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What's Your Number? (2011)
What's Your Number? (2011)
2011 | Comedy
6
5.8 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
According to a study published in a ladies’ magazine, the average woman will have a maximum of 10 sexual partners, and apparently, the higher your number of sexual partners, the lower your chances of ever finding Mr. Right. Ally, played by Anna Faris, takes this study to heart and after conducting her own study, masked as a bachelorette party game, she realizes her number is dangerously above average.

After running into an ex who went from disgusting to dashing, Ally decides her number can’t go up if she revisits the exes she’s already accumulated, to see if any others have made similar transformations. However, looking them up, even in the age of Google, proves to be a daunting task. Luckily for Ally, her cad of a neighbor, Colin, played by oft-naked Chris Evans, just happens to be quite skilled in cyber-snooping. In exchange for tracking down her exes, Colin gets to use Ally’s apartment to escape his one-night-stands that are just a little slow to leave.

I’m a sucker for a good romantic comedy, no matter how silly or predictable. I had high hopes for an Anna Faris-Chris Evans pairing. Both are easy on the eyes, endearingly charming and have great comic timing. Together, they provided the majority of the lighter moments and sure, they could both show off their exceptional physiques as often as they want and no one will complain. With slightly tamer glimpses of “Bridesmaids” and a few delightfully awkward moments, Faris proves yet again, she can carry a movie. Unfortunately, the story, based on a book by Karyn Bosnak, felt stretched to fill the running time of 106 minutes, even with a strong but underused cast of exes, that included Faris’ real-life love Chris Pratt, Andy Samberg and Joel McHale.
  
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
1972 | Classics, Comedy, Romance
6.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I have to include a Woody Allen film in the list. I’m not sure which one, though. I love him dearly. I mean, he’s such an inspiration to me. And again, this list could change — and particularly, his movie choice could change tomorrow or this afternoon. The one I always love rewatching for pure comedy, for just gags that really resonate with me — which he didn’t direct, but it’s based on a play that he wrote — is Play It Again, Sam, which just has a couple of comic set pieces that really amuse me. I can watch them endlessly. And it’s sort of one of those movies that I always make other people watch or I loan to people. If they take as much joy in them as much as me, then I know that we’re going to be friends for life. [Woody Allen] plays a film critic, funnily enough, and he is sort of given romantic advice by the ghost of Humphrey Bogart, and Bogie appears throughout in places to offer him love advice. But as he sort of points out, you know, “I’m not you.” It’s him trying to sort of romance girls and meet women after his marriage falls apart. But it’s very, very funny, and it just — a bit like After Hours, in a way — it sort of captures the desperation of single men, single men who don’t feel comfortable chasing girls. It has loads of very funny set pieces. It has a sequence where he’s setting up his apartment for a blind date, which is just, to me, one of the most inspired comic routines I’ve ever seen. It’s physical, but it’s verbal as well; it’s sort of him at his most charming, effortless. It’s really good."

Source
  
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Merissa (11768 KP) created a post

Mar 13, 2021  
#NEW LOVED BY A KRAKEN by Alexa Piper (@ProwlingPiper) is LIVE NOW!

  🦑🦑🦑

A demon and a coder find themselves falling in love while witches try to pull them apart in this adult PNR small town romantic comedy novella. So if you are looking for hot shifter demons, some wicked witches, and a quick, funny and steamy read, then Loved by Kraken will be just right for you.

It is book two in an adult PNR standalone romance novella series Demon Entanglements published by Changeling Press (@changelingpress).

A coder and a kraken demon run into one another in a dream, but can they make it in the waking world as well?

---

BLURB

Fian needs to find a suitable plus one for his brother’s wedding, and since his demon brother is marrying a human, Fian decides to bring a human to the wedding as well. If he gets lucky, he might even find one who isn’t dull or dumb.

Kiara gave up her life in the city to move to a small town where she sells jams, except she isn’t sure why she did that. Coding was her love, and jams were not. Then, just after she broke up with her ex because he cheated on her, a handsome stranger walks into Kiara’s store and from there straight into her dreams.

