Film Review: Tag

"We Lose! He Beat Us! The Game Is Over..!"

Beginning his big-screen career with a collection of Hollywood stars and a mildly comedic central gag to play with, debutante director, Jeff Tomsic, adapts Russell Adams' 2013 article, "It Takes Planning, Caution To Avoid Being It", an account of a true story published in The Wall Street Journal which focused on a group of life-long friends who spend one month each year playing the titular game of tag with overly dedicated and sophisticated measures in order to succeed. With a band of usual American comedy suspects including Ed Helms (Father Figures), Hannibal Buress (Blockers) and Jake Johnson (21 Jump Street), Tomsic's movie follows the reunion of four particularly immature friends as they team up in order to finally "tag" Jeremy Renner's (Captain America: Civil War) swaggering, soon-to-be married Jerry before his self proclaimed retirement at the end of their chosen month in which the game takes place. With a handful of child-like slapstick set pieces, seething bromantic chemistry and an overarching sensibility which relies on its' audience to be as similarly immature as its' leading characters, Tag is indeed a solid comedic winner, one which although suffers slightly from a violently overstretched central gag and a couple of strange narrative add-ons, works due to a likeable array of personalities and sharp, well-timed gags which managed to make even this hard chestnut giggle with childish amusement. 

With an opening act which introduces the central relationship between Helms' Hogan Malloy and Jon Hamm's (Baby Driver) Bob Callahan, a successful businessman who hides his inner paranoia and low self-esteem behind sharp suits and formal haircuts, the movie's first set piece in which Malloy takes a job as a janitor at Callahan's place of work in order to tag him pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the movie, with the zippy one hundred minute runtime being crammed with slapstick inspired chase sequences which move from golf courses to wedding receptions as particular characters attempt to evade the embarrassment of being it. With Renner as the self-proclaimed master of the game whose transition from child to adult has remained free of ever being tagged, his planned wedding is the battleground for one last attempt, and whilst Renner is only used sparingly at times in favour of the core quartet of friends, his performance is joyously entertaining, with Renner clearly embracing the sheer nonsensical nature of the script which he is working with. With a concluding attempt to pull at the heartstrings, the movie does finish on surprisingly rank terms, particularly when the tone of the movie pretty much throughout is utter silliness, but within the rather middling genre of contemporary American comedies, Tag is trashy fun which passes the time rather neatly. 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Father Figures

"The Universe Has A Tendency To Point Us In The Right Direction..."

Renowned for his work as an accomplished cinematographer on an array of American comedies including War Dogs, The Hangover Trilogy as well as the upcoming blockbuster franchise sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, New Jersey citizen, Lawrence Sher, turns to a debut in directing for Father Figures, a messy, overlong and staggeringly sickening road trip comedy featuring Owen Wilson (Wonder) and Ed Helms (Captain Underpants) as alienated siblings, Kyle and Peter Reynolds who embark on a self proclaimed journey known as "Operation Whose Your Daddy" after being informed by Glenn Close's (The Girl With All The Gifts) mother figure, Helen Baxter, that she is unaware of her children's true parentage. With a narrative which twists and turns through redemptive family drama to lad-cultured sex ventures and finally settling for saccharin fuelled cop-out nonsense, Sher's movie is fundamentally unsure of what it entirely aspires to be, and with a two hour runtime attempting to hold it all together, Father Figures is unsurprisingly dour, a film which not only comes across as your run of the mill Owen Wilson centred comedy, but an Owen Wilson centred comedy without any meaningful laughs. 

