Category: Comedy

“Saturday Night”

8.2

With Aaron Sorkin level dialogue and walk and talks, this one won me over almost immediately. Then, you get into the fantastically realistic representations of the cast and the chaos of live TV, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire runtime. I knew it would be good, but I didn’t expect it to be great. Every member of the cast is perfectly paired with their role and every single frame of film is used to its fullest potential. There’s a beautiful chaos alongside the razor sharp writing that balance each other out much better than expected. Highly recommend, and look forward to this cast making their way into more projects in Hollywood!

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”

8.1

The movie itself is everything you can really ask of an unnecessary sequel ~35 years after the original. Michael Keaton seamlessly slips back into the Beetlejuice character and Jenna Ortega absolutely kills it as Astrid Deetz. Just enough new perfectly balanced with the right dose of nostalgia to thread the needle for a great time in the cinema. The Tim Burton aesthetic remains undefeated.

What made this one special for me was the venue. As I made my way through Iowa for a baseball game and a football game at the grad school I attended virtually during COVID, I stumbled upon The Last Picture House in Davenport, Iowa, which I cannot recommend highly enough. From the lobby built for hangouts with new and old friends, to the rooftop outdoor showtimes, to the cinnamon sugar for topping popcorn… it’s a 10/10 for me. AND Dolby Cinema!

https://www.lastpicturehouse.com/home/

“Babes”

7.8

This was SO GOOD! I expected funny, but not laugh out loud the entire time funny. This one left the entire theater in stitches. There was an authenticity that took the comedy over the top and really made it fire on all cylinders. Instead of going for pure slapstick, it had a great deal of genuine heart under the hood that made the buy-in that much stronger and the laughs hit that much harder. There’s an unabashed quality here that not many films have nowadays. Perfectly cast and expertly executed. From the hairstyles of the OB/GYN to the doula embracing the prom theme for the birth. We were all here for every bit of the magical messiness.

“Incoming”

7.8

Just a good old fashioned raunchy high school coming of age comedy. Chef’s kiss. No more, no less. I was pleasantly surprise by how well this one nailed the ambiance of the genre and played it’s part perfectly. It didn’t take itself too seriously and didn’t overthink things.

Appropriate? Not in the slightest.

Hilarious? You bet your ass.