Film Review: The Spy Who Dumped Me

"Some Bad People Are After Me And Now They're After You..."

Mixing together the comedic talents of Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters) and Mila Kunis (Bad Moms), an actress whose sensual, dramatic performance in Black Swan feels strangely historic considering her own personal penchant for the genre of American comedy since, The Spy Who Dumped Me, directed by Susanna Fogel, a returning filmmaker with her first release since 2014's Life Partners, sees the duo as best friend partnership, Audrey and Morgan, who become embroiled in a murderous terrorist plot after being "dumped" by Justin Theroux's (Mulholland Drive) suave super spy, Drew Thayer. With McKinnon unfortunately being the type of actress who so far in her career seems to have been handed a selection of raw deals when it comes to getting the best out of her natural flair for comedy, with Ghostbusters and Office Christmas Party being no more than solid examples of the genre, the same annoyingly can be said for The Spy Who Dumped Me, a surprisingly violent and tonally manic action comedy which falls much too heavy on a reliance for gunshots and action over genuine laughs within a screenplay which makes Rampage look like the most intelligent film of the year by an elongated mile. 

With ineffective time jumps utilised at various points of the movie as an attempt to establish some form of characterisation, albeit in its' most restricted format, the movie takes no time in establishing the layout of the narrative, using awfully constructed moments of naff dialogue to exercise the inevitable exposition before resorting back to endless action set pieces which begin in enjoyable fashion but then end up becoming tedious after the cycle of the movie becomes increasingly obvious come the sixty minute mark. With the film's two hour running time overstretched by at least forty five minutes, the saving grace of the movie is ultimately its' leading female stars, with McKinnon and Kunis working expertly well as a kooky double act caught in the cross-hairs of government conspiracy and double crossing international secret agents, and with the added involvement of the always magnanimous Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), girl power at least stops the movie from falling into the black hole of awfulness it may have gone without them. With a few chuckles but no full laughs, The Spy Who Dumped Me is full-on flash without any residue of substance or memorability, but with committed performances and likeable leading stars, the end result is messy but not exactly intolerable. 

Overall Score: 5/10

Film Review: A Bad Moms Christmas

"We're Gonna Put The Ass Back In Christmas..!"

Although American based comedies tend more than most to fall on the side of face-palm induced awfulness, with the likes of The House, CHiPs and the horror of Table 19 from this year alone proving such a genre is rife with utter, utter trash, last year's Bad Moms was a release of which I personally was pleasantly surprised by, a movie which although suffered from a dwindling lack of originality, featured enough charming characters and sharp one-liners to pass off as one of the better comedies to come from the US of A, particularly in the past few years or so. Whilst the success of the original by no means meant that a sequel was warranted, as per the norm of every single reasonably well received movie in Hollywood nowadays, here we are with A Bad Moms Christmas, a movie which takes the formula of its' predecessor and mixes in the saccharin filled notion of everyone's favourite holiday, a seasonal delight which either leads to cinematic classics such as It's A Wonderful Life or vomit-inducing crap such as Jack Frost. Eugh. Whilst it is no surprise that A Bad Moms Christmas is nowhere near the passable fun of its' predecessor, with the guilty pleasure appeal of the first movie somewhat absent a second time around, there is still enough smart gags and overripe new characters to allow the sequel to warrant its' existence. Sort of. 

With Christmas around the corner and the unexpected arrival of their respective parents on the cards, the leading trio of the original return once again to "take back Christmas" in a manner which begins by bearing huge similarities to its' predecessor with excess drinking, low-level criminality and drunk dancing with Santa, one which subsequently flows into a Meet the Parents type comedy which focuses on each of our leading ladies' troublesome mother figures. With Mila Kunis once again having enough charming eloquence to take control of the main bulk of the film and Kathryn Hahn's Carla always guaranteed to make the most cynical of audiences giggle in places, A Bad Moms Christmas undeniably belongs to the domineering presence of Christine Baranski as Ruth Mitchell, a maternal devil figure who is both bitchy and comedic in equal measure with Baranski's performance being one of the main reasons why the sequel does indeed work on some level. With the gross factor turned up however and the annoying overuse of obscenity rife from beginning to end, A Bad Moms Christmas is not exactly the sequel to carry on the successes of the first but for ninety odd minutes, it passes the time rather harmlessly. 

Overall Score: 5/10

Film Review: Bad Moms

"You're The Best Mother That We've Ever Seen, You Give Your Kids Salad...!

