Though I was laughing I initially had reservations about this sequel. But it pretty soon won me over and I think I liked it almost as much as the first film, if not just as much.
Tag: Action Comedy
Bullet Train (2022, David Leitch)
This is a spin on the classic train movie that leans heavily into some specific styles in reimagining the genre. (Is the train movie a genre or is s it a sub-genre?)
The LEGO Batman Movie (2017, Chris McKay)
This is a very silly kids Batman film that has enough jokes for adults to keep you laughing but is pretty damn cheesy.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022, Taika Waititi)
The fourth Thor film isn’t as good as the third but is still better than the first two.
The Lost City (2022, Aaron Nee, Adam Nee)
This is a pretty funny riff on Romancing the Stone style adventure films. Really, it’s a direct parody of Romancing the Stone and its sequel, in many ways.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021, Andy Serkis)
So I liked this substantially more than the first movie and I think it’s for one main reason: Venom is present from the beginning. I don’t remember if there were this many wisecracks in the first film but, if there were, I was already pretty bored when they started. Here it’s clearly a comedy (in …
Baby Driver (2017, Edgar Wright)
This is a pretty entertaining car chase film with a love story built into it. But it’s one of those films that fall apart the more you think about it, even though there are some touches that should elevate it to something more.
Red Notice (2021, Rawson Marshall Thurber)
This is a fairly entertaining movie that would be actually pretty fun if it wasn’t so stupid. It’s a frustrating experience to watch a movie where a bunch of the jokes land really well but the script is bad and the plot is ridiculous. The filmmakers don’t appear to trust their audience and the film …
Zombieland (2009, Ruben Fleischer)
This is an amusing zombie comedy which sort of makes you wonder why it took until 2009 to make this movie. (In retrospect it feels kind of obvious.) There are certain things I didn’t love about it, but it was mostly pretty effective.
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020, Cathy Yan)
I remember hearing about the good reviews. And I briefly thought that maybe here was a recent DC movie I wanted to watch. And then I promptly forgot about it until I got on a plane. Now, it’s possible that this film didn’t work for in part because it was the second film I watched …
Venom (2018, Ruben Fleischer)
The world is a strange place. Because of rights issues, Venom is not currently part of the MCU even though Spider-Man and the recent Spider-Man movies are. So Venom isn’t part of the MCU and there is no Spider-Man in it. So that’s, um, weird. It might not be the worst thing, given all the …
Free Guy (2021, Shawn Levy)
This is an intermittently amusing and clever film about an NPC that becomes sentient. I have to say, I had no idea what it was about from the title, though the trailer clarified that for me. On the whole, given the cast and the conceit, it’s a film that should work more often than it …
RED (2010, Robert Schwentke)
This is an amusing action comedy about former spies coming out of retirement with shades of Grosse Pointe Blank and The Whole Nine Yards. It has an incredible cast and they are clearly having a lot of fun. But it also feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.
The Gentlemen (2019, Guy Ritchie)
Remember when Guy Ritchie was a fresh young director? Some people were (unfairly) calling him an English Tarantino. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels had to be sought out at the video store. Then he married Madonna and made some questionable film choices. Eventually he became one of the numerous indistinguishable blockerbuster filmmakers Hollywood goes …
Game Night (2018, John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein)
I want to reference another movie in my review but referencing that movie strongly suggests one of its major plot twists. So, um, MASSIVE SPOILER ALERT. It’s funny, though! So see it.
Iron Man 3 (2013, Shane Black)
After Iron Man 2 it’s easy to see why people thought this (mini) series was in need of a bit of a new direction. And this film provides it. I’m not sure it fits in very well with the main MCU movies, so I can see why this was the last Iron Man but it …
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018, Peyton Reed)
I found the first Ant-Man mildly amusing but I can’t say I remember it very well now. But at least it wasn’t as complicated as its sequel.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017, Jon Watts)
I hate reboots. There are perhaps few things I hate more than reboots than reboots of reboots. And yet, I must admit, this one works. And it works way better than expected. This film is, for me, one of the top 3 MCU movies. It might be the best, actually. Very minor spoilers if you …
Iron Man 2 (2010, Jon Favreau)
Everyone told me this was the bad Iron Man movies and i think they were right. SPOILERS if there can be.
The Nice Guys (2016, Shane Black)
This is pretty hilarious slapstick buddy comedy mashed up with a period film noir set in LA in 1977. I didn’t realize this is the guy who made Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but it was, and if you liked that movie, you’ll no doubt like this.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017, Taika Waititi)
The third Thor movie is so refreshing compared to what came before it. It’s still yet another flawed Marvel movie, but at least it doesn’t take itself seriously. Thank science for that.
The Heat (2013, Paul Feig)
hI barely remember seeing trailers for The Heat, which is symptomatic of one of the many problems with Hollywood. Because this movie is pretty damn funny and I feel like I would have seen it sooner, if I had known that.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017, James Gunn)
I don’t know what kind of ill-humour causes me to not love these movies as much as the next guy, but I was pretty damn underwhelmed by the (possibly over-hyped) first Guardians of the Galaxy and really had no plans to watch this one, unless I was bored one day looking through Netflix (which is how …
The Baytown Outlaws (2012, Barry Battles)
This is a really dumb movie, one of those that wishes it was a comic book – it even has a flashback segment told as a moving comic book! – and which thinks it’s funny. It’s very obviously trying to be a Rodriguez-style action comedy, but it’s got nothing on him. Braugher is horribly miscast …
Pain and Gain (2013, Michael Bay)
I don’t like Michael Bay’s movies, at least I haven’t since I grew up. Some people have tried to defend him, claiming he is some kind of modern Godard-esque stylistic rebel. I have never felt that way. I usually feel like his films don’t defy internal film logic because of some kind of deep-seeded artistic …
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012, Timur Bekmambetov)
Based on the title and on some moderately positive reviews I read at the time of its theatrical release, I was actually kind of looking forward to this despite – perhaps because of – its poor box office performance. But I don’t really know where to begin.