comedy | avideogamelife

Recently watched: Get Hard

Posted on March 31, 2015 by avideogamelife.com

This past weekend we decided to ignore the negative Rotten Tomatoes score and see Get Hard. Now let me say upfront, I generally don’t find Will Ferrell to be very funny. Sure he can make me laugh every so often, but I find most of his movies to be too cheesy to sit through. That said, I absolutely love Kevin Hart and was excited to see how well they worked together.

The movie starts off a little slow, but once it manages to get the set up out of the way things start to get good. Kevin Hart is hilarious and Ferrell’s character’s profound stupidity and ignorance make for some outrageously funny situations. Sure most of the laughs are downright simple and immature, but everything is done just right and it’s hard not to enjoy it. At some points the comedy may be borderline offensive or tasteless, but the majority of it is done well and certainly made me laugh more than I have during any other Will Ferrell routine.

Kevin Hart is the star of the movie and I can’t wait to see what he does next! I highly recommend Get Hard to anyone who wants something lighthearted, occassionaly outrageous and an all round good time. If you enjoyed the Hangover movies you’ll certainly find something to enjoy with Get Hard.

Watch on Netflix: Iliza Shlesinger: Freezing Hot

Posted on February 4, 2015 by avideogamelife.com

Last weekend we watched Iliza Shlesinger’s Netflix exclusive comedy special, Freezing Hot. I loved her War Paint special and Freezing Hot is just as great. Iliza is smart, clever, original and outrageously funny! There isn’t a dull moment, and I was left wanting more.

Luckily there’s a great way to get more Iliza Shlesinger in the way of her weekly podcast, Truth and Iliza. There are currently 24 episodes on iTunes featuring guests such as Joe Rogan, Bob Saget, Diablo Cody and Jay Leno. I’m looking forward to adding it to my podcast feed and going back and listening.

I highly recommend watching Freezing Hot if you’re in the mood for some great stand up comedy.

Recently watched: Guardians of the Galaxy

Posted on February 1, 2015 by avideogamelife.com

Yesterday evening we finished watching Guardians of the Galaxy. I knew absolutely nothing about the Guardians of the Galaxy comics going into the movie, and despite all the hype I hadn’t been very interested in seeing the film. I usually love the Marvel movies, but for whatever reason Guardians never caught my attention.

I think part of it was that the film seemed a little cartoony and too caught up in trying to be funny. Most of the Marvel films have a pretty decent and often self aware sense of humor, however the trailer made it seem like Guardians was going to take it a little too far.

Overall the movie was enjoyable, and it definitely has nice scenery and special effects that stand out on Blu Ray, however I couldn’t really get on board with the humor. Sure it was funny for the first few jokes, but after awhile it just felt like it was trying too hard. That said, I think Vanessa enjoyed it more than I did so maybe I just wasn’t approaching the film with the right attitude.

Guardians is certainly of a different tone than most of the Marvel movies, but maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. It isn’t quite as predictable as other comic book films, and the characters are unique and fresh. Bautista plays his role especially well, and I was surprised by the quality of his character. Groot confuses me, but I feel like he provided the best comedic relief in the film. Rocket Raccoon started out as an enjoyable character, however I feel like his jokes came off a little forced toward the end of the film.

Ultimately I enjoyed the experience of Guardians of the Galaxy, especially the colorful visuals and special effects. I’m interested to see how the story further unfolds, as we’re assured in the end, that the Guardians will return.

Just watched: The Pretty One (loved it!)

Posted on June 14, 2014 by avideogamelife.com

I was looking for a movie to watch long distance with my girlfriend and ended up coming across this one on the Google Play store. Something about it just caught my eye (maybe it was Zoe Kazan ;))and after watching the trailer I knew I wanted to watch it.

The movie tells the story of identical twins, one who is ‘the pretty one’ and the other is the ‘quiet, shy, awkward one’. When an accident takes the live of one of the sisters the surviving twin (the shy one) is mistaken for the other. The surviving twin is then living in a world post-death and must then learn who she really is and where she fits in in the world. There’s a great love story alongside the story of finding oneself and it’s both heartwarming and tearjerking.

I have to say I absolutely LOVE the color in this film. I don’t know how to describe it, other than to say the colors just caught my eye and everything seems to fit right, like a perfect painting. I absolutely love films that seem to use color to set the mood, and this one is on par with (500) Days of Summer and The Great Gatsby (2013) in that regard. I also love the use of music in the movie, especially toward the end.

You may not have heard of this movie (I never have), but it’s certainly worth seeing. Please do yourself a favor and give this film a chance, you’re very unlikely to regret it.

New on TV: Enlisted

Posted on January 12, 2014 by avideogamelife.com

On Friday we watched Fox’s new comedy, Enlisted. I didn’t expect a whole lot, but it was one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in awhile. The characters are quite entertaining and the acting is quality. The show parodies military life, but it doesn’t offer an accurate depiction at all. I understand that’s not the goal, but being an enlisted member of the Air Force I kept getting distracted by the fact that the characters often wear their uniforms incorrectly, and they all need haircuts. Regardless the show was funny and entertaining throughout and I look forward to next Friday’s episode.

I’ve read Enlisted debuted to low ratings, which is unfortunate but to be expected on a Friday night. I hope they move the show to a better time slot so it can make it through the season without being canceled.

EDIT: I’ve been made aware of this video below and think it’s great! Big thumbs up to Enlisted!

Bad Grandpa

Posted on October 30, 2013 by avideogamelife.com

Last Thursday night Vanessa and I saw the latest movie from Johnny Knoxville, Bad Grandpa. Before heading to the theater we watched Jackass 2 on Netflix to get into the mood, but I’ll warn you they’re two entirely different experiences. Bad Grandpa is not a ‘skit’ movie like the Jackass movies, but rather a comedy with a narrative that uses candid camera sequences to amuse the audience as a Grandfather and Grandson trek across the country wreaking havoc on town after town as they go.

The candid sequences deliver laugh after laugh from beginning to end, and they never get stale. The situations the characters find themselves in are often so absurd that you’ll find yourself trying to contain uncontrollable laughter before there’s even a bystander reaction. As the scenes play out you’ll likely find there’s no way to stop yourself from laughing so hard that your lungs hurt.

I haven’t laughed as hard in a movie theater since Ted, and I’d say the laughs in Bad Grandpa greatly exceed anything I’ve ever experienced.

We’re The Millers

Posted on August 11, 2013 by avideogamelife.com

Yesterday Vanessa and I saw We’re The Millers. We both found the trailer quite hilarious every time we saw it, however this week I was a little put off by the number of negative reviews that appeared on Rotten Tomatoes (it currently has a 41% rating). We ended up seeing it anyway and I have to say it was quite enjoyable.

The movie is fun throughout and provides quite a few intense laughs, even if the trailers gave away most of them. There’s plenty to enjoy in this movie, and how could you not enjoy this:

; ) In the end I recommend it to anyone who wants to have a few laughs and enjoy an upbeat movie about a dysfunctional “family” trip.