (Johnson) and restore life to the dying sea.

It's the Disney Princess for the 21st century. She doesn't need a man to help save her...

No, wait.

Even the movie acknowledges Moana as the latest in a long line of Princesses:

"Okay, first, I am not a princess. I'm the daughter of the chief."

"Same difference."

"No."

"If you wear a dress, and have an animal sidekick, you're a princess."

Yep, she's a Princess all right!

I guess what they are really going for is that she doesn't need a love interest, and that's fine.

There's no room in this coming of age story for a romance, anyway.

The movie itself is fairly fun, if predictable.

The problem with Disney, and the Disney Princess genre if you will, is they have often set themselves bars that are difficult for subsequent movies to hurdle.

Place this one side by side with Tangled, and sorry, Moana doesn't stand a chance.

However, I look at this against Frozen, and I still wonder what people ever saw in that movie.

Different strokes for different folks.

It had its moments, and the bonding between Moana and Maui were indeed the strengths of the film.

But when you add in the deus ex machina of the ocean seemingly as a third character that tossed in save whenever it was needed...

Well, why didn't the ocean just take Moana straight to the end of her mission?

I know, lessons to learn and all that growing up stuff and redeeming Maui.

It's enjoyable enough, mostly harmless, and Jermaine Clement is awesome, and woefully underused as the villain.

Glad I saw it, but won't be rushing out to buy it or anything like that.


 Final Grade: B-