“Everybody…just pretend to be normal”

Little Miss Sunshine details the journey of a dysfunctional, but ultimately lovable family as they try to make to it
California to see their daughter, Olive, perform in a beauty pageant.

It’s hard to describe in essence what Little Miss Sunshine is, as it is all at once many things. If you believe the trailers then you’ll be led to believe that this is an out-and-out family comedy. Although on the face of it, it plays out as tragic-comedy, as we witness the family go through many twists and turns on their journey. This is what makes the film so endearing, as the family are clearly on the verge of a breakdown and yet are forced to spend time with each other.

The film, distributed by Fox Searchlight pictures, is one of the many indie films of late that have managed to break through into mainstream awareness and generate much deserved buzz. Although made for $8,000,000 the film appeals to the mainstream in terms of its aesthetics and its cast. Featuring Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Steve Carrell and Alan Arkin; it is also attributed to launching the careers of new comers Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin.

The plot essentially revolves around the Hoover family, who live in a humble house in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The fractured family is made up of strained mother Sheryl (Collette), motivational speaker father Richard (Greg Kinnear), foul mouthed Grandpa (Alan Arkin), mute by choice son Dwayne (Paul Dano), gay Proust scholar and failed suicidal Frank (Steve Carell) and chubby, glasses wearing Olive (Abigail Breslin).After a rather awkward, tension filled meal between the characters and for the audience to watch, the family learn that Olive has made it into the state finals of the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant.  This propels the story forward and the family, with all their faults and problems are forced to travel together in the family’s clapped out VW Van, whether they like it or not.

What makes this film resonate with mainstream audiences, is that a family as dysfunctional as the
Hoovers does not seem that far off from families today. What Little Miss Sunshine does, is try to portray the modern family in a way that is real and a way that seeks those quirky moments that arise from the characters. Franks homosexuality, Grandpa’s bitterness with the world, are not dealt with in a meaningful and serious way, but are dealt with in a way that is real.  This is not a film that tiptoes around these issues nor does it force you as an audience to bite off more than you can chew when you watch the film. Each characters storyline is dealt with in a tender way and this is what keeps the story moving forward. The tension between Sheryl and Frank, Dwanyes hatred of everyone, Grandpa’s addiction, Franks recovery are really at the heart of the story. This reality is like a thread that runs through the film, keeping it together.

The humour, comes from the tragedy or misfortune that family go through. There are genuinely moments where you don’t whether you should laugh or feel sorry for the characters. The result is a film with black comedy streak, which gives it its indie credentials. Most films about family life wouldn’t dare touch issues such as suicide, drug abuse or homosexuality.

Another of the great things about this film is the ensemble cast – they work together and no one person is singled out as being better than the rest. This film is really a character driven story; the plot merely plays second fiddle to them. Steve Carell is particularly impressive, in his first serious role, and who at the time of filming was relatively unknown. His portrayal of homosexual, scholar Frank is convincing and heartfelt. 

The performances are impressive from the entire cast. It is hard to pick out one from all of them. The performances are all so naturalistic it makes it easy to believe in these characters, and family itself. Greg Kinnear is great in his role of motivational speaker who loses out on a great career deal. Throughout the film he goes from being arrogant to somewhat pathetic which Kinnear plays this with a lot of conviction. The cast work well together on screen, and there is a chemistry about the actors which is hard to achieve between a large cast. Alan Arkin, brings life and humour to his character as the bitter, foul mouthed Grandfather, Edwin, which he won as Oscar for, he delivers a lot of the comedy early on in the film. Abigail Breslin, gives a sunny performance as Olive which is charming and sweet. She proves herself as a child actress in this film and gives a performance that is beyond her years.  

The first-time feature film directors, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris noted that what works about the cast is that they don’t chase the jokes. Which is true of all of the cast members, they all play it straight, which works for the film, and makes the comic moments come naturally. For instance the scene at the hospital quickly goes from being very sombre to turning into a farce, but the way it is played out feels low key and realistic, making it seem believable rather than slapstick.  

What is also endearing about the characters in this film is that they are all flawed in some way. And yet, they are our heroes, we want them to succeed, it’s not often that this is the case in films. In another sense, the film is about a family who haven’t made the American dream, a family who in a sense are all losers. This is a theme that runs throughout the film, and something Dwayne frankly points out once he begins to talk “Divorce? Bankrupt? Suicide?….You’re all losers” Frank is a loser because he failed in his career and personal life, and failed at attempting suicide, Richard is a loser because he is failing to provide for his family and Dwayne is a failure because he can’t become a pilot. After realising this, you begin to realise why Richard desperately wants his daughter to make it the pageant.  Olive is their one chance of winning at something, or achieving something that she can be proud of. Her only fault, is that she a slightly heavier than the rest of the other girls in the beauty pageant.

As well as the comedic moments, there are also the subtle tender moments that prove the film can hold its own as a family drama. Although at times, the film can seem a little contrived in terms of its story, there are some genuinely touching moments between the characters born out of their struggles. The speech Alan Arkin gives to Greg Kinnear on the bus after Kinnear’s character has just lost a deal, is genuinely touching and shows deep down perhaps this is a family who care for each other. Although simple, the scene is one of many that show how the directors can get great moments of drama in very simple surroundings. It is also a real change of pace for Arkin’s character, and shows a real tenderness between father and son. Another great moment is the scene when Dwayne learns he can’t become a pilot. His outburst is the first time we really see him speak and we can really feel his frustration and anger. Paul Dano takes on the character wonderfully, as he refuses to go back to the family. I thought it was a nice touch that it was Olive who without saying anything, is the one to convince him to return. This scene is also shot beautifully, like many of the scenes that are filmed on the road, the shot composition, lighting and beautiful landscape as the backdrop make the scene really jump of the screen.

Without giving too much away, for me, what really makes the film enjoyable and gives it that sense of independence is the scene at the end, when the family all one by one, all join Olive on the stage. It makes a lot of sense after Dwayne notes “Life is one big beauty pagent” It’s like they’re all giving the crowd and society the finger. They know they shouldn’t, its as though they have nothing left to loose. They’ve been through a lot, and its as if they just don’t care any more. Its satisfying to watch, as the crowd and the judges become increasingly irate, the family just carries on dancing, its as though for that moment everything is normal, as though carrying on as their daughter does an inappropriate dance to Superfreak.

