This looks like an absolute shocker but first views can be deceiving. While this certainly isn’t a film you would describe as great it does in fact generate enough laughs to warrant it as a ‘worthy watch’… just be prepared to suspend your belief a little… well, okay a lot!!!

FDR (Chris Pine – Unstoppable, Smalltown Saturday Night) and Tuck (Tom Hardy – Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) are both CIA spies who have such a strong friendship that they see each other as brothers. Then one night a mission goes horribly wrong, a man dies and they find themselves out of action for a while. During their ‘down’ time they both decide to take care of their ‘single lives’. Tuck hits an online dating site and finds someone while FDR pursues a woman he meets in a video store… only problem is they are both after the same woman, Lauren (Reese Witherspoon – Water For Elephants, How Do You Know) who after some bad advice from her best friend, Trish (Chelsea Handler – Hop, TV’S Are You There Chelsea) decides to date both men until she can pick one. The two men see it as a competition and try to see who can win over Lauren first… meanwhile they also have the psychotic Heinrich (Til Schweiger – New Year’s Eve, The Three Musketeers) coming after them to avenge his brother’s death.

You do have to suspend belief but believe it or not the screenplay to This Means War does work. It provides some laughs (the highlight being Tuck’s rampage through a paint-balling course) while you are actually left intrigued at whether Lauren will pick FDR or Tuck… and yes it is quite possible that everyone out there will have their fave for whom she should end up with. There are some parts of the script that are cheesy but there are enough good moments to overshadow that.

The massive problem with the film though seems to be director McG (Terminator Salvation, We Are Marshall). It seemed with his recent efforts that his ‘video-clip’ style of storytelling (that plagued Charlie Angels) was over, it creeps back a little bit here, but the more obvious problem at hand seems to be at times that Mr. G forgot that he was directing an action flick and while the comedy worked some of the action sequences seemed really forced… and worse still filmed with obvious green screens. If you’re going to fake something at least make sure it looks real!!! These scenes really standout and drag the film down a lot.

As you would expect the acting isn’t sensational. Reese Witherspoon oozes her way through the film while Chris Pine seems to relish having a mixture of both comedy and action but it’s Hardy who really steps up and shows that he can deliver comedy with the best of them…that’s not something that you would expect to see.

If you can come to terms with the fact that two CIA agents are willing to ‘battle to the death’ for the girl then you’ll cope with this film. Funny in parts, This Means War delivers more than what the poster promised.

Year: 2012

Director: McG

Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Chelsea Handler, Til Schweiger

Classification: M

Runtime: 98 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

It’s been a long time between Working Dog having a film on the big screen and after viewing Any Questions For Ben? all I can say is it was certainly worth the wait. This is what a romantic comedy (or should that be romantic drama) should be like! Three dimensional characters (and believable), a good storyline and real enough that you know it hasn’t just been dreamed up by some screenwriter that has read too many Mills & Boon novels.

Ben (Josh Lawson – Crave, TV’S House Of Lies) seems to have everything you could ever dream of. His friends Nick (Daniel Henshall – Snowtown, Bars And Tone) and Andy (Christian Clark – Scumbus, TV’S Home & Away) watch on enviously as he drifts from dream girl to dream girl while doing a job they feel most would kill for. But it takes an embarrassing incident in front of a bunch of school kids for Ben to realise his job isn’t that interesting and worse still he never seems to be able to see anything through… a point that another friend, Emily (Felicity Ward – TV’S Laid & Sleuth 101) is only too happy to point out. Ben’s confusion is only made greater when he meets Alex (Rachael Tayor – The Darkest Hour, Red Dog).

Director Rob Sitch (The Dish, The Castle) along with his fellow Working Dog co-workers Santo Cilauro and Tom Gleisner have yet again done what they have been doing since The Late Show and that is create a near-perfect script that has you laughing all along. Yet like The Castle they also remember that you have to feel for these characters. At a first glance Ben might be an unlikable character, but by the end of the film you really are hoping he can pull his life together and get the girl.