While Fian discovers humans come in more flavors than he had thought, jealous witches close in on Fian and Kiara. Will the coder and the demon be able to find love despite the wicked magic? And are tentacles still amazing outside of dreams?

---

PURCHASE NOW!

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3dgxYh2

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---

#LovedByAKraken #DemonEntanglements #AlexaPiper #MagicPenBookTours #AvailableNow #NewBook #NewRelease #fantasyromance #paranormalromance #romcom #PNR #romcomreads #romancereaders #shifterromance #smalltownromance #fantasy #bookstagram #instareads #igreads #fantasybooks #fantasylover #urbanfantasy #quickread #novella #supernaturalhumor #paranormalromancelovers #bookgram
     
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Hang the Moon in Books

May 27, 2021  
Hang the Moon
Hang the Moon
Alexandria Bellefleur | 2021 | Erotica, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, LGBTQ+, Romance
7
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A hopeful and winning romance
This companion to WRITTEN IN THE STARS focuses on Darcy's brother Brendon, creator of the dating app OTP and a hopeless romantic. Brendon feels stressed out when the latest research numbers show that perhaps not everyone using dating apps believes as deeply in true love as he does. This includes, Annie, Darcy's best friend and Brendon's long ago crush. Annie arrives in Seattle to surprise Darcy, who just happens to be on a little getaway with her girlfriend, Elle. So Brendon steps up, delivering the keys to Darcy's place and... a series of dates designed to show Annie romance still exists. As for Annie, well she doesn't protest too much. After all, despite swearing off love, she discovers that Darcy's brother has grown up into a pretty handsome and funny guy. She's enjoying their time together. But she's only in Seattle for a few weeks, so Brendon has his work cut out for him.

"You couldn't be disappointed when someone stopped caring if you never expected them to in the first place."

I really enjoyed WRITTEN IN THE STARS and Darcy and Elle's story, so I was excited to read the next book in the series. I liked Brendon's tale, but not quite as much as Darcy and Elle's, mostly because I'm from the LGBTQIA community, and it was so refreshing to have a f/f story in Darcy and Elle. Still, Brendon is such a cutie, and his unyielding faith in love is pretty sweet.

Annie is a good addition to the group--she shows up a bit in book one. She is, of course, the complete opposite of Brendon: completely apathetic about love. But when she arrives in Seattle for a two-week vacation, with some life-changing news for Darcy, and her best friend isn't there, she can't help but enjoy her time with Brendon. Brendon resolves to use his favorite romantic films as a blueprint to woo Annie, but it turns into a comedy of errors, with nothing really turning out the way he planned.

"'Let's say that I needed to prove to someone that romance isn't dead.'"

Many of their interactions are humorous and the banter witty and funny, though I felt the "optimist" versus "pessimist," "will she stay or will she go" storyline was rehashed a bit much, as the plot gets hung up and stagnates for a bit until things pick up again. But, Brendon's sweet personality and Annie's willingness to give new things a try carry the book, along with its overall humor. It's nice to get some appearances from Darcy and Elle, though it severely lacks enough Margo (thank goodness she's the focus of book three).

Overall, this is a cute romance featuring winning leads. It's repetitive in places, but also flirty and fun. 3.5 stars, rounded up here.
  
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
The best Spider-Man so far?
Let's face it, Spider-Man has been through it over the years in his various incarnations, and Marvel had a tough job ahead of them to bring him into the Marvel universe. Whilst they managed this pretty well in Captain America and Homecoming, it's only in Far From Home that Spidey truly shines in his own right.

