WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN? (***1/2) - Starring Morgan Spurlock.
Written & directed by Morgan Spurlock.
The War on Terror for Dummies. Cliff Notes of the Middle East for the junior high students across America. Fine with me.
Spurlock is like Michael Moore without the one-sidedness. He had his first hit with Super-Size Me, and his FX show 30 Days has decent ratings. He's a red-state guy who can just turn on a camera and see where it takes him. He also can't resist side theatrics. I would have liked to see less cartoon graphics to make his point and more of him talking to people on camera.
Ignoring the contrived set-up and silliness of showing Spurlock vs. Osama in a Tekken-type video game, the movie really begins once Spurlock touches down on foreign. We see him interview people in Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In other words, some of the scariest places in the world for an American to travel. I'm a bit surprised he couldn't make it to Iran.
The running theme with most of the countries is that the people there like the American people but hate the American government, and while many are mad at Osama bin Laden, many are more upset with the sloppy, violent reaction and overreach of the U.S. One Palestinian man made a good point when he said one fifth of the world is Muslim; we can't afford to have the other four-fifths hate us and afraid we want to kill them all. Spurlock also interviews a Muslim shiek who preached they will fill graveyards with Christians and he's looking forward to the day that all Muslims unite and declare war on all the Christians and Jews of the world.
I also found it interesting how the Palestinians were pretty cordial with him whereas in Israel the people there got violent, gathered a mob, shoving him and his crew to where they needed a police escort to get out of there. I feared for his safety, as I'm sure he did.
In the end *spoiler alert*, he doesn't find bin Laden. He gets to a sign in Pakistan where in big red letters it says "No Foreigners Allowed Past This Point." In a region where the Taliban is still thriving, he knew his chance of getting kidnapped or killed would increase dramatically if he crossed that point. And he has a pregnant wife at home.
So even if bin Laden is captured or killed, the movie makes a decent case that it really wouldn't change much. The U.S. government is still seen as evil in sizable chunks of the world. Whether it's Obama-Biden or McCain-Palin in November, they have their work cut out for them.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Prom Night - DVD Review
PROM NIGHT (*1/2) - Starring Brittany Snow, Jonathan Schaech, Scott Porter, Dana Davis, Idris Elba, Jessica Stroup, Mary Mara and Ming Wen.
Written by J.S. Cardone.
Directed by Nelson McCormick.
This is a slasher film written by and for 12-year-olds. Oh, says here that the writer's older than 12, as is the director. Hm. Well, then, that blows that theory. I would say it's for youngsters who've never seen a slasher movie before; maybe it will scare them. Then again the first slasher movie I ever saw was Friday the 13th Part IV when I was 11 or 12, and I found it fascinatingly unscary. So who is this for? 9-year-olds? Do we really want the 9-year-olds of the world watching slasher movies? Of course, to keep it in PG-13 bounds, there's not much blood, and the kids get killed before they can pair off to have sex, so the exploitation factor's gone... Man, what is the point to this movie?
I guess it's to give decent TV actors supporting roles. There's ER vet Ming Wen as a psychiatrist. There's The Wire vet Idris Elba as the incompetant police officer hunting down the killer. (Only when the movie hits the 70-minute mark does he suddenly become good at his job.) No, that would be a benevolent reason. It's about marketing. They knew they could put together a good trailer and get a decent opening weekend, and horror films tend to live longer than any other genre on DVD and cable. I don't know how much care was put into making it an actual good movie.
Brittany Snow, the snob from Hairspray, is our heroine, and she's good at jumping and screaming at something suddenly startling her from behind, be it obtuse friends just tapping her shoulder, or a lampshade she backed into. Yes, one of our jump-scares is committed by a lampshade.
Some of these kids are terrible at running from the killer, in traditional Friday the 13th fashion. Tripping over tiny objects, running while looking backward so the killer can suddenly be in front of them.
Our killer is not a masked man. It's Jonathan Schaech. We see his face plenty during the beginning, middle and end. He's a former teacher who became obsessed with a student and wound up killing her family to get her for himself. He escaped his mental institution and he's hunted down our heroine to her prom night. Why does he start killing her friends? I don't know. Because he doesn't want her to have friends?
I never saw the original, and I really don't think that would affect what I thought about this.
Written by J.S. Cardone.
Directed by Nelson McCormick.
This is a slasher film written by and for 12-year-olds. Oh, says here that the writer's older than 12, as is the director. Hm. Well, then, that blows that theory. I would say it's for youngsters who've never seen a slasher movie before; maybe it will scare them. Then again the first slasher movie I ever saw was Friday the 13th Part IV when I was 11 or 12, and I found it fascinatingly unscary. So who is this for? 9-year-olds? Do we really want the 9-year-olds of the world watching slasher movies? Of course, to keep it in PG-13 bounds, there's not much blood, and the kids get killed before they can pair off to have sex, so the exploitation factor's gone... Man, what is the point to this movie?
I guess it's to give decent TV actors supporting roles. There's ER vet Ming Wen as a psychiatrist. There's The Wire vet Idris Elba as the incompetant police officer hunting down the killer. (Only when the movie hits the 70-minute mark does he suddenly become good at his job.) No, that would be a benevolent reason. It's about marketing. They knew they could put together a good trailer and get a decent opening weekend, and horror films tend to live longer than any other genre on DVD and cable. I don't know how much care was put into making it an actual good movie.
Brittany Snow, the snob from Hairspray, is our heroine, and she's good at jumping and screaming at something suddenly startling her from behind, be it obtuse friends just tapping her shoulder, or a lampshade she backed into. Yes, one of our jump-scares is committed by a lampshade.
Some of these kids are terrible at running from the killer, in traditional Friday the 13th fashion. Tripping over tiny objects, running while looking backward so the killer can suddenly be in front of them.
