Loads of horror on here recently with platforms pushing their hallowe’en offerings. Not really my genre so I’ve got into the spirit with a couple of spooky comedies and one truly horrific offering.
What we do in the shadows (2015)
Taika Watiti’s original Vampire flatshare comedy.
Really smart mucking about with the whole vampire mythology. Lots of proper belly laughs as well as cleverness.
Not much wrong with it at all.
8/10
Ghostbusters II (1989)
Misfit scientists unravel mystery of super natural goings on.
“The first one was great, so just chuck in the same ingredients” school of sequels.
Works well for the most part. The first 3/4 has some top comedy. Bill Murray seems less of a presence in this one but his screen time is as good as usual. Rick Moranis’ lawyering had me in stitches, as did what Egon did with the slime.
The last 20 minutes is diabolical shite though. Just doesn’t work on any level and looks terrible. I’d honestly have preferred a caption saying “got girl, killed baddie, lived happily ever after”.
Incidentally, this must have been just about the last major Hollywood special effects fest to be mainly blue screen and stop motion.
6/10
The Brothers Grimsby (2016)
Very different long lost brothers re-unite for some sort of spy gubbins.
I thought that this couldn’t possibly be as shit as it looked. I thought wrong.
It’s based on a hateful view of the lower orders as seen by Maily op Eds on benefit scroungers and the like.
Obviously going for a Farrelly brothers type of gross out. I did actually find some of the more base humour quite funny but some of it missed the mark by a long way.
I did make it all the way through, which puts it ahead of Spy Hard.
+1 for Isla Fisher
2/10