Home Again Movie Review

If you like the movies of Nancy Meyers, then you enjoyed ones like “It’s Complicated”, “The Intern” and “Something’s Gotta Give”. Along comes her daughter Hallie Meyers-Shyer, and she is taking her family heritage to heart. She is the creator of “Home Again”, which a similar type of romantic comedy with a strong central female character, surrounded by a group of unusual characters. However, this outing feels less like a new model and more like a retread.

 

Alice Kinney (Witherspoon) had grown up in Los Angeles, the daughter of a famous movie director and his much younger starlet wife. Alice later married a music producer named Austen (Michael Sheen) and lived in New York, later having two young girls. But the marriage is on the rocks, and Alice moves the two girls back to LA. Her mother Lillian (Candice Bergen) wants Alice to start a new chapter in her life. During her fortieth birthday party with friends, she happens to meet up with three much younger guys.

 

The three guys are film-makers in LA to turn a small award-winning short into a full-sized movie. They just need the right connections, the right meetings, and oh yeah – a new place to live. They have almost no money and are getting desperate. The young director is Harry (Pico Alexander) and he meets Alice in the bar. Harry’s brother George (Jon Rudnitsky) is the writer and their friend Teddy (Nat Wolff) is an aspiring actor. Harry meets Alice, but at the end of the night, the party has moved to Alice’s place.

The next morning, her mom Lillian meets the guys and finds out that they need some short-term housing. Alice agrees to let them stay in the cozy little guest house on the property. They find the arrangement quite suitable. Especially Harry, because he and Alice start up a hot little romance. Alice has some built-in babysitting and help with the chores, while she attempts to get her business up and started. She is going to be an interior designer, and she has a new client.

 

Alice meets her client Zoey (Lake Bell) and finds that she is bit more than she can handle. Zoey thinks that a consultant in her house is always avaialble for odd jobs, like unloading furniture and giving her child a bath. Life for Alice keeps getting even more complicated when Austen decides to come to visit at the old house. He meets the trio of much younger men and sees he has some competition. Alice and Austen are together, but the problems in the marriage have not gone away. Will Alice and Austen reconcile, and will the three upcoming film-makers be rewarded by Hollywood?

 

This movie does its best to keep you involved in Alice’s rich white girl struggles. But the basic plot thread of making the best of an awkward ‘blended’ family does not ring true. The scenes are set in picture book beautiful places, and they are filled with attractive people. However there is not a real situation faced by honest everyday folks for miles. It is all a wonderland fantasy of how some people might want to live.

 

Reese Witherspoon is a very talented actress. Playing Alice takes about a fraction of her talent and charisma. Not that Witherspoon is bad, but there is not a whole lot room to develop a character. Michael Sheen is very reliable, and he plays Austen mostly in his rugged facial expressions. Candice Bergen still has great timing for dialog and comedy.

 

The three guys playing the film-makers are just OK. Wolff, Jon Rudnitsky, Pico Alexander leave a handsome impression. But sometimes it is hard to know which is which, and who has what name. The characters are underdeveloped. Even Pico Alexander, who is playing Alice’s love interest, is not on the same level as Reese Witherspoon. He is in the same game, but playing in a different stadium.

 

If this is your cup of chamomile tea, than “Home Again’ will be a delightful little movie for you. Not everyone has that type of interest in estrogen-powered comedies. So your mileage may vary. Reese Witherspoon does have quite a potential for playing a role and making a character really stand out. Too bad that in this movie, she only can be “Legally Bland”.

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The Lego Ninjago Movie Advance Movie Screening

Movie Screening Summary:

In this big-screen NINJAGO® adventure, the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja (Dave Franco), along with his friends, who are all secret warriors.  Led by Master Wu (Jackie Chan), as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), the Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad.  Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu

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Phoenix, Arizona

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Movie Screening Date: Saturday, September 16th
Location: Harkins Tempe Marketplace
Movie Screening Time: 10:00am
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Tucson, Arizona

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Movie Screening Date: Saturday, September 16th
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Las Vegas, Nevada

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Movie Screening Date: Saturday, September 16th
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Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Movie Screening Date: Saturday, September 16th
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The Trip to Spain Movie Review

