Grimsby

Sacha Baron Cohen has taken a more restrained direction with his latest movie, Grimsby. Although it's not his first fully integrated fiction film, that was in 2012 with The Dictator, it is one where he hasn't gone over the top with his main character. That's not to say, however, that this film is filled with all the gross jokes you'd come to expect from his comedy. Combine these with an experienced action director like Louis Leterrier and you get a pretty enjoyable action-comedy.

Nobby (Baron Cohen) is living a happy life in the north of England. The only thing missing is his younger brother Sebastian (Mark Strong) who was adopted without him when they were younger. Sebastian is now a spy working for MI6 and Nobby finally gets a chance to reunite with him when he hears that Sebastian will be attending a charity event. Sebastian is actually at the event to prevent an assassination attempt on Rhonda George (Penélope Cruz), the head of a global health charity. Nobby manages to mess it up for him (and give Daniel Radcliffe AIDS in the process) and soon they are both on the run with MI6 believing Sebastian to be a rogue agent. The only way to clear his name is to find who was behind the attempt in the first place.

Grimsby is a pretty funny movie, I should say that right of the bat. But then again the jokes are the typical Sacha Baron Cohen "I'm going to shock you into laughing" jokes. They usually involve an extreme sexual gag, like Nobby having to suck a toxin from Sebastian's testicles. Some of these jokes come back in various forms throughout the film in more extreme instances than the last. Not all of them are as low-brow as these. There is a joke later about how guns remove guilt from the act of killing. That's a pretty complex joke once you think about it.

I do think Grimsby might be in need of some structural reshuffling. There was a missed opportunity in giving the audience some serious misdirection in the type of film they are watching. I think if they had have started on one of Sebastian's action missions and then reveal that it's actually a comedy. That's what I would have done anyway. The direction all up is fantastic. Louis Leterrier, who has previously worked on The Transporter series of films, brings his experience in action movies and melds it perfectly with Cohen's comedic sensibilities. The action sequences don't take up too much of the film, but they are snappy and well done when they do show.

Sacha Baron Cohen's Nobby is quite a fun character to watch. He really does mean well and he just wants to help his brother but he can't help from screwing up. A fun detail I realised was that his sideburns are mismatched in length, which is one of those small things Cohen does with his characters. Mark Strong has probably missed his chance to play James Bond (a shame if you ask me), but he does a great job playing him here. He has some rather subtle emotional moments after his flashbacks to when he and Nobby were younger that he carries quite nicely. Cohen's wife Isla Fisher is quite good as Sebastian's ally in MI6 and Rebel Wilson plays the same old character, this time just from the north of England. Although she's the main villain, Penélope Cruz hardly gets enough time to show off any of her acting skills.

While it may not be as punchy as Borat and Brüno, Grimsby is a pretty funny comedy of two worlds clashing together. Sometimes it can be a bit culturally homogenous and not all the references will be gotten, but watching Sacha Baron Cohen come up against a proper actor like Mark Strong makes it a pretty fun watch.

How To Be Single

How To Be Single is surprisingly good. On the surface it seems like a standard unimpressive rom-com, but it ends up not at all adhering to any of the tropes of the genre. Despite the name of the film, I had thought that the main character Alice would end up with some guy and be happy, but it completely goes against expectations. Something that was promised last year with Amy Schumer's Trainwreck, that that movie ultimately failed to deliver on.

Alice (Dakota Johnson) decides to split briefly from her college boyfriend Josh (Nicholas Braun) so she can learn how to be her own person. She moves to New York where she befriends Robin (Rebel Wilson) who teaches her how to enjoy single life. Meanwhile, Alice's sister Meg (Leslie Mann) is a career oriented doctor who decides that she wants to have a baby and embarks on the IVF process. Alice gets caught up with bar owner Tom (Anders Holm) who shows her his honest tactics when it comes to sleeping with girls and not getting attached with anyone. He does however have a crush on Lucy (Allison Brie), a girl who lives above his bar and is focused on getting married to someone soon. Alice also gets involved with David (Damon Wayans Jr.), a father who is still reeling from the death of his wife two years earlier.

The overall message of the movie is a positive one. Most romantic comedies make it seem like it's the end of the world if your story doesn't end with you meeting that person who is perfect for you. How To Be Single teaches you to just be comfortable with whatever situation you end up in, whether it's being single or in a relationship. I like the realistic way in which this film comes together. All the character interactions are completely organic and the character arcs happen the way they would in real life as opposed to a Hollywood movie. Alice doesn't get back together with her old boyfriend and even though Tom gets his chance at giving his big emotional speech, it doesn't end up working at all. Despite these positives, there are some flaws with the script. Meg comes to the realisation that she wants to have a baby after spending a few minutes with one. It's as if all her ambitions of having a career give way to maternal instincts just because she holds a baby one time. Also there's a bit of a black hole in the third act when we just flash forward to three months later without referencing anything that happened during them.