With great casting choices, tragedy and comedy that seem to go hand in hand and a great script, Little Miss Sunshine, is definitely one of the best breakout films. Its ability to draw you into this fractured family, and story make this a rare treat of a film. As Carell puts it “It can get ugly and it can get sad and it can get funny, and that’s how life really is.“

In the end, its not about winning or losing, its about the journey. So when Greg Kinnear’s character asks the family “What are we? Are we winners or losers?” it’s really up to the audience to decide.

Directed by: Jonathan Dayton and Valerie FarisWritten by: Michael Arndt Produced by: Micheal Beugg, and Jeb Brody Starring: Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin, Paul Dana, Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Toni Collette

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I never thought that I’d ever recommend any comedy film maker to take advice from Ben Stiller but I have to here; (Scary, Date, Epic, Disaster) Movie guys, THIS is how you make a parody. Tropic Thunder makes fun of basically all of
Hollywood with the many actors it has brought together to make this film. Leading the group is Ben Stiller who plays Tugg Speedman, an actor famous as “The Action Guy” who kicks ass and shouts out worse ice puns than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Jack Black plays Jeff Portnoy who is the comedian, and makes fun of Eddie Murphy comedies with his previous movie “The Fatties” where he plays the entire cast. Brandon T. Jackson plays Alpa Chino, a rapper who sells energy drinks called Bouty Sweat that he advertises throughout the film. Jay Baruchel plays Kevin Sandusky who is a newcomer that no one really knows or cares about. And of course there is Robert Downey Jr. who plays the immortal Kirk Lazarus, the five time academy award winner who went through surgery to play the African American role in the film.

Since I first heard the premise I thought it sounded interesting, and like many others I watched Iron Man and found out that Downey Jr was going to be in Tropic Thunder and I was hooked from that point on. The film is about these five different actors who have come together to make the greatest war film of all time. However they never seem to be able to act right together and so many things end up going wrong in the process of filming that the director (Steve Coogan) nearly loses his mind. He goes back to his cabin where the consultant for the movie, the actual war hero that Ben Stiller is portraying (Nick Nolte), tells him to put the actors in the actual jungle so he can get the real action. Steve Coogan in his crazy state agrees, especially after the pressure put on him by the studio director… and if you’ve seen the movie you know why those three dots are there after studio director, so I’ll just leave it at that for now.

Right off the start this movie had me laughing a bit, whether it was Ben Stiller’s “Platoon” death, or Matthew McConaughey playing Stiller’s agent who is pissed off that his client didn’t get the Tivo that he was promised, it was all good. However, what made this movie start off great were the four little clips at the beginning, at first I thought they were real trailers but they were showing the four main actors in the natural habitat. Stiller playing the same action character in Scorcher I-VI, Downey playing a gay priest, Black playing the Fatties, and
Jackson advertising Bouty Sweat. The entire set up towards the actual jungle scenes all had me smiling and laughing for the most part, then once they actually got sent into the action the movie really began.

As soon as the helicopter drops the actors off Ben Stiller takes charge as they are ambushed by what they think are actors but are really drug smugglers who see them as American Soldiers. The only one who questions whether what is going on is really fake at first is Robert Downey Jr’s character but Stiller refuses to listen. Stiller’s character is always competing against Lazarus and trying to prove that he can act better than he can. He is making this movie because his career depends on him getting an Oscar since his previous movie Simple Jack about a mentally handicapped farm hand did absolutely horrible, and while I felt that this movie took the Simple Jack joke a bit too far, I found Downey’s rant over actors playing fully or partly retarded parts to be one of the finest moments in the film.In all actuality it should come as no surprise that Downey is the best part of this film. He makes me laugh almost every time he’s on screen and I’ve found myself quoting several lines of his from this movie

When Stiller leaves the group because everyone else has realized that they are actually in the real thing, he is kidnapped and taken away by the smugglers. Then the other four go to save him in an overblown action sequence that was originally actually planned by the director of the movie because it was in the script.

The storyline begins to wear thin over the two hour runtime but overall the movie had me laughing as much as I had wanted to. I had no expectations of a masterpiece and what I got was a parody movie that is right up there with Airplane for me… not above Airplane, just up there.  The performances were all great, and I now come to the cameo that everyone’s been raving about; Tom Cruise. I didn’t like it that much. I laughed at his dancing scenes, but his actual character who would curse up a storm each time he talked was what I didn’t like. It just seemed like he was trying too hard. In all honesty, and it kind of pains me to say this, I liked McConaughey’s cameo more. Still the movie made me laugh, and while it was stupid at times it hardly ever stopped being funny and I easily rate it as one of the funniest comedies I’ve seen this year. 4/5. 

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Hollywood seems to be stuck in the revival mode as icons from the 70’s and 80’s are being dusted off for one more chance at box-off gold. 2006’s “Rocky Balboa” and 2008’s “Rambo” scored big coin as audiences were curious to see how Sly Stallone, far removed from his signature roles, would interpret them for the new century. Bruce Willis as John McClain returned for the fourth time die hard-ing as fast as he could in 2007’s “Live Free or Die Hard.” While those popular characters garnered impressive bank, it was a no-brainer to make room for the biggest movie icon of the 1980’s, Indiana Jones.

 Indy was never not readied for a comeback; it just took the creative minds to finally agree on a script as the film’s frustrating production goes all the way to 1994.

 1997 briefly saw some movement, but Lucas, Spielberg and Ford could not unanimously agree on a script-production halted. Famous screenwriters of all genres and talents popped up over the years to offer their contributions; Stephan Gagan (Traffic), M Night Shamalan (Sixth Sense, Signs), Chris Columbus (Adventures in Babysitting) and Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, The Mist) in which Indy’s brother made an appearance; all took a stab to no avail.

 Going by their own rule, if the trio didn’t like the script, the movie would not be made. At different times, Spielberg, Lucas and Ford each exercised their veto powers delaying production almost constantly for over a decade.

 As the years moved on, many felt Indy’s time had passed, the media scoffed that Ford was getting too old and Lucas and Spielberg could not find Indy into their schedules and find a satisfactory script- until early 2007 at the Golden Globe awards when the trio happily announced Indy was back!

 The film opens in the Nevada desert 1957; Elvis Presley is playing on the soundtrack as we are instantly dropped into the post war/cold war paranoia of the atomic age. Indy’s entrance is classic, always in the thick of trouble, as Russian infiltrators pull him and his sidekick, Mac, (Ray Winstone) from the trunk of a car with guns in their faces. Trading barbs and demanding information from Indy, Cate Blanchett struts across the screen in a sexy short black wig and a thick Russian accent as Irina Spalko, Joseph Stalin’s right hand woman armed with something extra- psychic abilities and tries to read Indy’s mind. She has a vested interest in what’s in storage inside the warehouse that may or may not be “Area 51.”

