Category Archives: Doc’s Movie Reviews

The Great Dictator (1940)

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January 18

The first film from silent film legend Charlie Chaplin that included sound was The Great Dictator. This movie was written, directed and starring Chaplin in a dual role. He played Dictator Adenoid Hynkel and a Jewish Barber.

At the beginning of the film, it lists that “Any Resemblance Between Hynkel the Dictator and the Jewish Barber is Purely Co-Incidental.”  This is really funny as the film is clearly mocking Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, without even trying to be subtle.

According to IMDB, “Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel’s regime.”

A biting satire, The Great Dictator condemns the ideas of the dictators as well as Fascism, antisemitism and hatred in the world. The final monologue given by Charlie Chaplin is very powerful and fits extremely well in our time as well as the early days of World War II.

Despite the dark tone of much of the movie, there is still some wonderful comedic moments and standout slapstick scenes. There is one where Hynkel is tapping a ball in the shape of the planet in the air around his office. It is a beautifully choreographed scene with plenty of metaphorical importance.

In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he could not have done this movie had he known the true terrors and abominations that was being perpetrated by the Nazis during the Holocaust. There was references to concentration camps and ghettos in the film, but as of 1940, when the film came out, there was not the widespread comprehension of exactly what atrocities that had been going on.

This is a truly powerful film from one of the most iconic men of the time period. His work was inspirational to many future directors and creatives.

Sideways (2004)

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January 17

I had no idea that this was an Oscar winning film when I rented it on Fandango. The film was nominated for  Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It actually won Best Adapted Screenplay.

According to IMDB, “Two men reaching middle age with not much to show but disappointment embark on a week-long road trip through California’s wine country, just as one is about to take a trip down the aisle.“

Paul Giamatti led the cast in his role as Miles. He does a sensational job as the struggling, emotionally distraught writer. I think it is sad that Giamatti did not also receive an Oscar nom since there were so many others for the film. He holds the film together.

Thomas Hayden Church did deserve the nomination that he received as Best Supporting Actor. He managed to be both a cheating jerk and a caring best friend with his role of Jack. We knew that Jack was doing some terribly rotten things, but his feeling for Miles helped keep him from being cast aside.

Virginia Madsen was strong as Miles’ love interest Maya. They had a sweet relationship that was on a slow burn as Miles attempted to get past his depression and his baggage from his previous marriage. Miles and Maya had a wonderful relationship that was worth cheering for.

Giamatti and Hayden Church had great chemistry too. You believed that they were best friends despite the fact that they did not seem to be much like the other one.

Sideways was a surprising enjoyable movie that was a much bigger one than I ever knew about. I am glad that I was able to get a chance to see it.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

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I liked this movie. I want to start off with that statement. However, my star rating may not be as high as it might have been.

I went to the XD theater at Cinemark to see the film today and, when I got there, I saw that the heat was not working in that theater. They had a sign posted that anyone who wanted a refund could get it, but I decided to give it a try. After about ten minutes, I was regretting my decision. It was really cold. I looked to see if there were any other possible showing of the movie and there wasn’t any until later in the afternoon, so I was fairly stuck.

By the end of the movie, I felt as if my body was so cold, it wasn’t working properly. That was an exaggeration, but I was shivering and shaking. The environment of a movie can affect the enjoyment of a film, and this is probably a lesser review than I would give The Bone Temple than one where I was comfortable.

I do believe that I enjoyed this more than I did the last 28 Years Later from last year. This movie featured more with Dr. Ian Kelson, played brilliantly by Ralph Fiennes. We also followed the exploits of Spike, who would wind up being called Jimmy through most of the movie, played by Alfie Williams. Williams, who was born in 2011 making him 15 this year, does a fantastic job with this role, having to provide a lot of emotional moments and he had a lot of the story arc on his back.

Spike was picked up by a group of Satanists led by Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), who inducted Spike into the group he was leading. Jack O’Connell was sensational in Sinners last year and he brings the same energy to this movie.

