Game Night Is A Highly Enjoyable Comedy With An Outstanding Jesse Plemons Performance

Well now, Game Night is quite a surprise and a very funny surprise at that. Jason Bateman, after starring in a recent string of subpar live-action comedies like Office Christmas Party and Horrible Bosses 2 (though, to be fair, more unorthodox roles in the likes of Zootopia and The Gift have made excellent use of his many talents as an actor), has hit upon another winner here and he's not the only actor who works exceptionally well here, far from it. Before we dive into the specifics of which cast members excel and why, let's get the story of Game Story straight, which, like many comedies, wring humor out of plunging normal people into heightened circumstances.

The First Season Of Ozark Is A Plodding Disaster

What a strange creature Ozark is. I spent a little over ten whole hours watching the entire first season of this tv show and looking over the entire show, one thing becomes clear above all else; this program is a mess. Not the kind of mess that results from being too ambitious and flying too close to the sun, no, this is the lazy kind of mess where it's obvious the producers and writers behind this show were just looking at all the various trends cropping up in American television dramas (namely, following the white male anti-hero protagonist model Breaking Bad and Mad Men popularized) and smushed them into one program. The result is something as derivative as it is muddled since it seems to miss any chance to acquire the sort of depth that made the far better shows it's clearly influenced by so, well, great.

Office Christmas Party Is A Big Waste In Every Respect

Simply by the virtue of having so many strong comedic actors in one place at one time, you'd think Office Christmas Party would have to at least be mildly amusing right? You've got some strong Saturday Night Live cast members (Kate McKinnon and the underrated Vanessa Bayer), up-and-coming actors (Jamie Chung, Sam Richardson and Karan Soni) and some established veterans of the comedy world (Jason Bateman and T.J. Miller) all trying to pull off a raunchy Yuletide-themed party. Shouldn't that be enough to generate an at least agreeable comedy?

Zootopia Review

Some of the most loved rhetoric to describe gestating projects by Hollywood producers is "grounded" or "realistic", mainly as a way to give prospective moviegoers the idea that the film in question will be akin to box office hits like The Dark Knight. Typically though, the movies in question end up just diluting the color grading and making everything super gloomy in terms of tone instead of going for the rich characters and thrilling action that made The Dark Knight and other successful "grounded" and "realistic" motion pictures so unique.

The Gift Review

You may have only noticed it in passing, if it all, but Warrior is one of the most underrated motion pictures of the decade so far, no joke. It's the film that truly put Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy on the map for me, as well as giving the world as commanding performance from Nick Nolte. In the years since, the two leads of the film have gone on different paths, with Hardy being a Batman villain and the new Mad Max while Edgerton hasn't struggled per se, he just hasn't had a breakout leading man performance in the four years since Warrior.

Up In The Air Review (Classic Write-Up)

An Air-Raising Adventure

I've always liked George Clooney, but watching Up In The Air for the first time this evening allowed me a chance to realize what exactly makes me gravitate towards the guy. Here's a shocking twist: Clooney has charm, charisma, good looks, a dapper personality and a persona that exudes confidence. But he uses those aspects of his personalities in his films not in roles covered in poorly executed storytelling tropes, but to uncover the vulnerabilities of the characters he portrays, and that's never more true than in this 2009 Jason Reitman feature.

Horrible Bosses 2 Review

A Horrible Waste Of A Trio

Comedy sequels have grown more popular in recent years, thanks to the success The Wolfpack had back in 2011 with their first successive adventure. It received dismal reviews, but managed to make more than enough money to make studios fall in love with the idea of making more sequels to entities like Dumb And Dumber and Horrible Bosses. The latter's sequel, Horrible Bosses 2, is the subject of this review, and from a quality perspective doesn't exactly make compelling case for more Bosses movies down the road.

New Horrible Bosses 2 Trailer Is Surprisingly Funny And Star-Studded

I haven't seen the first Horrible Bosses (I'm saving it for when this sequel is closer to release) but I've heard nothing but good things about it. I'm glad to hear that actually considering I like all three of the guys in the lead roles. Now the sequel is only two-and-a-half months away, and if the trailers any indication, it should be an entertaining ride. Check it out below as well as my thoughts on it!

And Now The Story Of A Jane Fonda Led Family, Who Lost Everything, And The One Son Who Had No Choice, But To Keep Them All Together...

As Jason Bateman basks in the financial glory and critical failure of Identity Thief, he now is gearing up for a project that steers more towards the dramatic side, though fear not! Jokes about sex, boobs and affairs still abound. Director Shawn Levy (whose bipolar career has brought us the charming Night At The Museum and the forgettable The Internship) handles this one, which I have a feeling is a bit more dramatic and heady than the slightly generic trailer indicates. Still, the cast (which has Adam Driver in it!! Hell yeah!!!) is solid enough to keep my hopes on this one, which comes out in theaters everywhere September 12th.