Grown Ups is a 2010 comedy film starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. This cast obviously brings a lot of comedic experience to the movie. Four of the five are Saturday Night Live alumni, and all of them have extensive experience in stand-up comedy, comedy films, and television. Honestly, it is rare to find a comedy with a cast this star-studded. The film is directed by Dennis Dugan, a comedy director who has collaborated with Sandler

I am a huge sitcom fan. There is something about the lighthearted, everyday problems that I connect to deeply. They are easily my favorite genre of television, partly because I just love comedy and the feeling of finding a show that can consistently make me laugh. One sitcom that really defined the late 2000s and 2010s was Modern Family. For 11 seasons, millions tuned in to watch the Pritchett, Dunphy, and Tucker-Pritchett families deal with their everyday problems. I think w

Father of the Bride is a 1991 comedy film starring Steve Martin and directed by Charles Shyer. The film follows George Banks, played by Steve Martin, after his daughter unexpectedly announces that she is getting married. As the wedding plans quickly spiral out of control, George struggles to accept that his little girl is growing up and starting a new chapter of her life. This is one of my favorite comedy films of all time, and it is also my favorite wedding movie. One of the

Beetlejuice is a 1988 horror comedy film directed by Tim Burton. The plot follows Adam and Barbara Maitland, two recently deceased ghosts who are trying to scare away the new family that has moved into their house. After realizing they are not very good at haunting people themselves, they eventually call on Beetlejuice, a chaotic and unpredictable ghost who specializes in scaring the living. Beetlejuice is honestly one of my favorite films of all time. This was only Tim Burt

Planes, Trains and Automobiles is a 1987 comedy and one of my favorite movies of all time. The film stars Steve Martin as Neal Page and John Candy as Del Griffith, two extremely different people who are forced to travel together while trying to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. What should be a relatively simple trip from New York turns into a complete disaster involving planes, trains, rental cars, hotels, and basically every other possible travel problem. One surprisin

The 2023 film John Wick: Chapter 4 is the fourth installment in the groundbreaking John Wick franchise, which follows an ex-assassin who is dragged back into the criminal underworld he tried to leave behind. Directed by Chad Stahelski, this film is by far the biggest and most action-packed addition to the franchise so far. I recently watched it after hearing a lot of great things about it and it undoubtedly lived up to almost every expectation I had. This film is truly breath

Bride Wars, a 2009 romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson as Liv Lerner and Anne Hathaway as Emma Allan, focuses on two lifelong best friends who begin feuding when their weddings are accidentally scheduled for the same day at The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. At first glance, Bride Wars seems like the type of movie that would easily be categorized as a "chick flick." While that term can sometimes be used dismissively toward movies made primarily for female audiences, the film does

Directed by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, The Matrix (1999) is still considered one of the best action films of all time. At the time of its release, people were even comparing it to Star Wars and wondering if it would become the next major sci-fi epic to take the world by storm. Almost 30 years later, it has definitely endured in mainstream culture, and for good reason. The Matrix is a fantastic movie that undoubtedly still holds up today. The film stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, a m

Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash (2014) is widely regarded as one of the most beloved films of the 2010s. The film is about an up-and-coming young drummer named Andrew Neiman, played by Miles Teller, who attends a prestigious music conservatory in New York City. Once there, Andrew meets Terence Fletcher, an instructor played by J.K. Simmons. Fletcher is an extremely demanding and abusive teacher who constantly pushes and humiliates his students in an attempt to make them better mus

I honestly had very low expectations for Toy Story 5. Like many other critics, I really like the first three Toy Story films. They tell a complete story with memorable characters, emotional moments, and a satisfying ending. However, the fourth film is much more divisive. I believe the movie is good but heavily flawed. My biggest issue with it was that it undoes the ending of Toy Story 3, which many people considered the perfect conclusion to the franchise. While I still enjoy

Instant Family is a 2018 dramedy about Pete and Ellie Wagner, who are a middle-aged couple played by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne. After years of being taunted and pressured by their relatives for not having kids, they attend a foster care orientation and decide to adopt. They eventually welcome 3 kids into their home: teenage Lizzy and her younger brother and sister, Juan and Lita. But the process of settling into the new family isn’t all that easy. Both parents and kids fac