The film, though, was dominated by Ralph Fiennes, giving a tour de force performance, not only when the Jimmies crossed his path, but also working in an attempt to save the life of the gigantic alpha he named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Without spoilers, the scene with Iron Maiden’s song was absolutely breathtaking.

The tension and suspense was ratcheted up throughout the film with some confrontations being expertly filmed. Directed by Nia DaCosta, 28 Years Later is a solid installment of this franchise.

3.9 stars

Friday (1995)

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January 16

So it is Friday and I thought I would schedule the movie Friday, with Ice Cube and Chris Tucker, for the Comedy Genre-ary. After the surprise I had when I enjoyed Superbad, I had high hopes for Friday.

Sadly, this one was not for me.

I appreciate the efforts of Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. They made for a good pair, part of the buddy comedy that the film was about. John Witherspoon was the best part of the film for me.

According to IMDB, “It’s Friday, and Craig and Smokey must come up with $200 they owe a local bully or there won’t be a Saturday.“

I found this loud, not very funny and filled with the stuff I typically hate: drug, sex and bodily fluid and waste jokes.

There is a solid cast around Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. These actors included Tiny Lister Jr, Regina King, Nia Long, Anna Marie Horsford, Tony Cox, Anthony Johnson, Faizon Love, Bernie Mac, Kathleen Bradley, Vikilyn Reynolds, DJ Pooh, and Paula Jai Parker.

I did not like this film much.

Polite Society (2023)

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January 15

Polite Society has been on my queue over on Peacock since the 2024 June Swoon. I had just never gotten around to watching it. It was not that appealing for me.

However, when I came across it on my queue a few days ago and it listed it as a comedy, I thought this would be the perfect chance to put this one to bed. The Rotten Tomatoes score was strong and I thought I would finally give it a chance.

According to IMDB, “Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. After enlisting her friends’ help, she attempts to pull off the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of independence and sisterhood.“

I had a hard time getting into the movie at first. It did not grab my attention to really intrigue me. However, I have to say that about halfway through the film, I started to get into it and was much more engaged.

I do think the wilder the plot became for the film, the more interested I was.

I enjoyed the performance of Priya Kansara as Ria, the sister whose behavior did seem out of control. She was very funny, even if she was hard to like at first. She seemed so over the top that it made her a bit abrasive. However, once the shoe dropped, things took off.

I loved the performance of Nimra Bucha, who played Raheela. She became a devastating villain and an amazing foil for Ria. Bucha, who also appeared in Marvel Studio’s Disney + series, Ms. Marvel, showed exactly what she could have been on that show with her big time villain turn. She was sinister in the very best possible way. I would have loved to have seen this side on Ms. Marvel more. Even though the plot became exaggerated, she made it work with everything about her.

The film had a definite Bollywood feel to it, mixed with a martial arts film. It was very original and I wound up very much enjoying it, even after the slow start for me.

The Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special (2003)

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January 14

Today’s Genre-ary entry is a special documentary hosted by Woody Harrelson that featured the 75th Anniversary of the Three Stooges. It seemed to be a old TV special from 2003.

The doc would show clips from the history of the Three Stooges as well as talking heads of celebrities such as Michael Chiklis, Cheryl Hines, Tom Arnold, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, Tracy Morgan, and Bridget Fonda.

I was unaware how much Curly was actually not with the Stooges. In my knowledge, the Three Stooges were Larry, Moe and Curly, but I did not know about Curly’s big stroke and death in 1951. The Stooges were active until the early 1970s, with others in that third spot, including Shemp Howard, Joe Besser, and Curley Joe (Joe DeRita).

The slapstick is utterly brilliant among these comedic geniuses. Watching the specificity of the way the Stooges would work together, no matter what threesome would be in the ensemble. The Stooges appealed to everyone with their slaps and pokes and bumps, all corresponding with a strange sound effect.

Woo woo woo woo….

Superbad (2007)

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January 13

When I scheduled Superbad for the comedy Genre-ary, I was really not looking forward to it. It has typically been the type of movie that I hate. I was pushing it off as long as I could.

And then…

I really liked this.

I’m as surprised as anyone.

