Our Souls at Night: Film Tie-in
Book
'Absolutely beautiful' The Times 'Luminous' Ursula K Le Guin, Guardian 'I loved Our Souls at Night'...
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Movie
Chow Mo-wan and Su Li-zhen, two next-door neighbours living in the socially conservative Hong Kong...
Faa yeung nin wa Faa joeng nin waa Flowery years Cannes Christopher Doyle
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Sandwiched in between these two box-office behemoths is the sequel to Universal Studio’s surprise comedy hit, Bad Neighbours. But does another helping of Seth Rogen and Zac Efron’s adult humour hit the spot?
It’s fair to say that these films have a target audience firmly in mind. The first film was received best by University students and younger men according to box-office analysts and managed to gross a whopping $270m on an $18m budget – a sequel whilst completely unnecessary was as likely as an April shower.
Bad Neighbours 2 follows a very well-worn path, so well-worn in fact that it shoehorns the exact same premise from its predecessor into another 90 minute comedy, with just a few new twists and turns to stop it from being a carbon copy.
So, what are these twists and turns I hear you cry? Well, for one, Zac Efron’s Teddy Sanders is all grown up for one, returning to help Seth Rogen’s Mac, and Rose Byrne’s Kelly face-off against a sorority (instead of a fraternity) – headed by the excellent Chloe Grace Moretz.
Plot wise, that’s about it; in fact there is no plot to speak off and the real highlight in this simple film are the reams and reams of adult gags. The majority of them hit the spot; a brilliantly shot sequence at a college ‘festival’ is absolutely hilarious, and then a few of them don’t – but that’s to be expected in any comedy.
When it comes to the acting, it’s a by-the-numbers affair. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne are dependable with the latter’s credentials in the genre expanding by the day. From Bridesmaids to Spy, she’s fast becoming a new comedy star, and there’s no complaint from me there.
Zac Efron is now utterly typecast but I doubt he’ll care if his movies keep packing out cinemas across the world. Despite his usual reliable performances, he’s starting to look a little older than his ‘frat boy’ characters would have you believe and if he can’t shake off that tag, he’ll end up in the bargain bins alongside Tobey Maguire. That’s a shame, as his more serious roles prove he has the acting chops to go with his good looks.
Elsewhere, Chloe Grace Moretz is the only sorority girl to make an impact and her sweet, if predictable backstory provide Bad Neighbours 2 with its only real sense of emotion.
Overall, Bad Neighbours 2 is a very funny adult comedy despite its lack of plot and the by-the-numbers casting. Returning director Nicholas Stoller has introduced a more female-orientated film that will no doubt pay dividends at the box-office. It definitely wasn’t needed, but as is the case in the film world, money talks.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2016/05/14/more-of-the-same-bad-neighbours-2-review/
The Switch
Book
Eileen is sick of being 79. Leena's tired of life in her twenties. Maybe it's time they swapped...
Make Me Clean
Book
She will leave your surfaces sparkling. But she may well leave you dead... Maria is a good woman...
Trigger warning: domestic violence & murder!
Roxanne (13 KP) rated The Magpies in Books
Nov 14, 2018
This book totally messed with my head! I loved it!
I'll admit it's a strange one and I haven't read anything like it before so to me it's definitely original. It's also very creepy and very tense. The author is great at building tension, it starts from the very first page and doesn't let you go until the end...even then you'll be thinking about it with your night-light on.
It's pretty scary to think this kind of thing happens in real life...talk about nightmare neighbours.
The Woman Next Door
Book
Hortensia James and Marion Agostino are neighbours. One is black, one white. Both are successful...
House of Bones
Book
No one lives for very long in the houses they buy from Mr Vane. Neighbours complain of noises that...
How to Measure a Cow
Book
"Compelling...taut and suspenseful". (Guardian). Tara Fraser has a secret. Desperate to escape...
Detroit
Book
When Sharon and Kenny move into a long-empty house in the suburbs of an American city, they are...