Bad Moms (2016) Film Review *slight spoilers*

Amy (Mila Kunis) is the perfect mother, ensuring her children have access to everything from soccer to Japanese lessons whilst overworking in her part-time job and picking up the slack from her lazy husband. And inevitably, she loses her shit and quits – and ends up befriending Kiki (Kirsten Bell), a mother of four who is barely coping under the gaze of her overly critical husband, and Carla (Kathryn Hahn), a single mother with a hedonistic lifestyle. They drink, they stop doing every little think for their children and they take time for themselves, and learn that maybe being a bad mum is better for everyone.

I really enjoyed this film. After having huge rants about the female representation in Jumanji:Welcome to the Jungle, I was looking for issues, and was really surprised to find few. You could read it as a bit woman-hating the fact that the woman who enjoyed sex was depicted as a sleaze who was constantly leering at men and touching them inappropriately, but really she was just playing a ‘bro’ like character only female, and it was pretty fun seeing those roles reversed. Especially because it was Kathryn Hahn, who is just magnificently funny. I also had a bit of an issue with the fact that the relationship with the hot dad had to turn into a romance at the end and couldn’t have just been a bit of fun. But generally, I thought it depicted the nasty habit of mother-shaming (especially from other mothers) in an exaggerated but funny way, it had strong female characters and it had some of the best use of slow motion since 300.

Jupiter Ascending (2015) Film Review

Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) works in the US with her Russian mother and aunt cleaning houses and dreaming of a better life. Then aliens come and take her away, most notably Caine (Channing Tatum) and Stinger (Sean Bean). Turns out, she’s royalty, there’s a whole nother world out there where people like Balem (Eddie Redmayne), his brother Titus (Douglas Booth) and sister, Kalique (Tuppence Middleton) rule, and they stay young by harvesting creatures from planets like Earth. And far too much happens, and she ends up (SPOILER ALERT)back home.

This film was so majorly bagged by critics that I think it was in the cinemas for about ten minutes. I got somewhat lost in the story – it seemed that every time Caine saved Jupiter, she turned around and walked away from him, only to discover she’d been betrayed (again!) and he had to save her (again!) and then she’d walk away… Yet I liked it. Channing Tatum is doing another kind of odd performance (after the strangeness that was Foxcatcher), and I felt like chemistry between the two was totally non-existent. But… I just liked it. It was fun, the bureaucracy scene was perfectly wonderful, Eddie Redmayne got to be totally insane in every way (wonderfully so). I felt Mila Kunis was underused – I reckon there is a lot more to her that pretty outfits (although they were amazing) and witty comebacks – although she is one funny lady.

 

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (2014) Film Review

I saw this because it was one of the last films Robin Williams made. And I would say that if you are thinking of doing the same, don’t. It’s just not worth it.

The concept is almost good. There is a guy, Henry Altmann (Robin Williams) who is totally angry all of the time. Then he is told by his doctor’s fill-in, Dr Sharon Gill (Mila Kunis) that he has a brain aneurism (true) and has ninety minutes to live (false), and he storms out, threatening to sue. So while he runs around trying to reconcile with his estranged son and distant wife and figures out how much he has messed up his life, she is trying to find him, and has his family looking for him. See, almost good. Actually, not even almost.

And the film is not even saved by the amazing cast – Robin Williams, of course, plus Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, Hamish Linklater, James Earl Jones, Richard Kind… but they cannot save it. I love your low-budget type dramas and the like, but this just doesn’t work.

 

Friends With Benefits (2011) Film Review

Jamie (Mila Kunis) works for a head hunting company and just doesn’t have the time or patience for any more relationships that don’t work out. Dylan (Justin Timberlake) is a busy LA web designer who works too hard and his work breaks up his relationships. When he moves to New York, they strike up a friendship. Eventually, they strike upon the idea of having sex, but not letting it ruin their friendship or develop into a relationship. But, and given the genre, this is hardly a surprise, life gets in the way. Will they lose their friendship or end up in love?

