Movie Review: The Green Hornet - Unexplainable

Green Hornet Poster

Movie: The Green Hornet (2011)
Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz
Director: Michel Gondry

The Green Hornet is a movie that defies explanation. It simply doesn't make sense. There is no reason why this movie was made. Not many people were clamoring for a remake of the 1960's Green Hornet TV show. Beyond that this action/comedy is directed by Michel Gondry whose previous works include "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and many documentaries. Not that he's a bad director but a strange choice for an action/comedy. Then there is Seth Rogen in the lead role. Really? Seth Rogen as a hero? Seth Rogen carrying a film? It just doesn't add up.  The setup is also weak and strange. Brett Reid (Seth Rogen) is the spoiled son of a newspaper tycoon who resents his dad for never paying much attention to him. We are supposed to feel sorry for him but he comes off as a very unlikable person. When his dad unexpectedly dies Brett must take over his father's newspaper The Daily Sentinel. He has no interest in the paper and fires all his dad's previous workers. After he misses his daily coffee he finds out that he fired his dad's coffee maker and mechanic Kato (Jay Chou). It turns out he was armoring his dad's car and that he also is an expert at Karate. This illogically leads to the two of them creating Black Beauty and driving around fighting crime. Why? No one in the film is quite sure why they are doing this except that it is "cool".

The movie doesn't get any better from there the plot wanders aimlessly from one random action scene to another. The duo take on many random criminals for little to no reason at all. All of this is interspersed with unfunny male bonding scenes where Brett goes on and on about how cool it is to be a super hero.

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Movie Review: Dinner For Schmuck's - Simply Funny

Steve Carell & Paul Rudd

Movie: Dinner For Schmucks
Starring: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, Stephanie Szostak, Zach Galifianakis
Director: Jay Roach

 Comedies don't come much simpler than Dinner For Schmucks. The plot is nothing more than a excuse to get these characters together on screen. Normally that would be a recipe for disaster but this movie seems to pull it off somehow. Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) is an investment analyst on his way up when he comes up with a an idea to land a hundred million dollar client. At this point he's invited to a secretive and exclusive dinner by the head of the company. There's only one catch he must bring a guest, a remarkable person (an idiot). Tim's girlfriend Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is disgusted by the idea. Tim at first declines until he meets the perfect guest Barry (Steve Carell) a taxidermist who recreates art and history using dead mice. When Barry shows up a day early for the dinner he complicates Tim's life in absurd and unexpected ways.

The plot is not much really so the movie relies on the comedic timing and chemistry between Paul Rudd and Steve Carell. They don't disappoint, Carell is allowed to improvise and pretty much play the buffoon role to the tilt. Rudd does an excellent job of reacting to all the outrageous things that Carell does.

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Movie Review: Grown Ups - Never, Ever See This Film

Movie: Grown Ups
Starring: Adam Sandler, Salma Hayek, David Spade, Chris Rock, Kevin James & Rob Schneider
Director: Dennis Dugan


What would happen if you assembled a dream team of comedians and unleashed them all in the same movie? Judging from Grown Ups not much would happen at all. In this movie Adam Sandler (Lenny Feder), David Spade (Marcus Higgins), Chris Rock (Kurt McKenzie), Kevin James (Eric Lamonsoff) & Rob Schneider (Rob Hilliard) play childhood friends who are reunited after the death of their Jr. High Basketball Coach. After the funeral they spend a weekend in a cabin together with their new families. They all play characters eerily similar to their real life personas. And that's about it nothing happens in this film no drama, no conflicts and no point. All the actors are so nonchalant it's like they are not even trying to get any laughs. It's more like watching five old guys be nostalgic for an hour and half. They laugh at each others jokes but the audience doesn't. You start to get the feeling that these guys maybe just wanted to take a weekend off and hangout in the woods. There are some gags thrown in to try to make things funnier but they are half-hearted and not done well. Things like a four year old who still breast feeds, a dog who barks funny & a Grandma's bunion. In the end this movie is content merely to exist as a pat on the back to the comedians involved who are powerful enough to get this nonsense on the big screen. You can buy Grown Ups on DVD or Blu-ray from our shop.

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Movie Review - The Other Guys - Not Just Another Cop Movie

Movie: The Other Guys
Starring: Will Ferell, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes
Director: Adam McKay

This movie is not quite what I expected. It is not just a spoof of action movies or cop movies which has been done to death. Instead it goes a little bit farther into the characters to really see what makes them tick. Will Ferrell embodies the character of Allen Gamble who is everything that society values in the modern man. He is punctual, meticulous, organized, reasonable, thoughtful, positive, and responsible. He has been gladly serving as a Detective for the NYPD but only from his desk (the safest place to be). He enjoys investigating things like permit viloations and accounting errors. In the male dominated NYPD all the things that are considered good values actually make him appear weak and annoying. His partner Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) by contrast is a typical cop who would love to get back on the streets but is forced behind a desk after an accidental shooting. After the departure of the so-called hero cops played by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson the Department is left with void that needs to be filled. That's when The Other Guys step up to take on the role.

This movie is hilarious, the interplay between Ferrell and Wahlberg is spot on.

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Movie Preview: Dinner For Schmucks - Should've Heard About This Movie Sooner

This is not much of a preview as the movie premeires tomorrow but here it goes anyway. There is a new comedy out this week starring Steve Carell  of The Office and Paul Rudd from I Love You Man and many other Judd Apatow directed comedy films. It will also star Zach Galifianakis from The Hangover. This one is not directed by Apatow but instead by Jay Roach who has directed numerous comedies including Meet The Parents and Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery. Looks like it could be pretty funny, the plot synopsis goes like this:

Tim (Rudd) is a rising executive who "succeeds" in finding the perfect guest, IRS employee Barry (Carell), for his boss's monthly event, a so-called "dinner for idiots," which offers certain advantages to the exec who shows up with the biggest buffoon. Written by Anonymous

 

Jay Roach's take on writer/director Francis Veber's The Dinner Game (Le diner de cons) is an English language adaptation of the farce in which each week, Pierre and his friends organize what is called "the dinner game", where everyone brings the dumbest guy he can find as a guest - the dumbest guest wins. Written by woolfman

Okay so that doesn't tells us much about the film except that Steve Carell will be playing a buffoon again. Still looks pretty funny. Here's a look:

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Movie Preview: The Other Guys - Another Will Ferrell Comedy

So I came across this trailer for new Will Ferrell comedy called The Other Guys about two desk jockey cops who finally get their chance to shine. It also stars Mark Wahlberg as Will's partner. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson play the typical action movie cops who always save the day. Looks like it could be funny or it could end up being lame. We could get a funny Will Ferrell movie like Anchorman or Blades of Glory or we could get one like Land of the Lost. Anyway check out the trailer:

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