The big winners with Any Questions For Ben? are Josh Lawson and the City Of Melbourne itself. Sitch has captured Melbourne in a way that no other filmmaker ever has. He showcases the fact it is a cosmopolitan heaven and as a result it equals London and New York on the big screen. Meanwhile, the screen allows Lawson to prove what fans of The Librarians have known for a long time – that he is one of Australia’s most genuine and best performing comedic actors.

Lawson is well supported by Felicity Ward and Daniel Henshall who also show that they have more strings in their bow. Ward really steps up from her Ronnie Johns Half Hour days and shows that she belongs on the big screen while Henshall backs up his fine performance in Snowtown with a worthy comedic performance.

If you’re looking for a fluffy romantic comedy you won’t find it here. Instead Any Questions For Ben overcomes a slow start to become a well written romantic drama that shows the rest of the world just how this genre should be done.

Year: 2012

Director: Rob Sitch

Stars: Josh Lawson, Rachael Tayor, Felicity Ward, Daniel Henshall, Christian Clark

Classification: M

Runtime: 114 mins

Rating6:

Dave Griffiths

Well it had to happen some day, and now in the form of A Few Best Men Australia finally has a locally-made comedy that works. Mark my words though if you don’t like films such as American Pie or Road Trip then you’re never gonna love this.

British backpacker, David Locking (Xavier Samuel – Anonymous, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) meets Aussie girl, Mia Ramme (Laura Brent – Anima, The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader) while on a tropical island. Totally in love he proposes to her which means he and his best men, Tom (Kris Marshall – Oka!, D.O.A.), Graham (Kevin Bishop – Ma part du gateau, Royal Wedding) and Luke (Tim Draxl – Ivory, Undocumented). This is a nightmare within itself as they soon find themselves meeting Mia’s overbearing politician Dad (Jonathan Biggins – TV’S At Home With Julia & The Jesters), her fun-loving mother (Olivia Newton-John – 1 A Minute, Score: A Hockey Musical), her ‘lesbian’ sister (Rebel Wilson – Bridesmaids, TV’S Workaholics) and the family’s pride a joy – a sheep (well a ram to be more precise). Added to all that is the fact that the boys soon find themselves running foul of local, violent drug dealer, Ray (Steve Le Marquand – TV’S Small Time Gangster & Underbelly).

On the surface this looks like yet another unfunny Australian comedy but it is when you realise that it is directed by Stephan Elliott who has brought us films such as Easy Virtue and Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert and written by Dean Craig, who is best known as the writer of Death Of A Funeral, that you can start to understand why this film works so well. Yes, the story is unbelievable and at times the humor is incredibly crass but who really cares as long as the film is making you laugh… and believe me this is the kind of film that will make you laugh.

There are some strange casting choices in the film but now even I must admit that Olivia Newton-John can be damn funny when she wants to be. The other big surprise is Xavier Samuel who shows that he is more than capable of pulling off comedy if he needs to. And if you’re planning on seeing A Few Best Men then keep a look out for Rebel Wilson because she has some brilliantly funny moments.

A real surprise but A Few Best Men is proof that Australia can make a funny comedy film. If you like it a little crass, then you’re gonna love this.

Year: 2011

Director: Stephan Elliott

Stars: Xavier Samuel, Laura Brent, Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop, Tim Draxl, Jonathan Biggins, Olivia Newton-John, Rebel Wilson, Steve Le Marquand

Classification: TBC

Runtime: 97 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

At last a film that lives up its hype. There have been some pretty dodgy action comedies around over the last few years and I haven’t laughed so hard during one since Abduction, okay well I wasn’t supposed to laugh during Abduction (okey dokes… but I did) but I was supposed to laugh during Tower Heist, so that is really an improvement. See, this time around they actually got the right mix of action and comedy to make the film work.

