Category: Home Video

Nancy Meyers knows how to make a dramedy.  They are the bulk of her directing portfolio, so it should be no surprise that The Intern does its best to bring the laughter and the tears, and if that is what you are in the mood for, The Intern will scratch that itch.  It is not a movie that raises the bar, but it is charming and well made, and there is a lot to be said for that.

The Intern is about Ben Whittaker (Robert De Niro) a 70 year widower who is finding retirement to be a bit dull and lonely.  He has already traveled the world, and he doesn’t want to be a bother to his son’s family, so he decides to become an intern at a local tech start up.  He is quickly paired with the CEO and Founder of the company Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway) who is overworked and over-busy, so he will have to use his old school work ethic and caring personality to help her out.

This movie is pretty much setup like a standard romantic comedy, but with the twist that the two leads become friends instead of a couple.  Which is actually a refreshing change.  It is sweet to see De Niro take the role of almost a caring grandfather to this person that just needs a steady hand on her shoulder as her company is taking off.  I also appreciated that they did this while still showing that Hathaway’s character was more than capable at her job.  She didn’t need someone to save her from her job.  She just needed a friend and some guidance.

The Intern is a fine film that no doubt has a large audience.  Nancy Meyers is a good filmmaker who knows her product and market well.  If you are part of that market, I am sure that you will like The Intern, and even though I am not part of the target audience, I enjoyed myself as well.  So just like Jules Ostin you may just need to give The Intern a chance.

I don’t know if you know this, but Tom Cruise keeps doing the movies called Mission: Impossible, and the fifth one came out last year!  That’s right there have been five Mission: Impossible movies with the latest one being subtitled Rogue Nation.  Mission: Impossible is a series that I enjoy, but I keep forgetting about until the next one comes out.  I don’t think Rogue Nation is going to change that.  Still good, but not super memorable.

Once again Ethan Hunt has been disavowed by his government, and he is out on his own hunting a country-less spy organization known as the Syndicate (no marks for creativity).  Well he is on his own until he decides he needs the rest of the IMF’s help anyway, and they go on a globe spanning adventure to track down and put an end to this Rogue Nation.

Honestly the stories for the Mission: Impossible movies have always kind of been what has been holding them back from being a top tier action franchise.  They are fine, but pretty generic.  Luckily the action set pieces and the high-tech breaking and entering always keep them entertaining, and there is nothing wrong with being a good popcorn flick.

These movies also serve to remind us that Tom Cruise is pretty good at what he does.  A likable man of action.  He is charismatic and charming on film, and that adds a lot to MI:RN. Rebecca Ferguson the female lead of Rogue Nation was great too.  It was nice to have someone in this movie that was every bit Hunt’s match, and someone who’s allegiances we were never quite sure of.  Apparently Paramount thought she was good too, so they are bringing her back for the sixth film.  Yes there are going to be at least six Mission: Impossible movies.

To wrap-up Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation was a solid action movie and it is worth a watch.  It has talented people spying on stuff, shooting things and driving real fast.  All stuff I enjoy, and I bet you will enjoy it too.  Though I doubt it will be anyone’s favorite movie.

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are comedy super-friends, and they are two of the funniest women working today, so a movie featuring them as dysfunctional sisters should have been hysterical.  Instead the result is sadly uneven.  When Sisters commits to being silly it works well, but when it tries to slow down and get serious it doesn’t just slow down it grinds to a halt.  Like many comedies Sisters falls in to the trap of thinking it needs personal drama to go with its over the top zaniness.

Sisters is about two sisters (go figure) who have to rush to their childhood home to pack up all their stuff because their parents are selling it.  When they get there however they decide that since their parents didn’t make this decision with their approval that they are going to throw the biggest party in their old neighborhood’s history. Oh and one sister is by-the-book (Amy Poehler) and the other is a free spirit (Tina Fey) (conflict), and the free spirit is having troubles with her daughter (drama).

The two sisters throwing a crazy party is a lot of fun.  The two sisters settling their old differences and dealing with an upset daughter is kind of a drag.  If Sisters would have focused on what Fey and Poehler do best, be funny, Sisters would have been great, but instead they insist on shoehorning in all sorts of extra drama, and the film suffers for it.  Comedies need to remember that people come for the laughter, so it is okay to cut out everything else.

Fey and Poehler are great when cracking jokes, but much like the movie, less great when it is time to get serious.  I don’t doubt that they can be serious actors, but the script doesn’t really help them out.  They did the best with what they got, but that wasn’t much.

If you like Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Sisters is probably still worth watching, but if you were hoping to laugh non-stop you will be disappointed.  It seems like I am always deriding comedies for trying to get serious, but the sad fact is that the inserted drama is always worse than comedy, so they should have just stuck with the jokes.  Sisters is unfortunately no different.

The first Pitch Perfect surprised me with how fun and different it was, but Pitch Perfect 2 doesn’t build on its predecessor.  It instead just follows the same formula.  The songs are catchy, and it is still silly fun, but it feels like watching a lesser clone of itself.  It is a shame too because with this talented cast it could have been much better.

The Barden Bellas continued their winning ways after the events in the first movie, and they have successfully defended their National Title twice, but when Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) rips her pants at President Obama’s birthday they once again have to sing their way to the top.  Because to save themselves from being disbanded the Bellas will have to win the World Championship.

Pretty much the plot just serves to make them underdogs again so they can do a bunch of random stuff while singing.  Thankfully the music is the best part.  It is well choreographed and funny.  Everything else plays out how you would expect.  Even right down to the only way to win is to embrace the new girl’s (Hailee Steinfeld) talent.

Rebel Wilson is reliably goofy, so there are quite a few laughs, but sadly the rest of the cast just pretty much gets to hang around and sing.  The only other full character arc belongs to Anna Kendrick, but it isn’t super interesting, and it is confusing as to why she is keeping her dream of being a music producer from her friends.  Well they do give a reason it just isn’t a good one.

If you are just looking for some more songs and a few laughs Pitch Perfect 2 might be perfect for you, but if you were looking for the movie to try something new, or for it to be better than first Pitch Perfect, you will be a little disappointed.  Pitch Perfect 2 was hugely successful, so Pitch Perfect 3 comes out next year.  I just hope they can figure something out to shake things up.