Let's face it; US comedy can sometimes be a drag. Not only is comedy itself one of the hardest genres to actually succeed in when it comes to the movies, it is also one of the easiest to get wrong. With Bad Moms however, it was one those rare cases in which although the trailer made it out to be another lazy, ill-judged mess of a movie, the final product was something rather solid, something that not only was continuously funny throughout, but also included a rare sense of warmth in its' attempt to address something trivial and commonplace in everyday life; motherhood. Where some may get upset by its' rather hideous portrayal of the father figure within the world of Bad Moms, personally, the shift from masculine-strung comedy to that of the female POV was a refreshing subject matter, harking back to the critical success of films such as Bridesmaids and others in recent years which have seen the rise of the female-led comedy in cinema today. Although it's fair to say that not every comedy has hit the mark in recent years, with The Boss being an example of when it goes completely wrong, Bad Moms is a solid example of when comedy is done right. 

Where the film ultimately succeeds is in its' true-to-life depiction of the overworked parent, with Mila Kunis' Amy being mother of unbearable struggles, with family life intertwining with school life intertwining with work life as well as the constant struggle to actually enjoy life rather than actually just managing to pull through reasonably unscathed. Where the movie loses touch is during scenes of recklessness, due in part to the two directors' affiliation with movies such as The Hangover, and although a film named Bad Moms has to include some sort of debauchery in some sense, the moral object of the film suggests that maybe being THAT bad isn't exactly the way to go. Although the film does sink into overbearing saccharin sweetness come the final act, Bad Moms manages to fight through the trivial acts of Hangover-esque plot-lines and sway into a comedic drama that says a lot about parenthood in the 21st century without ever feeling as if it's preachy or just plain dull. In a week where the creators of The Hangover franchise have pulled out both Bad Moms and War Dogs, maybe US comedy is back on the up and up? 

Overall Score: 6/10

Film Review: Jupiter Acending

The Day My Mind Stood Still

Oh Wachowski siblings. Your once promising career has all but ended thanks to this latest offering to the people of this much loved Earth. Such an unwelcome gift comes in the form of Jupiter Ascending, a film that can only be described as being this decades' Battlefield Earth, a statement that does not come lightly, whilst being a complete shame when remembering how brilliant The Matrix was when I first watched it. Now, in 2015, instead of The Matrix, we have a film with no soul, no depth, and seemingly not a care in the world, aside from one that has a massive bank note wrapped around it, with its' lead characters being almost as soul-crushingly dull as the film itself. Rant mode activated. 

I would attempt to give a brief synopsis of Jupiter Ascending, but the truth is, I really cannot be bothered. The plot is so ridiculously uninspiring and sleep-inducing that it's making me yawn even as I think about it now, whilst simultaneously making me cringe so hard, I feel like I am looking at early photos of my dress sense in the 1990's. So plot done with, what's next I hear you ask! Characters. Okay. Firstly, I have a fundamental problem with Mila Kunis as a bog cleaner. It just wouldn't happen. Also, being cursed with a name such as Jupiter Jones, surely she would have legally changed it by now? No sane human being would walk around 21st century society with a name so laughable being called Ben Dover is a step up. Unless that's the actual underlying point of the film, that she is actually so insane that she dreams of meeting a topless, roller skating, wonky eared, Channing Tatum and flying off to badly CGI'd planets, because whoever pitched the idea of Jupiter Ascending was clearly mad and needs to be heavily sedated and sectioned ASAP.

As for Channing Tatum, his reputation as a "serious actor" has been dealt a crippling blow. Why would he, after doing so well in Foxcatcher, want to be in this turkey of a movie? Surely he must have read the script? The same goes for Sean Bean, who throughout the entirety of his scenes in the film looks as bored as I did watching him, yet acting bored in a movie is better than acting as a humanised wooden plank, a feat which Ms. Kunis passes with flying colours. And now on to Eddie Redmayne. Oh Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. Your Oscar win is not as clear-cut as it might once have been. His portrayal as the villainous I-don't-care-what-his-name-is is exceedingly laughable and can only be described as the dull second-cousin of  Gary Oldman's, Zorg, in The Fifth Element. His constant need to quietly whisper instructions to badly designed flying reptile things was bad enough, but when juxtaposed with sudden belts of screaming, it was like watching my 13 year old brother having a hissy-fit after not being allowed on the PlayStation. Sorry Eddie, but you were utter pants. 

In conclusion, Jupiter Ascending, is complete tripe. The attempts at acting are terrible. The plot is ludicrous. Okay, it might look good and fancy, but fanciness cannot save Jupiter Ascending from being one of the most boring and pain-inducing sci-fi films I think I have ever sat through. I think it's time to watch The Matrix again. 

Overall Score: 3/10