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Review: ‘Love Wedding Repeat’

Fate Isn't On Our Side In This Tedious Romantic Farce

By
Cortland Jacoby
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There are some Netflix films that are prestigious, gaining festival and Oscar attention, like The Irishman, Marriage Story, or The Two Popes. There are some fan favorites like Always Be My Maybe or To All The Boys I’ve Loved  Before. However, for the most part, Netflix has a reputation for producing movies that star big names that wouldn’t really work in the traditional theater setting. Love. Wedding. Repeat, Netflix’s newest rom-com and the newest film from Death At A Funeral writer Dean Craig definitely fits that description. From unsympathetic characters to slightly cringy scenarios, at times the only thing working for this film is the beautiful Italian villa where it was filmed.

It’s Hayley’s  (Eleanor Tomlinson) wedding day and just like fate can bring everyone together, it also has the potential to tear everything apart. Walking her down the aisle is her older brother Jack (Sam Claflin,) who has to juggle brother-of-the-bride duties, his ex-girlfriend and the one who got away all at the same wedding. When she realizes her old school mate Marc (Jack Farthing) is about to crash and ruin her day, she asks her brother to put some sleep medication in Marc’s drink. Of course, the drinks get mixed up at the table and when the wrong person ingests the sleep aid and havoc ensues. What follows is 100 minutes of forced farce, a mishandled use of fate, and unfunny and cringy plot points.

Leading the cast are Sam Claflin and Olivia Munn who are not really known for their leading comedic roles. Munn shone brightly as the fast-talking economist Sloane Sabbith in Newsroom and Claflin has had a few one-liners in a few films such as The Hunger Games Franchise but as Dina and Jack they kind of fall flat. Claflin can’t seem to hit the comedic beats to seem endearing and Munn just seems bored the entire time. Frieda Pinto plays Jack’s vapid ex who was invited to the wedding but we’re not quite sure why. Though the role is a turn from the normal dramatic roles Pinto has played in the past, she fails to find the comedy in her character. Irish comedian Aisling Bea (Living With Yourself) tries to bring the charm as wedding guest Rebecca, giving the audience a reprieve from a tedious viewing experience, but it’s not enough to salvage the film.

Halfway through, the film employs a narrative device that starts the story over, switching up the fates of the characters. It comes out of nowhere, feels unneeded and doesn’t do anything to enhance the character development or comedy in the film. Maybe if it happened earlier, maybe if everything played out more than once instead of montaged together super-fast, the film would have more of a leg to stand on. Too many characters and subplots work against retelling the story, making the audience have a harder time connecting to the characters in a limited time frame.

If you want to watch pretty people run around a gorgeous Italian villa and can completely turn off the logical part of your brain, this is the film for you. If you need a sweet romantic comedy to curl up on the couch during quarantine, there are so many more films to enjoy on Netflix.

‘Hellraiser’ Reboot Moves Ahead With David Goyer And ‘The Night House’ Filmmakers

By
Travis Hopson
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Reboots aren’t really liked by anybody but horror reboots have an especially bad reboot. They can’t all be 2018’s Halloween, can they? Last year we learned that another cult-favorite franchise, Hellraiser, was getting a reboot from Spyglass Entertainment and David Goyer (The Dark Knight), and now we know it’s moving ahead with a bit more help.

THR reports the Hellraiser reboot is happening, but Goyer won’t be alone. He’ll be joined by writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, along with director David Bruckner, who together teamed on Sundance hit The Night House.

Like most horror franchises, Hellraiser has its own signature antagonist, the needle-faced Pinhead. The original 1987 was based on Clive Barker’s novella The Hellbound Heart, and was adapted by Barker himself. It centers on a family who come in contact with a portal to another dimension full of monstrous psychopaths known as Cenobites, with Pinhead as their leader. Nine sequels followed, of various quality, and generally the movies have been well-regarded without having the same cultural impact as Nightmare on Elm Street or Friday the 13th.

Spyglass calls their take on Hellraiser “loyal yet evolved”, whatever that means. Everybody involved knows their way around horror. The Night House was a big hit at Sundance and secured one of the most lucrative acquisition deals. Bruckner previously directed The Ritual, 2007’s The Signal, and a segment in V/H/S.  Goyer’s resume includes The Dark Knight Trilogy, the Blade movies, and Dark City.

Martin Scorsese Reaches Out To Netflix, Apple As ‘Killers Of The Flower Moon’ Budget Soars

By
Travis Hopson
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Martin Scorsese was fortunate to have found a home with Netflix for The Irishman. Why? Because they were one of the few willing to shell out the $159M budget, among the biggest of Scorsese’s career, to make it a reality. Now, as the legendary director is in production on Killers of the Flower Moon, he may need the streamer to come to the rescue once again.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the budget on Killers of the Flower Moon has skyrocketed towards $200M. As a result, he’s in discussion with Netflix, Apple, and other loaded platforms to finance and distribute.  If you’re wondering what happened to Paramount, who became attached to the film last year, they’re concerned enough about costs that they’ve allowed Scorsese to shop it around.