 Indy leads the Russians along just enough to form an escape; his trick of the Russians emptying their ammo is fantastic. As slick as Indy often is, his cluelessness and miscalculations are just as important character trait as it keeps things interesting- no one likes a perfect hero. Indy’s escape leads him to a fake town that turns out to be an atomic testing site. As Indy hears the countdown, he scrambles for cover in a refrigerator. The explosion, one of the film’s best shots, throws him clear and put him under the watchful eye of pissed off CIA agents who question Jones’s patriotism and his loyalty as we learn of what Indy has been up to since the close of “Last Crusade” (war hero, witness to the Roswell crash landing) and his involvement with Russian spies.

 Here again we get historical reference points (Nazis, Cultists, Holy Grail), the Red Scare, Atom Bombs) to set the adventure in motion. Once the cold war was in full swing, rumors swirled that the Russians were using ‘psychic spies’ to gather U.S. information through unconventional tactics. The CIA soon took heed and created its own department training anyone with psychic abilities, notability spies adept at remote viewing that could astrally project ones consciousness across oceans, borders and to the far reaches of space. Truth is often stranger than fiction.

 For those of us not alive at the time, Spielberg and Lucas grew up in that era so they give us a great taste of what the “Red Scare” and the atomic era and the post-war 1950’s were all about. Not unlike our current political climate; paranoia and sheep-like-follow-the-leader behavior dominated. Your loyalties were often questioned if you dared to go against the established credo.

 Some of Ford’s best work in years is in this scene as he gives Jones some welcomed passion; insulted that after all those years of service for his country, he’s treated like a criminal.

 Once Indy is let go, he heads back to work as Professor Jones, when Dean Stanforth (Jim Broadbent) informs him that he’s being given a mandatory leave of absence as the government continues to watch his every move. On a train to New York, he is approached by a young greaser named Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf) who needs his help in finding their mutual friend, Harold Oxley, played by John Hurt whose been abducted by the Russians. Soon, Indy and Mutt are on their way to South America, where their paths cross with Spalko and her Soviet comrades who are also on the trail of Oxley, the Crystal Skull and a figure from Indy’s past - Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) returns.

Before this review begins I will state that I never nor should anyone with a rational mind expect this to surpass “Raiders,” an incredibly ridiculous expectation to say the least. Movies of that caliber are rarely done twice especially by the same creative team, but what we get is pretty damn good.

 The performances are what really bind the movie together. The best part of the film is the reunion of Indy and Marion. The sparks are still there and they fight like cats and dog. Their bickering continues on so that even the Russians get sick of their noise. They fight because they are too much alike; stubborn, passionate and demanding, both suck all they can from life and unfortunately from each other at times, one minute they curse the day they met, the next they are in a adoring embrace- love is a kooky bitch. The best exchange, as Marion complains saying ‘I bet there were tons of women after me’ and instead of Indy going for the jugular and being a dick, he caves and replies with, “They all had the same problem… They weren’t you baby! Their squabbling harkens back to the best moments of “Raiders” and if the film’s final scene doesn’t make you stand up and say “HELL YEAH!” then you have no reason to be watching.

 Ford’s enthusiasm is contagious as Blanchett chews every scene with dominatrix glee; I wished many times that SHE had a whip. All of Indy’s villains have been one-dimensional, Spalko is no different, although she’s way more fun than Mola Ram and Donovan, whilst in Peru there is a fleeting moment where it appears that Indy crushes on the hot commie, who could blame him, the chick is HOT!

 Shia LeBeouf makes an excellent sidekick, he doesn’t hog screen time nor does he crap anything up with clunky one-liners or annoying screeching. He’s a tough kid and follows Jones with no problems. There’s no evidence that he would make a great successor to Ford’s heroic position, but as a team player he works just fine. Like in “Transformers” he takes unbelievable situations and gives them a reality that we accept.

 Jim Broadbent and John Hurt are good, although the former is rather a thankless role as the Dean of Indy’s school. Hurt as Oxley, offers some clever humor and much needed exposition as he’s driven temporarily insane by the Crystal Skull and creates an unintentional geek moment, the elongated skull looks similar to an H.R. Giger creation that recalls Hurt’s character, Kane the chest-bursting incubator from “Alien.”

 Ray Winstone as Mac shows Indy’s lousy ability in picking loyal friends.

The warehouse search with the Russians is worth the price admission alone that ends with a quick appearance of the Ark of the Covenant. THE BEST intro since “Temple“, it’s the perfect example of Indy under pressure and using his wits and environment to form his escape. When he cracks that whip and begins swinging and causing all kinds of destruction, a wonderful sense of calm, and nostalgia hit me- “THAT’S MY INDY! Welcome back, old friend!”

 Much as has been written on Ford’s age with the jokes and snide remarks, but he pulls it off wonderfully. The most astonishing thing for me was seeing Ford smile in almost every scene. It’s the first time in over a decade that he’s been a movie that people actually want to see has made him a happy bastard once again and the fun of playing Jones one more time shines through. Ford has always been a guy who looks at least ten years younger than he is, he’s 65 and sure the lines in his face are little more pronounced now, his hair slightly thinner, gray, but father time has been kind to him. Mutt has a great line that shuts down all the naysayers, “You are pretty good in a fight. What are you like 80?”

 His performance is believable, vigorous and human. Not since “Raiders” has Indy been this interesting and three dimensional.

 Sure, the action is over-the-top, like in all the films, but he doesn’t do anything too unbelievable; this is Indiana Jones for Kirk’s Sake! And that includes taking shelter in a lead-lined refrigerator from a nuclear blast!

 The hiatus has behooved the character as the screenplay acknowledges Indy’s advancing years and the important thing he’s missed out on. The movie’s heart shows through in the best scene in the movie; tears well up in Indy’s eyes as he looks at pictures of his friend/mentor Marcus Brody and his dad lamenting their deaths, “It’s been a tough couple of years; first Dad, then Marcus.” The best line in the film comes from Jim Broadbent as he tells Indy that “At a certain point, life stops giving you things and starts taking them.”

 That’s the theme of the film, LIFE. Indy’s has been steeped in irony, sure, he’s one guy who never let it pass him by as he’s always chosen the big adventures searching for the most sought after artifacts and icons of the world, living the life of ten men, yet the simplest things are the most elusive. Having regrettably passed on it once, he reclaims his lost treasure in the films final scene.