According to IMDB, “Two co-dependent high school seniors are forced to deal with separation anxiety after their plan to stage a booze-soaked party goes awry.”

I found this surprisingly entertaining, with some excellent writing and witty dialogue. The lines were sharp and hilarious and the situations were over the top, and yet not so much that you roll your eyes.

Jonah Hill, who I have never been a big fan of, was really great as Seth, and he was actually quite deep in this loud and obnoxious character. Historically, this is the type of loud character that irritates me, but, for some reason, this was much better than other films with the same type of character. Hill had great chemistry with Michael Cera, who played Evan. His balance against Hill’s loudness worked well.

The film was also debuts of both Emma Stone and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Both actors had solid characters and I do think Mintz-Plasse’s run as McLovin was easily the best running joke of the film.

I do think it was too long. I would have liked to have seen about 10-15 minutes trimmed from the film as the middle dragged on a bit. However, the ending of the film was truly charming and hinted at more than just surface story.

The most over-the-top aspect of the film was the police officers, played by Bill Hader and Seth Rogen. I liked them, but there may have been too much of them over the course of the film. Some of these scenes would be the ones I would trim, but they had a wonderful scene near the end of the film with Mintz-Plasse, as that relationship had been built up during the middle.

This is the style of movie that I usually hate. Crude. Drug and alcohol jokes. Sex jokes. It just goes to show you that a film that is intelligently written, with strong characterization and plot that is legitimately funny even without the crude parts, can still be entertaining and well done. With quality, any style can be fun.

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

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January 12

It was 1942 when this movie came out and it was a brutal satire of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in an extremely funny, dark comedy, To Be or Not to Be.

According to IMDB, “During the German occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier’s efforts to track down a German spy.“

I was surprised to see the opening credits include Jack Benny, who I knew of as a comedic performer from his radio and television show. I did not know that he was also an actor starring in movies. Benny was truly excellent in this film, and he played against Carole Lombard. The pair worked well together, having a wonderful charm and surprisingly solid chemistry. Their comedic timing was spot on and the dialogue of the film was remarkably clever and entertaining.

It is sad to note that this was the final film in the career of Carole Lombard as she was killed in a plane crash one month after the release of the film.

The film, having been released in the middle of World War II, took its shots at the Nazis and the Gestapo, as well as Hitler himself. It was very funny when the head of the Gestapo kept yelling for Schultz, as it brought me memories of Hogan’s Heroes.

It was very funny as well with all of the “Heil Hitlers” going on when everyone would meet. Such ridiculous fun I had to join in.

It did have several moments where it felt like the movie was going to abandon the comedy and turn into a more action centered film, but it never completely gave up the witticisms. Every moment Jack Benny was on screen, the film was hilarious.

Robert Stack was great as Lt. Stanislav Sobinski, which kicked off the entire story. Other actors in the film included Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwell, Sig Ruman, Stanley Ridges, Tom Dugan, Henry Victor, and Charles Halton.

This is an amazing movie, especially when considering when it was made, and I enjoyed it very much. I watched it on HBO Max.

I Used to Be Funny (2023)

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January 11

I Used to Be Funny is a different type of comedy. It is definitely a dark comedy, one that would fall into the dramedy category, and it is a tough watch, because it deals with a couple of serious subjects that you would not expect in a normal comedy. It is handled with a deft hand and directed beautifully by Ally Pankiw.

According to IMDB, “Sam, a stand-up comedian struggling with PTSD, weighs whether or not to join the search for a missing teenage girl she used to nanny.“

That synopsis does not truly fit with the movie I just watched, and that is a good thing. Do not go into I Used to Be Funny with any preconceived notions because it hits harder as it revealed its actual story through the movie.

Rachel Sennott played Sam Cowell, who was a stand-up comedian and nanny. Sennott got her own start as a stand-up comedian as well, before moving along into an acting career. She does a really solid job in this movie, not only with the witty dialogue, but with the dramatic moments too. She had several serious moments in the film and she was extremely believable in each one.

There were some challenges in the narrative with a non-linear storytelling aspect. It was unsure at times when I was not sure what time it was, and you had to really be thinking about when it was.

