They're Baaaaaaaack..."Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising"

Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016)  

Rated R

Starring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Chloe Grace Moretz,

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

The Story:

Mac and Kelly (Rogen & Byrne) are moving out of the neighborhood and into a new house. They just need to wait 30 days for their current house to close.  And that's when Shelby (Moretz) rents the place next door. She starts her own sorority where the girls are allowed to party and have fun. And if you're going to start a sorority and throw a party, who better to have as your consultant than Teddy (Efron), the guy who made life miserable for Mac and Kelly a few years earlier?

If you watched and enjoyed the first Neighbors film 2 years ago, you pretty much know what to expect this go round.

It pretty much stays right on path with parents against college students, until decisions are made that cause Teddy to switch allegiances.

It's not high art, but the artists will get high.

A lot.

That's what they do.

This is Seth Rogen after all.

:)

However, his chemistry with Efron is fun to enjoy, and if you had a good time with the original, you're likely to have as good of a time this go round as well.

I found it to be just about as good as the first one, with a new mix of old and new cast members and a satisfying conclusion to the story.

Will there be a 3rd movie?

There shouldn't be, but if they do, or if Efron and Rogen team up again in something else, I'll swing by and check it out.

Final Grade: C+

I "Spy" With My Little Eye...A Movie That Should Have Been Better

Spy (2015)

Rated R

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Allison Janney

Written and Directed by Paul Feig


The Story:

CIA Operative Bradley Fine (Law) is killed in the line of duty. His analyst, Susan (McCarthy) is suddenly the best option to become a field agent, much to the dismay of their boss (Janney) and their other best spy (Statham). But Susan does her best to take all of her training into the field and watch their target (Byrne) and simply gather intel. However, when she makes contact, all bets are off and she may be the next spy to fall.

What a wonderful idea.

What a great cast.

What a horrible f*$%ing script.

I'm growing very tired of Paul Feig, or Hollywood, McCarthy or whoever thinks that funny equals f-bombs carpet bombing the movie in place of genuinely funny dialogue.

McCarthy's sarcastic put upon character is wearing thin on me, and you'll understand if I have reservations on the upcoming Ghostbusters reboot with Feig in charge.

Don't get me wrong, I think Unaccompanied Minors is one of the best Christmas movies made in the last decade and is an underappreciated masterpiece of comedy.

However, as underrated as that was, that's how overrated Bridesmaids was.

The Heat was mediocre, and this is a step down from that.

Maybe if Feig takes the f-word out of his arsenal, he'll be able to harness humor again, maybe not.

As the movie wore on, the repetition of the language was simply dragging the film down quick, and it was ejected at home.

I did finish watching the movie later, and there are humorous bits throughout, mostly thanks to Statham, but it was much too little, too late at that point.

I'm sure there's a sequel in the works already, but if it's going to be more of the same, I'm dreading it already.

Final Grade: C-

The Remake Will Come Out...Tomorrow... "Annie"

Annie (2014)

Rated PG

Starring Jamie Foxx, Cameron Diaz, Quvenzhane Wallis, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale

Directed Will Gluck

The Story:

You all know the hard-luck life story of Annie (Wallis). Well, bringing her from the depression of the 30s into the 21st century, now Annie is going to find her Daddy Warbucks in the form of entrepreneur Will Stacks (Foxx) who has decided to run for mayor. His campaign manager (Cannavale) swears that taking this kid in will boost his campaign through the roof. 

We'll see.

History of the movie from my point of view:

Announced - eyes rolled.

Trailer viewed - opinion changed.

Movie viewed - it was alright, it had its moments.

The update, overall, was not bad. The annoying red-headed girl is gone (except for a brilliant cameo at the beginning) as the story centers on a different Annie under the care of Hannigan (Diaz) and the other charges.

Some of the familiar songs are here, it wouldn't be Annie without them, and they get an update courtesy of the films producers like Jay Z and the like.

More of the film works than it doesn't, and the production looks like they had a pretty good time romping through a musical.

Wallis does great as the unknown who has to shoulder the burden on carrying 90% of the film, and she does a great job. She's cute, but not in an overly precocious or annoying way.

Foxx winds up with most (but not all) of the best lines and moments, but he plays very well opposite Wallis and the two share a wonderful bond onscreen.

Overall, if you like the story and want to see an update, you'll be pleased.

If you hate musicals, you'll probably want to stay away.

Though come on, Hard Knock Life is a great song.

Final Grade: C+

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+

With "Neighbors" Like These, It Might Be Time To Move!

Neighbors (2014)

Rated R

Starring Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco

Directed by Nicholas Stoller

The Story:

Mac (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) have just bought their first house and are raising their (really adorable) baby. The house next door is for sale, and they wonder who will move in. Cue the bad boy fraternity of the local college that just happened to have burned their last home down! The President (Efron) and Vice President (Franco) seem nice enough at first, but their partying and the neighbors trying to raise their kids soon begin to clash. Things are about to get ugly.

Funny, but ugly.

I set the bar low for this one.  I had seen the previews, and watching Rogen get blown through the roof with the airbag gag was funny.

It was still funny in the film itself.

This was an escalating revenge comedy as the neighbors and frat members attempted to outdo the other in their game of making life as horrible as possible for one another.

Efron continues to distance himself from his Disney past, and so far he's doing a fine job on both the comedic and dramatic sides of the coin.

Rogen continues playing his usual goofy everyman self, and he does a fine job at it.

The movie works nicely by not giving you either side to really root for or against.

After all, you would think the audience would side with the couple, yet they aren't exactly blameless in this whole thing.  Makes a nice counter-balance for the audience to decide who they want to root for.

Oh, and as I mentioned previously, the daughter? Absolutely adorable.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Better than I was expecting, but not good enough to earn a spot in the library. Could be viewed again in a few years for a few laughs.

The Response When I Started This Blog? "I Give It A Year"

I Give It A Year (2013)
Rated R for Language & Nudity

Starring Rose Byrne, Rafe Spall, Simon Baker, Anna Faris

Directed & Written by Dan Mazer

The Story:

Newlyweds Nat (Byrne) and Josh (Spall) had a lovely wedding, but now that wedded bliss has set in, it seems to be anything but that.  Things are becoming quite irritable between them, and now there is a potential client (Baker) who has a thing for Nat, and she is playing along, not letting him know that she's married.  Meanwhile, Josh's ex (Faris) is trying to be supportive, but still crushing on him.  The rest of the families are less than enthused with the marriage, and as the title suggests...

Will love win out?

Yes, yes it will.

Just not in the way it probably *should*... it just depends on your point of view.

Not Even Cooked!

Mazer does a great job of really offering you the chance to be both irritated and sympathetic to both spouses throughout this film.

Neither one is particularly much of either, easily alternating between good/snarky right before our eyes.  Sometimes by themselves, sometimes with their partner.  It's not his/her fault that he/she is that way, they just simply are.

And they don't click.

At all.

Except with other people.

Awkward...

 

Naturally, they are both too stubborn to see the writing on the wall, and risk jeopardizing their future happiness for trying to make everyone else happy, and not hurt one another.

I'm not sure what great takeaway for marriage they are trying to get across onscreen, except maybe to marry the right one from the start...

: /

It does tend to make life easier though.

Merchant Loses His Mind!

A special shout out to Stephen Merchant who steals every bit of the movie he is in with some of the most uncomfortably hilarious speeches you'll ever hear in a movie.

Thankfully, he is used sparingly, yet effectively in the movie.

Now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

If you dare!

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Nah, I'd have to say that once was enough for me on this one.  The funny bits were just that, bits.  Not enough to want to tackle the movie entirely again.