Showing on Amazon Prime.

There is a lot to be said about the idea that the end of a film dictates your view of it and Troop Zero is a good example of that, because it wasn’t until right to the end that I realised I’d enjoyed it!

Set in 1977 Georgia, the film focuses on the story of Christmas Flint (played by the excellent talent that is Mackenna Grace) a young girl who is coming to the terms with losing her mother as well as being one of her schools unpopular kids, she copes with this by immersing herself in a fascination with space. Her life is changed when she learns of a NASA competition to have the words of children included on a disk to be sent to space and played out into the galaxy, however to be included she needed to be part of the winning Birdie Troop at the local Birdie Scout Jamboree, but of course she is not a Birdie Scout.

Her answer is to put together a troop made up of other kids out on the periphery of the school social ladder, which leads us to the usual story of a group of misfits trying to get together to pursue a dream against the odds and of course up against the popular kids!

What I enjoyed about Troop Zero and what its end did, was that throughout it plays a little with this common movie trope and retains a quirky nature, never been quite the sweet success story you expect, none more than Viola Davis’s Miss Rayleen who is never quite the positive cheerleader that you expect and the troop never quite achieve the things they aim for.

What I enjoyed about it most though was that it stuck true to its quirky nature right up to the end and didn’t cop out. While it’s a relatively well trodden story path, Troop Zero does it with a quirky good nature and successfully plays around with the expected twists and turns for this kind of story. I doubt it will change anyone’s life, but it’s certainly an enjoyable diversion.

Showing on Netflix.

Earlier this year there was a lot of (rightful) praise for Adam Sandler’s performance in Uncut Gems showing that there is an actor of quality, two years previous to this was the less well known (to me) The Meyerowitz Story  written and directed by Noah Baumbach a film again in which Sandler shows there is more to his acting range.

The film focuses on the Meyerowitz family which revolves around the patriarchal figure of Harold, a lecturer and frustrated artist and how his behaviour and attitude have affected those closest to him especially his three children played by Sandler, Elizabeth Marvel and Ben Stiller. When Harold becomes ill it forces the three of them together and the 2nd half of the film focuses on how they discover a family bond that had eluded them and the more they spend time together the more the realise the relationship with their father has affected their relationship and attitude on life.

It’s a darkly comedic exploration of those relationships carried by four solid performances in the central roles and a story that relies on the cinematic trope of taking the same story from multiple angles, but in Baumbachs hands it is well executed and gives you a better understanding of the perspective of each of the character’s and their relationships.

It’s not perfect, nor a light couple of hours entertainment, but it is a well put together story that kept me engaged and interested throughout with characters who you cared about or at least had sympathy for.

If you want to see Adam Sandler in something interesting but with less stress than Uncut Gems, this is worth checking out.

Showing on Netflix.

Amy Poehler directs and stars in this tail of a group of friends who rent a house in the Napa Valley to get together to celebrate the 50th birthday of Rachel Dratch’s, Rebecca. Which predictably leads to a story of self discovery, regret and the chance to rediscover friendships, all linked by a selection of comedy set pieces, mainly centred around drinking too much wine, you know the story, you’ve seen it before.

While there is nothing particularly fresh or original here with Wine Country treading very familiar ground, I rather enjoyed it and was somewhat surprised by some of the negative reviews.

While what we get is a very nuts and bolts comedy, we have a cast of talented comic actors with a solid script that allows Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell et al to show their comedic qualities. The characters are all the ones you recognise and expect to see in this kind of story and the story line unfolds as you’d expect.

With that said, It remains consistently funny, never gets to saccharine sweet and at around 100 minutes doesn’t over indulge itself and embraces its light and fluffy nature. While it’s not spectacular it’s certainly humorous and enjoyable with a cast you’re happy to spend time with and if nothing else there’s some spectacular scenery to enjoy!

If you’re after some disposable comedic movie entertainment this may fit the bill.

Showing on Netflix.

Will Ferrell writes (with Andrew Steele) and stars in a fictional story of an Icelandic small town band Fire Saga who find themselves as thier countries entry into the Eurovision song contest.

Ferrell plays Lars, enamored by the contest as a young boy still grieving the loss of his mother, he vows to one day win it with his lifelong friend Sigrit, played by Rachel McAdams, who credits Lars with literally helping her to find her voice.

Now it would be untrue to say that this film does not have problems, especially in an uneven first half, but it would be equally untrue to say even with its flaws, I didn’t find it enjoyable fun.

Problem wise, its first half particularly feels pedestrian with not enough laughs. It’s also unclear who it’s aimed at with a range of actors from around the globe delivering a set of seemingly stereotypical views of Icelanders with varying quality Swedish chef style accents, while also seemingly poking fun at the very competition at the centre of the story.

However half way through, as we find ourselves at the actual contest, we get a fantastically entertaining musical “mashup” which lifts the film and from their it finds its feet, focussing on the seemingly unrequited love Sigrid has for Lars, a fun performance from Dan Stevens as Russian contestant Alexander Lemtov and a surprisingly convincing appearance by Graham Norton as himself.

Rachel McAdams is a big part of how the film gets past many of its flaws as she brings a warmth and one of the less ridiculous accents to Sigrid.

It’s too long at just over 2 hours but it does has plenty to enjoy and brings more than the occasional smile.

Showing on Netflix.

Directed by Greg Pritikin and starring Chevy Chase and Richard Dreyfuss The Last Laugh tells the story of Al Hart, a long time comedy talent agent who is encouraged to move into a care home as he enters his later years, where he’s reunited with his first ever client, Richard Dreyfuss’s Buddy Green, who had seemingly thrown it all away as a young comic, Al encourages him to get back on the road and on tour.

