Is This Thing On? (2025)

After a trial separation with his wife, a depressed man tries his hand at stand-up comedy. He's not so much funny as he is honest and raw as he expresses his feelings in a candid, therapeutic way. It's an often uncomfortable comedy-drama about breaking down a marriage in order to try and save it. Will Arnett and Laura Dern shine. Loosely inspired by the story of comedian John Bishop.

3½ weed cookies out of 5

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)

Returning from a lengthy absence (we won't talk about that), James Gunn completes his trilogy with flying colors that places the heart and soul back into Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Focusing on Rocket Raccoon's backstory, we are introduced to the High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock, as well as cuddly companions from Rocket's past. 

Like Deadpool, Guardians remains my favorite Marvel property due to its irreverent humor and winning heart (especially the chemistry between Drax and Mantis, who I will miss most of all), which set it apart from many of the superhero franchises which try so hard to be "cool" all the time. It's refreshing when all the characters feel flawed and sorta human (even the alien ones).

What I like most about this series is how it is (almost) separate from the MCU machine (the Guardians also feature in Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder, so it's not entirely self-contained), so you can watch Vol 1-3 as a trilogy of its own design (but don't forget the Holiday Special!). 

Most other things I have to say about this movie rely heavily on spoilers, but all I'll say is that while I was mostly satisfied with how it all ended, it left me with bittersweet feelings which prevent me from giving it a higher score.

3½ confusing car door designs out of 5

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

Peter Quill is feeling blue around the holidays, so Drax and Mantis decide to cheer him up by kidnapping Kevin Bacon from Earth. This movie is so much fun and embraces all of what makes Guardians of the Galaxy special and stand out from the rest of the stale, well-treaded superhero fare. It has a simple joyous quality about it, and Drax and Mantis remain my two favorite lovable weirdos at the heart of this franchise. It wedges nicely between Guardians 2 and 3 and provides a nice reprieve from the cynical Marvel machine which only serves to set-up future tentpoles. This is one that can easily be enjoyed without much foreknowledge of the MCU. I also like that they had fun building off the Star Wars Holiday Special, which this clearly pokes fun at with its animated Yondu flashback sequence. Enormously maudlin but oh-so-charming, it celebrates the humor and the characters at the heart of it. At a tightly-paced 40 minutes, it's the perfect length for this type of throwback Christmas special, which makes it easy to revisit year after year.

4½ swirly red-and-white curly men out of 5

The Mule (2018)

Inspired by true events from the 1980s, the title refers to the practice of transporting illegal drugs across borders, in this case American borders for a Mexican drug cartel by an octogenarian named Earl Stone (Eastwood).
Alas, outside of his courier role Earl is a pretty boring character. The semi-estrangement that exists between him and his family could've added colour, but it's sorely underdeveloped. An attempt to add tension and drama in the form of a pursuing DEA squad headed by an even more bland Bradley Cooper also falls mostly flat. Eastwood keeps things pleasingly traditional in style and direction, but the depth of character and/or interactions that were needed to keep such a one-note story engaging simply weren't there.

2½ pecans out of 5

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 [2017]

Director James Gunn returns to the MCU for more immensely entertaining nuttiness in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
Continuing their galactic misadventures, the Guardians are on the run from a race of powerful aliens  of whom they stole from when they run into Peter Quill's long-lost father with a tempting proposition.
After the surprise of how good the first film actually was, this installment has a lot to live up to and it almost hits the mark.  Gunn has a lot to juggle and it's almost always successful with a few minor quibbles here and there.  It's jam-packed with plenty of humor, extravagant set-pieces, memorable characters you learn to love even more and plenty of emotion to form some serious lumps in your throat.  If you're a fan of the first then this one will deliver the goods with oddball personality and genuine heart.

3½ trash pandas out of 5

JOY [2015]

Director David O. Russell reunites with his usual cast members for the funny inspirational drama Joy.
It's a slightly fictional bio-pic on American entrepreneur Joy Mangano and the trouble she had with her world famous Miracle Mop, while still trying to juggle being a single mother who took care of her whole crazy family.
Based on Silver Linings Playbook & American Hustle, Russell and his co-stars Jennifer Lawrence  & Bradley Cooper seemed to be the perfect ingredients for success but Joy manages to fumble a bit with a distractingly uneven tone.  Still Lawrence is terrific at portraying characters who are much older than the actress actually is, with a confident performance that is worth giving the film at least a single viewing.  The script seems to start leading into all sorts of potentially interesting arcs for character interaction but never seems to find it's footing and ultimately feels like it needs a good mop-up itself.

3 soap operas out of 5

AMERICAN SNIPER [2014]

Director Clint Eastwood's second film of 2014, American Sniper, is easily the more commercially accessible of the two.
The biopic war drama is about NAVY Seal Chris Kyle who made a name for himself, before his death, as the deadliest sniper in American military history.  Eastwood tends to sway heavily to one side of the story and it will play a big part in how you actually feel about the film.  Fortunately Bradley Cooper's leading performance anchors the film into an area that's universally familiar, war hurts everybody.  With it's riveting direction, intense storytelling and complicated psyche, this is unmistakably an Eastwood film, that pushes with the patriotism just a bit too much.

3½ Punishers out of 5

YES MAN [2008]

I wanted to watch something forgettable, not very good but somewhat entertaining to pass the time as I gave my brain a rest.
Director Peyton Reed's Jim Carrey vehicle Yes Man seemed to fit that description to a tee.
Carrey plays a man who decides he has to say "yes" to everything in order to start living life in a better way...the results are sometimes hilarious.  30 seconds into the trailer of the film you'll predict the beginning, middle and end, so if you're expecting more than be prepared to be laughed at.
It isn't very good...at all...but it did it's job and for that I commend it.

