Spy Kids 4

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Movie: Spy Kids 4 (2011)

Studio : Dimension Films

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 89 min

Website : spykidsmovie.net

Rating : PG

Trailer :

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Review:

The Spy Kids are back in a new adventure, only it’s the next generation courtesy of Marissa Wilson (Jessica Alba), who is sister to Antonio Banderas’ character in the original. She’s a top spy who while pregnant even took down the arch villain Tik Tok. But having a baby with husband Wilbur (Joel McHale) gives her reason to quit the spy biz and settle down. But a year later, Tik Tok, now with an accomplice Timekeeper (Jeremy Piven), decides to take ‘time’ away from the world and Marissa must return to stop him. This time, though, she gets her whole family involved including her two step kids Rebecca (Rowan Blanchard) and Cecil (Mason Cook), her baby daughter, their guard dog Argonaut (voiced by Ricky Gervais) and a blast from the past, the original Spy Kids (Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega) to save the world once again.

As an adult, movies meant for kids are often difficult to see from a kids’ perspective. I took my niece with me to see the film and from her and other kids’ reactions to the numerous sight gags and poop/fart/puke jokes, it was obvious the target audience was a very young age. Although writer and director Robert Rodriguez did try his hardest to include those over 6, most of those moments were either few and far between, or fell flat against the backdrop. The previous endeavors, especially the first two, were much better at entertaining those parents who would be forced to sit there with their kids, but to me, it was a long 83 minutes.

While it was good to see Jessica Alba using her martial arts training once again that we haven’t seen since Dark Angel, she really is wasted in this film as an actress. It was obvious, although a good sport about the predicaments she found herself in, that she was doing this perhaps only to show daughter Honor what her mommy did for a living later on. Although I don’t know what kind of mother would bring her one year old child on a potentially dangerous mission. I kept thinking that if this was real life, she’d probably have CPS take her children away for endangerment. But it’s just a movie, so all is good I guess.

All the adults in this movie were as they are in most aimed at kid’s movies, flat and used as a bumper for the kids to defy. I have to admit though that Jeremy Piven was actually pretty good as the over the top villain Timekeeper, his scenes being some of the best.

Blanchard and Cook did quite well for their age and were very believable without being overly cute or obnoxious, which kids in these films often are. They handled the scenes well and dare I say almost better than their older veterans. Having Vega and Sabara return was inspired to not only serve as a continuity conduit but also they had some of the same vibe as their screen parents did in the original movies, which helped with the nostalgia and kept the film from slipping all the way into the abyss.

An appearance by Danny Trejo was also a welcome sight as the gadget creating Machete.

The 3D was very well done in this one, much better than previous outings. Of course, in this one, the 3D is the real deal, and shot in native 3D format, which makes some of the scenes incredible to watch. It’s definitely worth seeing this one in the 3D theater for nothing else but the jawdropping effects. Ships and even some of the characters actually fly out of the screen at you, which I have to say was very impressive.

Less impressive was the Aroma-Scope, which is basically a card with numbered areas. When the appropriate number comes on the screen, you scratch the surface and sniff, like back when we were kids. It’s not very potent and you could smell some of the odors to some extent. This really only works for the kids as parents are too jaded to really get the effect. Actually I found the whole thing rather bothersome while trying to watch the action that I gave up after the first couple.

In the end, the kids liked it and the movie left the parents and uncles basically groaning and so we give this movie a 2.5/5. The 3D was great, the movie not so much, especially at the price of 3D films, but it’s an okay family time film if you have some cash and afternoon to blow with the young-ins.

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Fright Night

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Movie: Fright Night (2011)

Studio : Walt Disney/DreamWorks

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 106 min

Website : welcometofrightnight.com

Rating : R

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Review:

Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) has his suspicions that his next door neighbor Jerry (Colin Ferrell) is not quite what he seems. Sure, he’s charming and debonair, but his nightly activities are not exactly what you’d expect from a gentleman. And Charlie soon realizes that he may be a vampire, but no one will take the young lad seriously, not his mother (Toni Collette), his popular girlfriend (Imogen Poots). The only one is his best friend Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who is actually the first to suspect something isn’t right. And so Charlie enlists the help of a Las Vegas magician and vampire expert (David Tennant) to rid the world of this creature of the night before it destroys the town and his family and friends.

I really enjoyed the cult classic 27 years ago and as I sat down in the theater, I grumbled something about ruining another memory for me, but I decided to keep an open mind. And I have to say that this remake did do the original 1983 film justice actually. It was not incredibly scary or gory film. If you are expecting Jason or Freddie type antics, then this isn’t it. But then neither was the original. They are both based more on suspense and the cat and mouse game played by Charlie and Jerry, but with a dose of hearty laughter and fun thrown in to keep the fear factor down to a minimum. Besides, being distributed by Disney, even though it’s a DreamWorks film, you knew it wouldn’t be too over the top.

Marti Noxon is a name you may recognize from another vampire project, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the series), where she worked with Josh Whedon, and in this film, you can see that that experience comes through in a script that is both scary and funny. In fact, I really did feel like I was watching an episode of Buffy, sans Sarah Michelle Gellar and the Scooby gang. But since I always liked that combination, I rather enjoyed it here.