I expected this would be awful. I expected it to be cheesy and terrible and really awful for women. But, Kunis came through – I really like her, she often picks good projects and brings the strong a lot. My only real character issue is when they decide to go date again, and of course, Dylan ends up with the crazy chick who growls like a dog and immediately wants to introduce him to her parents. Why, when the point of his issues is that he has trouble committing to girls, so why didn’t this character follow that, instead of bringing the crazy? It’s a cheap laugh, and then given that the Jamie character is a strong woman who is actually allowed to enjoy sex and not be punished for that, why ruin it? But other than that, I was delightfully surprised to enjoy this film a lot.

 

Date Night (2010) Film Review

Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire (Tina Fey) have been married for some time, have small children, and find that they barely have energy to have their date nights, even though they clearly enjoy each other’s company. But when close friends tell them they are splitting, news that strikes out of the blue, they decide to make a big effort and go into town (New York, that’s the town) for a special dinner. When they can’t get a table at an exclusive restaurant, they pinch someone elses reservation. Hint: if you are going to do this, make sure that the people who’s reservation you take are not attempting to bribe anyone, and you don’t spend the night on the run for your life. Even if you do end up spending time with a shirtless Marky Mark.

I love Steve Carell, I love Mark Wahlberg and I especially love Tina Fey. How could I not love this film? It’s funny, ridiculous, but mostly extremely funny. And I could watch it over and over. Just ace times.

 

 

 

 

Black Swan (2010) Film Review

Nina is a very fragile young lady, a ballet dancer, extremely controlled by her mother, who scores the role of the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. She has no problem dancing the innocent role of the White Swan, but struggles to find the darkness and depth of the Black Swan.

I’m not great with scary movies. They scare me. Lots. I’m also not great with suspense and anything that involves sudden shocks and loud noises. However, much of this film is very slow-moving and dark in a documentary style, and so the shocking parts are that much more shocking. Some parts that are absolutely horrible; violent, sudden and unexpected. It seems an odd film choice for Best Film Oscar, though Natalie Portman is fabulous as the extremely meek and soft-spoken ballerina.

Black Swan won an Oscar for Best Performance in a Leading Role (Natalie Portman) and was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Best Achievement in Directing (Darren Aronofsky), Best Achievement in Cinematography and Best Achievement in Film Editing.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Peter (Jason Segel) and Sarah (Kristen Bell) are a dream couple – she is a gorgeous actor who stars in a TV cop drama and he is the affable composer boyfriend who creates the soundtrack for the show. Peter does not see it coming when Sarah breaks it off with him. In an attempt to get over her he throws himself into the arms of other women, but when this doesn’t work, he takes a holiday to Hawaii. On arrival, he discovers that Sarah is staying there with her new boyfriend, British rocker Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). Luckily for Peter, he gains the sympathy of the hotel employees, notably Rachel (Mila Kunis).

This is my kind of humour. Well, there are a lot of things that I find funny. But this, with hilarious pathos, a fair whack of slapstick, a certain amount of filth and more than a little sentimental claptrap – love it. I’m a big fan of most of the cast, and I just really liked the way this was all put together.

Ted (2012) Film Review

As a child, John Bennet had no friends. So when his parents give him a teddy bear for Christmas, he knows he’s found a real friend. He makes a wish for his bear to be real – and it comes true! Ted becomes a worldwide sensation for a short while, but pretty soon, his celebrity wears off and he is just John’s best friend. Skip to thirty years later. Ted and John spend their lives on the couch, smoking bongs. John works to live and has been dating the delightful Lori for three years. He’s stuck in arrested development, and things have to change.

From Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame, you know this is not going to be an exercise in good taste and family fun. It’s crude, there’s lots of swearing and drug use. And it’s really, really funny. Which is a bit of a challenge; I’m not a fan of misogyny or racism, and so there are a couple of scenes which I reckon went a step too far, but that’s what MacFarlane made his name from. Why should I be prepared to accept it? I don’t know. I can’t explain it. It just really made me laugh lots, and sometimes that’s all it takes.

‘Everybody Needs a Best Friend’ was nominated for an Oscar for Music (Original Song)