Christmas with the Kranks

 Christmas with the Kranks (2004)

Starring Tim Allen, Jamie Lee Curtis, Dan Aykroyd, Erik Per Sullivan, Cheech Marin, and M. Emmet Walsh

Directed by Joe Roth

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  F

Ghostbusters II

Ghostbusters II (1989) 

Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, and Peter MacNicol

Directed by Ivan Reitman

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Get on Up

Get on Up (2014)

Starring Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Dan Aykroyd, Viola Davis, Craig Robinson, Jill Scott, and Octavia Spencer

Directed by Tate Taylor

Unfortunately, I can't say much good about director Tate Taylor's James Brown biopic Get On Up and that's mainly because I found his direction of the piece to prove laughable at times and the time jumping of the script to be more annoying than emotionally impacting.  While Chadwick Boseman does a pretty good impression of the famous singer (his dancing and lip synching are really top notch), he fails to bring any resonance to Brown's numerous plights.  In the end, that's really not the fault of Boseman and more on the script and director, both of which aid in devolving the movie to sitcom-like scenes and atmosphere at times.

Rather than follow a linear path, Get On Up jumps back and forth in time in an attempt to prove Brown's adult life was shaped by his childhood, but never once does the early life of Brown create any impact on the grown man and his story.  Taylor attempts this technique multiple times, but it never works and instead reeks of desperation in terms of the writers and director.  In addition,  decisions have been made to have Brown speak and look directly to the camera at times, breaking the fourth wall.  This endeavor to be cool falls flat on its face and feels cheap rather than clever.

James Brown certainly came from nothing to achieve admirable success, but Get On Up doesn't really give the man the proper send-off he deserves.  I give the flick credit for deciding to show the later years in which Brown went off the deep end into a bit of a crazed life, but it's too little too late (and the make-up on Boseman at this stage in the film is horribly rendered).  As mentioned, the sole reason to watch is for Chadwick Boseman who really does nail the performance aspect of the piece with Brown's gyrating and iconic dance moves really coming to life during the reenactments of his stage performances.  Unfortunately, the movie crafted around these moments is pretty abysmal and full of the typical biopic movie clichés.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Tammy

Tammy (2014)

Starring Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Mark Duplass, Gary Cole, Nat Faxon, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, and Ben Falcone

Directed by Ben Falcone

What an unfunny mess Tammy is.  Melissa McCarthy stars as the title character, a foul-mouthed, bellowing, and brash woman who comes home after being fired from her job at a fast food joint only to find her husband (Nat Faxon) canoodling with the next door neighbor (Toni Collette).  Obviously upset, Tammy leaves and heads two doors down to her mom's house where she demands to take her mom's car and drive far away.  While her mother (Allison Janney) understands her pain, she dismisses Tammy's dreams of starting anew, but her grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) also wants to get out of Dodge and agrees to let Tammy take her car as long as she can tag along.  Tammy agrees and the two set out on a cross-country journey of discovery.

I think I mention this in every review of her films, but my introduction to Melissa McCarthy occurred when I watched the first few seasons of Gilmore Girls on tv.  I'm rewatching the show via Netflix and it makes me appreciate the sweet and charming persona that McCarthy can inhabit should she so choose.  So why does she choose motion picture vehicles in which she plays completely reprehensible, vile, vulgar, unappealing characters?  If she's trying to recapture the Bridesmaids magic that earned her a deserved Academy Award nomination, she's failing miserably.  There's nothing about the character of Tammy that makes you want to watch her.  She's slovenly sloppy, obnoxiously dimwitted, and ignorant to nearly everyone that crosses her path.  Spending ninety minutes with this woman is eighty-nine minutes too much.

McCarthy needs to seriously take a look at her choices and shake things up a bit.  She attempted that with an admirable turn in 2014's St. Vincent, but Tammy is an utter failure.  Written by McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone, Tammy is one to avoid at all costs.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-

Movie Review - Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)

Featuring the vocal talents of Lea Michele, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Kelsey Grammer, Hugh Dancy, Megan Hilty, Oliver Platt, Patrick Stewart, Bernadette Peters, and Martin Short 

Directed by Will Finn and Daniel St. Pierre

***This film is currently strewing on Netflix***

$70 million was spent on Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return -- an animated film that picks up right where the popular and iconic 1939 film ends.  Where that dough was spent, I don't know.

Was it spent on a voice cast picked straight out of a 1980s casting call?  Although I can't say anything bad about their work in the film, Dan Aykroyd as the Scarecrow, Jim Belushi as the Lion, Kelsey Grammer as the Tin Man, Oliver Platt as an owl, Bernadette Peters as Glinda the Good Witch, Martin Short as the "evil" Joker, and Patrick Stewart as a tree stump (you read that correctly) likely aren't raking in the dough.  Although rumors of her diva antics run rampant, I can't fathom that Lea Michele's agents were able to snag a boatload of cash for their client either despite the fact that Michele takes on the role of Dorothy.  While all of the voice cast does acceptable work, the money wasn't spent there.

