Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

morrison-dylan-fan With Easter coming up,I decided to travel and meet up with a friend a few weeks before the holidays. Looking for a Comedy flick to buy that we could watch together,I went for Girls Trip-which ended up not turning up in time. Going to Birmingham day before the meet-up,I decided look in HMV for an alt choice. Not having a movie in mind,I looked at the shelves,and found a film I had ordered months ago on Ebay that had got lost in the post! This led to me finally becoming a popstar...View on the film: Blending all the major trends in the current music scenes, the screenplay by co-writers/(with Jorma Taccone)co-stars/co-directors Akiva Schaffer & Andy Samberg play a pitch-perfect parody of the times,from the hilariously vicious riffs on social media memes and gossip shows like TMZ, (here called CMZ) to the "bad boy" image Pop stars use to make themselves look edgy,and the deafening beats of EDM. Giving Conner chart-topping tunes,the writers spin super-catchy spoof tracks, ranging from pounding Hip-Hop,to very funny, R&B/Pop tracks on subjects that include Osama Bin Laden. Stealing all of Conner's Pop fame, Chris Redd gives a fantastic performance as rapper Hunter,with Redd giving his stage performances a rough, exciting atmosphere. Looking every inch the modern chart-topper, Andy Samberg gives a great performance as Conner,whose arrogance Samberg uses to keep him completely lacking in self-awareness as all those who worked with him quitting,over Conner believing he is a Popstar who will never stop stopping.

The Movie Diorama This was always going to be divisive. A satirical look through the pop star telescope, where we have a fictional story filmed in the style of a documentary. Whether you view it as just a film or a slight dig at pop stars and bands like Justin Bieber or One Direction, it's undeniably entertaining. However, it's just that. It never really dives from the glossy surface to the depths of intelligence. A band entitled "Style Boyz" started off with a successful career, until the lead singer is thrown into the limelight and commences a solo career. We follow him on his new album release and tour and get an insight to the lavish lifestyle and pressure of a pop star. The key ingredient to this film is the inclusion of comedic band 'The Lonely Island'. Love them, hate them, don't care about them...but you cannot deny that their hilarious song writing is crazily infectious. I mean, I remember when they created a song called "Jack Sparrow" with Michael Bolton (who I'm glad is in this as well), and I still sing it to this day. In fact, I'm going to put it on right now. We've got songs about equal rights, terrorism and a great closing track. Clearly assimilating the current craze of having politically themed songs that aren't necessarily explicit. Throughly enjoyed the songs though. "Keira Knightleyyy"! Performances were fine, with real cameos of musicians and media moguls embedded in the documentarian narrative. That's all well and good, the problem is...I didn't laugh. I smiled at a scene involving a swarm of bees, that's about it. For something that is supposed to be "insanely funny", I was rather underwhelmed. Clever but not hilarious. I also found the main plot to be ludicrously formulaic, which is a shame for a rather fresh idea. As soon as the pace kicked in, the film ended. Over far too soon. I can categorically say this was underwhelming, considering the mass adoration for this. However, it is enjoyable and would watch it again. Next time, have more Michael Bolton, he wins at life.

Charles Herold (cherold) This silly, guest-star-laden comedy follows a former boy-band star turned solo star turned failing solo star. Andy Samberg plays the self- involved, narcissistic star as he lets a big head eat away at his career.The song parodies are wonderfully accurate parodies of banal, pretentious pop music, and there are some very funny scenes, particularly one involving wolves. But the movie always feels rather slight. Samberg's character has little depth, so his fall from grace feels less like the tragedy of hubris and more like a jerk getting his comeuppance, which means you never really care about the story. It's a very jokey, superficial film, so when it's funny you enjoy it but every time the humor weakens you think, why was I watching this again.While not as funny as Samberg's series, Brooklyn Nine-nine, it's definitely fun.

jtindahouse I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into 'Popstar: Never Stop Stopping'. When it comes to Andy Samberg I find his music very funny, but his comedy styling and acting are not so much to my taste. So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself having a very good time with this film. Right from the start it was genuinely funny and the music was catchy and hilarious in only the style that 'The Lonely Island' can achieve.There are an enormous amount of celebrity cameos, all of which are cleverly done and seem like the person really bought into it. The story, while a playoff of Justin Bieber obviously, is actually really investing and well structured.When it comes to comedy I find it's almost always a case of simply asking yourself, how funny was it? In the case of 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping' though it feels like there were more layers to it than that. You can appreciate the music, the story and the send up of Bieber. I don't think this did overly well at the box office (was it marketed very well? I never heard about it until well after it was released) which is a shame. I would recommend giving this one a look.