TRAINWRECK  3.5***

 

        Amy Schuler is one of the hottest comedians in show business right now and her movie Trainwreck, directed by proved winner Judd Apatow, should make her an even bigger household name. She has had an award winning quirky comedy show on TV’s Comedy Central for the past 3 years.
Written and starring Schumer, Trainwreck is a raunchy rom-com that has its share of laughs but, more importantly, has a wonderful chemistry between her and her co-star, the talented Bill Hader of SNL fame, that is one of the film's main strength.

The comedienne plays an apt named character, Amy, who is a cynical boozy floozy more interested in one night stands that a committed relationship. She is a "trainwreck", totally a pleasure-seeker and self-absorbed and living life in the fast lane. That is until see meets Aaron (Hader), a doctor, a romantic, and all-around nice guy. Let's call him Mr. Right. It is their relationship and the changes that happen to her because of him that are the crux of the film. This is, after all, a romantic comedy. Both actors are in top form, especially Mr. Hader who is charming and quite believable in his role.

Apatow has assembled a fine cast of actors including Colin Quinn as Amy's monogamy phobic father and an unrecognizable (and hysterical) Tilda Swinton Amy’s cold-hearted British boss, Cameos playing against type include professional wrestler John Cena (very funny),, Marisa Tomei and especially basketball superstar LeBron James as LeBron James, who is a hoot , a natural comic in a dry way.

 

The screenplay is well written by Ms. Schumer. The jokes are action and character driven and their delivery is perfectly timed for maximum effect. While some gags are laugh out loud, others barely cause a titter. But the romantic elements of Trainwreck work effortlessly, leading to a memorable. if predictable, climax.

 

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity, raunchy language and some drug use.

 

Clark
          

 

 

 

             ted2….    2.8***

   

 

     After seeing the first TED film and being mildly amused, I was only somewhat looking forward to a sequel. As most sequels go, I didn't expect this to be as good as the first one. However, it ended up being somewhat better. It contains plenty of hilarious dialogue that had me laughing at times. And yes, the dialogue is as raunchy and vulgar as it was in the first film, or perhaps even more so. The gags were funny… not hilarious but laughable. There are a few gross-out scenes that may not be funny to everyone..so be prepared.. Ted is as potty-mouth funny as ever and often steals the show with his off-the-wall humor. Mark Wahlberg holds his own as Ted’s best Bro and also manages to be funny, perhaps even more so than in the first movie. Here, his character seems even more dumber and often leads Ted and himself into the some hysterical and unpleasant shenanigans.

 

I was pleased by the casting of Amanda Seyfried as  Samantha L. Jackson,  Ted's pot-smoking, novice lawyer who helps John and Ted with their mission to have Ted declared to be a”‘person”. The scenes of the trio just chilling out together are the best in the film, the highlight being the scenes in the library when they are supposedly "working". Seyfried is much stronger, and certainly more interesting, than Mila Kunis' character was in the first film, most likely because her character is actually allowed to join in on the fun. . 

 

Throughout the movie, there is  all manner of crass and politically incorrect humor. There are some neat cameos that add to the humor :Morgan Freeman as a famous civil rights lawyer, and "Flash Gordon" actor Sam Jones as himself plus Tom Brady and Liam Neeson . There are also pop culture and historical references galore, including songs, TV shows and movies from several different decades, helped to no small degree by a key scene at a New York City Comic-Con, with most of the participants dressing as their favorite comic book or sci-fi characters.  

Rated R for crude and sexual content, raunchy language, and some drug use.

Clark

ME and EARL and the dying GIRL  3.5***

 

        Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is similar to “The Fault is Our Stars” The film tells its story of a trio of teenage friends; Greg (Thomas Mann). the Me in the title story, Earl (RJ Cyler) and the dying girl, Rachel (Olivia Cooke). A begrudging Greg, on the insistence of his mother, befriends Rachel, who has just been diagnosed with acute leukemia. Earl, Greg's best bud and partner in amateur film-making, becomes part of this relationship, with his support and comic asides.   Their camaraderie is the crux of the film which explores friendship, death and love in the subtlest of ways.

