Deadpool & Wolverine

Many of the superhero products lately have exploited the multi-verse. It’s a time-travel, timeline, do-over logic which allows filmmakers an excuse to not follow a serialized canon and instead do their own thing with the same actors. The Flash, The X-Men, and various Spidermans have all played with this do-over, what-if logic. So a satire of the “multi-verse” was inevitable. Chock full of comic book Easter eggs, fan service tributes, and real world references, its main entertainment purpose is to make the audience feel smart. “Oh, I get that reference! That’s an X-Men reference! That’s a Loki reference! That’s Ryan’s real-world wife.” It’s less of a story and more of a comic riddle. It rewards all the many hours of previous moviegoing. But it’s full of easy, low-hanging laughs – unfolding as a really violent buddy comedy. It won’t really resonate as a super-hero story, but as a comedy it sticks the landing.

Barb and Star go to Vista del Mar

Is like Dumb and Dumber for the ladies. Really silly, and at times laugh-out-loud funny, this is a comedy musical with two corny, ordinary middle-aged gals going on vacation. Writer Kristen Wiig also plays the villain, a wildly-conceived weirdo who can’t tan and has a funny vendetta. It’s kind of amazing this even got made. It’s silly to the point of being quirky, and it’s single-minded in its frivolity. It’s like they intentionally made it to be a cult comedy… for the ladies.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Francis Lawrence knows how to set a scene and he knows how to move a camera. The physical spaces are striking. But the story here is kind of nihilistic and meh. Everybody loses, it seems, and love is dead. It’s also a musical! Several bluegrass/country songs are performed. Jason Schwartzman is really the only one who comes out unscathed here, devouring scenery with impeccable comic relief. Too bad the fascists win, but I guess that’s how it happens in reality, too.

The Fall Guy

Despite the overuse of one particularly mediocre KISS song, this is pretty good. It’s clever, and at times tries very hard to be so. The plot isn’t wildly original, but takes a big swing by deepening the premise of the old TV show in a tiny but crucial way. The surprises come mostly from zingers. The script feels like it had an army of wisecrackers and zing-writers polish this within an inch of its life. It makes for a fun, light-hearted watch.

Galaxy Quest

Rewatched this love-letter to fandom. It’s still sharp and has a lot of laughs.