 For those that balk at the sci-fi Mcguffin really need to shut their gobs as the finale is no more “over-the-top” or “preposterous” than hearts being removed while the person remained alive or an eight-hundred year-old knight watching over the Holy Grail. We have selective memories when it comes to what we like and often times look like retard stumps when we refuse to acknowledge what came before. To assign any type of logic or reality to Indy is not what you do when watching these films. They are born from a type of storytelling that relies heavily on, nostalgia, fun and suspension of disbelief. The objective is to have fun and when the audience betrays that, they get exactly what they deserve- so for every harsh retard searching for yet another axe to grind against Lucas, congrats! You win…but not really as life will continue to punch you in the nuts. This is a fun film and needs to be seen as such.

 Even though this is the best story since “Raiders,” (George Lucas) the flaws are apparent and lay solely on David Koepp, who takes the best bits from all the previous drafts, especially Frank Darabont’s “Saucer Men” and fashions his own screenplay that works most of the time, but when it doesn’t, we know who to blame. Having never been impressed with his work, it’s to no surprise that his clumsy handprints are found throughout; dumb jokes like: Tarzan, prairie dogs, the snake as a rope, out of character moments for Jones, Mac’s constant switching of allegiances and a Jungle vehicle chase that lacks the usual white-knuckle tension. The screenplay is too front-loaded, too much talk, not enough show. Indy and Marion should have had a few more quiet scenes together, their meeting is classic, but Lawrence Kasdan’s steady hand is missed, although it is rumored that Lars contributed some of their dialogue. Marion is a welcome addition to the story, but she sort of fades off into the action and doesn’t do much until the end.

 Blaming editor Michael Khan would be easy, but it’s Spielberg and Lucas who have the final say and for as creative as the duo is, they should have known better with the flimsy jungle chase, (recall the tension and speed applied to the speeder chase in “Jedi.”) but ultimately I’m quibbling and really need to shut the hell up.

 Despite all that, Spielberg still knows his shit as action director. The man is untouchable at this point and for reasons well known; he knows the geography of a scene. He’s very much like a dancer; he can hear the music and uses his rhythm to follow along. The man’s most important talent is his visual eye that allows the audience to have an idea where they’re at within the context of the action scene both story-wise and geographically.

 Watch any of his action scenes and you will see how the tension is gradually built putting our heroes in danger and the pay-off is done just as flawlessly as there is no mistake in what has just occurred. His films are cut and shot in a way that you always are able to follow the story, yet the tension still rises, and the editing itself has a musical quality to it, as though when you’re watching a scene from any of his four masterpieces; like the barrel chase in “JAWS“, the towns folk chasing the ships in “Close Encounters..”, the truck chase in “Raiders” or the bicycle chase in “E.T“.; you’re not only listening to a great piece of music you’re watching one as well. To have John Williams scoring his work merely underscores both men’s brilliance.

 Today’s directors have no fucking clue how to film an action scene. There’s no editing rhythm established, no idea where this character is at or what the stakes are; no poetry to the action, no coherency and especially no sense of geography. Turn loose the avid and let hacks like Paul Greengrass shake the camera like Michael J. Fox on “Tilt-a-World.”

 I was thrilled to see Spielberg let loose on the motorcycle chase as it has some impressive shots and a great joke referencing the truck chase from “Raiders” with Indy being pulled inside a pursuing car and escaping on the other. Plenty of other great shots and moments are peppered throughout, Indy’s first ’shadowy’ entrance, the Warehouse melee, the motorbike chase and the finale with the huge Spaceship. The man is still on fire and when he sends Indy over not one, but three waterfalls, we know he’s having a total blast.

 Part of Spielberg’s genius is that he takes his massive artistic power as a filmmaker and applies it to stuff that’s fun or escapist in nature. What other Director would have made “Raiders of the Lost Ark” having both action adventure sensibility and high art? NONE.

 No matter if the project is Oscar-bait or packed with Dinosaurs, the man injects his soul in everything he does, even the colossal mess of “1941” shows a passionate artist at work, he’s throwing a party and everyone’s invited and for that he will have my unwavering respect.

 And what would Indiana Jones be without his iconic composer, John Williams. For some strange reason he’s not working with the London Symphony Orchestra, still he does deliver a solid score. The standout would be the jaunty, “A Whirl through Academia” that plays during Mutt’s/Indy’s motorbike chase, sounds similar to, “The Basket Game” from “Raiders.”

 Even though the film is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I had a hell of lot of fun with it and to have one of my childhood heroes back on the big screen, that’s good enough for me. I personally never thought I would see Indy’s return, considering I was a Junior in high school when Last Crusade was released, but damn if its not worth the wait.

 The movie does end on a personally sad note because this will most likely be the end of Indy’s adventures and future Spielberg/Lucas/Ford collaborations, which is very sad to think about.

 Indy’s back and he needs to be enjoyed! It would take a cold, joyless soul not to be albe to have fun wih Indy’s return. The thing to remember is to not get enslaved in Nerdstolgia and expect to be transported back in time to when life was so much better as a kid, because frankly, if it was, you are a boring S.O.B.  I didn’t expect or desire anything, but two hours of solid entertainment- Guess what? I got it! 

  All I have to say is, because of Spielberg and Lucas, there was no better time to be a kid who loved movies than in the 1980’s. Thank you!

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The movie Wall-e is a fun, clever, and creative film for all ages with a great message. Wall-e is the newest creation from the minds of Disney Pixar the film takes place mostly in space on a spaceship with just a few scenes taking place on Earth.

Wall-e is a story about a small robot who’s all alone working on Earth crushing trash, the Earth has become unsuitable for anyone to live on so all day Wall-e crushes trash into little cubes that eventually have become the size of skyscrapers. One day while working a ship lands on Earth leaving a white unfamiliar robot this is the scene when the audience starts to root for Wall-e the two robots develop a connection after Wall-e present the new robot with a plant and  things start getting crazy.  Wall-e ends up following the robot to a ship where all of the humans are currently on. Eventually, Wall-e reconnects with the robot and order is restored.

There were many elements to this movie that I found interesting one was the humans living on the ship everyone looked the same; I thought it was interesting how the human race had devolved and how it took a small robot for the people to become award of some of the most basic emotions that make us human.  

There were also several scenes that simple used colors brilliantly one scene in-particular was the moment when the two robots are flying through space Wall-e has to use a fire extinguisher in order to fly, the color from the extinguisher was so simple, but so nice.

Finally, the moment that I enjoyed the most from the film was the message of the film that we as humans have one planet Earth and that it’s up to use to keep it clean in order to provide a clean future for generations to come and that we can do so by thowing away our trash in the proper place and continuing to plant tree as well as fruits and vegetables.

