The Lovebirds

This review may contain spoilers!

The onscreen relationship presented by Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani is one of the best I've seen this year. I would give The Lovebirds a 7.5/10.

The Lovebirds follows Leilani and Jibran, a long-term couple whose relationship is on the rocks when their car gets hijacked by a criminal who then utilises it to commit a murder. Caught in the fallout of the event the pair decide to solve the murder on their own rather than become implicated as suspects; what occurs after that is nothing short of irreverent comedic genius. The strength of the film relies heavily upon how interesting the two lead characters are, both individually and as a couple. Watching how the film begins you can't help but be drawn into the budding of ordinary love; but the time jump into the same relationship four years later does an amazing job of presenting a very grounded, if not tumultuous relationship. I found these characters to be wholly unique, not really the personalities that would normally headline your generic romantic action-comedy; and really the film benefits from this fresh voice. I felt like I was watching a very grounded narrative that refused to sacrifice story for comedy and sought out moments of comedy in a very natural way. The story around the murder had some very interesting plot elements, such as the secret cult, that have never really been done before as well. The cinematography is expertly framed around the leading duo, the shots look really polished and puts the style of this comedy ahead of a great many others I've seen.

Issa Rae, who played Leilani, is a strong leading comedic performer who has some seriously strong line delivery that will have you cracking up; Rae plays a role who is desperate to be validated by others and not entirely confident with her self-image and I think the manner in which she develops her role is an incredible arc.

However, the best performance came from Kumail Nanjiani, who played Jibran. For a long time now Nanjiani has excelled when his comedic talents have been applied to grounded, fresh comedies that have really set the bar for comedic cinema. I really like watching Nanjiani, he knows how to play to a likeable character and has a gentle delivery that sets him apart from other comedic performers. I think Jibran as a role is such a rich character; he's very self-conscious and introspective. There are a number of scenes in which he deflects from his stress by comedically monologuing about the situation around him, a real strength of the film. I also really can't stress enough just how impressive the romantic onscreen chemistry is between Nanjiani and Rae. Kumail Nanjiani is one of the best comedic talents performing right now and I seriously can't wait for whatever he has in store for us next.

I think The Lovebirds is a fresh comedy that benefits from pulling punches but because it does this there are some large moments of the film that don't really feel fulfilled. The comedic quality of the film is really good but there's not always enough of it, you can go several scenes before the characters start bouncing off one another or find themselves in a funny situation again. Likewise, because the film wants to prioritise telling the story of the relationship or playing to moments of comedy, the engaging murder mystery narrative can miss out which makes the big confrontation in the final act a little anti-climatic by comparison. The film isn't lacking for content and it never tries to push things too far, but it doesn't take enough risks and for that the feature does suffer. The editing for the film isn't very inspired, instead keeping to quite a gradual slower pace. The soundtrack for the film has some heartening or comedic moments but as a whole it doesn't have much of a 'wow' factor; while the score keeps to the trend of comedies lacking interesting original music.

Paul Sparks, who played Moustache, is about as interesting as his character name; the film doesn't really place much importance on his role as an antagonist so you never really feel he gets anymore dangerous than when you meet him in his first scene. Anna Camp, who played Edie, is another antagonist that doesn't work strongly into the film; Camp has more of a quirky villain at her disposal but the performance and scene are pretty confusing to watch. Andrene Ward-Hammond, who played Detective Martin, plays her criminal investigator as quite a generic figure in the film; when Ward-Hammond is paired off against other figures she tends to differ to them and never has a commanding presence in a scene. Moses Storm, who played Steve, has a lot of potential as a young suspect being interrogated by the inexperienced leading roles but he never really seizes the moment; Storm's scene is a lot of fun and one of the more unique to watch in the feature but he never finds an angle to make his performance and role notable.

Scoob!

This review may contain spoilers!

While this certainly has Scooby-Doo in it, this film lacks a lot of the qualities that make for a good Scooby-Doo feature. I would give Scoob! a 5.5/10.

Scoob! is the most recent animated adventure for Scooby-Doo and the gang; in this action-packed adventure Shaggy and Scooby team up with the Blue Falcon and Dynomutt to stop Dick Dastardly from unleashing the ghost dog, Cerberus, upon the world. At the heart of this movie is a really nice examination of the bond between Shaggy and Scooby, how their friendship came to be and the bond they share now as a mystery-solving duo. The bond of loyalty and friendship between man and his dog is really lovingly handled throughout this feature; with Dick going to great lengths to open the underworld in order to save his dog Muttley and Shaggy sacrificing himself so that Scooby could live. I felt the emphasis placed on these relationships is what really lent this feature heart in scenes where it really counted. I enjoyed seeing some nostalgic references to classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons visually and the classic sound effects blended into the film was a creative stylistic touch.

