Movie Review - John Candy: I Like Me

Director: Colin Hanks
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 117 minutes
Year: 2025
Starring: John Candy, Bill Murray, Tom Hanks, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Martin Short
 
Description: Explores the life and legacy of the iconic funnyman John Candy, who died of a heart attack in 1994, at the age of 43.
 
Review: If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, like me, you probably also grew up with John Candy movies. The funnyman who starred in movies like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, “Uncle Buck” “Splash” and “Home Alone” was a big part of my childhood. And for anyone like me, the documentary “John Candy: I Like Me” is a must-see.

The title refers to a quote from his character Del Griffith, in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”, where he tells Steve Martin that he likes who he is, after Martin just completely trashed him. If you have no idea who Candy was, this documentary gives you some insight into his life and career. But it will not have the emotional load. For me, this was a very heartwarming, moving tribute to the comedian. His family, friends and colleagues praise Candy with warm and honest stories about him. Candy was such a loving man and he touched the lives of everyone he met. And of the people who watch his movies.

Like I stated before, we watched a lot of John Candy films during my childhood years, and still. “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” is an absolute favorite in my family and we still revisit it every holiday season. If you grew watching him, this documentary will definitely get you emotional.

Rating: 5/ 5

10s Movie Review - Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Director: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Action/ Adventure
Runtime: 119 minutes
Year: 2017
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Bobby Cannavale, Colin Hanks

Description: Four teenagers are sucked into a magical video game, and the only way they can escape is to work together to finish the game.

Review: It could have been another useless reboot or nostalgia trip; with Jake Kasdan as a director you expect nothing more than a cliché film. But “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” was surprisingly fun and not bad at all. A movie that actually uses the talent of its cast, a beautiful setting and believable characters. What a surprise!
The first minute are a nod to the original board game from the first film. Somehow the game is changed into a videogame. Four high school students that are in detention, find this game and decided to play it. They pick their characters and instead of the game entering our world, the kids are sucked into the game. Becoming their characters and having to save Jumanji.
The nerdy Spencer becomes the buff and brave Dr. Bravestone. Wallflower Martha turns into man killer Ruby Roundhouse. Jock Fridge now has to deal with a much shorter self, who is a zoologist. And popular and self-loving Bethany, becomes a middle aged man who specializes in reading maps, archeology and paleontology.
At first, the body switch gives a simple and predictable jokes. But the concept stays interesting throughout the whole film, without become lame and juvenile. Dwayne Johnson, who is now the embodiment of a shy and nerdy kid, does this very convincing. And Karen Gillan really does a great job awkwardly dealing with her body language. Jack Black was probably my favorite, a teenage girl trapped inside a middle aged man’s body. Kevin Hart is the least convincing of the four, because he plays himself instead of the character trapped inside of him.
It’s very clever to turn the Jumanji game into a videogame and this makes for a fun and entertaining setting. The characters have strengths and weaknesses and there are clear rules. And the whole décor is fantastic!
Although I love the original “Jumanji” movie, this film isn’t timeless. The special effects of this film are a bit outdated, but overall I still love it. “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” really surprised me and I really liked it. A lot!

Rating: 4 / 5

TV Review: "Fargo" Season 1

Genre: Drama/ Thriller/ Crime

Year: 2014

Number of episodes: 10

Starring: Martin Freeman, Billy Bob Thornton, Allison Tolman, Colin Hanks, Keith Carradine, Bob Odenkirk, Oliver Platt, Adam Goldman, Joey King, Gary Valentine, Kate Walsh, Rachel Blanchard, Joshua Close

Description: Various chronicles of deception, intrigue and murder in and around frozen Minnesota. Yet all of these tales mysteriously lead back one way or another to Fargo, North Dakota

Review: Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) lives together with his wife in Minnesota. He works as an insurance salesman in a little town called Bemidji. Lester never achieved anything big. His brother Lester on the other hand, is married to a beautiful woman, has a son and a good job. And Sam Hess, the guy who used to bully Lester in high school, is also doing well. When Lester’s wife is threatening to leave him, he meets a mysterious man. His name is Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) and he tells Lester to stand up for himself. But what Lester doesn’t know is, that when he follows his advice, his life will change forever. While Lester’s life is drastically changing, deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) is working on the case of a possible car accident. In that accident one person has died, but he wasn’t the driver. Molly connects Lester to Lorne and no one takes her seriously.

“Fargo” is based on the movie with the same name, from 1996, which was directed by the Coen brothers. The movie was nominated for seven Oscars and won two of them. The film is one of my favorites. If the TV show could keep the same atmosphere and feel as the film, I was going to love it. The Coen brothers were executive producers on this project. The TV show is amazing!