Two good friends, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, have taken journey’s together eating wonderful food while Coogan writes about their experiences at the restaurants and the food they enjoyed.  The Trip to Spain is the third adventure they’ve had so far.  The first go-round was to review the best restaurants that the UK had to offer.  He was thrilled with the opportunity but when his girlfriend couldn’t join him, it was Rob who took her place.  Rob and Steve are very similar and constantly nag one another but they got through the trip without killing one another and the writing was successful.  Their second trip was to travel around Italy.  They went to Rome and Tuscany and though it has the same spirit, their travels and the film itself wasn’t quite as entertaining. 

Well, the boys have decided to do it once again and I’m very pleased they did.  Here, Brydon will work on a series of restaurant reviews while Coogan fits in time to put pen to paper on that new novel.  They take a week to wine and dine their way through beautiful Spain, enjoying one another’s repartee while basking in the magnificence of the scenery around them.  I’m not sure they take enough time to truly appreciate where they are for they are probably cracking wise too often to take it all in but director Winterbottom makes sure that we absorb the beauty of the land.  Once again, we go through every breathtaking moment of the trip simply in awe of where they are and what they get to do for a living and he makes the film better by accompanying the backdrop of Spain with the most marvelous music.  He takes us through the winding roads, the tiny villages and into the kitchens of the restaurants as the food is being prepared.  Most of the dishes will have you wanting to jump through the screen to join them. 

And then we have Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon.  It seems Coogan is having a rough time of things.  When the trip started, everything was fantastic but as we move further and further into the week, more and more of his life seems to get complicated and plans begin to fall apart.  On the contrary, Rob’s life couldn’t be better, especially since he can get away from his crying baby for a week without question. 

But evading everything when he can and concentrating only on the trip, Coogan battles Brydon as he did before in impersonating stars they romanticize and respect such as Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Mick Jagger and John Hurt.  One of the best moments is when they, like a couple of gossips, discuss men having children too late in life.  They take it deep with how old Jagger was when he had his last child.  Never being able to avoid doing it, they both give their best Jagger impression and then get into specifics of why theirs was better than the others.  It’s a classic moment because they then start feeling their age but bury it quickly by adding they feel they are in the ‘sweet spot of life.’  I don’t think either of them convinced the other of that either.

This banter continues throughout and rarely gets old.  Speaking of never getting old, Brydon takes out his ‘small man trapped in a box,’ at one point and when the topic of the death of so many celebrities enters the conversation, they examine another favorite; David Bowie.  Coogan defines Bowie’s death as almost an ‘artistic act’ and starts to sing some notes.  Rob topped Coogan with explaining how he found out that before his death, Bowie followed him on Twitter.  This, of course, could never beat Coogan’s relationship with Dame Judi Dench or his Oscar nomination for Philomena so, of course, there’s plenty of time to mention this in case Brydon has had a chance to forget.  There are several musings which are hashed out in the previous films brought up again in this one but this adds to the charm of this The Trip to Spain.  It proves these characters know one another very well.  You buy into the characters more and by doing this, it makes you feel like you’re a part of this friendship, as well.

As if it would be hard to tell they were fans, they give a nod to Monty Python’s brilliant work and award a fair amount of time to the Spanish Inquisition.  Being a big Monty Python fan, I applaud them for this decision.  Python has touched us all at some point so it was special to see them included here in this very witty film.  They also talked about Terry Gilliam’s work.  The dialogue surrounding this accomplished writer/director’s is another highlight as they get into how much they value him. 

The film isn’t perfect because I must point out that on occasion, Braydon did get irritating.  The most bothersome is when Coogan explains the history of the Moors, and is even getting a little political, Brydon constantly interrupts with his Roger Moore impression.  I was enjoying what Coogan was saying and the interruption by Brydon was a bit much but, again, it makes the film authentic and maybe this was the intention. 

At the end, with Coogan blissfully upset that he is being dropped by his agent, replaced as the writer of an upcoming film, his son (who he was looking forward to seeing) can’t fly in now… he’s feeling lost.  That said, the ending couldn’t have been better.  The trip wraps up with the line, ‘It’s always good to say goodbye in the mist.’ Steve is left alone and when you think things may turn around for him… they don’t.  We are perfectly set up for The Trip to…???    