The film was a joy to watch I couldn’t help, but keep the grin on my face the whole way through, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone no matter what their age may be.

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What was supposed to be the comedy event of the year ended up being a film that I admired rather than enjoyed.

The plot is simple. A group of actors playing soldiers in a movie titled Tropic Thunder are thrown into live action when the director sets them up in a actual battleground. Still abiding by the script and completely unaware that each attack is real, these actors now must actually survive the movie they are making. Sound funny? Well it isn’t, and I was in a laughing mood.

I respect the audacity to spoof Hollywood characters so directly and accurately. Although each and every one of these characters are obnoxious, they symbolize Hollywood precisely. Ben Stiller (who co-wrote, directed, produced, and starred in the film) is Tugg Speedman, who is in dire need of an Academy Award. Jack Black plays the heroine-addicted Jeff Portnoy, known for his farts, and Robert Downey Jr. plays five time Academy Award-winning Australian actor, Kirk Lazarus, who underwent skin surgery in order to play an African American soldier. Talk about commitment.

Now for the reasons I couldn’t enjoy it. Good concept, bad execution. It’s profane, crude, offensive, and wildly uneven. The use of foul words may work in some films (Pineapple Express, Harold and Kumar) because it is done in a forgivable manner solely because it is funny, but here it just feels labored. Most of the major jokes fall flat (mainly because the high production value used to sharpen the look of the film and fast-paced action strangles the jokes), while the subliminal jokes (Alpa Chino’s Booty Sweat and a drug-crazed bird) manage to be just somewhat funny.

Robert Downey Jr. gives the best performance of his career. His transformation from a blond-haired, blue-eyed Australian to a fast-talking and self-contained African American is phenomenal. It is just too bad that this film is disappointing in the fact that it aggressively puts down the mentally challenged (”Simple Jack” remarks) and so willingly uses inappropriate words for laughs. This is the one comedy in a long time that actually wiped the smile off my face when it used jokes pertaining to the mentally challenged so shamelessly.

A lot of talk is going around about the cameo appearance by Tom Cruise, most of it being positive. Here I go again, being in the minority. The Tom Cruise dance scenes have got to be the worst moments filmed in 2008. I’m not joking. The theater was silent while an overweight, obnoxious, and hairless Tom Cruise was frolicking around to hip-hop moronically. Not too many people in the theater I was attending thought that this was funny. These dance scenes were rather irratating.

This film is a huge disappointment. It just might be the most disappointing film of the year. There is some talent here and there (Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in particular), but the true moments of the film strive for false laughs. It is just too hard to shake off the offensiveness of Tropic Thunder and the film ends up requiring an effort to enjoy. The laughs here feel more strained than ever and don’t have any real bite.

If your really curious about Robert Downey Jr.’s performance, see it on DVD. He is just about all Tropic Thunder has going for it. The tone is very similar to Zoolander, which is a let-down. This is a messy and insanely offensive comedy that generates nothing but controversy and stiff, lifeless laughs. 1.5/5 stars

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The most recent comedy from the Judd Apatow studio tells the tale of two stoners on the run in a small town, after one of them witnesses a murder, and unwittingly gets the two involved in a turf war between rival drug dealers. The film is Directed by David Gordon Green, and was written by star Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg.

Dale Denton (Rogan) leads a simple, and self-satisfying lifestyle. He works happily in disguise after disguise serving legal papers to people for all sorts of things, and loves every moment of it. He spends most of his spare time smoking a joint, and blissfully numb to the realities of the world. He is also dating an eighteen year-old high schooler, Angie (Amber Heard), and tries to come to terms with the fact that boys her own age look at her with the same lust he does, and also that she wants him to meet her parents (Ed Begley, Jr and Nora Dunn) over dinner the following evening. After obtaining new and very potent weed (nicknamed Pineapple Express) from his dealer, Saul (James Franco), Dale heads out to serve papers to a Mr. Ted Jones (Gary Cole). While smoking his new weed and waiting for Mr. Jones to appear, a short latino cop (Rosie Perez)pulls up to the house, goes inside and assists Jones in killing a rival Asian drug dealer. Having witnessed this from the street, Dale flips out and speeds off to hide at Saul’s, leaving his halfway smoked joint in the street outside Jones’ house. Soon, Saul and Dale are on the run and hiding from Jones’ hitmen, sent out to find them and silence them.

I’ll be honest, I had heard next to nothing about this movie until the previews began appearing on T.V. a few weeks ago. I’ve not read any reviews of the film, and the film looked kinda wierd from what I did see. Also, Judd Apatow’s films have been largely hit or miss with me. Superbad was horribly unredeemable, while Knocked Up was hilarious the first time, and then lost most of its luster upon repeat viewings. 40-Year Old Virgin stands as the only true gem in the Apatow resumee so far (I haven’t yet seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall), and the only one that has stood the test of time, however short a time it has been. Now, on a total whim, I walked unprepared into a theater and viewed Pineapple Express, and I’ll admit, I was very nervous in parts of the opening half-hour. Rarely did I laugh, and I found myself looking at my watch a few times in that opening act of the film, but I’m here to say that once it got going, Express ends up being a pretty enjoyable ride…part of the time anyways. Mostly, I was left wanting alot more, and came expecting more from an Apatow film.

Complaints aside for a moment…The chemistry between stars Seth Rogan and James Franco is undeniably good, and the true comedic genius of Rogan continues to amaze me with each film he appears in. Apatow also seems to enjoy rebuilding the “guy comedies” and puts his own touch on both the stoner movie and the buddy action film in one shot here. To this point, Apatow’s films (either Directed or Produced, like here) have been acclaimed by boths the public and critics alike for the tender emotional scenes and the honest humanity found within the scripts. That this film has recieved no such praises, and performed well under expectations so far, should come as no surprise to anyone who has seen the film, wiether they enjoyed it or hated it. While both Virgin and Knocked Up has there share of raunchy jokes and sexual behavior, both still contained at the core, a very big heart. The same can not be said for Express, which is largely a modern day Cheech and Chong movie, with a touch of the inuendo-style humor found in both Beavis and Butthead and Austin Powers. When you sit back and analyze it, it really is just another stoner movie, and (in its way) a road trip movie where seemingly random events occur to get the main characters from point A to B to C.