Tower Heist is set in a large up-market apartment building in New York. The tower’s manager, Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller – Little Fockers, Mastermind) keeps all the residents and staff happy… and he seems to be a really likable guy. However, when the tower’s richest resident, Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda – Wanderlust, TV’S The Big C) is arrested for a financial scam it is revealed that the tower’s staff have lost all of their pensions because Kovacs invested them with Shaw. While Shaw is being pursued by Special Agent Claire Denham (Tea Leoni – Spring/Fall, The Smell Of Success) Kovacs teams up with Enrique (Michael Pena – 30 Minutes Or Less, The Good Doctor), Charlie (Casey Affleck – The Killer Inside Me, Gone Baby Gone), Mr. Fitzhugh (Matthew Broderick – New Year’s Eve, Margaret), Odessa (Gabourey Sibide – Yelling To The Sky, Precious) and ‘career criminal’ Slide (Eddie Murphy – Shrek Forever After, Imagine That) in a bid to get the money back.

While director, Brett Ratner (New York, I Love You, Cop House) does a sensational job at the helm of this film (and possibly shows Hollywood he deserves to do more than the TV movies he has been doing) much of the credit for the film working needs to go to the screenwriters who have created some truly funny moments while also not forgetting that there needs to be a little bit of action… the scenes showing the crims getting the car out of the apartment are inventive but are also believable. They must also be credited for a great ending that certainly doesn’t leave its audience let down and for the fact that they manage to put some real heart into the film. Mr. Fitzhugh’s story and the near-suicide of a character are heart-felt moments that you just don’t expect to see in films like this.

Acting wise everyone pulls their weight although it is Ben Stiller and Alan Alda who are the shining lights. Alda plays the bad-guy really well and it is obvious that he enjoyed the opportunity. Meanwhile, Still offers a wake-up call to those who are always willing to write-off his performances. His comedic moments are spot on and more importantly he looks menacing in the scenes where he has to be angry, such as when he is smashing up Shaw’s car. Stiller certainly shows everyone that he has a few acting bows at his ready if he needs them… he really hits the mark.

I’ll admit when I went into Tower Heist I was expecting, but I ended up leaving the cinema content with seeing an action/comedy that actually works.

Year: 2011

Director: Brett Ratner

Stars: Ben Stiller, Alan Alda, Tea Leoni, , Michael Pena, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Eddie Murphy, Gabourey Sibide

Classification: M

Runtime: 104 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

Okay, here’s a tip for Adam Sandler. It’s time to surround yourself with people who are willing to tell you the truth and not just say ‘yes’ to you. It is so obvious that everyone Sandler showed the script of Jack And Jill to must have boosted his ego by telling him how great it was, instead they should have been bashing him over the head with the manuscript and telling him how crap it was. As a result Sandler finds himself the main man in one of the worst movies of 2011.

Jack Sadelstein (Adam Sandler – Zookeeper, Just Go With It) has everything working out just fine for him. He is happily married to Erin (Katie Holmes – The Son Of No One, Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark) and has two cheery (if not slightly dysfunctional) children. Then he faces his worst nightmare. His twin sister, Jill (also played by Sandler) is coming to visit, a nightmare because Jack despises his annoying twin. To top it off Jack also hits a hurdle with his successful advertising company when a company has their heart set on Al Pacino (The Son Of No One, You Don’t Know Jack) to be in their next television ad… something that Jack doesn’t see happening in a million years.

Director, Dennis Dugan (Just Go With It, Grown Ups) also deserves a good ass-kicking for his role in making sure that Jack And Jill made it to the cinemas. He should have read the script once and been able to say to Sandler “um sorry pal this just isn’t funny.” The film may provide a laugh here and there but for the most part the comedy is juvenile and just falls flat, so much so you can only think that Sandler must have photos of Pacino, Holmes and Depp (The Rum Diary, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) that they don’t want released, why else would they slum it in a film this trouble.