Our killer is not a masked man. It's Jonathan Schaech. We see his face plenty during the beginning, middle and end. He's a former teacher who became obsessed with a student and wound up killing her family to get her for himself. He escaped his mental institution and he's hunted down our heroine to her prom night. Why does he start killing her friends? I don't know. Because he doesn't want her to have friends?
I never saw the original, and I really don't think that would affect what I thought about this.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Street Kings - DVD Review
STREET KINGS (**) - Starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, Chris Evans, Cedric the Entertainer, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews, Naomie Harris, Common, The Game, Martha Hirageda, Amaury Molasco and John Corbett.
Written by James Ellroy & Kurt Wimmer & Jamie Moss.
Directed by David Ayer.
There are some things Keanu Reeves is really good at, but there are other things where he is not. He is not good at Shakespeare, and he is not good at playing a dirty cop.
He plays Ludlow, a cop who shoots first and asks questions later. He's Dirty Harry. But he's Keanu Reeves, so how dirty can Harry be? This is a Mark Wahlberg type role.
He actually isn't my main problem. He's my second problem, but my main problem is that the writers couldn't see how predictable their story was. James Ellroy was the guy behind L.A. Confidential. Then again, co-writer Kurt Wimmer was the guy behind Ultraviolet, so when two very different worlds collide, you get something like this. In the middle. It actually reminded me a lot of Dark Blue, anotehr corrupt-cop movie, and James Ellroy wrote the story and David Ayer wrote the screenplay for that. So there it is.
I knew exactly where this movie was going ten minutes into it, and when that happens, I have to suspend my disbelief that none of the characters on screen can figure it out either. It was a bit strange to see all these comedians (Cedric, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews, etc.) in serious roles too.
Written by James Ellroy & Kurt Wimmer & Jamie Moss.
Directed by David Ayer.
There are some things Keanu Reeves is really good at, but there are other things where he is not. He is not good at Shakespeare, and he is not good at playing a dirty cop.
He plays Ludlow, a cop who shoots first and asks questions later. He's Dirty Harry. But he's Keanu Reeves, so how dirty can Harry be? This is a Mark Wahlberg type role.
He actually isn't my main problem. He's my second problem, but my main problem is that the writers couldn't see how predictable their story was. James Ellroy was the guy behind L.A. Confidential. Then again, co-writer Kurt Wimmer was the guy behind Ultraviolet, so when two very different worlds collide, you get something like this. In the middle. It actually reminded me a lot of Dark Blue, anotehr corrupt-cop movie, and James Ellroy wrote the story and David Ayer wrote the screenplay for that. So there it is.
I knew exactly where this movie was going ten minutes into it, and when that happens, I have to suspend my disbelief that none of the characters on screen can figure it out either. It was a bit strange to see all these comedians (Cedric, Jay Mohr, Terry Crews, etc.) in serious roles too.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Tropic Thunder - Movie Review
TROPIC THUNDER (***1/4) - Starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Jack Black, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T. Jackson, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Reggie Lee, Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise.
Directed by Ben Stiller.
Movies that are too inside-Hollywood don't tend to do well. This movie is about pampered actors making a movie who stumble upon the real thing, and it skewers everything from Method to Academy politics to agents to studios to Vietnam flicks.
The movie starts out on four great funny notes. First we get a fauz ad for Booty Sweat, an energy drink pimped by the rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson). Next we get a preview for Scorcher VI, from fading action star Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller). Next we get a preview for The Fatties: Fart 2, starring Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) in a bunch of fat suits as all the roles. Next is a preview for Satan's Alley, about the forbidden love between two monks in medieval times, starring 5-time Academy Award winner Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) and MTV Movie Award winner Tobey Maguire.
And then the fun begins. Speedman's an actor seeking credibility, but coming off a widely-panned Oscar-bait movie where he plays a mentally handicapped man, he could use a hit. Portnoy's a heroin addict. Lazarus is the type of Method actor who refuses to break character when the cameras aren't rolling, and he's playing an African-American soldier with Fred Williamson's hair and sideburns. Alpa Chino, an actual African-American, keeps getting annoyed at Lazarus's constant 1970's ghetto-speak. The fifth soldier is the troop is Kevin Sudansky (Jay Baruchel), a young actor in his first real movie, the only one without a vainglorious ego, the only one who sent to boot camp before they started shooting, the only one who's actually read the whole script.
Not everything about the movie works, but each actor gets their moment, and not just the five, but Nolte, Coogan, McConaughey (as an ego-feeding agent), and Cruise (as a megalomaniacal studio head). In fact seeing Cruise do comedy made me hope the long-gestating Hardy Men project between him and Stiller happens.
Directed by Ben Stiller.
Movies that are too inside-Hollywood don't tend to do well. This movie is about pampered actors making a movie who stumble upon the real thing, and it skewers everything from Method to Academy politics to agents to studios to Vietnam flicks.
The movie starts out on four great funny notes. First we get a fauz ad for Booty Sweat, an energy drink pimped by the rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson). Next we get a preview for Scorcher VI, from fading action star Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller). Next we get a preview for The Fatties: Fart 2, starring Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) in a bunch of fat suits as all the roles. Next is a preview for Satan's Alley, about the forbidden love between two monks in medieval times, starring 5-time Academy Award winner Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) and MTV Movie Award winner Tobey Maguire.
And then the fun begins. Speedman's an actor seeking credibility, but coming off a widely-panned Oscar-bait movie where he plays a mentally handicapped man, he could use a hit. Portnoy's a heroin addict. Lazarus is the type of Method actor who refuses to break character when the cameras aren't rolling, and he's playing an African-American soldier with Fred Williamson's hair and sideburns. Alpa Chino, an actual African-American, keeps getting annoyed at Lazarus's constant 1970's ghetto-speak. The fifth soldier is the troop is Kevin Sudansky (Jay Baruchel), a young actor in his first real movie, the only one without a vainglorious ego, the only one who sent to boot camp before they started shooting, the only one who's actually read the whole script.
