Quick Shots - 26/May/2015

'Horrible Bosses 2'

Oh dear. It's one of those films where you don't think the first film warranted a sequel, but here it is. Jason Bateman steadfastly plays the straight man while his cohorts get to play the dumbest of the dumb. It's comedy, I know, but sometimes you wonder if you have to have characters short of most of the deck to make comedy work. It's about as subtle as a glow-in-the-dark dildo.

Very notable thing: Chris Pine plays a great psychopath. He's got a fantastic energy to him and you can sort of see why he got the Captain Kirk job. I don't know if he's doing a good job with Kirk, but in this film, you get to see a lot of verve and style.

The not so good thing: Jennifer Aniston is short on the acting chops and therefore even the limit believability to sustain a character. She was like this in the first film too, but honestly, she's actually gone backwards as an actor.

Is it funny? Kind of.
Is it interesting? Not really.

'Dumb And Dumber To'

As described in the title, but with less irony. It does have some guffaws and chuckles. I can see why critics panned it, but they paned the original too and look what a cult film that became. Nothing is impossible - this thing could turn out to be yet another cult classic. Jeff Daniels is a versatile actor doing 'The Newsroom' AND 'Dumb and Dumber' movies and being convincing in both. Jim Carrey is surprisingly unchanging, although the mask is slipping in this one. It's harder to believe his character is as dumb as advertised.

Very notable thing: Kathleen Turner makes an appearance as an aged, old flame. You can barely tell it's her, but it's actually good to see her on screen again.

The not so good thing: the original ended with a killer setup and pay-off gag. The gag that ends the film in this one isn't anywhere near as good.

Is it funny? Yes, sort of, in parts.
is it interesting? Yes, it shows a great deal of anxiety about paternity which was sort of surprising as well as profound. Certainly surprising that a dumb & Dumber sequel wanted to use this as the plot spine.

'Inside Llewyn Davis'

A rather bleak and patronising look at a guy who is simply not going to make it as an artist in his chosen field. It must be all laughs for the Coen brothers making this, but this one is mean. And by mean, it's pretty clear from the early scenes of the film that there's no point barracking for the main character. So the rest of it is just us watching him flail around miserably.

Very notable thing: It is melancholy and quaint, and the feel of 1961 captured in this film is so evocative it makes you want to cry. You can just imagine this guy trudging around New York, just a few blocks down from Sterling Cooper. Excellent production design and cinematography.
Also, the cats are great value in this film.

The not so good thing: the whole film comes across as a prelude to a suicide. Being a failed musician, it's really hard to laugh at the guy when in fact I am that guy. I guess comedy hurts more when you're the butt of the joke. Oh well, 'Barton Fink' was tough too.

Is it funny? Sort of. More like chuckles than guffaws.
Is it interesting? Very.