Aside from the woeful script the other thing that makes Jack And Jill such a stinker is the fact that Sandler is just plain awful as Jill. He’s not funny, and I’m sorry but donning ladies clothes and putting on a child’s voice just isn’t acting. If he wanted to make the part work he needed to put in a hell of a lot more effort or just bitten the bullet and actually got an actress to play the part (even though it may have defeated Sandler’s juvenile view for the film).

Jack And Jill is one of the worst movies of the year… do yourself a favor and make sure you steer clear.

Year: 2011

Director: Dennis Dugan

Stars: Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino

Classification: PG

Runtime: 91 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

The French have done it again! Once again they have been able to release a quirky comedy that you can’t help laughing at. Filled with interesting characters, great one liners and some wonderfully comedic situations The Women On The 6^th Floor truly deserves the title – one of the funniest comedies of the year!

Jean-Louis (Fabrice Luchini – Potiche, Les Invites de Mon Pere) and Suzanne Joubert (Sandrine Kiberlain – The Bird, Beur sur la ville) are a conservative couple who has their world turned around with the arrival of a new Spanish maid named, Maria (Natalie Verbeke – TV’S Doctor Mateo & Los Serrano). Maria opens Jean-Louis’ eyes to the plight of the maids that live on the sixth floor and as he tries to help them he finds himself drawn to them more… and discovers he has feelings for Maria.

Unlike most American comedies, director/screenwriter Philippe Le Guay (Du Jour Au Lendemain, The Cost Of Living) makes sure that The Woman On The 6^th Floor doesn’t have to work too hard for a laugh. Everything seems to have naturally, and nothing feels forced. The same can be said for the romance between Jean-Louis and Maria. In many films (I’m thinking of Entrapment right now) a relationship between an older male and younger female seems creepy and out-of-place, but here it seems to work remarkable well. You can easily see why Jean-Louis is attracted to Maria, and you see why someone like Maria may find Jean-Louis a viable option for a relationship.

Le Guay makes sure the film doesn’t just centre around the romance though. Looking back he touches on some pretty heavy topics, such as fairness for maids and Spanish politics, but never once do you feel that you are being preached at. He manages to fit in a little message in there about being who you are and not changing for other people, it’s seamless but it is there.

As usual Fabrice Luchini puts in a brilliant effort but the real star here is Natalie Verbeke. More widely known for her work on French TV she makes the step up to feature films with ease. She has a classic style of beauty, and has acting ability to add to her pretty face. She really is a breath of fresh air here and you can only hope that she appears on the big screen more often now. You could even see her making the transition to Hollywood easily as well.

If you’re looking for a delightfully funny comedy then you can’t go past The Women On The 6^th Floor, this is one that is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Year: 2011

Director: Philippe Le Guay

Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Kiberlain, Natalie Verbeke

Classification: PG

Runtime: 106 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

It may nearly be thirty years old but a little bit of remastering has brought the classic Ghostbusters back to life brighter and better than ever. Even better still the story and the comedy of the film still hold up and once again audiences get a chance to relive their early years through what after a re-watch I have decided should be classed as a piece of cinematic brilliance.

For those who have never seen Ghostbusters, it tells the story of three scientists, Dr. Peter Venkman (Bill Murray – Passion Play, Fantastic Mr. Fox), Dr. Raymond Stantz (Dan Aykroyd – Yogi Bear, TV’S The Defenders) and Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis – Year One, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) lose their jobs shortly after they discover ghosts really are real… and then determine a way to trap them. The three then form an agency called Ghost Busters and decide to make their services available to the public. Soon, they are working on the mysterious happenings that are occurring in the apartment of the beautiful, Dana (Sigourney Weaver – Abduction, Paul). Soon, they realise that the happenings there are about to turn into something catastrophic.

