Tag Archives: Kiersey Clemons

Movie Review ~ Somebody I Used to Know

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The Facts:

Synopsis: On a trip to her hometown, workaholic Ally reunites with her ex-boyfriend Sean, which makes her question her life choices. This feeling is exacerbated when she meets Cassidy, a younger woman who reminds her of the person she used to be
Stars: Alison Brie, Jay Ellis, Kiersey Clemons, Julie Hagerty, Haley Joel Osment, Amy Sedaris, Danny Pudi, Zoë Chao, Evan Jonigkeit, Olga Merediz, Ayden Mayeri, Kelvin Yu
Director: Dave Franco
Rated: R
Running Length: 106 minutes
TMMM Score: (6.5/10)
Review:  There are inevitable drawbacks to making a modern romantic comedy, no matter how you approach it. Audiences have seen countless tales of singles mingling with the lover they think is the right one for them, only to realize what we already know: they should be barking up another tree. Writers, directors, and actors can take any route they want to get from point A to point B, but we’ll cross that finish line eventually. A viewer wants a creative journey as we pass through, and that’s where a horse of a different color, like Somebody I Used to Know, might come in handy.

Written by husband-and-wife celebrities Dave Franco (who also directs) and Alison Brie (who also stars), Somebody I Used to Know has the structure of My Best Friend’s Wedding. Still, the cinematic innards are decidedly tailored to Brie’s fondness for high-stakes dark comedy. It’s not a warm and fuzzy flick to cuddle up to but rather a frank look at relationships from multiple angles. Here you get perspective from those on the inside and the onlookers peeking around the corner hoping for a sample.

After her cheeky reality show is canceled, Ally (Brie, Spin Me Round) takes the advice of her agent (Amy Sedaris, in a too-brief cameo) and heads home to Leavenworth, WA, for some downtime with her mother (Julie Hagerty, Marriage Story). Finding her mother otherwise engaged (with her former high school teacher), Ally ventures into town and has a chance encounter reconnecting with her ex, Sean (Jay Ellis, Top Gun: Maverick). Prosperous and stable, Sean presents a picture of normalcy in Ally’s abnormal Hollywood life. And he’s getting married in a few days to Cassidy (Kiersey Clemons, Scoob!)

Of course, Sean neglects to tell Ally this until she knocks on his door the next day, just in time for a pre-wedding meal with the assembled guests. Sensing that Sean isn’t over her, Ally jumps at the chance to stick around as the videographer, delighting his mother (Olga Merediz, In the Heights) and free-spirited brother (Haley Joel Osment, The Devil Has a Name). As the weekend progresses, Ally brazenly targets the apparent weaknesses in the couple’s relationship to win Sean back. The pursuit of lost love becomes more complex, though, as Ally’s friendship with Cassidy grows and, through her, sees echoes of herself and the life she’s chosen.

I’ve always been a little on the fence with Brie, and Somebody I Used to Know hasn’t thrown me off my perch either way. It has reinforced my admiration for Brie’s boldness in pursuing roles rarely depicted onscreen. She can quickly humanize characters that are not simply flawed but have off-kilter personalities and help the viewer relate to them. Turn Ally’s pursuit of Sean up a notch, and she becomes evil, dial her back, and you lose the tension that forms between her and Cassidy. It’s a fine line, and the fact that she wrote it makes it easier for her to play it well. 

That ease has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the cast. Ellis and Clemons complete the love triangle with sharp, confident edges, and Ellis especially finds new layers in what typically is the least exciting side to form the emotional shape. I fully believed Hagerty and Brie could be mother/daughter and only wish we had a few more scenes of them together. Danny Pudi (The Guilt Trip) makes the most out of the head-shaking best friend that is powerless to stop Ally’s madcap train of meddling, and Osment is entertaining as Sean’s brother, always up for a laugh.

Filmed in a picturesque locale, Somebody I Used to Know is a solid sophomore outing as a director for Franco. Back in 2020, he was behind the camera for the surprisingly effective thriller The Rental (also starring Brie), and he’s pivoted genres nicely with this pleasant, if at times, heavy-handed romantic drama. The first half of the film has a nice flow to it, but once we get into the more serious second act, a cold vibe seeps in and drowns out any lightheartedness we were able to draw early on. When the film takes itself and its characters too seriously, it loses our attention, but as it finds the balance between characterization and tone, it hums nicely.