Watching this movie, I realised that Dakota Johnson can't really act, showing that acting talent isn't exactly hereditary (her dad Don was one half of Miami Vice), but in this movie it's okay because the audience is able to put themselves in the shoes of her character, despite the lack of personality. Also Rebel Wilson plays the same Australian character as in the other films she's in, making me wonder how bad her American accent is (Dakota Johnson on the other hand does quite a passable Aussie accent). Thankfully we don't see Johnson and Wilson for all the movie and the supporting cast actually has a lot of screen time. Leslie Mann has always been a remarkable actress and is great at playing serious against funny which comes in handy here. Allison Brie is fun as Lucy, but can do better. The male cast members take a back seat but are still pretty funny, especially Jason Mantzoukas and Jake Lacy, who I thought was a lot funnier here than his last role in Love The Coopers. Damon Wayans Jr. has the potential to be a hilarious actor, but sadly his role wasn't calling for it. Both Nicholas Braun and Anders Holm play serious guys as well.

How To Be Single offers a refreshing take on modern relationships that is more in keeping with reality. But if you're not into that and just want to watch an easy rom-com, this movie isn't going to hurt you at all either. Poor lead performances aren't enough to make it horrible either.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

Part of me is glad that they have finally put this franchise to rest. Some of this has to do with the fact that it has become a bit stale, there's only so much you can do when a museum's exhibit's have the ability to come to life. The other and more major thing is that it wouldn't be the same without Robin Williams (this is the final onscreen performance he did before his death).

After a disastrous dinner planned at the Natural History Museum of New York, where all the exhibits have gone haywire, night curator Larry (Ben Stiller) discovers that the magic that keeps the exhibits alive is fading fast and journeys to the British Museum to find a solution. He is joined by Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams), Ahkmenrah (Rami Malek) and the others to help. Once there he is confronted by Sir Lancelot (Dan Stevens), who believes the magic tablet to be the Holy Grail.

A lot of the jokes in this movie are subpar, if not complete repeats of jokes from the previous movies. Robin Williams, the most seasoned comedian of the group provides the most jokes, even referencing his Oscar winning role in Good Will Hunting ("Once more unto the breach, dear friends"). There are some historical jokes as well, which may float above younger audiences heads. A great example of this is a reference to the Egyptians owning many Jewish slaves, to which Larry replies that they weren't too happy about it.

Apart from Robin Williams, there are no real standout performances. Ben Stiller does his thing, but it just felt like he was recycling his role in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. He was humourous as the caveman Laa, but this character wasn't exemplary. Rebel Wilson has a small role as the night guard of the British Museum, but I found her over the top English accent unbearable. Skyler Gisondo plays Nick, Larry's teenage son, and I felt like the character was just annoying and unnecessary.

The movie's cameo's are probably more rewarding than the lead roles. Dick Van Dyke makes a small appearance as Cecil, the former night guard, along with Mickey Rooney, who died not long after this film. Hugh Jackman appears as himself playing King Arthur along with Alice Eve as Guinevere. Ben Kingsley plays Ahkmenrah's father, but doesn't stick around too long.

Verdict: Slightly funny, but if you've seen the first one of these films, then you'll know why this one seems redundant. It's very sad and poignant that Robin Williams' final line is "Farewell, good friend".

Pain & Gain

Michael Bay and his production company Platinum Dunes have been much derided in past years for his Transformers movies and remakes of classic 80s movies (which I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoy). But Pain & Gain is different. I think it shows that Bay is a talented director, who just needs to put a little more effort into his work.

The movie follows the unbelievably true story of three Miami bodybuilders, who in the mid-90s extorted one wealthy businessman and killed a porn magnate and his girlfriend. Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) is a lowly gym employee with dreams of greatness. He convinces fellow colleagues Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) to help kidnap corrupt businessman Victor Kershaw (Tony Shalhoub) and extort him of his wealth. Soon things start to unravel when greed, addiction and desperation get in the way.

With all the action that is going on in this film, it is hard to believe that this film is based on a true story. But it reminds throughout the film when it occasionally breaks the fourth wall, though only in subtle ways. There was an interesting direction of giving all the main characters a voice over piece at some stage in the film, but it was cool to see the inner workings of these characters.

Mark Wahlberg has always interested me as an actor, taking varied roles in movies (sort of like Nic Cage). His take on muscle-head Danny Lugo is humourous at some points and from the articles that I've been reading, pretty close to the actual guy.

Anthony Mackie has been off my radar and apart from The Hurt Locker, this is the only other film I've seen him in. I feel as though his character just got swept up in Danny's can-do attitude.

Fans of the Rock may be surprised to see a different side to the man. Dwayne Johnson plays an ex-con who finds religion in a big bad way, but soon reverts to his pre-prison days. Johnson really conveys the pain felt by his character when he has his crises of faith.

The techniques picked up by Bay on the Transformers movies really pays off. He knows how to use a camera and constantly uses excited angles and slow and fast motion to convey the action when it happens. All this with the beautiful surroundings of Miami make for a cool movie.

Verdict: Mark Wahlberg and Michael Bay make a refreshing team-up. If you like the 90s, you'll probably like this movie. Most of all, be a do-er, not a don't-er.