To Come...

DVD picks- The House Bunny-The Wrestler-Sex Drive

Zac to the 80's..?

We all do things sometimes that are a little embarrassing. Walking out of the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to our heel. Telling a friend you let a smelly one go just as everyone in the room stops talking. Sometimes you’re just “that guy”… the guy walking into the theatre to see 17 AGAIN…alone…while every 12-year-old girl in Los Angeles County seems to be staring at you. My parents would always say that the world didn’t revolve around me. They were right, thankfully. In actuality I think that the world must revolve around Zac Efron - that is as soon as he starts nailing 3-pointers with his shirt off and I quickly realized no 12-year-old girl in her right mind really cared about the creepy guy sitting in the back of the theatre.

            17 AGAIN stars Zac Efron (High School Musical 1,2,3) as Mathew Perry (Friends) as Mike O’Donnell, the star basketball player at Hayden High, who is probably the most likable guy you could ever want to meet. That is, of course, before he gets his girlfriend pregnant, quits the basketball team in the opening seconds of the big game, thus forfeiting the big scholarship he was destined to get. This series of events causes him to spend the next 20 years of his life complaining about “what could have been”. While most of us, especially those who were lucky enough to be as cool as Mike O’Donnell was at 17, all have moments when we wonder about “what could have been”, Mike O’Donnell the adult actually gets the chance to see. With a little help from the most likely of places, the janitor (Brain Doyle-Murray…ass-sphincter says what?), Mike takes on the form of his 17 year old body in the present day and the movie starts to take shape.

            I remember watching movies like this when I was younger. The stylized high school experience, the big parties, the big games, the girls who acted like women. I remember watching all these movies and thinking about how fresh and up to date they were. As I watched this movie I tried to identify how many movies 17 AGAIN ripped off, or at least where they got their ideas. I lost count.

            Part Teen Wolf, part Big, part Back to the Future, part The Breakfast Club, part It’s a Wonderful Life, part…. okay, you get the point. While 17 AGAIN reminded me of a lot of movies that I had seen, they are all movies I like. A wise person once said, “amateurs imitate art, professionals steal it”. There sure was a lot of stealing going on here and that’s fine with me, cause it worked. While I don’t want to make this movie out to be better than it was, it wasn’t bad either. In fact, I laughed a lot and I even had a moment that caused me to reflect on my own life and the descions I have made (Zacs’ baby blues will do that to you).

            Mathew Perry was pretty inconsequential in this flick. I found myself wondering who made the decision that Zac Efron grows up to be Mathew Perry…poor kid. Leslie Mann (Knocked Up) who plays the wife/mother is always fun to watch and has great timing, not to mention great chemistry with a younger man. Thomas Lennon (LT. Dangle, Reno 911!) is Mike’s best friend (which is only believable in the world of movies) plays a Lord of the Rings loving nerd turned millionaire computer software developer. Posing as Mike's father he falls in love with the schools hard-boiled principal Jane Masterson (Melora Hardin, The Office). They had some funny scenes together that helped break the story up but ultimately their characters felt a little too contrived and fell flat.

            Not having seen any of the High School Musical series I didn’t know what to expect from Efron, but I was actually pretty impressed. Good looking, charming, and a pretty smart actor, I just hope that this kid can move out of the high school genre and grow up a little…or at least get a little dirtier…dare I say a Risky Business remake?

            This is your typical “spirit-body transformation”/high school coming-of-age/love story. Its got some good laughs and it moves along at nice pace. PG-13 has to be a tough rating to go for while trying to be funny, heartfelt and actually appropriate for 13 year olds and adults alike but overall it did its job.

My Vote: Take a chance with it, you might be surprised.

Booty, booty, booty, booty rockin everywhere....

A few years ago I stopped going to the movies. Netflix was the best thing since sliced bread and I had a lot of catching up to do. I literally watched 5 movies a week for an entire semester. I slowed down my viewing cause my brain was beginning to turn to mush and I was running out of good movies to catch up on. In the past 18 months I have ventured back to the movie theatres and realized what a joy going to the movies was. 