Movie Review ~ Scoob!

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The Facts:

Synopsis: Scooby and the gang face their most challenging mystery ever: a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world. As they race to stop this dogpocalypse, the gang discovers that Scooby has an epic destiny greater than anyone imagined.

Stars: Will Forte, Gina Rodriguez, Zac Efron, Amanda Seyfried, Mark Wahlberg, Frank Welker, Jason Isaacs, Kiersey Clemons, Ken Jeong, Tracy Morgan

Director: Tony Cervone

Rated: PG

Running Length: 94 minutes

TMMM Score: (7/10)

Review:  If there’ s one thing that’s gotten me through these past few months of uncertainty and #StayHome / #StaySafe decrees, it’s comfort food and comfort media.  While the comfort food and it’s delicious temptations has assisted in my transitioning to pajama pants exclusively, at least the TV and film that I’ve found so soothing hasn’t packed any extra pounds onto my frame.  From 80s comedies to classic nor thrillers and episodes lifted out of ABC’s TGIF line-up, I haven’t been lacking in something on the boob tube to keep me distracted/entertained.

Then there are the cartoons.  Now, normally I’m not that much of a cartoon guy and my eyebrows shoot to the skies when I hear about the whole obsession with My Little Pony but when presented with a cartoon from my youth I just can’t resist.  The nostalgia factor is so high that it almost makes up for the sad truth that many of these shows nowadays are hard to watch due to the crude animation and silly plot mechanics.  Still…back in the day there was a treasure trove of programming available to kids like me.  Could be Ducktales, could be The Jetsons, might be the Snorks, but if it showed up on a Saturday morning there was a high probability I was tuned in for it and you better believe when anything related to Scooby-Doo was airing I was not to be disturbed.

The cartoon about teen sleuths and their ever-hungry talking Great Dane had been around since 1969 but by the time I was parked in front of the TV all bleary-eyed and mussed-haired it was already in one of its numerous offshoots featuring Scooby’s wise-talking nephew Scrappy-Doo.  As I grew up, my interest in other animated weekend offerings waned but there was something about Scooby and the gang that stuck with me.   I whole-heartedly admit to owning the entire original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! series as well as the popular but chintzy live-action films they made in the 2000s.  Sure, I’ve seen the numerous straight to video animated movies that have been released and I have a particular fondness for 1988’s Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School as well as my all-time favorite, Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, released the same year.

As a fan of this franchise, I wasn’t clutching my pearls too much when I got a look at the preview for Scoob! which was originally intended to be an early summer theatrical release for Warner Brother Animation.  With the coronavirus outbreak, Warner Brothers pivoted their plans and have released the film on demand and I think they’ll see a good profit from this family friendly, colorful reboot that captures the spirit of the show while also making it accessible for a new generation.  Though it does have a few minor missteps, it avoids the outright errors from the live-action version and winds up being more pleasing than painful to fans.

Acting a bit as an origin story, the film opens with a young Shaggy meeting a pup he names Scooby Dooby Doo on a California beach.  Both loners, not necessarily by choice, the two bond over their love of food and their friendship is sealed then and there.  When they’re accosted on Halloween night by some mean bullies who steal their candy and hide it in a supposedly haunted house, who should come to the rescue but a young Fred, Daphne, and Velma.  Together, the five solve their first mystery, setting the stage for the next decade of working as a team which brings us to the present (the film is set in modern times) when the gang is deciding on how to take their business to the next level.

Following a standard outline like many of the episodes, Shaggy and Scooby are separated from the other three by a series of occurrences as they both work on disparate mysteries that eventually have a common thread.  Shaggy (Will Forte, Nebraska) and Scooby (Frank Welker, Aladdin) team up with a bumbling superhero (Mark Wahlberg, All the Money in the World) and his sidekicks (Ken Jeong, Crazy Rich Asians and Kiersey Clemons, Lady and the Tramp) while Fred (Zac Efron, The Greatest Showman), Daphne (Amanda Seyfried, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again), and Velma (Gina Rodriguez, Annihilation) track down Dick Dasterdly (Jason Isaacs, Dragonheart) who has plans to resurrect a monster from Greek mythology.  This brings all on a globe-hopping (and time-traveling) race against time to stop Dick before he can obtain what he needs to unleash the powerful beast.

