Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder review written by Dominic Rizzi

Written by: Ben Stiller, Etan Cohen & Justin Theroux

Directed by: Ben Stiller

Rating: 🏆 Most Excellent

Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Jay Baruchel, and Brandon T. Jackson as a group of prima donna actors making a Vietnam War film. When their frustrated director (Steve Coogan) drops them in the middle of a jungle, they are forced to rely on their acting skills to survive the real action and danger when they find themselves going up against a real drug cartel. The only problem? They still think they’re making the movie.

This is still my favorite comedy ever. No other comedic movie has ever made me laugh harder, been more rewatchable, appealed more to my very specific sense of humor, has better lines, better performances or this tight of a script. That's the unsung truth of comedies, most of the time the story takes a backseat to the jokes. I find this is why a lot of them don't age well and aren't actually that funny. This movie already would have been great enough as just a regular war movie satire, but the oh-so-specific skewering of Hollywood with jokes that really only the most die hard of movie lovers and industry insiders would get are what really sends it over the top. 

I know that sounds like a contradiction to my previous point, but a) the movie's still hilarious enough without the insider Hollywood knowledge, and b) those jokes have aged so amazingly in today's day and age that it's actually turned the movie from a silly comedy into something bigger and greater. It still amazes me that Robert Downey Jr. got nominated for his role in Tropic Thunder, and that this is his only other Oscar nomination besides Chaplin.

People still criticize the use of blackface, but the thing they seem to always miss is that the movie itself goes out of its way to criticize it. Brandon T. Jackson’s “Alpa Chino” character is constantly calling out Downey Jr.'s “Kirk Lazarus” over the fact that an actual black man lost the part to an Australian. Wild stuff. I also think Tom Cruise doesn't get enough credit as this is the best he's ever been in any movie in my opinion. In closing, Ben Stiller's a better director than actor.

Big Time Adolescence

Written and Directed by Jason Orley

Rating: 🔥 that’s hot

Zeke (Pete Davidson) is a 23 year old stoner who peaked in high school. When he and his girlfriend break up he remains friends with her younger brother Mo (Griffin Gluck) and finds that his maturity level is a perfect fit for a friendship with a 16 year old. Mo’s family worries that Zeke’s lack of ambition and illicit hobbies will be a bad influence on Mo, and this eventually comes to fruition when Mo begins selling drugs at parties. Mo is forced to reevaluate his friendship with Zeke and decide if this is a friendship that he would like to continue, or if he has outgrown his older friend and needs to move on.

This movie is an indie slow burn coming of age story. It brought me right back to high school/college and reminded me of how challenging it can be to find your place and discover who you are. Pete Davidson delivers an authentic performance as a guy who was cool in high school, but lost those cool points when he never grew up. His dynamic with Griffin Gluck on screen is great and you can see why their friendship works even though their characters are so wildly different. It might seem like a 23 year old “man” (he’s really more of a child than anyone in this movie) befriending a boy so much younger than himself could come across as creepy, but it doesn’t. Their dynamic is more of an older brother, younger brother situation and you can see how they mutually benefit from the friendship. If you see Pete Davidson and think, this must be a comedy, I have to warn you that it’s really more of a drama. Overall I had a good time with this movie, and it’s now streaming on Hulu.

Review written by Zianna Weston

Jojo Rabbit

Written and Directed by Taika Waititi

Based on the book by Christine Leunens

Rating: 🏆 most excellent

Young Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) is a good little Nazi navigating the complicated world of growing up in war torn Germany. Luckily, he has his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), to help guide him along this path. But his propagandized mind becomes challenged when he discovers Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) the young Jewish woman that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding in their home. Jojo decides to turn lemons into lemonade by interviewing Elsa to help him write a book on how to identify a Jew. Throughout this journey his relationship with his imaginary bestie becomes more and more estranged.

This movie blew my f*cking mind. I will just say it up top, not only was this one of my favorite movies of 2019, it’s one of my favorite movies that I’ve ever seen. Taika Waititi used his signature humor and wit to create a comedic satire that challenges blind nationalism and tyrannical power. If you’re a fan of To Kill a Mockingbird, Life is Beautiful, or another movie that uses a young protagonist to grapple with intense subject matter from an innocent perspective then you are in for a real treat with Jojo Rabbit. All of the performances are stellar. Taika Waititi is part Maori, Irish, and Russian Jew and he plays an outrageously hysterical Adolf Hitler. That is a role that is very challenging to play without being offensive. But choices like not dying his hair blonde and then talking about the superiority of the Aryan race as a mixed person of color was genius in a way that few people like Waititi can pull off. Jojo is the sweetest little boy. Even as he spouts off Nazi propaganda the audience is still able to empathize with and root for Jojo. You see how naïve his thinking is and how at the core of his soul he is compassionate and loving. McKenzie shines as Elsa. She plays her with the perfect combination of strength, vulnerability, and sass. As she grows closer to Jojo you catch glimpses into the horrors that she has experienced, yet she’s still able to smile and make you laugh. My favorite performance of the whole film comes from Scarlett Johannson as the mother. She is fiercely protective, disarmingly honest, unapologetically brave, and lovable to the core.

