10s Movie Review - Late Night

Director: Nisha Ganatra
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2019
Starring: Mindy Kaling, Emma Thompson, John Lithgow, Hugh Dancy, Reid Scott, Denis O’Hare, Max Casella, Paul Walter Hauser, John Reynolds, Luke Slattery, Ike Barinholtz, Amy Ryan
 
Description: A late night talk show host (Emma Thompson) suspects that she may soon lose her long-running show.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2025 MOVIE CHALLENGE
WEEK 32: A FILM WITH EMMA THOMPSON
 
Review: Many late night talk shows have a rigid structure: an opening monologue in which the news is discussed in a humorous way, followed by a sketch or light-hearted interlude, and finally, a famous guest is welcomed and a pleasant conversation is held. At the start of “Late Nate”, Katherine Newbury’s program has lost some of its appeal after twenty-eight years. The station manager is dissatisfied with the declining ratings and therefore want to replace the host. However, Katherine is not the type to agree to this without a fight, so she decides to get her talk show back on track. She has a long way to go, because she knows only one of her writers by name, and none of them know her as a pleasant person to work with.

Her writer’s team, consisting of white men only, has just expanded with Molly. She is inexperienced, the newcomer, but has some fresh ideas.

Mindy Kaling, who stars as Molly, is also the writer of the film. It’s likely she drew some inspiration from “The Devil Wears Prada”, there are many similarities. But this is more an observation than a criticism. Kaling’s script takes a slightly different route in enough places, and Emma Thompson, as Katherine, is hardly inferior to Mery Streep as the cold boss. In fact, where Streep often veered toward a cartoonish performance, Thompson manages to keep her character within human limits. This is thanks in large part to John Lithgow’s wonderful performance as her husband.

What also helps is that, despite its subject matter, “Late Night” does not necessarily try to be a full-blooded comedy. Not that there is nothing to laugh about, but it aims more for a smile than for loud laughter. For the main character, humor is a fairly serious craft and therefore not something you can just whip up in a moment of cheerfulness. What I also loved, is that the romantic storyline is very far in the background, almost non-existent. Which is a fresh take as well, it’s not predictable that way
I was surprised about how much I enjoyed “Late Night”, but thanks to the great writing by Mindy Kaling and strong performances by her, Thompson and Lithgow, turn “Late Night” in a delightful comedy.

Rating: 3,5 / 5

Movie Review - The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Director: Tom Gormican
Genre: Comedy/ Action/ Crime
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 2022
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, Neil Patrick Harris, Ike Barinholtz, Lily Sheen
 
Description: Nic Cage (Nicolag Cage) is channeling his iconic characters as he’s caught between a superfan (Pedro Pascal) and a CIA agent (Tiffany Haddish).

Review: The past decade did no go very well for actor Nicolas Cage. He seemed to be in every movie he was offered. This created a huge stream of bad movies, with some exceptions of course. With that, Cage became a joke on the internet. The sometimes it’s best to go along with the joke. In “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”, Cage plays a version of himself, Nic Cage, and shows why he is still one of the most beloved actors of his generation.

Things are not going well for Cage in this film either. He has just gone through a divorce and is living in a hotel. Films are no longer offered to the actor, but there is a millionaire who wants to meet him, to show up at his birthday, for a large sum of money. Since Cage is desperate for work, he decides to accept the offer. The eccentric millionaire, Javi, has a plan to make a movie with Cage.

However, Javi is also being followed by the CIA. They suspect him of being a ruthless criminal. For example, he allegedly kidnapped the daughter of a prominent politician. The American spies more or less force Cage to work for them and spy on Javi. The result is a hilarious comedy with a nice pace, funny dialogues and above all a delightful interplay between Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal, who are constantly outdoing each other in craziness.
You never know it with Nicolas Cage, he’s sometimes super good, sometimes super bad. In this movie, it’s him the way we love him the most. He always does something unexpected and does not shy away from self-mockery. The film is a joy to watch, has great humor and action in it. Only the subplot of the kidnapping and the CIA didn’t always work for me.

This movie is mainly about Cage, but lets talks about Pedro Pascal and how amazing he is in this film. He holds up very well opposite Cage and they work so well together. I loved their growing friendship and how Javi was a Cage super fan. My favorite part was when Javi is listing his 3 all-time favorites. One of the is, of course a Cage film, another is “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”, which is also a favorite of Cage. The third is a surprising and hilarious choice (although I understand why, because it’s a favorite of mine too) and they start watching it together. It’s been a while since I laughed out loud over a movie.

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” may well mark Nicolas Cage’s definitive return. With this film, Cage seems to be able to transcend all jokes and parodies. It’s definitely a favorite of 2022 for me.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Movie Review - The Hunt

Director: Craig Zobel
Genre: Action/ Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Ethan Suplee, Emma Roberts, Justin Hartley, Wayne Duvall, Amy Madigan

Description: Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know were they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chose, for a specific purpose: The Hunt.

I WATCHED THIS MOVIE FOR MY 2020 MOVIE CHALLENGE.
WEEK 42: A MOVIE RATED FRESH ON ROTTEN TOMATOES

Review: To start it off: “The Hunt” is not for the faint of heart, since it’s very violent and there is a lot of bloodshed. Already in the opening phase, it becomes clear that a group of rich and influential people with a private jet are on their way to an unknown location to hunt down and kill innocent people. Once on location, the potential victims are dumped in the woods and then, one by one, fall prey to the trigger-happy hunters. The massacres are colorful, explicit and body parts fly all over the place.
Although the story seems to be secondary to all that bloodshed, after a bloody opening phase attention is paid to the characters and the motives of the elite group to hunt down innocent people. In the first part of the film, you’re not really sure who the main character is, because we follow several. When it’s eventually clear who we will stick with, this character is one of the most likeable ones.
“The Hunt” is a satire. I think that’s the reason why the audience is so divided in opinion. I think many people take it too seriously and don’t even get that it’s meant to be a satire. I think the scene where the first people are hunted makes it very clear.
I think “The Hunt” is a lot better than it gets credit for. The runtime is short, never drags and there isn’t a dull moment. The character development does suffer from that short runtime, because other then our main character, we don’t really get to know any of them. Their motives are explained, but only very briefly and not enough to actually care.
“The Hunt” is a very enjoyable action/ horror movie.  

Rating: 3,5 / 5

10s Movie Review - Blockers

Director: Kay Cannon
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 102 minutes
Year: 2018
Starring: Leslie Mann, John Cena, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Viswanathan, Ramona Young, Gina Gershon, Gary Cole

Description: Three parents try to stop their daughters from losing their virginity on prom night.

Review: Blockers is short for cockblockers, an American term that people use when they want to stop someone from having sex. According to Wikipedia the term became popular due to the movie “Superbad”. And like in “Superbad”, teenagers made a pact to lose their virginity at the end of the school year. In “Blockers” it’s about three girls though and the ‘blockers’ are their parents who try to prevent their daughters to make a mistake.
Julie, Kayla and Sam are three best friends that are about to graduate. Julie decides she wants to use her virginity on prom night, to her boyfriend Austin. Kayla wants to join in and picks her lab partner as her date. Sam wants in, because she feels left out and she is secretly a lesbian. When Julie’s mom and Kayla and Sam’s fathers find out about their ‘sex pact’, they try to stop the girls.
The film has some really funny moments, but it also has some typical juvenile comedy like we are used to in films with this theme. John Cena is actually really funny, as the big sportsfanatic dad with an emotional side. And I also liked Ike Barinholtz. The three parents don’t have a lot of chemistry though.
“Blockers” is more fun then I expected.

Rating: 3/ 5