The Hitman’s Bodyguard Movie Review

Sure, Ryan Reynolds can play Deadpool. But can he play Deadpan? As in, a straight man to an out-of-control Samuel L. Jackson? Yes, yes he can, and the results are hilarious. “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” takes a ton of common movie clichés and pummels them into submission with violent comedy timing and hard R-rated language that could make a sailor blush. No new ground is being broken here, but the interaction between the two stars makes for a fun, if silly, joy ride.

 

Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is in charge of a triple-A rated ‘special protection’ company, who makes it point to keep his clients safe from bad guys and hitmen. Hitmen such as Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) who has tangled with Bryce at least 28 times in the past. Bryce keeps his clients protected, until he doesn’t, and a murder of Bryce’s client puts him into the doghouse. He loses his top rating and becomes a low-level bodyguard. Bryce blamed his ex-girlfriend for blabbing out the name and location Bryce’s 29th client, the one who was killed. Amelia Roussel (Élodie Yung) is an Interpol agent and the ex-girlfriend who comes back two years later to ask Bryce for a favor.

 

The hitman Kincaid has been captured, and Interpol wants him to testify at the World Court in The Hauge. There is an Eastern-European exiled dictator named Dukhovich (Gary Oldman) on trial for genocide. Kincaid will testify against the murderous fiend, but only if the Dutch release from prison his wife and one true love – Sonia (Salma Hayek). Kincaid is taken by Agent Roussel and other Interpol agents to get him The Hague. The convoy is ambushed by Dukhovich’s henchmen. They had been given the Kincaid’s position by Agent Roussel’s boss, Director Foucher (Joaquim de Almeida). Foucher is double-crossing Interpol by working with Dukhovich.

 

Roussel needs Bryce’s help to deliver Kincaid to the World Court to testify. Kincaid has attempted to kill Bryce’s past clients at least 28 times. So there is plenty of bad blood between the two men. But a job is a job, and Roussel makes a promise to get back Byrce’s triple-A rating. So there is a journey to be made across England and then into Amsterdam, all the while being pursued by Dukhovich’s henchmen. This will result in R-rated bickering, violent mayhem, and cross-county male bonding. Bryce is a button-down, by-the-book kind of guy – but with Kincaid he is at wit’s end. Kincaid will shoot first and ask questions later, and takes life for all that he can.

Kincaid is willing to be in jail if he can free his beloved and street tough Sonia. She and Kincaid where made for each other. Kincaid asks Bryce about why he broke up with Agent Roussel, because he knows how much she means to him. Advice for the lovelorn from a Hitman, why not?  There are car, boat, and motorcycle chases down the streets and canals. The climax brings Bryce and Kincaid together to face off against Dukhovich and Director Foucher, with explosive results. Sonia could be freed from jail and Agent Roussel might get back with Bryce. So will it be a happy ending for all concerned?

 

Ryan Reynolds is the dashing professional service provider Michael Bryce who has been turned into a low-life bottom-dwelling bodyguard. He wants to be back on top, but his life keeps getting worse. The interplay between Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson is wonderful to behold. Reynolds sad-sack face stays at a mild grimace whenever Jackson goes on off on one of his many tirades. Jackson is an R-rated class clown and he can wield the mother-f**ker phrase in the same way a brain surgeon can use a scalpel. His over-the-top antics are contrasted to Reynolds methodical ways for laughs. The two of them mesh in these roles in a way that makes it fun to watch.

All the other actors are well suited for each role. Gary Oldman seems a little over-qualified for his role. Salma Hayek is a major hoot as Sonia, who can drop enough f-bombs to peel the paint off the jail cell wall. Élodie Yung and Joaquim de Almeida also good. The stunt work and fight scenes are well-paced, and the canal chase is all crazy all the time. It involves a bunch of car, boat, and motorcycle chases down the narrow streets and even tinier canals in Amsterdam. Again, nothing that is brand new, but it is done really with a lot of spirit.

