Highway to Havasu: Movie Review

Indie version of highschool boys trying to get laid.

Highway to Havasu is an independent raunchy buddy comedy. Not unique in anyway, but it is the overlapping of the two styles that makes it appear different, on the surface at the beginning, at least. The plot is your typical high school boys want to get laid and embark on a ridiculous in-your-face sex-filled adventure – which Hollywood has attempted many times over, as have indie filmmakers, but a lot fewer in number.		2017 Directed by: Jeff Janke Screenplay by: Jeff Janke Starring: Andrew Fromer, Caleb Thomas

Dear Eleanor: Movie Review

Charming and entertaining journey with history, family, friends and an escaped convict.

Dear Eleanor combines so many perfectly compatible elements that it just effortlessly tells a story both fun and light, and historically interesting. Set in 1962 with two fifteen year-old girls, the movie is part road trip comedy, part historical drama, part coming-of-age dramedy, and all flows together very nicely because the adventure the girls find themselves in is funny, delightful, thought-provoking and very charming.		2016 Directed by: Kevin Connolly Screenplay by: Cecilia Contreras, Amy Garcia Starring: Liana Liberator, Isabelle Fuhrman

Paper Towns: Movie Review

A fun and enjoyable teen journey of comedy, adventure, mystery and coming-of-age.

A beautiful girl moves in next door to a geeky little kid, and the boy immediately falls for her. It's not hard to see why; she's beautiful with alluring eyes that can make good guys fall for bad girls. She's not the girl next door, but the mysterious girl next door, and he's going to watch her and admire her from not too far away. Paper Towns starts with the boy and girl at age 8 and she's baiting him into their first adventure.		2015 Directed by: Jake Schreier Screenplay by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber Based on the novel by John Green Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne

Nebraska: Movie Review

Simple story, characters, photography and comedy done pretty much to perfection.

“Nebraska” is a simple journey, told with beautiful black and white photography, of a father who thinks he has won a million dollars and a son who doesn’t know what to do with his father except go along with him. Woody Grant (Bruce Dern) suffers from dementia but he’ll argue that point with you straight to the pub. David Grant (Will Forte) lives a fairly empty life so decides to head to Nebraska with his father.		2013 Directed by: Alexander Payne Screenplay by: Bob Nelson Starring: Bruce Dern, Will Forte and June Squibb

We're the Millers: Movie Review

The fake family brings many laughs, the other elements bring a few groans.

“We’re the Millers” is a stoner comedy, except better than that because it’s written as a family comedy, well, inappropriate family comedy. The additional genre adds a much needed structure to the film and increases the comedy. This is one funny movie. All of the main and supporting actors keep bringing the jokes so you can over-look the ridiculous plot.		2013 Directed by: Rawson Marshall Thurber Screenplay by: Bob Fisher, Steve Faber, Sean Anders and John Morris Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston

The Hangover Part III: Movie Review

Revisits Las Vegas but can't recapture the magic.

The good news is that Todd Phillips and co. figured out the mistakes they made with Part II. The bad news is that they didn’t figure out how to fix them. Instead of just repeating the identical plot in a new location, the guys are back in Las Vegas with a plot involving fall-out from their previous actions. That’s the good part. The bad part is that it’s actually kind of boring and the jokes have become very tiring.		2013 Directed by: Todd Phillips Screenplay by: Todd Phillips, Craig Mazin Starring: Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms

Electrick Children: Movie Review

A unique approach to a teen pregnancy leads us down new but frustrating
and uncomfortable paths.

“Electrick Children” takes a story that’s been done before — a teenager raised in a religious community finds herself pregnant — and then proceeds to tell the story like you’ve never seen it before. It deserves credit for being unique. However that singularity can be hard to digest and accept. The film turns into a story that is impossible to interpret or understand; at times intriguing and other times frustrating.		2012 Directed by: Rebecca Thomas Screenplay by: Rebecca Thomas Starring: Julia Garner, Rory Culkin, and Liam Aiken

On the Road: Movie Review

Disappointing trip to the Beat Generation with drugs, sex and emptiness.

On the Road is an adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel, which in turn, is an autobiographic written tale of Kerouac and friends, the fellow Beat writers; scattered but stylish. Life would speed up with drugs and alcohol, slow down for a night with a beautiful woman, speed up when it was time to hit the road again, and slow down as they fail to find themselves where they thought they would be.		2012 Directed by: Walter Salles Screenplay by: Jose Rivera Based on the novel by Jack Kerouac Starring: Sam Riley, Garret Hedlund, Kristen Stewart and Tom Sturridge

Identity Thief: Movie Review

Formulaic road trip comedy, but the actors make the jokes funny.

As the cartoonish posters tell us, Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) is a sucker. He just gave his personal identification information to a stranger over the phone. Sandy Patterson (Melissa McCarthy) is the “Identity Thief”. After getting arrested and almost getting fired from his job, the real Sandy Patterson is determined to get his identity back. A stupid but convenient police procedural sets Sandy off across the country to bring the criminal to justice.		2013 Directed by: Seth Gordon Screenplay by: Craig Mazin Starring: Jason Bateman, and Melissa McCarthy

Foreverland: Movie Review

Dragging out a road trip to eventually get to an interesting place in life.

“Foreverland” is a relationship drama road trip movie. And I know what you’re thinking, you’ve seen it before. Yes, pretty much, but it does have some refreshing twists even though it takes them too long to get there. It starts with Will (Max Thieriot) a young man with cystic fibrosis shopping for coffins. He has that twisted sense of humour which we’re supposed to find endearing.		2011 Directed by: Max McGuire Screenplay by: Shawn Riopelle, Max McGuire Starring: Max Thieriot, Laurence Leboeuf

Trouble with the Curve: Movie Review

 

One great character, good comedic chemistry, but many simple turns.

