Comedy, Raunchy
4 stars
Very funny, very raunchy. This time around, Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Zach Galifianakis wake up in a squalid hotel in Bangkok with no recollection of how they got there, and with Helm’s future brother-in-law missing. The same formula as last time, with some of the same characters making a return visit, so I didn’t find as shockingly original as the first film. It’s very funny though. Part of me thinks it would have been funnier to just watch the entire crazy night enfold rather than just see snippets as they find clues to their whereabouts. Fans of the first film will love this one too.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Adventure
3.5 stars
Cute, but not as good as previous efforts. Johnny Depp reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow, this time racing against his nemesis, Geoffrey Rush, as well as the Spanish on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth. Penelope Cruz helps spice up the cast, and I liked the vampire-like mermaids. Mostly, I think the actors were just having a good ole time playing pirates and I just didn’t get caught up in the story as I have with the previous films. Maybe it’s just me, but I had trouble deciphering the thick British accents in the London scenes. As with the last film, there is a very brief final scene after the seemingly endless closing credits. The scene is cute, but not really worth the long wait – there’s plenty of time to visit the restroom and come back to catch it (or you can just ask me and I’ll tell you what happened in the 5 second scene). Of course, the ending is set up for yet another sequel. Only for fans of the previous Pirate films.
3.5 stars
Cute, but not as good as previous efforts. Johnny Depp reprises his role as Captain Jack Sparrow, this time racing against his nemesis, Geoffrey Rush, as well as the Spanish on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth. Penelope Cruz helps spice up the cast, and I liked the vampire-like mermaids. Mostly, I think the actors were just having a good ole time playing pirates and I just didn’t get caught up in the story as I have with the previous films. Maybe it’s just me, but I had trouble deciphering the thick British accents in the London scenes. As with the last film, there is a very brief final scene after the seemingly endless closing credits. The scene is cute, but not really worth the long wait – there’s plenty of time to visit the restroom and come back to catch it (or you can just ask me and I’ll tell you what happened in the 5 second scene). Of course, the ending is set up for yet another sequel. Only for fans of the previous Pirate films.
Everything Must Go
Drama, Dry
3.5 stars
Good, but a little depressing. Will Ferrell stars as a man who after being fired from his job, comes home to find his belongings strewn about the front lawn and the locks have been changed. Having nowhere to go, he camps out on his front lawn hoping to speak to his now estranged wife. Learning that it is illegal to live on your front lawn, he has a five day yard sale to buy himself some time. There is some dry humor, but mostly he is just a sorry sack with an alcohol problem and it’s kinda depressing to watch. It’s good though.
3.5 stars
Good, but a little depressing. Will Ferrell stars as a man who after being fired from his job, comes home to find his belongings strewn about the front lawn and the locks have been changed. Having nowhere to go, he camps out on his front lawn hoping to speak to his now estranged wife. Learning that it is illegal to live on your front lawn, he has a five day yard sale to buy himself some time. There is some dry humor, but mostly he is just a sorry sack with an alcohol problem and it’s kinda depressing to watch. It’s good though.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Priest
Sci-Fi, Action
2 stars
Disappointing. Paul Bettany (Young Victoria, Legion, The Tourist, Da Vinci Code) stars as a “warrior priest” out to save his niece from vampires. The priests somehow possess special powers so they can fight like one-man-vampire-killing-machines. The whole thing was weird. The film takes place in a futuristic world, taken straight out of George Orwells’ 1984, complete with “Big Brother” watching everyone’s movements. Only in this world, instead of being ruled by a corrupt government, they are ruled by “The Church”, this concept taken straight out of The Golden Compass. Even though it’s in the future, the peasants wear medieval style clothes, except those living outside the city among the “Godless Heathens”, those folks dress like the Old West. The vampires look more like slimy monsters with just a mouth for a face, which I am sure I’ve seen in other movies, I think in I Am Number Four, among others. There are other beings called “the Familiars” who are people infected by the vampires, but resemble bald Goths, like from one of those old black and white Dracula films – these Goths can walk in the daylight and protect the vampires while they are sleeping. The leader of these Goths (Karl Urban from 2009’s Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy) is an infected priest who now dresses like Clint Eastwood. So stupid. And they left it wide open for a sequel. Jim and I both like this genre, but we were both sadly disappointed in this film.