At that price, whoever buys it may want to give it a greater theatrical run than The Irishman, which only made $8M in a limited release. Granted, it did score a bunch of Oscar nominations, as well. Killers of the Flower Moon has the same potential. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, centering on the murders of the wealthy Osage Nation tribe in 1920s Oklahoma. The investigation was among the first to include agents that would later become part of the FBI.

 

Review: ‘Butt Boy’

Starring: Tyler Cornack, Ryan Koch, and Angela Jones

By
John Nolan
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Well, you all wanted original films right? I’m going to assume that Butt Boy isn’t exactly what you meant but I guess it’s a step in the right direction? Tyler Cornack plays middle-aged loser Chip Gutchell who has a life changing realization after his first prostate exam. To put it bluntly, he’s a fan of butt stuff. After being unequivocally turned down by his indifferent wife Chip takes matters into his own hands, experimenting with things around the house. It’s all harmless until one day Chip is in a park and sees an infant, the infant is never seen again but we, the lucky lucky audience, knows where that baby is. It’s at this point where you should know whether you’re heading for the door in or in it for the long haul. The story fast forwards years later, and another kid is missing and this time Russel, a detective, is on the scene and a manhunt for the abductor is on.

WHOA…this is an interesting movie. While my juvenile heart loves the constant butt jokes even I’ll admit that I found myself a bit confused by the mix of themes. Maybe if it wasn’t children I would have been more on-board, but it’s hard to laugh when you’re talking about missing children. It’s hard to laugh…but I’m not saying I didn’t laugh. Honestly when the hunt gets underway it’s a pretty good detective movie, which is elevated by the atmosphere created by Cornack’s direction and design. It really gives the film an otherworldly feel inside of a noir bubble. Of everything that surprised me about this movie the performances of the leads has to be at the top of the list. I truly believed that this would be played very tongue-in-cheek, very b-movie level. What you get is two grounded performances in a very un-grounded situation that makes you almost take everything seriously. You can forget for a minute the details surrounding the case and become embroiled in a film about the hunt for a serial abductor/killer. All that being said, by the end of the movie you KNOW you haven’t watched a standard detective thriller. The reveal of what’s actually happened is something that will stay with you for some time, for better or for worse.

In case your just hearing about this flick, make sure to check out our previous coverage here!

Taika Waiti Talks ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’, No Silver Surfer But Beta Ray Bill Is A Maybe

Also Hilariously Teases Iron Man's Return

By
Travis Hopson
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There aren’t a lot of good things coming out of the pandemic that has us all tucked away in our homes, but Taika Waititi hosting a watch party and live commentary of Thor: Ragnarok is one. The director hosted it on Instagram Live, and of course, he made a joke of the whole thing and seemed to barely be paying attention. He did, through the course of it, reveal a few things about Thor: Love and Thunder. A lot of it is pretty minor, but he does drop a few details worth noting.

First and foremost is that Silver Surfer, who I guess fans had been speculating on (?), will NOT appear in Thor: Love and Thunder. The wielder of the Power Cosmic is a character a lot of people have been hoping to see ever since Disney’s acquisition of Fox. With Waititi saying he’s now on the “fifth or sixth” script draft, if he ain’t in it now, he never will be.

Also uncertain is a role for Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, who could be busy with his Disney+ series. The trickster god could be traveling through time and unavailable to be part of Thor’s latest adventure. Waititi says he had no idea Loki would get choked out in Avengers: Infinity War, either.

It’s “up in the air” whether another popular Mjolnir-wielder will appear, the alien Beta Ray Bill. He was glimpsed briefly as a past gladiator champion in Thor: Ragnarok, but fans have been eager for a full appearance and it may happen. Personally, I feel like there’s already too much going on with the return of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, and whoever Christian Bale turns out to be.

The scope of Love and Thunder will be much bigger than Ragnarok, with Waititi saying “it felt like the film that was just a list of things a ten year-old would ask for and he’d said yes to everything.” Part of that could be the inclusion of Star Sharks, creatures often used by the Brood and Chitauri as vicious flying vehicles. Don’t be surprised to see Thor riding one at some point in the film.

Waititi also teased concept art for Thor and Korg’s buddy Miek, who is actually female and will sport new battle armor. Valkyrie’s reign of New Asgard has led to an expansion of the newly-rebuilt homeland, and Waititi thinks Fat Thor is “done and over”. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Finally, if you see people claiming Waititi is bringing back Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark, don’t believe them. The script page he shared with Iron Man’s return as part of “The Avengerers” is blatantly bogus!

