John Cho and Kal Penn reprise their roles as Harold and Kumar; two twenty something guys who are always on the lookout for good pot. In “Escape”, the two decide to take a trip to Amsterdam in order to track down the object of Harold’s affection and, well, you know, smoke pot. Due to a case of mistaken Identity, the boys are labeled terrorist and shipped off to Guantanamo Bay. 

One of the Problems with this movie is a problem that seems to haunt a number of sequels. It can’t recapture the magic of its predecessor. Not to say that “Escape” isn’t funny. It does have its moments. Neil Patrick Harris is back as the ever-stoned, ever-horny, NPH. (He plays himself, only not. At least…I hope he’s not really that drug and sex obsessed.) Penn and Cho are also great here. They have the kind of on-screen chemistry actors pray for. No, it’s not the acting but the script that lets the movie down. Writers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg beat the audience over the head with a, “You can’t judge a book by its cover” theme. The same theme was present in “Harold and Kumar go to White Castle”, only Hurwitz and Schlossberg focused on the jokes, not the life-lesson. In “Escape”, the emphasis is placed on the life-lesson no matter how much it may hurt the joke. I don’t mean to imply that this lesson isn’t one some still need to learn. I’m just saying that these writers should have handled the subject a little better. Much in the way they did in “White Castle”. I don’t know about you, but when I shell out ten bucks for a comedy, I want more comedy and less after school special. I don’t mind some after school special, I just don’t think it’s necessary to assume your audience, even the stoner audience, is stupid and won’t get what you as a writer are trying to say unless it’s repeated time and time again in an extremely obvious manner.  

Harold and Kumar gets a very mild recommendation from me. The comedy that’s there is amusing. You shouldn’t rush out and see this movie, but if you’re bored or you come across it once it’s available in video stores it’s worth a go. Oh, and if you do see this in theaters, stay until the credits are over for further story resolution.  

 Shallow Grave (1994)

I’d actually forgotten about this movie.  A friend asked me if I’d ever seen it, and I couldn’t remember much about it except the general storyline, seeing it in middle school and thinking, “This movie rocks!” I’m glad to see it’s held up over the years.  Shallow Grave is a story about betrayal and greed.  What else should you expect from your friends?

Jet Li and Jackie Chan star as The Silent Monk and Lu Yan in Director Rob Minkoff’s The Forbidden Kingdom. I could have sworn Jet Li said he wasn’t doing anymore martial arts movies, but maybe I’m insane.  I have to say, it’s a good thing he did stay on the kick fast, punch hard train because I enjoyed this movie.

Jason Tripitiks, played by sorta newcomer Michael Angarano(24, Will and Grace) is a kid who’s in love with martial arts films. After being bullied into robbing the pawn shop where he gets his films, he’s transported to ancient China and finds himself on a mission to return the long lost legendary stick weapon of The Monkey King.  He meets up with Lu Yan, a master of drunken fighting, who promises to train Jason to fight in order to complete his mission.

Did you get all that?

I was going to talk about the acting in this film, but that’s not really the point of these movies, is it? Li and Chan have done this kind of thing a hundred times and they know what they’re doing. Michael is loveable as Jason and that’s all that really needs to be said about that.

The nice thing about this movie is it’s fun. The entire cast has great chemistry and you can tell they’re having a good time. The fact they I could see how much they were enjoying themselves made me enjoy myself more. The script is actually funny, filled with the typical rivalry that comes when two masters try and teach the same student. I was impressed because it’s hard to write something as commonplace as that and still write jokes that are funny.

The fight sequences aren’t really anything spectacular if you’re familiar with Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon style of fighting, (Yuen Wo Ping choreographed both films) but they’re still fairly impressive, and yes, Li and Chan do duel. The guys are fantastic athletes and martial artists. I continue to be impressed by them both.

The only real drawback in this movie is the CGI. What’s there is beautiful and well done, but there was so much of it that it became distracting.

So, if you’re looking for something light and fun, consider giving The Forbidden Kingdom a shot. It’s rated PG-13 for mild violence so it’s okay to take your kids, little brother or sister.

By Natasha Felder

Jason Segel (Knocked Up, TV’s How I Met Your Mother) stars as Peter Bretter, a composer for a popular crime drama who happens to be dating, or was dating, the star of that show Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). After an embarrassing break up (So funny I almost choked), Jason does everything he can to forget her with no success. Eventually he decides to go to Hawaii where he finds his ex there with her new boyfriend. Let the comedy ensue.

And boy does it.

