John Francis Daley

  • 29 June 2011

Occupation

Actor

Game Night [2018] Trailer

What kind of idea do you cook up for a social game night when you're filthy rich? Whatever it is, it's got to be something unique, exciting and it's gotta last the evening. At least that's something that Brooks (Kyle Chandler) gets right in 'Game Night'.

Brooks is hosting a special kind of evening at his luxurious mansion for his six friends - including his brother Max (Jason Bateman), Max's wife Annie (Rachel McAdams), their pal Ryan (Billy Magnussen), Ryan's love interest Sarah (Sharon Horgan) and another couple (played by Lamorne Morris and Kylie Bunbury). It's a kind of murder mystery event whereby one of them gets 'kidnapped' and the others have to set out to find the hostage.

The person who finds the hostage wins the grand prize. Sounds simple enough, and no doubt exceptionally fun. However, there's nothing whimsical about this game. Brooks has set the whole thing up to look very real, aiming to fool his guests into believing anything. He puts so much emphasis on this point of the game, though, that when a group of actual robbers break into the house and drag him away, his friends think it's all just part of the act.

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Spider-Man: Homecoming Review

Extraordinary

This may be the third reboot of this franchise in 15 years, risking audience exhaustion, but there are plenty of reasons not to miss this one. Most notably, this is the first Spider-Man movie that's part of Marvel's Avengers franchise, which places it in a larger story with lots of cameo possibilities. But more importantly, young British actor Tom Holland seems to have been born to play the role, infusing the entire film with cheeky teenage energy. And it's also one of the funniest, most complex blockbusters of the year.

The film opens with overexcited home videos Peter Parker (Holland) made of his adventure with the Avengers in Civil War. Now he's plunged back to the dull reality of being a high school student living with his sparky Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). He has a crush on classmate Liz (Laura Harrier), but faces rivalry from the school's alpha male Flash (Tony Revolori). And after a night out playing superhero in his Spider-Man costume, his nerdy best pal Ned (Jacob Batalon) is a bit too thrilled to discover his secret alter-ego. Meanwhile, Peter is annoyed that Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and his assistant Happy (Jon Favreau) are ignoring his calls, especially after he warns them that he has seen winged bad guy Toomes (Michael Keaton) dealing illegal alien weapons around New York while plotting something nefarious.

Director Jon Watts (Cop Car) cleverly maintains a nimble teen perspective throughout the film, which makes it feel more like a comedy than an action movie. And instead of snarky one-liners, the laughs come from character-based humour, most notably Holland's brilliant reactions to everything that comes along. One memorable sequence, which kicks off the final onslaught of action, is both hilarious and terrifying at the same time, perfectly balanced thanks to a knowing revelation, Watts' subtle direction and Holland's hugely engaging performance. And each breathtaking action set-piece pushes the character forward in positive ways.

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Vacation Review

OK

Both the characters and the tone have been updated as a new generation of Grizwolds hits the road for a raucous holiday, eliminating the darker edges for a sillier, ruder romp. After the four madcap Vacation movies from 1983 to 1997, the focus moves from Chevy Chase's patriarch Clark to his now-grown son Rusty. As with the earlier films, there are so many jokes flying at the screen that some are bound to make us laugh.

Ed Helms is the fifth actor in five films to play Rusty, and now he's got a family of his own. So he decides to give them a holiday to remember, retracing his childhood trip from Chicago to Wally World in California. His wife Debbie (Christina Applegate) isn't so sure about this, but gamely goes along with it, while their bickering teen sons James and Kevin (Skyler Gisondo and Steele Stebbins) settle into the back seat for the long drive. Along the road, they stop at Debbie's old university and learn a few things about her wild reputation. They also visit Rusty's sister Audrey (Leslie Mann) in Texas, where she's married to a swaggering rancher (Chris Hemsworth). And they drop in on Rusty's parents (Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo). In between, every stop brings a new moment of crazed mayhem.

The script is set up as an homage to the original movie, playfully riffing on the structure and set-pieces. Here, the comedy highlights include a dodgy natural hot springs and a death-defying bit of white-water rafting. All of this is infused with a surprisingly warm family dynamic amid constant gags about excrement and genitalia. Miraculously, writer-directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein never get cynical about the Grizwolds. Rusty and Debbie are still hot for each other, while James and Kevin's vicious rivalry only reveals how much they look out for each other. All four actors are solid, with terrific comical timing and likeable performances.

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Vacation - Full Trailer

What's more important than family? For the Griswold family, nothing. Rusty (Ed Helms) decides that it's time to spend a little more time with his family, and chooses to take his wife Debbie (Christina Applegate), and sons James (Skyler Gisondo) and Kevin (Steele Stebbins), on a road trip across the country. The destination? The Walley World fun park. As America's favourite fun park is set to close for ever, the road trip becomes a frantic dash, which the hopes of bringing the family more together. Because what's more important than family? Aside from amusement parks.

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The Griswolds Take Another Chaotic 'Vacation' To Walley World [Trailer + Pictures]

By Gary Roberts in Movies / TV / Theatre on 08 May 2015

Ed Helms Christina Applegate Chris Hemsworth Charlie Day Leslie Mann Chevy Chase Beverly D'Angelo John Francis Daley

The red-band trailer for the reboot of 'National Lampoon's Vacation' has just been released - and it's looking hilariously risqué.