Colin Farrell, IMO, did a much better job than Chris Sarandon did in the original. Sarandon played the part a bit too stuffy, while Farrell was able to bring a much more calm, much more subtle intensity to the character. Oddly enough, the role was originally supposed to go to Heath Ledger, who died before they could get started. And so Farrell got the part. It’s not the first time that Farrell has been part of the cast after the death of Ledger. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus was Ledger’s last film and when he died in the midst of filming, the director had the idea to replace him with several different actors at different places in the movie such as Johnny Depp and Farrell.

Young Anton Yelchin and Imogen Poots did well at their roles, although neither really stood out that much. Christopher Mintz-Plasse does a good job of providing a lot of the comic relief in the movie as the nerdish friend, which he is excellent at portraying.

The 3D was frightful in some places, although I do think that you could see the movie fine in 2D and not be too incredibly disappointed at the results.

All in all, we really did like this new version and thus give it a 4.5/5. It’s a solid afternoon or evening of fun and a bit of fright that will truly entertain. Sure, we did like some of the original better, but this one has a lot to go for it on its own and is actually a worthwhile remake.

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30 Minutes or Less

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Movie: 30 Minutes or Less (2011)

Studio : Columbia Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 83 min

Website : 30minutesorless.com

Rating : R

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Review:

Travis (Nick Swardson) and Dwayne (Danny McBride) have an idea. They want to kill Dwayne’s father, but murder is serious business and expensive too. So where can they get that kind of cash to handle it properly. From a bank of course, but they don’t want to do the job themselves. Instead, they hijack a down on his luck pizza delivery guy (Jesse Eisenberg) and to force him to do the crime, slap a bomb on him and give him ten hours before it explodes. If he returns the money, he’s good. If not, well.

It’s obvious that there is no longer any adults in comedy writing anymore, because what seems to fuel what passes as comedy in this day and age is jokes that were probably snickered at in a middle school bathroom. Sure, there are bound to be a few laughs. If you spend 83 minutes telling one joke after the other, one is bound to stick to the ribs. But a constant barrage of sex jokes or bodily function humor, like in McBride’s other “comedy” Your Highness, gets very old and a bit offensive, very quickly. I, for one, was glad that the movie wasn’t two hours long because there is only so much one can take. Although, a longer running time may have allowed the director to focus more on plot and time the jokes out to be more effective, which would have provided better balance.

Pacing is the biggest problem in this film, but it also suffers from another issue. Because the jokes were obviously top priority, it seems like the characterizations were not very important. Several of the cast seemed to completely change personalities during the course of the film. I’m not talking about the usual gradual attitude change as the person develops throughout the story, I’m talking about literally changing personalities as if the actor was suddenly playing a different character with the same name. This basically showed that the cast was more interested in a paycheck then keeping to their parts. Given the material, it’s hard to blame them I guess. Clearly this movie will probably be left off their resumes. I will say, however, that Aziz Anzari, who is making his movie debut, wasn’t bad and actually of all the cast, was probably the best in holding his character to one line, which stood out here.

Of all the juvenile comedies, this one is really at the top of list, which isn’t a good thing. It’s vulgar, flat and the laughs just fall by the wayside one by one because of the horrific pacing. We give this movie a 2.5/5. It has some funny moments because of the sheer number of attempts, but all in all, is just a contender for this year’s Razzies.

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The Change-Up

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Movie: The Change-Up (2011)

Studio : Universal

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 112 min

Website : thechangeupmovie.com

Rating : R

Trailer :

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In this more mature version of Freaky Friday, two best friends from long ago pee in the same fountain when reunited. But it’s not just any old fountain. It’s a wishing fountain and they both make a wish that they had the other’s lives. Of course, it comes true and Dave (Jason Bateman) and Mitch (Ryan Reynolds) switch bodies. For Mitch, it’s a terrible deal. He has always been the irresponsible care free type who is only partially employed and loving his single life. And now he’s saddled with Bateman’s wife and three kids. For Dave, on the other hand, he gets to forego all of his responsibilities and try to enjoy life as a single man. The only problem is he hasn’t been single in a long time and the world outside is not what he remembered from his younger days. And so they both find out that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fountain. They must then find a way to switch back and restore everything to normal before it’s too late.

This film is by the same people that did Hangover and so they tried to put that formula into the Freaky Friday storyline. This means that the film is full of sexual innuendos, gags involving poop, social bumbling and way out situations (including the main plot). It’s not for anyone who likes their comedy sophisticated or high brow. The feel of the movie is actually summed up in the first scene when Dave gets crapped on in his mouth by his infant son. Yeah, it’s like watching Jackass in a sitcom. When a movie starts out with a scene like that, you would think there was no way to go but up, but it doesn’t. Instead it lingers in the toilet bowl of comedy, floating and waiting to be flushed. The push to make it funny by shock makes it actually difficult to watch at times. There were some funny moments, but there were too many questionable scenes, some a bit sickening, that took away from those.

It’s a shame too. Because actually both Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), who usually plays the straight down to earth guy, and Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder), who often plays the wild arrogant womanizer, were actually excellent at mimicking the other’s persona. They had the mannerisms down pat and were able to do it believably. But even with that talent, they couldn’t bring it out of the mold that the script was in, but I give them points for trying.

