Rush Hour - 3/5

This movie is one of the better examples of Jackie Chan’s foray into western moviemaking. It directly addresses the east-meets-west nature of the film and makes it the central narrative conceit. As always the martial arts is great and Jackie gets several scenes in which to show off his moves and it’s filmed well enough to give the audience a good view of the action, unlike many of his other western films. Chris Tucker’s humor is annoying to me, but if you enjoy him you should definitely check out this movie.

Closest comparison: It’s like Shanghai Knights with cops instead of cowboys.

Setting: Buddy Cop
Plot: Police Procedural
Tone: Action Comedy

Dead in a Week: Or Your Money Back - 4/5

This movie has a dark comedy undertone, by virtue of its main character unsuccessfully trying to commit suicide several times and resorting to attempting to outsource the job to an assassin. Despite that, though, it's quite charming and its dry, British humour left a smile on my face for most of the runtime. By juxtaposing a day-to-day routine with assassins and suicide it brings out the hilarity in the mundane, and has a much more positive outlook than I would have expected. There are a few plot contrivances used for comedy and don’t make too much of a difference to where everything ends up, and though it may lose a few viewers the dry, British humour wins out in the end.

Content warning: language

Closest comparison: It’s like The Bourne Identity by way of Keeping Up Appearances with a pinch of Fawlty Towers.

Setting: Thriller
Plot: Dark Comedy
Tone: Dry Comedy

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - 5/5

This is a movie that starts off fairly normal, gets weird and surreal in the middle, and then somehow manages to resolve in a surprisingly simple and straightforward ending. Jim Carrey is at his best and delivers an amazing, moving performance, and Kate Winslet has a lot of chemistry with him. Since many of the special effects were achieved in-camera and with precision editing, it still holds up after 14 years. Like all good sci-fi, it manages to be simultaneously high-concept and personally relatable. It’s a modern classic for good reason, and a must-see film fans.

Closest Comparison: It’s like Requiem for a Dream, but with hopeful realism in place of gritty despair.

Setting: Modern
Tone: Drama
Plot: Sci-fi