Director, Ivan Reitman (No Strings Attached, My Super Ex-Girlfriend) really was onto something special when he was to sit at the helm of Ghostbusters. The film really does nothing wrong. Sure, some of the special effects look a little bit dated these days but everything else works just fine. When you are laughing out loud at Ghostbusters it makes you realise just how poor today’s comedies really are while first-time viewers of the film will get a chance to see how easily sci-fi and comedy can be mixed… now why can’t somebody manage to do it these days.

The real standout in this film though is Bill Murray. Like the recently released Get Low this is really one of Murray’s better films. His performance is faultless and his comedy timing is enough to make any modern day comedian jealous. The character of Venkman is one of the funniest roles to ever surface in Hollywood. His womanizing ways make him a laugh-a-moment buffoon, and he has you laughing over and over again.

Having Ghostbusters remastered is the perfect excuse to give this old classic another watch and if you’re family hasn’t seen it yet then I guess you’ll just have to make a trip to the cinema as soon as you can. Even after 30 years Ghostbusters is still a comedy that will have you laughing throughout the entire film.

Year: 1984

Director: Ivan Reitman

Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Sigourney Weaver

Classification: PG

Runtime: 104 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

Finally a smart rom-com with a difference and it takes screen legend, Woody Allen to show everyone exactly how it should be done. I never thought I would be describing a romantic comedy as one of the films of the year but I just can’t recommend Midnight In Paris highly enough and it is truly deserving of the title.

Screenwriter, Gil (Owen Wilson – The Big Years, Cars 2) arrives in Paris with his fiancée, Inez (Rachel McAdams – Morning Glory, Sherlock Holmes). And while Gil wants to lap up the romantic feeling that is Paris, Inez would rather hang around with her over-bearing parents, John (Kurt Fuller – TV’S Svetlana & Psych) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy – Life Of Lemon, TV’S Love Bites) as well as her annoying friend, Paul (Michael Sheen – Few Options, Jesus Henry Christ). Meanwhile, Gil finds a way to travel back in time and finds himself in the world of Ernest Hemmingway (Corey Stoll – Salt, Helena From The Wedding) and Gertude Stein (Kathy Bates – You May Not Kiss The Bride, A Little Bit Of Heaven). Here, he not only finds himself as a writer but also discovers the very beautiful, Adriana (Marion Cotillard – Contagion, Little White Lies).

Woody Allen (You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Whatever Works) really has gone close to writing and directing film with Midnight In Paris. The characters are sensational (certainly not one dimensional) and Allen remembers the most important thing about a romantic comedy, and that is to include the comedy part. This is the kind of film that will have audience laughing out loud… a lot. He knows that he doesn’t need crass humour to make a film funny, his use of intelligent humour really does bring class to what is already a beautiful film. Allen also captures Paris in a way that only ‘an outsider-who-is-love-with-the-place’ can and it obvious that Allen has put a lot of thought into the film… if the rumors are true he has been planning on making this film for more than 30 years. His only slip-up lies with a confusing thing that happens with the character of Adriana but in the context of the whole film it can easily be forgotten about.

The other amazing thing that Woody Allen manages to do with Midnight In Paris is get a magnificent performance out of Owen Wilson. Wilson can be hit-or-miss at best but here he is brilliant. No discredit to Mr. Wilson but he does do ‘confused-and-lost’ really well and he is truly believable as Gil. In fact the whole cast does an amazing job, but along with Wilson it is Marion Cotillard that manages to steal the show and the scenes they share together are the highlight of the whole film.

Midnight In Paris is an intelligent romantic-comedy that is humorous and thoroughly enjoyable. It is a sensational film that shouldn’t be missed.

 Year: 2011

Director: Woody Allen

Stars: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Marion Cotillard

Classification: PG

Runtime: 94 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

When-oh-when is somebody going to come up with a romantic comedy that isn’t as predictable as the four seasons. New rom-com What’s Your Number? is enjoyable for the most part but it absolutely irks you when you realise you can tell how it is going to end about fifteen minutes into the film.

