August 8: Movie Reviews

Dinner for Schmucks - A group of business men invite unusual guests to a dinner party. The most unique guest wins the trophy. He is also given the prestigious title of biggest idiot behind his back. I have never experienced such a strong love/hate relationship with a film before. I hated this movie. The story was unbelievably unbelievable. I hate Paul Rudd as the straight man. Rudd is at his best win he plays the sarcastic man/boy that isn't blinded by love (Anchorman, Knocked Up and Role Models) which was not the case for this role. I don't think his character did one interesting thing. This film was supposed to be the reuniting of funnymen Rudd and Steve Carell and Carell was the only funny thing about this reunion. In fact, it Carell was the only thing I liked about Schmucks; and I loved him. Every tiny nuance small remark was pure hilarity. Every moment his face appeared on the screen, I was holding my sides and laughing uncontrollably. Was his character well-written? No. Not at all, but because Carell is such a comic genius I didn't care. I simply enjoyed his antics. How can I recommend a movie that I loathed so much? Two words: Steve Carell.

The Other Guys - There are the badass cops that tackle the criminals with car chases and shoot outs and there's the captain of the squad and a few up and comers. Then there are the other guys. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg play the sit-down cops that do the paperwork for the bigwigs. Wahlberg was once on his way to the top before he mistakenly shot a New York celebrity giving himself the title of the Yankee Clipper. Ferrell works behind a desk hiding from a scarred past. I don't know. I couldn't get into this one. Don't get me wrong. I love when Ferrell and director Adam McKay get together. I loved Anchorman and Talladega Nights. I love their online videos too but like Rudd, when Ferrell plays a real person, his movies just aren't that funny. Couple that with Wahlberg and the movie doesn't have a chance. Keanu Reeves gets a bad rapt because Wahlberg is by far the worst famous actor ever. He was decent in The Departed but sucks in everything else. The Happening would have been so much better if they had cast anyone other than him as the lead. So when you take these two components and throw in a few old jokes, you're going to get a lame movie. Again, it had its moments but was nowhere near the hilarity and quotability of previous Ferrell/McKay projects.

Inception - Today was the second viewing for me. I was blown away by the visuals the first go around and the ability to piece together the story this round made for one heck of an experience. I had seen this before but felt like I was experiencing it for the first time throughout the entire film today. Without the distraction of drugs, how often can one say that about a film? If you've only seen Inception once, you were probably left with the feeling of, "I should probably see that again." Follow that feeling. Trust me. Inception has the action and the romance. It tugs at the emotional strings and massages the brain at the same time. I can't say it enough. This film was so much better the second time. Simply brilliant.

July 21: Movie Reviews

Despicable Me - A man tries to prove how villainous he can be by coming up with a scheme to steal the moon. I usually don't fall asleep until the third or fourth movie, but I was out before (I assume) he completed his task. The animation looked great and the film makers really took advantage of the 3D format. There was a fun bit during the credits where they stretched the technology to its max. Children of all ages would enjoy this, but I don't think it could entertain the adults like a Pixar film could.

Grown Ups - A group of childhood friends reunites with families of their own. This was Adam Sandler at his most Adam Sandler-esque. All of the Sandler regulars made appearances (even Steve Buscemi) and the entire script was nothing but one liners...one liners that weren't funny, that is. There was everything you would expect from a Happy Madison film from fart jokes to fat jokes but they all just seemed forced.

Inception - A team of experts devise a way to go through people's dreams. If you don't like to think when watching a film, stay as far away from this one as you can. It's really easy to get lost, but if you're able to hang on, it's a really great trip. I don't do very well with accents and there were a lot of them in this one so a second viewing would clear a lot up, but the visuals alone are truly amazing.

Eclipse - I only saw the first thirty minutes of this one because I had to wait for the next movie to start. I haven't read any of the books nor have I seen any of the movies. Thirty minutes of this one was too much as it was. Vampires and werewolves fighting for the attention of a human girl? No thank you. I honestly don't know how those actors take themselves seriously after being in such crap.

Knight and Day - Two groups fight over the possession of a battery that never loses power. This is what a summer movie is all about. Sure it was dumb, but it was fun. Nonstop action and peril. Funny dialogue. Great stunts. Tom Cruise was great and Cameron Diaz looked great. The actors had a lot of chemistry which made the film that much more enjoyable.

Toy Story 3 - I think we all know how I feel about this one. I've now seen it in 3D, IMAX 3D, and traditional 2D and I still get choked up. By far the best movie of the day.