The Foxy Film Fan

Spree  is a horror comedy with a simple premise: a driver for Spree (a fictional ride-share service similar to Uber or Lyft) is plagued with the desire for internet fame. He spends his free time streaming video games, making mediocre electronic music, and attempting to leech off of the fame of a friend. His entire life revolves around the unobtainable allure of going viral. One day he decides he's going to do whatever it takes to force the world to pay attention to him. Joe Keery from Stranger Things  is the driving force of the film. His greasy disheveled look and overeager neediness make for a fascinating watch from start to finish, and he's remarkably believable as a socially inept young man scrambling for the limelight. If anyone else was cast as Kurt the movie simply wouldn't be any good, because in the slower dull moments of the movie it's truly Keery's performance that kept me watching. Most of the fun in Spree  comes from the found footage style which it rew...

Despite the abundance of superhero movies, it's been a long time since we've had something as violent and fun as Birds of Prey . It feels as though Marvel and DC movies are so wrapped up in maintaining their own lore and reaching the next beat in the plot that they've forgotten the most important part about superhero movies - fun. Admittedly, I've never really been a superhero movie person. I had fun with Guardians of the Galaxy , I liked Watchmen  in all its sad introspective existential dread, Joker  made me cry a lot about the plight of those of us who struggle with mental illness, and I'm excited to see Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, and Paul Dano all in the new Batman movie. Outside of that, I have the tendency to get bored during most superhero movies. I either hit a wall where the action is mind-numbing or I feel like I already know what's going to happen next and I'm just waiting to be proven right. Birds of Prey  is different. A...

The Art of Self Defense  features Jesse Eisenberg as Casey, an awkward and anxious man who signs up for classes at his local karate dojo led by a chauvinistic and eccentric sensei. After years of being mocked for being himself and a particularly traumatic event, Casey decides he wants to become what he's afraid of. So, he sets forth in doing just that, and slowly works on transforming himself into the same type of men who have belittled him and tormented him for his entire life. It's a strange combination of Napoleon Dynamite and John Wick, but with more of a message to deliver than either of them. The Art of Self Defense  aims to help its audiences understand what toxic masculinity is, and that it's not some inherent trait every masculine man has. When masculinity turns toxic it takes the form of men picking fights with one another over a glance or bad parking job, it turns into men who harm and harass women just because they can. I, like many other women, have endur...

Like many others, I was introduced to Taika Waititi through his satirical vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows  (written and directed alongside costar Jemaine Clement). It was funny enough for me to seek out and watch his heartfelt Hunt for the Wilderpeople starring Sam Neill. I even enjoyed and rewatched Thor: Ragnarok . So, I like Waititi's work, I like his style which emulates Wes Anderson but aspires to much more than settling for the wit and charm of Anderson's work. Waititi's Jojo Rabbit  doesn't just aim to tell a story, it aims to communicate the way a horrific ideology can spread like a wildfire through children. In some instances Jojo Rabbit  gives you emotional whiplash. One moment you're accompanying our clever child protagonist on his adventures around Berlin, and the next you're faced with the horrors of war as a civilian in Nazi Germany. However, this whiplash is crucial to truly understanding how the joy of the privileged in Berlin could...

Parasite  is the newest film from director Bong Joon-Ho, who is most well known for his films Snowpiercer and Okja . The former is class struggle shrunk down to play out on a massive train with incredible poverty and extreme wealth, and the latter focuses on the story of a girl traveling from her home in the mountains of South Korea to America in order to track down her animal friend which was taken from her by a corrupt corporation. Class is a big deal in Bong Joon-Ho's work, and he especially focuses on the way those in positions of wealth and power live completely oblivious to the plight of those struggling to make ends meet. Snowpiercer was an allegory for class warfare, but Parasite  is an uncomfortable up-close depiction of the real thing. Bong Joon-Ho's newest film is a picture of the desperation of poverty, and the impossible task put upon the lower class to simply climb the ladder (or spiral staircase) themselves. Plans in the Kim family fail so often they know ...