This movie will not resolve and world issues, but it will give you a taste of some R-rated frolics. Until the next Deadpool, and the next time Samuel L. Jackson ‘walks the path of the righteous man’, this one will do. Hey it even gets Jackson singing an end title song, which he also wrote. What a bad Master-Flicker…

 

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear is nothing if not quirky.  It’s a story about a boy who never has to give up his childish things because, essentially, he never has to grow up.  Well, until he’s rescued, that is.  I’ll explain. 
In the situation the main character, James (Mooney), finds himself, he wouldn’t know how to grow up so the subject would never be breached.  He lives in a perfect world with supportive parents who love him, take good care of him and always let him watch his favorite show, Brigsby Bear. 
Not unlike a popular children’s show of any era, from Mister Rogers to Barney, Brigsby Bear is fun and educational and James has watched it so long he couldn’t live without it.  It’s who he is.  It’s who he is because it was actually produced for him by his parents to teach him what they wanted him to learn and to inject only their feelings and belief system.

It turns out, though always taken care of by them, James’ parents, Ted (Hamill) and April (Adams), kidnapped him when he was a baby and they’ve been keeping him in an underground bunker, in the middle of the desert, ever since.  Sadly, never being around other children or seeing the real world, James is childlike, yet he’s in his twenties.  He’s immature and his life is only what they have allowed it to be. 
He hasn’t mentally grown beyond the age of a ten-year-old and his mind knows only what Ted and April have fed it.  The world of Brigsby, a sci-fi series given to him to watch on VHS, has so penetrated his psyche that no amount of truth could drill it out.  It’s who he is.  This is tested when the police finally discover what Ted and April have done and come to ruin the only world James has ever known.   

When he is taken away from the only parents he has ever known, he meets Detective Vogel (Kinnear) and his birth family and is introduced to the harsh reality of the real world; most especially, that the Brigsby Bear show is gone forever.  Or is it?  Saying too much will give away what’s so compelling about this flick.  It’s completely original… strangely and so absurdly unlike anything I’ve seen before.  An adult who acts like a child because he has been treated as one his whole life.  What a fascinating concept.  Saying too much at this point would give away the plot. 

He does try and thwart having to grow-up as much as he can but when he looks at the broader picture, he knows what he has to do to grow up and finally move on.  All he asks of everyone is to let him do it in his own way.  It’s this part that makes this narrative so unique.  Well, that and the unconventional jokes that make you draw back a bit… but that’s all on purpose.      

Brigsby Bear is an amusing ride.  There are a few bumps in the road but overall the story has heart, integrity and is surprisingly clever.  You’d do well to put it on your summer must-see list for the experience of watching the cooperation, love and support that helps a man-child become a man.  The saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child so imagine… 

Second Nature Trailer

Time to Flip the Glass Ceiling.

New Sam Huntington comedy “Second Nature”, directed and co-written by Michael Cross, will get a wide release this September through Nicholas Gyeney’s Mirror Images LTD.  The film, also produced by Gyeney – a filmmaker himself whose Beta Test received a wide theatrical release in 2016 – teams Huntington (Superman Returns, Sully) with Interstellar’s Collette Wolfe.  

Amanda (Wolfe) uses a magic mirror to reverse the gender roles in her small town, she gains the upper hand on her womanizing opponent, Bret (Hungtinton). As each experiences life in the other’s shoes, they must decide which reality they prefer before they’re stuck in the flipped world forever.
 
Second Nature, which premiered at the Napa Valley Film Festival, marks the feature debut of Michael Cross.  Theatrically, the film is scheduled to open in theaters starting September 8th so check your local theatres to see if it’s playing near you!!  Not to worry if it isn’t, Second Nature will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Blu-ray and DVD on September 19th.

In Theaters September 8th

http://www.fandango.com

Suburbicon Trailer

Welcome to Suburbicon
A town of great wonder and excitement. Built with the promise of prosperity for all. 

