Comedy

Suburbicon

  • Title: Suburbicon
  • IMDb: link

Suburbicon movie reviewI really wanted to like director George Clooney‘s Suburbicon. Sadly, the mix of dark comedy, murder, racial injustice, and social commentary flails about for far too much of its 104-minute running time without ever coming together. Clooney produces an only somewhat interesting film with admittedly intriguing pieces and strong performances, but sadly the film never really clicks.

The original script was written by the Coen Brothers years ago and Clooney and Grant Heslov are credited with changes. Suburbicon feels like a movie with four screenwriters as it struggles with a cohesive story and constant tone, often shifting violently one way or the next until the main plot ultimately kicks in.

Our story takes place in the all-white suburb of Suburbicon where the entire town is distraught over the arrival of the town’s first black family and far less interested in the horrific violence happening across the street to Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) and his family when two intruders break in and hold the family hostage. The fallout from that night, and the reveal of what’s really going on in Gardner’s life, provides most of the tension to follow.

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The Big Bang Theory – The Proposal Proposal

  • Title: The Big Bang Theory – The Hot Tub Contamination
  • wiki: link

The Big Bang Theory - The Proposal Proposal TV review

Picking up immeadiately following the Tenth Season finale, The Big Bang Theory returns with Amy (Mayim Bialik) giving the expected answer to Sheldon (Jim Parsons) proposal. While there are certainly no suprises there, Howard (Simon Helberg) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) deal with some unexpected news and Raj‘s (Kunal Nayyar) loneliness continues.

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The Big Bang Theory – The Complete Tenth Season

  • Title: The Big Bang Theory – Season 10
  • wiki: link

The Big Bang Theory - The Complete Tenth Season Blu-ray reviewThe tenth season of The Big Bang Theory marks a major change for the nerds as Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Amy (Mayim Bialik) begin living together apart from newlyweds Leonard (Johnny Galecki) and Penny (Kaley Cuoco). Over the season the guys will work on a project for the Untied States Air Force (with mixed success), Leonard and Penny will re-do their I Do’s for family and friends, Bernadette (Melissa Rauch) will give birth, and Sheldon and Amy’s relationship will be tested leading into a surprise proposal to close out the season.

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Guilty Pleasure – Teen Wolf

  • Title: Teen Wolf
  • IMDb: link

Teen Wolf Blu-ray reviewAlthough it’s hard by any objective standard to classify 1985’s Teen Wolf as a “good movie,” the star vehicle for a young Michael J. Fox written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman is undeniably entertaining.

The story centers around average high school student Scott Howard (Fox) who discovers he’s a werewolf. Rather than hiding this fact, which gives him speed, agility, and power for the first time, Scott brings out the wolf on the basketball court making the sorry team instantly better, and turning himself into a celebrity – something his best friend Stiles (Jerry Levine) is only too happy to exploit for profit.

If you remove the werewolf, Teen Wolf is a pretty generic high school film. We get a good kid, the hot girl he lusts for (Lorie Griffin), her evil boyfriend (Mark Arnold), and the girl (Susan Ursitti) who likes him. Between scenes of the werewolf surfing on top of a van and playing basketball, there’s also Scott learning a life lesson about accepting himself for who he is.

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The Big Sick

  • Title: The Big Sick
  • IMDb: link

The Big Sick movie reviewWell, here’s an unique love story. Adapted from the true events of his own life, and co-written by his wife, The Big Sick stars Kumail Nanjiani as comedian and Uber driver Kumail whose relationship with Emily (Zoe Kazan) goes into a rough patch just prior to her being put into a medically-induced coma for an illness doctors struggle to properly diagnose. With Emily hospitalized, Kumail finds himself in the uncomfortable position of dealing with her parents (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano), and the expectations of his own parents (Anupam Kher and Zenobia Shroff) concerning his future.

Not as dark (or unconventional) as it sounds, The Big Sick fits pretty easily in the dramedy category with pieces of the real events exaggerated for either comedic or dramatic effect (or sometimes both). While it certainly has some romantic comedy leanings, the best parts of the movie come not from the conflict but the building of relationships, first between Kumail and Emily and later between Kumail and her parents. If you’ve seen the trailer you’ve seen almost all the film’s best jokes, but there’s still an enjoyable (if predictable) story to watch unfold.

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