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-

Dynamic Duo... "Central Intelligence"

Central Intelligence (2016)   

Rated PG-13

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Amy Ryan, Danielle Nicolet, Jason Bateman, Aaron Paul

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

The Story:

Calvin Joyner (Hart) is apprehensive about his impending 20 year high school reunion. The man voted most likely to succeed has felt like anything but successful in the ensuing decades, his best days seemingly far behind him. When he accepts a friend request from Bob Stone (Johnson), it turns out that it's a former classmate who was bullied in high school, but Calvin stood up for him once upon a time. The two reunite, and Bob tells Calvin that he needs his accounting skills to help him find the elusive Black Badger!

Kevin Hart has grown on me over the past few years.

Starting as a supporting cast member, he usually made the movies he was in better, graduating into leading man or at least supporting lead actor in a film.

When paired with the right actor, he forms a great comedy tandem.

Thankfully, he's paired with The Rock, Dwayne Johnson.

This time, Johnson gets to play the action hero again, but in a much more comic role, and with faults and foibles that normally he doesn't get to use in most films.

The results are comedic gold, and it may be an eye-opening film for a lot of moviegoers who may not be used to seeing Johnson displaying his comedic chops.

The movie even keeps you guessing on whether or not Bob really is a traitor or not, so Thurber delicately balances the fun with the action and it combines to be a fun movie for the whole family.

Plus, when any movie gets the "Mom Seal of Approval" by my lovely wife wanting to see it again the same week...

Well, that's a winner in my book.

Welcome to the first contender for Best of the Year 2017 status!

Final Grade: B+ 

It's A Jungle Out There..."Zootopia"

Zootopia (2016)

Rated PG

Starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, J.K. Simmons, Shakira,

Written and Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, Jared Bush

The Story:

Judy Hopps (Goodwin) is determined to be the first bunny rabbit to ever join the police force. It's never been done before, and society at large says it shouldn't be allowed, but she manages to join the force in time to land the biggest missing animal case the city has ever seen. To save her job, she joins forces with Nick (Bateman),  a streetwise fox to try and unravel the whereabouts of the citizenry of Zootopia.

Leave it to Disney to strike a chord with the masses with a kind-hearted message movie about racial and/or gender equality that is appealing to the masses.

In this case, you've got the predators and the prey living side by side, but with some nefarious plotting afoot, how long will the fragile peace in the land last?

Then by switching the focus from Nick to Judy, you've also added the layer that girls can do anything boys can do, if that is what they want to do.

So yes, heavy social topics, but not delivered with a heavy hand to take away the enjoyment of the movie.

As usual with Disney, they've combined wonderful character designs with a stellar voice cast to create a beautiful movie.

I'm doubtful it needs one, but since it's Disney, I'm sure we  haven't seen the last of these characters. Let's hope the inevitable sequel has a story worthy of the original.

For those that have missed it in theaters or on DVD, starting tomorrow, you should be able to begin streaming it on Netflix as one of the first movies to arrive as part of the exclusive Disney/Netflix deal.

Don't worry, those of you without kids, you can watch it too.

: )

Final Grade:  A-

And You Thought Your Family Was Weird..."The Family Fang"

The Family Fang (2015)

Rated R

Starring Jason Bateman, Nicole Kidman, Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett,

Directed by Jason Bateman

The Story:

Annie (Kidman) and Baxter (Bateman) Fang have grown and left their eccentric parents (Walken & Plunkett) out of their lives as much as possible. When Baxter gets injured, his family comes to take care of him, and the family is reunited one more time. But their parents being weird performance artists have left emotional scars on the siblings. However, when their parents go missing and are presumed dead, the kids aren't too sure that this isn't just their latest masterpiece.

If it sounds weird, it's because it was weird.

It's a quirky dramedy that explores the relationship between a family that was so dysfunctional, they had no clue what dysfunction even was.

And yet, they also had a very good time growing up, and the bond between brother and sister is remarkably strong for all that they endured.

It's a very character driven story that flashes back to when the kids were younger and shows what they endured growing up.

The oddest part of the movie is how it seems like it's also part documentary in narration, which gives the movie a bit of an odd flow to it, but it's nothing that is too hard to look past.

Good performances by all of the actors involved, and that's what propels your interest in the movie from start to finish.

Final Grade: C+

We've All Had Some "Horrible Bosses 2"

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

Rated R

Starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Chris Pine, Christoph Waltz

Directed by Sean Anders

The Story:

Nick (Bateman), Kurt (Sudeikis) and Dale (Day) return, but this time they have invented a product and they are going to be their own bosses! They pitch it to billionaire Bert Hanson (Waltz) and he loves the idea and orders a boatload of them. The boys get down to business creating the product, all on their own dime, but when they take the product to Mr. Hanson, he declines, having already created a similar product. The guys plot their revenge, and that involves taking Hanson's son (Pine) hostage and ransoming him so they can save their company. Of course where these guys are concerned, nothing ever goes according to plan.

Having been pleasantly surprised at how funny the original Horrible Bosses turned out to be, I was eagerly anticipating the sequel, and hoped it wouldn't be a disappointment.

Long story short, if you liked the first one, there is little doubt that you will enjoy this follow up.

It's rude. It's crude.

But hey, that's where half the charm lies.