Was it spent on the conglomeration of songwriters (including 90s staple Bryan Adams) who contribute a song or two to the plot?  If it was, that was certainly not money well spent as the songs are laughably disappointing.  Yes, Lea Michele's voice fits many of the ballads well, but the numbers lack emotion and sound much too similar to one another to merit distinction.

Was it spent on the animation?  I sure hope not.  The film looks little better than a cheaply made computer animated tv show.  Yes, some of the design elements are innovative in that they take the world of Oz (originally created by L. Frank Baum although this story [which is a retread of The Wizard of Oz but simply places new characters in the place of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion] is based on the work of his grandson) and shine a light on its fantastical lands, but the characters themselves are wooden, static, and as bland as can be.

So where was that $70 million spent?  Certainly not on this film, right?  They inadvertently added a zero after that seven, right?

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - The Campaign

The Campaign (2012)

Starring Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, Dylan McDermott, John Lithgow, Dan Aykroyd, and Brian Cox 

Directed by Jay Roach

For some reason, the previews of this Will Ferrell-ZackhGalifianakis election-based comedy looked surprisingly funny as they appeared over the summer.  While one might think my disappointment could be chalked up to election fatigue, I think the plain and simple fact is that The Campaign is just a dud.  Both Ferrell and Galifianakis don't inject a single iota of credibility or genuineness into their roles, instead creating one-dimensional sketch comedy characters that get incredibly tired after about ten minutes.

Admittedly, for the first ten minutes, I did laugh out loud a few times.  Ferrell is Democratic incumbent senator Cam Brady from North Carolina.  Despite being one of the sleaziest and most incompetent men around, he manages to get elected year after year since no one in his small district dares to run against him.  That all changes, however, when "lovable dimwit" Marty Huggins (Galifianakis) is approached by his father (Brian Cox) to run on the Republican ticket against Cam.  Marty's father and his Republican cronies (Dan Aykroyd and John Lithgow) feel they can manipulate Marty in order to get their ideas brought to the forefront.  As the two idiots compete against each other for the Senate seat, the humor fades incredibly quickly after the characters are introduced.

There's probably a solid comedy to be made about southern political rivals (although oftentimes the real life political soap operas we see every two to four years is ridiculous enough), but The Campaign is nowhere near being a solid comedy.  In fact, it's one of the worst laughers of the year at this point...except for the other Will Ferrell starrer Casa De Mi Padre.  His choices of projects as of late are dismayingly and disturbingly painful to sit through.  Stereotypes don't necessarily equate to chuckles and Ferrell seems to refuse to understand that as of late.

The RyMickey Rating:  D

Movie Review - Nothing But Trouble

Nothing But Trouble (1991)

Starring Chevy Chase, Demi Moore, Dan Aykroyd, and John Candy

Directed by Dan Aykroyd

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Right up front, I should say that I recognize Nothing But Trouble isn't very good (and my rating below will reflect that).  However, I can't help but enjoy it a tiny bit.  I haven't watched it in over a decade, but I remembered a certain fondness attached to it simply because it was like watching some weird funhouse/amusement park ride come to life when I viewed the flick on the local tv station on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.  That fondness was still there, but it is now also tempered with the fact that the film itself simply isn't all that funny and, considering this is a comedy, that's a problem.

When financial advisor Chris Thorne (Chevy Chase) agrees to take his neighbor Diane (Demi Moore) to Atlantic City for her job, he does it only so he can attempt to form some type of romantic bond.  However, a slight detour forces the duo into the run-down New Jersey town of Valkenvania and when Chris runs a stop sign, he's picked up by the local sheriff (John Candy) and taken to the home of the incredibly elderly local judge, Alvin J.P. Valkenheiser (Dan Aykroyd).  Despite a simple traffic violation, the judge forces Chris and Diane to spend the night in his run-down, funhouse-type mansion.  Chris and Diane soon begin to discover the secret truth behind the judge and come to the realization that he will likely never allow them to leave the premises.

A mix of comedy and horror, the film doesn't contain too many laughs or any scary moments, but the actors themselves are what make this film more enjoyable than it should be.  Chevy Chase and Demi Moore aren't exactly striking it rich in the chemistry department, but they're pleasant enough and are actually the straight men to Dan Aykroyd who takes on the rather disgusting role of Alvin Valkenheiser with great gusto.  Despite coming from a fairly poor flick, it's a character that surprisingly came back to me immediately as soon as he came onscreen as if I'd just watched the film yesterday.

