Today was a good one. I had a most pleasing do nothing kind of Saturday. I watched my beloved Packers beat the tar out of the Vikings which was awesome, I must say. Then I sat back and had a mini-movie marathon. So here's what I watched...
Pitch Perfect - A somewhat rebel wannabe DJ goes to college and has to stay one year and get involved in something before her Dad will let her move to LA to become famous. So she joins an accapella group and the comedy begins! Actually, this film wasn't so bad. It was lighthearted and there was singing so it's hard to hate it! And it had Rebel Wilson in it who is a quirky Aussie import who can be very funny. This is a good movie to watch when you just want something that's not going to make you think too hard.
Looper - Of course, I liked this movie - it has Joseph Gordon Levitt in it, for crying out loud! LOL But actually, it had a pretty good plot AND Bruce Willis. It takes place in 2044. Time travel has been invented but its immediately outlawed and is now used by criminals to get rid of their "problems" in the future. They send the bad guy back to 2044 and the "looper" is waiting for him. He shoots him immediately and dumps the body. Since the body is from the future, no one is really looking for him anyway. Well, there's a really bad buy in the future called The Rainman and he starts sending the loopers back to 2044. Meaning the loopers older versions of themselves are returning, getting shot and ultimately cutting off their own future. It's called Closing the Loop. So, this is what happens to Joseph Gordon Levitt except in the future he grows up to be Bruce Willis and, well, you know Bruce Willis isn't going to go quietly! He wants to get back to the future so to speak so he decides what he has to do is kill the Rainman in the year 2044 when he is only a child and then none of this will actually happen. Yeah, I know...it's hard to follow and it was at times but it all came around in the end and it was pretty exciting too. Not a bad film at all!
Detachment - I saved the best for last. I picked this movie up on a whim and I can honestly say this is one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time. Brilliantly written, brilliantly directed and brilliantly acted. Adrian Brody stars as a substitute teacher who tries to live his life unattached emotionally from anyone and anything. Through his time at a failing school, where the tests scores are so low they're impacting the very survival of the school, where some teachers are disillusioned and barely hanging on while others are still trying to make a difference we see how easy it is to become alienated and isolated from one another even when we are in the same room. In spite of his attempts, he cannot NOT feel and it's only when he faces his hollow self that he finds redemption. It's beautiful and brilliant. I think Adrian Brody is one of the best actors around these days and he's flanked by other great performances by James Caan, Marcia Gay Hardin, Lucy Liu and others. You cannot watch this film without thinking. And you cannot walk away without feeling. Brilliant!
So that was this weekends bunch of movie rentals! All in all, a very good Saturday!
Showing posts with label comedies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comedies. Show all posts
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Movies, movies, movies...
Last night I kicked back and watched some movies that I'd been wanting to see for various reasons. Here are my reviews...
The Watch - Okay, one question - how can a film that has Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill not be funny? I mean, it's supposed to be funny. They meant for it to be funny. This film is not funny. Not in the least. I can't even think of one tiny little part that made me chuckle, even a little. The story could have been a good one. Four doofuses come together to start a neighborhood watch and fight crime in their neighborhood. But it takes a turn when aliens become involved, and there's an orgy, and peeing in beer can, and a side story about Vaughn's daughter and it all just goes to hell really quickly. Pass this stinker up. Even if it's on TBS at 3am.
TED - Okay, this is another movie that I have heard people raving about so I had very high expectations for this one. Seth McFarlane, he of many voices who is sometimes funny, is at the helm of this one and he is the voice of Ted, a teddy bear who comes to life when the boy who loves him makes a magic wish. Fast forward to the boy and the bear as adults and they are pot smoking, beer guzzling lovable losers who are struggling to figure out how an adult can have a teddy bear as a best friend and still be a responsible adult. Mark Wahlberg does a decent job as the grown up boy, mostly because he always has that "who me?" look on his face. I have to admit there were some funny parts in this film and it wasn't a total loss. All in all, TED was worth the rental fee.
