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Geekscape Movie Reviews: Tag

by MCDaveJune 14, 2018

Oscar Wilde once said that “life imitates art far more than art imitates life”, but that isn’t the case with Jeff Tomsic’s debut feature film, Tag. The comedy opens with a claim that the film is based on true events, prompting me to immediately turn to my guest and casually remark at the looseness of the inspiration. And as the film navigates through its wild premise into a warm and heartfelt conclusion, Tag closes with real-life footage of the actual men behind the decades-long game that influenced the film, most of which closely resembled the hilarious onscreen moments captured by Tomsic and instantly spawned a newfound appreciation for the story.

Five childhood friends embrace the mantra that “we don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing”, and it’s resulted in an intricate lifelong game of Tag that spans the entire country during the month of May every year. These committed participants use the elaborate game to strengthen the bond of their friendship and keep correspondence as they grow older. Yet, the stakes get raised when Hoagie (Ed Helms) informs the other guys that Jerry (Jeremy Renner), the game’s most accomplished player who’s never been tagged before, plans to retire at the end of May. Therefore, Hoagie and the rest of the crew engage in multiple plots to finally tag Jerry once and for all.

Jeff Tomsic’s perfectly cast debut feature comes with many strengths and weaknesses en route to a satisfying finale that culminates on a completely uplifting note. And while this softens the blow regarding the film’s various miscues and shortcomings, Tag‘s wonderful closing sequence fails to mask blatantly egregious issues within the movie. For starters, I immediately picked up on a clear violation of the game’s “no tag back” rule. An error like this is small and forgivable, yet a massive writing blunder surrounding Tag‘s unexpected “twist” at the end of the film proves much more detrimental. An earlier line of dialogue completely contradicts the story’s attempted misdirection and this careless lack of attention to detail stains an otherwise decent effort. Admittedly, Tag‘s characters are relentless in their quests for laughs, mostly at the hands of comedy stalwarts Hannibal Buress, Jake Johnson and Isla Fisher, hitting on jokes nearly as often as they whiff. Consequently, this approach keeps a light-hearted and persistently funny foundation constant throughout the film, however it also shines a bright spotlight on the frequent failed attempts at generating laughs. And although Tag begins with a clever and unique story, the novelty begins to wear off throughout the film’s latter stages, which mounts pressure to deliver on a strong conclusion. Thankfully the film does just that, leaving Tag as a teetering comedic effort whose countless highs and lows will tip the scale in different directions for each individual viewer.

GRADE: 3/5

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A “Bored to Death” Movie? … No, I Want More!

by MCDaveDecember 31, 2013

For nearly a year we’ve been living with the news of a return for one of HBO’s most under-appreciated television shows. Back in January of 2013, it was first reported that the once-cancelled, 30-minute comedy show, “Bored to Death”, would rise from the grave … but this time, in feature length form. While any news of a resurrection had my attention, the truth is, I wanted more. Call it greed, call it wishful-thinking, call it whatever you want. Bottom line: “Bored to Death” NEEDS TO MAKE A COMEBACK!

While the television show’s typical small-mystery format would translate nicely to a longer feature-length film boasting a more complicated and developed riddle, simply giving “Bored to Death” the movie-treatment is like trying to cover a gunshot wound with a tiny band-aid. Clearly ahead of its time and undeniably original, “Bored to Death” developed a trio of characters that were lovable and laughable all at the same time. Leading star and unlicensed private detective, Jonathan Ames (played by Jason Schwartzman), helped relieve boredom from all of our lives. His quasi-dangerous and often hilarious mysteries transformed the mundane into a spectacle, giving each of its “trapped in a 9 to 5 lifestyle”-viewers a method of escape.

Schwartzman was hardly the lone highlight in HBO’s lost, but never forgotten, masterpiece. Along with his pot-smoking sidekicks George (Ted Danson) and comic-book creator, Ray (Zack Galifianakis), the trio of bone-headed heroes made for some of television’s finest moments during its short-lived run from 2009-2011. These three comedic actors are all household names in their own right, yet still, “Bored to Death” feels like the pinnacle of their performing careers. With each progressive season outshining its predecessor, this is truly the best you’ve ever seen Zack Galifianakis, Ted Danson and Jason Schwartzman … and I do mean EVER (yes, I’m including The Hangover and “Cheers”)!