Nowhere in the film, occasionally enjoyable or not, can you find a clear message or a higher purpose the film represents. The film proceeds randomly and without purpose, and rarely takes any time for tender moments between the newly appointed friends. Despite this, we do go along for the ride and the journey they take, both on the run from drug dealers, and as growing friends is believable and mostly enjoyable. The action sequences are highly entertaining, and well placed in the film. Usually each time I found myself rolling my eyes or looking at my watch, an action scene would start, and they are not only fun, but also exceedingly original and brutal. That was a surprise for me in this film, the gore and subtle violence throughout the film is intense, and plays into the guy movie motiff that the Rogan and Apatow obviously were shooting for.

A sequence or two I did really enjoy usually involved the very same, over the top style action. The car chase in the cop car is hilarious and exciting all at the same time. From beginning to end that sequence is flawless, especially the bit with Franco getting his foot stuck in the windshield, after attempting to kick it out. Also the fight in Red’s (Danny McBride) house is wonderfully funny, and McBride plays that part very well. But for every one or two good scenes (also including the bit where Rogan enters his teenage girlfriends house and tries to convince her parents that drug dealers are coming to kill them), there are some painfully bad or slow ones. Early in the film, alot of the scenes seem to struggle with keeping the pace up while establishing the characters, which is surprising from an Apatow film. I thought both the high school sequence and the woods sequence were both awful and is basically when I found myself looking at the ceiling for a bit.

Flaws aside, I can see this movie being very popular on DVD with the 14-20 year old guys in high school and college, because that is the films target audience. The fact that I didn’t enjoy the film more honestly makes me feel kinda old. There was a day, not long ago, that this was exactly what I was looking for in a movie. Now, I not only want more in a film, I demand it, and in a summer that has brought so many high quality films, how can we lower our standards for a run of the mill guy comedy? I feel bad, because I can see why the film would be popular, but none of those reasons clicked with me. Did I laugh in certain parts? Yes. Did I enjoy the movie? Sorta, but not consistantly. Parts of this movie are great and highly entertaining, and just plain fun. Then parts of it are over the top and stupid, and some of it is also boring. I feel sorta like the 1 guy on the planet who gave Dark Knight a bad review here, and now know what he felt like, but the movie just didn’t click all the way for me.

Sadly, I am looking for more in my movies these days. Even the carefree and message-devoid guy comedies.

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A pompus, arrogant and set in his ways Professor is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of his adopted step-brother, the sudden re-appearance of a former student , and the reality that he has been a poor emotional role model to his two children, specifically his daughter. Dennis Quaid, Thomas Hayden-Church, Sarah-Jessica Parker and Ellen Page head an all-star ensemble cast in this dramedy written by Mark Poirier and Directed by Noam Murro.

After an accident leaves him unable to drive himself around, Professor Lawrence Wetherhold (Quaid) must rely on his adopted step-brother, Chuck (Church), to drive him and unwillingly also allow him to stay with him and his daughter, Vanessa (Page). Emotionally closed off, and visibly arrogant, Wetherhold has emersed himself fully in his teaching career since the death of his wife, and pushes both of his children to excel. He also turns off all of his students and fellow faculty members with his superior attitude, as he tries to capture the job of being head of the english department, and also tries in vain to get his first novel published. Wetherhold also begins an awkward romance with a former student, Janet Hartigan (Parker), after being examined by her in the emergency room. Idealizing her father, and also not wanting to share what little time and attention she does get from him, daughter Vanessa sets out to sabotage the would-be romance to no avail, and then turns her attention to Chuck, who suddenly finds himself in the role of emotional caregiver while Lawrence concentrates on his novel and his romance with Janet.

A wonderful ensemble piece, with witty writing and heartfelt, touching dramatic moments as well, Smart People is a delightful surprise to those willing to get emersed in the lives of people who may seem out of the ordinary, but who ultimately suffer very ordinary problems. The chemistry among the four leads is very special and enduring to watch. Thomas Hayden-Church is fantastic in the role of Chuck, and his dry, witty humor is a perfect beat off of Dennis Quaid’s overly serious Professor. Quaid is a true surprise in this movie. Usually playing very lively, very likable characters, Quaid takes the risk of playing a stuck up, arrogant snob, who very quickly in the movie comes off as a total a-hole. What is remarkable is that Quaid is able to subtly inflect the right amount of character and depth in the opening half of the movie to make the audience aware that something is hidden underneath. For those of us willing to take the journey along with him, we see a remarkable character study and a touching turn in Lawrence by the end of film. His often awkward courtship of Janet is both sweet and enduring, as is his strong connection to the memory of his deceased wife.

His chemistry with Sarah-Jessica Parker leaves some to be desired, but also befits the awkward and unsettling nature of the romance itself. Lawrence is Janet’s former Professor, and so we can reasonably assume he is at least 10-20 years older than her, and the differences in that age gap play out well. Also, Janet hasn’t let go of two things since she last saw Lawrence as a college student all those years ago; her schoolgirl crush on him, and the fact that he gave her a “C” on a term paper. In perhaps one of the better moments of the film, Janet brings the paper to there first date and gives it to Lawrence angrily after he has babbled on for 45 minutes and ignored her completly. Lawrence, in his arrogant way, smiles and sasses back to Janet. He takes the paper home, and humerously changes the grade from a “C” to a “B-” and then moments later back to the original “C.” It is a small scene, but one that encompases the lengths in which Lawrence will need to grow to not only win over Janet, but his children and his students as well.

Ellen Page (of Juno acclaim) is also very fun to watch in this movie, and she does inject the same lovable sarcasm, wit and hints of vulnerability she did into the Juno character last year. That is both refreshing and also somewhat disappointing at the same time. It can be refreshing, in that, she does seem like Juno in another movie, but its also disappointing that she played the parts so similar to one another. I do think it works in this film, but would hope to see something new from her in the future, as she is a fabulous actress, and the script offers her character alot to do in this film. Her character, Vanessa, in some ways, is the opposite of the widowed father played by Quaid. Where Lawrence becomes a likable character by the end, Vanessa does take a few unlikable turns in her attempts for attention and rebellion, but all of them are played quite well by Page. In particular, her relationship to the Chuck character becomes quickly out of control of disturbing, and becomes perhaps the only subplot in the film you may find yourself wishing would conclude itself faster than others.

Ultimately, the film is a fun story. The main characters learn things, and evolve and its fun to see the Lawrence character lose alot of his arrogance and his assumptions about the masses by the end. The film is about Smart People, but is really just a movie about all of us, and the choices we face and the constant ability to redeem ourselves in the eyes of those around us and in our own eyes. We all learn the same tough lessons these characters learn, and simply put…thats why the movie is so watchable. Quaids character, in particular, becomes so identifiable, because he is so set in his ways and in his thinking, and when the Janet character begins to shatter those preconceptions or to challenge them, we see him react much in the same way we all do. We could all only hope to have such perserverance and such lucky results as Lawrence.