For starters, this is a very fun and entertaining film and makes for a refreshing antidote to the rather heavy and sad Endgame. It of course has references to the events of Endgame, but fortunately doesn't go too heavy on the weepy bits. I wouldn't have been able to cope if they had! Instead this has a lot of fun humour and a fairly adorable romantic plot with two very awkward teenagers, which is still entertaining even if we do all know how it'll turn out. Tom Holland is by far the best Spider-Man we've ever had and he suits this role perfectly. Finally a Spider-Man that looks and sounds like a teenager (even if Tom Holland technically isn't...)! Jake Gyllenhaal isnt someone you'd expect to see in a superhero film, but I actually think he was marvellous as Mysterio, especially towards the second half of the film- no spoilers! I'm also so glad that Happy is back, I know Jon Favreau has been off directing etc but I do wish Happy was around more in some of the Marvel films as he's great for the comedy and I loved him in this.

My only criticism is it felt like it dragged a little in parts. That's actually the only bad thing I have to say about it. Even the end credit scenes were a bit more exciting than some have been in the past, especially the mid credits which has a very welcome cameo.

This is by far the best Spider-Man film we've seen, and I can't wait to see what they do next.
  
Rec 3: Genesis (2012)
Rec 3: Genesis (2012)
2012 | Horror, Thriller
6
6.4 (7 Ratings)
Movie Rating
If you enjoyed the success of the first two [Rec] films in which a reporter and camera crew where stuck in a apartment block over run with flesh eating tenants as a result of a strange virus then you’ll probably still enjoy this. The sequel followed on after the events of the first film and for this the location has changed from apartment block to a glamorous Spanish wedding.

The opening twenty minutes are shot from the viewpoint of a handheld camera by one of the guests as well as the occasional cut shot to the official wedding videographer. For Clara (Leticia Dolera) and Koldo (Diego Martín) this is the happiest day of their lives and we witness everything from the arrival of the guests, service and the wedding breakfast. The film then suddenly turns on its head when one of the guests starts showing the signs of a strange illness, then the shit hits the fan.

The handheld camera shot is abruptly dropped in a neat edit that adds in the title sequence, although we still get glimpses of flesh eating carnage from security cameras scattered around the venue. Clara and Koldo the pair are separated amidst all the mayhem and they have to fight their way back together, how romantic.

The first film’s apartment block location had the effectiveness of delivering high tension in a relatively enclosed and tight space, with Génesis the location is more vast and so at times it doesn’t feel as gripping, given also that some of the occurances happen in broad daylight.

Once the film gets going the gore is ramped up a few more levels, and when Clara turns into some sort of bridezilla complete with ripped wedding dress and chainsaw any more scares are lost in the comedy of death scenes for the unlucky few who choose to get in her way. It is certainly not the best of the three but it offers enough to keep the connections of the story-line going, perhaps even for one more film?
  
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Merissa (11768 KP) created a post

Dec 20, 2021  
In the mood for a romantic comedy? Overachiever is FREE on Amazon until Wednesday! You can grab it here:

Amazon US https://amzn.to/3rKBBR9
Amazon CA https://amzn.to/3pH7UhU
Amazon UK https://amzn.to/2KKotek
Universal link https://geni.us/Overachiever

"Overachiever was hands down one of the best rom coms I have ever read. One word. Banter. It has that in spades and gets better as you read as if that's even possible!" -- #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Rachel Van Dyken

"Overachiever is a snort inducing, laugh out loud sweet romance that you absolutely need to read." -- Melissa Teo, Booksmacked

It started with a summer job and a ridiculous sex dream.

If you were to ask my friends to describe me, they’d tell you I’m an ambitious person. Responsible, driven, and focused on my goals. Words like stubborn and uptight would probably get thrown in there too. I’m not sure about that, but I know who I’m not.

I’m not the woman who lets a guy derail me from my plans. Watching others make that mistake has taught me well. No serious dating. No relationship until I’m successfully settled into my career. That’s the promise I made to myself and I’m determined to keep it.

Despite being an excellent student, there’s one lesson I fear I’ve learned too late. Funny men aren’t as harmless as they seem and should be avoided at all times. They sneak in under your radar and end up under your skirt. One second you’re laughing. The next you’re hunting for your underwear on a hotel room floor. Believe me, it’s not worth it.