Other than that, this was a really solid film that was both funny and traumatic. I pulled it up on Netflix this morning to watch it.

Greenland 2: Migration

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I remember being unbelievably shocked with how much I enjoyed Greenland back in 2020. I think it even won the Year in Review Award for the Best Surprise (That is called the Gomer). I had not expectations that a Gerard Butler end-of-the-world film would be good at all, and I loved it.

Which meant that I had more expectations for the sequel, Greenland 2: Migration. While it was not a bad movie, the sequel was considerably lesser than the original and has several problems.

John Garrity (Gerard Butler) had gotten his family, wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) and son Nathan (Roman Griffin Davis), to the bunker in Greenland just before the comets struck the earth. This movie started by letting us know that the comets wiped out 75% of the human race and destroyed much of the planet. However, the bunker that they had been living in for the last five years was beginning to crumble and the survivors had to scatter to try an escape the dangers of the environment.

They had heard rumors that the impact crater of the original comet was a location where life had sprung forth and that it was where people could restart their lives. John and Allison decided to attempt to find their way to the crater, which was in France.

This was a much more common post-apocalyptic film than the original one was. As the family worked their way toward France, the surrounding were the typical backdrop you would see in The Walking Dead (without zombies) or The Last of us (without any creepy critters). The idea that humans would be the worst things about a post-apocalyptic world is once again at the center of the themes of Greenland 2.

I kept feeling bad during the film for Nathan as it seemed like there would be no young girls his age for him, but the film nicely took care of that.

There were some good moments in the film, though many of them felt too coincidental or forced. Everything kept happening to this family on their trip. Still, it could have been much worse. It is nowhere near as good as Greenland, but I did not hate watching it.

3 stars

Primate

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Killer chimp. What more do you need?

Primate is a new horror film out in January where a family, who had a pet chimp, gets mauled by it after the chimp, named Ben, gets rabies.

That was about all the story of the film.

There are so many slasher movie tropes in this movie. A group of young people are trapped in an isolated house with their crazed chimp, and the chimp murdered many of them, in very gruesome and gory ways.

We had so many slasher movie tropes here including: cell phones not charged, stupid choices when faced with any decision, car issues with keys, a killer that can make its way around the house easily, the isolated house, and a group of characters that the audience would like to see killed off.

All this was in play in Primate.

The chimp looked pretty good. It was basically a practical effect and the kills were very gory that made sense. There was one involving an obnoxious boy in a bed that was specifically brutal.

Slasher movies always are tough for me because how stupid the characters always seem to be. That bothers me, but if you can get past that, the film was okay. It is certainly a simple film, but that is not a bad thing. It succeeds in what it sets out to be, without being anything deeper than that.

It does have a lot of tension in the execution of the chimp stalking and attacking its victims. There are a lot of white knuckle moments in the film which provides a great mood for the audience.

If you go to see Primate, go in expecting a tense film without anything resembling a plot or deep character depth. It has some fun, gory kills and a good looking chimp.

3 stars

Super Troopers (2001)

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When I was trying to decide which genre to use this January in the Genre-ary, I was worried about comedies. One reason I was worried about choosing comedy as the Genre-ary gerne was because when comedy movies go wrong, they can be really tough to watch and I did not want to watch a month of terrible movies.

Super Troopers is exactly the kind of movie that I was worried about.

According to IMDB, “Five Vermont state troopers, avid pranksters with a knack for screwing up, try to save their jobs and out-do the local police department by solving a crime.”

I really disliked watching this movie. There were some funny moments, but I have never been a big fan of stupidity as comedy.

Juvenile dialogue and characters that were, in no way, even slightly believable as police officers. There was little story in the film and the characters were some of the most obnoxious and unlikable characters that I have seen in a long time.

There was a movie where this could have been funny, but this was not it. I grew to dislike this movie more as it progressed and it is why I really was not anxious to watch a bunch of comedies. I hope there are more good ones to come because I can’t take a month of this.