Not everything about the movie works, but each actor gets their moment, and not just the five, but Nolte, Coogan, McConaughey (as an ego-feeding agent), and Cruise (as a megalomaniacal studio head). In fact seeing Cruise do comedy made me hope the long-gestating Hardy Men project between him and Stiller happens.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
21 - DVD Review
21 (***) - Starring Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Laurence Fishburne, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts and Josh Gad.
Directed by Robert Luketic.
There's something to be said for a cards movie, when blackjack is one of the most boring games to watch, and yet this is better than any poker movie that's come out the past few years. (Rounders was 1997; this is no Rounders). If only this movie about smart people had been smarter.
For instance, why do they keep going to the same casinos? You'd think with all the casinos in Vegas they'd hit a different one each week. Why do they not mix up their signals, make it harder for pit bosses to put 2 and 2 together? And why would certain characters fall for what they do in the third act?
No matter. It's a glossy ride, watching Jake (Across the Universe's Jim Sturgess) being pulled into the world of card-counting, where they're able to rake in six digits each weekend as they otherwise innocently live a normal MIT college life.
So if they'd been more creative with the third act, this could have been something special. As is, it's a decent entertainment. It made me want to read more into how much of it was true and how Vegas is countering card-counters.
Sidenote: This is the third movie that Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth have done together, the first two being Beyond the Sea and Superman Returns.
Directed by Robert Luketic.
There's something to be said for a cards movie, when blackjack is one of the most boring games to watch, and yet this is better than any poker movie that's come out the past few years. (Rounders was 1997; this is no Rounders). If only this movie about smart people had been smarter.
For instance, why do they keep going to the same casinos? You'd think with all the casinos in Vegas they'd hit a different one each week. Why do they not mix up their signals, make it harder for pit bosses to put 2 and 2 together? And why would certain characters fall for what they do in the third act?
No matter. It's a glossy ride, watching Jake (Across the Universe's Jim Sturgess) being pulled into the world of card-counting, where they're able to rake in six digits each weekend as they otherwise innocently live a normal MIT college life.
So if they'd been more creative with the third act, this could have been something special. As is, it's a decent entertainment. It made me want to read more into how much of it was true and how Vegas is countering card-counters.
Sidenote: This is the third movie that Kevin Spacey and Kate Bosworth have done together, the first two being Beyond the Sea and Superman Returns.
Big Brother 10 - A Comedy Classic
Tuesday night's episode featured probably the most painfully funny episode in the entire series' history. It would make Ricky Gervais proud.
For those not watching, the alliances have been made. You have Jesse, Memphis and Michelle, the Dwindling Team, as they've lost power two weeks in a row, they lost Angie last week, and this week they will lose either Jesse or Memphis. You have Power Team, made up of Keesha, Libra, April & Ollie, where April is Head of Household and was the one who put Jesse & Memphis up for eviction. Then you have the Floaters, Dan, Jerry & Renny.
This was the day of the Veto competition. Those competing were April, Libra, Jerry, Jesse, Memphis and Michelle. April and her team were discussing the competition, and April was dismissive of Libra, saying she felt like it was all on her. Libra left, offended, and Keesha went after her, and they vented about April. Jesse overheard and told April.
Big giant screaming match throughout the house.
Did I mention it's Keesha's birthday? They had a cake ready for her, and those not in the argument were just trying to gather everyone together to sing "Happy Birthday." Lots of walking back and forth and screaming with Libra, April, Keesha and Jesse. And then awkward silence. And then an unenthused house rendition of "Happy Birthday" that sounds like a broken accordion. More awkward silence, with Keesha giving a strained smile, clearly getting the sardonic nature of the moment. And then back to screaming.
Hilarious.
For those not watching, the alliances have been made. You have Jesse, Memphis and Michelle, the Dwindling Team, as they've lost power two weeks in a row, they lost Angie last week, and this week they will lose either Jesse or Memphis. You have Power Team, made up of Keesha, Libra, April & Ollie, where April is Head of Household and was the one who put Jesse & Memphis up for eviction. Then you have the Floaters, Dan, Jerry & Renny.
This was the day of the Veto competition. Those competing were April, Libra, Jerry, Jesse, Memphis and Michelle. April and her team were discussing the competition, and April was dismissive of Libra, saying she felt like it was all on her. Libra left, offended, and Keesha went after her, and they vented about April. Jesse overheard and told April.
Big giant screaming match throughout the house.
Did I mention it's Keesha's birthday? They had a cake ready for her, and those not in the argument were just trying to gather everyone together to sing "Happy Birthday." Lots of walking back and forth and screaming with Libra, April, Keesha and Jesse. And then awkward silence. And then an unenthused house rendition of "Happy Birthday" that sounds like a broken accordion. More awkward silence, with Keesha giving a strained smile, clearly getting the sardonic nature of the moment. And then back to screaming.
Hilarious.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Bonneville - DVD Review
BONNEVILLE (***) - Starring Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Joan Allen, Tom Skerritt, Christine Baranski, Victor Rasuk and Tom Wopat. Directed by Christopher Rowley.
The story's kinda boring on its own, but this is an example of casting breathing life into a movie. A widow has her two friends join her on a road trip from Idaho to California to deliver her late husband's ashes to her snooty stepdaughter. The three talented actresses get to shine in roles they don't often get (what has Joan Allen really been able to do lately besides chase Jason Bourne?) So if it had been three mid-level actresses, this would have been Lifetime Channel treacle. I believe these three ladies have nine nominations and two Academy Awards among them, which makes for a pleasant road trip.
The story's kinda boring on its own, but this is an example of casting breathing life into a movie. A widow has her two friends join her on a road trip from Idaho to California to deliver her late husband's ashes to her snooty stepdaughter. The three talented actresses get to shine in roles they don't often get (what has Joan Allen really been able to do lately besides chase Jason Bourne?) So if it had been three mid-level actresses, this would have been Lifetime Channel treacle. I believe these three ladies have nine nominations and two Academy Awards among them, which makes for a pleasant road trip.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Paranoid Park - DVD Review
PARANOID PARK (**) - Starring Gabe Nevins, Taylor Momsen and Dan Liu.