Billy Bob Thornton is brilliant! His humor is just genius, so dark yet hard not to laugh. His role doesn’t make “Fargo” just a crime drama, he adds comedy as well. And so does Martin Freeman. His character kind of reminds me of William H. Macy’s performance in the movie version. Freeman does such a fantastic job as someone who never did anything noteworthy and now is living in a nest full of lies. Created by himself. And he gets more and more creative with it. I also loved Allison Tolman, who played my favorite character on the show. It’s hard to dislike her, just like Marge Gunderson in “Fargo” the film. Molly is so determined to find the right person, even when no one believes her. And then there is Colin Hanks, who plays Gus. A cop that actually always dreamed of being a mailman. He is not very good at his cop job, but he is so loveable and sweet.

The setting of the show is beautiful, all the snowy landscapes. This also adds to the mystery of the entire show.

Some people complained about the ending of the show. I think it was good, especially Lester’s part of the story.

“Fargo” was even better than I initially expected. I’m ready to watch season 2 as well, even though it has a complete different cast.

Top 5 Thursday: Fargo Season 1 Characters

I just binge watched the first season of the Netflix show “Fargo” and I loved it. The perfect time to make a top 5 dedicated to this show. So, I made a top 5 of my favorite characters from the first season of “Fargo”.

5. Lou Solverson

Lou is Molly’s father and owns a diner. He was once a cop too, just like his daughter. He seems pretty happy with his job now and always looks out for Molly. He is afraid that something might happen to her, because it’s such a dangerous job.

 

 

4. Gus Grimly

Gus is a cop, but it’s not his dream job. He actually always wanted to be a mailman. Gus is somewhat clumsy and not very persuasive as a police officer. He is such a sweet man, perfect for Molly.

 

 

3. Lester Nygaard

Lester looks like you’re average neighbor. But he is nothing more than a liar. And he makes up lie after lie after lie. You have to hand it to him, he is pretty creative with his cover up. But we all know that the truth will be revealed somehow.

 

 

2. Lorne Malvo

Okay, he’s not a nice character. He is a killer, a cold blooded and relentless killer. But he is such an interesting character and he is portrayed perfectly by Billy Bob Thornton.

 

 

1. Molly Solverson

Don’t send a woman to do a man’s job? Well, this female deputy is the only one doing her job well. The murder case is keeping her awake at night and she doesn’t rest until the right man is behind bars.

 

 

They Almost Made the Top 5: Bill Oswalt

100 Movie Challenge 2015 - # 37: Parkland

Director: Peter Landesman

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Runtime: 93 minutes

Year: 2013

Starring: Marcia Gay Harden, Matt Barr, Zac Efron, Mallory Moye, Paul Giamatti, Bitsie Tulloch, Ron Livingston, Jason Douglas, David Harbour, James Badge Dale, Larry Jack Dotson, Austin Nichols, Billy Bob Thornton, Jonathan Breck, Eugene Lee, Nico Evers-Swindell, Irene White, Luci Christian, Kate Steffens, Tom Welling, Mark Duplass, Gil Bellows, Sean McGraw, Brett Stimely, Paul Sparks, Samuel Davis, Colin Hanks, Gary Grubbs, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeremy Strong, Jackie Weaver

Description: A recounting of the chaotic events that occurred at Dallas' Parkland Hospital on the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

Review: A lot of people remember where they were on November 22nd 1963, the day John F. Kennedy was killed. Now fifty years and many books, movies and documentaries later, director Peter Landesman manages to give us a new perspective on the assassination. “Parkland” isn’t a reconstruction of the murder itself, but it tells the story of the people that have witnessed the event and were close to the president at that time. The impact this shooting had on the doctors that treated him, the FBI and the cameraman who filmed it. In “Parkland” three days are depicted from the point of view of different characters.

There is an important role for the medical staff of the Parkland hospital in Dallas. They tried to save the life of JFK. Then there is Abraham Zapruder, the man that captured the shooting on camera. The movie adds another layer by showing us the point of view of shooter Lee Harvey Oswald and how his family deals with this event.

Because “Parkland” has many characters and perspectives, it’s sometimes very chaotic. This chaos makes the movie hard to follow sometimes and also doesn’t give any characters any depth. The whole thing looks unrealistic. Even though “Parkland” doesn’t convince completely, it’s a good try on telling the story from a different vision.

Peter Landesman shoots a movie from unknown and interesting perspective, but doesn’t manage to convince the audience.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2014 - # 36: The Guilt Trip

Director: Anne Fletcher
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2012
Starring: Seth Rogen, Barbra Streisand, Yvonne Strahovski, Colin Hanks, Adam Scott

Description: As inventor Andy Brewster (Seth Rogen) is about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime, a quick stop at his mom's (Barbra Streisand) house turns into an unexpected cross-country voyage with her along for the ride.

