Tag: Rebel Wilson

Movie Review: “How to Be Single”

February 11, 2016 / David Medsker

Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann, Anders Holm, Nicholas Braun, Jake Lacy, Damon Wayans Jr., Jason Mantzoukas

Christian Ditter

Don’t let the dirty talk and rampant sex fool you: “How to Be Single” is as safe as kittens. It might be the most harmless raunch-com ever made, a mash-up of several other mediocre relationship films (and one baby film) rolled into one profane package. The four leads sell it as well as they can, but this film was going to be a nonstarter regardless of whom they cast.

Alice (Dakota Johnson) meets cute with Josh (Nicholas Braun) during their freshman year at college. Fast-forward four years, and Alice is moving out of the New York apartment she and Josh share in order to have some ‘me’ time, thinking she will get a feel for being alone, and that will give her a whole new appreciation for being part of a couple. It’s meant to be temporary. It turns into something else.

Alice moves into her sister Meg’s apartment. Meg (Leslie Mann) is a careerist obstetrician who’s never thought of having a baby of her own, until she spends a few minutes alone with one (this after delivering over 3,000 of them); after which, getting pregnant is the only thing that matters to her.

Alice works at a law firm with Robin (Rebel Wilson). Robin is a party girl who has lots of indiscriminate sex. We are supposed to like Robin, even though she will either be dead or in rehab in three years.

Lucy (Alison Brie) doesn’t know Alice, Meg or Robin, but she lives above the bar that Alice and Robin frequent, and spends time in the bar mooching off of their Wi-Fi while she perfects her dating site algorithm to find her man. Bartender Tom (Anders Holm) is a player’s player, but he serves as Lucy’s wingman from time to time as she brings her algorithm contestants to the bar. Lucy, unknowingly, has Tom rethinking his life choices, though not before Tom has had sex with two of the other three leads.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Alison Brie Dakota Johnson Leslie Mann Rebel Wilson

Movie Review: “Pitch Perfect 2”

May 14, 2015 / David Medsker

Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Adam Devine, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Flula Borg

Elizabeth Banks

Second verse, same as the first. A little bit louder and, unfortunately, a little bit worse. “Pitch Perfect 2” is so, so very sequel. It finds room for characters who have no business returning for the second installment. It plays matchmaker, and lots of it. Money is not an issue for anyone at any point, even though there are several instances where it should be (these are college kids, after all). It gives far, far too much screen time to Rebel Wilson, and it has some galling product placement (Pantene and Dave and Buster’s, we’re looking in your direction).

In spite of all this, it’s also a massive crowd pleaser, filled with some ridiculously fun and elaborate song and dance routines and enough quality jokes to help the audience suffer through the less funny material (again, Wilson, mostly). The movie’s story structure is nearly identical to the first “Pitch Perfect.” If it’s missing anything, it’s the element of surprise. No one saw the first one coming, which is why it was a left-field hit, but this time, audiences are prepared, and can therefore see every plot development coming down Broadway.

The Barden University a cappella singing group the Barden Bellas, who have now won three straight college championships thanks to the leadership of Beca Mitchell (Anna Kendrick), perform for the President at Lincoln Center and suffer yet another humiliating mishap on stage that leads to their suspension, and the near-certain demise of the group. There is a loophole in the terms of their punishment, though, that allows them to compete for the world championship, and if they win that, the Bellas will be reinstated. No American group has ever won the world title, though, and they face stiff competition at the hands of Das Sound Machine, a group of two dozen German men and women who look like they were manufactured in a lab, a lab with lots of steroids. Cue the “Rocky” theme.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Anna Kendrick Brittany Snow Hailee Steinfeld Pitch Perfect 2 Pitch Perfect 2 review Rebel Wilson

Movie Review: “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb”

December 18, 2014 / David Medsker

Ben Stiller, Rebel Wilson, Dan Stevens, Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais, Ben Kingsley, Steve Coogan, Rami Malek

Shawn Levy

In a move that is both shrewd and a bit cynical, the final installment of the “Night at the Museum” series takes place (mostly) in London. The first two “Museum” films earned $560 million in worldwide box office, so the move makes financial sense as well as creative sense, since it gives the writers a chance to try new things. This turns out to be a smart move on all fronts, as “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” is easily the best of the bunch. The scripts have gotten progressively smarter, and director Shawn Levy executes a couple of stunning visual sequences the likes of which the “Museum” series has never seen.

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), night guard at the New York Museum of Natural History, is about to pull off a mind-blowing presentation with the help of his magically re-animated friends, but they start to behave erratically and cause a panic. He eventually discovers that the tablet of Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) is running out of power, and the only person who knows how to restore its power is his father Merenkahre (Sir Ben Kingsley), of whom there is a figure in the London Museum of Natural History. Larry pulls some strings to get both him and his son Nick (Skyler Gisondo) transferred to London to solve the problem, and they get a bunch of unexpected help along the way. Now they just need to get past every wax figure in the London museum, who have awoken for the first time and have no idea how this whole thing works.

Entertainment, Movie Reviews, Movies

Ben Stiller Night at the Museum Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb review Rebel Wilson Robin Williams