Directed by Gus Van Sant.
Gerry was the nadir of Van Sant's self-indulgence, where Casey Affleck and Matt Damon got lost and walked and walked and walked. I thought Elephant was pretty good, where Van Sant took the trick of showing people walk and walk but made it add up to something.
This is better than Gerry, in that it's shorter and there's a little more story to it. A little. It's about a skateboarder, so we get more than our share of shots of skateboarders, slo-mo, going up and down, as natural as birds in flight. Pretty young men, skating and skating. Yesss.....
Whoa, fell asleep there. Anyway, his use of mostly non-professional actors lends a documentary feel to it. It also means we get a lot of shots of their blank-slate faces, where more depth is being intimated than actually surfaces. We eventually learn that one of them was responsible for the death of a security guard. Was it an accident or murder? We're pretty sure it was an accident (it's deep in the movie before we get the revealing flashback), but the police are approaching it as murder.
I've been a fan of many Van Sant movies, but I'd like to see him get out of this dialogue-free, slo-mo, people walking and walking phase. This could be called Elephant 2: The Skateboarders, a sequel I've never wanted to see.
Side note: Van Sant's next feature is Milk, starring Sean Penn as gay politician Harvey Milk, and it co-stars James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna and Eric Stoltz, and my bet is they do more than walk and walk.
Directed by Gus Van Sant.
Gerry was the nadir of Van Sant's self-indulgence, where Casey Affleck and Matt Damon got lost and walked and walked and walked. I thought Elephant was pretty good, where Van Sant took the trick of showing people walk and walk but made it add up to something.
This is better than Gerry, in that it's shorter and there's a little more story to it. A little. It's about a skateboarder, so we get more than our share of shots of skateboarders, slo-mo, going up and down, as natural as birds in flight. Pretty young men, skating and skating. Yesss.....
Whoa, fell asleep there. Anyway, his use of mostly non-professional actors lends a documentary feel to it. It also means we get a lot of shots of their blank-slate faces, where more depth is being intimated than actually surfaces. We eventually learn that one of them was responsible for the death of a security guard. Was it an accident or murder? We're pretty sure it was an accident (it's deep in the movie before we get the revealing flashback), but the police are approaching it as murder.
I've been a fan of many Van Sant movies, but I'd like to see him get out of this dialogue-free, slo-mo, people walking and walking phase. This could be called Elephant 2: The Skateboarders, a sequel I've never wanted to see.
Side note: Van Sant's next feature is Milk, starring Sean Penn as gay politician Harvey Milk, and it co-stars James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna and Eric Stoltz, and my bet is they do more than walk and walk.
Doomsday - DVD Review
DOOMSDAY (**) - Starring Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Malcolm McDowell, Adrian Lester, David O'Hara and Alexander Siddig.
Written & directed by Neil Marshall.
Have you seen Mad Max or Escape from New York? Then you don't need to see this. Those were better versions of this. Sure, those movies might be dated now, but this movie already is. I guess you could say it's Mad Maxine, as our protagonist is a gun-toting, butt-kicking chick, complete with a Plissken-esque eyepatch.
A plague has hit Scotland, and in amazingly quick, organized fashion, England walls it off, creates a no-fly zone, and just lets the place rot for twenty years. The rest of the world has forgotten about Scotland, believing everyone in there is dead and the virus is contained. But when new outbreaks of the virus hit London, the government looks back to Scotland. It seems many people survived the plague, so they send in a task force to find the cure and get out.
Leave Scotland alone for twenty years, and most of the people have turned into this punk-rock, high-mohawk, apocalyptic wasteland straight of the Road Warrior handbook. Or have they? The movie gets really bizarre when the task-force finds a band of people living in an old castle, complete with dressing in medieval garb and engaging in knight games. Through it all Rhona Mitra, who's a cross between Kate Beckinsale from Underworld and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) from Lost, doesn't bat her one good eye as she breaks arms, bashes heads, and fights her way to find the cure.
Bob Hoskins used to get better material than this, but I guess it's all been downhill since the Super Mario Bros Movie.
Written & directed by Neil Marshall.
Have you seen Mad Max or Escape from New York? Then you don't need to see this. Those were better versions of this. Sure, those movies might be dated now, but this movie already is. I guess you could say it's Mad Maxine, as our protagonist is a gun-toting, butt-kicking chick, complete with a Plissken-esque eyepatch.
A plague has hit Scotland, and in amazingly quick, organized fashion, England walls it off, creates a no-fly zone, and just lets the place rot for twenty years. The rest of the world has forgotten about Scotland, believing everyone in there is dead and the virus is contained. But when new outbreaks of the virus hit London, the government looks back to Scotland. It seems many people survived the plague, so they send in a task force to find the cure and get out.
Leave Scotland alone for twenty years, and most of the people have turned into this punk-rock, high-mohawk, apocalyptic wasteland straight of the Road Warrior handbook. Or have they? The movie gets really bizarre when the task-force finds a band of people living in an old castle, complete with dressing in medieval garb and engaging in knight games. Through it all Rhona Mitra, who's a cross between Kate Beckinsale from Underworld and Kate (Evangeline Lilly) from Lost, doesn't bat her one good eye as she breaks arms, bashes heads, and fights her way to find the cure.
Bob Hoskins used to get better material than this, but I guess it's all been downhill since the Super Mario Bros Movie.
Step Brothers - Movie Review
STEP BROTHERS (**) - Starring Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Richard Jenkins, Mary Steenburgen, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn and Rob Riggle.
Directed by Adam McKay.
Ultimately this movie didn't make sense. I couldn't get a handle on the rules of its little movie universe. Will Ferrell is Brennan and John C. Reilly is Dale, two emotionally-stunted 40-year-olds who behave like they're 10 sometimes, 15 other times, and on occassional convenience, 40. Being immature usually means a level of innocence, but they're vulgar and rage-filled as well.
