Spirited (2022) - Movie Review

Up until just a few years ago, writer/director Sean Anders seemingly did all he could to push mainstream edgelord comedy to its breaking point. Hot Tub Time Machine, That’s My Boy, We’re The Millers, Horrible Bosses 2, Dumb And Dumber To, both Daddy’s Home movies; I don’t even outright hate all of these, but they are all grown out of the same cynical view of us as a species. We’re all shit, the world is shit, so just turn it all into an even sicker joke than it already is; not exactly the kind of perspective I can get behind.

But then Instant Family happened. I reviewed it for FilmInk and was genuinely surprised by it because… well, it saw Anders turn over a new leaf. While it still carried some of his tendencies as far as comedic timing, it was also way more wholesome at its core and was made not because he wanted to point out the worst of us, but highlight the good we can do through the foster care system. I’ve mentioned before that I love redemption stories like these, and Anders’ might be one of my favourites in recent memory. It’s why I ultimately decided to give his latest a chance, and it’s also why I really, really enjoyed myself with it.

Top 10 Most Surprising Films Of 2018

For a few years now, I’ve been making it a point to highlight the most surprising films of the year; the ones I went into not expecting anything worthwhile, yet walked away impressed in one way or another. I usually take the time to list the most disappointing films as well, but in a showing of just good 2018 was for films, the disappointments were honestly few and far between. As for the surprises, they’re not just surprisingly good; most of them came from filmmakers I never would have expected to be capable of anything as watchable as the films I’m about to get into. Here are my picks for the 10 most surprising films of 2018.

Game Night (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Every weekend, Max (Jason Bateman), Annie (Rachel McAdams), Ryan (Billy Magnussen), Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) get together for a game night. But when Max's brother Brooks (Kyle Chandler) rolls into town, he wants to try something a bit different: A role-playing mystery night. The group goes along with the theatrics initially, but before too long, it seems that they might be in the middle of a real mystery as Brooks is kidnapped. In order to survive the night, they not only have to follow the clues but also figure out how much of what is happening is part of the game and how much of it is part of something more dangerous.