Tag: Comedy

The Night at the Museum 3 Gets a Trailer and Title!

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Night_at_the_Museum_poster

The third Night at the Museum movie is definitely going to explain the origins of the golden tablet that animates the exhibits and wrap up this series at the same time. Titled Secrets of the Tomb, this film might include some Indiana Jones moments too.

The fun is in reuniting the ol’ gang and taking them to London to find the means of re-energizing the said item so life everlasting will not stop. The trailer is an amusing watch, and for Egyptian enthusiasts like me, this is the movie I’ve been waiting for! It seems a part of what I’ve conjectured may well come true if the cast listing for this film and the trailer is any indication.

As for how much of the ancient world will prevail throughout the movie, perhaps only 15-20 minutes will be spent revealing what the tablet is meant for and how it came into possession of Ahkmenrah.

But as for how much of the humour is being rehashed, yes a few jokes are looking like it can run thin with Dexter the monkey up to his usual tricks and a new dinosaur chasing the team around needing to be tamed. That will not stop fans of this movie trilogy from going to see this film come Christmas week, when this film is set to screen Dec 19.

Hiding Out from Life’s Little Problems with And So It Goes, a Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

and_so_it_goes_poster

Joni Mitchell’s folksy “Both Sides Now” makes for a great bookend song for Rob Reiner’s film, And So It Goes, a romantic comedy about self-discovery and strengthening family bonds. In the themes typically found in her music, the feeling of romantic longing and disillusionment that the main two characters carry in their selves is definitely noticeable. But for people wondering if there’s any relationship to Billy Joel’s own tune, most likely not.

This movie is made for an older generation to enjoy a well made character drama moreso than for younger crowds on the hunt for slapstick. But for anyone who likes to see the talented Michael Douglas play an ol’ codger amped up on many nasty levels, this film is recommended. Fans familiar with him playing Jack T. Colton, an adventurer in Romancing the Stone or Grady Tripp in Wonder Boys will find a very different character in this film. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the curious will be interested in seeing how he will fare as Hank Pym in Ant-Man. The newswire Reuters quoted him to say that he wants to have some fun in the role of Pym. He certainly had fun in And So It Goes by playing Oren Little, a mean spirited and grumpy real estate agent.

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The Penguins are Back! Madagascar Look Out! Trailer Released Today (and Thoughts)

Penguins

Freshly released from their New York Zoo, the Penguins of Madagascar are going international. Or rather, headed North and perhaps East to front a mission to save fellow animals, if not themselves, from an octopus named Dave (John Malkovich). Actually, according to the plot summary, this multi-limbed menace is after the Penguins and an international task force, North Wind, led by a timber wolf (Benedict Cumberbatch), is going to be protecting them, much to the chagrin of the organization, if this trailer is any indication.

As for whether or not Dr. Blowhole (the dolphin) will also make a comeback, that can make for an interesting film when all of the Penguin’s aquatic enemies gather together. From the television series, they have faced adversaries like The Red Squirrel and Hans the Puffin have managed to come out on top. But they did little in terms of putting them away. With very little of this film’s whole story revealed so far, maybe the inclusion of North Wind will help expand the mythos just enough so that when there are new threats, the bad guys have a prison to go to. Continue reading “The Penguins are Back! Madagascar Look Out! Trailer Released Today (and Thoughts)”

Impressions from the Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Guardians of the Galaxy

The Guardians of the Galaxy have been unleashed and while everyone on Earth who is not a comic book reader is asking, “who?” the film will no doubt answer that in no short order. Or should that be one long? With Rocket Raccoon presenting that one end of the spectrum and Groot, the tree-like humanoid (not an Ent), for the other, the focus will no doubt be with Peter Jason Quill (Chris Pratt), the Star Lord who is jonesing for trouble after attempting to steal an orb.

This full length trailer is setting up this movie to be a science fiction action adventure comedy. It will no doubt be a tale to show the origin of the group, but as the trailer ends, they have become a group already. Hints of each of them being rogue will set up some interesting dysfunctional family type moments, and that can be humourous to see.

But as for whether not that this type of story direction is going to be right, that will be up to audiences to decide when this movie releases August 1, 2014.

[Victoria Film Festival ’14] Plenty of Laughs can be Found with Cas & Dylan

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Cas & Dylan Movie Poster

Not many road trip style movies are both tearfully funny and musically joyous at the same time. In Cas & Dylan, the meeting of two unlikely individuals creates a deeply moving tale and a great character building drama.

When Cas Pepper (Richard Dreyfuss) is a widowed oncologist diagnosed with a medical problem, he has a few choices to make. He can either get it treated or retire. Or, he can embark on a road trip so he can find some peace. Little does he know, a spritely young writer Dylan Morgan (Tatiana Maslany) leaps into his life and what she likes to do is cause chaos.

What makes this film wonderful to watch is that these two characters are both on a journey of self-discovery and awakenings.

Pepper is a bit of an old codger. He’s stuffy and loves his country music. Dylan, on the other hand, is a young minx who loves rock and roll. Her troubled life needs a hand. Maybe she needs a strong father-figure in her life to help guide her, and because she has been hanging out in the hospital Pepper works in, maybe she saw something in Pepper that she liked.

Writer Jessie Gabe crafted a great, layered, story that shows how the two unlikeliest of people manages to bond. Even director Jason Priestley demonstrates he knows his comedy very well. He directed for television many times and his transition to working on feature length films looks like a promising one. The way he had Maslany come to life on the screen is beautiful, and she will no doubt be a star on the rise. Dreyfuss is just as wonderful in his transformation of realizing he can be happy again.

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Even the choice of bluegrass music used is a sweet touch to drive home the idea that the type of music Donnie & Marie mixed together is still reverent today. This heartwarming film with a message will no doubt change the formula for odd couple comedies still to come. All this product has to do is to break out of the film festival circuit and hit the domestic with marketing revving up everything it can do to make this film known.

5 out of 5

[Victoria Film Festival ’14] Just Who is Alan Partridge? A Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Alan Partridge Alpha Papa poster
Continues at the Odeon Theatre #2 – 6:45pm Feb 14

Directed by Declan Lowney
Screenplay by Neil Gibbons, Rob Gibbons, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Peter Baynham

Not everyone on this side of the pond will know who British presenter Alan Partridge is. But after seeing the movie Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (the UK title of this film) his fame in North America will no doubt rise. Who knows, maybe he might get his own TV show in the States — heaven forbid. This fictional character is a media personality who has declined in fame over the years, and to see him claw his way back to the top is sad but funny.

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