Comedy – Page 11 – cinemescope

100 Word Review – Strictly Ballroom (1992)

May 24, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, RomanceTagged Australian, Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann, Comedy, dancing, mockumentary, Paul Mercurio, Romance, Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby3 Comments

Directed by Baz Luhrmann (Romeo + Juliet, The Great Gatsby) shows off his style and sense of humour in this wonderful, quirky Australian comedy.

Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio) is tipped to win the Pan Pacific Ballroom Dancing Championship, until dancing non-regulation steps loses him his dancing partner. With an overbearing mother living through his successes, will he risk dancing his own steps? And if so, will he find someone to dance with him?

This film is dramatic and hilarious. Part-mockumentary, part romantic comedy, full of feather boas, extraordinary hair styles and some toe-tapping tunes. It is guaranteed to make you smile!

100 Word Review – Pretty In Pink (1986)

May 19, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, RomanceTagged 1980s, Andrew McCarthy, Comedy, James Spader, John Hughes, Jon Cryer, Molly Ringwald, Romance, teen2 Comments

John Hughes is, of course, the king of the teen film; this is the jewel in his crown.

High school student Andie (Molly Ringwald, who else?!) finds herself infatuated with “richy” Blane (Andrew McCarthy) as her childhood friend Duckie (Jon Cryer) vies for her affection.

Silly names aside, all of these characters are endearing in their own way. If on first viewing you find the plot predictable I would remind you that this is the film all other teen flicks are based on.

It has the punchy soundtrack you would expect of the 1980s as well as the fashion sense.

100 Word Review – Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

May 15, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-RatedTagged a cappella, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Anna Kendrick, Barack Obama, Bardon Bellas, Brittany Snow, Comedy, David Cross, Elizabeth Banks, Hailee Steinfeld, John Michael Higgins, Musical, Pitch Perfect, Rebel Wilson, Snoop DoggLeave a comment

Aca-believe it, the Bellas are back, and this time they are going global!

After an incident involving Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and Barack Obama, the Bardon Bellas are thrown off the a cappella circuit. In an attempt to reclaim their title, they head for the ultimate competition, World Champions.

This is Elizabeth Banks’ directorial debut and it is an absolute beauty.

Funny, feisty and feminist, the cast is superb, the songs are great; the film is just fantastic.

No, it’s not as good as the first one, but as far as sequels go, this one’s up there with the greats.

100 Word Review – Fright Night (2011)

May 14, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged Anton Yelchin, bizarre, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Comedy, David Tennant, Horror, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, VampiresLeave a comment

I haven’t seen the 1985 original, but if it is anything like this, it’s now the top of my to-do list.

Anton Yelchin (Star Trek (2009)) stars as a teenager who realises that his small town is being secretly ravaged by a vampire (Colin Farrell) and goes looking for a vampire hunter to help him.

David Tennant (Doctor Who), Toni Collette (Little Miss Sunshine), Imogen Poots (28 Weeks Later) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) make up the amazing supporting cast of this bizarre and unexpected film.

Although technically a horror, its pocket aces are its sense of comic timing and penchant for the ridiculous.

100 Word Review – Life Is Beautiful (1997)

May 14, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, DramaTagged Comedy, Drama, holocaust, Italy, Oscar, Roberto Benigni, war, WWIILeave a comment

Well aware that I sound like a sports commentator, this really is a film of two halves.

Set in Italy in the build-up to WWII, a Jewish man falls in love, starts a family and uses his imagination in an attempt to shield them from the harsh realities.

Roberto Benigni co-wrote, directed and starred in this moving and emotionally draining portrayal of world events on a personal scale. It is at moments hilarious, the first half is full of Chaplin-esque humour. The second half is…

Just watch it. You will laugh, and you will cry.