2 stars
Disappointing. Paul Bettany (Young Victoria, Legion, The Tourist, Da Vinci Code) stars as a “warrior priest” out to save his niece from vampires. The priests somehow possess special powers so they can fight like one-man-vampire-killing-machines. The whole thing was weird. The film takes place in a futuristic world, taken straight out of George Orwells’ 1984, complete with “Big Brother” watching everyone’s movements. Only in this world, instead of being ruled by a corrupt government, they are ruled by “The Church”, this concept taken straight out of The Golden Compass. Even though it’s in the future, the peasants wear medieval style clothes, except those living outside the city among the “Godless Heathens”, those folks dress like the Old West. The vampires look more like slimy monsters with just a mouth for a face, which I am sure I’ve seen in other movies, I think in I Am Number Four, among others. There are other beings called “the Familiars” who are people infected by the vampires, but resemble bald Goths, like from one of those old black and white Dracula films – these Goths can walk in the daylight and protect the vampires while they are sleeping. The leader of these Goths (Karl Urban from 2009’s Star Trek, The Bourne Supremacy) is an infected priest who now dresses like Clint Eastwood. So stupid. And they left it wide open for a sequel. Jim and I both like this genre, but we were both sadly disappointed in this film.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Bridesmaids
Comedy, Slightly Raunchy
4 stars
Very funny –definitely NOT a chick flick - the guys in the theater were laughing even harder than the females. I laughed out loud many, many times though some scenes I found excruciating, such as the bridesmaids’ dueling toasts but, to be fair, the other theater-goers were in stitches. Maya Rudolph appoints best friend Kristen Wiig as her Maid of Honor, which puts Wiig under tremendous stress on top of her bad job situation, bad romance (hilariously with John Hamm) and puts her head to head with Rose Byrne with whom she competes for being the “BFF” of Rudolph. Some jokes didn’t work for me, but I did laugh out loud quite a bit, and as aforementioned, the humor’s a tad raunchy. Funny, funny film.
4 stars
Very funny –definitely NOT a chick flick - the guys in the theater were laughing even harder than the females. I laughed out loud many, many times though some scenes I found excruciating, such as the bridesmaids’ dueling toasts but, to be fair, the other theater-goers were in stitches. Maya Rudolph appoints best friend Kristen Wiig as her Maid of Honor, which puts Wiig under tremendous stress on top of her bad job situation, bad romance (hilariously with John Hamm) and puts her head to head with Rose Byrne with whom she competes for being the “BFF” of Rudolph. Some jokes didn’t work for me, but I did laugh out loud quite a bit, and as aforementioned, the humor’s a tad raunchy. Funny, funny film.
Thor
Sci-Fi, Action
4 stars
Fun. After being banished from his home planet, stripped of his powers and stranded on Earth, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) searches for his magical hammer with the help of a local scientist, Natalie Portman. Jim and I enjoyed the special effects, costuming and fight scenes. Anthony Hopkins co-stars as Thor’s father, virtual unknown Tom Hiddleston as Thor’s brother, and Stellan Skarsgard (Mama Mia) as Portman’s colleague. Fun movie.
Something Borrowed
Chick Flick, Romance
3.5 stars
Much better than I expected. Ginnifer Goodwin (He’s Just Not That Into You) pines for her best friend’s fiancé (Kate Hudson, and Colin Egglesfield from “All My Children” who looks like a younger, hotter, and much taller version of Tom Cruise). Kate Hudson, as usual, plays a self-centered attention whore who had heartlessly stolen away Egglesfield before Goodwin could make her feelings known to him. John Krasinski co-stars as a life long friend of the two girls. I was afraid this would be another tacky waste of time like Bride Wars, but since the focus was more on Goodwin than Hudson, it seemed to have a lot more heart. I would have liked some steamy flashbacks of a certain one night romance, but even without it was a decent chick flick that thankfully spared us from any raunchiness. Decent chick flick.