Rounding out the cast is Olivia Wilde, who is also in Cowboys & Aliens. She is once again basically wasted as eye-candy. Now I’ll admit she’s incredibly beautiful, but they really do need to give her some substance to allow her to express her acting better. Leslie Mann is a highlight of the film as Dave’s wife and gets a good deal of the laughs. And Alan Arkin plays Mitch’s dad in his usual film persona, the tough and disappointed father figure.

All in all, if you liked Hangover, you’ll probably like this one. Or maybe not. We did like Hangover and we still found this one too intense at points. If a constant barrage of material designed to be shockingly offensive is not your cup of tea, then you should avoid this one like the plague. Since our group fell more into the latter, we are only going to give this 3.5/5 stars. It’s funny at times, but goes too far in trying to get to the laughs.

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Smurfs

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Movie: Smurfs (2011)

Studio : Sony Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 86 min

Website : Smurf Happens

Rating : PG

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

The little blue guys (and a girl) with the white beanies are back in this “Enchanted” mixed with “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. The Smurfs are sent through a magical portal while trying to escape from Gargamel (Hank Azaria) and wind up in the real world, New York City to be exact, where they are completely lost, but know one thing. Their enemy and his cat Azrael are hot on their trail. Fortunately, they wind up in a box belonging to Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and his wife (Jayma Mays). Now they must get home before the blue moon when they can open a portal back to their world, a portal that Gargamel realizes comes from their blue magic.

This movie is strictly for kids. For parents, these aren’t your childhood Smurfs that you remember fondly. In the cartoon so long ago, 30 years, they all lived in a nice Utopian society that helped each other out and generally loved eachother. The movie does have a couple semi-touching moments and tries to pay a bit of respect to original creator Peyo, but it fails badly. What the movie is mostly is sight gags like Smurfs falling in toilets and juvenile humor that is funny for a few minutes, but not long enough to keep adults from wanting to head for the door. Fortunately, the time is relatively short, thus cutting the pain down to a manageable 81 minutes without the credits.

The placing of the blue critters in the real world is very, very good, just like it was in Alvin and the Chipmunks. They are believable as being in this world, and Gargamel’s cat is one of the best crossbreed animations we’ve seen. The 3D also plays well with objects coming at you and with the medium in mind when they conceived and filmed it.

As to the acting, about as good as you would see in a Saturday morning cartoon, kind of generic performances that range from horrible to not that bad, but not on the par of their other acting work. Harris, aka Barney from How I Met Your Mother, is terribly wasted in this, while Jayna Mays (Heroes and Glee) just plays it the best she can, but they gave both very little to work with. These two obviously just did it for the kids they have or the kids they plan to have. Hank Azaria is the only one who almost stands out as Gargamel. Seems he actually studied the mannerisms of the cartoon character and was able to create a reasonable facsimile. Of course, this is the guy on Simpsons who is the man of many voices and is used to cartoon work.

In the end, kids will love it. My six year old niece thought it was hilarious. And why not? The smurfs are cute, blue and have all the energy of a two year old, but parents will be groaning at the end. Maybe sending the kid to the movies with a babysitter, rather than going yourself is the best idea on this one. We only give it a 2.5/5 because we’ve seen kid’s movies done much better with Disney, Pixar and others.

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Crazy, Stupid, Love

Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars

Movie: Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Studio : Warner Brothers

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 118 min

Website : Crazy, Stupid, Love

Rating : PG13

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Seen as the perfect couple, Cal (Steve Carell) is shocked when his wife Emily (Julianne Moore) wants a divorce. Now he must face life as a single guy with a 13 year old son Robbie (Jonah Bobo). Cal doesn’t take the separation very well. He winds up in a bar where he meets professional bachelor Jacob (Ryan Gosling). Feeling pity for the older sap, Jacob takes him under his wing which he finds out is a bigger task than he expected. After all, Cal hasn’t dated in years, leaving his style, his pickup lines and his drinks even pretty dated. Meanwhile back at home, his son is crushing on his 17 year old babysitter, who has a crush on Cal to make matters even more complicated. Emily, the wife, is being hit up by David (Kevin Bacon) and Jacob, who is supposed to be training Cal might need some help of his own when he meets Hannah (Emma Stone).

The whole thing is like a soap opera with a lot of characters and a lot of different couple’s storylines. And from the description above, you would think the movie is just too crowded, but it’s not actually. The writer Dan Fogleman (Disney-Pixar’s Cars and Fred Claus) and directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (both for I Love You Phillip Morris) have managed to pace their stories in such a way that it never seems to be too much. They are really able to transition between couples with little effort making it all so seamless and enjoyable to boot.

And as I’ve said before, sometimes romantic comedies shouldn’t be called comedies as they often wind up being too dramatic and sappy to be funny. And this movie starts out in a very dark place when Cal gets dumped and has to work through the pain. But even though he’s in a lot of hurt, the movie doesn’t sink so far as to turn off the audience. In fact, it gives him a sympathy that Carell is able to extract from the audience with his amazing portrayal in the fast paced film. And so when he begins his rise back to a force to be reckoned with, we are right there cheering him on. And unlike most romantic comedies, this one actually stays true to its concept. It is a comedy, hilarious and a feel good film that shows the genre in the best possible way.

