Review: Sausage Party (2016)

When I posted my ‘2016 Comedy Special’ mini reviews, I thought I’d seen all of the big comedy releases of this summer. Then I spotted someone’s review of Sausage Party in my blogger feed, and I let out a long sigh. There was one I had missed. When Seth Rogen and James Franco are together, they are so hit or miss for me. I’ve never seen one of their movies and thought ‘eh, that was alright’, it’s always one extreme or the other. And I really wasn’t sold by the trailer.

Of course, this animated movie is Seth Rogen’s baby that just so happens to feature James Franco, but I find Seth like that one guy in your friend group or school that's completely lovely and funny on his own, but when he’s with that particular friend, he turns into a complete ass. I sound really bitter, don’t I?

Sausage Party is like every other animated movie you’ve seen starring inanimate objects, with one difference. It’s rude. Like, extremely rude. Sexual jokes, racist jokes, down right dirty jokes, fly left right and center here. The stand out example here is in the opening scene, when a jar of german mustard announces his wishes to eliminate the juice. Say it out loud, and it’ll soon click for you. The ‘f’ in his logo is expertly designed to look like a very infamous symbol, too. That’s when you do that nervous kind of laugh where you know you shouldn’t find it funny, but it’s downright hilarious.

I actually had quite a bit of hope to begin with. If you’re not aware of the plot yet, the movie is about a bunch of groceries in a supermarket, living their lives, waiting to be chosen by the Gods to be taken to the ‘great beyond’. In this particular store, the groceries start each morning with a song all about it, and how certain they are that absolutely nothing will ge wrong should they be chosen. Sorry, but it’s still not quite as funny as Olaf the Snowman wanting to see what summer is all about!

Frank the sausage (Seth Rogen) is the star of the show, alongside his lover Brenda (Kristen Wiig), a hotdog bun. The two get chosen to leave but everything goes wrong, leaving them with the mission of getting back home to warn everyone else. It’s a simple enough story, but my biggest problem with it is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. Is this a simple, ‘fart jokes’ comedy, or is a comedy with a hidden, deeper meaning? It’s both, which is confusing as hell.

But what really ruined it for me was the scene outside, with the zombie corn. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll be shuddering right now because you’ll know exactly what I’m on about. A giant, cartoon-rendered turd on the floor being eaten by zombie corn. And it gets worse, because next on screen is a talking, used condom. I mean USED. Ugh.

I don’t know what I expected really. In some ways, Sausage Party was better than I thought it would be, but it’s still largely unfunny, and downright gross. That’s just me though, I know plenty of people will absolutely love this, because it’s the kind of humour they enjoy. At least I can now say I’ve seen all the big 2016 comedies! I think?

Review: Hail, Caesar! (2016)

Picking a movie as my ‘Looking Forward to this Month’ choice each month seems to put some kind of curse over it, meaning I don’t even get to see it at the cinema. How does this keep happening?! Hail, Caesar was my choice for March, and I think I had 3 different occasions planned to see it, all of which got cancelled on the day.

I’ve been excited for this since the trailer first came out last year. I think I was on a bit of a George Clooney hype, and the addition of Channing Tatum was too much for me to take. Then I watched (and loved) Inside Llewyn Davis and decided from that point I was a Coen Brothers fan. Still haven’t sat through the whole of Bridge of Spies, though…

So, the plot is fairly simple. This movie is about a guy who makes movies! Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) runs the joint, and spends every living moment of the day solving problems within the studio. Things go a little more pear shaped when his leading star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) goes missing. 

I think even if you didn’t enjoy the movie itself, you have to appreciate how beautiful it is to watch. If the film world in the 1950’s really is this colourful, then sign me up! It’s greatest strengths are ultimately its greatest weakness, sadly. A lot of the movie is filled with snippets behind the doors of different sets. We see Scarlett Johannson put on an incredible synchronised swimming act, and Channing Tatum dressed as a sailor, dancing on tables. I mean come on, what more could a girl want? The only problem is that most of these acts have nothing to do with the plot of the movie at all.

That sounds harsh, especially when I really enjoyed watching Hail, Caesar! It’s just that I hyped it up so much in my head, I was thinking of placing it next to Fargo on my hypothetical shelf. And it definitely doesn’t deserve a place up there. Although the twist is takes is unexpected, it takes a weird, political turn that kind of bored the pants off me. I don’t do politics. Or history. Sorry.

By far, the star here was Hobie Doyle, played by Alden Ehrenreich, as the young actor, famous for his Westerns, that is suddenly thrown into a highbrow drama, directed by the ever patient Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes). Would that it were so simple...It doesn’t matter how many times I watch that scene, it will be hilarious every single time! I heard Alden is in the running for playing a young Han Solo? Don’t let Jenna know but I think he would be great!

All in all, and despite sounding negative, I really did enjoy this. I was just my own worst enemy and hyped it up too much. It’s not the best Coen Brothers movie out there, but as a fan of quirky humour, this was definitely my cup of tea.

Review: 22 Jump Street (2014)

Sun's out, guns out! You just can't beat a good summer comedy sometimes, and they're great Orange Wednesday films. I really loved 21 Jump Street, I know I've said before but I think I picked up the DVD when it was cheap, not really knowing what it was, and just fell in love. There's always a lot of pressure on sequels though!

 

You know what the deal is, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) have already gone undercover in High School for a drugs bust, and now Jump Street has moved across the road to 22 and Schmidt and Jenko need to go undercover in college for another drugs bust. The film follows the Muppets in pointing out that the sequel is never as good as the first, although Jump Street is a little more subtle!