Still, anything positive is tempered by the fact that the movie isn't good.  Yes, I didn't mind watching Nothing But Trouble and being reminded of a childhood moviewatching experience, but it's not like I need to watch it once again in the near future.

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Movie Review - Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters (1984)

Starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, and Ernie Hudson

Directed by Ivan Reitman 

***Ghostbusters is being re-released in select theaters for one daily show only on Thursday evenings in October.***

Without a doubt, 1984's Ghostbusters still remains a classic flick from my childhood.  Certain movies just maintain that nostalgic feeling and this is one of them.  At a certain point, your mind may get clouded by these thoughts and allow yourself to overlook what some may perceive as flaws, but that's what nostalgia does to you.  And that's not a bad thing.

With all this talk about a third film being added to the series, it's completely obvious that without Bill Murray (who is apparently the lone holdout on the movie's progress), the best part of the series would be missing.  Murray's parapsychologist Peter Venkman is one of those characters that is iconic to me.  Full of wry, witty, and dry humor, I found myself chuckling (or at the very least smiling) after nearly every single line reading of his.  His interactions with his ghostbusting partners Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd) and Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis) are priceless and coupling that with his flirtatious attempts to bed Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver as a customer who needs the help of the paranormal experts), Venkman is comedic genius.

That certainly isn't meant to belittle Aykroyd, Ramis, and Weaver who, along with Rick Moranis as the geek living next door to Dana and Annie Potts as the overworked and sassy Ghostbusters' secretary, provide ample reason to watch.  In fact, with the exception of Ernie Hudson as newly hired Ghostbuster #4 Winston -- a character who is given nothing to do and adds nothing to the plot whatsoever in terms of either comedy or purpose -- Ghostbusters is filled with characters you'd desire to see again.

Despite moving at a rather rapid pace, the film's conclusion does seem a little anti-climactic to me and feels like a jumbled mess at moments.  For that reason, Ghostbusters doesn't quite make it into The Personal Canon despite the fact that I did enjoy taking this nostalgia trip with the gang on the big screen again.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - North

North (1994)

Starring Elijah Wood, Jon Lovitz, Bruce Willis, Matthew McCurly, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Alan Arkin, Dan Aykroyd, Reba McEntire, Kathy Bates, John Ritter, Faith Ford, and Scarlett Johannson

Directed by Rob Reiner

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

***Posted as part of the Elijah Wood Early 90s Mini Film Festival***

I remember watching North as a kid and thinking that I really liked it.  I also remember watching a 1994 Year in Review show on Siskel and Ebert and Siskel called this film "deplorable."  I was livid that Siskel hated this.  How dare he!  But, for some reason or another, I never watched this movie again.  Until today, that is, and I can now fully understand why Siskel trashed it.

North (Elijah Wood) is your average run-of-the-mill young kid who does quite well in school, has the starring roles in plays, and is quite adept at hitting a baseball.  The problem is that his parents (Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus) don't pay him any mind, finding themselves too wrapped up in their miserable jobs to notice their son.  Fed up, North decides that he's going to take his parents to court and ask the judge (Alan Arkin) to allow him to find new parents.  The judge agrees and North sets out on his mission that takes him to Texas, Hawaii, Alaska, and New York where he meets both a wide array of kooky and quirky adults vying for him to be their son and a guardian angel of sorts (Bruce Willis) who pops up in every scene to remind North that maybe he really belongs back home with his real folks.

My problem with the film is that it just isn't funny and it is attempting to be.  The jokes are horrendous.  Here's a sample of one:  When North visits Hawaii, he asks why Mr. and Mrs. Ho want him to be their son.  Mr. Ho responds by saying, "Hawaii is a lush and fertile land.  In fact, there's only one barren area on all our islands.  Unfortunately, it's Mrs. Ho."  Yep, that's the kind of humor we're talking about.

Maybe at 14, I thought this was a rather adult kid's movie.  Seeing as how I had two younger brothers, I was still in the phase where I was being taken to see the most "kiddie" of kid movies and with North's bad language and talk about sex, maybe I thought it was a bit edgy.  Nowadays, it just doesn't work.

Still, I must give credit where credit is due.  I actually really liked the subplot about North's best friend Winchell (Matthew McCurly), a school newspaper reporter who starts a Che-like revolution amongst the kids across the country, telling them to stand up to their parents and take control of their lives.  Clever and well acted (even if it is played over-the-top), any scene with McCurly at least brought a bit of a relief from the onslaught of godawful auditioning parents.

In preparation for this review, I found the Siskel and Ebert clip of them reviewing it and Ebert throws out the line "I hated this movie as much as any movie we've ever reviewed in the nineteen years we've been doing this show."  While I wouldn't go that far, North is a movie that simply doesn't work...and it certainly makes me question my cinematic tastes from back in the day.

The RyMickey Rating:  D-