Why Him? (2016) Perhaps my first mistake with the new comedy Why Him? was going into it with any sort of expectations at all. I've been a fan of Bryan Cranston ever since seeing him as the goofy father in Malcolm in the Middle  and I've always admired his abilities as a serious actor and as a comedic one. Bearing that in mind, I suppose I unintentionally found myself with moderately high expectations when going into this movie. Not necessarily high expectations, but certainly not expectations that were as low as they probably should have been. First and foremost, allow me to offer this piece of advice: if you laughed during the trailer you will probably laugh during the movie, most likely at the scenes you laughed at during the trailer, because those are essentially all of the big comedic moments of the film. If you didn't laugh during the trailer, then you're simply going to find yourself bored and wondering why you thought seeing this movie was a good idea. T...

Birdman (2014) Everyone adored Birdman  when it came out. People ranted and raved excitedly about how deep and meaningful it was, they dragged my expectations higher and higher, and then when I finally took the time to watch it I left with a sense of dread. Pardon my language, but this film was the most masturbatory piece of art I have seen in a long time, and I find myself convinced that it was mistaken for something greater by critics and fans due to the fact that it was highly stylized (through careful editing the entire film is made to appear as if it all takes place in one seamless take) and featured some decent performances given by well-liked and well-known actors who already have fan bases ready to support whatever they do, even if it's as bad as Birdman. While I'll admit there were aspects of Birdman which grabbed my attention and almost swept me up in its stylized beauty, specifically the soundtrack which consists only of drums, there's only so much a film ...

A Christmas Story (1983) The majority of films centered around the holiday season also effectively work to draw forth feelings of nostalgia. Traditionally this nostalgia is related to the holiday season and the imagery which one typically can expect to see during Christmas time. However, in the case of A Christmas Story  the nostalgia is not relating to Christmas, but rather to a much more broad and relatable occurrence which even those who dod not celebrate traditional American Christmases will relate to - growing up. Despite its title and the fact that the events in the films plot all take place around the holiday season, it is the occurrences and instances of familiar childhood events that brings this film its charm. Take for example the terror of accidentally swearing in front of a parent, but amplify it to the point where the parent begins shrieking in absolute terror and disbelief when they hear the word you uttered. A Christmas Story  is more of a series of child...

50 First Dates (2004) Like so many other women before me, I too have fallen victim to swooning over the occasional movie which falls under the blanket term of 'romantic comedy'. I've sighed as the two unlikely love interests find passion and some strange mutilated version of true love based mostly on the fact that the script said these two characters must fall in love with one another, so that's exactly what they're going to end up doing. While there are exceptions to the rule, these films have the tendency to all follow the same exact formula time and time again, and on top of being lazy filmmaking it also depicts a rather unhealthy foundation for any sort of relationship (be it platonic or romantic). For some reason, the two protagonists must always begin their story hating one another. Their distaste for each other could range from one-sided affection (varying from a light crush to obsessive pining which the other ignores) to absolute loathing (as seen i...

Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special (2014) Comedy specials are commonplace, particularly on streaming sites such as Netflix where it seems as though every current comedian in the business has at least one series or special streaming. Maria Bamford is a fantastic comedian, known for her dark humor which exploits her experiences with mental illness and delves into the surreal life she has led as she grapples with suicidal thoughts and stints in and out of various hospitals while doctors prescribe her with all sorts of different medication. Due to her new Netflix series, which is a fantastic surreal experience that frequently lapses into analyzing the familiar tropes from comedy shows and often breaks the third wall, I decided to watch one of her specials. Naturally, I was drawn to the specialist of specials: Maria Bamford: The Special Special Special . This special is particularly interesting due to the fact that it was filmed at a particularly rough point in Maria's l...

The Holiday (2006) The romantic comedy genre is one which has been completely overrun with the same tropes repeated again and again, but once in a while a particularly unique movie comes along to break free from those cliches and reveals itself to be something original and heartwarming; The Holiday  is one of these films. Unlike other traditional romantic comedies, The Holiday  uses a simple plot to smoothly transition between the love lives of two very different women. Two women, depressed with the mundane nature of their lives, seek out the opportunity to temporarily spend the holiday season in another home, one in London and the other in Los Angeles. These two women trade places, and in the process find love. Admittedly, were the plot placed in the hands of another cast it would have fallen flat, but with a cast as talented as Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jack Black, and Jude Law, it's hardly difficult to see why the film is such an extraordinary tale of romance. Th...

