Movie Review - The Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn

By Jonathan Parsons

Just the other day, I was lamenting to a friend the fact that no one in the movie business is making good natured, innocent-eyed comedies anymore. I was referring to the romcoms I was brought up on - PG-rated fare like While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle and Runaway Bride. I feel that most comedies these days are given an MA rating (or R in the USA) for sexual references or coarse language. These factors might draw some audiences, but they turn me off for the most part. I was complaining all about this issue, and then this little movie came along.

The Delivery Man, starring Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers) and Cobie Smulders (TV’s How I Met Your Mother, The Avengers) has a quirky and complex premise. David Wozniak (Vaughn) is a grown man who works delivering meat for his family business. It turns out that his young adult sperm donation practice has led him - due to a clerical error - to be the biological father of 533 children. David now has the related court case looming and a girlfriend (Smulders) who is quite disappointed in him, for a variety of reasons.

This picture is from the Disney- owned brand named Touchstone Pictures and also Dreamworks Pictures. Touchstone brought to us series like Home Improvement and movies such as Sister Act and Pretty Woman. More recently, they released Dan in Real Life - a comedy which definitely fits into the warm and memorable category I described in my introduction. I feel The Delivery Man fits into this category too. I really enjoyed it. And, funnily enough for a movie labelled a comedy, it is highly funny! My friend and I were laughing in the same places - and different places too. It was just funny. I think you would like it, unless you felt you were above this type of film, you were put off by the premise, or you don’t speak English!

This film showcased a host of young adult actors who played David’s children. The acting was world class. The casting was brilliant, with many personalities and types fitting perfectly to the characters.

I can not remember much memorable music - except for the score in one comedic scene.That’s a shame - but one I can live with for such a great movie. The themes of taking responsibility, keeping your word and family love are important themes for us to explore.

I give this movie 3 ½ stars out of 5.

It is good enough to enjoy once or twice, but I won’t be buying it on DVD.

New stories ... and Mary Poppins

This is what I got for a good bargain at my local Coles Supermarket:

I have seen all these movies before, except I first saw Mary Poppins - on about five different occasions in snippets - on TV, at a friends home and so on. I think I saw Mary Poppins all the way through for the first time in 2007. I saw the stage show in Melbourne in 2012. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I wasn't impressed with the oversized umbrella. I thought that was a bit of Disney overkill. I loved Marina Prior in that show as Mrs Banks.

On that note, have you seen the recent trailer for "Saving Mr. Banks"? Take a look. I'll post a review after I have seen it ... IN 2014! Gee, when did time start moving so fast?

Movie Reviews Behind the Scenes

Movie Reviews - Behind the Scenes

By Jonathan C. Parsons

Rise of the Guardians Movie Review

I really enjoyed this Dreamwork's Animation Christmas movie. Click on the above link to see my review over at the Light FM website.

I wrote this review very soon after I saw the movie in the cinemas. I find it much easier to write a review as soon after I see the movie as possible. For Les Miserables, below, I wrote the review almost two weeks after I saw the movie, so it wasn't as fresh in my mind.

I looked at heaps of images to find the right one for this review, and went with the official poster eventually. I am not happy that it is so small - you can't really see the faces well. That's my fault, I guess. I guess I should use the "size" filter on Google images next time.


Les Miserable Movie Review

As I said above, I wrote this review much later than I saw the film. It made it difficult to write the review, so in the future I will be writing the review straight after seeing the movie.

I likes this movie a lot, which I hope comes across in the review.

I was re-reading this online the other day and I noticed that the flow is not very good in parts of the review. It is a balance between writing for meaning, and writing so it is good writing!

Writing movie reviews for public publication is difficult, but I'm glad I do it. I'm contributing to good in the community and giving people ideas for entertainment.

A Stranger's Smile

A Stranger's Smile 

Based on a true story

By Jonathan Parsons

  

John turned the corner. He saw 4 or 5 people waiting at the bus stop. He began to smile, as he always liked to do for strangers. He chose a man in his mid-thirties.The guy's shirt hung out on a corner and his eyes looked down past his shoes. He was just a bit too far away for John to see his face. 

Ah, there it was, the polite smile was returned. John turned away to cross the road. The library was near, and he had to check the old email.

“Hey, mate!” It was the friendly stranger. John turned to see him.
“Are you Adrian?”
Making a thousand assumptions and judgements about the stranger and his story, John replied. “No, I’m not Adrian.”
And why not end with another smile?

Photo credit: Brian Auer