Jan 23 2022

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2021 – W – We Broke Up (2021) Movie Review

Director: Jeff Rosenberg

Writer: Jeff Rosenberg, Laura Jacqmin (Screenplay)

Starring: Aya Cash, William Jackson Harper, Sarah Bolger, Tony Cavalero, Peri Gilpin, Kobi Libii, Azita Ghanizada

Plot: Longtime couple Lori and Doug break up just days before Lori’s little sister Bea’s wedding to Jayson. In order to not disrupt the fun, they decide to pretend they’re still together until the weekend is over.

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: We Broke Up starts as couple Lori (Cash) and Doug (Harper) go through the beginning part of a break up after being together for years, the problem for the couple is that Lori’s sister Bea (Bolger) is about to get married.

The pair agree to attend the wedding still as a couple, going through the uncomfortable interaction the weekend will bring them, giving them the chance to decide whether this is the right decision.

Thoughts on We Broke Up

Thoughts – We Broke Up is a comedy that follows the couple that must continue to hold their relationship together to get through a wedding, which will offer them the temptations to try something new, or see they truly were right for each other, all in the backdrop of not knowing whether the couple getting married are right for each other. This is an interesting look at how relationships can get caught up in the middle of nowhere, being uncertain of where things could end up going, with the added pressure of seeing a relative getting married. It does give people the reflection of where people are in life. Aya Cash and William Jackson Harper are both wonderful in the leading roles, showing us just how much pain, the characters are going through, despite knowing they love each other still. The film does put more focus on the supporting side of the characters, which can take away from the situation the couple are going through at times.

Final Thoughts – We Broke Up is an easy to watch comedy, reflection how difficult relationships can be.

Jan 13 2022

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2021 – M – Me, Myself & Di (2021) Movie Review ‘Enjoyable Comedy’

Director: Chris Green

Writer: Samantha Lloyd (Screenplay)

Starring: Katy Clayton, Lucy Pinder, James Lance, Tyger Drew-Honey, Will Mellor, Larry Lamb, Will Snape

Plot: When Bridget Jones-type Janet wins the trip of a lifetime, she’s convinced by her best friend to pretend to be the opposite of who she actually is, in the hope of finding love – But it’s only when she becomes herself again that Janet gets close to her happy ever after.

Runtime: 1 Hour 33 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Me, Myself and Di starts as Janet (Clayton) is celebrating her 30^th birthday where the community love her kind fun loving nature, but she hasn’t found herself finding love yet. Her birthday doesn’t go to plan when her latest date just ignores her, but things turn around when she wins a holiday away, wanting to take her best friend Di (Pinder).

As the pair head off to the caravan site, Janet looks to try and be more recognizable, only for her to see a different side to Di, where she starts to question how valid their friendship really is, while finding herself along the way.

Thoughts on Me, Myself and Di

Thoughts – Me, Myself and Di is a romantic comedy about finding yourself no matter what your age, showing us how needing to break out of a cycle. This will show the importance of friendship, both within how you treat each other and understanding how certain people in your life might feel about you. Janet is one of the most likable characters you will see on screen, with her pure positive happy-go-lucky personality, despite holding back her own loneliness. Katy Clayton makes this character come off perfectly through this film. When it comes to the rest of the character Diana fills the uncertain best friend who is used to being the centre of attention, given her own situation to try and understand, which will help understand why she is acting certain ways in the film. The caravan holiday location plays into what we would know in the UK, with the affordable holidays at home. This is a movie that will leave you smiling, with how it all goes, knowing things can go from good to bad at a click of a fingers and back again.

Final Thoughts – Me, Myself and Di is an enjoyable comedy that is truly British in storytelling.

Jan 12 2022

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2021 – L – Last Call (2021) Movie Review

Director: Paolo Pilladi

Writer: Paolo Pilladi, Greg Lingo (Screenplay) Greg Lingo, Michael Baughan, Billy Reilly (Story)

Starring: Jeremy Piven, Taryn Manning, Zach McGowan, Jack McGee, Bruce Dern, Jamie Kennedy, Cathy Moriarty

Plot: A real estate developer returns to his old Philly neighborhood and must decide to raze or resurrect the family bar.

Tagline – Some places never change.

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Last Call starts as a real estate developer Mick (Piven) returns to his home neighbourhood, after his mother passes away, where his father has kept the bar going, despite money struggling, and his old friends are always just up for partying their way through life.

