Pixels (2015)

This movie has all the ingredients to make this a complete and utter waste of time and money.

Adam Sandler staring should be everything you need to know. But it gets better, an alien race, takes on the form of the arcade games from the early 1980′s to invade the planet using pixelated boxes of energy. Oh, and did I mention we have

Kevin James as the POTUS? Watch the trailer and you will see for yourself the absurdity. A complete waste of time yes?

Well, hang fire there for a minute, as much as I am in complete disbelief that I am even typing this, but a stinker, it is not. In fact, I would even go as far to saying it was mildly enjoyable, even, dare I say, funny. I know I know, what is going on, an Adam Sandler movie worth seeing?

You see the trailer does this movie absolutely no favours whatsoever. Yes the story is absurd but in the context of the world it inhabits, it very nearly works.

The movie is filled to the brim with 1980′s references, and for anyone that grew up in this block world of computer games (holds hand up) then you will get very nostalgic for a simpler time. They actually work in the fact the computer games of those days were predictable if you could spot the pattern into the story line very well.

There is some beautiful moments, where Tetris is used to destroy skyscrapers and a PaperBoy cycling around throwing out deadly energized papers. The special effects are done very well, and even Sandler has some funny lines. He is looking old and worn mind you, so you wonder just how many more years he can play this single-man act for.

There are some big name cameos in this one, including the father of Pac Man himself, Toru Iwatani as an arcade repair man. We also have

Serena Williams making an appearance as the fantasy threesome that

Peter Dinklage wants for helping save the world. Though I will note, that when Dinklage is giving his list of demands (never pay tax again, night in the Lincoln room) from the President, he pretty much rattles off everything they did in

Armageddon. Can’t decide if it is a rip-off or a homage.

Is this a movie you should rush out and actually spend money on? No. But if you find it popping up on Netflix, or even as an in-flight movie choice, then you could spend a worse 100 or so minutes.