Category: Comedy
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Chef (***1/2) is a plea to be recognized right out in the open
Chef – 2014 Written and Directed by Jon Favreau Starring Jon Favreau, Sofía Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey, Jr., Emjay Anthony One has only to look at Jon Favreau’s Carl Casper’s delicate handling of a menu that he’s made for no one while his staff makes a 10 year menu for a packed house to realize…
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CPE, Em and El: The Princess Bride – As You Wish
The Princess Bride – 1987 Director Rob Reiner Starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, André the Giant, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Mel Smith, Peter Cook, Peter Falk Screenplay William Goldman There may be no more perfect story told for the benefit of an entire family than The…
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Bad Words: Finally Bateman is not the nice guy
Bad Words – 2013 Director Jason Bateman Starring Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Rohan Chand, Ben Falcone, Philip Baker Hall, Allison Janney Screenplay by Andrew Dodge Black comedy is an all or nothing venture. You either have to go into it with total disregard or settle for School of Rock territory. It’s not that the latter category is a loser, it just doesn’t…
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Forgotten Gems: The Bucket List has life spilling over the edges
The Bucket List – 2007 Director Rob Reiner Starring Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Rob Morrow, Alfonso Freeman Screenplay Justin Zackham Rob Reiner is a remarkable director. He has a knack for making things simultaneously funny and poignant. The Bucket List may be his finest work. Everyone talks about a bucket list since this movie…
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The Grand Budapest Hotel: Having a story to tell can do wonders
Grand Budapest Hotel – 2014 Written and Directed by Wes Anderson Starring Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori Wes Anderson films inspire a groundswell of apathy from me. Often his work feels like Jazz to me, a form of art given much credit, even…
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The Lego Movie: Applied to our lives like so much Kragl
The Lego Movie – 2014 Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller Starring (voices) Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman Screenplay Lord and Miller Where the heck did this film come from? They’ve been releasing Lego movies for years straight to DVD, and for some reason, someone got the extremely bright idea to apply…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 