Thor: Love and Thunder opens February 18th 2022.

Jeff Lowe Wasn’t Lying: Netflix Announces New ‘Tiger King’ Episode This Week

By
Travis Hopson
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Hey! That extra episode of Tiger King that was supposed to air this week? It’s actually real, and Netflix has officially announced it for April 12th, this Sunday.

So ummm, yeah. As I’ve said before, we’re never going to be rid of these Tiger King folks. The special will be hosted by Joel McHale, and it’s a bunch of new interviews with the wacky characters surrounding imprisoned big cat dude Joe Exotic.

When the rumors first surfaced it was unclear whether we should take them seriously. All we knew is that they came from the most unreliable of sources: Jeff Lowe, aka the guy who stole Joe Exotic’s zoo away from him. In a sea of villains, Jeff Lowe is the seediest of the bunch, which is really saying something. But he was shooting straight this time.

Considering there’s nothing new from Joe Exotic or his primary target, Carole Baskin, I wonder if this episode will achieve the incredible ratings heights of the series.

Review: ‘The Main Event’

Netflix's Light-Hearted WWE Film Is A Harmless Jobber

By
Travis Hopson
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As a professional wrestling enthusiast of the highest order, the first thing I noticed about Netflix’s The Main Event, the streamer’s latest partnership with WWE Studios, was they go deep with the lingo. Superstars’ names are dropped like victims of Randy Orton’s RKO, while one kid talks about the weekly show’s production values. Apparently, WWE could use a new director. I would concur, but it’s weird to hear in a kids’ movie about wrestling.

But that’s the odd sort of world that The Main Event exists in. Much like wrestling itself, it’s full of contradictions and doesn’t always make much sense, but for a kid in love with sports entertainment, this wish-fulfillment fantasy could be a dream match . For us jaded adults who long ago learned wrestling’s secrets…well, it goes down for the count pretty early.

Directed by Jay Karas from a Larry Postel script, The Main Event is basically the pro wrestling version of Like Mike, the 2002 film where Lil Bow Wow found a magic pair of sneakers that made him a b-ball pro. Only here it’s 11-year-old Leo Thompson (Black Panther actor Seth Carr), who discovers a smell ol’ luchadore mask while running away from school bullies. Putting on the mask, he discovers that it gives him “The Rock” levels of arrogant confidence, but also superhuman abilities. As a diehard fan of the WWE, what’s a kid like Leo going to do? Why, enter a tournament to become the next great superstar in NXT, the WWE’s developmental territory.

The in-ring action, which features NXT stars such as Keith Lee (known as Smooth Operator), Otis (here known as Stinkface), and Mia Yim, come quickly and are made to look like comic book battles. Taking the name Kid Chaos, Leo leaps around the ring and hurls his much-bigger opponents with ease. It’s a lot like when Spider-Man became a pro wrestler in the pages of Marvel Comics; and just as unfair. Dude has super-powers!!! But then again, so do some of the other wrestlers. Stinkface, at one point, lets out a fart so massive it nearly blows away everyone in the arena. It wouldn’t be WWE without a little bit of gross-out humor for the kiddies. Other WWE superstars such as The Miz, Sheamus, and Kofi Kingston show up as themselves, which begs the question why the NXT guys weren’t allowed to do the same? Overall, the movie should’ve been even nuttier than it turns out to be. If you’re going to have a kid with super-powers beating up a bunch of overly-muscled adults, who somehow don’t realize he’s a child, then really go with it.

There’s an attempt to balance Leo’s athletic feats with a look at his troubled home life, but most of it comes away poorly developed. Adam Pally plays his somber father, who works too much as a means of avoiding something painful. Tichina Arnold provides some much-needed sass as Leo’s grandmother, a boisterous WWE fan (more like a Kofi Kingston fan) herself. Fitting with the target demo, The Main Event scores a knockout as it focuses on Leo and his core group of friends. A scrawny kid with little voice of his own, Leo uses the mask to win over his crush (Momona Tamada), but then must learn to be his own man. There’s even a heel turn (!!!) that becomes a big part of his growing pains.

Little of it fully comes together, however. The humor isn’t as over-the-top as it should be, and the personal drama can’t muster up a head of steam. Hard as it is to believe, professional wrestling has been on quite a roll with its cinematic endeavors lately. The Main Event doesn’t live up to the heights of Fighting with My Family or The Peanut Butter Falcon,  Hall of Famers at appealing to wrestling fans of all ages.

