I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not (2025)

An impartial look at the comedic actor known for playing bumbling, arrogant characters with his trademark acerbic wit, from his beginnings with National Lampoon to his meteoric rise on Saturday Night Live; and the flourishing film career at the height of his popularity, before his perceived fall from grace. 

I've always liked Chevy Chase. Even when the world says you shouldn't like 'this person' because of 'this, that or the other.' Honestly, I relate more to the outcasts than anything. Once you get past his thorny exterior, you realize he's full of contradictory layers; thin-skinned and sensitive to criticism, but just wants to be loved. Even when he rubs people the wrong way, there's a self-awareness of coping and pain behind his eyes. This doc features him, warts and all. My only complaint is that it feels like it merely scratches the surface.

3 pratfalls out of 5

IF (2024)

Bea is a 12-year-old girl going through a rough time in life who begins to see the imaginary friends (IFs) of the kids who have outgrown them and left them behind. I thought this movie was adorable. Made me sad for many reasons, but it was very sweet and had its heart in the right place. Reminded me a bit of Spirited (also with Ryan Reynolds), mixed with Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and of course, Harvey. I feel like Cailey Fleming is going to be a huge fucking star one day. She's been great in everything I've seen her in.

There's a bit of a credit cookie at the very end for Louis Gossett Jr. (RIP), who plays Lewis, the old bear. I kept wondering the whole movie, whose IF was he?

3 invisible IFs (played by Brad Pitt) out of 5

Spirited (2022)

I managed to avoid any adaptations of A Christmas Carol so far this year, but this one was actually pretty good. It's both a modern retelling and a satire on Dickens that feels fresh and lively. The chemistry between Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds manages to keep spirits high and elevate the well-worn formula, although I almost thought their roles should have been reversed.

In terms of "feeling" on the Christmas Spirit-O-Meter, I would rank this close to The Muppet Christmas Carol in regards to its geniality, catchy songs, humor, heart and, well, spirits. Plot-wise, you already know what you're gonna get.

3 good afternoons out of 5

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

In 2019, Disney acquired Fox, and with it, their entire catalogue of Marvel/X-Men characters from 1998-2017. This movie is a love letter to that era. Ryan Reynolds somehow convinced Marvel to create a dirty, uber-violent, hard-R rated movie under the Disney banner (the first of its kind), while introducing Deadpool to the MCU. And it's as delightfully irreverent as you can possibly imagine. Part of the enjoyment comes from the knowledge that the Mouse House is letting them get away with this filth at their expense, simultaneously poking fun and biting the hand that feeds them. It finally reunites Reynolds with Hugh Jackman in a plot that doesn't really matter as much as the relationship that is forged between the characters (#FriendshipGoals), as well as enough clever in-jokes and cameos to keep a shit-eating grin on your face throughout. It pays off even more if you've been investing in these movies as long as I have. Bravo to all involved for pulling off this feat. And it paid off in spades at the box office. There's a lesson to be learned here...take chances and throw caution to the wind!

Good lord, it's been far too long since I've seen a movie this gleefully profane. Above all, these movies are just plain fun. Shut off your brain and enjoy the weird places it takes you. It'll be impossible to separate Wolverine and Madonna from here on out.

4½ buttery nuts all up in my mama out of 5

Deadpool 2 (2018)

The Merc with the Mouth returns in this demented step-brother to the X-Men franchise. What happens when someone who can't die loses the will to live? This installment introduces the time-traveling Cable who arrives from the future in order to murder a kid who will eventually grow up to be a villain. Can he be redeemed? Also in tow is the entire X-Force team, including Domino (whose superpower is "luck") and Peter. Yep. Just Peter.

This sequel is not quite as iconic as the original, but still above-average comic book fare that is better than it has any right to be. I like to think of these movies more as parodies of the genre because they're chock full of hilarious sight-gags and subversive meta humor. It also manages to pull off that rare balancing act of being side-splittingly funny while tugging at the heartstrings in unexpected ways. Watch it all the way through for some very satisfying credit scenes that are essential to the plot (and the future of the franchise).

