Who's Your Daddy? "Little Evil"

Little Evil (2017)

TV-MA

Starring Adam Scott, Evangeline Lilly, Owen Atlas, Sally Field, Clancy Brown,

Written and Directed by Eli Craig

The Story:

Gary (Scott) has married the woman (Lilly) of his dreams. However she comes with a little bit of baggage in the form of her son, Lucas (Atlas). Gary's trying to warm up to the kid, but he seems a little cold and indifferent to Gary. That may because his real dad is...you know... Satan.

This horror comedy from Netflix starts off with a great scene, and then has to backtrack to get to that scene again.

The problem is, it takes almost too long to get back to it.

The movie waffles on whether it wants to be horror or if it should be comedy.

The two genres wrestle with one another for screen time instead of being a product of natural storytelling.

Adam Scott suffered a similar fate with last year's Krampus where the story couldn't quite figure out what it wanted to be either.

It's a fine line to balance, but this is brought to us by the man who gave us Tucker & Dale vs. Evil which is possibly the greatest horror comedy of all time.

The movie does pick back up in the last act and makes a satisfying end to the film.

It's still worth your time, especially this time of  year, but I hoped for a bit more with this one, and it just didn't quite click like I would have hoped.

Final Grade: C+

"Krampus" Knows If You've Been Naughty...And Will Make You Regret It!

Krampus (2015)

Rated PG-13

Starring Adam Scott, Toni Collette, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, David Koechner

Directed by Michael Dougherty

The Story:

Max (Anthony) and his family (Scott, Collette & Owen) have become disillusioned this holiday season. So that means, Krampus has decided to visit the family and rekindle their holiday spirit, even if it kills them!

I've seen a lot of good horror comedies so far this year.

Heck, I have a couple that will be vying for favorite movie of the year honors when all is said and done.

Krampus won't be joining that list.

The main problem, as I saw it, the movie tried too hard to be scary and forgot to be funny.

And then they tried too hard to be funny and would forget to be scary.

So you take a good cast and give them a film with an uneven tone, and the results will be average, at best.

So yes, there's a few good laughs, and a few good scares.

But when it's over, much like the ending, it will be a vague exercise in trying to remember what exactly you just saw.

Final Grade:  C

Truth Is More Boring Than Fiction..."Black Mass"

Black Mass (2015)

Rated R

Starring Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott,

Directed by Scott Cooper

The Story:

Based on the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp), this drama attempts to show how devious he was by ensnaring FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) into making him an informant for the FBI which then gave him carte blanche to do as he pleased in the criminal underworld of Boston. Meanwhile his brother Billy (Cumberbatch) was a respected politician that helped his brother enough, but not to the point of being in the same spotlight with him.

Here you have a 2 hour drama that felt like 12 hours of your life slipped by.

Excruciatingly dull, this is a mafia drama with really, very little drama.

All we see are members of Bulger's gang confessing to this that or the other via flashbacks.

It turns out that Bulger's informant status may very have been completely fabricated by John Connolly. Bulger never ratted on anyone, a fact he holds very strongly too today. Connolly simply used testimony from other snitches to create Bulger's file.

The cast itself is a remarkable assemblage of talent. The sad part is, they are given very little to do.

Cumberbatch seems wasted in what is essentially a glorified cameo. That part could have been given to just about anyone and carried the same gravitas to the role.

Kevin Bacon seems to give the most passionate performance, too bad his screen time is likely 5 minutes or less.

I may have mocked Depp in the past for only playing the same character (Captain Jack) for the last 15 years or so, but when given a role like this...

Perhaps Captain Jack is him actually acting and doing a pretty good job, because he is stale, wooden and rather boring in this role. Of course, I have to go all the way back to Edward Scissorhands to find a Johnny Depp role I did like, so take it with a grain of salt.

:)

There is little passion, energy or excitement throughout the movie. There doesn't feel like escalating tension that Bulger is just getting away with things or people are becoming suspicious that Connolly may be helping Bulger out.

I'll give this one a "D" for disappointment.

Final Grade: D+

Spice Up Your Valentine's Day..."Sleeping With Other People"

Sleeping With Other People (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jason Sudeikis, Alison Brie, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet,

Written and Directed by Leslye Headland

The Story:

Jake (Sudeikis) meets Lainey (Brie) in college. She has come to the dorms to lose her virginity to Matthew (Scott). Except he's not home, and Jake tells her that Matt is quite the tool. The two bond and then the two virgins become none. Fast forward a dozen-ish years, and the two bump into one another. It's been one bad relationship after another for each of them, but they hit it off and become best of friends. But as we all know, men and women can't just be friends and the clock starts ticking...

I really wanted to like this one more than I did.

Think of it like When Harry Met Sally, except Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan talk about sex for 90 minutes and barrage you with language that makes a sailor stop and say "hey now, hold on a second!".