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Pineapple Express is the newest comedy to come out of Judd Apatow’s recent chain of hits in his “Guy Comedy” genre. The movie stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as two stoners who are on the run from a man, played by Gary Cole, who is out to kill them. Franco plays Saul who is a pot dealer and Rogen plays Dale who buys his weed from Saul. On this particular day Saul happens to have a brand of weed called Pineapple Express and he’s the only man in town who has it. Once Dale buys it he goes out to smoke it near a house he has a package to deliver too and upon smoking the joint he witnesses Ted (Cole) and a female cop murder someone. In panic he flings the joint out the window and crashes into two cars on his way out running, unfortunately being seen by Cole and the cop, and double unfortunately leaving behind his DNA on the joint which is filled with the weed that can only be attained from one location. That pretty much sums up the premise of the movie which is pretty much a chase film the whole way through. Think of this film as The Bourne Ultimatum if Jason Bourne had a best friend who was with him all the time and they were “high as a fucking kite” 24/7. That’s what this movie is, and it’s not bad at all.

Having first seen Franco on the incredible series Freaks and Geeks, I can say that I am glad to see him come back to his comedic roles and he does not disappoint with his portrayal of Saul who literally had me nearly on the floor laughing with some of his antics, especially during a certain chase scene in which he sticks his foot through the windshield. Rogen also gives a great performance but I feel that his character really resembles his previous character from Knocked Up a bit too much for my taste, but that’s really just being nit picky. Gary Cole plays his part well and the rest of the cast also give noteworthy performances.

What is so unique about this movie is that it is not only what should be considered as one of the greatest stoner comedies ever, but it is also an action film. You don’t exactly get the greatly shot action scenes of Bourne falling off rooftops or Batman tipping over an eighteen wheeler here, but you get enough gunfire and blood that it can be considered an action film, and while they have all this action going on they still manage to make you laugh. There is one instance in where a character blows off a dead mans toes and you see it, you see the shoe just burs into pieces and fly away, and it is done in such a hilarious way that it is just perfect.

This movie is obviously character driven though and these two reunited actors (still Freaks and Geeks!) work perfectly with each other. Most of their jokes come off so great that it was rare to find a silent moment after the movie had passed the twenty minute mark. However, despite all of that, this movie does have its flaws. To start off there is an opening scene in which Bill Hader is involved that seems pointless and gives flat jokes for the most part and seems too long to have much use. They could have easily gone without it and given Hader a much better cameo. The movie itself also drags on for too long, as Apatow comedies tend to do, and can’t stretch out its comedic value for the entire two hour runtime very well. After a while you’re just sitting there laughing, but wanting the movie to end.

Overall the film is funny as would be expected but it isn’t as hilarious as previous Apatow productions. It is easily the weakest of the films but it like Cars to Pixar, although it is the weakest it doesn’t mean that it is by any means bad. Franco and Rogen work great together and their comedic timing is perfect, but the story at times feels a little annoying and the movie just drags on for about twenty minutes too long. Still I spent more time laughing than not which is what makes a comedy a success in my book and I give this hilariously vulgar movie a well deserved 3.5/5

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Once every couple of years there comes a duo of actors who are so perfect together that they redefine the genre they act in. A duo so magnificent that the world marvels at their talents. Will Ferrell and John C. Reily are not that duo, which is rather unfortunate. After their last collaboration Talladega Nights, a movie which I found pretty funny albeit a stupid movie, the duo decided to come together once again and try to his comedy gold. Their first step was to get together, done. Their second step was to get a story together, and their third step was to film their improvisations. However, it seems that these two skipped the very important step two and began filming this movie with the anticipation that the outcome would be great since they were together again.

The movie starts with the mother of Brennan, a thirty something year old who still lives with his mother, falling in love with the father of Dale who is in the same situation as Brennan. The movie travels along with the two new step brothers going through the crazy antics that most twelve year old brothers tend to go through… sometimes, and then turning best friends. While this premise is slightly weak to begin with we have to realize that it is highly doubtful that anyone is walking into this movie expecting a story. They really want to see these two actors play off each other and make penis jokes. This movie, unlike Talladega Nights, is rated R which allowed Ferrell and Reily complete access to obscenities and they take advantage of that for the most part.

The movie fails for me in that, while I accepted from the beginning that the story was going to be weak, I could not accept that the characters were going to be completely unbelievable and stupid. I’m not taking about the two leads, I’m talking about their parents. These two seem like normal, rational adults and they just stand by and allow their sons go through these ridiculous and insane things that no sane human being would let them do. At one point the two step brothers come running in begging to make a bunk bed and the dad simple yells “No Power Tools!” as they hear drilling coming from the room.

Now Ferrell and Reily may not be the next Pacino and DeNiro but they do have some chemistry together and I admit that they did make me laugh every once in a while, and on rare occasion had me near tears, but they were hollow laughs with random jokes that would have belonged in an SNL skit and not a full feature movie. The more I thought about it the more I came to realize that this movie premise would have had potential if they did all of these antics and stupidities with actual twelve year olds. I can see this being a very funny movie if the actors were actually the age that these two actors are acting like. As it stands right now the movie is just a big mess with some funny jokes spread throughout the entire thing and comes together in a dull ending. While I enjoyed Talladega Nights I feel that Will Ferrell acting stupid and yelling at another actor is getting old and I do hope that he’ll end up trying some different things because he truly is a funny actor, and John C. Reilly is too so I hope for good things for both of them, unfortunately this movie just didn’t do it at all. Hopefully they will spend more time on their next collaboration and won’t resort to Chewbacca masks to make the audience laugh. 2.5/5

P.S. I did laugh at the Chewbacca mask joke.

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Traveling into the theater to see this I knew nothing of the character or the story. I hadn’t seen the first Hellboy but I had become such a fan of Guillermo Del Toro that I am at a point that I will watch anything with his name attached to it, director or not. So with all that lack of knowledge I stepped into Hellboy II expecting a superhero movie with Ron Perlman, another actor who I find incredible, so I thought that nothing could go wrong, and I am glad to say that for once my entering expectations were right on the money.