Brennan lives with his mom and Dale lives with his dad. When their parents marry, they become step brothers. And they share a room. And they hate each other. And they make childish threats against each other. (Actually sometimes they act like they're 7. Add that to the maturity fluxuation graph.)
Some of the antics are funny, in their isolated, episodic way. I liked Brennan's cocky younger brother Derek (played with Tom Cruisish smugness by Adam Scott) and his repressed, miserable wife (Kathryn Hahn). The romance and chemistry between the parents is underwritten or non-existent or both. And any movie that has a long, sustained fart instantly loses half a star.
It was okay. There were people around me laughing their heads off. I found it to be a little better than Semi-Pro, but a sign that the Ferrell comedy machine is running out of steam.
Directed by Adam McKay.
Ultimately this movie didn't make sense. I couldn't get a handle on the rules of its little movie universe. Will Ferrell is Brennan and John C. Reilly is Dale, two emotionally-stunted 40-year-olds who behave like they're 10 sometimes, 15 other times, and on occassional convenience, 40. Being immature usually means a level of innocence, but they're vulgar and rage-filled as well.
Brennan lives with his mom and Dale lives with his dad. When their parents marry, they become step brothers. And they share a room. And they hate each other. And they make childish threats against each other. (Actually sometimes they act like they're 7. Add that to the maturity fluxuation graph.)
Some of the antics are funny, in their isolated, episodic way. I liked Brennan's cocky younger brother Derek (played with Tom Cruisish smugness by Adam Scott) and his repressed, miserable wife (Kathryn Hahn). The romance and chemistry between the parents is underwritten or non-existent or both. And any movie that has a long, sustained fart instantly loses half a star.
It was okay. There were people around me laughing their heads off. I found it to be a little better than Semi-Pro, but a sign that the Ferrell comedy machine is running out of steam.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen in 2001
I rented Disc 2 for kicks of Undeclared, this short-lived 2001 Judd Apatow series, and I got to see the "Adam Sandler as himself" episode. Ultimate foreshadowing, as in Summer 2009, Sandler will star in the Apatow-directed Funny People, co-starring Undeclared alum Seth Rogen.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Charlie Bartlett - DVD Review
CHARLIE BARTLETT (***) - Starring Anton Yelchin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings and Tyler Hilton.
Written by Gustin Nash.
Directed by Jon Poll.
It starts as a funny teen comedy until the final third, where it curves into angsty seriousness. What kept the movie buoyed through that transition for me was Robert Downey Jr., doing some pre-Iron Man slumming, as a high-school principal who lectures against drugs even though he hits the bottle each night.
Anton Yelchin, who will soon play Chekov in the next Star Trek movie, plays Charlie Bartlett, a rich kid kicked out of all private schools who must endure the indignity of public school. He doesn't have half the charm of Ferris Bueller, but the kids warm up to him when he starts dispensing psychiatric advice and giving them his leftover prescription pills.
The movie is able to walk the tightrope of satire in the first half until real problems develop in the second half, where many characters are revealed to have more depth than at first thought, and winds up being a satisfying whole. And it helps to have Downey, a John Hughes vet, to be here keeping it real.
Written by Gustin Nash.
Directed by Jon Poll.
It starts as a funny teen comedy until the final third, where it curves into angsty seriousness. What kept the movie buoyed through that transition for me was Robert Downey Jr., doing some pre-Iron Man slumming, as a high-school principal who lectures against drugs even though he hits the bottle each night.
Anton Yelchin, who will soon play Chekov in the next Star Trek movie, plays Charlie Bartlett, a rich kid kicked out of all private schools who must endure the indignity of public school. He doesn't have half the charm of Ferris Bueller, but the kids warm up to him when he starts dispensing psychiatric advice and giving them his leftover prescription pills.
The movie is able to walk the tightrope of satire in the first half until real problems develop in the second half, where many characters are revealed to have more depth than at first thought, and winds up being a satisfying whole. And it helps to have Downey, a John Hughes vet, to be here keeping it real.
Nancy Drew - DVD Review
NANCY DREW (***) - Starring Emma Roberts, Tate Donovan, Josh Flitter, Max Thierot, Rachael Leigh Cook, Barry Bostwick, Caroline Aaron, Marshall Bell, Pat Carroll, Laura Harring and Chris Kattan.
Directed by Andrew Fleming.
I was caught by surprise how much I enjoyed watching this movie with my ten-year-old daughter. I grew up reading a Nancy Drew mystery or two, and the preview made it look like they just thrust her into a Mean Girls situation. While that aspect is here, there's also a Scooby Doo level mystery, and loyalty to the sprit of Drew herself.
My first concern was the modernization, but the film starts in River Heights, where Drew has solved pretty much every mystery there, and cops and criminals know that Drew can crack any case. She's Batman in penny-loafers.
Her dad gets a new job, which transplants her to Hollywood, CA. She must goodbye to reliable sidekicks Bess and George, and hello to Corky, a 12-year-old who was moved up a few grades so he could hit on his sister's friends. Her new house, of course, is the center of a mystery, of an unsolved murder involving a famous actress. While the mystery may contain elements of The Black Dahlia and Sunset Boulevard, it's all done within the PG wholesomeness of any Drew case.
The Mean Girls aspect is there, but Nancy is immune to peer pressure. Her mild manners and gee-whiz entusiasm for a good mystery are unflappable. I think the casting of Emma Roberts (Eric's daughter; Julia's niece) is the brightest bit of inspiration in the movie. Too bad this didn't do too well at the box office. I would have been open to taking my daughter to the next Nancy Drew movie.
Directed by Andrew Fleming.
I was caught by surprise how much I enjoyed watching this movie with my ten-year-old daughter. I grew up reading a Nancy Drew mystery or two, and the preview made it look like they just thrust her into a Mean Girls situation. While that aspect is here, there's also a Scooby Doo level mystery, and loyalty to the sprit of Drew herself.
