Comedy

BlacKkKlansman

/ / Home Video
  • Title: BlacKkKlansman
  • IMDb: link

BlacKkKlansman Blu-ray reviewBased on the insane true story of African-American Colorado Springs police officer Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan, Spike Lee delivers one of the most fascinating and entertaining films of the year. Laugh-out-loud funny while also proving timely and relevant to today, Lee crafts an amazing film structured around the performances of John David Washington and Adam Driver as the Black and Jewish cops who performed something so miraculous that, if it hadn’t happened, Hollywood would have been forced to invent it. As a cherry on top, Topher Grace gives us his hilarious take on Grand Wizard David Duke whose white supremacist organization becomes the target of Stallworth’s investigation.

Lee and company provide a near-perfect film that holds up to multiple viewings. Available on Blu-ray and DVD, extras include a short featurette and an extended trailer for the film featuring Prince‘s “Mary Don’t You Weep.”

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The Favourite

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Favourite
  • IMDb: link

The Favourite movie reviewSet during the reign of Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), The Favourite is a sly period dramedy focused on the rivalry between two cousins (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) over position and the affection of the Queen. Filled with backstabbing, political maneuvering, and deception, the story begins with the arrival of Abigail (Stone), a former lady now forced into the role of a servant. Abigail is given a position in the palace by Lady Sarah (Weisz) who underestimates just how far her cousin will go to increase her station.

Set between the two women, and also the two political factions fighting over the war in France, at the heart of the film is Anne herself. Presented as a broken woman, who may not have been all that smart to begin with, Coleman infuses her with unexpected depths as we begin to wonder just how much of the manipulation she suspects. Beautifully shot by cinematographer Robbie Ryan, the look of The Favourite offers sharp contrast to the more vile machinations under the surface (not unlike its lead characters). Although there are men present, mostly in Parliament, the script views them as largely superfluous and spends little effort to hide where the true power in England lies.

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Crazy Rich Asians

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Crazy Rich Asians
  • IMDb: link

Crazy Rich Asians Blu-ray reviewCrazy Rich Asians offers your basic going home to meet the parents tale, notable for two things. First, the romantic comedy features a talented all Asian cast. And second, it contains far better writing an acting than most romcoms. Our couple in love is Rachel (Constance Wu) and Nick (Henry Golding). Despite being nearly ready to propose, Nick hasn’t come clean with his girlfriend that his family is crazy rich (and also just plain crazy). Rachel discovers this for herself while accompanying Nick to Singapore for a friend’s wedding.

The film features what you’d expect. Nick tries to balance love and family obligations. Rachel struggles to fit in with his family and deal with his disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) before learning to stand-up for herself and teach the Youngs a few lessons of their own. The supporting cast includes the over-the-top Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Jimmy O. Yang, and Nico Santos, and the more understated Gemma Chan who bonds with Rachel over her own marital troubles.

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The Big Bang Theory – The Conjugal Configuration

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Conjugal Configuration
  • wiki: link

The Big Bang Theory - The Conjugal Configuration TV review

The Big Bang Theory kicks off its final season by offering us looks at Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) as newlyweds at Legoland (which sadly gets far less screentime than the pair’s discussion of early marital issues), Raj‘s (Kunal Nayyar) making a public ass of himself (seriously… can they think of nothing better to do with this character after a dozen years), Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) just sort of watching the trainwreck of their friend unfold, and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco) have more “cute” fights when Leonard compares the pair to Amy’s parents. A bit underwhelming for a season premiere, but about what you would expect with the show dusting off old relationship tropes (wait, Sheldon is bad a relationships? Shocker!) and reusing them (yet again).

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Tag

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Tag
  • IMDb: link

Tag blu-ray reviewAs Dodge Ball taught us, grown-ups playing kid games can be dumb but also surprisingly fun. Based on real people, Tag tells the story of a group of friends who has being playing tag for decades. Despite growing up, getting careers, and moving to different cities, the friends continue to play tag one month out of the year in the hopes of finally beating the one member of the group (Jeremy Renner) who has never been “it.”

Our players include Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Jake Johnson, and Hannibal Buress. Also along for the ride are Isla Fisher as Helms’ wife, Leslie Bibb as Renner’s fiance, and Annabelle Wallis as a reporter who knows a good story when she hears one.

The film isn’t perfect. Renner’s mastery of the game is stretched to a ridiculous degree, and, in much the same vein, the script forces Fisher into some over-the-top uber-competitiveness which is only funny half the time. Still, for a game about tag there is fun to be had.

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