If only my heart would stop screaming louder than my brain, I might be able to believe that Owen falls into that category. He’s my friend, but every day we spend together in this hotel, or working on our summer job building houses for charity, the harder it gets to convince myself we shouldn’t be more.

Years of diligence, and I’m being destroyed by a goofy smile.
     
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Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Deadpool (2016) in Movies

Jun 10, 2019 (Updated Jun 10, 2019)  
Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool (2016)
2016 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
A Valentine's weekend wonder
It’s hard to believe that one of Marvel’s hottest properties – Deadpool, has taken this long to get to the silver screen. Of course, we can always cast our minds back to 2009’s disastrous X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But for goodness sake, let’s not.

Here, after much petitioning from fans and Reynolds himself, Deadpool finally gets his own origins story, directed by Tim Miller in his debut feature film. But was it worth the wait?

Ryan Reynolds returns as a much more faithful representation of Wade Wilson, a small-time mercenary going through the motions until a shock cancer diagnosis makes him rethink his life – and career prospects, at the cost of losing touch with his love interest, Vanessa, played by the incredibly beautiful Morena Baccarin.

Naturally, a villain in the shape of Ed Skrein’s Ajax, provides the film with its main opposition, though a few other one-dimensional characters appear alongside him every so often. Unfortunately, they make little impact throughout the course of Deadpool and even Skrein suffers next to Reynolds potty-mouthed Wilson.

MV5BMjE3MzI3NzAwOV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDc2Nzc5NzE@._V1__SX1303_SY615_
Brianna Hildebrand, Ryan Reynolds and Stefan Kapicic. Photo by 20th Century Fox.

And ta da! The red-suited antihero is born, much like any other Marvel origins story in fact. However, this is most definitely not your typical superhero flick. From gratuitous sex, violence, swearing and drug references, not to mention the character’s trademark breaking of the fourth wall, it’s all here – and you know what, it’s a breath of fresh air.

Reynolds is absolutely born to play this character and is the best we have seen him in years. Gone is the romantic comedy slop or stereotypical action hero he has portrayed over the last few years and in their place is a witty, incredibly self-aware persona that is one of Marvel’s greatest assets.

Elsewhere, the direction is so confident, and the design choices so slick, it’s difficult to fully comprehend that this is Tim Miller’s first feature film. From a brilliant set of opening credits that poke fun at the narcissism of Hollywood, to some excellent commentary on the superhero genre itself, it’s very cocky indeed and very very funny.

Naturally, not every gag lands on target, but that’s no surprise given that even the best comedies suffer from this. There’s also a lack of development beyond the titular character that hurts the film’s more romantic side, and with Deadpool’s lengthy running time, this could’ve been avoided somewhat.

Other than that, it’s pretty much spot on. Ryan Reynolds looks like he’s having a blast in front of the camera, and Tim Miller looks like he’s having a great time behind it. What about the old Fox and Marvel rivalry chestnut? Well, there’s not even a whiff of it – apart from a sarcastic remark that is.

Overall, Deadpool was a gamble and with Fox’s less than stellar reputation for fashioning decent films out of Marvel property, a huge one at that. But, against all the odds it has paid off spectacularly.

Keep this to yourselves, but it could quite possibly be the best comic-book adaptation to date.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/02/13/a-valentines-weekend-wonder-deadpool-review/
  
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
2018 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
Character Development (5 more)
Story
Art Direction
Soundtrack + Effects
Comedy, Action and Emotions
True to the Source
I've just recently come home from the cinema, and I can gladly say this was an amazing film. I may be looking at it through rose-coloured glasses, with how excited I was when we got the first trailer, but I can say with all sincerity that this film made me laugh, cry and blew away my expectations.
The film crosses over some iconic and some more obscure Spider-Man universes and manages to do it in a unique and palatable way. Each iteration of Spider-Man has a specific animation/art style, along with a specific soundtrack and extremely talented voice actors (or at least actors whose voices were made for the role: this meaning John Mulaney). Seeing all of this creative work come together in one film truly is an experience that I don't want people to miss out on.
A key part I really want to go into more is the use of colour and focus. It visuals of the film are vivid and attune to the tone of what scene is playing out. You can see how saturation and the palettes themselves are used the highlight characters or actions and are especially useful with emotional scenes. These emotions though are presented more with the composition which is consistently used to call back previous scenes in a subtle way that I absolutely adore.