What that gives us is a classic road trip film, it’s not original and the storyline is relatively predictable, but that’s fine, it’s delivered with enough warmth and laughs to keep you engaged and with a cast of veteran actors led by Chase and Dreyfuss, especially, who carries the film a long and keeps you engaged.

At 98 minutes it doesn’t over stretch and it was good to see a well looking Chevy Chase back in a starring role.

It’s perfectly fine comedy, nothing special and probably a film in its perfect environment on your tele when you have nowhere else to go!

Showing on Netflix.

Adapted from Joan Didion’s novel The Last Thing he Wanted supposedly tells the story of Anne Hathaway’s Elena McMahon, an investigative journalist who is working on stories of fighting in Nicaragua and wants to understand the US’s part in this as well as other conflicts. She then finds herself pulled from the story and sent to follow Reagan’s election campaign where we come across Ben Affleck’s Treat Morrison, some kind of politician identified for bigger things.

Elena’s life is then changed when her estranged father (Willem Dafoe) becomes ill and shares with her a big business deal that will be “the one”, however it would seem his business is gun running. Elena then inexplicably decides she can do some gun running on his behalf, this amazingly doesn’t end well, with me so far?

I said at the beginning of the synopsis “supposedly that’s what it’s about” because if that description sounds unclear and convoluted that’s nothing compared to what unfolds on screen. From the minute we hear Hathaway’s mumbled narration which makes no sense the film lurches from one unclear plot line to another. It feels like the film was cut into 100 segments, which were then randomly stuck together to produce the finished article.

Even with a talented cast Hathaway, Affleck, Dafoe supported by Rosie Perez and Toby Jones amongst others, there is no saving this mess of a film, incoherent dialogue, no discernible plot, a series of random events that may or may not be linked to each other and a twist at the end, that may or not be a twist depending on whether you’ve understood the preceding 100 minutes or so.

There is some enjoyment in Hathaway’s performance and a fun cameo from Toby Jones but there is no saving of this film, maybe it’s a work of misunderstood genius but I doubt it. I’d imagine the last thing he wanted was the same as the rest of us, to not have to watch this film.

Available on Streaming Services.

Days of Bagnold Summer is the directorial debut of Simon Bird (yes he of The Inbetweeners fame) and provides a charming portrait of coming to terms with change and re-defining who you are. Based on a graphic novel by Joff Winterhart it focuses on the awkward but loving relationship between a teenage boy, Daniel, played by Earl Cave and his single Mum Sue (Monica Dolan).

Birds film is a gentle look at an evolving mother and son relationship when the two of them unexpectedly find themselves spending the 6 weeks of summer school holiday’s together when Daniels now Florida based Dad changes their summer plans.

Daniel is your “average” surly teenager his look and attitude informed by his love for heavy metal bands, sporting a fine selection of black Metallica T-shirts, while his mum is the archetypal quiet librarian, dressing to “un-impress” with a safe haircut and hiding behind the comfort of her glasses.

The two main characters are hugely engaging throughout as you see the desire from Sue to find ways to be close to her son who is trying to find his place in the world, while he is auditioning to become the lead singer for a new band, alongside trying to come to terms with that annoying gentle encouragement from his Mum to get a summer job, tidy up, go shopping and her insistence that he can’t go to a wedding later in the summer in a pair of black trainers and needs new shoes.

While this kind of look at a relationship isn’t particularly new and this story doesn’t do anything unexpected with the premise, the story is lovingly told and the change in the relationship built around the family dog during the final act is charming. Daniels realisation of what his Mum means to him alongside her own, that she needs to help him find his own way and compromise a little on her idea of how he should be, provides a satisfying conclusion.

Simon Bird shows some nice touches, I’d particularly encourage that you look out for the representations of distance that are dropped in throughout the film which I thought were really well done and the two main characters are strongly supported, especially by Tamsin Grieg and Alice Lowe.

Days of Bagnold Summer is an enjoyable piece of work, with characters you enjoy spending time with and for anyone with teenage kids, provides a fun peek into a world many of us are familiar with.

Showing on Netflix.

In the 1970’s National Lampoon redefined comedy in the United States and beyond, spawning from a Harvard campus magazine, they introduced the world to comedy talent who would become household names, first via books and magazines before spawning the most successful film comedy, up to that time, with the classic that is Animal House. All of this coming from the minds of Henry Beard (Domhnall Gleeson) and Doug Kenney  (Will Forte).

David Wain’s film focuses on the life of the two founders and more specifically that of Kenney. The film flits between traditional biopic interspersed with fantasy scenes (a la Rocketman but less extravagant) showed perhaps most clearly by Martin Mull’s self proclaimed narrative device of an older Kenney.

It’s an interesting reflection of the time and focuses on the story of a hugely influential character in modern comedy, but one, as we hear in the intro, that you’ve never heard of. Kenney’s, like with many comedic talents, zany exterior hides an inner sadness that shows itself through the excess that his success and quickly acquired wealth allowed him, alongside talents of the time like John Belushi and Chevy Chase, to spiral into, as these new comedians developed a “rock n roll” lifestyle.

While the film provides an interesting window into their world, it never quite fully works, it’s a little uneven and feels like it drags as the film enters its final act. However, there are things to enjoy, there are plenty of solid performances from a plethora of well known current comedic talent and some recreations of well known scenes from influential comedies from the late 70’s.

If like me you’re a fan of National Lampoon, while not perfect, A Futile and Stupid Gesture provides an interesting take on its creator and a chance to see loving recreations of famous moments from their colourful past.