Mr. Segel both wrote and stars in this movie and he didn’t miss a beat in either role. As Peter, he’s charming, funny, sweet and talented. It’s easy to see why Sarah would have dated him. Not only is he all of the attributes I just listed, he’s also identifiable. Everyone has been through a breakup and the situations this character finds himself in are so familiar, for men and women, it would be hard not to find something in there that rings true. Kristen Bell (Heroes) is also great. She’s not given much to do, but when she’s on screen you hate her and love her at the time and that takes talent. Sarah Marshall crushes Peter’s soul, yet manages to remain likeable because you can tell she feels awful about it. The supporting cast is not outdone here. Russell Brand plays Aldous Snow, the rock star that stole Sarah’s heart. He’s killer, I mean absolutely killer. A good deal of everything that comes out of his mouth is funny. His performance reminds me of Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s in Charlie Wilson’s War. Every time Aldous was on screen I laughed…hard. The employees at the Hawaiian resort are great as well. Everyone is given great lines and they deliver.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is filled with laugh after laugh. In one scene, Peter performs a song from his rock opera; it starts out strange and ends up being one of the funniest parts of the movie. His relationship with his step-brother/best friend is wicked funny and they put good use to the video chat feature on Mac computers.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is funny, but there are times when it lags. And when a joke isn’t funny, it REALLY isn’t funny. Luckily enough, those times are few and far between. The best thing about this movie is how true it feels. No one’s a bad guy. People are just people. They mess up, they do good, but in the end no one is perfect. Breakups may be hard, but they’re also funny. We’re just so full of gloom and doom while going through them, that we can’t see it.

I’m giving Forgetting Sarah Marshall a big recommendation. This movie’s for guys, girls, bees and puppies. Everyone should see it as long as they can handle crude humor. Oh, and did I mention there’s some serious Full Monty from the star, ladies? I did? Well, it’s worth mentioning twice.

Simon Pegg, from Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead fame stars as Dennis, a 30 something underachiever who never finishes anything. Including marry his pregnant fiancé Libby (Thandie Newton). On the day of their wedding, Dennis succumbs to his fears and, you guessed it, runs away from his from future family. Flash forward several years and Dennis has gotten nowhere. He’s a security guard for a woman’s clothing store and a let down as a father. Enter Whit, played by Hank Azaria from The Simpsons. He’s everything that Dennis isn’t- Smart, successful and a marathon runner. Worst of all, Libby and Dennis’ son Jake love him. In order to win back his family, Dennis decides to run the fictitious Nike marathon in London, to prove that he can finish something he’s started.

Sadly, the laughs are few and far between in this film written by Michael Ian Black (VH1’s I love The70’s, 80’s and 90’s). The cast does its best, but the material just isn’t funny. In one scene, Dennis has to chase down a drag queen shoplifter; the result is so cliché and drawn out that the initial comedic value is lost long before the chase is over. This kind of thing would be acceptable if it didn’t happen throughout the movie. Over and over again a joke that is initially only chuckle worthy is drawn out, it left this audience member feeling bored and looking at her watch. The brightest spots in Run Fat Boy, Run come from Dennis’ relationship with Mr. Ghoshdashtidar, his landlord and Gordon, his best friend, played by Dylan Moran who starred in Shaun of the Dead with Pegg. The interaction between these three characters is heart-warming, funny and dare I say it….genuine. And therein lies one of the major problems with this film…I mean besides the unfunny. I became more invested with the relationship between Dennis and his friends than I was in Dennis’ relationship with Libby and Jake. I wanted Dennis to complete the marathon so he wouldn’t let those characters down. NOT because I wanted Libby to come back to him or even because I wanted him to do it for himself. This stems from the fact that the scenes between Libby, Dennis and Jake are flat and unfeeling. Dennis does very little to help the audience root for him. I did so only because I cared about his friend’s, sometimes selfish hope’s for him.

The movie’s resolution feels haphazardly slapped together and yes, NOT FUNNY. Run Fat Boy, Run had a lot of promise. It just needed a better script. This one’s a, “For rent only” deal- As long as you can get it from one of those dollar per night machines. And even then, you might be sorry.

21 makes me ask the question, ” Can simple math really get me that new Prada bag?”

I’m not a gambler, so when my friend, who does gamble, asked me to see 21, directed by Robert Lucketic of Legally Blonde fame (or infamy depending on your movie tastes) as part of our “Day of movies”, I was hesitant.  21 stars Jim Sturges (Across the Universe), Kate Bosworth(Superman Returns) and Kevin Spacey(Most recently from Superman Returns as well). After Sturges (Ben Campbell) impress Spacey (Micky) with his math skills, Micky recruits him to join his elite team of students who beat the system in
Las Vegas on the weekends by counting cards at 21 tables.