Category Archives: Comedy

I am serious…and don’t call me Shirley.

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Indie Films, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Comedy (2012) Movie Review

May 4, 2016 Alex Brannan

Rick Alverson’s The Comedy is not a comedy. It is an anti-comedy. A satire of a self-destructive generation gazing on their own broken world. The film opens on a group of people, mostly slightly overweight men, drinking and dancing, spitting beer and stripping nude. This is a commonplace setting for this group of “friends.”

The film stars Tim Heidecker of Tim and Eric fame. Comedy partner Eric Wareheim co-stars, and their presence in the film in one instance is Continue reading The Comedy (2012) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Keanu (2016) Movie Review

April 28, 2016 Alex Brannan

After his girlfriend breaks up with him, Rell (Jordan Peele, also co-writer) comes across cute kitten Keanu, who proves to be the saving grace from his post-breakup blues.

Rell gets unnaturally attached to Keanu, to the point that when the cat is kidnapped (dare I say cat-napped?) by gangster outfit the 17th St. Blips, he and cousin Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) must infiltrate the gang and literally save the cat.

The lion’s share of comedy in Keanu derives from Continue reading Keanu (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Indie Films, Love It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Age of Cannibals (Zeit der Kannibalen) (2014) Movie Review

April 15, 2016 Alex Brannan

Age of Cannibals follows two German business consultants on a business trip in Lagos, Nigeria. While moving about their hotel, they try to convince a businessman to move his resources from India to Pakistan, deal with a new, young co-worker, and brashly handle cultural differences.

Stylistically, the films is fairly cut and dry. There is little out of the ordinary, save for Continue reading Age of Cannibals (Zeit der Kannibalen) (2014) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Drama, Indie Films, Love It

Cosmos (2015) Movie Review

April 15, 2016 Alex Brannan

In Cosmos, the final film from director Andrzej Zulawski, failing law student Witold (Jonathan Genet) takes a vacation in a renter’s home. Disillusioned, he abandons his studies to pursue writing a novel that mirrors his time at the house. But his time in the house proves to be psychologically taxing.

Strange visual motifs dominate the film. Bugs crawl over food, hanged animals appear intermittently, one character is Continue reading Cosmos (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Meet the Blacks (2016) Movie Review

March 31, 2016 Alex Brannan

When deciding what movie to see at the theaters Thursday night, I compared new releases on Google Trends. Of the new releases this weekend, Eye in the Sky stole the show in terms of search traffic proportions, God is Not Dead 2 had meager traffic, and Meet the Blacks was a goose egg across the board. Seemingly off the map of Google searches, I was intrigued, and decided to table Eye in the Sky for my Friday matinee. The question is, then, was it a worthwhile choice?

Meet the Blacks is a horror comedy spoof a la Scary Movie following the Black family as they move into their new lavish home in Beverly Hills. And, of course, they also have to deal with Continue reading Meet the Blacks (2016) Movie Review →

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The Brothers Grimsby (2016) Movie Review

March 11, 2016 Alex Brannan

How else could you possibly start a Sacha Baron Cohen film but with a grotesque sex scene over an R. Kelly track. Not to mention a low-brow Cosby crack.

In The Brothers Grimsby, Nobby (Cohen) is a lowly, dim man who has been waiting for his brother Sebastian’s (Mark Strong) return for 28 years. Sebastian, now an MI6 secret agent, has no intention of ever being found.

The opening credits action scene is surprisingly Continue reading The Brothers Grimsby (2016) Movie Review →

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Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) Movie Review

March 4, 2016 Alex Brannan

Kim Baker (Tina Fey) is a low-on-the-totem-pole journalist sent to Afghanistan to cover the war there. While there, she deals with gender and cultural politics, as well as personal relationships with military and press personnel.

In Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, the acting performances are Continue reading Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Indie Films, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words), Short Films

The Talk (2015) Short Film Review

February 22, 2016 Alex Brannan

The Talk, from director Joe Otting, is a two-person short depicting a conversation between a father and his young daughter. This conversation begins with an innocent confession, one that every child needs to hear at some point in their life, but then it takes a nosedive into a frank, awkward realm.

The short features performances from John Hoogenakker and Isabella Crovetti-Cramp, who is most recognizable from her appearance in Continue reading The Talk (2015) Short Film Review →

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Zoolander 2 (2016) Movie Review

February 12, 2016 Alex Brannan

Sequels can be many things. They can be good…sometimes. Or they can be superficial rehashes. Or they can be pure nostalgia pieces. Or they can be re-imaginings with topical insertions to try and bring an old property into the present day, where these insertions take the place of original comedy.

Zoolander 2 falls mostly into the latter category. Justin Beiber, Uber, and Susan Boyle are featured in early gags, in moments meant to hook the viewer in. These “topical” moments (Susan Boyle = topical?) feel Continue reading Zoolander 2 (2016) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Love It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Deadpool (2016) Movie Review