Mark Wahlberg, who voiced Blue Falcon, was this larger than life charismatic superhero role who really wowed when he appeared onscreen; Wahlberg got to play a new hero who was still learning how to fill his predecessors shoes. Gina Rodriguez, who played Velma Dinkley, gives a very fresh take on this classic role; not only is Velma the smartest person in the group but she quickly establishes herself as more of an entertaining leader figure. Amanda Seyfried, who voiced Daphne Blake, is a really kind and compassionate role who forms strong bonds with other characters; Seyfried finds a strong positive side in Daphne making her role the heart of Mystery Inc. Ken Jeong, who voiced Dynomutt, gets to play to a more serious figure with this seasoned professional crimefighter canine; Jeong plays his character as highly skeptical of his new superhero partner (Wahlberg) and has to steadily come to accept the new hero into the fold. Frank Welker, who voiced Scooby-Doo, does a good job hitting all the notes of the title character; this film certainly throws more dialogue than Scooby would normally deliver but Welker still manages to find a way to present Scoob in a convincing and likeable manner. Iain Armitage, Mckenna Grace, Pierce Gagnon and Ariana Greenblatt, who voiced Young Shaggy, Young Daphne, Young Fred and Young Velma respectively, are a showcase of some of the best young talent in Hollywood right now; each of these young performers came together as a more recognisable Mystery Inc. than what the main story managed.

However, the best performance came from Jason Isaacs, who voiced Dick Dastardly. As far as main animated villains go Dick is supposed to be a classic mastermind caricature and you really feel like Isaacs had some fun playing to that. Everything that went into this role was unerringly sinister, he would lean into a darker tone and dealt some menacing lines throughout. I really enjoyed seeing how manipulative this character got, trying to trick the main characters and using a variety of disguises to achieve his schemes. This was a very grandiose villain with an inflated ego to boot, Isaacs played up the arrogance and self-confidence with Dastardly constantly which was a lot of fun to watch. The best thing about this performance that made it so fresh was that he had this dark exterior but was constantly playing to the subtext that he loved and missed his lost dog, Muttley; literally doing whatever it took to get him back.

The biggest thing that let this film down was just how busy it was, the fact that there were so many characters from the Hanna-Barbera era was great from a reference standpoint but terrible as a film. Suddenly what seemed like a simple Scooby-Doo movie became extremely busy with characters we didn't really know and weren't really being given enough information about. It didn't feel like the creators had enough confidence in the Mystery Inc. gang to hold down their own story, instead banking on a whole host of characters to push this bigger Scooby world. Really this film felt like a soft pitch to audiences, practically begging for the beginnings of a shared universe without ever really doing the leg work to earn it. The entire Cerberus story feels like it should be significant but this big event at the end of the film is pretty lacklustre when it starts unfolding, the softer character moments in the background landing more of an impact than the main plot itself. The animation for Scoob! really looks like some of Warner Animation's worst work yet in recent years, the level of background detail is seriously poor and the character models don't have much visual appeal. The soundtrack for this film doesn't really seem to be very connected, instead offering a bizarre mix of pop and hip hop that seems about as far removed from a Scooby-Doo film as you could get.

Will Forte, who voiced Shaggy Rogers, is one of the two leading performers for this feature and never manages to capture his character; Forte just doesn't the presence to lead the film and his wilting impression of Shaggy lets down the subplot around Shaggy and and Scooby's friendship. Zac Efron, who voiced Fred Jones, embodies all of the stupidity Fred can emanate and none of the leadership or charm; Efron's Fred feels like the character has been knocked out of him for the purpose of a few okay punchlines. Kiersey Clemons, who voiced Dee Dee Skyes, is the generic font for exposition in this feature; Clemons would pause the film to impart a heavy flow of explanation before resting in the background once more. Tracy Morgan, who voiced Captain Caveman, never really justifies his character being in this film either as a role or comedically; in this Captain Caveman blunders through quips in a setting that seems roughly forced into the story for the sake of his cameo. Simon Cowell, who played himself, gives a really disappointing cameo; as the surprise investor in this film Cowell's presence fails to further the plot, provide any laughs or deliver any shock value.