Tony Hinchcliffe: One Shot (2016) Tony Hinchcliffe's new Netflix comedy special is simultaneously a strange sort of experimental art piece which examines the strange artificial nature of other comedy specials. Rather than being shot from an audience perspective with occasional close zooms and frequent cuts to other shots, it is filmed in one long take. However, unlike a video from a comedy club on YouTube, the camera is just as much a part of the show as Hinchcliffe himself. It breathes and acts as a living person, moving fluidly around him at a close and personal perspective, giving you the odd sensation that you're on stage with him, circling him and watching him closely as he performs his show. One can't help but wonder how the audience felt, watching the camera man on stage with Hinchcliffe, circling him at such a close proximity and occasionally stopping directly in front of him. The comedy club which One Shot  was filmed in already appeared to be rather dark...

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) Movies centering around Halloween and Christmas are commonplace; movies centered around Thanksgiving, on the other hand, are a rarity. Planes, Trains and Automobiles  is a comedy by beloved director John Hughes who's always had a penchant for delicately combining sincerely sentimental with outrageously funny, and this film is no exception. Steve Martin plays the role of the uptight office worker who's just trying to make it home on time for Thanksgiving, and John Candy is the unlikely friend who joins him along for the ride. John Candy masters the role of the obnoxious sweetheart, who's blissfully unaware of just how painfully annoying he can be, while Steve Martin is the perfect opposing irritable travel companion. Their chemistry is undeniable, and the comedic timing in this film is hysterical. Planes, Trains and Automobiles  also succeeds in a way which many comedies fall flat. It is genuine in its emotional scenes, albeit a...

The Edge of Seventeen (2016) For years, audiences have suffered through the dreaded coming of age story, in which we watch some angsty blank slate of a teenage boy or a preppy bubbly girl (whose only flaw is her clumsiness and uncanny knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time) struggle through an awkward crush before finally getting a date with the object of their affection. While each movie set in high school tries to offer something new and edgy, they rarely ever follow through and join the sea of low-budget films about awkward kids (who aren't really that awkward, and are usually good looking enough to be the popular kid in school) trying to find their place in a high school full of twenty year olds. Then The Edge of Seventeen  came along. The Edge of Seventeen offers a simple plot, which would have been easy to ruin were it placed in the hands of a less competent director. Nadine is a high school junior who has only one friend, but when that one friend falls in...

Harrison Feldman and  Bethany Whitmore in Girl Asleep (2015) Girl Asleep  is simultaneously two movies; one is fantastic, the other is absolutely terrible.  As the name implies, a large portion of the film is entirely comprised of one lengthy dream sequence (because short dream sequences aren't obnoxious enough, right?), and it simply doesn't work, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Girl Asleep  is, at first, a charming little independent film about fourteen year old Greta Driscoll, a shy girl who is dreading life at a new school after moving with her eccentric and often times overbearing parents. There, she meets Elliott, an odd but friendly and promising new friend, who seems ecstatic at the notion of befriending the new girl in school. Initially, Girl Asleep  comes across as something which may have been made by the likes of Wes Anderson. It has a clear and crisp visual style, with bright colors, odd and unique mapped out camera shots which are stationary...

Much like horror, comedy is a particularly difficult genre to effectively present and simultaneously make memorable. Just like fear, what makes a person laugh is entirely subjective, and may make another person roll their eyes in annoyance. Bearing this in mind, here is a list of my ten favorite comedies. While they may not be your favorite comedies, I hope it helps you see them in a new light. 10. Young Frankenstein Gene Wilder and Peter Boyle in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974) Before the likes of Epic Movie , Date Movie , Superhero Movie , and Disaster Movie  single-handedly destroyed the once successful parody genre, Mel Brooks was the reigning king of parody. Responsible for classics such as Blazing Saddles , Spaceballs , and  Robin Hood: Men in Tights , Mel Brooks made the parody genre into something witty. My personal favorite of his is Young Frankenstein , shot purposefully in black and white, with Gene Wilder in one of his best roles as the unhappy g...