While Carell really shows off his acting ability with both deep drama and comic genius, Ryan Gosling is just okay as Jacob. He plays the part of the stud well enough, but there is nothing really spectacular. Moore and Stone are equally as average in the story. But in all fairness to them, someone has to be the lesser of the cast in a script that has such wonderfully memorable characters such as Marisa Tomei as one of Cal’s transition women. She is perfect as the over the top, crazed, wild child, which she portrays so well. And Kevin Bacon gets points for the cunning charm that he puts into Emily’s love interest. Even the son, who pines over what he can’t have, is played with such honestly by Jonah Bobo, that maybe it’s hard to see them through the glare.

This movie is not Hangover funny, but it’s a touching and at a lot of times, hilarious look at the dating scene and we really loved it, guy and girl alike. It looks like Steve Carell’s decision to leave NBC’s Office and return to movies was a good idea. We give this movie a 4.7/5. We really enjoyed it and while it may not be cinematic history, it’s a great time and we left the theater a happy bunch and that in itself is worth the ticket price.

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Friends With Benefits

Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars

Movie: Friends With Benefits (2011)

Studio : Castle Rock Entertainment

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 109 min

Website : fwb-movie.com/

Rating : R

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Dylan (Justin Timberlake) is a graphic artist who is in need of a job, so when Jamie (Mila Kunis), an employment headhunter, gets him work at the prestigious GQ, they become the best of friends. And as friends, learn that they both have had bad relationships and hate the idea of the romantic comedy. It seems perfectly reasonable to them that friends should be able to have casual sex without it turning into anything meaningful. But when they decide to go to that level, they find that it’s not as uncomplicated as they hoped it would be. And that maybe Hollywood wasn’t as wrong as they thought.

Movies often come in pairs with the same subject, there was Volcano and Dante’s Peak, Armageddon and Deep Impact, and Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached. They both have the same basic plot, but this one goes a lot further in terms of acting, story and sweetness over raunchy. This one is far more balanced and fun to watch for all genders rather than just for the women that the other was. It looks at both sides of the equation and finds humor in each. It is not a sex comedy as the name implies, but a poignant and funny look at the whole concept of romance and sexual encounters. It’s more subtle and in some cases even dramatic as the movie progresses, which oddly enough by the end, turns it into what a good part of the movie tries to debunk.

Kunis, of course, showed us that she is much more than Jackie in her Black Swan role, but in this one, she returned back to her comedic roots, which was a great thing to see because she can be extremely funny. In fact, it’s safe to say that she carried the movie on her shoulders for the most part. Timberlake, who can also be good at comedy, and showed his acting chops in Social Network, never seems quite comfortable in the role and thus he always appeared to be holding back. It’s not that he was terrible, but as the leading man, he did not fulfill that role, leaving more work for Kunis. Still, they both had excellent chemistry together and played well of eachother to the point you could believe their friendship was real. And so his hesitation did not distract from the film’s goal.

Special mention has to be to Woody Harrelson who wasn’t in the film too much, but provided a great amount of comedy while he was. He plays the over the top, flamboyant gay co-worker who would make Liberace blush. Harrelson didn’t pull out any stops on his portrayal, which was certainly a far cry from his previous roles.

Jenny Elfman, Patricia Clark and Richard Jenkins are just okay in their roles as Jamie’s sister Annie, her mother and her father respectively.

A little trivia for you. Mila Kunis starred with Ashton Kutcher (70’s Show) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan). No Strings Attached, which both Kutcher and Portman were in, was originally named Friends With Benefits. Coincidence? We’ll let you decide.

Anyway, this is a fun movie with some heart in it and it made us laugh and feel, which is what a good movie should do. Being a male who is more comfortable in movies like Transformers and Die Hard, even I had to admit that I had a good time with this one. I give it a 4.2/5. It’s creep into the traditional romantic drama as the film went on detracted from it’s enjoyment and Timberlake could have been a bit better, but all in all Will Gluck pulled this one off well.

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Salvation Boulevard

Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Movie: Salvation Boulevard (2011)

Studio : Mandalay Bay

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 96 min

Website : ifcfilms.com/films/salvation-boulevard

Rating : NR

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Greg Kinnear plays Carl, a mild mannered Grateful Dead fan who never thought much of religion until he snuck into a church to use the bathroom. That is when the spirit hit him and he became a wide eyed parishioner of Dan Day (Pierce Brosnan), an evangelical preacher who is flamboyant, but a bit shady. The leader is followed by the very rabid flock of people including Carl’s wife (Jennifer Connelley), who consider the man the ultimate disciple of God. When a local atheist and professor Dr. Blaylock (Ed Harris) stands in the way of Day’s plans, the pair decide to talk things out and they invite Carl to join them. But when Blaylock turns up in a coma from a gunshot to the head, Day blames Carl for the crime. Now he is forced to defend himself against not only the authorities, but the congregation as well including his wife and friend. Only Honey Foster (Marisa Tomei), a follower of Blaylock, may know the real story, but can she convince everyone and save his hide?

Now, before we start, let me say that if you are a very deeply religious person, or even a somewhat religious churchgoer, there is a lot in this film that will no doubt offend you. It takes the whole concept of evangelical religion and turns it upside down in what is designed to be a spoof, a caricature of the movement. It is filled with cheap shots and even cheaper humor that one of the faith will probably wince at, at least once. The movie doesn’t attempt to be apologetic at all in it’s portrayal of the characters or events and so it’s easy to believe that some will be upset upon leaving the theater if they choose to see this movie.