And yes, I'm a vile hypocrite because I don't mind it as much in some movies as I do in others. If you can take the language out and the jokes are still funny, you're on to something.

If you remove the language and there is no joke, then you've got a problem.

And therein lies my main problem with the film.

I've reviewed one of Ms. Headland's films before: Bachelorette . And I said many of the same things there.

She loves to talk about sex and get great actors to spew forth her dialogue.

This one is more amusing than that film, but that owes way more to Sudeikis' ability to deliver lines like this so well, he's phoning it in at this point. That said, the chemistry and likeability of both Sudeikis and Brie help elevate the overall proceedings. Replace either with another actor, and this review might have gone a whole different direction.

Kudos also to Adam Scott who comes back for more in this film as the slimey Matt who is ruining Lainey's life. He is one of Headland's favorites, and he usually also makes the most of whatever he is given.

I'm seeing improvements in Headland's body of work, but I think it's time for her to leave the bedroom behind and see if there is more to life than a good @#$%.

Or if not, at least be funnier about it.

Final Grade: C+

Time For A Dip In The "Hot Tub Time Machine 2"

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)

Rated R

Starring Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott

Directed by Steve Pink

The Story:

Lou (Corddry), Nick (Robinson) and Jacob (Duke) are enjoying the benefits of having used the Hot Tub Time Machine, but Adam (John Cusack) has apparently disappeared from sight. The boys party on without him though, until an assassin shoots Lou!  Desperate to keep that from happening, the 3 guys jump into the Hot Tub and fire it up to go back and prevent the shooting!  When they wind up in the future though, it appears that they have to fix the present to save the past!

Yeah..time travel!

File this under "I can't believe that they made a sequel to a movie that I never thought they would have made in the first place."

Because really, whoever thought Hot Tub Time Machine would be made? That and be moderately successful?

About 5-7 people, and they probably all work in Hollywood.

But apparently it was, and I can't lie, I watched the first film, and there are indeed some laugh out loud moments.

So here we are, five years later, and most of the group is back.

Why Cusack didn't come back is a mystery. Come on John, I've been watching some of your direct to DVD releases, and this wasn't going to sully your resume any worse than some of those.

But they work around him as best they can, bringing Adam Scott to fill the role by playing a long lost son.

It works, because it's Adam Scott, and he is a great character actor.

In fact, all of the cast makes the movie better just by dialing the crazy up to 11.

If you liked the first one, take a dip back into the water, you'll probably have as much of a good time this go round as well.

Final Grade: C+

If Everyone Has Seen It, Is It Still "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty" ?

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Sean Penn

Directed by Ben Stiller

The Story:

Walter Mitty (Stiller) works for Life Magazine. Life has been bought out and Ted Hendricks (Scott) comes to Life to oversee the transfer from print to digital. When famed photographer Sean O'Connell sends Mitty the negative that is to be the cover of the final issue of Life, he can't find it!  Mitty's previous daydreams of adventure turn real as he goes on a global quest to track down O'Connell to find out why he didn't send the actual negative.

The hook for "Walter Mitty" comes in his daydreams to escape reality.

Perhaps surprisingly, I actually didn't care too much for the movie when Mitty kept having his daydreams.

It is when he actually undertook the task of tracking down O'Connell that the movie began to fully win me over.  Granted, he still had a few daydreams, but they were much shorter, and much less far-fetched than those that had come earlier.

At that point, Mitty became the Everyman that audiences root for to succeed.  We become invested in his quest to track down the missing negative.

Of course, like the rest of the audience, odds are you will figure out where the picture really is, but that isn't the mystery so much as what is on the picture.

What could convey to the audience what could be one of the most important images in Life's storied history?

Needless to say, they nailed it.

It's a beautiful image that might even bring a tear to your eye as you realize that no matter how great technology has become, we are quickly losing so much of our historic past at an alarming rate.

Pretty profound for a comedy.

I have no comparison with the original as to how much or how little is made from the previous movie or story upon which it is based.

All I do know, is I'm glad I got to share in Walter Mitty's Life, no matter how briefly it was.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'm not rushing out to buy it, but I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Do You Suffer From "A.C.O.D." ? You Just Might...

A.C.O.D. (2013)
Rated R for language

Starring Adam Scott, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Jane Lynch

Directed by Stu Zicherman

The Story:

Carter (Scott) is an Adult Child of Divorce (ACOD) from his parents Hugh (Jenkins) and Melissa (O'Hara).  The two despise each other, and their relationship has forever scarred how Carter thinks of love.  When his younger brother (Clark Duke) is going to get married, Carter wants to make sure both of his parents come, but at least pretend to be civil with one another.  When Carter discovers that this reunion has caused the two of them to engage in an adulterous fling with one another, his world begins to come crashing down around him.

I had high hopes for this film, and felt like it never lived up to the potential.

It has an amazingly talented cast, but much of the scenes just don't sparkle with crisp gags or anything.

