'Office Christmas Party' Review

When interim CEO Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Aniston) tries to close down her brother Clay's (TJ Miller) branch down, he is given an ultimatum. Clay has to seal a potential client before Christmas. To do so, he requires the help of Josh (Jason Bateman) as well as other members of the workforce to throw a wild Christmas party to seal the deal.

'Office Christmas Party' gathers up a fairly impressive ensemble cast, with some of the individual performances being the saving grace of the film. Jennifer Aniston is fantastic in her role where she takes no crap from anybody. Aniston's character is brutal, bringing some of the films best moments with her cynicism. Kate McKinnon continues to impress me as she got funnier as the film went on. TJ Miller also shines as the man-child boss who just wants to have fun and be like his father. Courtney B Vance is up there with Aniston for the best performance as he goes all out in this film. Once he is allowed to let loose, he truly does so delivering very well. The cast features some other members who do fine in their roles but nothing spectacular like Jason Bateman and Olivia Munn. The two do are fairly grounded though compared to everyone else which was a fairly good contrast. 

Although there are some good characters that really help the film, there are a few that are so bad that they really hurt this film. Rob Corddry had no good moments in this film as all he did was scream random things that were painfully unfunny. The film continued to do this which made it hard to watch at times. There are a couple of others but I feel that they were given the short end of the stick when it came to some of the writing of the film that gave them no chance. And that is what holds this film from being a good comedy. The jokes and story aren't consistent enough to sustain a feature-length movie. The film has its moments for sure but there isn't anything that really stands out. There are a lot of poor moments throughout the film which balances out the good. 

The antics in the film most certainly are fairly wild but if you have seen the trailer, you have seen the main bulk of them. The scenes in the trailer such as trying to swing from the lights and the vending machine are about as wild as the party gets. The film wants to throw the most kick-ass Christmas party but it just doesn't seem that fun. You don't sit there in the audience like "I wish my work would do something like that" like the film hopes you would. Mainly because most of the things are highly illegal which gives no stakes to the film. You don't believe that anything will end up turning bad due to what has happened throughout the film. Even from early on, we see that these characters can just do what they want without consequence. This doesn't help the film as you know everything will just fall into place. 

In saying that, the film isn't boring and is fairly entertaining. Is this a new Christmas Classic? No, but it is an adequate comedy that will bring some laughs and is a good watch just for switching your brain off. There are aspects to enjoy throughout the film and it is nowhere near as bad as most of the comedies this year. It's not one to rush out and see but possibly give it a chance when it appears on TV.

Final Verdict = 

So have you seen 'Office Christmas Party'? If so, what did you think of the film? I hope that this review was useful for if you were planning on seeing the movie. Once again, thank you for taking the time to read my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor

Zootropolis Review

'Zootropolis' or 'Zootopia' depending where you are in the world is the latest movie to come from animation juggernauts Disney. 'Zootropolis' is set in a world completely inhabited by animals and more precisely a large city with the tittle name. This concept has worked for Disney in the past but would 'Zootropolis' continue that run of form?

The city of Zootropolis is home to mammals of all sizes from enormous elephants to the smallest shrews. Predators and prey now live together in perfect harmony. The city has a new police officer in Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), the first ever rabbit to be a cop. Instantly she isn't given any help from her new colleagues and nobody believes in her true ability. However, when some predators start to go missing, it is questioned if the predators can be trusted. Judy offers her services to look for a missing otter but she has a time limit. If she fails, she loses her job. To do this she will require the help of Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), a cunning and sly fox. An odd pairing will need to leave their differences a side in order to crack the case for Zootropolis' sake. 

Now most of the time when a Disney film or any animated film comes out, a lot of people will dismiss it claiming it to be only for children. To be fair there are a lot that will come out solely for children's entertainment. However you also have the films like Inside Out that albeit animated are arguably just as suited for adults due to the story lines and key messages throughout. Zootropolis most definitely stands in the latter category. There's no doubt that kid will be entertained by this but adults will also appreciate it's humour and it's maturity in its story. The film tackles an issue that is very clear to see in today's society. That issue being discrimination. The predators are discriminated in this due to actions of a small selection of predators. Now with the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels, how similar does this seem to real life right now? With a lot of innocent people being blamed for actions of certain lunatics all due to ones race, nationality or beliefs. The film reflects the real world pretty perfectly and is brave to tackle this issue. It is also very important to be teaching kids from a young age that this is not ok and shouldn't be done. By teaching them this at a young age is vital as in essence, it will be creating a better world for tomorrow.

That's not the only message within the film. Judy Hopps is shown to have wanted to have been a police officer since she was a little girl and from day one was always told that she wouldn't make it. However she never once gave up on her dreams and continued to work her way to reach her goals. Another great message for the audience both young and older: you can do anything you want and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. What a great message for children especially as they may look at the character Judy as being much smaller but won't let anything stand in the way of her dreams. The will and determination from Judy when everyone was against her shows that anything is possible if you really want it.

The inspirational Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin)

Now what Disney have done phenomenally well is combining these deeper messages with fantastic humour. The movie is laugh out loud funny which is something a lot of comedies this year have actually struggled to do. There are many times where both children and adults will find hilarious showing a brilliant mix of humour for all ages to enjoy. There are some surprises throughout the movie that really hit and will make you laugh out loud. Particularly funny moments for myself involved the Fennec fox looking animal as well as the incredibly funny sloths I cannot fault the comedy at all in 'Zootropolis', some truly great work from the writers.

The incredibly funny sloths were a highlight in 'Zootropolis'

The film is thoroughly entertaining throughout the run time and I can't see why anybody would get bored from watching this film. This is mainly down to how well the two leads play off one another in 'Zootropolis'. The unusual pairing are great to watch as they bicker constantly at the start of their partnership. As the duo grow closer and learn more about each other, they become a very efficient and entertaining team. Credit has to go to both of the voice actors Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman. Goodwin was perfect as the sweet innocent little bunny who just wanted to make a difference. She was fantastic as Judy and worked perfectly alongside Bateman's Nick Wilde. Speaking of Bateman, the casting for him to be the clever fox really is one of the best choices for an animated character. He provided the wit that was vital for the character and was magnificent throughout. The chemistry between the two worked perfectly to delight of all the viewers.

Great work from both Bateman and Goodwin for the main characters

It was also fantastic to see a world completely inhabited by animals as if they were humans. It was great seeing all the different aspects of the worlds due to the specific regions such as Tundra Town or in the Rainforest District. Some regions were more exploited than the others which may of been done to leave other areas to explore further in potential sequels. I would've liked to have seen more of the different areas but I can see why possibly they have limited it for now. It was still great seeing how many different animals would go around day to day life such as how transport would work for many different creatures. This lead to some highly entertaining short scenes that worked to great effect.

Final verdict: Zootropolis = A

A fantastic animated movie from Disney that is both hilarious and tackles some serious issues in the world today. A must see for everybody. 

So have you seen Zootropolis? If so what did you think of it? If you plan on going to see it, I hope this review has helped you choose to see it and hope that you enjoy this movie as much as I did! Once again thank you for reading my review, it is much appreciated!

By Angus McGregor