Review: Barbra Streisand plays Joyce Brewster, a typical Jewish-American mother who is always clearly present and doesn’t keep her opinion to herself. To make it more cliché she is very focused on money, counts every penny. Seth Rogen plays her schlemiel of a son, who’s still single and is trying to sell his environmental friendly cleaning product.
“The Guilt Trip” is referred to as a comedic road movie, but that is misleading. You don’t really get to see much of the environment.
Seth Rogen is very introvert in his role, which gives Streisand the room to flourish. But all the jokes are seldom funny. All I felt was this awkward feeling towards Streisand’s role. There isn’t even room for fun supporting roles, which could have saved this film a bit. If Rogen wasn’t in it, “The Guilt Trip” would’ve been even more uneventful.
The reason I watched this film was Seth Rogen, because I really like his humor. But I was warned, because a movie with the word guilt in its title makes you feel that when the end credits turn up.

Rating: 2/ 5

Movie Moments: Orange County

A breakthrough for Tom Hanks' son Colin Hanks, who I think is amazing and should get more attention. I don't know why, but I always loved this movie. I decided to rewatch it and make a list of my favorite moments.

Moment # 1:Meet Shaun
We meet Shaun Brumbder, who’s writing a letter to Marcus Skinner. He tells him about his life in Orange County and how he got the idea of becoming a writer.

Moment # 2: Lance watches Spongebob
Shaun is excited abot his letter from Stanford, but all his lazy brother Lance cares about is Spongebob.

Moment # 3: Wrong Transcript
Shaun didn’t get in to Stanford and he doesn’t understand why. He visits the students counselor and finds out she send in the transcript of a Shane Brainard. He, dumb as he is, did get in to Stanford.

Moment # 4: Visitors
Ashley arranged for Tanya’s grandfather to visit Shaun, he works at Stanford. Shaun gets one more chance to get in to Stanford. His mother is getting ready and puts on a dress that makes her look like a piñata. Shaun tells Lance he needs to stay in his room. When Lance asks him why, Shaun tells him he embarrasses him. When the guest arrive, Shaun’s mom Cindy acts weird and starts telling them her whole life story. Then Lance walks in in his underwear, Shaun’s friends shows up and Bob starts acting mad. Everything is going wrong and Shaun’s last chance is gone.

Moment # 5: Lance driving skills
Lance drives Shaun and Ashley to Stanford, because he can do it in 3 hours. But he’s an awful driver. He hardly pays attention to the road and when something happens he blames the other drivers.

Moment # 6: Lance sets a fire.
When Shaun got the dean of admission to put his name on the list of Stanford attendees and they arrive at the office, they see it’s on fire. Set by Lance.

Moment # 7: Shaun meets Marcus Skinner
Shaun is walking on campus when all of a sudden he sees Marcus Skinner walk by. He asks him about his story and Marcus says he enjoyed reading it. He invites Shaun to his office to talk about the story. He tells Shaun he doesn’t need to leave Orange County to become a good writer, he already is one.

Moment # 8: “You banged mom?”
When Shaun, Lance and Ashley return from Stanford, they see their dad. When he wants to tell them he and their mom got back together Lance asks him: “You banged mom?”

Moment # 9: Shaun stays
The trip wasn’t all for nothing, because Shaun realizes that his inspiration is right in front of him. Shaun decides to stay in Orange County and everybody is happy.

Favorite Moment: Moment # 4: Visitors

Movie Tip #25 - Orange County

Director: Jake Kasdan

Starring: Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, John Lithgow, Catherine O'Hara, Leslie Mann, Kevin Kline, Chevy Chase, Lily Tomlin

Description: Shaun Brumder (Colin Hanks) is a local surfer kid from Orange County who dreams of going to Stanford to become a writer and to get away from his disfunctional family household. Except Shaun runs into one complication after another starting when his application is rejected after his dim-witted guidance counselor sends the wrong application. So, Shaun goes to great lengths with a little help from his girlfriend Ashley (Schuyler Fisk) and his drugged-out loser brother Lance (Jack Black) to get into Stanford any way they see fit

Review: I really enjoy "Orange County" every time I see it. The script is great. It's smart, but still wacky as a teen comedy needs to be. Colin Hanks' first major starring role and he nailed it. He looks (and sounds) a lot like his dad and he's also a great actor. I recently saw him in "The Great Buck Howard" and his performance is again great. My favourite character in "Orange County" was Lance, played by Jack Black. Weird guy, but so cool. The parents are also very funny and Ashley is sweet and tender. It's one of the only teen comedies with an actual good story and good actors. Just watch it.