The Adam Project (2022) - Movie Review

After the bizarre misfires that showed up in Free Guy, I’ll admit that I’m a bit apprehensive about seeing Shaun Levy and Ryan Reynolds teaming up again, especially so soon. But knowing that these two are also doing the next Deadpool movie after this, I’m also hoping that this serves as a better example of them working with each other’s sensibilities. I’m not expecting a masterpiece here; just something that will restore enough faith that Deadpool 3 has a chance of working, considering I can already see a creative choice for that film that has a high chance of screwing up. But we’ll get to that when that film comes around; for right now, we have this to take a look at.

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.

Free Guy (2021) - Movie Review

After what happened with Red Notice, I feel the need to reiterate the point that I have no problem with Ryan Reynolds and what has become his schtick since reconnecting with his inner Deadpool. It’s just a matter of finding the right story to put him in, rather than just expecting his usual mannerisms to make things interesting. And that is most certainly the case with this film, as it’s basically a massive pisstake and deconstruction of modern video games, with Reynolds as an NPC that decides that he wants something more out of his digital life.

Red Notice (2021) - Movie Review

Rawson Marshall Thurber is a cinematic underachiever. The man knows how to put a film together, and his recent collaborations with Dwayne Johnson have been a solid match-up, but it always feels like his films should be far more interesting than they actually turn out. I mean, when the film of his that has aged the best contains an entire scene aggrandising Lance Armstrong and a bi-bait finale, something is askew. So, as I look at his latest feature, know that I will probably give the guy a hard time but it’s mainly because he’s shown enough talent as a filmmaker to be doing better than he has of late.