Nobody Review

What's utterly fascinating is how violence is OK if the mayhem ends with a wink. The 2018 remake of "Death Wish" was trashed by critics (today sitting at an 18% on Rotten Tomatoes), yet "Nobody," at the time of this writing, has a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. Why is that? Both released shortly after a tragic public shooting, a fact critics couldn't help but have on their minds while writing their reviews. Film criticism is subjective of course, and who knows? Maybe "Nobody" is just that much a better film? Perhaps "Death Wish" talked gun politics instead of just showing guns in action? I don't have those answers- I dunno, I thought those were pretty good questions.

It's not entirely fair to compare these two pictures, despite the fact that "Nobody" owes a large part of its narrative to the franchise that made Charles Bronson a star in the seventies as it does the recent "John Wick" movies. In fact it's written by the creator of the Keanu Reeves pictures, Derek Kolstad, who's script probably looked a lot like this:

Bang bang. Punch punch. Bad guy dead. Good guy alive. Good guy curls his left eyebrow. Next scene

It doesn't contain nearly as much humor to push it into parody territory, but any film willing to have Christopher Lloyd walk around with a shotgun blasting guys a third his age is not playing it totally straight.

The actual plot is vague and loose, with Bob Odenkirk playing Hutch Mansell, a boring family guy who, after his house is burglarized, is patronized by his son, coworker, neighbor and it gets to him. Turns out he's an ex-auditor, which is movie-speak for what amounts to "a government hitman." His itchy trigger finger eventually gets to him, and soon he rides the bus looking to trouble, and finds it quickly, putting the punks in the hospital. Turns out one of them is the younger brother of a Russian drug lord, and well, uh, that's the movie. What follows are a lot of fisticuffs and gunfights, stylized like the Wick films and every bit as brutal.

This means of course the action is easy to follow, frequent and generally thrilling, but it's all been seen before. Hutch booby traps his office like 2019's "Rambo: Last Blood," and blood, limbs and body flies in all directions, all onscreen. And I rooted for it, every moment of it. Action movies and thrillers have long suffered from overstuffed spectacle, and for all its cinematic familiarity, it's still refreshing to see humans in front of a camera on an actual set instead of greenscreens.

I'm giving "Nobody" three-stars because it does what it sets out to do: entertain. I cannot endorse that the violence onscreen is in good taste, in general or in light of recent events, and I certainly won't advise anyone to step into a theater during a pandemic. But it accomplishes its modest goal with modest success; this is not your dad's "Death Wish," only it's exactly that, and you'll probably enjoy it just as much.

Coming 2 America Review

Eddie Murphy is funny- no one is denying that. Even when beset by box office failures, he's always just one "comeback" film away from being on top of his game. "Coming 2 America," sequel to "Coming to America," debuts on Amazon Prime and, well, if you think watching Eddie Murphy play Zamunda prince, now king, surrounded by a cast of Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Tracey Morgan, Wesley Snipes, and much more, then go watch it. I'm sure you'll laugh.

But the film is a curiosity in antiquity, where jokes that may have been appropriate in 1988, the year of the original, may no longer be so "OK." In 2021, comedies need to be careful not to offend anyone, and "Coming 2 America's" way around such political correctness is not to necessarily avoid such hot topics, but instead to identify what's happening as "wrong," and then simply go forward with the joke. Not that that's a bad thing, or is it?

Take for example the character of Reverend Brown, played by Hall, who is referred to as "the sexist preacher," or something to that effect. Why is he in the film at all if he's sexist? It begs the question: is that even a problem?

I'm getting off topic though. The big thing is that this long-awaited sequel is bright, energetic, and it's scattershot script fires in many directions and is bound to hit something that'll make you laugh. Or smile. Or at the very least, grin in mild amusement. Actually, actively not turning off the app and watching Netflix is the "very least." That my friends, was my reaction.

That was my take away at least, having not seen the original.

*gasp

That's right readers, this author has never seen the first in this series, which is only now a series. Why? Why not, that's a better question. More often than not, sequels just retell the same story with mostly all new jokes- I'd rather have a good time today with a film made today, then to soak up all the enjoyment of cinema from yesterday. Whether or not that makes any sense is irrelevant; this is a film review of a long-gestating continuation of something made over thirty years ago.

A lot of this has nothing to do with the final product I'll admit. Maybe I'm just not all that interested in describing the plot to a comedy where people in the 50s and 60s play an upward of four characters. You can see them sweating through their pounds of make-up as they come in for the punchline. If you have to strain for the laugh, are you sure the script is even worth it?

The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Review

It's entirely unfair to expect the third "SpongeBob" movie, "Sponge on the Run," to strike the line between "kids" and "adult" entertainment ala Pixar, because Pixar this very much isn't. This is ninety something minutes of optical empty calories, bright and colorful simply to keep kids entertained while giving "fans" of the series more to either laud or laugh about online.

A familiar tale about friendship stretched to feature film length by celebrity cameos, inside jokes, a "Titanic" reference and at least two musical numbers. In that respect, this "Paramount+" original, at least here in the states, is more reminiscent of the "DreamWorks" catalogue; you watch it, maybe you enjoy it, but it's not going to stay with you.

The story this time around is this: SpongeBob's (Tom Kenny) snail Gary is kidnapped (*sigh* "snailnapped") by the evil Plankton (Mr. Lawrence), so that he can steal the Krabby Patty secret formula without our absorbent titular hero saving the day. His best friend Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) tag along for the ride, and, well, that's about it. Every time you think the duo are just about to retrieve the gastropod, something inconsequential happens, and more often than not, it's a saccharine assault to the eyes and ears.

Though the plot is as dull as ocean water, the animation is charming, the 3D visuals full of personality and offers a unique look on the ubiquitous universe. This is a multimillion dollar flick and it shows, an expensive method of delivering what is otherwise a regular episode of the show.

At least all this respects its franchise, with each joke, reference, and moment onscreen having something to do with the greater "SpongeBob" world, unlike the recent "Tom & Jerry." And it'll no doubt do well for the newborn "Paramount+" subscription service as it goes up against the streaming stalwarts.

But the biggest success here is being a movie for children that never insults them; oh sure, the whole ending is one big lesson in acceptance, but it uses characters kids know about, in the show's own terms.

Without the novelty of the first one SpongeBob movie or the the fish- I mean "sponge" out of water gimmick of the second, this third one goes back to basics and delivers just enough personality to stand up against its predecessors. Look, "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run" is no masterpiece, but it's a serviceable digital babysitter.