 

This movie follows the same premise of a young girl dying of cancer, but outdistances itself from the sappy and maudlin moments with a edgy and wry sense of humor. It perfectly captures teenage life with all its non-conformity, angst and peer pressure and cleverly mixes animation and live action to help tell the story.  The dialogue is authentic and the film has a lovely quality of the real and the surreal. These well defined characters are far from the caricatures usually seen in today's teenage romantic comedies.
 .
The three young actors excel in their roles. RJ Cyler  as Earl, blends the cynical and vulnerable aspects into his character. Olivia Cooke keeps Rachel grounded in reality and never allows her character to exhibit any false move or wasteful overacting to convey her dilemma. Most effective is Thomas Mann, who skillfully handles Greg's mood swings and aloofness with nuance and clarity. As Greg, he has developed one of the more believable teenagers on film to date. His emotional meltdown scene adeptly conveys the anger, frustration, and sadness that adolescents can feel in today's world.


 Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is innovative and touching. This film has become an indie favorite  and rightfully so. It is well worth your attention .Since its an Indie film, it may be hard find but put it on your “to see” list.

 

Rated PG - 13 for sexual content, drug material and language.

 

Clark

 

INSIDE OUT   4.0***

 

      The latest Pixar movie “Inside Out” tells the story of five different emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust, who operate the command center of  the mind of Riley, a young 11 year-old girl from Minnesota. When Riley's family moves to San Francisco, California, the emotions must work together to help the young girl overcome her distress & fears about a new place and new people, and cope with growing up and transitioning into a new home.  I was fascinated by and enjoyed the colorful cast of emotion characters (both literally and figuratively). While remaining confined in a single emotion ( such as the red “Anger” emotion), the emotion characters are still dynamic enough to develop throughout the film. As for the human characters in which these emotions inhabit, they are only shown in glances throughout the film but are given enough depth to appeal to the audience.  All the voicing in this film is fantastic: Amy Poehler (Joy), Bill Hader (Fear), Lewis Black (Anger), Mindy Kaling (Disgust), and Phyllis Smith (Sadness) all do exceptional work.

 

The movie delightfully explores the odd mood swings of an adolescent, Riley, and how her emotions are all over the place, at times unpredictable and irrational, all of which is shown in this ingenious movie. The emotion Joy strives to remain in control, but  the other four emotions fight for the spotlight. And that is part of the brilliance of “Inside Out” … we see how zany a child's mind can be . Not only are we shown the importance and influence of emotions, but we also see the interworking’s of a child's mind, from the importance of friends and family to an imaginary friend. Pixar leaves no stone unturned, everything you could imagine about the mind is explored in great rich detail. And that is what makes the movie so magical. I have never seen anything quite like this before. Imagination Land, long term vs short term memory, dream productions, subconscious, train of thought and so much more are brilliantly created  here as regions or parts of the mind. It's a marvel to see the entire 'world' within the mind played out in front of us.

 

Colorful, thought-provoking and emotional, “Inside Out” is a film the kids will love for the imaginative, colorful world created inside Riley's mind, and adults will appreciate even more the mature, fascinating look at growing up and accepting that youth is only a temporary part of one's life. This film represents the best of what Pixar has to offer. They dare to be different and encourage you to think while being dazzled by the excellent animation.

 

Rated PG… excellent for kids and adults.

 

Clark

 

PS: Yes I can go from a hilarious potty mouth movie like “SPY’ to a seriously scary horror movie like “THE BABADOOK” and then to a sweet animated film like “INSIDE OUT” . As I’ve said before I go to see ALL kinds of movies… the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLY. I haven’t seen a “genre” I didn’t like !!!!!!