In the past I have been rather picky about the movies that I chose to see in the theatre, who can blame me at $12 a ticket and $13.50 for a medium popcorn and soft-drink combo. However, this weekend I threw caution to the wind and decided to see the forth installment of The Fast and Furious series cleverly titled....wait for it....wait for it.....Fast and Furious.

            Paul Walker and Vin Diesel are reunited after two films apart and are both after the notorious heroin smuggler, Braga. Brian (Walker) as an FBI agent is after his big bust and Dom (Diesel) is out to avenge his girlfriends’ death. The movie opens with a 20-minute action sequence that trumps any opening scene in the series and I was thoroughly excited for what was to come. 

The major reason I try to avoid movies like Fast and Furious, although I have somehow managed to see everyone, is that the combination of bad acting, poor dialogue, and unrealistic situations gets under my skin. I find myself getting annoyed for spending the money and time to see such a juvenile movie. However, the fourth installment didn’t get under my skin and in fact, I found myself  having a really good time. The scantily clad females scattered throughout the movie didn't hurt the experience either.

      The joy in seeing a movie like this is all about the experience. The booming soundtrack, the larger than life explosions, and some crowd participation is sometimes all you need to look past all the little things that can make a PG-13 action flick less than memorable. A lot of critics have hammered this movie saying it was nothing more than a re-make of 2001 The Fast and Furious also starring Walker and Diesel. Lets get one thing straight; if  Fast and Furious is a remake of anything, it’s a remake of the 1991 classic (yeah, I said classic) Point Break starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. Now, with that out of the way, I will make another comparison. This movie gave me the same tickle as Back to the Future II. 

Let me explain. 

Back to the Future II is a much more exciting experience if you have seen the original because it cleverly manages to combine the best of the first film with it's new story-line. Fast and Furious accomplishes the same feat. While someone who is unfamiliar with the series would be able to watch Fast and Furious without a hitch, knowing the history between Brian and Dom makes you feel like they are characters that you have been friends with for years. The Fast and Furious 2 tried to re-create this situation between Paul Walker and Tyrese but failed miserably. The 5^th installment in the series is on its way, to no ones surprise, given the huge success at the box office. This 4^th installment, I think, will prove to be the favorite among the fans though.

My Vote; A fun action movie for anyone….see it in the theatre rather than waiting for the DVD, no matter how big your flat screen is.

Next Week

Fast and Furious

            &

Sunshine Cleaning

Don't Observe

Observe and Report stars Seth Rogen as Ronnie Barnhardt, a bi-polar mall-cop whose mall is being corrupted by a heavyset flasher and a thief. His mother is a drunk so it’s no surprise he is in love with a drunk, Brandi, played by Anna Ferris. There was a lot of buzz around this movie and Seth Rogen has been quoted as saying he can’t believe they let him make it. Well Seth, neither can I.

            I am not easily offended by language, drug use, nudity, etc. I love dark comedies and more specifically movies that break the Hollywood mold. Todd Solondz’s 1998 movie Happiness was a dark comedy, and damn good. Observe and Report tries to be dark, funny, confusing and it tries to break the mold. It accomplishes all of these things, but not as one coherent piece of work but as a bunch of muddled scenes strewn together that vaguely resemble what modern moviegoers will call a movie. There is a beginning, middle and an end but I can’t say that any of it really mattered.

            In the upcoming days I am sure there will be a lot of buzz around this movie for a lot of different reason. The first thing that has been getting attention is the “date rape” scene. This was actually a bright spot in the movie and I wish there were more moments like this throughout. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support date rape, but it fit, it was funny, and in the end Anna Ferris delivers a memorable line that makes everything okay.