My first concern was the modernization, but the film starts in River Heights, where Drew has solved pretty much every mystery there, and cops and criminals know that Drew can crack any case. She's Batman in penny-loafers.
Her dad gets a new job, which transplants her to Hollywood, CA. She must goodbye to reliable sidekicks Bess and George, and hello to Corky, a 12-year-old who was moved up a few grades so he could hit on his sister's friends. Her new house, of course, is the center of a mystery, of an unsolved murder involving a famous actress. While the mystery may contain elements of The Black Dahlia and Sunset Boulevard, it's all done within the PG wholesomeness of any Drew case.
The Mean Girls aspect is there, but Nancy is immune to peer pressure. Her mild manners and gee-whiz entusiasm for a good mystery are unflappable. I think the casting of Emma Roberts (Eric's daughter; Julia's niece) is the brightest bit of inspiration in the movie. Too bad this didn't do too well at the box office. I would have been open to taking my daughter to the next Nancy Drew movie.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Chaos Theory - DVD Review
CHAOS THEORY (**) - Starring Ryan Reynolds, Emily Mortimer, Stuart Townsend, Sarah Chalke, Mike Erwin and Alessandro Juliani.
Written by Daniel Taplitz.
Directed by Marcos Siega.
I've been impressed with the steady improvement in Ryan Reynolds' acting ability, and he doesn't backslide here. He is performance worked in the comedic and dramatic parts for this movie. He plays a wound-up guy who runs a tight schedule. One day his wife sets his clock back ten minutes to loosen him up, and it triggers a chain of events that sends his life spiralling out of control.
Good premise. Unfortunately near the beginning of the chain of events, we have this contrived misunderstanding that requires his wife to be an irrational nut, enough to make Ralph Farley say "Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. Let's try to get more information." So for the next twenty minutes or so I watched with arms metaphorically folded, wondering what other careening coincidences the script would throw out there in order to get to Point B.
It eventually recovered, only to dwindle into a maudlin ending. I chalk it up as another interesting misfire.
Written by Daniel Taplitz.
Directed by Marcos Siega.
I've been impressed with the steady improvement in Ryan Reynolds' acting ability, and he doesn't backslide here. He is performance worked in the comedic and dramatic parts for this movie. He plays a wound-up guy who runs a tight schedule. One day his wife sets his clock back ten minutes to loosen him up, and it triggers a chain of events that sends his life spiralling out of control.
Good premise. Unfortunately near the beginning of the chain of events, we have this contrived misunderstanding that requires his wife to be an irrational nut, enough to make Ralph Farley say "Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. Let's try to get more information." So for the next twenty minutes or so I watched with arms metaphorically folded, wondering what other careening coincidences the script would throw out there in order to get to Point B.
It eventually recovered, only to dwindle into a maudlin ending. I chalk it up as another interesting misfire.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Step Up 2: The Streets - DVD Review
STEP UP 2 THE STREETS (**) - Starring Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G. Sevani, Will Kemp, Cassie Ventura, Black Thomas, Sonja Sohn and Channing Tatum.
Directed by John Chu.
Never saw Step Up, which is fine, since the only tie it has to the first movie is a cameo by one of its leads.
This time around we have Andi (Briana Evigan, daughter of Greg), a "street" girl who spends her time with the 4-1-0, a streetdancing team that likes random public displays of dancing, which makes them a public nuisance. It's silly, but I can see it appealing to young teens.
Andi catches the eye of Chase (Robert Hoffman), who invites her to join the Maryland School of the Arts. There she is an outcast because she's from the "streets" and then she's kicked out of the 4-1-0 because she's spending too much time at the snobby school.
I was enjoying the light street-competiton storyline until it veered serious, with the rival team engaging in vandalizing the school and jumping individuals. Isn't this just about dancing? I don't remember Kirsten Dunst getting beat up in Bring It On.
The race elements felt weird. They're largely ignored, with whites and blacks and everything in between mixing it up, dancing together. Then when Tuck, black man, leader of the 4-1-0 steps up his wrath, going from street-dancer to thug, that's when the hollowness of the script started to get to me. That's when it's clear the 4-1-0 is mostly black and Andi's team is mostly white.
It all comes to the Showdown, a street dance-off that Andi's new crew isn't allowed to participate in. Cuz the 4-1-0 says so. Andi then gives a nauseating speech about tolerance that includes swelling music, and the crowd is sold.
Oh, am I giving too much away?
There's a cameo from JabberwockieZ, the winners of MTV's America's Next Great Dance Crew. The dancing is the sole reason to watch, and it's pretty good. It's a varied enough mix of moves that I don't think it will be as instantly dated as Breakin' 2: Electric Bugaloo, but at least that movie will be famous for decades.
Directed by John Chu.
Never saw Step Up, which is fine, since the only tie it has to the first movie is a cameo by one of its leads.
This time around we have Andi (Briana Evigan, daughter of Greg), a "street" girl who spends her time with the 4-1-0, a streetdancing team that likes random public displays of dancing, which makes them a public nuisance. It's silly, but I can see it appealing to young teens.
Andi catches the eye of Chase (Robert Hoffman), who invites her to join the Maryland School of the Arts. There she is an outcast because she's from the "streets" and then she's kicked out of the 4-1-0 because she's spending too much time at the snobby school.
I was enjoying the light street-competiton storyline until it veered serious, with the rival team engaging in vandalizing the school and jumping individuals. Isn't this just about dancing? I don't remember Kirsten Dunst getting beat up in Bring It On.
The race elements felt weird. They're largely ignored, with whites and blacks and everything in between mixing it up, dancing together. Then when Tuck, black man, leader of the 4-1-0 steps up his wrath, going from street-dancer to thug, that's when the hollowness of the script started to get to me. That's when it's clear the 4-1-0 is mostly black and Andi's team is mostly white.
