Comedy

Palm Springs

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  • Title: Palm Springs
  • IMDb: link

“It’s one of those infinite time loop situations that you might have heard about.”

Palm Springs movie reviewPalm Springs would fit perfectly in in a triple-feature nestled snuggly between Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow. When we meet Nyles (Andy Samberg), through the eyes of bridesmaid Sarah (Cristin Milioti), he’s already stuck in a time loop around the events of the wedding of Sarah’s sister Tala (Camila Mendes). A flirtatious night between the pair leads to Sarah accidentally becoming trapped in the loop as well (although her circumstances are a bit more complicated than simply being a guest at the wedding).

Director Max Barbakow and writer Andy Siara team-up to deliver an incredibly smart, engaging, and charming film centered around the two leads (and to a lesser extent J.K. Simmons as the only other person aware of the loop). Time is rebooted once they fall asleep, lose consciousness, or die. Unable to break free of the loop, Nyles and Sarah struggle to find meaning in a meaningless existence where one day literally is the same as the next. Although it doesn’t break new ground with the concept, Palm Springs knows how to make the most out of each day and delivers the best comedy of 2020.

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On the Rocks

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  • Title: On the Rocks
  • IMDb: link

On the Rocks movie reviewI’m a huge fan of Sofia Coppola, but On the Rocks is easily her weakest film to date. It doesn’t help that the repairing of Coppola with Bill Murray reminds us of the far superior Lost in Translation. For a writer/director that has most often looked to tackle stories from a dramatic point-of-view, On the Rocks‘s broader comedy is unexpected.

While Coppola was able to pull some terrific comic moments out of social commentary for The Bling Ring, the wacky adventures of a middle-aged woman (Rashida Jones) and her father (Murray) hoping to catch her husband (Marlon Wayans) having an affair sputters along not unlike the ridiculous sports car Murray’s character drives around New York City. Murray certainly provides some charm, and all of it is needed to save the film from completely floundering.

Jones is fine in the role of Laura, but the character is little more than her questionable insecurity. I wouldn’t go so far to call On the Rocks a bad film, but it’s average to the point of being completely unremarkable (something I wouldn’t have expected given the talent assembled here).

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The Croods: A New Age

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  • Title: The Croods: A New Age
  • IMDb: link

The Croods: A New Age movie reviewThe sequel to 2013’s The Croods returns the cast of the original for a new adventure. The prehistoric family meet the more evolved Hope (Leslie Mann) an Phil Betterman (Peter Dinklage), friends of Guy’s (Ryan Reynolds) parents, who have created a safe zone that all the Croods except for Grug (Nicolas Cage) immediately fall in love with (although their hosts aren’t all that keen on their guests staying longterm).

The sequels offers much the same humor of the original with its conflict coming from the deepening relationship between Guy and Eep (Emma Stone) which threatens Grug’s pack and the Bettermans’ plan to steal Guy away from Eep for their daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran). Eventually, danger will come to safe oasis and the two families will learn to work together.

There’s some fun here, I did appreciate the choice to make Eep and Dawn friends instead of rivals, but for all its wackiness there’s not much substance. The Croods: A New Age is a so-so sequel to a so-so film. Fans of the original will likely enjoy themselves, but the sequel doesn’t do much to evolve past the limited appeal of the original.

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Franklin & Bash – The Complete Series

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  • Title: Franklin & Bash – The Complete Series
  • wiki: link

Franklin & Bash - The Complete Series DVD reviewFor four seasons Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer) and Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) starred as best friends in this legal comedy focused on the unorthodox duo going to work for a large firm while still keeping true to their own madcap version of practicing law.

The box set includes all forty episodes from the show’s four seasons. Highlights include the pair using puppets and strippers to win a case, bringing a wrongful death suit against the real estate company for killing their client, a bet with Rachel (Heather Locklear) over whose case will garner the most media attention, brining a large stuffed grizzly bear into court, defending Peter’s mother (Jane Seymour) from charges of prostitution, and Jared given 50 hours of community service in small claims court.

Reed Diamond, Dana Davis, Malcolm McDowell, Kumail Nanjiani, and Garcelle Beauvais round out the core cast with the likes of Claire Coffee, Nicky Whelan, Seymour, Beau Bridges, and Alexandra Holden given recurring roles.

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Operation Christmas Drop

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  • Title: Operation Christmas Drop
  • IMDb: link

Operation Christmas Drop movie reviewOperation Christmas Drop is your typical schmaltzy holiday fare featuring a character rediscovering the meaning of Christmas. In this case, our leading lady is Kat Graham starring as workaholic Congressional aide Erica who is sent halfway around the world on Christmas by a Grinch of Senator (Virginia Madsen) to find reasons to shut down a military base that dares spread goodwill during the holidays. I half expected Madsen to start looking for Dalmatians to skin as the script by Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer requires so many one-note characters to force the plot along.

The military operation that gives the film its title, where U.S. Forces drop crates of humanitarian aid across several isolated islands, has been going strong since 1952 providing the backdrop of the base in Guam and the reason for Erica to be in tropical paradise at Christmas. Alexander Ludwig plays the goodhearted pilot who lives for Christmas and helps the base make the most of the occasion. He’s even able to help rekindle a bit of Christmas spirit within Erica despite the entire reason for her arrival being to deliver a report justifying the base’s closure.

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