Tuesday new releases for home viewing

There are just two new releases for home viewing this week:


SPY
Directed by Paul Feig
Screenplay Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy; Rose Byrne; Jason Stratham; Jude Law; Miranda Hart; Bobby Cannavale; and Allison Janney



A CIA analyst (McCarthy) volunteers to go undercover to look into the a deadly arms dealer. However she ends up doing more than "looking into" as she ends of trying to prevent a global disaster.

This film was silly fun and it goes back to McCarthy being all in with her brand of physical comedy and writer/director Feig.
From the start the film it has a feel of a Bond movie, then comes the humor and it seems to not wrestle with the tone at all. It just works (and by the way the film earns its rated R MPA rating). I laughed out loud often and was worried about the characters just as often, so a lot of credit goes to the screenwriting.  Then casting!! The casting was spot on  perfect. The whole cast was all in, not one chink in the armor here. Law as a smarmy agent. Byrne is so nasty evil. Stratham hilarious as a frustrated agent, he gives an hilarious speech in the middle of the film. Janney is funny as the CIA boss.  And of course McCarthy who is not only hilariously rules the roost being well, Melissa McCarthy, but also not afraid to show feelings and emotions. Oh...and there is another actor of note, Peter Serafinowiicz as Aldo is fantastic as a perverted agent.
The negatives? Only one.The film gets a little over the top, okay a lot over the top at the end when a helicopter is used. For most of the picture I just went with it. It is a fun comedy, and I was laughing, so why not, but yes the end was a bit much.
4 out of 5 stars for a pleasant surprise SPY. I hope they make a sequel!! Make sure you stay through the whole credits....for a small funny scene.


ENTOURAGE
Director: Doug Ellen
Screenplay by Doug Ellen and Rob Weiss
Starring: Every one in Hollywood



Vincent Chase, together with his boys Eric, Turtle, and Johnny, are back - and back in business with now studio head Ari Gold on a risky project that will serve as Vince's directorial debut.

Oh boy. When the HBO series Entourage series ended it was already running on fumes and this film I imagine was made to give it a spark. Well, no, it is still running on fumes. The film is sectioned off into many stories and most of these stories are not interesting. They run Hollywood stars and pro athletes in and out of the film to add laughs and that idea falls flat most of the time (Liam Neeson is literally on the screen for 10 seconds and gives us the biggest laugh), in fact when the stars walk through the film it distracts you and takes you away from the movie. Maybe that was the idea..."If we bring in a lot of stars it will distract the viewers from the scattered plot".
Well let me break it down to each characters individual plot:

TURTLE: Jerry Ferrara. He spends the whole movie trying to get a date with fighter Rhonda Rousey. This really does not work. It was not funny and I did not care.
VINCE: Adrian Grenier. Now directing his own movie. He is still loyal to his entourage but he comes across as smug and it is not funny and a little obnoxious. So he is trying to finish this film however he needs more money, so now he has to deal with a financier's son (Haley Joel Osment, yes that one). Yeah, it kinda works, but falls flat at the end.
ERIC: Kevin Connolly. Is going to have a baby with his on again off again partner Sloan (Emmanuelle Chirqui). Connolly does not have much to do. Plus, he really looks like he wanted no parts of this film. In fact he looks bored.
JOHNNY DRAMA: Kevin Dillon. Has some really funny lines and is much more interesting than the other members of the entourage. Still, his character is in the same place he was on HBO every season. Desperate for success, and now he is looking old and it comes across as pathetic and a little sad.
ARI GOLD: Jeremy Piven. Piven and his character are great!!! He could have his own movie!! It is fun to watch him as the studio head, one point walking with confidence, another point kissing ass, and another point throwing telephones. Ari is so funny and interesting, when he is not on the screen the film dies.

Other than Piven, there really is not much here to see or laugh at. As a whole, the film comes across as tired and scattered, not put together or fully formed. A generous 2 1/2 stars out of 5. They should have made a film just called ARI!

From the shadows as always thanks for your time.