At 94 minutes, Scoob! plays like an especially long episode of the show and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  The four screenwriters clearly have done their homework and have pulled the best of the characters through to this update, gently smoothing some of the rougher edges while still maintaining the ostensible traits that make them so unique.  As you might expect, for young audiences viewing this now the filmmakers have amped up the action so there are times when the proceedings get especially manic, with the volume on the antics turned up high.  That works for some of the more outlandish characters (like Isaacs having a field day as the villainous Dasterdly) but tends to sink secondary ones. Thankfully, while the flick does have its scary moments (this is about bringing a teeth-gnashing three headed dog back to life, after all), it’s goofy charm keeps the film on the lighter side of the PG scale, and that’s not something a number of supposedly family friendly films can claim.

It’s been a long time since a Scooby-Doo movie played in theaters and while I think Scoob! will do well in this on-demand setting, I do think this release platform will hinder chances for future theatrical offerings down the road.  Seeing that the lovable pooch and his friends have routinely turned up in direct to video mysteries for years already, it might be hard to separate this effort (which is quite entertaining) from the others which can come off as quickie money grabs (which they often are).  You can’t keep a good dog down, though, so I’m not too worried about Scooby making a nice comeback soon…besides, we still need to get re-introduced to Scrappy-Doo!

Movie Review ~ Lady and the Tramp (2019)

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The Facts:

Synopsis: American Cocker Spaniel named Lady lives with an upper-middle-class family and meets a mongrel known as the Tramp on the streets. They embark on a romantic journey and eventually fall in love.

Stars: Tessa Thompson, Justin Theroux, Thomas Mann, Kiersey Clemons, Ashley Jensen, Benedict Wong, Sam Elliott, Janelle Monáe, Yvette Nicole Brown, Adrian Martinez, Arturo Castro, F. Murrary Abraham

Director: Charlie Bean

Rated: PG

Running Length: 104 minutes

TMMM Score: (7.5/10)

Review:  Waking up on November 12 reminded me of one of those 80s John Hughes movies where the lead character lazily opens their eyes from slumber, blinks a few times, yawns, and then decides a few more minutes of sleep won’t do them any harm.  Then, with a jolt, their eyes snap open and they bolt upright because they’ve Just Remembered Something Important Is Happening Today.  It was on this Tuesday that I found myself acting out these same emotions/motions when I was reminded that the new streaming service Disney+ was launching and with it, a whole catalog of Disney titles and new original programming.  Long in the planning and constantly in the headlines leading up to its induction, this was a big deal and while I was definitely interested in the new movies and series, I was just eager to have easy access to titles that were harder to come by (Flight of the Navigator anyone?  Anyone?) and poured over the catalog with reckless abandon.

There was a new title I made sure to position near the top of my queue and it was the movie Disney+ had been showcasing as a big selling point for subscribing early to their service.  This would be the only place you could see the film as it hadn’t premiered first in a theater so if you wanted to watch, you had to sign up.  Originally conceived as a theatrical release, the live-action remake of Lady and the Tramp was refashioned as a cornerstone of the new Disney+ service and it largely succeeds on this smaller scale where the stakes aren’t quite as high.  Had it been, ahem, unleashed in cinemas it would likely have been held to more scrutiny from finicky nitpicks but it’s easy to slough off concerns when watching from the comfort of your own home.

Until I started doing some prep for this review, I never knew that Disney’s original 1955 animated film was based on a story first featured in a 1943 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.  Though that classic film has never been too overplayed in my household, I do have several fond memories of it throughout the years but didn’t hold it so precious in my heart that the thought of a live-action remake made me recoil.  What did give me pause was the thought of another live-action remake in 2019 after the tepid receptions of Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Lion King.  I wasn’t sure I could take another talking animal movie, especially when the bigger budgeted films failed to convince me the technology supported all the furry yapping.

