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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
After having spent the first two films focused on the common story of Dracula with a comedic spin and family focused story line. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation introduces the tale of Van Helsing and his family who have spent ages trying to exterminate Dracula and all the monsters of the world.
After centuries of running the Hotel Transylvania and escaping extinction, Drac (Adam Sandler), his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), and crew of oddball and lovable friends and family embark on their first vacation aboard a monstrous filled cruise ship headed for the lost city of Atlantis by way of the Bermuda Triangle. Feeling lonely, ready to find love again, Drac ends up ‘zinging’ with the human cruise director, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn). As you may recall from the first installment, to ‘zing’ only happens once in a monster’s life when two individuals first meet eyes, they find their true love and in that moment are meant to spend the rest of their lives together. Attempting to keep their rendezvous and connection a secret from Mavis, Drac decides to recruit his loyal subjects to help him distract his daughter. As the ship starts narrowing in on the Las Vegas-esque lost city of Atlantis, Mavis grows very suspicious of what her father is up to. She decides to start tracking his every move and realizes their vacation is not all it’s cracked up to be.
From the imaginative mind of Director Genndy Tartokovsky. HT3 is dazzling animated film that brings all the laughs, and humor that one can expect when Adam Sandler and his motley crew of usual suspects are involved. When you involve such talent as Steven Duscemi, Adam Sandberg, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, Kevin James, and Mel Brooks to helm the character voices, it’s guaranteed to be a fun filled ride that will keep you laughing from one moment to the next. A wise cracking, witty summer treat that teaches the importance of seeing past our differences and accepting people/monster’s for who they are and realize we’re not so different to begin with.
After centuries of running the Hotel Transylvania and escaping extinction, Drac (Adam Sandler), his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez), and crew of oddball and lovable friends and family embark on their first vacation aboard a monstrous filled cruise ship headed for the lost city of Atlantis by way of the Bermuda Triangle. Feeling lonely, ready to find love again, Drac ends up ‘zinging’ with the human cruise director, Ericka (Kathryn Hahn). As you may recall from the first installment, to ‘zing’ only happens once in a monster’s life when two individuals first meet eyes, they find their true love and in that moment are meant to spend the rest of their lives together. Attempting to keep their rendezvous and connection a secret from Mavis, Drac decides to recruit his loyal subjects to help him distract his daughter. As the ship starts narrowing in on the Las Vegas-esque lost city of Atlantis, Mavis grows very suspicious of what her father is up to. She decides to start tracking his every move and realizes their vacation is not all it’s cracked up to be.
From the imaginative mind of Director Genndy Tartokovsky. HT3 is dazzling animated film that brings all the laughs, and humor that one can expect when Adam Sandler and his motley crew of usual suspects are involved. When you involve such talent as Steven Duscemi, Adam Sandberg, Fran Drescher, Molly Shannon, Kevin James, and Mel Brooks to helm the character voices, it’s guaranteed to be a fun filled ride that will keep you laughing from one moment to the next. A wise cracking, witty summer treat that teaches the importance of seeing past our differences and accepting people/monster’s for who they are and realize we’re not so different to begin with.
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated The Hole Opportunity in Books
Nov 14, 2019
Colin Griggs is a farmer who tires of all the red tape and paperwork involved with traditional farming and decides to embark on a new venture - hole farming. Colin's lack of practicality is more than made up for by his wife Izzy who does her best to turn Colin's wild ideas into reality. When they win the contract to provide the holes for the newly refurbished local golf course, the future of Griggs Hole Farming seems assured. But not everything goes as expected...
This book is a good and well thought out farce in the mould of Tom Sharpe. There are misunderstandings and assumptions galore with a cast of characters designed to cause maximum friction between their personalities. The central concept - farming holes - means that no part of this can be taken seriously and is a delightfully surreal basis for the rest of the story to hang off of.
The book is essentially in three sections; the first concerns the setting up of Griggs Hole Farming and the golf course contract. Following this there are various accusations of attempted murder introducing the characters of the local reporter and various members of the police force. The third section involves the arrival of aristocracy to return the local stately home to its former glory, which requires several holes to be provided for the ornamental ponds.
I found the first and last thirds of the book humourous and witty, plenty of laugh out loud jokes and cringeworthy moments as befits a farce. The middle third I didn't enjoy anywhere near as much. I suspect this was mostly because people being arrested for attempted murder is not a very funny concept, even if the charges are obvouisly completely ridiculous and follow a bizarre series of events and assumptions. But once this part is over the third part returns to the form of the first with some terrific class snobbery and social climbing, the staple of many classic British comedies.
Overall this is an enjoyable book with plenty to recommend it. The middle section dropped a few marks for me
This book is a good and well thought out farce in the mould of Tom Sharpe. There are misunderstandings and assumptions galore with a cast of characters designed to cause maximum friction between their personalities. The central concept - farming holes - means that no part of this can be taken seriously and is a delightfully surreal basis for the rest of the story to hang off of.