Premium Rush - I'm going to go on the record and tell you that I am a huge Joseph Gordon Levitt fan. My husband and friends call him my "celebrity crush" and I guess their right. I will not let that slant my review of this movie. Premium Rush is about a bike messenger who is given a delivery in New York that has to be to Chinatown by 7pm. He has no idea what this small envelope contains but almost as soon as he picks it up there's trouble. Seems many people, especially a bad NY detective, want that envelope. There are many exciting chase scenes in this film. Bikes are flying through traffic at break neck speed and it did get my heart pumping to watch it. The story is good and the acting was even better but the director does this thing about jumping back and forth between times in the day to set up the whole story that it just becomes annoying. After a while I just wanted to see what happened and wasn't giving a damn about the whole set up. The ending, with Gordon-Levitt making the delivery with the aid of about a thousand messenger buddies, was handled pretty well and wasn't melodramatic. Overall, I enjoyed this film. Story was good and the pace was exciting except for the constant back and forth between times. Well worth watching though.
So that's what I did with my Friday night. I like having those nights when I can sit back and watch a slew of movies, one right after the other. A good way to spend an evening!
The Watch - Okay, one question - how can a film that has Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill not be funny? I mean, it's supposed to be funny. They meant for it to be funny. This film is not funny. Not in the least. I can't even think of one tiny little part that made me chuckle, even a little. The story could have been a good one. Four doofuses come together to start a neighborhood watch and fight crime in their neighborhood. But it takes a turn when aliens become involved, and there's an orgy, and peeing in beer can, and a side story about Vaughn's daughter and it all just goes to hell really quickly. Pass this stinker up. Even if it's on TBS at 3am.
TED - Okay, this is another movie that I have heard people raving about so I had very high expectations for this one. Seth McFarlane, he of many voices who is sometimes funny, is at the helm of this one and he is the voice of Ted, a teddy bear who comes to life when the boy who loves him makes a magic wish. Fast forward to the boy and the bear as adults and they are pot smoking, beer guzzling lovable losers who are struggling to figure out how an adult can have a teddy bear as a best friend and still be a responsible adult. Mark Wahlberg does a decent job as the grown up boy, mostly because he always has that "who me?" look on his face. I have to admit there were some funny parts in this film and it wasn't a total loss. All in all, TED was worth the rental fee.
Premium Rush - I'm going to go on the record and tell you that I am a huge Joseph Gordon Levitt fan. My husband and friends call him my "celebrity crush" and I guess their right. I will not let that slant my review of this movie. Premium Rush is about a bike messenger who is given a delivery in New York that has to be to Chinatown by 7pm. He has no idea what this small envelope contains but almost as soon as he picks it up there's trouble. Seems many people, especially a bad NY detective, want that envelope. There are many exciting chase scenes in this film. Bikes are flying through traffic at break neck speed and it did get my heart pumping to watch it. The story is good and the acting was even better but the director does this thing about jumping back and forth between times in the day to set up the whole story that it just becomes annoying. After a while I just wanted to see what happened and wasn't giving a damn about the whole set up. The ending, with Gordon-Levitt making the delivery with the aid of about a thousand messenger buddies, was handled pretty well and wasn't melodramatic. Overall, I enjoyed this film. Story was good and the pace was exciting except for the constant back and forth between times. Well worth watching though.
So that's what I did with my Friday night. I like having those nights when I can sit back and watch a slew of movies, one right after the other. A good way to spend an evening!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly or I'm Getting Pretty Cautious When Spending Money on a Movie
We went to see "Cowboys and Aliens" tonight. The experience of this led me to write this blog entry. You see, we don't go out to movies very often unless it's something we really want to see for one reason or another. Sometimes we see things because we are interested in the genre, like Insidious or Paranormal Activity. We love horror films and so we'll pay the $9 to see them...sometimes. Other times we see things because we hear the film is a stinker but it's fun to watch simply because it's such a stinker. For example, The Devil...now that was a stinker but so over the top predictable and goofily stereotypical it became campy and it was funny, though unintentionally funny at that.
So, Cowboys and Aliens. I have to say I had high hopes for this movie. Starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, it already had promise. I saw the trailer in the theater and thought, "This has potential!" I was hoping for camp, some humor - I mean, c'mon, there are cowboys and there are aliens and that could be a wonderfully humorous mix. What I got was a cowboy movie with ALL of the stereotypes in it that takes itself WAY too seriously. No campy jokes, no humorous takes, no innuendo. Just straight up die hard cowboys, each with their own BORING story, trying to fight aliens. I kept waiting for more alien action because, frankly, when the aliens were attacking that was the only time anything interesting ever really happened in this film. However, when you actually get to see the aliens running around - they are the most non-scary aliens ever. They are the visual equivalent of giant toads with tiny baby heads and little, itty bitty hands with three toes on them. The actors in this film do a good job with what they got. Daniel Craig is suitably broody with his steely blue eyes. Harrison Ford is adequately gruff as the weather worn war hero turned cattle man with an attitude. Everyone else, the spectacle wearing saloon owner, the wimpy cattle man's son, the adopted Indian who adores the cattle man, the tired out Sheriff - they all do their part and do it well but it never really gives them teeth or anything to work toward. This film, directed by Jon Favreau, is a stinker! I should have waited for it to come out on Netflix and saved the $9.
