The Family Plan | Review by: Benjamin Garrett

The Family Plan is serviceable entertainment with a major tone problem. It’s a family road trip comedy and an action movie rolled into one, but doesn’t actually fit into either genre. Despite never settling on what kind of film it wants to be, there are worse ways you could pass a couple of hours.

“Watchable” is the first word that came to mind after I finished the movie. It’s generic streaming fare that does nothing horribly, nor does it do anything exciting or unique. The movie follows an ex-mercenary who takes his family on a spontaneous road trip when his cover is blown. His family has no idea about his past, or the danger they’re in now. That premise is stretched to ludicrous lengths, where family members disregard or fail to question some extremely questionable behaviour and situations.

The family dynamic is far more successful than the secret ex-merc plot, and I actually enjoyed some of the genuine moments of bonding they shared. Although it’s nothing groundbreaking, I found myself wanting more family interaction every time the movie pivoted to the less engaging action elements. Sadly, the back half of the movie shifts into full-on action mode, with some fairly dark material that clashes with the lighter tone established in the first half.

The Family Plan doesn’t excel as a comedy or an action flick, but it also doesn’t fall completely flat in either category. Its tone deaf attempt at merging the two genres is certainly noticeable, but not enough that it feels like a complete failure.

2/5

Review by: Benjamin Garrett

Boss Level Film Review

Boss Level is a new addition to the time loop genre, with a twist. Ex-special forces officer, Roy Pulver, played by Frank Grillo, relives the same day until he dies. Every day he is hunted by assassins and when killed, he wakes up back in his bed where he started, only to have to try and survive all over again. Roy has no idea why he is stuck in this infinite time loop but he must do what he can to survive, and the longer he survives, the more he uncovers about his particular situation. Unlike most action films that take time to build up, this film gets right into it and offers tons of non-stop combat sequences that would satisfy any lover of action films. Its erratic flow makes for some fun action scenes which come out of nowhere since Roy can expect the assassins to attack at any moment. If you play video games often and have ever been stuck on a level for hours or even days, you know the feeling of having to repeat the same thing over and over again u...

Godzilla vs. Kong Film Review

Godzilla versus Kong is the action movie we have been longing for since all major blockbuster films pushed back their release dates. After three solo films between Kong and Godzilla, we finally see the two titans clash on film for the first time in what is the culmination of the Universal Monsterverse. The story is split nicely in two as team Kong and team Godzilla each have their own mission. Team Kong is on a secret mission to the center of the earth to uncover the mystery of the titans. This team consists of Dr. Nathan, Dr. Ilene, Maia, and the Youngest character in the film, Jia. Team Godzilla consists of Madison, Josh, and Bernie who are also on a secret mission, to infiltrate Apex Cybernetics with the theory that they are up to no good and are the reason why Godzilla has been acting up recently. The dynamics of the teams are well balanced as the Kong story provides us with serious and more action-heavy bits in contrast to the Apex team story that ...

Inside Out 2 | Review by: Stefano Bove

Nine years ago, Pixar introduced us to Riley, a young girl who is trying to grow with change happening with herself and her family. Her emotions; joy, anger, sadness, fear and disgust help her through these difficult times. Now two years, Riley is 13 and is going through new life changes physically and emotionally as she tries to grip with the reality that the rest of her life relies on how the next weekend goes. All of these changes spark new emotions to grow inside of her. It is a tough time for Riley that she must overcome. It is a snapshot in time that is probably a big emotional trigger for audiences as well as we go on this journey with Riley. Taking the incredibly intricate memory world that was established in the first film, the sequel makes a few minor additions that allow it to feel familiar but still fresh enough to keep us engaged. Many of these new additions are some of the funniest moments in the entire series. With more emotions and human charact...

1st Reviews

Search This Blog