Directed by: George Clooney

Starring: Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe and Oscar Isaac

Suburbicon is a peaceful, idyllic suburban community with affordable homes and manicured lawns…the perfect place to raise a family, and in the summer of 1959, the Lodge family is doing just that. But the tranquil surface masks a disturbing reality, as husband and father Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) must navigate the town’s dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence. This is a tale of very flawed people making very bad choices. This is Suburbicon. 


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In Theaters October 27

http://www.fandango.com

The Disaster Artist Trailer

Based on Greg Sestero’s best-selling tell-all about the making of Tommy Wiseau’s cult–classic disaster piece THE ROOM (“The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made”), THE DISASTER ARTIST is a hilarious and welcome reminder that there is more than one way to become a legend– and no limit to what you can achieve when you have absolutely no idea what you’re doing. 

STARRING:  Dave Franco, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Ari Graynor, Alison Brie, Jacki Weaver, Josh Hutcherson

DIRECTED BY:  James Franco

In Theaters December 1

http://www.fandango.com

Home Again Trailer

HOME AGAIN stars Reese Witherspoon (“Big Little Lies,” Wild, Walk The Line, Sweet Home Alabama) as Alice Kinney in a modern romantic comedy. Recently separated from her husband, (Michael Sheen), Alice decides to start over by moving back to her hometown of Los Angeles with her two young daughters. During a night out on her 40th birthday, Alice meets three aspiring filmmakers who happen to be in need of a place to live. Alice agrees to let the guys stay in her guest house temporarily, but the arrangement ends up unfolding in unexpected ways. Alice’s unlikely new family and new romance comes to a crashing halt when her ex-husband shows up, suitcase in hand. HOME AGAIN is a story of love, friendship, and the families we create.  And one very big life lesson: Starting over is not for beginners.

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Pico Alexander, Nat Wolff, Jon Rudnitsky, Michael Sheen, Candice Bergen, and Lake Bell

Directed by: Hallie Meyers-Shyer

Written By: Hallie Meyers-Shyer

Produced By: Nancy Meyers and Erika Olde

Distributor: Open Road Films

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In Theaters Sept 8th

http://www.fandango.com

Despicable Me 3 Movie Review

Despicable Me 3 is fun in that it keeps with the theme and the intent of the original… Good vs. Bad and that sort of thing but it lost one key element that is so very important to the big picture; The Minions!  DM3 centers mostly around Gru and the girls.  One could argue they all do but not to this degree.  Minions have a finger on the pulse of why adults AND the children get tickets to see these films and to a large extent, they were absent from the third installment.  They did get their own movie so maybe they were out spending lavishly and weren’t quite available, but I asked their publicist and this wasn’t the case.  They weren’t included much, outside of Mel, for unknown reasons at this point.  Illumination and Universal Pictures would have done better to have had more Minions in the film.  They’re present, just not enough and at the end of the day, that’s the big takeaway here. 

However, do not fear!  DM3 is still very good.  Gru and his new wife Lucy are fired when they are unable to stop, Balthazar Bratt, a former 80’s child star who hit puberty and was never heard from again, from stealing a very big pink diamond.  Bratt is angry he has been thrown away by Hollywood and vows revenge.  He has a good catchphrase, is a good villain and is often followed by some ‘neato’ 80’s tunes that he likes to dance fight to.  The Minions would most likely take his side in a fight.  Hmm… maybe they do?  You’ll have to see.

The movie is full of cute and, of course, villainy.  The girls, Agnes, Edith and Margo are very much a part of the story with Agnes and Margo having more focus than Edith.  She pretty much ends up being more of the Jan Brady of the Trio.  Adorable Agnes’ story centers on her finding a real unicorn and Margo has her first taste of boy troubles.  The real meat of the yarn is Gru finding out he has a twin.  There was a custody battle with his parents and his mother, who had lied to him about his father’s death, got the rotten end of the deal.  Harsh.  Poor Gru. 

This angle smells of desperation a bit but it works and, to be honest, I’m looking forward to part four.  I’m thinking they’ll have a few things ironed out, get all the Minions back on and signing new contracts and settle into what works best with films like this… the extraordinary.  Give the people what they want!  They don’t necessarily want NICE all the time.  It’s cute when a Minion is sweet but let’s see the little stinkers for who they really are used more.