Friday, November 27, 2009
Sex Drive
Another teen romp very similar to the movie "Road Trip". See this movie is about a group of teens that take a road trip to visit the woman the lead character thinks is the one he loves or will lose his virginity to in this case. Not surprisingly the one he was meant for was the one he knew all along! Just kidding, you could see this coming from 5 minutes into the movie. A typical teen romp but, it was actually pretty decent for a teen romp. A couple of really funny scenes and a sweet cameo with Seth Green.I'm not exactly what was put in for the unrated version but I think there are some outtakes put right into the movie and of course gratuitous nudity strewn throughout. Literally gratuitous, like superimposed shots of naked ladies (and men).
Also this movie introduced me to the lovely Alice Greczyn. She played a beautiful amish woman. Quite frankly, I would like to see some more of her. Alice alone would have made this movie worth it to me.A C+ with the plus being Alice and Seth Green's performances.
Labels: Movies
Diggers
Another movie with Paul Rudd and Kenny Marino so of course its gotta be good. This one was written by Ken Marino. It's a story of 70's era clam diggers on Long Island and of course, their struggles.This movie was in the Toronto and SXSW film festivals. Now the problem I have with "comedies" from film festivals is that they often are not as funny as you would assume comedies are. This movie does have some funny moments but it isn't as out right funny as you might expect. However this movie was very good. I really enjoyed the story. It actually comes across as a sad movie. Not really what I was expecting at all.
That said I enjoyed the movie nad it is a solid B. Just don't go into it expecting kneeslapping humor.
Labels: Movies
You Don't Mess with the Zohan
When you go into a movie with low expectations you often come out pleasantly surprised. This is the case with Zohan for me. I knew it had to have some laughs but I was laughing pretty much non stop for the first hour of the movie. Just slap stick scene after scene. Sight gags, one liners, everything you need from a good comedy.Then the love story started...
I don't really have anything against love stories. Especially since EVERY movie involves some sort of love story. It is always the underlining plot in a movie script.
This had the added benefit of starring Emmanuelle Chriqui who is extremely hot. That always makes a love story easier to swallow.Sure the last hour seemed interminable. Does the first hour out weigh the last? Yes but not enough. It turned out to be a decent movie that just ran too long. A B- seems fair enough to me. Maybe if you just watch the first hor and call it a day you would enjoy the movie more.
Labels: Movies
Role Models
This movie was hilarious. Paul Rudd starred and wrote (Along with The State's Ken Marino & others) in this movie. It was also directed by David Wain who previously did "Wet Hot American Summer" & "The Ten".I think it is safe to say I love David Wain's movies. You have the the same cast of actors that he usually uses (The State cast members for example) and they are hilarious. Jane Lynch (Glee, Best in Show) was hilarious as usual playing a slightly creepy and out of touch organizer of a big brother/big sister program.
The one who really steals the screen for me is young Bobb'e J. Thompson's character of Ronnie. This young black kid is, for lack of a better word, sassy. He plays off of Seann William Scott's character perfectly. He is cussing and overly sexual to a degree that is far, far off the expected beaten path. He definitely steals the show.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse is great as the dork LARP playing teenager. He breaks down Paul Rudd's character quite nicely and leads to a final scene with the group. I don't want to end it but the movie's climax scene is worth the price of admission. Admission for me being my free netflix subscription.
This movie is nothing short of an A+. It is non-stop laughs and lived up to all the hype that I had going into it.
Labels: Movies
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Ten
This masterpiece of a film is brought to you by the director of "Wet Hot American Summer". Lots of familiar faces in this movie Paul Rudd, Winona Ryder, Jessica Alba, Oliver Platt, Rashida Jones, Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter & many more.The movie is based around the ten commandments and includes ten stories each one based on a commandment. However we are also treated to a story of the narrator (Paul Rudd) and his wife (Famke Janssen) between each story. The end of the movie is a spectacular musical number. If you enjoyed "Wet Hot American Summer", Reno 911 or The State then you will love this movie as it continues with its inane humor.
Luckily I do love those movies/shows so I give this movie a solid A+ for being frigging hilarious. I'd give it higher if my scale was capable. The last skit was the best of all. Did I mention the musical number at the end?
Labels: Movies
100 Girls
This movie is cheesy. Super cheesy. Add in the superfluous nudity and you have yourself a GREAT movie for young boys 12-16. It's not really worth watching for anyone above that age range. It's not particularly funny though it does have some good gags (again mostly for younger guys) but they are few and far between. The other big plus is that it does have tv's Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik) and Emmanuelle Chriqui, which is an added bonus to any movie. A couple other notable names in the movie as well with Katherine Heigl and Jaime Pressly as well.