Settling on air of overripe repetition as our leading duo move from state to state in order to locate their true titular father figure, the screenplay attempts to shoehorn in as many jarring cameos as humanly possible for some form of comedic effect, with the likes of Ving Rhames, Terry Bradshaw and the Oscar winning J. K. Simmons, yes, that J. K. Simmons, each conforming to a soap opera type scenario in which each character has around ten minutes to show off their goods and force some form of sketch show-esque comedic set piece before being entirely forgotten about as we head onto the next underwritten character who swiftly follows such a mould. With Wilson hitting snooze mode and regressing into normality after winning back some form of merits after his performance in Wonder, the star revels in handing the director a stereotypical Owen Wilson performance, one which clashes with Ed Helms' pretentious, all-moaning flannel of a character who not only couldn't look farther from being an on-screen sibling of Wilson if he tried but is the type of American character who believes their life is an utter shambles even with staggering levels of wealth and a high class occupation which of course only acts as a continuous, narrative weaving joke. The jokes are joyless, the script soulless and ponderous, and whilst at times the chemistry between the two stars evoke a sense of enjoyment that the film may be heading somewhere, the concluding act is shameful and for two hours of your life you may never get back, Father Figures really isn't worth the risk.

Overall Score: 3/10

Hangover Part 3 Review -SPOILERS-

Hangover, part 3was one of my hotly anticipated films finally came out today. I was unlucky enough to miss out on the first two and resorted to the original DVD format and I'm extremely glad I didn't let Hangover sit on the shelf until the last minute. I did however miss out Due Date which ties in within the movie for a short scene but it is nothing that is to drastic.

Surprisingly, this movie doesn't begin with the obligatory piss up that ends up with the Wolf pack running around to find Doug and explain the drug fuelled night. This one focuses on the capturing of Chow; the cocaine loving psychopath. The final instalment in the Hangover trilogy is one that wraps up the connection to Chow and why he kept appearing throughout the series and his criminal activities. To fuel his lifestyle and addiction, Chow robs another criminal boss named "Marshall" of several million dollars worth of gold bars. After spending fortunes and ending up in a Bangkok prison after part 2, he escapes and becomes an international villain on the run from both the police and Marshall. Marshall then captures the Wolf pack and forces them to hunt down Chow and capture him or Doug dies.

In terms of story, you can see that it has taken a different turn and has become a little more serious. Although, in the ending credits, we are greeted with the day after a heavy night out to find everyone hanging and Stu with a new rack (I will let you figure that one out). I certainly enjoyed the reversal of the story and the introduction of a truly deadly force that will and does kill and the introduction of a new love interest. The danger was amped up and the twists within are very precise and quick. As I mentioned prior, the story blends with the past movies and is great at entwining old characters and stories to close the final movie. However, at the end we do see the possibility that the franchise has been left at a point that could be ridden upon if money gets tight for Legendary studios and Green Hat.

"I'm sorry, I can't quite hear you over the noise of my good looks and money"

The comedy throughout was a constant and didn't wear thin. Yet it wasn't rip roaring and I wasn't gasping for air or tearing at the excessively stupid antics. The jokes were written well, flowed well without interruption and were executed brilliantly. The collection of actors could hold themselves without losing form. The examples of this are Zach Galifianakis and Melissa McCarthy who can hold a room with a simple longing gaze, their ability to ignore their surroundings and create an unbelievably awkward situation without actually saying anything is flawless. Bradley Cooper also fills his role quite well, managing to retain the badass persona to life that made him so popular with the crowds (his looks also help). 

The film was also shot brilliantly. I enjoyed the contrast and the lighting that rolled throughout the movie. Close up shots filled space but felt natural in their surroundings. The landscape shots where expansive and incredibly strong. Jumping from bright desert wasteland of Mexico too the luminescent city of Las Vegas was gorgeous. Colours bounced around of the screen and seeing the iconic city at a height like that at night is something that only some have done. It is the stereotypical way that we perceive Vegas to be.

Overall, the movie was great fun. It's got plenty of laughs and has some brilliant actors to back it up. I am rating this movie as a 7.5/10, simply because I wanted to harder hitting jokes and a little bit more in the story franchise. I felt myself wanting a little extra from the movie but it is still an enjoyable film.