The Men Who Stare at Goats

This movie was just not as funny as I had thought it might be. Some slap stick laughs and a couple of sight gags but overall it was a lame attempt. Kind of a muddled plot and I'm not exactly sure what the underlying messages were that the movie was trying to put across. I'll assume it is an anti-military message since it is from Hollywood. ZING! But seriously it is like this movie just wanted to point out that the US military/government has invested time and money in research of extreme, and often odd, things such as ESP and acid.

Again, I was disappointed with this movie and its lack of cohesion and humor.

Labels: Movies

- posted by Doug @ 10:12:00 PM

 

Get Him to the Greek

When this movie first came out I thought it might be good for a laugh or two but I never got around to seeing it. Then my friends had begun raving about how good it was, so I made it a priority to see.

Turns out my friends were right. I thought this movie was hilarious. The lines they wrote for Puff Daddy were absolutely hilarious. Russell Brand is just the perfect person to play a stereotypical British rock star. Sure it's pretty much the same role as the one he played in Forgetting Sarah Marshall (a movie that is given a shout out in Greek, not surprising since its made by the same people!) and knocked out of the park.

The movie gets a little sappy and cheesy at the end as they all learn valuable life lessons. That is kind of a trait of Apatow movies. 3/4 of the movie is hilarious and then the last quarter turns into cheesy wrap ups.

All in all this movie is definitely a must see just for Puff Daddy's lines. He isn't a great actor by any means but these lines are just GREAT for him.

Labels: Movies

- posted by Doug @ 2:19:00 PM

 

The Invention of Lying

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this movie going into it. The beginning of the movie didn't real lead me to believe it was going to be all that good either. By the end of the movie I was laughing pretty good. It's a fun concept and allows writers some wiggle room for silly jokes.

The thing that bothered me about this movie and "Liar Liar", which had a similar plot, was the fact that they show people saying unnecessary truths. Just because you can't lie doesn't mean you would say mean and hurtful things even if you felt them. Kind of the difference between not lying and not saying. Either way this concern was quickly alleviated for me when it becomes clear that saying these truths is more of a characteristic of this "no lying" world. Once I got over that I was able to enjoy the movie more.

The movie itself is pretty simple but it does have some underlying messages even if they do get some what mottled and don't fully evolve in this movie. It's almost as if they wanted to get a bit deeper with the movie but ended up leaving the conclusions on the cutting room floor.

In the end this movie becomes a delightful romp with plenty of laughs even if some are cheap jokes provided by the main no-lies concept.

Labels: Movies

- posted by Doug @ 10:09:00 AM

 

Toy Story 3

The gang is back! Honestly we all should know what to expect from Pixar movies by now. They are going to be well written and visually well done. This was no exception.

The great thing that Pixar is able to do with their movies is keep them well animated and silly for the kids but at the same time mix in great humor for the adults that keeps them entertained. Not only did Toy Story 3 work for me as a comedy movie and not just a kids movie I was also touched by the story as it got very sad at parts.

If you liked the previous Toy Story movies then you really need to see the third and final movie. It really ties the story line together neatly.

Labels: Movies

- posted by Doug @ 10:09:00 PM

 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

An odd movie with an interesting underlying plot device. Mind erasing is a tricky subject but this movie deals with it well by using deja vu nicely.

Another tricky thing with the movie is the plot kind of works backwards as he is recovering memories. It can be confusing at times especially as the past blends into the current. It is manageable and actually might make this movie a bit more rewatchable so you can figure the timeline a bit better.

The secondary plot involving Kirsten Dunst's character is a bit puzzling to me. It doesn't really do anything for the movie aside from assist with the love triangle portion of the main plot. Even that benefit is minimal to me and just adds extra time that could've been cut from the movie. If they could re-release this movie with her scenes cut down I think the movie would flow much better, not to mention knock off some time off the 108 minutes of runtime.

Labels: Movies

- posted by Doug @ 10:11:00 PM

 

In America

Typical indie film, someone had a vague idea for a movie and they ran with it without really thinking of how you could make a full movie with it. The best part of this movie was the two little girls. They were delightful. Cute and charming when it was needed but also very poignant at key times.

Bottom line: Typical indie movie. Not really tremendously entertaining but not the worst way to kill an hour and half.

Labels: Movies

- posted by Doug @ 5:22:00 PM