With that said, is the movie really funny? Again, it depends on your outlook, but we did find it pretty funny at times and heard a lot of laughing and chuckling throughout from others around us in the theater. The absurd plot has some moments that are so over the top that their very nature can’t help but get a laugh. There is no subtle nature here. The movie goes out of its way to bring up the laughs in the most obvious ways, and in many cases the cheapest ways they can. But sometimes that isn’t always a bad thing and if it wasn’t for the subject, we’d probably wouldn’t even mention it.

The portrayal of Dan Day is at the heart of this movie for it to work at all, and Pierce Brosnan was an inspired choice. He plays the preacher with such zest, that it’s hard not to think of him standing at the pulpit actually inspiring those that would flock around him. Marisa Tomei is also fun as the atheist who is trying to get to the truth. She has a much better chemistry onscreen with Kinnear than he does with Connelley, who is so religious in the movie that it makes her boring and annoying. Harris plays Blaylock with a bit of flamboyancy, making him a good match against his adversary.

All in all, the all star cast portrayals and an audience with an open mind can make this a fun movie and so we give it a 3.8/5, but those that are sensitive to the subject matter would be better looking elsewhere.

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Horrible Bosses

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars

Movie: Horrible Bosses (2011)

Studio : New Line Cinema

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 100 min

Website : horriblebossesmovie.com

Rating : R

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a plot reminiscent of 9 to 5, Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) all work for different bosses (Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Colin Ferrell) which they can’t stand. Actually, that’s an understatement. They want to see them killed rather than work with them another day. There is only one problem. How to do it and not get caught? What started as a joke winds up turning into a full fledged plan to get rid of their employers who are standing in their way.

There is a ton of things to like about this movie. It is a smart, dark comedy that really plays off our own experiences with that boss we couldn’t stand in our own lives. And because of that, we can relate to what these poor saps are going through. And while many an employee has probably dreamed of seeing his boss disappear, we are sure that most of us would not go to the level that these people do. But it’s fun to watch the fantasy play out on the screen, allowing us some guilty pleasure for all the hardships placed on us workers by demanding employers.

But it’s not just the concept, it’s the chemistry between all involved and the fun of watching some of the cast work outside the roles that they are used to. This is especially true of Jennifer Aniston and Colin Farrell. Aniston portrays the sexually crazed, nasty, wild dentist that swears like a sailor with such gusto and enjoyment, that we forget that she was Rachel on Friends. Farrell is also unrecognizable as the venom spitting and conniving boss that turns his employees blood pressure to boil.

Kevin Spacey, on the other hand, is quite good at playing the soul crushing executive who not only steps on the little people to get to the top, but destroys them in the process and has a good time doing it. You can tell how much fun he had, as well as the other bosses, being able to play in the sandbox of evil. After all, isn’t it every actor’s dream to play the bad guy or girl?

The three employees (Bateman, Day and Sudeikis) act as though they have been buddies all their lives, which is important in a film like this. It’s not hard to believe that these guys would come up with such a plan and be in it for the long haul. They say that a friend will help you move, a best friend will help you move the body and these guys epitomize that sentiment. As to their roles, Bateman basically plays his usual likeable self, not drifting far from his comfort zone, while Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis stretch it out to show their great talent for comedy.

And we have to give praise to director Seth Gordon for his vision and the pacing of the film, which allowed us to laugh all the way through from the start to the end credits (and you do want to stay for those). He couldn’t have done it, however, without a brilliant script from Michael Markowitz and John Frances Daley (who stars in Bones), but also plays Carter in this film.

We enjoyed this movie a lot and would recommend it to anyone for a rip roaring good time and thus give it a 4.8/5 stars. It’s too bad that it came out on a week that is being overpowered by Transformers, because this one really does deserve more viewers. But after you see that, see this. You won’t regret it.

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Zookeeper

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Movie: Zookeeper (2011)

Studio : Columbia Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 104 min

Website : zookeeper-movie.net

Rating : PG

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

A mild mannered zookeeper Griffin Keyes (Kevin James) decides that perhaps taking care of the animals is not the most glamorous of jobs if he wants to catch the female of the species, in this case a very beautiful specimen indeed (Leslie Bibb). Having an offer on the table at a fancy car dealership, Griffin decides that it’s time to move on, but when the animals find out, they do the only thing they can do. Show him that they can talk and try to convince him not to go. And if he stays, they’ll teach him how mating works, even if it is a bit on the wild side.

It’s hard to review this film without referencing Mall Cop, Kevin James’ other comedy. In this, he plays basically the same sort of character he played in that, the poor schlep that just can’t get a break and is often the victim of the slapstick humor and degradation by his co-stars, who in this film are mostly wise cracking animals. But in all honestly, he really does excel at playing the bumbling chap with a good sense of comedic timing. You feel for the guy and this makes him a sympathetic character that you can root for, which is fun for the duration. It’s not as funny as Mall Cop, but it has enough laughs and good nature to keep both kids and adults interested.