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009)

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January 9

Today’s new movie for the Genre-ary was found on HBO Max and it was a sci-fi time travel film called Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel. It was a British film that had a definite flavor of Doctor Who.

According to IMDB, “While drinking at their local pub, three social outcasts attempt to navigate a time-travel conundrum.“

This was a decent little flick. It may not have been amazing and awe-inspiring, but it was engaging and fun. Anything with time travel can be problematic, but I think they handled that fairly well. I liked how the time travel future scenes in the bar were laid out and how they came back around at the end.

I am not sure I love the three lead actors. Chris O’Dowd was solid as Ray and I thought the desperation of Dean Lennox Kelly as Pete was good. I am not sure how I felt about Marc Wootton as Toby. The three of them had some good scenes as a trio, especially in the men’s bathroom.

Anna Faris was time traveler Cassie and she had an easy chemistry with Chris O’Dowd. I’m not sure I bought them as a couple, but they were solid together during most of their scenes.

The future scenes were all fun and creative. The variety of the futures that we saw were pretty decent and kept us guessing.

It was an easy watch that moved briskly and was engaging enough. It was not a perfect film, but it was harmless as a watch some afternoon or over the weekend.

The Other Guys (2010)

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January 8

I did not have a review of this movie on EYG, but I know I saw the opening of The Other Guys with Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock. I did not remember anything else about this movie, so it is quite possible that as soon as Jackson and Johnson were done, I stopped watching.

I have never been a huge Will Farrell fan, but I have liked a few of the films he has been in and there has always had great word of mouth.

Sadly, there was just too much garbage in this film for me to enjoy it.

According to IMDB, “Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city’s top cops, whom they idolize, only things don’t quite go as planned.”

There were some funny bits, but there was so much ridiculousness in here that I just could not get into the story. I did not like either character that was the lead. Mark Wahlberg was nothing more than a yelling and screaming jerk who I had a lot of difficulty getting behind. Will Farrell’s cop was a little different at least, but he also found his moments to be cruel, specifically to his wife, played by Eva Mendes.

I do not know why when we have comedy movies about police detectives, the secondary partners are always gigantic assholes? I know that is about all Rob Riggle can play, as I swear every time I see him in a movie, he is playing the same character. His partner was Damon Wayans Jr. and he was at least not quite as obnoxious.

Why would Michael Keaton take the role as the police chief who is constantly coming down on our lead characters? I do not think you could get more cliche than that.

Why do so many people believe that comedy in this type of film substituted by stupidity in characters is the way to go?

I did enjoy the work of Steve Coogan, but there was nowhere near enough with him. I am also not 100% sure what his character was doing. It was very convoluted and messy.

I had hoped that this would be better than I thought it would be, but unfortunately, it was not. I should have turned it off again after Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson were done. That was the highlight of the night.

Sherlock Jr. (1923)

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January 7

Going back over 100 years for today’s Genre-ary film, I picked up a rental on Fandango at Home for Sherlock Jr., a classic black and white, silent film starring Buster Keaton.

When I was doing the DailyView, I watched some Buster Keaton films, but I found that I preferred the Charlie Chaplin ones. Both were similar in their silent, comedic slapstick manner, but I just found Chaplin more appealing, more charming overall. However, after watching Sherlock Jr., I may have to reassess my opinion.

Buster Keaton was gold in this movie, giving a magnificent performance in both physical comedy and remarkable stunt work.

According to IMDB, “A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend’s father’s pocket watch.”

Some of the things that this film accomplished in 1923 was simply astounding. Some of the stunts were superior to what I thought it could be done.

The dream sequence of the projectionist was sensational. The dream sequence where Keaton was the amazing detective Sherlock Jr. and it was funny, it had amazing choreography and slapstick comedy.

Of course when we say silent films, we mean that there is no one we can hear speaking. The is a constant musical score playing over the imagery of the movie. The soundtrack was composed by Timothy Block and his score was perfect for the speechless film. It was light-hearted when it needed to be, it was silly at times, and it was dramatic at the appropriate moment. The score truly helped to make this a classic film.

I thought Buster Keaton was special in this movie and the film was so much fun. I can see why it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1991.