As Mick gets back into life in the neighbourhood, he looks to try and push through the construction of a casino in the area, until he learns to remember just how close the neighbourhood once was.

Thoughts on Last Call

Thoughts – Last Call is a comedy about remembering who was once important in life, taking a walk back down memory lane around the people they grew up with. This does everything you would expect a film that focuses on finding your meaning in life, be it being around friends or family, or successful. The cast do have great chemistry, showing us the true banter they have been through life on, with each one of the group having their own quirks and individuality about them. This is based on the real story of the area and how the community would come together for the right thing. With most of the comedy never hitting the heights in truly wants too.

Final Thoughts – Last Call is an easy to watch comedy that will get a message over, while giving us an entertaining group of people to watch.

Jan 8 2022

ABC Film Challenge – Catch-Up 2021 – H – Happily (2021) Movie Review

Director: BenDavid Grabinski

Writer: BenDavid Grabinski (Screenplay)

Starring: Kerry Bishe, Joel McHale, Al Madrigal, Natalie Zea, Paul Scheer, Billie Wolff, Stephen Root, Natalie Morales

Plot: A dark romantic comedy. Tom and Janet have been happily married for years. But a visit from a mysterious stranger leads to a dead body, a lot of questions, and a tense couples’ trip with friends who may not actually be friends at all.

Tagline – A killer romantic comedy.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Happily starts as we meet the happily married couple Janet (Bishe) and Tom (McHale) who have a very positive way of looking at their lives, being the envy of all their friends, who are getting sick of just how happy the couple are together.

When the couple get a visit from a mysterious man, accusing them of being fake, the couple’s life is turned upside down forever, as they try to figure out if it was real or a prank.

Thoughts on Happily

Thoughts – Happily is a romantic comedy with a twist, as it shows the perfect couple that are always happy together, never fight and will strike up jealousy from their friends. The couple get a visit, which says they might not be as perfect as they seem and order needs to be resolved, which will lead to a couple weekend taking a dramatic turn. This is a comedy that does take a strange turn along the way, into a sci-fi style film. The problems with this film come from how unrealistic everything that happens are, the couple don’t feel natural in anyway, the comedy does fall flat for the most part, leaving us wanting something more than we get. The performances are strong enough, nobody is terrible to watch, just some of the characters lack a natural chemistry. This is a film that does look to get a bigger message, but falls flatter than it wants to, leaving us wanting a lot more than we got.

Final Thoughts – Happily is a rom com that wants more than it delivers.

Jan 1 2022

The Kid Detective (2020) Movie Review ‘What a Treat’

Director: Evan Morgan

Writer: Evan Morgan (Screenplay)

Starring: Adam Brody, Sophie Nelisse, Tzi Ma, Peter MacNeill, Maurice Dean Witt, Jonathan Whittaker, Wendy Crewson, Sarah Sutherland

Plot: A once-celebrated kid detective, now 32, continues to solve the same trivial mysteries between hangovers and bouts of self-pity. Until a naive client brings him his first ‘adult’ case, to find out who brutally murdered her boyfriend.

Tagline – No longer a kid. Not much of a detective.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Kid Detective starts as we meet the washed-up former kid detective Abe Applebaum (Brody) who became the go to guy for small mysteries around the town, before things dried up for him, now 32-years-old, where he tends to get drunk only to find himself doing the pointless cases.

This changes with Caroline (Nelisse) arriving in his office, asking for help to solve the murder of her boyfriend, a murder the police were unable to solve.

Thoughts on The Kid Detective

Thoughts – The Kid Detective is a mystery comedy that will show us how a man who has spent his life believing he was a brilliant detective, only for things to dry up after the cases start falling apart. He is given a chance to redeem himself with the latest case, one that will open up the old wounds from the unsolved case which nearly ruined him. This will put Abe through the comedic locations of finding the truth, through the different people from his past which would have cause him to understand the truth about previous cases, he was so quick to solve. Adam Brody is brilliant in this leading role, bringing the downbeat character to life, while having time to add a small amount of comedy to what we see. The mystery itself will keep us guessing towards the truth, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. This is a treat of a movie that only gets better as more is revealed.

Final Thoughts – The Kid Detective is a brilliant movie, with a dark tale and a stunning performance from Adam Brody.