The movie waffles between laugh out loud funny and just amusing.

Is Walking In On Your Parents Hilarious or Amusing?

Sometimes it also wants to bring a little drama to the proceedings.

It may be this balance that was most troubling aspect of the film.

The actors are all really good, but much of their dialogue or situations just sort of happen with no rhyme or reason.

The potential for Adam Scott as he realizes that he is actually a test subject in a book about children of divorce is ripe for the picking, but really that entire subplot just fizzles on the vine.  Aside from introducing Jessica Alba to the movie, for no other reason than to have Jessica Alba in the movie apparently.

I think that I had 3 really HA HA moments and otherwise, just an amused smile from time to time.

That's a disservice to what this film would, and should have delivered.

Too much squandered potential.

Especially with the cast of this pedigree.

Dude, He Totally Didn't Love This Movie!

As the credits roll, the crew weighs in with their thoughts on divorce, and it's amazing how many are indeed scarred by their parent's divorce, and most want nothing to do with marriage.

Sad.

Final Grade C-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nope, the disappointment is still too fresh.

"Bachelorette": Nothing Worse Than A Humorless Comedy.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should...

The Story:

Becky (Rebel Wilson) is getting married.  Much to the dismay of her best friend Regan (Kirsten Dunst) who thought she would be going down the aisle first.  Regan becomes the Maid of Honor and spends the next six months organizing the wedding.  The movie mostly takes place at the night before the wedding when all of the bridesmaids are in town, including the girls other two friends, Gena and Katie (Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher).  The three insult Becky by mistake, destroy her dress, and then spend a wild night of drugs, alcohol and stupidity trying to fix everything in time for the wedding the next morning.

Man, with friends like that...

First, the school of thought was, if the guys can have a raunchy rated R comedy, why can't girls? 
Thus, we were blessed to receive Bridesmaids, which was amusing, but not hilariously funny.
Though when put in comparison to this film, it was downright hysterical.

Nope, apparently Leslye Headland who wrote it, directed it, and based it off a play, thought her stuff was funny with a capital F.

Having ladies spew obscenities, walk around getting wasted and having sex with anyone they please isn't funny. 

And to be fair, it's not funny when guys do it either.

Unless...

The dialogue is off-the-wall insanely hilarious.

Which it isn't.

Much to the waste of these great actresses, Rebel Wilson who I found hilarious in Pitch Perfect, Kirsten Dunst who was wrong as Mary Jane Watson, but otherwise acquits herself nicely in most anything, and Isla Fisher who was great in Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Here, all that talent was wasted spewing obscenities, snorting coke, or just behaving awful.

Even the always terrific Adam Scott can't rise above the material, though he is about the only bright spot in the movie (other than Rebel Wilson).  Go figure that the two characters that have the most heart and sincerity in the entire film are the bride who is barely used and the ex-boyfriend of one of the female leads.

James Marsden is also wasted in his role as the best man.

So much talent... so wrongly executed.

Now available to steam (typo, but I'm leaving it!) instantly on Netflix.

Final Grade: D+
Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Never in a million years...

When You Just Want To Have a Baby... "Friends With Kids"

Today's movie is: Friends With Kids.

Here's a romantic comedy...

Without the romance?!?

The plot:

A group of friends, 2 married couples and 2 perpetual singles, have been friends for ages.  However, as the married couples begin to have children, the friendship dynamic changes as family commitments rear their ugly head at the most inopportune times.  As the two singles realize, you can't have sex and children, the family unit poisons the sexual relationship...and it seems like divorced people have it right by only having to deal with kids part of the time.  These two decide that they will have a kid together, get the hard part of a relationship over, while they continue to look for their Mr/Mrs. Right.

What could possibly go wrong?

It is a fun, and interesting premise.  You have two married couples on the extremes: one is meant for family, the other couple's relationship the children are indeed a burden.  Then you have the singles who make it seem rather easy...at first...but then life and the baby complicate things.  Then what happens when/if Mr. or Mrs. Right never comes?

The actors involved do a great job.  I had seen 5 of the 6 in other movies and have enjoyed all of their work.  Amazingly, Jennifer Westfeldt turns out to be a Jack of All Trades with this film.  I've never watched any of her previous work, but this was her 3rd film that she wrote, the first that she directed, and she was also the star.

Well played ma'am, well played.


Taking a cue from many other great actor/director combos, while she has plenty to do, many of the laughs and best lines are divided amongst her co-stars.  She is not a prima donna by any means...or so it would seem to me.  Her leading man, Adam Scott plays his usual fun self.  When last I saw him in the movies, he was trying to save the day in Piranha. :)

The movie isn't gut-busting hilarious, nor is it the usual R-Rated Raunchfest.  The laughs and smiles are plentiful and they keep coming.  Eventually you are so entrenched in this group of friends that the laughs and tears are from genuinely caring, not just because of the line that was written.

Definitely worth a spin if you've not seen it.