"The Brothers Grimsby" Is Downright Painful

The Brothers Grimsby 

Rated R

Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson, Isla Fisher,

Directed by Louis Leterier

The Story:

Nobby (Cohen) and his little brother Sebastian (Strong) were orphaned growing up, and separated by adoption. Nobby has always been waiting to find his long lost brother, and when the two are finally reunited, he actually blows Sebastian's cover as a top MI6 agent, and now Sebastian is wanted for murder. The brothers have to stay alive and clear their names before their reunion is short-lived.

You know those trailers where you think you probably saw all the good parts already?

Well, if you saw the trailer for The Brothers Grimsby, you were pretty much correct.

As this was my first Sacha Baron Cohen movie, I cannot compare it against his previous offerings to decide if this is along the same lines as those films.

It's enough to make me realize that I'm not Cohen's target audience though.

There are glimpses of a smart, Bond-style parody, and getting Leterier to direct an action-comedy was likely a wise choice.

However, the few smart gags that happen are surrounded by a dozen crude jokes with little or no humourous value in them, whatsoever.

Which is a shame, because it wastes a pretty good cast.

That Isla Fisher chose this over Now You See Me 2, time to fire your agent.

And Mark Strong tries to save the movie by being just plain awesome, but it's too little, too late.

I can't, in any good consciousness, recommend this movie.

I will give it bonus points for thankfully being shorter than most movies.

Do yourself a favor, and go watch Kingsman instead.

Final Grade: D+

Trying To Watch This One Is Like "Hell Baby"

Hell Baby (2013)

Rated R

Starring Rob Corddry, Leslie Bibb

Written and Directed by Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon

The Story:

A couple (Corddry and Bibb) are expecting their first baby. They move into a haunted house in New Orleans, and strange things begin happening.

The first strange thing that happened was the filmmakers made Rob Corddry not funny.

Those that have read my other reviews, I love this guy in just about everything he is in.

Hot Tub Time Machine, I'm looking at you!

But even he can't save this pedestrian parody vehicle.

The first rule of parody is to take the source material and put a humorous or funny spin to it.

I'm not sure how far I made it into this film, 10, 20 minutes...

But it felt like a lifetime until I finally switched it off and sent this one back.

No humor.
No scares.

No likey.

This was brought to you by the creators of Reno 911.

Perhaps I don't get their humor, having never seen that show, I can't say.

But I wasn't a fan of this one at all, and it winds up on my Turkey of the Year list with a miserable showing.

Final Grade: F

Sunday's Screamer...I Mean Streamer..."A Haunted House"

Some weird things are going on in this house!

And there's a ghost, too!

The Story:

Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) has his girlfriend Kisha (Essence Atkins) move into his house with him.  Malcolm didn't ask for the demon to come along with her.

Ah yes, a parody of the "found footage" horror movies that are box office hits.

And, they do some of the same stunts, which actually generate some suspense and chills, but they are buried deep and wide amongst the throw it at the wall and see if it sticks comedy.

Now, for those that have seen the Scary Movie franchise, you probably know exactly what kind of comedy you're going to get.

When Marlon Wayans is your most grounded character in the film, you know there's going to be issues. :)

You've got Nick Swardson playing Chip the gay psychic who is infatuated with Malcolm, and is more concerned with getting with Malcolm than getting rid of the demon.

Then you have Cedric the Entertainer at the end of the film as the exorcist.  Small part, but he has a good time with it.

Whether or not they are successful ridding the house of the demon...

Well, I just saw that a sequel is in the works, so that should give you a clue.

Available to stream instantly as of this writing on Netflix.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nope, I'm good on this one.  There were some amusing gags in the film, but not enough to warrant subsequent viewings.  Yes, I will likely watch the sequel though.  :)