As I mentioned above this is a cheesy movie aimed best for teenager so I would not recommend to anyone older. A c- because of my age.
Labels: Movies
Monday, November 23, 2009
House writers mention Epps/Tomlin similarities
So it is not new news that Omar Epps and Mike Tomlin look alike. What is news and humorous is that in tonight's episode the House character alludes to the similar looks. House notes that it is good to have his team back and he "feels like Mike Tomlin, probably not as much as you do" and then the camera cuts to Omar Epps. Brilliant pop culture reference for the writers. A great laugh aloud moment for the show.Saturday, November 21, 2009
Smart People
A Sundance movie so of course the movie is going to think it is better than it really is. This move reeks of self importance. The reality is this isn't a special movie. It tells a nice story of a messed up adult man and his equally messed up family. Dennis Quaid is a widowed English Professor With a college aged son and High School daughter. His adopted, deadbeat brother comes to town and quickly becomes the catalyst to the families change of life. Sure enough he makes Quaid a better father and person. My biggest problem with this movie? It being categorized as a comedy when it is clearly a romantic comedy. I don't really remember any strikingly funny scenes. There sure is one awkward adopted brother/uncle & niece kiss. That was strikingly uncomfortable and an odd twist to the movie.
Overall a sub par movie. C
Labels: Movies
Step Brothers
This movie was a typical Will Ferrell & John C. Reilly movie. There were some good laughs. A couple of scenes where they just let the two actors throw out lines as they think of them. As usual these scenes had some gems in them and although the scenes are a bit contrived they do still pack laughs. The plot is fairly simple and of course it does not involve any heavy intellectual lifting which is really what you want and expect from these movies.
All in all there were plenty of laughs but not their best work although I look forward to more from this tandem.
B+
Labels: Movies
Friday, November 13, 2009
Tropic Thunder
I finally saw "Tropic Thunder". This movie had some laughs but it had a lot to live up to. There was some funny scenes but the movie did kind of drag along. It was really a lot of downtime just waiting for the next gag scene. There were a couple of funny scenes and Robert Downey Jr. was hilarious as an Australian actor playing the black squadron leader. "What do you mean YOU people?", "What do YOU mean you people?". That was a great line but I saw it in the commercials and trailers so it wasn't that new.Tom Cruise's cameo wasn't that great. He didn't really add much to the movie as a whole and I wasn't that impressed. Mathew Mcconaughey was as good or maybe even better in his bit part.
The movie wasn't overly hilarious or complicated but there were a couple of laughs. C+ at best.
Labels: Movies
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Movie Review: The Babysitters
The Babysitters(2007)
Rated: R
When honors high school student Shirley (Katherine Waterston) becomes romantically entangled with Michael (John Leguizamo), the married father of one of her baby-sitting clients, she quickly recognizes the affair's potential for turning a profit. The enterprising Shirley soon sets up a teenage prostitution ring made up of school chums who she matches up with Michael's bored married friends, all under the guise of baby-sitting.
Genre: Indie Comedies, Late Night Comedies, Dark Humor & Black Comedies
So I signed up for netflix and this was the first movie I watched via the internet. I thought it was going to be a comedy as that was the category I was in. Instead I found an adult black comedy. Sure I had some laughs. Some from awkwardness but they were still laughs right?
The star of this movie (besides John Leguizamo) is Katherine Waterston who is the daughter of Sam Waterston (of Law and Order fame). You can definitely tell the relation by looking at her. That becomes a bit awkward since she gets topless in this movie.
In summation, the movie was a bit odd but definitely contained some laughs. If you go into the movie knowing it is a dark comedy and the content of the movie is a bit uneasy than you will enjoy it.
B+
Labels: Movies
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
"When the Game Was Ours"
This book was written by Larry Bird & Magic Johnson with Jackie MacMullan. I was told this book would contain their story as we had not heard it before. Honestly though, I feel as if the book was just another retelling of the same stories. Maybe I need someone to point out the new content for me but I really felt I had heard these stories all before. I suppose we were given some official insight into the minds of these two superstars but mostly they were just confirming what many had speculated for years. Maybe that is why the stories didn't seem fresh, we had already assumed we knew the truths.
In summation I can not endorse you paying $25+ to buy this book. It might be a nice read if you have not read either of their previous autobiographies or any of the previously written books on the players or their teams.
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