            In the end this just isn’t a good movie. I was bored in the first 10 minutes, 45 minutes in I was considering walking out and about an 1 hour 20 minutes in I was just mad. The director Jody Hill, who also directed the Foot fist way, likes movies that “break the mold” and includes Pulp Fiction as a favorite. While Pulp Fiction included many of the same elements as Observe and Report, it had purpose and it said something. Observe and Report doesn’t accomplish either of those things. I take that back, it does demonstrate how if you say a word enough (fuck) it starts to loose its power. Gratuitous violence, illicit drug use, and full frontal (not to mention fat and saggy) male nudity strung together in a weak plot do not make for a good film. I could name 10 movies where those elements are part of a greater purpose and serve the film (well maybe not the saggy full frontal).

            I was pretty hard on Paul Blart. I will watch that movie 10 times before I watch Observe and Report again.

 

My Vote; Do I really have to say it. 

Games-Games-Games

            Adventureland is Greg Mottola’s  follow up to Superbad from a few summers ago. While Superbad at its core was a cute buddy film the opening discussion of what porn site to subscribe to when Seth and Even turned the all-important 18 set the tone for the film. While their relationship was sweet the raunchy humor stole the show. Adventureland is a much more personal coming of age story than Superbad. It’s about a group of friends most of which are in college or just graduated college spending their summer working Games or Rides at a Pittsburgh amusement park.

            James (Jesse Eisenberg, The squid and the whale) a recent college graduate just found out his graduation present, a European summer vacation, is no longer in the cards and his plans for grad school at Columbia could also be in jeopardy. With nowhere else to turn he gets a job working carnival games at the local amusement park Adventureland, with his ball-checking old best friend Frigo (Matt Bush…the Cingular rollover minutes kid).

            When Em (Kristen Stewert, Twillight) saves James from getting shanked by a cheating park goer a relationship begins to blossom. Em is the cute girl with secrets. Her mom has passed, her father is never home and she spends her time off trying to fill the voids they left behind, to which of course the sweet and innocent Renaissance Studies buff, James, is completely oblivious to.

            Joel (Martin Starr), a pipe smoking Russian Literature major shows James the ins and outs of the day-to-day park rigmarole and they become pals. The older and much cooler Connell (Ryan Reynolds) takes a liking to James and the summer seems to be going as good as it could, all things considered.

            The twists and turns of Adventureland are about as predictable as an old wooden rollercoaster but ultimately they are just as enjoyable. I was still a small child in 1987, the year the movie is set, but Mottola did a good job bringing me back. There were no unnecessary or blatant references to the 80’s, as so many movies like to do. A great soundtrack helps to bring you back to a time without cell phone and the Internet, a time when it was okay to hang out after work and talk, or cruise around in your car till the sun came up.

            The marketing campaign for Adventureland really focuses on the comedy aspects of this movie but if you are expecting a bellyache from laughing so hard after this flick you’ll be disappointed. I could have done without Bill Hader, which I find myself saying a lot these days. Kristen Wiig is always good for a few laughs. No one, not even Ryan Reynolds can steal the spotlight from Jesse Eisenberg on this one, however. Cute, funny and heartfelt, this movie was a pleasant surprise.

My vote; See this movie…and then go buy the DVD.

I Love you too, man!

I think romantic comedies are my favorite genre. They are easy to follow, easy to relate to and for the most part, you always know what to expect. It’s no surprise that the bromantic comedy I love you, Man, is an enjoyable film to watch.

            Paul Rudd plays a Real Estate agent looking for his first big sell. In the opening scene of the movie he gets engaged to the beautiful Rashida Jones. They both quickly realize that Peter (Rudd) has no friends…. at all. While he is active (fencing?) and works in a business that relies heavily on networking he lacks interpersonal skills that will gain him buddies i. e. he’s not an asshole. Peter gets along better with women because, well, he can be himself and make root beer floats with chocolate straws from Pepperidge Farms for them. In desperate need for a best man at his wedding, he sets out to find some new guy friends.

            With the help of his gay brother (Andy Sanborn) his mother and an Internet friend-finding site, he goes on a series of disasteris “man-dates”. That is until Sydney (Jason Segal) walks in to his life. Sydney lives alone in Venice beach. He has a “man cave” equipped with multiple TV’s, beer, bongs, and enough musical equipment to choke KISS. Just like all other romantic comedies these opposites attract, interfere with each others lifestyles and relationships and they both end up wondering what they saw in each other in the first place.