It all comes to the Showdown, a street dance-off that Andi's new crew isn't allowed to participate in. Cuz the 4-1-0 says so. Andi then gives a nauseating speech about tolerance that includes swelling music, and the crowd is sold.
Oh, am I giving too much away?
There's a cameo from JabberwockieZ, the winners of MTV's America's Next Great Dance Crew. The dancing is the sole reason to watch, and it's pretty good. It's a varied enough mix of moves that I don't think it will be as instantly dated as Breakin' 2: Electric Bugaloo, but at least that movie will be famous for decades.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Definitely, Maybe - DVD Review
DEFINITELY, MAYBE (**1/2) - Starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, Derek Luke and Kevin Kline.
Written & directed by Adam Brooks.
At its heart, this is a pretty good romantic mystery comedy-drama. We watch this guy float through the 1990's, with three different women coming in and out of his life. Which one does he wind up marrying? Ryan Reynolds does his first convincing job as a romantic lead, and all three women are good at their roles.
BUUUT the hook of the story means we're either going to get an emotional downer or an emotional dishonest ending. Guess which one the formula dictates should happen?
The hook is that a girl is asking her father the real story of how he met her mother. She needs to know this, as her parents are divorcing. So he tells her the story of the three women in his life he seriously dated, changing their names, and she will then guess which one her mom is. So you have this cute hook, but the closer we get to the end, the more awkward the ending has to be. When we figure out which one her mom is, we also figure out which one he's divorcing. So how's that for an ending to a romantic comedy? Terrible. What's the other option? Well, as a child of divorce myself, I can tell they went with a choice that is completely emotionally dishonest from the kid's point of view, and not even Abigail Breslin could sell me on it.
Too bad. Most of the rest of it worked.
Written & directed by Adam Brooks.
At its heart, this is a pretty good romantic mystery comedy-drama. We watch this guy float through the 1990's, with three different women coming in and out of his life. Which one does he wind up marrying? Ryan Reynolds does his first convincing job as a romantic lead, and all three women are good at their roles.
BUUUT the hook of the story means we're either going to get an emotional downer or an emotional dishonest ending. Guess which one the formula dictates should happen?
The hook is that a girl is asking her father the real story of how he met her mother. She needs to know this, as her parents are divorcing. So he tells her the story of the three women in his life he seriously dated, changing their names, and she will then guess which one her mom is. So you have this cute hook, but the closer we get to the end, the more awkward the ending has to be. When we figure out which one her mom is, we also figure out which one he's divorcing. So how's that for an ending to a romantic comedy? Terrible. What's the other option? Well, as a child of divorce myself, I can tell they went with a choice that is completely emotionally dishonest from the kid's point of view, and not even Abigail Breslin could sell me on it.
Too bad. Most of the rest of it worked.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Weekend Box Office
1. The Dark Knight - $155.34 million - 1 wk (WB)
4366 screens / $35,579 per screen
2. Mamma Mia! - $27.61 - 1 wk (U)
2976 / $9276
3. Hancock - $14 ($191.5) - 3 wks (Sony) -56.4%
3776 / $3708
4. Journey .. Earth - $11.91 ($43.07) - 2 wks (NL) -43%
2830 / $4208
5. Hellboy II - $10.04 ($56.45) - 2 wks (U) -70.9%
3212 / $3125
6. Wall-E - $9.81 ($182.48) - 4 wks (BV) -47.8%
3310 / $2965
7. Space Chimps - $7.35 - 1 wk (Fox)
2511 / $2927
8. Wanted - $5.1 ($123.25) - 4 wks (U) -57.5%
2433 / $2095
9. Get Smart - $4.08 ($119.56) - 5 wks (WB) -43.3%
2135 / $1911
10. Kung Fu Panda - $1.75 ($206.51) - 7 wks (DW) -60.3%
1505 / $1163
11. Meet Dave - $1.64 ($9.37) - 2 wks (Fox) -68.9%
3011 / $543
Pretty much every major-studio wide release has a deal with the theaters. THey have to be there at least two weeks. When I got tickets for The Dark Knight, I noticed Meet Dave, in its second week, had been cut to one showing on one screen, at noon. So yeah, if many theaters did the same thing, Meet Dave would have a big drop-off. I don't think the same thing happened with Hellboy II. I think for those theaters where they opened it on two or screens, they cut it back to one screen to make room for Dark Knight, as they have the same core audience.
The Dark Knight broke the three-day opening record of all time. Mamma Mia! also opened comparable to last summer's Hairspray, so the counterprogramming worked. Space Chimps, however, showed that outside of Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky, the animation gig is a tough market to break into.
Numbers from http://www.boxofficeguru.com
4366 screens / $35,579 per screen
2. Mamma Mia! - $27.61 - 1 wk (U)
2976 / $9276
3. Hancock - $14 ($191.5) - 3 wks (Sony) -56.4%
3776 / $3708
4. Journey .. Earth - $11.91 ($43.07) - 2 wks (NL) -43%
2830 / $4208
5. Hellboy II - $10.04 ($56.45) - 2 wks (U) -70.9%
3212 / $3125
6. Wall-E - $9.81 ($182.48) - 4 wks (BV) -47.8%
3310 / $2965
7. Space Chimps - $7.35 - 1 wk (Fox)
2511 / $2927
8. Wanted - $5.1 ($123.25) - 4 wks (U) -57.5%
2433 / $2095
9. Get Smart - $4.08 ($119.56) - 5 wks (WB) -43.3%
2135 / $1911
10. Kung Fu Panda - $1.75 ($206.51) - 7 wks (DW) -60.3%
1505 / $1163
11. Meet Dave - $1.64 ($9.37) - 2 wks (Fox) -68.9%
3011 / $543
Pretty much every major-studio wide release has a deal with the theaters. THey have to be there at least two weeks. When I got tickets for The Dark Knight, I noticed Meet Dave, in its second week, had been cut to one showing on one screen, at noon. So yeah, if many theaters did the same thing, Meet Dave would have a big drop-off. I don't think the same thing happened with Hellboy II. I think for those theaters where they opened it on two or screens, they cut it back to one screen to make room for Dark Knight, as they have the same core audience.
