The Lego Movie (2014)
with Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks
The innovative art style and wealth of creative ideas make The Lego Movie a standout among kids’ films, though its humor leans too often on slapstick and cameos.
comedy
reviews
11 reviews (3 books, 8 movies) with an average rating of 3.2
8-Bit Christmas (2021)
with Winslow Fegley, Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn
8-Bit Christmas leans heavily on nostalgia, but the NES hunt feels like a generic MacGuffin — swap it with any childhood obsession, and you'd get the same movie — while the predictable storyline and overly sentimental ending fail to leave a lasting impression.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
with Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
A movie that knows exactly what it wants to be, Deadpool & Wolverine delivers all the self-referential humor, surprise cameos, and raunchy one-liners you could hope for, though it stumbles a bit when figuring out what story it wants to tell.
Dad is Fat
by Jim Gaffigan
While landing the occasional well-timed joke, Dad is Fat ultimately only has one joke, 'This everyday activity is more difficult / less enjoyable when you have many kids'.
Abschalten
by Martin Suter
A bit like grabbing fast food during a business lunch, Suter's Business Class books — comprised of short, amusing vignettes — are perfect for a quick two-minute read, but ultimately lack meaningful nutrition.
Dungeons & (2023)
with Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page
A movie that captures the feeling of actually running a D&D adventure — complete with random magical objects that the characters forget to mention until the minute they need them — would have been a perfect experience, were it not for the slight tendency to overuse one-liners.
The Fall Guy (2024)
with Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
A relentlessly funny popcorn movie — featuring a trivially predictable murder mystery — that skillfully sets the stage for Gosling and Blunt to act their hearts out.
The Menu (2022)
with Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult
The utter pretentiousness of fine dining made it plausible for the characters to play into the plot for a while, but ultimately, I ran out of suspended disbelief before the movie's underwhelming ending.
Game Night (2018)
with Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Kyle Chandler
Stellar camera work and solid acting elevate this movie to a level that even the constant need of the script to one-up itself can't drag itself down from.
The Very Best of Fesshole
by Various Authors
Neither the illustrations nor the publisher's half-hearted intermissionary jokes elevate the book over just reading Twitter, but it is a great book to read on the toilet.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
with Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish
While quickly settling on one joke (“Nicolas cage is playing himself”), even the great chemistry between Pedro Pascal and him doesn't quite rectify the fact that the movie has no idea which story it wants to tell.