So that was the Bad and the $9 is the Ugly. For two of us, $18 to get in the theater. Two small popcorns and two medium Cokes later was another $18. $36 just like that. OUCH!!! That is ugly!!
So the Good...well, the good happened last week. We went to see Horrible Bosses starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. It also stars Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell (in a role I did not even recognize him in!). I have to tell you that I rarely go see comedy movies in the theatre. One, they usually aren't funny and, two, the crowd is usually full of people who think they are in their own living room and talk to the screen. This film was hilarious! I can't remember the last time I actually laughed out loud at a movie. This one had me rolling. The premise is three guys who hate their bosses and decide to kill them off but they will kill each others bosses, not their own. These three could not kill a fly with a hand gun so they "hire" a pro who takes their money only to give them tips rather than do it himself. (Jamey Fox in a hysterical role!) Just let me say the next series of circumstance, one after another, each one funnier than the last, makes this movie worth paying to see. Jason Bateman is great as the deadpanned mastermind. Jason Sudeikis is funny as the horny sidekick who keeps letting himself stray off the path. But the one that really made me laugh was Charlie Day. I've never seen this guy in anything else and he was so damn funny. There's a scene involving cocaine which he accidentally spills and then start cleaning it up that just cracks me up even thinking about it! Anyway, this was a good one. Well worth the cash and definitely a hit with me!
So, Cowboys and Aliens. I have to say I had high hopes for this movie. Starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, it already had promise. I saw the trailer in the theater and thought, "This has potential!" I was hoping for camp, some humor - I mean, c'mon, there are cowboys and there are aliens and that could be a wonderfully humorous mix. What I got was a cowboy movie with ALL of the stereotypes in it that takes itself WAY too seriously. No campy jokes, no humorous takes, no innuendo. Just straight up die hard cowboys, each with their own BORING story, trying to fight aliens. I kept waiting for more alien action because, frankly, when the aliens were attacking that was the only time anything interesting ever really happened in this film. However, when you actually get to see the aliens running around - they are the most non-scary aliens ever. They are the visual equivalent of giant toads with tiny baby heads and little, itty bitty hands with three toes on them. The actors in this film do a good job with what they got. Daniel Craig is suitably broody with his steely blue eyes. Harrison Ford is adequately gruff as the weather worn war hero turned cattle man with an attitude. Everyone else, the spectacle wearing saloon owner, the wimpy cattle man's son, the adopted Indian who adores the cattle man, the tired out Sheriff - they all do their part and do it well but it never really gives them teeth or anything to work toward. This film, directed by Jon Favreau, is a stinker! I should have waited for it to come out on Netflix and saved the $9.
So that was the Bad and the $9 is the Ugly. For two of us, $18 to get in the theater. Two small popcorns and two medium Cokes later was another $18. $36 just like that. OUCH!!! That is ugly!!
So the Good...well, the good happened last week. We went to see Horrible Bosses starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. It also stars Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell (in a role I did not even recognize him in!). I have to tell you that I rarely go see comedy movies in the theatre. One, they usually aren't funny and, two, the crowd is usually full of people who think they are in their own living room and talk to the screen. This film was hilarious! I can't remember the last time I actually laughed out loud at a movie. This one had me rolling. The premise is three guys who hate their bosses and decide to kill them off but they will kill each others bosses, not their own. These three could not kill a fly with a hand gun so they "hire" a pro who takes their money only to give them tips rather than do it himself. (Jamey Fox in a hysterical role!) Just let me say the next series of circumstance, one after another, each one funnier than the last, makes this movie worth paying to see. Jason Bateman is great as the deadpanned mastermind. Jason Sudeikis is funny as the horny sidekick who keeps letting himself stray off the path. But the one that really made me laugh was Charlie Day. I've never seen this guy in anything else and he was so damn funny. There's a scene involving cocaine which he accidentally spills and then start cleaning it up that just cracks me up even thinking about it! Anyway, this was a good one. Well worth the cash and definitely a hit with me!
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