Man Up (2015); The Boss (2016); My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016); Wreck-It Ralph (2012); Stir Crazy (1980)

It hasn't been too long since my last blog entry, but that's how it's supposed to be, right? Me not waiting so long so the movie blog isn't such a monumental task... So here goes.

• Man Up (2015) watched on Netflix/Roku, with Andy popping in and out. I really enjoyed this one, and Andy liked it as well. I/we generally like Simon Pegg movies and this was a more realistic rom-com than the standard. You got to see how two imperfect characters came to find each other in a less cutesy way than is the standard, so it made it more relatable. Not to say, there weren't the standard plot points, but it didn't make me roll my eyes. I'd watch this one again.
  
• The Boss (2016) Saw in a theater, sola. I missed the first minute or two (came in at the tail end of her speech to the crowd) and I hate missing even a moment of a film. So I feel like I could have missed something about the character development. But I think the premise of that scene could have been in the trailer. Anyway, I really do like Melissa McCarthy and always enjoy seeing her husband Ben Falcone appear in her movies (similar to Nia Vardalos and husband Ian Gomez). I've even written a movie for her... that being said, I was expecting to have the same reaction as I had to Tammy - expecting it to be stupid but actually finding it to be a nice surprise. This time, however, I wasn't as impressed. Maybe it was just a bit too campy/based on misunderstandings/outside of reality. I think I was just expecting too much from it.  There were some funny bits, of course. I would watch it again, if only to see the very beginning and see if I enjoyed it more once I was familiar with the tone of comedy it aimed to be.
  
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016) Watched in a theater sola. I drove an hour to see this movie before it left the theaters, since it wasn't playing anywhere close to me. I'm so glad I did. I was a HUGE fan of the original. My entire family and friends at the time also loved it. It was so relatable. I've loved Nia's work ever since, and have read her book Instant Mom, too. That said, I was very pleased with this sequel. The characters and tone was pretty similar and had a lot of harkening back to the original. I don't know if a person who hadn't seen the original would get this film. It was more like an inside joke. So I suppose not. I really enjoyed this film and it made me cry at the end. It was lovely and sentimental. I'd of course watch it again and am looking forward to the DVD. Opa!
  
• Wreck-It Ralph (2012) Rented from the library, watched sola, with Andy in and out of the room - this happens when he works out... I really liked the movie and Andy liked what he saw too (which I figured he might since it had old school video games in it). I know this movie had been out for a while, but I never got around to it. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a very clever concept and there was a lot of fun opportunity for characters from the variety of games. I do plan on picking up my own copy and getting Andy to watch it again with me. :)
  
• Stir Crazy (1980) Watched on DVD with Andy. I enjoyed the film. It was zany and fun. A nice throwback to a different era of comedy. I can't really define what makes it different. Maybe less gross-out? All in all, it was fun to watch and very fun to look at IMDB afterwards. The guy who plays the other rodeo dude is Jonathan Banks who I recognized from Community, but you may have seen him in a few other things, like Better Call Saul or Airplane - he looked really different! One of the more surprising finds was that Georg Stanford Brown, who played the gay prisoner, has directed a lot of stuff! Also enjoyed seeing Barry Corbin in it, who I know from Northern Exposure, and who Andy pointed out is currently on The Ranch (he was unrecognizable to me! Andy has a great eye for actors!) Erland van Lidth who played the big scary guy was actually an MIT grad/teacher and trained for opera singing, as did his sister. Like I said, enjoyable film.