Dave Chappelle: The Closer (2021)

Genre: Comedy
Directed by: Stan Lathan
Cast: Dave Chappelle
Running Time: 72 minutes

 

In what the comic has described as the last of a long series of comedy specials, at least for a while, Dave Chappelle takes no prisoners as he gets stuff off his chest, discussing censorship, Twitter, the LGBTQ community and much more.

The show started a little slow, to the point where I was wondering where things would go, but, then, business picked up nicely. Chappelle is as much a raconteur as he is a stand-up comic. He is a master at it. This is a very funny comedy special, with a powerful ending that sticks with you for a while.

 Rating: ««««

The Father (2020)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Florian Zeller
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Olivia Colman, Mark Gatiss
Running Time: 97 minutes

 

Anthony is an aging man suffering from dementia, which leaves him quite lost even in his flat and quite belligerent with the various nurses his daughter Anne try to hire to take care of him in his older days.

This is a touching film, thanks in large part to the brilliant performance offered by Anthony Hopkins. It is so interesting to see the man who brought us Hannibal Lecter play vulnerability so convincingly. The script and direction offered a compelling and unnerving look at dementia, with the story told as if it was seen through the eyes of the person with the disease. It was truly destabilizing. It took some getting used to, but it was worth the effort.

Rating: ««««

People Like Us (2012)

Genre: Drama
Directed by: Alex Kurtzman
Cast: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer
Running Time:114 minutes

 

Sam Harper is a corporate trader in over his head in New York City. When he finds out that his estranged father passed, he begrudgingly flies back home to LA for the funeral and to see his mom, with whom he has a strained relationship. There, Sam finds out that his father had a child with another woman. He creates a lie to enter the life of his new half-sister, a single mom named Frankie.

Melodramatic at times, this film contains its fair share of clichés. Still, thanks to a solid performance by the two leads, and a compelling story, this movie manages to be a good piece of entertainment.

Rating: «««

C.A. (2006-2010)

Genre: TV / Franco / Comedy
Distribution: Louis Morissette, Antoine Bertrand, Isabelle Blais, Sophie Bourgeois
Nombre de saisons: 4

 

Jean-Michel, Yannick, Maude et Sarah sont quatre grands amis aux personnalités fort différentes qui se connaissent depuis leurs études postsecondaires. Maintenant de jeunes professionnels, ils se rencontrent régulièrement dans une forme de conseil d’administration amical où ils échangent sur leurs vies respectives.

Je suis en retard dans ce cas-ci. N’étant pas le plus grand fan de Louis Morissette, je n’avais jamais donné une chance à cette série. J’ai été agréablement surpris. Les textes sont très bons, la chimie entre les comédiens est solide et le tout offre un bon divertissement. J’avoue que le produit a un peu mal vieilli en une décennie, compte tenu de notre époque de politically correct. C’est tout de même rafraichissant de revenir dans le temps un peu.

Rating: ««««

The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)

 Genre: Horror
Directed by: Amy Holden Jones
Cast: Michelle Michaels, Robin Stille, Michael Vilella 

Running Time:76 minutes

 

A group of high school seniors from Venice, California, are having a slumber party, but a maniacal killer is roaming around with a giant power drill terrorizing and killing people — mostly girls.

This film was clearly written with feminist intent, to poke fun at the genre, which makes this slasher film interesting. Because, in spite of the intent, I am not quite sure it was delivered on screen as intended. Still, the use of gratuitous nudity is so in-your-face that it does make you take notice of the craziness of the exploitation genre. There is also a lot of symbolism, let’s just say, in the drill chopping scene.

This is not a grand film, by any stretch of the imagination, but it still entertaining and a very interesting look at the exploitation/slasher film genre.

Rating: «««

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

 Genre: Romantic Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Stanley Kramer,
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Houghton
Running Time:108 minutes

 

Joanna Drayton is a 23-year old white woman who flies into San Francisco after a vacation to Hawaii to make a surprise visit to her parents. The goal of her visit is to introduce her new boyfriend, Dr. John Prentice to her parents. She intends to marry Dr. Prentice, even though he’s a black man. Joanna’s father, an otherwise very Liberal man, has a hard time accepting the idea of his daughter embarking into multi-race marriage.

This film was way ahead of its time. It must have been very hard to make such a film in the 60’s, with all the racial tensions around. Tensions still do exist, but we have evolved somehow as a society. In that sense, the filmmakers did a brilliant job tackling a difficult topic like racism in such a masterful way.

The acting was superb here, which is no surprise. I mean with such names as Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier, you could expect greatness. The ending speech by Tracy’s character was a good closure, though the tearful eyes around were a bit much. There is also the dance moment, in the middle of the movie, with the delivery guy and the maid’s daughter, that felt really out of place. In spite of these little flaws, I consider this a masterpiece.

Rating: ««««

Hustlers (2019)

Genre: Comedy / Drama
Directed by: Lorene Scafaria
Cast: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles
Running Time:110 minutes

 

A journalist prepares a story on a group of New York City strippers who started a side hustle where they drugged and robbed rich men. The reporter interviews the main people in the group, who look back on their adventure.

This is a fun crime comedy/drama with beautiful and sexy female characters involved in a compelling storyline. This film was well directed by Lorene Scafaria, and the cast was solid too. I was hooked, waiting to see where it all would lead. The story dragged a bit in a few places, but, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed.

Rating: ««««