Posts by Jeremy Butler

I’ve never been much for Will Ferrell. His brand of comedy never really resonated with me. I always just found it too ridiculous and outlandish.  I suppose You’re Cordially Invited will be the exception to that rule. While the film does play right into Ferrell’s wheelhouse with the over-the-top antics such as wrestling an alligator, it is actually the dynamic, should I say the rivalry, between Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon that is the highlight of the movie. The film is similar to Bride Wars and the Neighbors, which makes a measure of sense as the director of the latter film is actually the director of this film as well. Further aiding the film’s success is that, like Ferrell and Witherspoon, a majority of the cast all have established comedy backgrounds. Joining Ferrell and Witherspoon was Geraldine Viswanathan (Blockers) as Ferrell daughter and one of the brides-to-be, Meredith Hagner (Vacation Friends) as Witherspoon’s sister and the other bride-to-be, Stony Blyden (Hunter Street) as one of the grooms-to-be, and Jimmy Tatro (Home Economics) as the other groom-to-be.

Not sure if this has ever happened to me before: to like the movie adaptation as much as I like the book itself. Naturally much of this feeling is due to the inclusion of Peter Dinklage into the cast of this film, but that said, I found The Thicket to be among my favorite movie adaptations of this year, which is interesting given the amount of creative license taken with the material. Based on the Joe R. Lansdale western novel of the same name,the film follows Jack Parker, a boy who, after his sister is kidnapped by a violent killer known only as Cut Throat Bill, enlists a fierce bounty hunter named Reginald Jones, who becomes the leader of the group of outcasts searching for the stolen girl. Joining Dinklage is Juliette Lewis as Cut Throat Bill, Hanna’s Esmé Creed-Miles as Lula Parker, Jack's sister, and The Old Man’s Gbenga Akinnagbe as Eustace Howard, an ex-slave who assists Jack.

“Killing is bad. Like, unacceptably bad.”

I had such high hopes for this romantic comedy. I didn’t expect that it would raise the level of the genre, but I figured that it would be some lighthearted fun like in The Ugly Truth or Sex Tape. The unfortunate part is that I feel like it had that potential; it just required better story development. A shame; this really could have been a win for Kaley Cuoco. Not that she needs one; of the big three of The Big Bang Theory, I’d say she’s the one with the fullest dance card. It’s like she hasn’t taken a breath since the series ended. But then again one could argue that she’s always been on the go since her days on 8 Simple Rules. Even so, I really wanted to like this film, and while it had a couple of good moments, the lackluster story development really diminished any traction that the film gained.

“This is a game about winning the points that matter. You beating me is a nice story for you to tell people when you're giving them tennis lessons, but I guarantee you the thing they'll all be the most excited about is that you met me at all. They'll ask you what I'm like. They'll ask you if I'm nice. They'll ask you if we were friends. And then they'll ask you how I did it. They'll ask you and you won’t have no $#*%ing clue what to tell them. And even if you did want to know, I couldn't possibly explain it to you in a language you'll understand, because the thing you learn when you've been operating at my level for as long as I have is that it's so $#*%ing lonely to win this much. Nobody gets it. But everyone on Earth gets what it's like to be you.”

So the truth about this film when I learned about it was I knew it was destined to be a movie that my wife would drag me to the theater to see. I’ve never been one for tennis, and while I have a rudimentary understanding of the game’s rules and how it is played, it falls into the same category as golf; it’s just not that exciting a sport for me.

“If I could stay funny, I can stay alive!”

That was the mantra that kept Jamie Foxx alive, which he explains in this testimonial stand-up special about the events that nearly cost him his life back in 2023. We all heard the rumors about what happened. Renowned triple threat Jamie Foxx suffered a serious medical event resulting in him becoming hospitalized. Amid conflicting reports about the nature of his condition, including rumors that he was gravely ill, his condition for the most part remained a mystery and a closely guarded secret within his family. Then the rumor mill started to include tales that the actor had died, and the family was keeping it secret. And as if that was not outlandish enough, following the actor posing a video clip in which he commented about his health, saying that he had been to "hell and back,” then the rumors started that the actor had been cloned, this coming after the release of the film They Cloned Tyrone, in which the Jamie Foxx is featured.

“Project Shadow is far beyond anything we've encountered. Shadow's story began a lot like yours, Sonic. But where you found family and friends, Shadow only found pain and loss.”

I’ve been patiently awaiting this installment since the 2022 mid-credit scene hinted at the idea of Shadow’s introduction into the franchise. Now here we are with that idea becoming a reality, and with Keanu Reeves voicing the character, no less. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 takes the series in a darker direction than the previous installments as the happy-go-lucky Sonic finds his worldview challenged by the reveal of another hedgehog that received a much worse reception than he did. In that regard, I appreciated the director staying true to form with Shadow’s backstory.