Billed as a sequel to the 1983 cult classic National Lampoon's Vacation, this comedy adventure, simply titled Vacation, stars Ed Helms and Christina Applegate. It sees the Griswolds return to Walley World at last - only this time, they're led by the grown-up Rusty (Helms), who wants to relive his childhood and create some much-needed family bonding time with a fun-filled trip to the theme park.

Image caption Ed Helms is going to Walley World - what could go wrong?

But, this being a National Lampoon film, the road trip doesn't go without a bump, with plenty of chaos and risque comedy along the way, including a delightful family swim and underwear that leaves little to the imagination.

Continue reading: The Griswolds Take Another Chaotic 'Vacation' To Walley World [Trailer + Pictures]

Vacation - Red Band Teaser Trailer

WARNING THIS IS THE RED BAND TRAILER.

The Griswolds return to Walley World - only this time, the family is led by young Rusty Griswold and his wife and kids. The grown up Rusty is determined to pull his family together with a family vacation to the Walley World theme park, hoping it will help him bond with his sons and improve his marriage. He wants to re-live the good times he had as a kid, though his own children are less than happy about the trip. As it turns out, this generation are about to face just as much mayhem on the second vacation as Rusty and his folks did on the first; including sewage springs, awkward questions and messy car journeys.

A sequel to the original 1983 film based on John Hughes' story 'Vacation '58' - famously first published by National Lampoon magazine - the new 'Vacation' sees Clark and Ellen Griswold's son re-visiting his childhood. The new film has been directed and written by 'Bones' star John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (screenwriters on 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone') in their directorial feature debut and also sees the return of original actors Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. The movie is scheduled for release in the UK on November 13th 2015.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 Review

By Rich Cline

Very Good

With new writers and directors, this frenetic sequel indulges in silliness with less substance than last time. It's a lot of fun, but also rather forgettable, like the movie's surprisingly unimaginative title (honestly, the sky was literally the limit here). So while we laugh at the constant barrage of jokes and the colourful visual mayhem, there's nothing to engage us on a more satisfying level.

It opens with a recap of the first film, then carries on immediately, as young inventor Flint (voiced by Hader) is thrilled that his idol Chester (Forte), head of super-cool mega-company Live Corp, is put in charge of cleaning up the food storm Flint started. With a secret plan to get his hands on Flint's invention, Chester evacuates everyone from the island community Swallow Falls and offers Flint a job at his headquarters in San Franjose, California. But back home the food has come to life and is threatening to attack the world, so Flint is sent to solve the problem, unofficially accompanied by his pals (Faris' weathergirl, Samberg's surfer dude, Bratt's cameraman and Crews' muscle-cop) and his fisherman dad (Caan).

These characters are so hilariously goofy that we can't help but enjoy the chaos as they return to the island, which has been transformed into a Jurassic Park-style jungle overrun by food-pun creatures like shrimpanzees, tacodiles and watermelephants. The animation is gorgeously detailed, with all kinds of visual gags to match the deranged verbal banter. And the snappy voice cast dive in with gusto. The new characters fit in perfectly: Forte is hilariously slimy, while Schaal (as his talking baboon assistant Barb) steals the show as the only person on-screen who has a story arc.

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John Francis Daley - FOX Summer TCA 2013 All-Star Party - Arrivals - Los Angeles, California, United States - Thursday 1st August 2013

The Cast And Crew Of 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' On The Red Carpet At LA Premiere (Pictures)

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 12 March 2013

Steve Carell Steve Buscemi Jim Carrey Olivia Wilde Don Scardino John Francis Daley David Copperfield Mason Cook Alan Arkin

Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi and Jim Carrey are among arrivals at the LA premiere for 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone'.


Steve Carell

The LA premiere for 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' took place on Monday (March 11th 2013) and as well as the starring cast, saw many other famous faces.

As well as leading stars Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi, who play the title character and his partner Anton Marvelton respectively, we see their magic rival Steve Gray played by Jim Carrey as well as their beautiful assistant Jane played by Olivia Wilde on the red carpet. Primetime Emmy winning director of the movie Don Scardino, who has previously worked on American comedy series '30 Rock', made his appearance at the premiere held at the TCL Chinese Theatre alongside screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein who have worked together on a variety of projects including 'Horrible Bosses', an episode of 'Bones' and a short film called 'Audio Tour'. Legendary illusionist David Copperfield was also spotted on the red carpet; he makes a cameo appearance on the movie and was also a key figure in developing some of the visual trickery performed by the onscreen magicians. Young versions of main characters Burt Wonderstone and Anton Marvelton were also snapped, played by Mason Cook and Luke Vanek respectively, as well as their character's biggest hero Rance Holloway played by Alan Arkin.

Continue reading: The Cast And Crew Of 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone' On The Red Carpet At LA Premiere (Pictures)

Horrible Bosses Trailer

Nick Hendricks (a management candidate), Kurt Buckman (an accountant) and Dale Arbus (a dental assistant) are three best friends who love their jobs. However, for the three of them, there is just one thing coming between them and their happiness - their evil bosses.

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