3½ grotesque baby legs out of 5

Note: A (bleeped) PG-13 version of this movie was released called Once Upon a Deadpool, which features a brand new wraparound story with Fred Savage, spoofing his role in The Princess Bride, that's well worth your time. An extended unrated cut was also released, with 15 additional minutes, which is the preferred edition to seek out—although all three versions contain alternate takes/jokes, so you can roll the dice.

LIFE [2017]

Director Daniel Espinosa tries his hand at the 'In Space No One Can Hear You Scream' genre with Life.
Here we have a team aboard an international space station that's discovered signs of life on Mars but unfortunately for them this sign of life means to extinguish theirs.
After the viewer is enthralled by the opening eight minute long shot, reminding us Gravity created that intense disorientation ten times better, things quickly go downhill from there.  It seems so intent on making the science seem convincing it immediately grounds the film in a way that it leaves little otherworldly imagination to work with.  I've never seen Jake Gyllenhaal or Ryan Reynolds look so painfully bored with what they're doing, so it's refreshing to see Rebecca Ferguson give it all she's got, which still isn't enough.  This movie is just, inside and out, unoriginal and mundane.

2 Flubbers on the warpath out of 5

DEADPOOL [2016]

Animator/director Tim Miller, the guys who wrote Zombieland and actor Ryan Reynolds bring the foul-mouthed Canadian anti-hero, Deadpool, to life in this spin-off of the X-men comic book movie franchise.
A wisecracking mercenary who is dying from cancer decides to take part in an experimental cure that leaves him horribly scarred, but with amazing healing powers, sending him to go on a violent revenge frenzy.
Constantly breaking the fourth wall for kicks, Deadpool makes full use of it's hard R rating which results in some pretty extreme violence, filthy language and various objects up one's anus.  Reynolds was born for this role and his dedication to it raises the quality of the what could have easily been pure trash.  Instead, the film is a ruthlessly funny comic book flick that teeters on the edge of becoming the film it aims to make fun of.

3½ crime-fighting shit swizzlers out of 5

THE CAPTIVE [2014]

To get straight to the point, Atom Egoyan's "thriller" The Captive is like someone took a made for afternoon TV movie, chopped it into bits and put it back together again in whatever order made the least sense.
It's the story about the case of missing girl that spans over a period of 8 years.  The problem is the story sloppily jumps back and through the years, (4 different periods, I think) without any indication when or why which leads it to make next to no sense.  There's absolutely no mystery or tension, seeing as we know who the kidnapper is and that the missing girl is safe within the first 2 minutes of the film.  It's like Egoyan decided to take you for a tedious ride through the country and insulted you like a dullard the whole time before dropping you off in the last place you want to be.

½ magic flute out of 5

R.I.P.D. [2013]

Red director Robert Schwentke adapts Peter M. Lenkov's comic book R.I.P.D. for the big screen with very mixed results.
On one hand, it's got some inventive ideas used sparingly, some good chuckles courtesy of Jeff Bridges & Mary Louise-Parker and some wild action sequences.
On the other hand, it's Men In Black-ish script is transparent and dull, the character interactions are more than forumlaic and some boring action sequences to make up for the wild ones.
It's a pretty mixed bag of shit and fun which tests your patience like a slap in your neighbor's face with a wet fish.

2 banana guns out of 5

THE CROODS [2013]

How To Train Your Dragon director/screenwriter Chris Sanders & Kirk DeMicco crank up the fun in the CGI animated comedy The Croods.

Aided by some great voicework (particularly Ryan Reynolds hilariously perfecting smug bastard), some colorful heart-racing action scenes and composer Alan Silvestri doing his best work since The Mummy Returns, the film is light on substance but high on fast-paced entertainment.  The first 15 minutes might be a little too boring but I think it's intentional to polarize the ride you're taken on afterwards.  It's really goofy but the heart of the story wins you over with laughs and action.