Ally Darling (Anna Faris – Take Me Home Tonight, Yogi Bear) has just made a disturbing discovery. According to a study by a leading doctor women who have more than 10.5 lovers (what happened to the .5 guy I’d like to know?) may never find a husband. For Ally that is a problem because she realises that she has had 19 lovers and she feels if you reaches 20 it’ll never happen. Therefore, she hires her ex-cop, womanizing neighbour, Colin Shea (Chris Evans – Captain America: The First Avenger, Punture) to hunt down her exes and she feels one of them may be Mr. Right and it means that she’ll never actually have to reach the magical 20. Oh, and while that is happening she has to help her sister, Daisy (Ari Graynor – Ten Year, The Sitter) organize her wedding while they are being judged within an inch of their lives by their mother, Ava (Blythe Danner – Detachment, Paul).

Most of the enjoyment from What’s Your Number? comes from screenwriters’ work, you get the feeling that director, Mark Mylod (TV’S Entourage & Once Upon A Time) is just along for the ride. The screenplay allows for both Ally and Colin to be enjoyable characters and despite the fact that the general plot is quite ridiculous the story itself is quite believable. But the highlight of the movie is the one-liners, there are number of brilliant lines including the gem (“I may not have been your first but I can be your last” “Why? Are you going to rape and kill me?”). The big shame however is that you know from the second that you meet Colin what is going to happen at the end, it’s just good that the screenwriters made the journey to that point quite enjoyable for the audience.

The other bright spark with What’s Your Number? is Anna Faris who really has come a long way since her Scary Movie role. You can even see a vast change from her appearance in Yogi Bear and you get the feeling that on the back of this performance that she may replace Katherine Heigl as the new ‘rom-com-it-girl’. She is enjoyable to watch and looks like she having a great time making the film. Chris Evans is also credible but you can’t help but wonder if this is a step back in his career after his work on Captain America: The First Avenger.

What’s Your Number? doesn’t break any new ground in the rom-com world but is still a quite enjoyable watch if you’re looking for a ladies night out.

Year: 2011

Director: Mark Mylod

Stars: Anna Faris, Chris Evans, Ari Graynor, Blythe Danner

Classification: MA15+

Runtime: 106 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

Many of the Australian movies made in the last 20 years have been fairly dour and humourless affairs about death, murder, violence, crime, mental illness and other such dark and depressing topics. Check out movies like The Square, Black Balloon, Wolf Creek, The Boys, Animal Kingdom, Romper Stomper, Bad Boy Bubby, Noise, Snowtown (possibly the most unrelentingly oppressive and disturbing movie this writer has ever seen), the list just goes on and on. Of course there are exceptions, and these are all brilliant pieces of cinema in their own ways, but it seems to be an ongoing theme developing in Australian film.

However, and speaking of exceptions, bucking (or maybe barking?) this trend in a big way is Red Dog, which to sum up in a single word is quite simply a joy. A simple but highly effective and engaging tale of a single, exceptional canine’s effect on the rough and ready inhabitants of a remote mining community in coastal Western Australia. There is little to no plot to speak of, but this isn’t that kind of movie. The title character’s misadventures, personality and the manner in which the supporting cast (ie, the humans, and one non-human) respond to him more than sustain the viewer’s interest and carry the movie’s hour and a half length.

Several luminaries of Australian cinema, such as Noah Taylor, Bill Kerr (in what must have been one of his very last films) and Rachael Taylor lend their talents to this Aussie gem, but to a man, or woman, they are content to stand back and let the four legged actor take centre stage throughout.

Apparently based on a true story, Red Dog is sad (although in a poignant, rather than depressing way), funny, uplifting, offbeat and just doggone entertaining all at once. For a charming alternative to the downbeat offerings that Australian cinema has served up in recent times, make Red Dog a priority on your ‘movies to see’ list. One of the films of the year, no question.

Rod Whitfield