"Identity Thief", directed by Gordon Seth

Movie, 2013

Undemanding road comedy which follows many genre rules, including the happy ending and the goo around family, and yet does so successfully. This is an entertaining, funny film, with well worked set pieces and some interesting characters. The dark elements of the plot are neither shirked or taken with any sense of gravity, so there's a balance of sorts. The ending's never in doubt and film hardly shouts for a sequel or imitators, and yet it's a well-worked piece, played for laughs, with a good measure of slapstick thrown in.

"The Fundamentals of Caring," directed by Rob Burnett

Movie, 2016

Excellent road movie, featuring a carer taking his patient, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, on a road trip and rite of passage. There are almost too many points where the film could have slipped into schlock, though it avoids doing so with some aplomb. Some genuinely funny moments, some genuinely touching moments and while manipulating the emotions in that very American way, it retains a low budget integrity and doesn't ram home any position or attitude. Great entertainment from an unpromising premise.

"Sideways", directed by Alexander Payne

Movie, 2004

Effective buddy and road type movie, in which old friends at very different stages of their personal journeys seek out wine and women. This is an effective, gentle film which prods away at some pretty hefty themes around infidelity and loneliness, while fitting in a decent number of laughs and capers along the way. The warmth towards all the characters shines through, however, as middle age is approached through different perspectives. The film isn't especially novel, with most viewers probably feeling they're covering some relatively well trodden ground, but this is, nonetheless, a generous, funny and watchable film.

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