The Dark Knight broke the three-day opening record of all time. Mamma Mia! also opened comparable to last summer's Hairspray, so the counterprogramming worked. Space Chimps, however, showed that outside of Disney/Pixar, DreamWorks and Blue Sky, the animation gig is a tough market to break into.
Numbers from http://www.boxofficeguru.com
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The Dark Knight - Movie Review
THE DARK KNIGHT (****) - Starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Eric Roberts, Cillian Murphy, Michael Jai White, William Fichtner and Anthony Michael Hall.
Written by Jonathan & Christopher Nolan.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.
Believe the hype, about Heath Ledger's performance and the movie overall.
I loved Batman Begins, and this movie's better. That movie was all about Bruce Wayne, and it's abou time we had a Batman movie that did that. Now it's a year later and we're seeing all the repercussions of Batman being a vigilante on the prowl. There are copycat batmen on the prowl, getting their butts kicked by more prepared villains. And with a law-enforcer as extreme as Batman, naturally his opposite will arise. Enter the Joker.
This movie is like Brian DePalma's The Untouchables, Michael Mann's Heat, and Martin Scorsese's The Departed, with cops and criminals trying to outsmart each other, double-cross each other, and they can't avoid their fates. Eliott Ness happens to wear a batcape while Al Capone smears make-up on his face.
Everyone brings their A-game, but above them all is Ledger. Now I thought Ledger was a weird casting choice when it was first announced. I couldn't see it. Really, the guy from A Knight's Tale as the Joker? But Heath creates a unique and scary villain here. A terrorist with no morals and no greed. He just wants to create as much chaos as possible. He erases memories of Jack Nicholson's Joker.
If Chris Nolan has a weakness, it's the staging of the action sequences. Sometimes they get too choppy and we can lose our sense of where we are in the battle. But Nolan (Memento, The Prestige) is first and foremost a story-teller, and he's a good one. There's a lot of thought-provoking themes here, with parallels to the Patriot Act to the criminal justice system.
Caine, Oldman and Freeman are the three noble adults who have to bring the subtlety to keep their characters fresha nd relevant, and each has his moments and deliver the gravitas. Gyllenhaal is a step up as Rachel Dawes (replacing Katie Holmes) and while her part is still underwritten, she becomes an important part of the story.
Christian Bale has a great time playing up the playboy image of Bruce Wayne, while still get down and dirty as Batman. Aaron Eckhart may get overshadowed with all the chatter since Heath is so good, but I really felt for Harvey Dent. It's one of Eckhart's best performances. Dent is the White Knight of Gotham, a fearless district attorney out to clean up the city, knowingly putting his life in danger to do the right thing. The further we got into the movie, the more I felt for this guy and hoped he would escape his fate. But we all know Two-Face is coming.
The movie made me that much sadder that Heath Ledger is dead. Not just because if there's a third Nolan-directed Batman, we won't see the Joker. This was a role that would launch him into the A-List stratosphere, put him with Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, where he could do whatever project he wanted.
I saw in IMAX, and regardless of format, I'm looking forward to seeing it again.
Written by Jonathan & Christopher Nolan.
Directed by Christopher Nolan.
Believe the hype, about Heath Ledger's performance and the movie overall.
I loved Batman Begins, and this movie's better. That movie was all about Bruce Wayne, and it's abou time we had a Batman movie that did that. Now it's a year later and we're seeing all the repercussions of Batman being a vigilante on the prowl. There are copycat batmen on the prowl, getting their butts kicked by more prepared villains. And with a law-enforcer as extreme as Batman, naturally his opposite will arise. Enter the Joker.
This movie is like Brian DePalma's The Untouchables, Michael Mann's Heat, and Martin Scorsese's The Departed, with cops and criminals trying to outsmart each other, double-cross each other, and they can't avoid their fates. Eliott Ness happens to wear a batcape while Al Capone smears make-up on his face.
Everyone brings their A-game, but above them all is Ledger. Now I thought Ledger was a weird casting choice when it was first announced. I couldn't see it. Really, the guy from A Knight's Tale as the Joker? But Heath creates a unique and scary villain here. A terrorist with no morals and no greed. He just wants to create as much chaos as possible. He erases memories of Jack Nicholson's Joker.
If Chris Nolan has a weakness, it's the staging of the action sequences. Sometimes they get too choppy and we can lose our sense of where we are in the battle. But Nolan (Memento, The Prestige) is first and foremost a story-teller, and he's a good one. There's a lot of thought-provoking themes here, with parallels to the Patriot Act to the criminal justice system.
Caine, Oldman and Freeman are the three noble adults who have to bring the subtlety to keep their characters fresha nd relevant, and each has his moments and deliver the gravitas. Gyllenhaal is a step up as Rachel Dawes (replacing Katie Holmes) and while her part is still underwritten, she becomes an important part of the story.
Christian Bale has a great time playing up the playboy image of Bruce Wayne, while still get down and dirty as Batman. Aaron Eckhart may get overshadowed with all the chatter since Heath is so good, but I really felt for Harvey Dent. It's one of Eckhart's best performances. Dent is the White Knight of Gotham, a fearless district attorney out to clean up the city, knowingly putting his life in danger to do the right thing. The further we got into the movie, the more I felt for this guy and hoped he would escape his fate. But we all know Two-Face is coming.
The movie made me that much sadder that Heath Ledger is dead. Not just because if there's a third Nolan-directed Batman, we won't see the Joker. This was a role that would launch him into the A-List stratosphere, put him with Johnny Depp and Brad Pitt, where he could do whatever project he wanted.
I saw in IMAX, and regardless of format, I'm looking forward to seeing it again.
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