 



This film was everything I wanted it to be. The laughs were there, and even though the storyline was pretty much exactly the same as the first, it still felt fresh. The comedy was spot on, and didn't fall into the spoof trap that other films have. I'm now wondering where I can find one of these tops, but I don't think it's the same really! I'll have to get one for the other half instead... Or you could get to the gym and get some GUNS!!

 

My only real whinge about 22 Jump Street is that the bromance was a bit overdone. I love a good bromance as much as the next girl, especially a bromance with Channing Tatum, but it did start to get a little old as the film went on. I really liked the bromance jokes, when they were acting like a couple breaking up, I was in bits. 

 

I really enjoyed this, which I didn't expect to being a comedy sequel.  As Allie said the story was pretty much the same but they basically take the piss out of that themselves at some points throughout the movie.  I loved the car chase "I mean it looks cool...but it's just so wasteful" had me in stitches (maybe I was just in the mood to laugh when I watched it!).  The gags are painfully crude and grim for the most part but Hill and Tatum's chemistry makes it watchable and actually funny.  Better still is Ice Cube whose anger takes over every scene he is in.

 

You'll understand what I mean if/when you've seen it, but my favourite part of this film was the credits. That sounds harsh, doesn't it? But trust me! Best. Credits. Ever. Couple of cameos thrown in too for good measure. 

 

The film felt a little bit too long, they could have easily cut 20 minutes out without ruining it but if that's the only real issue then its not too bad all in all.  Fully agree, the credits were the best part of the whole film without a doubt, absolutely brilliant!

I think this is the end of the line now for the Jump Street films, but I've fallen a little in love with Channing Tatum and I can't wait to see some of his other films.

Looking Forward to Seeing at the Cinema this Month...June 2014

I still haven't seen my 'Looking Forward to Seeing at the cinema' for May yet, although I am seeing it tonight so that's not too bad.  I am super excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past, review will be posted soon.  But enough about May and onto June... What am I looking forward to this month... How to Train your Dragon 2...

The original of this was amazing, not just the story which was completely original and well written but the visuals, everytime I watch this film I find something new, individual hair strands blowing in the wind, single blades of grass.  It is a truly epic visual as well as characters that you love and even the ones you hate you love.  So how can I not look forward to the second part, an older, stronger and cooler Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) with metal parts instead of a leg after the action in the first part.  Dragons are now a normal part of life on Berk, but they will stumble across a new batch of wild dragons and must work together to keep the peace.

I can't decide however if I will see this in 3D, I am not a fan, particularly not with live action movies (I never watch live action movies in 3D, I think it spoils it more than adds to it!) but rarely I will watch an animated film in 3D if I think it will be worth it.  If there are flying scenes are anything like the first movies then my guess is it will be worth it...

How to Train your Dragon 2 will be released on 27th June 2014.

Ohh you totally got in before me this month! This is probably one of my most anticipated films of the year, let alone month! But, in the spirit of chosing a film each, I'm also super excited for 22 Jump Street.

 

I don't think I saw the previous film, 21 Jump Street, at the cinema. In fact, I'm pretty sure I just picked up the DVD in a sale around Christmas last year. I love Channing Tatum more and more every time I see him, and although I'm a bit weary of Jonah Hill, I thought he was really funny in 21 Jump Street.

It's the perfect Orange Wednesday film and I have no doubt that the screens will be rammed when it comes out. Sequels, in many cases, aren't as good as their predecessors but I hope that won't be the case this time, as I laugh out loud every time I watch the trailer and it definitely hasn't got old yet. Look out for my review soon!

Here's the trailer if you're a hermit and haven't seen it yet:

22 Jump Street will be released on 6th June 2014.

Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

I couldn't bear to watch this film at the cinema. I really wanted to see it, and I did at the second opportunity, but I can't sit still for 3 hours in a cinema! I can happily say that I've watched it in the comfort of my own home in two sittings.  I really wanted to see this at the cinema but had to be aware that it was NSFD, the D being Dad!!  I usually head to the cinema with the old fart but I have to be careful what we see (a prime example was the opening scene of Dallas Buyers Club - awkward!!!)

So, the film is based around the rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who after joining a 'penny-stock' firm decides to start his own company and so begins Stratton Oakmont.  What follows is divorce, prostitutes, drugs, money, drugs, more prostitutes, parties and a trophy wife.

Jenna had warned me about some of the scenes in this film. It is most definitely NSFT, NSFP and a lot of other acronyms which we need to dedicate a blog post of its own to. There are some shocking scenes, but I think what shocked me the most was learning that many of them had been toned down during editing! I dread to think what the originals would have looked like!

I really enjoyed this film, but I have to admit it did lose me in certain places. I get distracted easily and I stopped paying attention at one point. To be fair to the film though, I have absolutely zero knowledge of the stock broker market, nor do I have any interest in learning about it, so it wouldn't be fair of me to call those parts boring.  I have to disagree, I was gripped from beginning to end, I didn't even notice how long the film was until it finished.  The story was great and somehow made you love a character that you should hate, DiCaprio does help with this though as he is just so likeable! As someone who isn't a die hard fan of Scorsese's work (I think Goodfellas is a must see on our to-do list!) I think this might be by favourite of his (at the moment!) and particularly my favourite partnership between him and DiCaprio (I found Shutter Island too dull until the end and lost the plot completely with The Departed)

Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the scene below? It was my favourite scene and had me howling with laughter!  This was also by far my favourite scene, as well as the morning after when he sees the car!! Brilliant!



So all in all for me, an enjoyable, funny film, but far too long! I certainly won't be watching the extended, 4 hour long version. - I will!!!  I'll post an update when I've seen it!

Very funny, very enjoyable would happily watch it again.  Although, I wasn't bothered by the length of the film, it could have been cut shorter and been made more concise in certain places to accommodate the Allie's of the world ;-)
What I really needed was you there to explain all the bits I dozed off to!