            It’s a formulaic plot and you can see the ending coming a mile away, but it works.  Everything down to the typical “falling in love” montage seems believable. You like Sydney and you like Peter and damn it, you'll want to see them make it work! The tertiary characters in this movie are somewhat fun and include Jamie Pressley, Jan Favrou, Jane Cutin and J.K. Simmions. They are a little underdeveloped but who really cares, the movie isn’t about them.

            I haven’t laughed out loud this much at a movie since last years Forgetting Sarah Marshal, which also included Segal and Rudd. I love you, Man toned down the gross out humor of last year (sorry everyone, Jason keeps it in his pants this time) and replaced it with some heartfelt awkwardness. Neither inventive nor groundbreaking…just a damn good flick.

My vote; what have you been doing? Go see this movie…and bring a friend.

Paul Blart rhymes with….

   To go as far to say I wish I forgot the movie itself would be a bit much. I knew headed into this movie what to expect, or at least I thought I did. Kevin James, who is actually quite funny as a lovable everyman on the TV show “King of Queen’s” stars as Paul Blart, an over zealous security “guard” at a New Jersey mall before the busiest day of the year, black Friday. I put the word “guard” in quotations because…well, if you haven’t heard about the debate, you will.

            The plot is a classic, and by classic I mean predictable and boring but I wasn’t expecting to be fooled. There was very little this movie did that was crafty or original, again, no surprise. At 87 minutes I would put it at about 27 minutes to long, unless of course you wanted to develop Paul Blart as say, a sketch on “MAD TV” (does that show even exist anymore?) and then you might be able to chop him up into thirteen 5 minutes skits.

            This movie cleaned up at the box office, probably due to really clever marketing. I was expecting a few more laughs out of it but was sadly disappointed.  I’m not sure whom this movie is really good for. I would think a 12 year old might be a little too old for it, or at the very least think they are too old for it. Any child younger than 12 may not get some of the humor involved.

My vote; skip it.

Sex, Drugs, and Jason Voorhees

I’m a sucker. I’ve been a sucker since I was a little kid. I think it started with the Toxic Avenger but I can’t be sure. Somewhere in the wee hours of the mornings glued to TNT Jason Voorhees suckered me into a love affair with "B" grade movies that’s lasted 20 years. You can only imagine my excitement when the billboards started popping up all over LA re-introducing a whole new generation to Jason.

Friday the 13^th has been talked about as a remake. To anyone who spent their childhood watching Friday the 13^th marathons in their basement or to true slasher film fans we know from the trailer this is not a remake. Jason Voorhees is 12 years old in the 1980 original, and he isn’t the one wielding a machete. It’s Mrs. Voorhees avenging her sons drowning in Crystal Lake that makes up for all the killings in the original, until of course her head gets chopped off by a camp counselor, ending the first movie, and giving way to Jason Voorhees and his machete, axe, harpoon, shovel etc. to scare the pants off of unsuspecting teenage sinners for the next 11 sequels. 

The set up to this re-boot is pretty fantastic. The opening 20 minutes answers all the questions a fan of the series will have and by the time the title card flashed on the screen I had a sheepishly sly smile on my face. While I welcomed the modern day Jason with open arms, I did find my self a little annoyed at one thing in particular.

The recent reincarnations of Leatherface, Michael Myers, and now, Jason, have all followed a distinctive pattern; Lot’s of face time. Part of the appeal to slasher movies is the unseen. In the older films, Jason is revealed to us piece by piece, we never get to take him in for too long, at least not until the end. In this new version Jason is a Hollywood star and gets about as much face time as a star should get, and some pretty decent lighting to boot. Long shots, medium shots, close ups and extreme close ups take away from the suspense that the earlier films possessed. There is even a super-heroesque shot towards the end of act III romanticizing our hockey mask-wearing psychopath.

My vote;  A true fan of the series will be tickled to see an old friend up to his same old tricks, even if they’re not as good as they used to be.