Here’s Benigni receiving his Oscar:

100 Word Review – The Philadelphia Story (1940)

May 12, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, Drama, RomanceTagged 1940s, Cary Grant, Comedy, Donald Ogden Stewart, Drama, George Cukor, High Society, James Stewart, Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, RomanceLeave a comment

As it’s her birthday, today we are going for another classic Katherine Hepburn masterpiece.

Tracy Lord (Hepburn)’s ex-husband (Cary Grant) and a tabloid reported (James Stewart) turn up a few days before her second wedding, making her question what type of woman she is and what type of man she should marry.

Fantastic cast and director George Cukor (My Fair Lady, A Star is Born) aside, the script is a masterpiece which won Donald Ogden Stewart an Oscar for best script. Stewart won Leading Actor.

It was remade in to musical High Society (1956), but it doesn’t compare to the original.

100 Word Review – Bringing Up Baby (1938)

May 11, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-Rated, RomanceTagged 1930s, Cary Grant, Comedy, Dudley Nichols, farce, Hagar Wilde, Howard Hawks, Katherine Hepburn, leopard, RomanceLeave a comment

This is the film in which I fell in love with Katherine Hepburn.

Cary Grant plays a mild-mannered, confused palaeontologist who is swept up in the whirlwind that is heiress Susan (Hepburn) and her pet leopard, Baby.

A great, fun film, farcical and wittily written by Hagar Wilde (Carefree) and Dudley Nichols (Stagecoach), and directed by Howard Hawks (His Girl Friday). It’s romantic, it’s risqué and it’s roll-around-on-the-floor funny. I’m not exaggerating.

“It isn’t that I don’t like you, Susan, because, after all, in moments of quiet, I’m strangely drawn toward you, but – well, there haven’t been any quiet moments.”

100 Word Review – The Heat (2013)

May 10, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Action, Comedy, F-RatedTagged Action, buddy, Comedy, cop, FBI, Katie Dippold, Melissa McCarthy, Paul Feig, Sandra Bullock2 Comments

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarty star in this truly excellent F-rated film, one of the biggest grossing movies of 2013.

Ashburn (Bullock), an uptight FBI agent, is paired with Mullins (McCarthy) a rough-around-the-edges street cop. They must learn to work together to bring down a ruthless drug lord.

Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) and writer Katie Dippold (currently writing Ghostbusters (2016)) work together brilliantly, bringing in the best bits of cop dramas and buddy comedies to create the best action comedy of recent years.

This is not a “nice” film nor a “girly” film, but one which will have you laughing for days.

100 Word Review – Pitch Perfect (2012)

May 8, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., Comedy, F-RatedTagged a cappella, Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Comedy, Elizabeth Banks, Jason Moore, John Michael Higgins, Musical, Rebel Wilson, singing, university1 Comment

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I presumed I would hate it. I could not have been more wrong.

Anna Kendrick stars as Beca, a freshman who is determined to become a music producer. She joins The Bellas, one of the university’s singing groups, against her wishes, and “changes the face of a cappella”.

There is a little more to it than that, but you’ll have to watch it. Yes, there is a lot of singing (it’s about a cappella!), but there is enough humour (gross-out and otherwise) to keep even the biggest grouch entertained. Watch it!

100 Word Review – Election (1999)

May 7, 2015March 6, 2016Posted in 100 Words..., ComedyTagged About Schmidt, adaptation, Alexander Payne, Comedy, dark, election, high school, humour, manipulation, Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Sideways, The Descendants, vengenceLeave a comment

An Oscar-nominated comedy which felt somehow fitting for today.

Whatever you think of Reese Witherspoon, this film is brilliant and she shines as the obsessive high-achieving student determined to become student body president. Matthew Broderick stars as the teacher who gets in her way.

Directed by Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways, The Descendants), although it may be set in a high-school, this is not a teen comedy. It is certainly not Ferris Bueller!

Witherspoon is truly chilling and plays off Broderick’s frustrated civics teacher beautifully. The result is a dark, dark comedy with underlying themes of vengeance, fixation and manipulation.