At the turn of the century, young couple Jim Dear (Thomas Mann, Them That Follow) and Darling (Kiersey Clemons, Antebellum) welcome a charming Cocker Spaniel they name Lady into their home.  Lady (voiced by Tessa Thompson, Creed) lives a life of luxury, slightly spoiled but not sour.  When not with her family, she visits with neighborhood canines Trusty (Sam Elliott, A Star is Born) and Jock (Ashley Jensen, The Pirates! Band of Misfits), sniffs out a corner of the elegantly trimmed back yard, or chases away a pesky rat that’s been hanging around her house.  In another part of town, mutt Tramp (Justin Theroux, Bumblebee) scrounges for scraps and avoids a determined dogcatcher (Adrian Martinez, Office Christmas Party) who is always in pursuit of any unlicensed animal.

When her young owners start a family and their new baby takes focus away from her, Lady begins to act out, not understanding why she’s the attention she once had is going in a newer, smaller, direction.  By the time Aunt Sarah (Yvette Nicole Brown, Avengers: Endgame) has brought her swaggering, troublemaking cats over for an afternoon that goes horribly wrong, Lady finds herself on the run and falls in with Tramp who takes her under his mangy paw.  Together, they embark on an adventure through town that opens Lady’s eyes to a world outside her block and brings the mismatched dogs closer together.  How long can this pampered dog and streetwise tail-wagger keep away from the dogcatcher, though, and what will happen to Tramp when Lady has to return home?

For what it’s worth, Lady and the Tramp is no dog and is often a downright delight.  Yes, the movie is schmaltzy in all the old-fashioned ways but so is the original film.  You can’t tell me you won’t watch the famous “Bella Notte” sequence (sung by Arturo Castro, Semper Fi and F. Murrary Abraham, The Grand Budapest Hotel) where the dogs share an Italian dinner under the stars and not get a little choked up out of nothing but happiness.  Director Charlie Bean (The Lego Batman Movie) works wonders with the largely CGI dogs to make you think they’re living and breathing hounds and even if the effect doesn’t always gel and the talking mouths look a tad creepy, the end result worked for me.  Though smaller in budget, I was surprised at how good the movie looked.  It’s 1909 setting was handsomely recreated and I appreciate the timeline wasn’t modernized, it helped keep things simple and focused squarely on our characters.

Creepy talking mouths aside, the voice acting in the movie is quite pleasant.  Theroux and Thompson bring a warmth to their roles, never making Tramp too sly or Lady too snooty.  They balance well with the supporting cast featuring Elliott matched with a dog that looks frighteningly like the actor himself as well as singer Janelle Monáe (Harriet) strutting around as a pound puppy who tells Lady all she needs to know about Tramp.  As for the human actors, I didn’t quite get why the screenplay had the dogcatcher pursuing the clever canine as if locked in a Javert/Valjean epic hunt but I suppose it all adds that extra oomph to an emotional resonant finale.

For the first movie Disney+ had waiting for viewers out of the gate, I’d say Lady and the Tramp scored as a a fine inaugural outing.  It’s about 10-15 minutes too long by my estimation and some trimming would have made the movie an easier sit for younger kids (and this older kid, too) but it’s filled with enough eye-catching moments to keep that interest going longer than you’d expect.  This remake has wisely done away with the outdated cultural stereotypes of Aunt Sarah’s cats, changing their breed and giving them a new song.  That’s going to please some and anger others.  Those upset are free to watch the original film, which is also available to add to your watchlist 🙂 With more live-action remakes heading our way and other feature films planned, I’m looking forward to seeing what quality future direct-to-Disney+ will be like.

The Silver Bullet ~ Justice League

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Synopsis: Fueled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman’s selfless act, Bruce Wayne enlists the help of his newfound ally, Diana Prince, to face an even greater enemy.

Release Date: November 17, 2017

Thoughts: With Wonder Woman becoming the top-earning movie at the summer box office, the producers behind the DC Comics franchise are riding a wave of positivity right now.  Let’s hope they can keep that goodwill going strong as the November release of Justice League draws near.  I didn’t mind Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice nearly as much as my colleagues did but the unrelenting darkness of this franchise has kept it from truly taking off. Wonder Woman was a nice reminder of what these films could be while director Zac Snyder deals with a family tragedy, Avengers mastermind Joss Whedon was brought in to oversee postproduction so I’m hoping Whedon can bring a little Marvel spark to the DC Universe.  This extended look at Justice League gives a few more clues for audiences to decipher and one cliffhanger that already has the internet abuzz.