The script is not inspired. At its heart, it is a romantic comedy and a bland one at that. Something we’ve seen hundreds of times before. Man loves girl out of his league and relies on friends, especially one particular girl who’s better suited for him then the one he’s trying to acquire. The difference is that his friends aren’t human. Keep in mind, that despite the marketing of the movie, including the above trailer, that like most stories of this nature, the friends are not the featured act. And this is the case with the critters. A good part is completely critterless, but thanks to some fairly decent pacing, it doesn’t slip into a sappy love story at any time, which the kids will appreciate.

The best choice in this film was not to fill it with cartoonish character animals like Hop or Alvin and Chipmunks, but with realistic zoo members voiced by some heavyweights in films and comedy such as Sylvester Stallone and Cher as the Lion and Lioness, Adam Sandler as the Monkey, Nick Nolte as the Giraffe, and the unmistakable Don Rickles as the insulting frog. It’s not hard to see why with a bevy of talented souls that the animals upstage their human counterparts in just about every scene they are in. It would have been nice to have seen them in a bit more of the film than we did.

I like Rosario Dawson because she seems natural in the projects she does. She can be that naïve sort of innocent young lady who is kind and caring, but also has that Latina spitfire that is ready to burst out when necessary. And it’s this persona that she has perfected along the way that made her a good fit for the role of fellow zoo worker Kate. The chemistry she has with James, although tempered due to what we suspect as bad scripting in places, is quite good.

Too bad we can’t say the same for the others. Leslie Bibb basically just overacts the somewhat shallow socialite to the point where she becomes annoying. It just seemed like just about any of 1000 actresses could have played the part and been much more delightful to watch. Ken Jeong plays his usual part as an Asian guy who is way out there and we don’t mean that in a good way, despite some of the laughs he got, and Donnie Wahlberg is just wasted in his role as Shane.

So how do we rate the movie? Well we actually liked it for what it was, which was a fun little comedy that is not full of belly laughs, but not boring and in some cases a lot of fun. But because of the high price of movies these days, we are going to give it a 3.0/5 and say that if you want to spend a lighthearted couple of hours at a matinee, it’s cool, but so is sitting at home with the DVD when it’s released.

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Larry Crowne

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Movie: Larry Crowne (2011)

Studio : Universal Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 99 min

Website : larrycrowne.com

Rating : PG-13

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) is a Navy veteran who winds up being employee of the month at a large retail outlet after his military stint, where he works with those much younger than himself. But when he’s laid off due to downsizing, he decides to take a friend’s advice and go back to earn the college degree he never got. But his time in retail makes him sort of the cool guy that is still young at heart even if he’s older in appearance. And that gets the attention of a fellow student (Roxana Ortega) who invites him to join her scooter gang, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend (Wilmer Valderrama). But Larry has other plans when he develops an interest in a disillusioned professor (Julia Roberts) that teaches a speech course.

Often in our fast paced world where things move at the speed of the light, it’s hard to sit back and smell the flowers. This movie is the cinematic equivalent of doing so. It is a calm, quiet, and sentimental story that is definitely targeted at those looking for an escape. It has no 3D, no action, and is even shot in a kind of old school 70’s sepia tone, which might be annoying to some of the newer generation who aren’t used to seeing movies in that format. But the choice is appropriate, given that the film tries to accentuate the attitudes and calmer way of life in the past.

People often expect romantic comedies to be hilarious and some of them are, but generally they are misnamed as comedies at all. This is certainly not an all out funny movie about an older guy’s college experience like Old School or Rodney Dangerfield’s Back to School, both of which featured guys that wound up more in love with the teachers. Instead it is a touching, yet lighthearted drama that has some chuckles, but is really about the tribulations of Hank’s character as he copes with his new reality of unemployment and getting tossed back into a world that he’s uncomfortable in.

Hanks plays the part of the sometimes naïve Larry with a charm that we can still remember from Forrest Gump. It makes him pleasurable to watch and someone we can root for. We can relate to some of the antics he gets involved in, like crashing through a table with his scooter. Something my own father did one time. He makes the character extremely appealing and that draws us in.

On the other hand, Julia Roberts is tasked at playing the often drinking teacher who is down on her job and her life, and she plays the part well, even hamming it up a bit. So we can’t fault her for the lack of chemistry. It seems inherent in the script. The two have worked very well together in the past, but they lack cohesion here. Perhaps it is because Ortega, who plays Hanks’ younger college friend, seems to clique with him much better than Roberts does. So much so, you want to see them get together instead of where he ultimately winds up. This makes the story a bit awkward at times and is really our only big complaint.

Wilmer Valderrama (Fez on 70’s Show) is entertaining as the boyfriend who is a bit jealous of Hanks and his girl’s interest in him as a friend and George Takei makes for a very flamboyant economics teacher that lightens things up when on screen.

All in all, the film isn’t bad for what it is, the charming story of a man’s journey though his midlife crisis. And for those looking to let the kids go to Transformers or Cars, while the adults find a nice quiet film to relax and escape in, then this one isn’t a bad bet. It won’t win any awards, but it lives up to its promise. And for that, we give it a 4/5 stars.

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Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Movie: Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (2011)

Studio : Pariah

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 89 min

Website : conanobriencantstop.com

Rating : R

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’m sure you all remember the great debate over the ouster of Conan O’Brien on the Tonight Show after he refused to make way for Jay Leno to return to 11:35pm on NBC. When he had given up his position as host, his contract stated that he could not compete on TV for six months. And so he did a series of concerts called the “Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on TV Tour” and unlike Charlie Sheen, gained a bigger audience in the process and was very, very funny. This film is a documentary about what was going on during that time, with candid interviews and a look at the performer, his techniques, and his life.

