​The Night Before: A Review

By Joshua Chitty

The Night Before is about a drug filled night of raunchy humor and wacky shenanigans. That reductive comment is almost the same as saying Titanic was simply about a boat that sank. Like most good stories (and icebergs), what you see on the surface is only part of the story. The true heart of the movie is laying underneath.

The story follows Ethan (JGL), Isaac (Rogen), and Chris (Mackie) on their last time together celebrating their old Christmas eve tradition of getting blasted and partying around New York. For more than a decade these best friends carried on this annual event but life eventually crept up on them and a tough decision had to be made. They had to let go of their young adult lives and move on to fulfill their new commitments.

Isaac is going to be a first time father very soon. His wife sets his evening up by gifting him what can only be described as a ‘box of drugs’ for being so supportive during the pregnancy. He gets one more chance to live it up before hanging up the wild nights for good.

Chris has become a star athlete in town and a social media icon. Fame follows him everywhere and it is just becoming too difficult to maintain the tradition.

Ethan is the center piece of the group. A personal event in his life is what started this annual tradition and he seems to be the only one that might be having a hard time letting go.

One of the interesting things about this movie is the fact that each character is given a chance to breathe life into their own story arcs. While at first it might seem like Ethan is the focus of the story we quickly learn that Isaac and Chris are dealing with their own personal crises. Ca Isaac handle being a father? Can Chris ever gain the respect of his team? The events of the night lead to all them having time to search within themselves to look for the answers they need. Usually it comes by the way of a little help from their friendly neighborhood drug dealer, Mr. Green(Shannon).

Mr. Green is not seen much, but his impact is very deep. Michael Shannon puts in a tremendous performance as a type of guide that helps the main characters on their personal journeys. In lesser hands this role could have been laughably bad, but Shannon brings the character to life in a way that simply can’t be ignored.

During the course of the night the three guys venture out into the world to continue their annual festivities. We find out early on that one of their unreached goals was to attend a wild party called The Nutcracker’s Ball. Ethan manages to grab three tickets and the fun really begins on their journey to the party.

The comedy in this is spot on with the timing. Writer/Director, Jonathan Levine, takes his time setting up punchlines that are born from what seem like very passive throw away lines. Scenes are tied together that probably shouldn’t work but end up being hilarious. There are several times when this movie feels like it is going to go the traditional route and give us a big triumphant moment but it almost immediately always gets dragged kicking and screaming back into reality.

From top to bottom this cast is incredible. Lizzy Caplan as ‘the one that got away’ and Mindy Kaling as her best friend kind of make me wish I knew what they were doing while the guys are trying to get to the party. Whenever Kaling and Rogen share the screen it is nothing short of comedy gold. It is also one of the few movies where I can say that the cameos are actually really great and not the slightest bit gratuitous.

The movie isn’t perfect by any means. There seemed to be a couple of loose ends that weren’t really tied up, but those revolve around the secondary characters.   Our heroes each get their own wrap up and two of them are very satisfying. One seems just a bit rushed.

The overall criteria for reviewing anything at SemiCore Studios is really simple. Would I recommend this to you? I say…YES. It may not be theater worthy but it certainly is worth a watch this holiday season. There are some genuinely hysterical moments that I’ve never seen anybody pull off the way Levine and his wonderful cast have.

TL:DR It’s very good.

Jessica Jones Season 1

By

Joshua Chitty

Netflix welcomes us back to Hell’s Kitchen in their new original series from Marvel. When we last left the neighborhood we saw that it had a protector in the form of a Daredevil. Let’s be honest about this from the start…Jessica Jones is no Daredevil. Daredevil is widely regarded as a show that stepped up Marvel’s serious action game. The fight sequences were extraordinary and the overall story arc was a gritty look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe from a street level point of view. Jessica Jones brings the same type of advancement to Marvel’s storytelling, but it isn’t the action packed extravaganza that Daredevil was.



Jessica Jones raises the bar when it comes to the psychological drama that unfolds throughout the season. The show feels like the polar opposite of the cinematic universe with its grit and grime. There are no tights. There are no “greater good” morality tales. Everything about Jessica Jones is extremely personal.



Jessica Jones (Kristen Ritter) is a Private Investigator. She has a knack for getting to the bottom of her cases and certain abilities that get her out of sticky situations when things go south. She has an attitude about her that can push people away but rather than making it a hindrance to her character or making it something for her to work on she recognizes the behavior and embraces it like a warm blanket. She isn’t the hero of the MCU we’ve come to recognize. She has no ambition to be loved by the masses. In fact, I’m sure her one wish would be to just be left alone to do her job and only have to worry about serving subpoenas and cheating spouses.



Her nemesis is arguably one of the best Marvel villains to come to life on screen to date. Kilgrave (David F’ing Tennant) takes the ability to control other people’s actions and turns it into some seriously demented. The thing that makes Kilgrave so menacing is the fact he isn’t menacing at all. On the surface.Kilgrave is cool. Everything he does is done as almost an afterthought. When he tells someone to mutilate themselves (which is frequently shown in graphic detail) it seems just as casual as asking for a refill from a server at his favorite restaurant. It is the nonchalant nature that he enacts his most vile deeds that make him a force to be reckoned with.



As always, Marvel has filled out this cast with a wonderful supporting cast full of interesting characters. There is the popular sister Trish (Rachael Taylor) who was once a child star and now hosts a radio show in New York. Like most sisters their relationship isn’t perfect but the love is there and it shows. Then we have Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Anne Moss). A brutally vicious bitch of a woman who would do anything to get what she wants. Basically, she is a lawyer. The real standout from the cast of sideline players is Malcolm (Eka Darville). The performance is low key and that’s what makes it really interesting.



There is one more guy that needs to be mentioned. He’s too big to be called a support player but not around enough to be called one of the heroes. Ladies and gentlemen we have LUKE CAGE (Mike Colter). There is nothing wrong with this character. He is played to absolute perfection in almost every way. He is a year removed from a personal tragedy and is trying to rebuild his life when Jessica Jones walks into his bar. Their relationship is filled with highs and lows when they interact and the story doesn’t play out in what could be considered a typical TV drama style. There are times when a misunderstanding can lead to several episodes if not several seasons of keeping an artificial intensity between characters. One of those shows that could easily unravel and be interesting if they took away that one secret and people just started being honest. The show Jessica Jones doesn’t rely on misinformation tropes to keep its audience intrigued. The story is constantly pushing forward to its conclusion.



Overall I can’t possibly recommend this show any higher. Marvel takes us deep into the gutter of Hell’s Kitchen to tell a story about a rude, borderline sociopath, possible alcoholic, and the villain from her past. Yes, there are references to the greater Marvel MCU and they are more winks than slaps in the face (mostly). If you’re looking for Daredevil in style or just being in there somewhere then you’re in the wrong place. If you aren’t into building characters and unraveling stories this just might not be for you. With that in mind watch this show and enjoy its noir influences and carefully paced storytelling. h here.