“Bored to Death” also landed a ton of fantastic cameos from Kevin Bacon, Kristen Wiig, Olympia Dukakis, and the list goes on. In fact, one season three regular,Wedding Crashers co-star Isla Fisher, spoke out emphatically about the show after receiving word of a potential movie in development. Fisher would be thrilled to reprise her role in a “Bored to Death” feature length film, however, fans of the show desperately need to come together and clamor for more.

With the recent string of television show revivals over the past decade, including “Family Guy” and “Arrested Development”, now is as good a time as any to band together and stand up for “Bored to Death”. Fans of the show, and I know you’re out there, need to be vocal in our efforts. Social media has become a modern tool for spreading messages, and I have one message that I want heard LOUD AND CLEAR …

BRING BACK “BORED TO DEATH”!

The time is now.

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Geekscape Movie Reviews: Now You See Me

by MCDaveMay 21, 2013

Despite being in the full swing of the summer blockbuster season, one less-than-typical big budget film to hit theatres this month is Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me. Leterrier, who’s best known for his direction of Clash of the Titans and Transporter 1 & 2, gives a high octane dose of magic. This mystery-thriller surprisingly delivers enough action and energy to help warrant its “blockbuster” classification. Therefore, when you head to the theatre this summer seeking out the gaudiest box-office hits possible, writing off Now You See Me as a minuscule magic-centered movie simply means, the joke’s on you.

A quartet of extremely talented street-performing illusionists and mentalists (played by Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) are summoned together to accomplish some of the grandest feats in history. But after robbing millions of dollars from a Parisian bank as their Las Vegas stage finale (without ever leaving the room), the FBI must unravel how and why these magicians are up to no good. Yet, the closer agent Dylan Hobbs (Mark Ruffalo) and famed magic-debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) get to figuring it all out, the less they actually know.

Now You See Me is an above average thrill ride possessing a completely star-studded cast and a unique story. First and foremost, Jesse Eisenberg and Mark Ruffalo lead a superb collection of new and old Hollywood greats. Legends such as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and the always amazing Woody Harrelson cross talents with a newer generation of stars. The result is a set of wonderfully branded characters that undoubtedly raise Now You See Me to the next level. While Eisenberg and Ruffalo lead the way, Harrelson offers his usual scene-stealing supporting efforts that never leave a dull moment for the audience. In fact, Eisenberg admittedly stated that once Harrelson was on board, the script was slightly reworked to better fit his comedic talents. And believe me, the results show. Another significant glowing aspect to the film is its carefully crafted story. Thanks to a commendable amount of originality to the script, Now You See Me constantly feels fresh and new. With all of the remakes, sequels and rehashed ideas floating around the industry, it’s refreshing to find an energetic and singular story.

Although Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me successfully grabs the audience, the feature still manages to illustrate some significant flaws. For starters, as a film about illusionists and magicians, there was an immense focus on delivering an abundance of stunning visuals. While I can understand their desire to do so, I found some of the effects to be completely unnecessary and distracting to the movie’s finer elements. Furthermore, Now You See Me caters to a summertime audience by doing all of the work for you. As an active-viewer who enjoys thinking for himself (to a reasonably attainable and not overly-ambiguous degree), the film refuses to allow the moviegoer to dissect the mystery on their own. Containing an almost insurmountable amount of unrealistic sequences followed by an undetectable conclusion, Now You See Me requires that the audience simply watch and be entertained. At least the thrills and uniqueness make the ride enjoyable.

There will be plenty of hits and even more misses during this summer’s blockbuster season. Now You See Me is one of those films that lands somewhere in between. For sheer entertainment value, it’s well worth the price of admission. The jokes are a nice little touch, the action is beyond what you’d expect and the story isn’t very robust, but compelling nonetheless. While I wouldn’t recommend flocking to theatres to catch Now You See Me (a DVD rental will do just fine), you won’t be disappointed if you do.

Grade: 3/5

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