3.5 stars
Much better than I expected. Ginnifer Goodwin (He’s Just Not That Into You) pines for her best friend’s fiancé (Kate Hudson, and Colin Egglesfield from “All My Children” who looks like a younger, hotter, and much taller version of Tom Cruise). Kate Hudson, as usual, plays a self-centered attention whore who had heartlessly stolen away Egglesfield before Goodwin could make her feelings known to him. John Krasinski co-stars as a life long friend of the two girls. I was afraid this would be another tacky waste of time like Bride Wars, but since the focus was more on Goodwin than Hudson, it seemed to have a lot more heart. I would have liked some steamy flashbacks of a certain one night romance, but even without it was a decent chick flick that thankfully spared us from any raunchiness. Decent chick flick.
Jumping the Broom
Comedy, Romance
2.5 stars
Kinda dumb. Paula Patton and Laz Alonzo fall madly in love but their families hate each other. The real focus is on the two mothers: pretentious, bourgeois Angela Bassett who looks down upon those less fortunate, versus the stubborn, angry and selfish Loretta Devine who is just plain rude. Both women play caricatures of the extremes and it’s too bad because if the director had had them tone it down a bit, the film could have been so much better. I liked the theme of Devine’s blue collar character wanting to keep the tradition of jumping the broom and trying to explain the importance of tradition to the more contemporary minded Basset and her daughter, Patton. To be fair, some of the other theaters-goers seemed to really enjoy it. Not terrible, but could have been better.
2.5 stars
Kinda dumb. Paula Patton and Laz Alonzo fall madly in love but their families hate each other. The real focus is on the two mothers: pretentious, bourgeois Angela Bassett who looks down upon those less fortunate, versus the stubborn, angry and selfish Loretta Devine who is just plain rude. Both women play caricatures of the extremes and it’s too bad because if the director had had them tone it down a bit, the film could have been so much better. I liked the theme of Devine’s blue collar character wanting to keep the tradition of jumping the broom and trying to explain the importance of tradition to the more contemporary minded Basset and her daughter, Patton. To be fair, some of the other theaters-goers seemed to really enjoy it. Not terrible, but could have been better.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Prom
Drama, Teen
3.5 stars
I liked it. “Drama” seems so serious, but it wasn’t really a comedy either: I suppose “Light Drama” would be the best way to characterize it. Various teens in a Michigan high school prepare for the prom: the perfect class president (Aimee Teegarden) in charge of the prom committee must work with the handsome bad boy (Thomas McDonell) whose punishment is to work with her; a nerdy kid (Cameron Monaghan) gets jealous as his nerdy friend (Nolan Sotillo) pursues a pretty girl (Danielle Campbell) while the football hero (DeVaughn Nixon) has his own interests in mind; another likable nerd (Nicholas Braun) asks out every girl he meets; and my favorite, a funny and lovable student (Joe Adler) tells everyone about his perfect, mystery girlfriend. The students aren’t wacky as in John Hughes’s films, and there is no raunchiness at all (I don’t even recall any profanity), it’s just teen angst with some lovable nerds and a predictable plot. It’s like a combination of The Breakfast Club and American Pie, without being raunchy or focusing on sex. It’s cute though, I liked it.
3.5 stars
I liked it. “Drama” seems so serious, but it wasn’t really a comedy either: I suppose “Light Drama” would be the best way to characterize it. Various teens in a Michigan high school prepare for the prom: the perfect class president (Aimee Teegarden) in charge of the prom committee must work with the handsome bad boy (Thomas McDonell) whose punishment is to work with her; a nerdy kid (Cameron Monaghan) gets jealous as his nerdy friend (Nolan Sotillo) pursues a pretty girl (Danielle Campbell) while the football hero (DeVaughn Nixon) has his own interests in mind; another likable nerd (Nicholas Braun) asks out every girl he meets; and my favorite, a funny and lovable student (Joe Adler) tells everyone about his perfect, mystery girlfriend. The students aren’t wacky as in John Hughes’s films, and there is no raunchiness at all (I don’t even recall any profanity), it’s just teen angst with some lovable nerds and a predictable plot. It’s like a combination of The Breakfast Club and American Pie, without being raunchy or focusing on sex. It’s cute though, I liked it.
