Category: Home Video

Trainwreck has everything going for it: An in demand rising star, Amy Schumer; A top comedic director, Judd Apatow, and a producer that has overseen some major comedy hits, Barry Mendel.  So it is no surprise that this movie was a financial success.  However, the movie ended up being uneven.

Trainwreck is about Amy Townsend (Amy Schumer) who has problems committing to relationships, partially because of her parents divorce.  He father (Colin Quinn) even has her and her sister (Brie Larson) chant “monogamy isn’t realistic”.  Amy simply goes from party to party and guy to guy until she meets sports doctor Aaron Conners (Bill Hader).  Can she change her philandering ways?

The story works overall, and it is a great setup for Amy Schumer to play off of, but the problem is that Trainwreck can’t quite decided if it wants to be an over-the-top raunch-fest, or a more serious dramedy, so the pace of the film swings pretty wildly.  It either needed to be more crass, or less.  This is a common complaint these days with Judd Apatow, and I appreciate that he is trying to elevate the ‘R’ rated comedy, but he is going to have to try harder, or find different script writers.

Luckily Amy Schumer’s great performance keeps this movie watchable.  She is definitely more at home with the wild antics than the drama, but she was able to do both aplomb.  I also have to give a hand to Tilda Swinton as Amy’s boss at a magazine in her least Tilda Swinton role ever.  I didn’t even know it was her until my wife pointed it out.  The rest of the cast is made up of SNL cast members and other known comedic talent, so they all do a wonderful job.

It is a shame this movie couldn’t quite pick a gear.  The cast would have been up for it either way.  Still, as it is Trainwreck is a watchable film if you are in the mood for an ‘R’ rated flick.  I just think it could have been better.

There is something about period spy movies that are just fun… or at least they can be. It a fine line of course. You can go too campy; trying to play on the sensibilities of the period and end up creating a very unreal world or you can also go too dramatic and suck all the life out of history. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. by Guy Ritchie walks the line perfectly – reveling in the colors, styles, and sensibilities of the 60’s. At the same time it is aware of the reality and tension of the time; thus keeping its feet on the ground. For reference The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (TMfU) hews closer to the newer James Bond films than the Connery or especially the Rodger Moore films – but it has fun while it does it.

TMfU follows the unlikely paring of the CIA’s Napoleon Solo, played by Henry Cavill, and the KGB’s Illya Kuryakin, played by Armie Hammer as they try to stop a group of Fascists from arming a shadow Nazi regime with a Nuclear Weapon. Dragged into the middle is Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander), a German mechanic who’s father might be helping to build the bomb.

The cast is a lot of fun, Henry Cavill really sells the charming and competent Solo, Hammer exudes barely controlled strength and malice, and Vikander’s Gaby is strong, brave, and intelligent. The “bromance” between Solo and Kuryakin is a lot of fun to see develop, as is the actual romance of the story.

The thing I loved about TMfU was the witty banter and the way it was shot. Ritchie certainly has his own style that infuses a lot of life and energy into his films and for TMfU he adds little touches you’d recognize from films from the 60’s. Layered cuts, long zooms during chases, and just a touch of technicolor give the movie a nostalgic feel and energy that sets it apart from say a Bourne movie or James Bond.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a fun, witty, and energetic and I highly recommend you give it a try.

Inside Out ended Pixar’s two year hiatus from feature films, and it is a return to form for the studio.  Their previous three outings, Monsters University, Brave, and Cars 2, were all fine films, but they were just not up to the bar that Pixar had set for themselves.  Inside Out is able clear that bar with the style and charm we have come to expect from the studio.

Inside Out gives the emotions that shape our personalities, well personalities.  The emotions that star in this film live inside the mind of an eleven year old girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias).  They are dominated by the happy go lucky Joy (Amy Poehler).  Who does all she can to make sure Riley is happy all the time, but things get harder for Joy when Riley unexpectedly moves to San Francisco.

As you would expect from a movie about emotions and memories, Inside Out is an emotional film.  You feel for Riley as she is moved away from everything she loves, and tries her best to stay in control of her feelings.  Watching this acted out through her various emotional personalities in her mind is funny, touching, and a little sad.  Between this movie and Big Hero 6, Disney has been doing its best to tug at the heartstrings with their animated movies.

The voice talent is all amazing.  Pixar is still the best studio at finding the best people to be in their films.  Other studios go out and get big stars for their films hoping to draw people in that way, but Pixar is smart enough to get the people that are really the best fit for the film, and their movies are always better for it.

3D animated movies are usually treats for the eyes, and while Inside Out is fun to look at and watch, nothing about it will blow you away.  This is a story based move, not a special effects extravaganza.  The colors are bright and they pop, but there is nothing that you will see that will wow you the way other animated movies have.  This is not a slight, but just something to be aware of.

Inside Out is a great film, and one that really brings emotional weight to an animated film.  Which is fitting seeing that the movie is about emotions.  It is good to see Pixar up its game and deliver a movie that lives up to its now prestigious name.