Logan Lucky (2017) - Movie Review

 

Retirement in the world of creative arts has always been a funny thing. As much as it is like any other profession in how some people can get sick of it after a while, the idea of actual retirement in this industry rarely if ever holds water. Here in Australia, one of the biggest running jokes I heard growing up was how singer John Farnham did a retirement concert tour pretty much every year. In terms of films, for as little stock as I hold in the idea of being involved in films flat-out calling it quits, it was still pretty heartbreaking to learn that Steven Soderbergh, one of my all-time favourite filmmakers, was hanging up his hat. Then it was announced that he was doing some TV work with The Knack; still no films, still let down. Then Magic Mike XXL came out, and while he wasn’t directing, he still had a real hand in making it. And then today’s film was announced, and it definitely clicked that a guy who is that passionate about the art form wasn’t likely to just leave the game entirely. But as a dramatic return to the director’s chair, how does this film actually turn out? Is it worth the wait or is it one of those occasions where it would’ve been better if Soderbergh actually did retire?

Sing (2016) - Movie Review

Ever since the concept of a musical has been in the minds of man, the meta-musical has never been too far behind. Now, in a way, it is perfectly logical: When people spend as long as they do belting out musical numbers on stage, it can start to bleed out into their regular life; as such, putting two and two together just makes sense. Hell, some of the most acclaimed musicals of all time have been meta-musicals like Singin’ In The Rain and Fame. However, as is the case with the lesser forms of metafiction, it can occasionally come across like a deadline-nudging assignment where, when out of feasible ideas, they just work within the barest confines of the narrative to deliver the music. Since we’re dealing with modern-day cinematic sensibilities, and a general inconsistency when it comes to movie musicals, this could honestly go either way. Well, time to see what else Illumination Entertainment has in store for us this year.

Ted 2 (2015) - Movie Review

Seth MacFarlane honestly frustrates me. He’s proven time and again that he is more than capable of being funny, whether it’s with American Dad, the first Ted movie or the early days of Family Guy. But more recently, he has severely fallen by the wayside with stuff like The Cleveland Show, A Million Ways To Die In The West and the current days of Family Guy. His track record actually has a couple of bizarre similarities to that of another animated sitcom creator: Matt Groening. Both started out with shows that were great to begin with and are fondly remembered by all, provided that you stopped watching about halfway through their run, while their other show got lesser attention while managing to outperform the original in certain aspects, most notably in their consistency. MacFarlane, despite what some of his creations may argue, is not a bad creative mind. Hell, watching the first Ted movie again in prep for this review, it’s actually better than I remember it being. But how does the sequel hold up?