3½ mother-in-laws out of 5 

Blade: Trinity (2004)

I can think of a dozen very good reasons why you wouldn't want to watch the third and (hopefully) final entry in the franchise. I’ll list the top three:
1. Ryan Reynolds.
2. Ryan Reynolds.
3. Everything else.
It’s also too long; it should have been cut by about 122 minutes.

0½ a vampire vibrator out of 5

SAFE HOUSE [2012]

Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington deliver some great performances in director Daniel Espinosa's crime thriller Safe House.

The two leads turn in some solid acting, however it's the rest of the fantastic cast that is put to waste as stock characters that have nothing to offer to the character conflicts.  The rest of the film is ruined by a predictable plot that has nothing new to offer to the genre and an irksome overuse of the shaky cam effect.   It's not offensively bad but leaves little to offer after all is said and done.

2½ guests out of 5

WAITING...[2005]

Ever wondered what it's like to work in a restaurant?

2005's Waiting... takes you behind the scenes in all it's crude, perverted, angry, foul-mouthed and always hilarious glory. 

It doesn't try to do anything but make you laugh and give a better insight into the day of the people who cook and serve your fucking food, you cunts. It's not gold but it's obviously written by someone with experience and that's what makes it great.

3 teaspoons of floor spice out of 5

SMOKIN' ACES [2006]

Writer/director Joe Carnahan attempts to go for a hip, violent and witty crime film in Smokin' Aces but just narrowly misses the mark.

It's a bit of a mess, lacks any sort of interesting character developments and never fully realizes it's own potential but can be pretty damned entertaining at times.  It's got a huge cast which keeps you guessing who's going to bite the bullet next and makes for a pretty intense finale but it just simply tries to hard to be "cool and shocking". 

2½ white trash karate kid boners out of 5

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

A series of prequels telling one character’s story prior to the first X-Men film was an idea that had potential; it’s certainly more logical than a reboot. I’d have liked a Magneto one, but it would need to be bleak and touch on some heavy political matters that would scare producers.
A Wolverine origin would’ve been my next choice. What we got doesn’t live up to expectations. It’s a mess of badly choreographed action and hurried pacing that presents little opportunity to become emotionally attached to anyone. Hugh Jackman gives it his best, but he can’t save it from itself. It has one emotional scene, but it’s not enough to recommend the film.

1 Ryan Reynolds is a dick out of 5

The Change-Up (2011)

A lecherous bachelor and a grounded married man are offered the opportunity to test drive each other's lives after a chance piss encounter in a fountain one night. Hasn't this idea been done to death by now? At any rate, it's better than I expected it to be and both actors do a fine job of channeling the other's energy. The comedy level is raunchy, but as expected, ultimately sweet and everything ends up for the best, unlike, say, life. Sure, it's a waste of two hours of my life, but it's not like I was going to do anything better with it anyway.

2 squirts of shit in the mouth out of 5

Green Lantern (2011)

No one's reviewed this yet? Well, okay.

Like a lot of these origin movies, it spends a lot of time on back story and not enough on action. Once Hal Jordan obtains his mystical powers, however, it slips into high gear. Sometimes resembling Superman (and for once he is recognized, even with his "disguise"), this DC comic book adaptation has fun with the character's powers and I didn't end up resenting Ryan Reynolds more than I usually do. Definitely a helluva lot better than Thor and Transformers 3.

2.5 rippling pectoral muscles out of 5

BURIED [2010]

In this Spanish thriller directed by Rodrigo Cortés, Canadian smart-ass Ryan Reynolds is given the chance to shine as the only actor to be seen on screen throughout the entire film.
Reynolds plays an American truck driver working in Iraq who's taken hostage and buried alive with nothing but a lighter and a cellphone. The film plays in real time and is an emotional roller coaster, forcing the viewer to hold their breath as their own claustrophobia and tension sets in. While the film doesn't quite live up to it's extreme potential it does a mighty fine job at holding your attention for what little it has to work with.
It's depressing, hopeless, tense and quite frankly one of my worst nightmares.

3 tear-jerking long distance phone calls out of 5