Everything about this film works; from the performances, to the soundtrack, to the production design, to the costume design. The script is perfectly crafted. Each character is developed and even in their humorous lines they are still throwing out subversive information. The story arc starts out Comedically with a capital “c”. As the story progresses, the humor remains but we get more and more serious as Jojo is increasingly in touch with reality. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough and I think everyone should go out and see it while it’s still playing in theaters!

Review written by Zianna Weston

Mr. Right

Written by Max Landis

Directed by Paco Cabezas

Rating: 🔥 That’s hot

An eccentric hit man (Sam Rockwell) meets a recently single woman (Anna Kendrick) and the two fall in love in a whirlwind romance full of dancing, knife throwing, and murder 🔪

This movie is weird AF, but I’m here for it. Sam Rockwell is hot, Anna Kendrick is her typical awkward funny self, and the movie is weird enough to keep you on your toes. Several times I found myself wondering a profound “huh?”, followed by a “what the…?”, but my confusion always found resolution, eventually. Sam Rockwell plays a strange character who freely speaks his mind to the point that it sounds like all the outlandish things he says must be jokes. When Anna Kendrick finds out that he really is a hit man she is quite shocked, even though he had been forthcoming with information for the duration of the new relationship.

The best part of this movie is the unique style in which it’s shot and edited. I have never been a huge fan of violent action movies. I usually get bored during prolonged fight scenes, so I prefer when movies take a comedic, creative approach to violence (think Jackie Chan, or Charlie’s Angels). Mr. Right managed to incorporate large amounts of Sam Rockwell dancing in their fight scenes and that is what made the movie for me. If you’re in the mood for a quirky, lighthearted romcom about a hitman, Mr. Right is the movie for you.

Review written by Zianna Weston

Beetlejuice

Written by Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren

Directed by Tim Burton

rating: 🏆 most excellent

A married couple finds themselves recently deceased and must devise a plan to haunt their house and get rid of the pesky new, living tenants. When their plans to be scary are perceived as amusing, they turn to the “ghost with the most” Beetlejuice to help them with the haunting. But raunchy and perverted Beetlejuice proves to be too much and now they must figure out how to get rid of him too.

This is one of Tim Burton’s best works. His ability to create surreal, garish worlds is unparalleled, and that talent is on full display in Beetlejuice. From costuming, set design, and cinematic filming choices, Beetlejuice is an entirely original film. The film is named Beetlejuice for a reason. Even though the character doesn’t get much screen time until the second act, Michael Keaton shines as an eccentric pervert. But the other performances by Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O’Hara also demand your attention. Beetlejuice is a must-watch Halloween film, and it’s highly amusing during the rest of the year too.

Review written by Zianna Weston

Good Boys

Written by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky

Directed by Gene Stupnitsky

Rating: 🏆 most excellent

Three soon to be sixth graders skip school to learn how to kiss before attending their first kissing party. But things take a turn when they lose their drone while spying on their neighbors and they accidentally come into the possession of drugs.

I was so impressed by this movie. They perfectly encapsulated all of awkwardness, fear, and excitement that comes with growing up. This movie has a lot of adult humor, so if that’s not your thing I would pass. But it also had some incredible things that I wasn’t expecting. This film showed a new generation of boys and girls that are learning the necessity of consent, and I’m living for it!! They also had diverse representation of ethnicities and sexual orientation. More importantly than making me LOL about every 2 minutes, this movie gave me hope for a better, more inclusive world.

Review written by Zianna Weston

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Blinded by the Light

Written by Sarfraz Manzoor, Gurinder Chadha Paul, and Mayeda Berges

Directed by Gurinder Chadha

rating: 👌🏼 ok

A teen Pakistani immigrant struggles with his identity, both cultural and personal, and finds his voice through the music of Bruce Springsteen.

I’m just going to come out and say it, but there was too much Bruce Springsteen in this movie. I get that his music was an integral part of the plot but I felt like you couldn’t go five minutes in this movie without someone saying how great he is, or having to sit through another inspirational musical montage with a lot of running. (Why so much running?). What this movie did well it did very well. This film was able to highlight SO MANY deep and incredibly relevant themes in a way that was both thought-provoking yet still lighthearted. That is a difficult balance to strike and for this I commend the filmmakers. I also have to commend them for their representation of British people of color in a film that made it to mainstream US theaters. Again, this is difficult to do and its importance can not be overstated. But beyond these accomplishments the dialogue felt forced and predictable. *insert Bruce Springsteen reference here*

Review written by Zianna Weston

Trainwreck

Written by Amy Schumer

Directed by Judd Apatow

Rating: 🔥 that’s hot

Amy (Amy Schumer) is a commitment-phobe and serial player, but she has to re-evaluate her ways when she meets a cute doctor (Bill Hader) that wants to make things official. 

I love this movie! It’s written by Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow, which is a hell of a comedic duo. My favorite part of this movie is that they flipped traditional gender roles upside down, exposing just how ridiculous the stereotypes are. This is exemplified most brilliantly by commitment-phobe Amy Schumer, and ultra-sensitive LeBron James and John Cena. Bill Hader and Brie Larson both play more even-keeled characters that balance out the comedy with some “normal” behavior. This movie is well written, well performed, and I think it made me have a crush on Bill Hader?

Review written by Zianna Weston