I Am
Documentary
4 stars
Very good. After a life altering health scare, Tom Shadyac (the director of Ace Ventura, Patch Adams and Bruce Almighty, among others) interviews scientists, historians, scholars and spiritual leaders to learn what is wrong with the world and how we can improve it. Theories of Darwin, Einstein and many others are explored. Most interesting was his time spent at Heartmath, where they’ve proven that the magnetic waves our bodies emit can affect those around us negatively or positively. I only wish some of his footage wasn’t so grainy! Very interesting and well worth it.
4 stars
Very good. After a life altering health scare, Tom Shadyac (the director of Ace Ventura, Patch Adams and Bruce Almighty, among others) interviews scientists, historians, scholars and spiritual leaders to learn what is wrong with the world and how we can improve it. Theories of Darwin, Einstein and many others are explored. Most interesting was his time spent at Heartmath, where they’ve proven that the magnetic waves our bodies emit can affect those around us negatively or positively. I only wish some of his footage wasn’t so grainy! Very interesting and well worth it.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
Sci-Fi, Camp
3 stars
Only for Sci-Fi fans (like me). Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) stars as a modern-day film noir-ish private investigator who has had prior experience with vampires, werewolves and zombies (oh my!) and unwillingly becomes entangled in their dramas once again as they begin killing off “breathers” in search of a mysterious “heart”. Only fans of the campy films you see on SyFy or those who enjoy shows like “Supernatural” or “Being Human” will enjoy this tongue-in-cheek film. I happen to love vampires, werewolves and zombies (oh my! – sorry, I just can’t help myself:) ) and I enjoyed this film even though Routh is way too pretty for this role and you have to wonder why the more powerful beings don’t just easily kill him off to get him off their backs. Co-stars include Sam Huntington (“Being Human”) as Routh’s best friend, Peter Stormare (Constantine, Fargo) as the sort-of “Godfather” of the werewolf clan, and Taye Diggs as the leader of the vampire coven. Fun, fun, fun!!
3 stars
Only for Sci-Fi fans (like me). Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) stars as a modern-day film noir-ish private investigator who has had prior experience with vampires, werewolves and zombies (oh my!) and unwillingly becomes entangled in their dramas once again as they begin killing off “breathers” in search of a mysterious “heart”. Only fans of the campy films you see on SyFy or those who enjoy shows like “Supernatural” or “Being Human” will enjoy this tongue-in-cheek film. I happen to love vampires, werewolves and zombies (oh my! – sorry, I just can’t help myself:) ) and I enjoyed this film even though Routh is way too pretty for this role and you have to wonder why the more powerful beings don’t just easily kill him off to get him off their backs. Co-stars include Sam Huntington (“Being Human”) as Routh’s best friend, Peter Stormare (Constantine, Fargo) as the sort-of “Godfather” of the werewolf clan, and Taye Diggs as the leader of the vampire coven. Fun, fun, fun!!
African Cats
Documentary, Nature
4.5 stars
Excellent; both tense and heartbreaking. This years Earth Day Disney production features three families on the Maasai Mara Wildlife Preserve in Kenya. There is the utopian family of six lionesses and their cubs protected by a single male lion; across a crocodile infested river there is the pride of four male lions who want to conquer the single male and take over his harem; then there is the single mom Cheetah trying to defend and rear her cubs all by herself. There are plenty of tense situations where the cubs are threatened or cats you’ve become attached to get maimed and/or killed. I teared up and sniffled several times. This may be too intense for sensitive young ones. Good movie.
4.5 stars
Excellent; both tense and heartbreaking. This years Earth Day Disney production features three families on the Maasai Mara Wildlife Preserve in Kenya. There is the utopian family of six lionesses and their cubs protected by a single male lion; across a crocodile infested river there is the pride of four male lions who want to conquer the single male and take over his harem; then there is the single mom Cheetah trying to defend and rear her cubs all by herself. There are plenty of tense situations where the cubs are threatened or cats you’ve become attached to get maimed and/or killed. I teared up and sniffled several times. This may be too intense for sensitive young ones. Good movie.
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