It should be noted that this is not a film of concert footage with some backstage interviews thrown in. While it does have some of that footage, its focus is on the man himself and his personal and professional life during what he describes as a difficult time. It’s extremely candid in its portrayal showing the good side and the bad side through personal moments. We discover during the course of the documentary that Conan’s on screen personality is really almost a caricature of the man himself. His transformation into what the public knows from what he’s like in private is fascinating.

The documentary takes the entire process of preparing for a show and how both he and the crew bring it all together. It explores not only the setup, the backstage, the pre-show, the show itself and the shut down, but how Conan makes it work for those long nights. It provides some laughs from the actual concert, but backstage is the biggest part. And what Conan shows is his generally jovial nature and almost boyish enthusiasm, which makes him endearing to watch. At the same time, it also provides a very emotional look into the demons that he was wrestling with during his “half-assed” show, which he what he often called the concert tour.

One thing that we were very impressed with is how much caring he has for those that work with him, and the often angry and frustrations that he has in doing so, and the audience itself. You always hear about comedians who love the crowd, but hate the individuals that pay. Conan doesn’t seem to be like that, and that what’s gives this tale even more appeal than you would think. The chance to see an artisan at work at his trade is something that is always a good thing. And the way that director Rodman Flender sets out to do that shows that he too cared as much about Conan as the comedian does his fans.

As a result, we give the movie 4.5/5 stars. Even if you are not a big Conan fan, but find the process of comedic work appealing, then this film will definitely be for you. It’s a truly humble and enlightening experience that will give you new insight into the man and what it takes to really put on a live improvisational show. And that in itself is worth the price of admission and a bit of time.

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Bad Teacher

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Movie: Bad Teacher (2011)

Studio : Columbia Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 92 min

Website : areyouabadteacher.com

Rating : R

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

We’ve all had teachers that we didn’t think really cared about the students, who were just working the job to get a paycheck and get the heck out. But Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz) really takes it to the extreme, just as Billy Bob Thornton did in Bad Santa. She is everything you don’t want in a teacher. She’s drunk, high, likes to swear like a sailor, and ruthless. You wonder why she became a teacher in the first place. She feels like it’s all just temporary anyway as she’s getting married to her ticket out of the humdrum life. But when he dumps her, she must look elsewhere and that is when she turns to a rich teacher (Justin Timberlake) who has eyes for her nicer colleague (Lucy Punch), while trying to fight off the advances of the gym teacher (Jason Segal) that finds her antics appealing. How far will she go to get what she wants? That is what the students and the faculty want to know.

Teachers often get a bad rep and movies like this don’t help, especially considering how the profession is treated throughout the film, not just in Elizabeth, but the other characters as well. It’s like watching an anti-teacher film. I mentioned Bad Santa before and maybe I shouldn’t have. The two only collide because they represent horrible versions of something beloved, but Bad Santa doesn’t attempt to destroy the image of Santa. But this one does not even try to separate her from the good teachers out there, but instead tears down the entire vocation. We have to wonder if the writer had issues in school.

While I sat in the theater, all I could think of was how this would have been more appropriate as an SNL spoof on teachers and not as a movie. The story was too short for even the miniscule 92 minute runtime. And thus it seemed as though the writer and director decided to fill that time with scenes that didn’t even seem to be part of the film at all. But all would have been forgiven if they were funny, but they weren’t.

The comedy in this film can be summed up in three words. Watch the trailer. If you are looking for an hour and a half of belly busting goodness, you will be seriously disappointed. What isn’t in the trailer just falls flat on its face, leaving the audience sitting there in utter silence which is never a good thing. Especially in what is supposed to be a hilariously rip roaring movie.

Diaz’s Elizabeth comes off as annoying and after a while, you just want to slit your throat rather than watch more of this tripe, but it isn’t because of Diaz. She plays the part of the horrific teacher with all that could be expected. In fact, in a smarter script, she could have really done well to win over the audience and make her character sympathetic, despite how wild she was. But there was nothing but a stereotype to play off of and for that, she nailed the part. Lucy Punch and Justin Timberlake handle their duties with vigor, but never really get into their roles as a whole. The only one that we can say was really a delight, both in character and as the actor was Jason Segal. The scenes that included him were at least funnier than most and kept the film from being a complete disaster. Segal, being a comedy writer himself, makes you wonder if he didn’t get to adlib a bit to bring some humor to the dull lines that haunted the film.

But even with his save, this film is just not worthy of anymore than 2.0/5 stars. The premise could have been so much funnier, without having to rip apart teachers to begin with. At first, I thought maybe I was being overly sensitive having taught in the past, but the group that I was with found it just as bad as I did. So I feel comfortable in the rating.

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Cars 2

Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars

Movie: Cars 2 (2011)

Studio : Disney-Pixar

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 113 min

Website : disney.com/cars

Rating : G

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) and his best friend Mater (Larry the Cable Guy) are going international in this sequel to Cars from Disney-Pixar. The best cars will be racing in the first World Grand Prix and McQueen picks his buddy to accompany him on a journey that will span across three countries. But when Mater is mistook as being an American spy, he finds himself in the middle of an espionage adventure that he isn’t quite ready for, a mission given to him by the mysterious British spy Finn McMissile (Michael Caine).