 

Review: ‘Trolls World Tour’

Not As Earworm-Worthy As Before, But Still A Sweet And Glittery Sequel

By
Travis Hopson
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Who would’ve thought Trolls World Tour to be such an important movie in 2020? The 2016 film, which featured Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake as song-happy, pastel-colored trolls, was a surprisingly enjoyable treat with an earworm-worthy soundtrack. The sequel might’ve come and gone, but in the age of coronavirus, and a ballsy early move straight-to-digital by Universal, the film may be just what’s needed to dance away the pandemic blues.

Don’t get me wrong, Trolls World Tour isn’t great or anything. It’s not even as good as its chirpier predecessor; but it’s playful, colorful, and has a strong message of community, something we need desperately right now. The sequel expands on the Trolls world by introducing five other troll clans, each representing a different form of music. But just as we’re getting into the groove of the Techno trolls’ jams, in comes Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom) of the hard rock trolls to harsh the vibe. She’s on a “world tour” to wipe out every other form of music, so that only rock remains. To do that, the mohawked, tattooed Barb will need to collect each tribe’s magical string, and axe out the ultimate power chord.

In keeping with the previous movie, the story largely focuses on the optimistic Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and her grumpier pal Branch (Justin Timberlake), the latter now sporting an unrequited crush on the pop music queen.  Poppy believes all it takes a good pop medley to create harmony, but not even “Who Let the Dogs Out”, the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”, “Good Vibrations”, and “Gangnam Style” can break Barb’s quest for dominance.

There aren’t as many catchy tunes this time around, and they certainly aren’t integrated into the story nearly as well. Timberlake had an Oscar-nominated smash with “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” but nothing as original or memorable is here this time. A ballad, “Perfect for Me”, is the closest this soundtrack gets, and it’s more meaningful if you really feel the connection between Poppy and Branch. As ever, the two trolls are polar opposites, which causes some conflict, but they always come together and have one another’s back.

Kids will get a kick out the many different Troll worlds that are visited, each voiced by a different celebrity guest star. Kelly Clarkson voices the big-haired Dolly Parton lookalike, Delta Dawn, queen of the country music trolls. A lot of fun are George Clinton and Mary J. Blige as Quincy and Essence, leaders of the funk and hip-hop trolls. Sam Rockwell provides an interesting twist to the linear plotting as Hickory, a cowboy troll who comes to Poppy’s rescue. There are too many cameos and characters to name, too many to keep track of, especially if you had favorites from the earlier movie. You might not care once the silver glittery Guy Diamond’s frizzy hair literally gives birth to the battle rappin’ Tiny Diamond (Kenan Thompson).

Ultimately, Trolls World Tour is a movie with a message. With a wink and a nudge it addresses cultural appropriation through music, especially by the pop genre which takes a fair share of blows in this story. Both Poppy and Barb have lessons to learn by the time this “dark” (as dark as the candy-coated Trolls can be) chapter sings its last note; lessons about loyalty, recognizing differences and accepting those differences in others. Even if it means tolerating a peppy rendition of MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This.”

 

Ricky Gervais Tries to Find His Zen In ‘After Life’ Season 2 Trailer

By
Cortland Jacoby
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Ricky Gervais is back in After Life, his hilariously melancholy show focusing on what comes after the death of a spouse. At the end of season 1, we left Gervias’s Tony slightly better off than when we found him. Though he was still mourning the death of his wife Lisa (Kerry Godliman), he decided that life was worth living and that the people in his everyday life made it worth-while.

This quest continues in the season two trailer, where we see Tony try new things like yoga and actively being kind to the people around him. “When she died, everyone tried to help me and they sort of saved me,” Tony tells Anne (Penelope Wilton, Downton Abbey). “I feel like I should help the people who helped  me.” Whether it’s starting a food fight at work or setting up the local prostitute with the eccentric postman, it looks like season 2 is more hilarious and heartwarming than the last.

Check out the trailer below. Season 2 of After Life premieres on Netflix April 24th. Catch up on Season 1 now.

Jesse Eisenberg To Direct Julianne Moore & Finn Wolfhard In ‘When You Finish Saving The World’, Emma Stone To Produce

By
Travis Hopson
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How random does this sound? Jesse Eisenberg is set to making his feature writing/directing debut with When You Finish Saving the World. Okay, that’s fine. It’ll be led by Oscar-winner Julianne Moore, joined by Stranger Things and It star Finn Wolfhard. Huh? Oh, and it’s produced by Eisenberg’s Zombieland co-star Emma Stone.

Whatever, that’s still a lot of talent even if it seems a bit thrown together. Deadline describes the movie as a mother-son story inspired by Eisenberg’s upcoming Audio Original series which launches later this year and has a slightly different focus than the movie will. Eisenberg scripted and stars in the audiobook, joined by Wolfhard and possibly Booksmart‘s Kaitlyn Dever.

It’s unclear when this will get rolling, especially with all productions halted right now. But when it does, Eisenberg has a movie that a lot of people are going to be keeping a close eye on.

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