2 Prisoners of Azkaban out of 5

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY [2014]

Disney took a huge risk producing a big budget comic book movie based on a little known Marvel comic book.  They took even a bigger risk by enlisting the unhinged James Gunn to direct Chris Pratt in the lead role.
Fortunately Guardians Of The Galaxy succeeds in nearly every way possible.
The final film in Marvel's Phase Two before Avengers: Age Of Ultron, GOTG sets up for a larger story to be seen in Phase 3 but holds up well on it's own.  Gunn blends his trademark wackiness quite well into a comfy balance of humor, heart and action all neatly placed in the correct spots of the narrative to keep things in check.  It's a fast-paced wildly imaginative treat that feels like Farscape buggered The Fifth Element up the arse to the musical sounds of the 70's.

4 great heroes named Kevin Bacon out of 5

THE A-TEAM [2010]

I was told by a few folks that director Joe Carnahan's bigscreen adaptation of the beloved '80's TV show The A-Team is a lot more fun than you think it would be.
...I was lied to.
I was never a fan of the series, so maybe I'm missing something here but with a concept so inane and shallow, I'd be difficult to find something of much substance to begin with.  There's a few entertaining moments of groan-worthy action sequences but nothing that memorable or satisfying.  The cast looks like they're having a great ol' time but it's never enough to carry on to the viewer.  A boring, predictable, loud and violent waste of time if you ask me.

1 flying van out of 5

AMERICAN HUSTLE [2013]

David O. Russell reunites with his usual cast & crew members for the entertaining crime drama American Hustle.
The film gains most of it's unpredictable humor from the highly energetic cast-mates who all play off each other with comfort and ease.  It's a cat and mouse game where each character takes turns playing the cat only to be quickly knocked off their feet into the mouse hole again and that makes for some grin-worthy character studies.  With the actors going off the rails with their improvisation, the story is somewhat aimless at times, but Russell's always been one to care more about character rather than story and that works just fine.  It's a colorful, bold and sharply funny film with hilarious outgoing personality that's a breath of fresh air from all the other heavy-handed award contenders this year.

4 ice-fishing stories with Lye out of 5

THE HANGOVER PART III [2013]

After the retread shittiness of the second film, it's nice to see director Todd Phillips put some care back into the final instalment of his Hangover series.
It ditches the "hangover" template of the story all together (you could be critical as to why it's called the Hangover then, but do you really want to bother wasting your time with something so silly?) and instead it allows the story to develop into a comedic manhunt/suspense film.  In a way it works quite well and in others it's a bit of a misstep as well.  There's a few good laughs to be had but at times it's just too dark or angry to fully enjoy it as supposedly funny film.  Hardcore fans of the series will eat it up but casual viewers will scratch their heads wondering if this is supposed to be funny or intense.

2½ coked up cocks out of 5

THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES [2013]

The Place Beyond The Pines is a hypnotizing, slow-burning crime drama from director Derek Cianfrance.  

These are the characters Bruce Springsteen writes about in his songs.  Troubled Americans backed into a corner facing moral dilemmas and despair on the wrong side of the tracks.  The three lead actors, Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper and Dane DeHaan deliver some haunted and effective performances as always, while the cinematography, eerrie music courtesy of Mike Patton and wonderful narrative provide a memorably melancholy backdrop.   It will probably deter audiences simpy looking for a good time but comes highly recommended for lovers of great cinema.  

4 tastes of ice cream out of 5

THE HANGOVER PART II [2011]

Todd Phillips' second instalment of the Hangover series lacks the element of surprise of the first and fails to bring anything really all that funny to the screen.

If not for the relocation from Las Vegas to Thailand the story would be an exact copy of the first one, only a bit more violent and grittier.  There's a few scattered laughs throughout the film but in the end, you can't help but feel that it's a result of screenwriting laziness and Hollywood producers eager to shit out a cash cow before it's fully cooked.

1 night in Bangkok out of 5

THE HANGOVER [2009]

It's a strange time when a vulgar & stupid film like Todd Phillips' fratboy humored The Hangover receives the critical adoration & awards one wouldn't expect it to.

I like to believe they gushed over it because it is pretty damned funny but sadly I'm willing to bet it's the box office intake that did it instead.  It's pretty much a fast-paced version of Dude, Where's My Car? set in Vegas and thankfully without Ashton Kutcher.  The characters are insanely underdeveloped, the premise and actions are overly outlandish and it will probably offend anyone who takes too much pride in their intelligence but if it's a buddy buddy film you're looking for then this is a good place to start.  

3 men and a baby out of 5

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK [2012]

Director David O. Russell goes against his usual and makes a quiet & sensitive little drama about mental illness in Silver Linings Playbook. 

Normally I haven't enjoyed Bradley Cooper in...well...anything but here he excels with a wonderfully layered performance opposite Jennifer Lawrence who is equally as good.  Backed by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, the actors all play off each other with exceptional believability.  It's a story that could have easily fallen into shitty rom-com territory but with the direction, characters and actors, the film rises far above that genre with the perfect amount of warmth and thoughtfulness.

4 midnight meat trains out of 5

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN [2008]

Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura makes his American debut by bringing Clive Barker's Books Of Blood short story The Midnight Meat Train to the screen. 

A gruesomely bizarre tale about a photographer who becomes obsessed with hunting down a serial killer who fancies meat hooks on the New York subway.   It's stylish, moody and heavy on the atmosphere but sadly very light on character development, story pacing and riddled with terrible CGI blood.  

2 Barker paintings out of 5