Disney-Pixar is known for their great balance between emotion and action that feeds both the adults and the kids at different levels. It’s always a heartwarming story at the base embellished by the antics of the various characters. But no matter what actions take place, the tale is always one that people can relate to. This is become the standard for their films and Cars 2 just does not live up to that. The main reason is that instead of that base to play off of, it depends on the slapstick comedy and explosive action that would seem more comfortable in a Saturday morning cartoon than an animated feature. There is a lot more cartoon violence in this one than in the first, and I had to admit, I half expected Roger Rabbit to pop up somewhere with a bomb in his hand.

But before I go any further, perhaps it is unfair to compare it to other Pixar offerings. After all, movie companies make a wide range of films for different audiences and Pixar should have the right to do so as well. In this one, they went the Transformers route, but there is an audience that loves the heavily populated action films and kids will love the antics of Mater and his “Get R Done” attitude. And so while it may not be their best, it’s certainly an entertaining way to spend an afternoon if you aren’t too critical of its lack of emotion.

This movie reminded me a lot of a Bob Hope / Bing Crosby vibe in their road movies. Bob Hope would always get into all sorts of mischief and provide the comedy to Bing Crosby’s straightlaced ways. And so it is with McQueen (who is played well once again by Owen Wilson) and Mater. Larry the Cable Guy has certainly found his niche and he plays the character with such fun that between his voice and the visuals, he steals basically every scene he’s in. It’s no wonder that Disney made him a much bigger part in the sequel, though if you find redneck humor not to your liking, Mater might not be as enjoyable, but we all thought he was hilarious. Michael Caine also voices Finn McMissile with all the charm and debonair nature of a James Bond, giving the British spy car a great personality that will surely endure into the future. Emily Mortimer also does well as Holley Shiftwell, who is the female spy who keeps an eye over Mater’s mission.

I think it would have been better if they called this what it was, which is Lightning McQueen and Mater’s World Adventures rather than Cars 2. It doesn’t work as a sequel, but more of a spinoff like the cartoon shorts they play on the Disney Channel and so perhaps there would have been less griping over the film’s contents. We do have to admit that we missed characters like Sarge, Doc Hudson, Fillmore (who’s voice George Carlin died), and Luigi and Guido. The new ones don’t seem to have that same feel. So it’s more that they extended the Cars universe (which gives them many more merchandising opportunities), but I do hope if there is a Cars 3 that they consider bringing back some of these older characters.

We are going to go against the grain of most critics and give this 4.3/5. It’s not a perfect film, but it’s not the horrible film they are trying to make it out to be. As we said, it’s not near as heartwarming, but the action is exciting, the characters fun and for the kids and young at heart, it’s a good time.

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Mr. Popper's Penguins

Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars

Movie: Mr. Popper’s Penguins (2011)

Studio : 20th Century Fox

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 95 min

Website : popperspenguins.com

Rating : PG

Trailer :

Click here to view the embedded video.

Review:

Mr. Popper (Jim Carrey) just got his inheritance from his globe hopping father, but it isn’t a car or a mansion, but six wayward cold weather penguins. As a yuppie real estate agent bound for glory at his company if he can close this last deal, the timing couldn’t be worse. But when he discovers that the birds help him make headway with his own estranged children and his ex-wife (Carla Gugino), he begins to see the gift in a new way. But his lack of caring soon turns to obsession and his life becomes chaotic in his need to make his new friends comfortable.

Jim Carrey really makes this movie. His brand of comedy that was shown in movies like Ace Venture: Pet Detective shine here with slapstick humor guaranteed to get a chuckle out of the most serious viewer, but that is also what makes this movie frustrating. It seems to depend on that, and in the parts that don’t have those type of moments, it tends to slow down a bit too much. We know that Carrey is capable of heavy emotion such as when he portrayed Andy Kaufman, but that doesn’t seem to come out here. And so what you have is a movie like most of his films, which are hilarious in parts, but doesn’t have anything to back it up in the off moments.

The penguins are CGI, but very good portrayals of the six very different birds. They all have very clear personalities that make them fun to watch without being beaten over the head that they aren’t real. They don’t talk, but they display their cute and sometimes disgusting antics with very easy to understand mime that gives them a realism while allowing for the story’s more fantastical parts. And in case you get confused as to who is who, their names are very indicative of how they think and act. There is Lovey, Stinky, Bitey, Loudy, Nimrod and Captain who seems to be in charge of the flock.

The children in the show play their parts with genuine care and they aren’t annoying or overacted like in some family stories. But if you are looking for highlights, you can’t beat seeing the return of Angela Lansbury who returns to the silver screen as the proper owner of a fancy restaurant. She is always a delight. I always think of her as the UK version of Betty White, but perhaps a bit more English proper.

The story does not translate well from the 1930’s to the present day, perhaps because we’ve seen it all before. The book’s charm is lost in the rush of the comedy aspects and the lack of true sentiment throughout, but it still manages to be enjoyable. And so we give it a 3.8/5 stars. It’s not a perfect comedy by any means, or a wonderfully artistic period family piece like the route they could have taken like Nanny McPhee, but it does entertain and Carrey’s comedy is top notch.

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