Annie

"It's a hard knock life for us"

Probably our last trip to the cinema this year saw us cramming in another few films. We began our day at the cinema by seeing what the reboot of 'Annie' was all about.

'Annie' is the latest adaptation of the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name. A modern twist on the classic film sees Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis), the foster child from Harlem, in a desperate search for her birth parents. Annie is living with her foster parent Colleen Hannigan, an alcoholic washed-up pop star who has taken a group of foster children under her wings in order to earn money from the state. Due to a note left with her when she was born, Annie believes her parents are coming back for her any day soon. One day, when trying to stop a group of boys from chasing a stray dog, Annie is saved from being hit by a car by Mr Stacks (Jamie Foxx). Mr Stacks is a billionaire mobile phone creator who is currently running a very unsuccessful presidential campaign. With help from his spin doctor, and after being filmed saving Annie from the car, Mr Stacks spends more time with Annie to improve his public perception. Annie's presence in Mr Stacks life proves to be an eventful one as he learns what is actually important in life.

Shamelessly I have to admit that I loved this film. I must have been in a good mood, as reading other reviews; I think I'm one of only a few who think the same. Yes it was quite over indulgent, yes it has children singing (one of the most annoying sounds ever!), but it brought a tear to my on more than one occasion. The relationship between Annie and Mr Stacks' associate (played by Rose Byrne) was lovely to watch, as was the friendship between her and Mr Stacks. The plot was cleverly brought into the 21st century with mobile phones, a smart-penthouse that was frankly ridiculous, and of course an over-produced updated soundtrack. Regarding the music, there is a mix of old and new with cleverly updated Annie classics such as, 'Tomorrow', 'Hard-knock life', 'You're Never Fully Dressed without a Smile' etc. plus some new songs (all pretty awful!). The acting wasn't the best I'd seen but also not the worst. Cameron Diaz, although quite poor in this movie, did bring the comedic aspect to the role of the awful Miss Hannigan. I'm surprised to see how great she is in these nasty roles (see 'Bad Teacher'). Jamie Foxx and his male associate (Bobby Cannavale) were painfully awful to watch but I got over that soon enough. Hats off again to the youngest actor Quvenzhané Wallis, she really shows the adults how it's done. Young actors in movies this year have been very well cast in almost every film I have seen. The plot didn't really do it for me. Although it's cleverly been brought up-to-date, I did prefer the original, though it did retain the bare bones of the Annie story so of course it wasn't all bad.

7.5/10 for 'Annie'. The fact that this film is well paced, the music is mostly enjoyable and the fab acting from the young lady in the main role make this an entirely watchable and at some points smile-inducing musical. Definitely worthy of another viewing.

Horrible Bosses 2

"We're not going to see Mother-Fucker Jones because we're not going to kidnap anyone."

Second movie in our three-movie marathon saw us sitting down to watch 'Horrible Bosses 2'. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first 'Horrible Bosses', I was expecting a hoot and a half!

'Horrible Bosses 2' is an American comedy and the follow-up to 2011's 'Horrible Bosses'. Done with working for other people, Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day), and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) have decided to set up their own company manufacturing their new invention 'The Shower Buddy'. After receiving an investment to produce hundreds of unit, it turns out that their investor is just as horrible as their previous bosses. Nick, Kurt and Dale are left stuck so decide to meet up with Mother-Fucker Jones (Jamie Foxx) once again for advice on how to deal with the latest horrible boss. After yet another bizarre discussion, they decide they need to kidnap the boss's son Rex (Chris Pine) and force a ransom in order to ensure their business doesn't go under.

 

The film start off as mad and unrealistic as its predecessor with a touch of the magic that I found to be rather enjoyable first time round. The problem I found is that they try so hard to replicate and improve on the first film that it just feels like a slightly less funny, much more misogynistic, even more far-fetched plot than the first film. It was a well-paced film as I found myself watching the whole affair without wondering what I wanted for dinner. However the comedy between these guys felt done and dusted, I think they shouldn't have bothered. They are all solid comedy actors but once again Jennifer Aniston stole the show completely. I loved her in 'Horrible Bosses' so much that I would have actually liked this film more if the sequel was mainly based around her character. All in all it was ok but I could have lived without seeing this movie.

 

6/10 for 'Horrible Bosses 2' which is rather generous. Higher score than it deserved mostly due to the fact that they kept the film at a watchable length and of course Jennifer Aniston in her best comedy role since Friends.