Sudeikis is manic, and his delivery is just killer. Listening to him deliver his lines simply kills throughout the film.

Day was a revelation for me from the first film, as I don't believe I had seen him in anything prior to that. As the exasperated one of the trio, he and Sudeikis provide a whirlwind of emotions and delivery that allow Bateman to be "the sane one" in a series of insane moments.

This works, and doesn't make Bateman have to do all the heavy lifting like he does in some other movies.

It provides a nice balance between the 3 stars.

Aniston and Spacey return in brief, but memorable parts that help drive the narrative.

I could think of worse things to endure than the prospect of a third go-round with this group.

Final Grade: B

Cumbersome Title, A Couple Laughs... "This Is Where I Leave You"

This Is Where I Leave You (2014)

Rated R

Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Dax Shepard, Timothy Olyphant

Directed by Shawn Levy

The Story:

After their father passes away, all of his family reunites at his house and is forced to stay their for a week due to Jewish customs. They naturally all find this very odd, since their dad wasn't Jewish... Naturally, whenever a dysfunctional family is forced to be together under one roof for more than about an hour, chaos and insanity ensues.

For a very funny cast, the laughs are few and far between.  If you're expecting a laugh riot, you will be disappointed.

It's a dramedy in every sense of the word.

Divvying up screen time to allow the stories of each of the children to unfold is naturally rather difficult. Most centers on Judd (Bateman) who starts the movie with a shock to the system, even before he finds out his father passed away.


The cast does a fine job balancing their angst with their humor.

Not a bad movie in any sense of the word, just nothing that memorable that would require another viewing down the road.

Final Grade: C+

That Was 90 Minutes of My Life Stolen by an "Identity Thief"

It's a wonderful life...

The Story:

Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) is a wiz at his job, which is handling lots of valuable information and money.  So go figure that he gives up all of his personal information over the phone to a seemingly reputable firm when Diana (Melissa McCarthy) asks so sweetly on the other end.  Just like that, she creates some credit cards, driver's license and away she goes on a shopping spree in Florida while Sandy slaves away in Denver.  It's only when he tries to start a new job after getting arrested that he learns his identity has been compromised, and the only way he can get his name cleared is if he goes to Florida and brings the lady to justice himself.

Piece of cake, right?


Well, that was something.

This movie wasn't nearly as funny as it could have been, as many of the jokes were labors to stretch and give the movie an R rating to be edgy and funny.

Think of it like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but Neal would be trying to bring Del home from the beginning, and Del trying to get away.

When the movie didn't try and be crass, it was actually pretty amusing.

It seems that lately the comedies can't decide if they want to just "Shock and Awe" the audience and grab that R rating and go for broke, or they feel the need to sap it up and grab the safer PG-13 rating and try and pull in the families.  Why they seem to sway to one extreme or the other is beyond me, I've seen plenty of movies that can walk the thin line without going too far in any one direction.

This movie seemed at times like it couldn't decide which one to go for.  The only problem I have with embracing the R rating, is make the jokes funny.  If the jokes aren't that great, it doesn't matter what rating you slap on a movie.

All that said, I will give bonus credit to the ending for not taking the obvious route.

Well, at least partially.

It was going down familiar territory, but they amazingly throw in one little twist that ends the movie on an actual high note of respectability versus the shrug of "I saw that one coming."

Finally as for the acting, well, it's nothing I haven't come to expect from Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.  I've mentioned before that many actors seemingly play themselves, or at least the same character with little variation enough, that there is nothing new to the role.  Call it stereotyping or pigeon-holing these actors, but this seems to be the roles that Hollywood is writing for these two, and until I see something different, I'm going to keep believing the stereotype to be true.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: While I could watch it again in the future, I would likely choose something else instead.  :)  Pass on a purchase!

Let's Get Hairy! "Mansome"

How manly are you?


The Story:

This documentary takes a look at men.  How manly are we? What do beards, moustaches and constant grooming say about men as a whole? 


Unlike Morgan Spurlock's usual documentaries, this one plays more as a star-filled comedy documentary.

You have Jason Bateman and Will Arnett doing some schtick at a health spa to break up the segments within the documentary.  I guess when you sign up as Executive Producers, you get what you want, though their bits are too long, and not nearly as funny as they should be, or as they probably think they were.

Then you have the following interviewed:

Judd Apatow
Adam Carolla
Zach Galifianakis
Paul Rudd

So this isn't man in the street territory.

The documentary itself is also a bit uneven in presentation.  Spurlock is heavily invested and seen in the first segment (moustaches) and then completely disappears for the rest of the film.  Odd to say the least, and so unlike any other documentary that I've seen him present.

The second segment on beards is overly long, painfully paced, and stars a guy that really is hard to care about since his only passion in life is having a great beard...but when you stack him against the competition at beard competitions (really???) his beard just doesn't look that great.  It's simply long.

It picks up again after that with showing what wrestlers have to endure to basically be completely shaved to do their jobs correctly.  Man, that's got to suck.

Then it gets an overlong metrosexual finale with perhaps the vainest "man" on the planet.  Likely not, but again, like the beard, too long, and the character much less interesting.


It's amusing at times, and indeed an interesting topic.

However when you average out the great with the so-so...

Final Grade: C
Would I Own It: Nah, I'm good.


Available for streaming on Netflix as of this writing.