Movie Review: The Night Before (2015)

I am not normally the kind of guy who likes Christmas movies before Thanksgiving, outside of the obvious year round exceptions (A Nightmare Before Christmas, Silent Night Deadly Night, Black Christmas, you get the idea). Still, sometimes theatrical release schedules make the decision for you when you start seeing them in any given year. This year The Night Before got me in front of a Yuletide themed film prior to turkey-day this year. And you know what? It was a blast. It is a buddy movie, a drug comedy, an awkward coming of age tale, and it is all wrapped up like A Christmas Carol. Yes, I liked it. Smart? Hardly, but certainly funny and surprisingly heartfelt.

Movie Review: The Interview

Well, I am happy to say that I finally saw it. Yes, yours truly has gotten to take in The Interview. In a theater no less. A local second run theater got it this past weekend, and since I was already interested in it since before the hoopla, I made it a point to go and check it out. Does it live up to the "hype"? Not at all, but that is to the movie's fault. Now, if you are one of those who believe this was a publicity stunt, you can stop reading now. No one in their right mind would go so far as to fake a hacking that legitimately damaged a company and a lot of regular folks. That is crazy talk.

Critical Capsule: Neighbors

Neighbors opened this weekend and is likely to make a killing at the box office, unfortunately, it will not be because it is a good movie. Any money that it makes will be a testament to the marketing group at Universal Pictures. I will admit, the campaign had me hooked. Yes, I like Rogen and Byrne, Efron, well, I have no opinion of him, and Dave Franco can be funny. Well, the trailer offered some chuckles, but the movie does not. It is not really a movie worth your time unless you see as much as I do or have been likewise duped by the advertising campaign.

Movie Review: This is the End

I can honestly say that I did not see this coming. I expected a fun but potentially dodgy time in the theaters. What I got was an incredibly funny comedy that is great whether you look at it as a whole or in parts. There is just something about this movie that is very appealing. It is crass, over the top, vulgar, funny, violent, and just utterly ridiculous, but it as this underlying thread of friendship and even something of a reflection on celebrity.