Dead End Drive-In

I think that much my dislike of this movie comes from viewing it now, in 2017, instead of when it was released in 1986. I imagine, were I to watch "The Warriors" now for the first time, I'd think it was about the most ridiculous film I'd ever seen. This film was very much like that, which I could forgive and even get behind. However, when the film became unabashedly racist in the last half, I really checked out of it. Again, this might have been normal for 1986 Australia, but, watching it now, I just can't do it. Not for me. 1.5/5

Dead End Drive-In on Netflix

Zoolander 2

I absolutely adored the first "Zoolander" film and I had high hopes for this sequel, but it received such a clubbing by fans and critics I waited until now to see it. The critics were right - this was pretty painful to watch. The whole spirit of the first film was lost, and the plot was needlessly complicated and muddy. When I saw how many writers worked on this I was kind of stunned. This really didn't work for me. 2/5

Zoolander 2 on Netflix

Yakuza Apocalypse

I have no bleeding idea what I just watched. I knew I was getting a movie about Yakuza vampires, but the trailer made this seem like a pretty straightforward thriller. But it was about the time when the head Yakuza vampire was fighting a dude in a big plushy green frog suit, and the dude in the suit took the suit off to reveal a man with a frog head and hands, who then grew to be 200 feet tall and started breathing fire on the world.... well..... that was when they lost me. So... yeah. 2/5

Yakuza Apocalypse on Netflix

Swiss Army Man

This film was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the absolute best films I have ever seen in my entire life. It is also the most wholly original film I have ever seen in my life. It's going to take a long time to fully wrap my head around what I just saw. It's so rare to see a film that is, at its heart, a comedy, but also a deeply tragic and poignant questioning of humanity and what we hold dear. The performances by Dano and Radcliffe were just astonishing. There is no doubt in my mind that Radcliffe deserves a Best Supporting Actor nomination for this. And the music was just perfectly sublime and fit the film so well. This is such a good film, it's just beyond anything I had hoped for. If you do nothing else, please watch this. Just amazing. 5/5

Swiss Army Man on Netflix

Creep

A perfect example of how a really creepy movie can be made for about eight dollars. Duplass and Brice were both good, but Duplass really shines in this - he's a much better actor than he gets credit for being. Even though much of the plot was apparent to fans of this genre, I still enjoyed it a lot. 4/5

Creep on Netflix

Ted

Alright, I'm going long here, so bear with me. Faithful readers of this blog will know that I have no time for raunchy, absurdist humor that has no grounding to it. Don't get me wrong, I love adult humor, but, if it isn't balanced or grounded in some way it feels like a monkey desperately hurling shit at a wall just to see what kind of pattern it makes. It feels cloying and desperate to me, like someone trying to buy humor with mere shock value. I've taken films to task for this in the past, and I levied the same criticisms at "Deadpool", which I saw earlier today. "Ted" is not such a film. Yes, it has a very absurdist and very raunchy humor to it, but it worked so very well because MacFarlane spent so much time crafting his world. "Ted" takes it's absurd premise and makes it seem so real and delivers it's humor is such a beautifully deadpan way that it succeeds where so many before it have failed. The comic structure of the film is sheer perfection, as is the delivery of the material. The acting was amazing, which I never thought I'd say for Wahlberg. THIS IS HOW YOU DO THIS KIND OF HUMOR PEOPLE. Live it, learn it, love it. A perfect comedy, the best I've seen in a long time. 5/5

Ted on Netflix

The Ladykillers

This Coen brothers farce felt forced & utterly absurd - I didn't feel connected to it at all. Not good for me. 2/5

The Ladykillers on Netflix

nbt: Never Been Thawed

This mockumentary is genuinely funny & different with interesting characters & irreverent humor. 4/5

nbt: Never Been Thawed on Netflix

Alan Partridge

Coogan will never get back the magic of Partridge's first series, but this was a fitting chapter, pretty funny. 3/5

Alan Partridge on Netflix

I'm So Excited

This Almodovar comedy is quite raunchy & funny, a real farcical delight of a film. I'm becoming a fan. 3.5/5

I'm So Excited on Netflix

The Grand Budapest Hotel

It's simply actually. Either you like Wes Anderson movies or you don't. I liked early Anderson but have grown tired & very annoyed at his mid-to-late absurdist comedy. I don't enjoy it, I don't find it amusing or endearing, and I'm certainly tired of his directorial style. This latest film was wittier than most but still ludicrous in that way that simply annoys me. It gets a half a star for the humor though and for Fiennes' performance, which I truly enjoyed. 3.5/5

The Grand Budapest Hotel on Netflix

Freddy Got Fingered

I read an article not long ago urging people who had seen Tom Green's big screen debut when it was first released and didn't like it to give it another shot, that it really was a work of genius. And as I was a huge Tom Green fan, I decided to do just that. It's just as bad as I remembered. Save yourself the 90 minutes, it's exactly how you have it in your mind. 2/5

Freddy Got Fingered on Netflix

Ghost Team One

Totally not for me, I really don't do this kind of humor. If you're a frat kid then totally, but not for me. 1.5/5

Ghost Team One on Netflix

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

I hated this with a fiery passion. It was awful & trite & had none of the original's magic. 1.5/5

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues on Netflix

Dinner for Schmucks

Surprisingly faithful to the French original, this remake is more absurdist with a blah end but still good. 3/5

Dinner for Schmucks on Netflix

Wanderlust

Just a terrible, awful, trite little comedy about bad people behaving badly - Apatow is losing his touch I think. 1.5/5

Wanderlust on Netflix

Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words

I've never seen Bo before - he's funny, insightful, dry witted & really daring. I enjoyed this. 4/5

Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words on Netflix

The Watch

This is painfully bad & poorly written throughout - I found myself tuning out the whole film. Just so not good. 2/5

The Watch on Netflix