The characters are very much real, most specifically in Miles and his family relationships. We see a real family dynamic that works - if I could point out a scene from a few trailers as an example, when Miles' father takes him to school and asks for him to say 'I love you' back really shows this realistic family that you could picture actually existing in the real world. The lack of a really existing romantic subplot is also something I love - the focus is on coming to terms with the fact that Miles isn't alone, that no one is. Without this romance, the film is just as good as any other, possibly even better with the fact that our potential romantic interest actually doesn't turn out to be.
The next thing that is certainly huge for any die-hard Marvel fans is the fact that it's very much true to the comic books. In the way its told, the way it's presented, and the actual story, the characters are all recognizable both by appearance and by their personalities/behaviours.
The only negative I can find for the film isn't even part of the film itself: Though the cinema gave warning for epilepsy, the film itself does not. While I'm sure theatres are required to give warning, it may be a good idea to give an on-screen warning, especially when the opening logo itself could easily trigger epilepsy.
Overall, I wish I could go back and watch it over and over, so I think most people will enjoy this film, no matter what their knowledge of the MCU is. An engaging story told in a creative way and with an incredibly hilarious after credits scene - worth a watch from everyone.
  
Renfield (2023)
Renfield (2023)
2023 | Comedy, Horror
7
6.4 (5 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Cage feels Caged-In
Sometime you are in the mood for a drama, sometimes an action flick, other times a romantic comedy.

And then there are times you just want to watch Nicholas Cage camping it up on-screen as Dracula.

If that is the mood you are in, boy do I have a movie for you.

Based (very loosely) on the character created by Bram Stoker (and the classic 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi), RENFIELD tells the tale of an over-the-top Dracula in modern times as seen through his “familiar”, Renfield.

Nicholas Hoult (Beast in the latest series of X-Men films) plays Renfield as a put-upon assistant to Dracula - kind of a comedy/horror version of the relationship of Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - and it works (for the most part). Hoult is a winning (enough) and sympathetic presence on screen and you find yourself rooting for him in the end.

The surprising thing to me in this film is the sub-plot of Renfield finding love with a Police Office portrayed by (of all people) Awkwafina. This comedienne/actress has really grown on the BankofMarquis as a solid and dependable presence on screen and she doesn’t disappoint here. And that’s a good thing for the Renfield/Rebecca the Cop relationship ends up taking center stage during the 2nd act of this film (moving Nic Cage’s Dracula off-screen for a long stretch of time) and it works for Hoult and Awkwafina play off each other very well.

As for Cage, his Dracula is off-center, wacky, frenetic and out-of-this world. A true fish-out-of-water. But…if I’m being honest…his performance feels reigned in and it didn’t go far enough out-of-the-box and didn’t get nearly crazy enough for my tastes.

When something like that happens, one needs to look no further than the Director and Chris McKay (THE LEGO MOVIE, THE TOMORROW WAR) has a track record (at least for the BankofMarquis) of pulling his punches - and he pulls many, many punches in this film. But, he also DOESN’T pull punches at times (like in the scene where one guy gets his arms ripped off and then these arms are used as nunchucks on a bevy of bad guys). He doesn’t really know how far or how outlandish he should go. So he filters in a comedic amount of blood and gore - and then reigns Cage in. It’s an odd choice.

If you decide to watch Renfield, you already know what to expect - and for the most part you get it - except in the one spot that you really need it.

Letter Grade: B

7 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)