Spider-Man (2002)

Maguire’s lead turn adds consistent melodramatic cheese right from his opening voiceover (“Who am I? You sure you want to know? The story of my life is not for the faint of heart”) to his last one (“This is my gift, my curse”) but it feels authentic to the awkward, angsty, coming-of-age teen experience and works well with the other campy comic-book elements (Dafoe and Simmons leap off the page with their performances). Fun action and quirky humour (“up, up, and away web!”) top things off.

6

Your Highness (2011)

When Prince Fabious’s bride is kidnapped, he goes on a quest to rescue her… accompanied by his lazy useless brother Thadeous. (IMDb)

I suppose there’s some humour to be found in throwing crude content and expletives into the typically haughty dialogue and setting of a medieval period piece, but it’s done to such a (literally) gross extent here it wears very thin very quickly, and when even the (bland and suspense-less) main plot is misogynist and centered on sex, the whole film just feels like the adventure fan-fiction of a snickering 15-year old who plays Age of Empires and has porn mags stashed under his mattress.

4/10 (Bad)

 

Pineapple Express (2008)

A process server and his marijuana dealer wind up on the run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer after he witnesses his dealer’s boss murder a competitor while trying to serve papers on him. (IMDb)

A stoner and his dealer get caught up in a drug war and the comedy’s exactly what you’d expect–a combination of “that’s gotta hurt” slapstick (Red is the obvious champ in this area) and loud swear-laden and weed-infused riffs of dialogue. Doesn’t break much new ground but Franco’s dim Saul and Rogen’s straight man Dale have good chemistry and keep you engaged in spite of the mediocre plot. An uproarious improvised epilogue at the diner makes up for the over-the-top gun-happy climax.

6.5/10 (Alright)

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

An anthology film comprised of six stories, each dealing with a different aspect of life in the Old West. (IMDb)

The discomforting and racist villainous portrayal of “Indians” should’ve been thrown away but the rest of the classic Western potpourri here provide lots of cozy charm (love those songs sprinkled throughout) and frigid chills amidst what is a uniquely curated collection of stories (some delightfully bizarre like the titular tale with its compelling narration and amazing climactic duet; others a bit more plodding and unremarkable) about death and judgment and the diehard American dream.

7/10 (Good)

Sausage Party (2016)

A sausage strives to discover the truth about his existence. (IMDb)

The puns are okay, but the creative anthropomorphic food premise is funniest in its extreme plays on humanity’s physical aspects; namely, death (see the flour shell-shock scene, kitchen massacre) and sex (see the outrageous ending orgy). It swings and misses everywhere else, moving from a promisingly hilarious opening musical number to a swear-overloaded script with nary a clever joke, and a religion-related thesis just as lacking in subtlety. The meta-ending also felt silly and unnecessary.

6.5/10 (Alright)

True Story (2015)

When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo – who has taken on Finkel’s identity – his investigation morphs into a game of cat-and-mouse. (IMDb)

Has all the makings of a solid drama-thriller–a stirring psychological premise, striking cinematography, an unsettling stringed soundtrack–but a shoddy script (not helped by Franco’s flat performance as the killer in question) continually disappoints with its lifeless dialogue, suspense-less plot (the courtroom climax is anything but), underwhelming pay-off (the stolen identity bit is resolved in one sentence), and surface-y relationships (Finkel and Jill’s never warrants Jones’ tense looks).

6/10 (Mediocre)

This Is The End (2013)

The celebrities-playing-themselves bit definitely provides some good laughs; funny scenes are made funnier because it’s Jay Baruchel being made fun of, not a character, for example. The six leads are all in good form and the other cameos are solid as well. The outrageous apocalypse plot serves as a good backdrop for the humour but as the story progresses and quasi-religious elements begin to enter the mix, it starts to feel much too silly, tainting an otherwise decent comedy.

6/10 (Mediocre)