The book is essentially in three sections; the first concerns the setting up of Griggs Hole Farming and the golf course contract. Following this there are various accusations of attempted murder introducing the characters of the local reporter and various members of the police force. The third section involves the arrival of aristocracy to return the local stately home to its former glory, which requires several holes to be provided for the ornamental ponds.
I found the first and last thirds of the book humourous and witty, plenty of laugh out loud jokes and cringeworthy moments as befits a farce. The middle third I didn't enjoy anywhere near as much. I suspect this was mostly because people being arrested for attempted murder is not a very funny concept, even if the charges are obvouisly completely ridiculous and follow a bizarre series of events and assumptions. But once this part is over the third part returns to the form of the first with some terrific class snobbery and social climbing, the staple of many classic British comedies.
Overall this is an enjoyable book with plenty to recommend it. The middle section dropped a few marks for me
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated The Gentlemen (2020) in Movies
Jan 6, 2020 (Updated Jan 6, 2020)
A funny angle
Gentleman is Guy Richie's attempt to bring the british gangster movies from the past back into the modern time and while it may just be an updated version of Snatch its a bloody enjoyable update. It seems like years ago now since I grew out of the 'British Gangster' film phase of my life and while I actaully find Snatch to be over rated myself instead much preferring Guy Richie's other work I can still understand why it has such a big following. Gentleman follows the same formula either deliberately or coincidentally and while this does feel repetative/outdated I couldnt help but be pulled in and deliciously entertained by it. Playing out a bit like reading a comic book Gentleman is satisfyingly violent, full of cusing/crudness and full of mostly satisfying twists and turns. At first I hated it but after the first 20 minutes I just let go and finally started getting back in to this sort of style. Full to the brim with exposition dialog but its handled in a refreshing new way which made hearing it less eye rolling and instead kept it constantly entertaining. Essentially one big power struggle between an assortment of characters non of which are actually very nice people but the ones Hugh Grant and Charlie hunnam play are extremely likeable. Watching these two interact on screen is the absolute bread and butter and they both play interesting characters both with very unique individual traits and characteristics. Colin Farrell is also superb and memorable too and the film has a wicked sense of humor that kept me laughing the whole way through. If you are easily offended its safe to say this is not the film for you as its not only full of extreame cursing but constant racism and violence too. By no means a perfect film or a gangster masterpiece Gentleman is still and absolute blast to watch and has enough twists/turns, quirky characters, witty dialog, fresh ideas, tension, violence/mucking about to entertain and offend pretty much anyone. Highly enjoyable.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Ride Along 2 (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube reprise their roles in Ride Along 2 which hits theaters this weekend. In the sequel, Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is a rookie cop seeking to prove his worth as he aspires to become a detective like his soon to be brother-in-law James, played by Ice Cube. After a stakeout to catch a local drug dealer doesn’t go as planned, due to Ben’s meddling, the two stumble upon a flash drive which leads them to Miami to investigate further. Once there, they find themselves facing off with an international drug and gun smuggler (Benjamin Bratt) with the help of tough Miami Detective, Maya Cruz (Olivia Munn).
Fans of the first film will not be disappointed in this sequel to the film which introduced us to the bumbling antics of Ben Barber and the seasoned veteran James Payton. Ride Along 2 succeeds where other “Buddy Cop” movies and sequels have failed in the past. There is great chemistry between Hart and Cube. The film features great comedic timing with the characters, as well as, a healthy amount of dramatic and relatable issues throughout. The jokes are fun, and, at times witty. The humor doesn’t look for the cheap laugh by recycling the same jokes from the previous film. The only real problem with the film is that the plot is too similar to the original in a number of ways. Ben finds himself wanting to prove he deserves to be a cop, not only to himself, but to James, as well.
They find themselves trying to bring down a criminal empire all by the end of the week when Ben is set to marry James’ sister. Despite some of the moments being a bit far-fetched, the film does not rely too many references to the original in order for people to follow along with the story. It can easily stand alone. Fans of the first film, as well, as those who love a good Police themed comedy will enjoy the ride. Hopefully, the Brothers-in-law will return for a third film.
Fans of the first film will not be disappointed in this sequel to the film which introduced us to the bumbling antics of Ben Barber and the seasoned veteran James Payton. Ride Along 2 succeeds where other “Buddy Cop” movies and sequels have failed in the past. There is great chemistry between Hart and Cube. The film features great comedic timing with the characters, as well as, a healthy amount of dramatic and relatable issues throughout. The jokes are fun, and, at times witty. The humor doesn’t look for the cheap laugh by recycling the same jokes from the previous film. The only real problem with the film is that the plot is too similar to the original in a number of ways. Ben finds himself wanting to prove he deserves to be a cop, not only to himself, but to James, as well.
They find themselves trying to bring down a criminal empire all by the end of the week when Ben is set to marry James’ sister. Despite some of the moments being a bit far-fetched, the film does not rely too many references to the original in order for people to follow along with the story. It can easily stand alone. Fans of the first film, as well, as those who love a good Police themed comedy will enjoy the ride. Hopefully, the Brothers-in-law will return for a third film.
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