“Trouble with the Curve” starts with Gus (Clint Eastwood) and his curmudgeonly ways going about his job as a baseball scout. The jokes about being old and losing his sight and getting up to pee in the middle of the night aren’t very funny, but the introduction of John Goodman as his boss and best friend, and then Amy Adams as his daughter Mickey, help heighten the level of jokes.		2012 Directed by: Robert Lorenz Screenplay by: Randy Brown Starring: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Justin Timberlake

Hit and Run: Movie Review

A guy's movie for girls with good action, comedy and romance.

"Hit and Run" is an action, comedy, romance, and for the first time in a long time, that's exactly what it is, and in three equal parts. The romance pits Charlie (Dax Shepard) and Annie (Kristen Bell) as a small town couple in love. She's up for her dream job in Los Angeles. The action starts when Charlie drives her to LA in his home-built classic car wtih an engine that all hillbillies desire.		2012 Directed by: David Palmer, and Dax Shepard Screenplay by: Dax Shepard Starring: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Bradley Cooper and Tom Arnold

Take Me Home: Movie Review

Simple road trip rom-com taking the expected route.

"Take Me Home" is from husband and wife team Sam and Amber Jaeger and is an adult romantic comedy about hitting the road. Thom (Sam Jaeger) lives a destitute life of lies unable to get a job or pay rent and illegally drives a taxi to make some quick cash. Claire (Amber Jaeger) is a successful business woman newly separated from her husband and feeling the pain of her childhood separation from her father.		2011 Directed by: Sam Jaeger Screenplay by: Samg Jaeger Starring: Sam Jaeger, and Amber Jaeger

Overnight: Movie Review

Typical romantic comedy with few laughs but satisfying characters.

“Overnight” starts as a typical romantic comedy but then ventures into a comedic romance, where comedy comes first. The romantic elements all seem to be part of the joke. Jenny (Rachel Blanchard) and Tom (James D’Arcy) meet in LAX fresh from disastrous break-ups (although it was over a year ago for Tom) and are both way too flighty and maladjusted to know how to seek self-comfort.		2012 Directed by: Valerie Breiman Screenplay by: Valerie Breiman Starring: Rachel Blanchard and James D'Arcy

I'm Yours: Movie Review

A barren, lonely, depressed road trip to nowhere interesting.

“I'm Yours” starts in Manhattan. Rich, indulged, whiny profligates are complaining about their job on Wall Street. Robert (Rossif Sutherland) gets to hook up with the hottest woman at the bar, because apparently he deseerves to. Daphne (Karine Vanasse) is the hottest girl at the bar, and she's mysterious. And that is the entire introduction to the characters.		2011 Directed by: Leonard Farlinger Screenplay by: Leonard Farlinger Starring: Rossif Sutherland, and Karine Vanasse

God Bless America: Movie Review

Hilarious cynicism so accurate and extreme that no target is left alive.

Frank (Joel Murray) hates his neighbours. He thinks they are rude, inconsiderate, selfish buffoons who lack any comprehension of how their actions may affect other people. Frank wants to kill them, especially the crying baby. Frank hates his co-workers. He thinks they are celebrity-obsessed morons who no longer have any real thoughts of their own and just regurgitate everything they hear on the TV and radio. He would want to kill them too except he just got fired.		2011 Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait Screenplay by: Bobcat Goldthwait Starring: Joel Murray, Tara Lynne Barr

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World: Movie Review

 

Clever and witty dialogue turn this romantic comedy disaster into a charming comedy. 

I’m liking this recent trend to start Steve Carell movies with hilarious car scenes. In “Crazy, Stupid, Love.” when his wife asks for a divorce and she won’t stop talking, he jumps out of the car. Now, in “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” when an asteroid is about to destroy Earth, his wife gets out of the car and runs away, literally, on her feet, as fast as she can.		2012 Directed by: Lorene Scafaria Screenplay by: Lorene Scafaria Starring: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley

Hick: Movie Review

Loses the characters, the point and our interest long before the end.

I thought I was going to like “Hick”. Not because of Derick Martini’s “Lymelife” but because of the very under-appreciated “Jolene” and “Dirty Girl”. Where teenage girls make bad decisions (because they choose to or because they have to) and set out on a road trip. “Hick” should have been a dark comedy version of that and even with the 0% positive reviews on RottenTomatoes, I still thought I was going like it.		2011 Directed by: Derick Martini Screenplay by: Andrea Portes Starring: Chloe Grace Moretz, Eddie Redmayne, Alec Baldwin, Blake Lively

The Diary of Preston Plummer: Movie Review

Preston falls in Love, Kate falls apart, and the universe expands as it always does.

Preston Plummer (Trevor Morgan) is graduating from university with the feeling of never really having loved anything. At a party he meets a girl who wants him to drive her home. Not just college home, but home, home – in another state. She needs to go home and he needs an adventure which he never got to experience. “The Diary of Preston Plummer” is about the long journey home — physically, emotionally and spiritually.		2012 Directed by: Sean Ackerman Screenplay by: Sean Ackerman Starring: Trevor Morgan, Rumer Willis

Rid of Me: Movie Review

 

A bleak character study encompassing the best and discomfort of a dark comedy.

Advertised as a black comedy, and that’s all, “Rid of Me” suggests that there is an event or plot twist that should not be revealed. And indeed it does open with an obscene, aberrant action which most people have the little bit of self-restraint required to never perform such an act. Following that opening sequence, the film reveals two subtle twists which show how unique and independent this is.		2011 Directed by: James Westby Screenplay by: James Westby Starring: Katie O'Grady