Guillermo Del Toro is easily one of the most visually creative directors around today, overcoming even Tim Burton in look but not quite feel yet, and you can tell my the design that all these mystical characters have. Hellboy, Abe, and newcomer Johann Strauss all look excellent and I would mention Liz but she’s a human torch, female form, played by Selma Blair. However the brilliance of Del Toro’s vision shines through the film’s villains. The Wink, The Prince and Princess, and all of the inhabitants of the Underground Troll Market are exceptionally done.

Aside from this being a visual masterpiece though I found several other great points in the movie as well. The performances are excellent and while I was expecting without a doubt that Ron Perlman would give a great performance, which he did, but the surprising part for me came from Abe played by Doug Jones whose performance I found fascinating. The other actors also did their parts really well, a gem in the supporting cast being Jeffrey Tambor as the head of the organization, and overall I couldn’t find a single bad performance in the entire movie. Even the Prince and the Princess gave noteworthy performances.

While the performances and visual style of this movie were far above average, I feel that Del Toro was still missing something in this movie. While I found many of the action scenes enjoyable, there was one in particular that stuck in my mind and irked me. It was near the beginning in which a bunch of “Tooth Fairies” begin attacking Hellboy and his crew in a mansion type house. In this scene Hellboy watches as these evil fairies eat through one of the human member’s body and Hellboy doesn’t seem to care one bit. The poor human was being eaten and screaming for help and Hellboy just stood over him and laughed, I was waiting for the moment in which Hellboy was going to blurt out “You’re mortal? What a dumbass.” And laugh.

Besides that little nitpick I found myself not truly caring for the characters because although they looked incredible and gave great performances, I never really felt attached to them or felt that they were completely believable. They never really went near the ‘One Liner Typewritten’ character but they were far from someone you could truly relate to.

However, despite those nitpicks I enjoyed this movie thoroughly and found myself laughing a lot more than I expected I would. Guillermo Del Toro has given us one of the most fun and visually appealing superhero movies in quite a while. While it’s not the greatest by far, I had more fun watching Hellboy II than any of the Threequels from last year, 4/5.

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Written by Evan Goldberg & Seth Rogen
Directed by David Gordon Green
Starring Seth Rogen, James Franco & Danny McBride

The latest Apatow production is Pineapple Express, a stoner action comedy starring Freaks & Geeks alumni Seth Rogen and James Franco. For those who don’t know what Freaks & Geeks is, find out and watch it. It was how these guys got their start, discovered by Judd Apatow himself. It’s great to see Rogen and Franco on screen together again, and it’s especially great to see Franco doing comedy again. Rogen wrote the script alongside his childhood best friend Evan Goldberg, with whom he wrote Superbad. The story follows Dale Denton (Rogen) and his drug dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) on the run from some very bad people including a drug kingpin (Gary Cole) and a corrupt lady cop (Rosie Perez). Dale witnessed a murder and left his “Pineapple Express” joint he purchased from Saul at the scene. Ted Jones, the drug kingpin, discovers the joint, identifies it as the rare Pineapple Express which only Saul Silver sells and the chase begins.

From start to finish this movie is very fun, hilarious and even a bit sweet. The story of the budding relationship between drug dealer and buyer here is sincere. We see them go from virtual strangers to best friends, and it’s very believable. The characters are also quite endearing. Saul is obviously very lonely and spends his time in his apartment watching TV, when Dale initially comes over just to buy some weed, Saul tries to get him to stay to hang out. Franco gives one of the better performances of the year by completely sinking into the character and making him a sympathetic, lovable person. Quite simply, James Franco is the best part of Pineapple Express. Dale is a 25 year-old process server who is in a relationship with a high school senior. Early on, we see him visit Angie (a very well acted small part by Amber Heard) in between classes. Interrupting their conversation is a high school jock who seems to have the hots for Angie, making Dale very uncomfortable. Dale is obviously insecure and Rogen brings a really sweet quality to his character instead of making him seem pathetic. Seth Rogen isn’t exactly a method actor, but for what he does, he may be the best. When it comes to line delivery, improv and just the right amount of realism, Rogen is the man. The comedic chemistry between these two actors is undeniably awesome. A comic duo for the ages that hopefully will be reunited again.

The supporting cast is very good, but I don’t see what the big deal is about Danny McBride. He plays Red, a middleman between Saul and Ted, who has to decide whether to sell out his friend or join him. Now, the character is kind of funny and he gets some great lines, but whenever he showed up in the movie, I kind of wish he didn’t so we could have more Rogen on Franco only action. Craig Robinson and Kevin Corrigan are great and make their two characters, a pair of hit men after our heroes, more interesting than one might expect. Bill Hader pops up (when doesn’t he?) as well. The film opens with a black & white flashback to when the US government was first testing marijuana. Hader is very funny as the guy who gets to test the weed.

The screenplay here is not as solid or laugh heavy as Goldberg and Rogen’s Superbad, but it does deliver. However, there are some disappointing, major flaws. First of all, the movie works best when it’s somewhat grounded in realism. I’m not saying get rid of the action or car chases, but a specific scene comes to mind. There’s a point where Dale goes to Angie’s house to have dinner with her family. It goes about as bad as possible, as the parents figure out Dale is stoned. What doesn’t work, is the dad gets furious and grabs his gun, and fires it at Dale, seemingly trying to kill him. This bizarre act is so over the top I was taken right out of the movie. Before that point in the film, my subconscious was dreaming of handing out another perfect score to the Apatow clan. The next flaw is a scary one as it is a sign of weak writing. The wonderful subplot that is the love story of Dale and Angie is left unfinished. One of the best parts of the whole movie is a phone call between the two of them, but it ends up being the last we hear of that storyline. It’s an unforgivable lazy mistake to leave that open-ended, especially when one more scene would have been enough and it could have been one of the more affecting moments of Pineapple Express. Luckily, this movie has more successes than shortcomings so we can try and forget the bad, but no one can claim this movie is perfect.

Uber-talented indie director David Gordon Green made an unexpected career move by signing on to do this film. Thank the heavens he did, because he was the perfect choice for Pineapple Express. He has a real eye for comedy and brings the film up a level of credibility and quality. He and director of photography Tim Orr made this movie look beautiful and even sophisticated. Whether it’s Dale trying to drive out of a tight parking spot, or Saul doing the worm, it all looks a little better than it should. It’s a rare occurrence having such an artistic director do this, but I hope to see it again. I also hope that the mainstream exposure will help Green be noticed as one of the better directors working today.

Pineapple Express is not on the level of the Apatow classics (The 40 Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall) but it’s still better than nearly all else in the world of comedies today. It is a lot of fun, with memorable lead performances and a little heart and sincerity which helps make it one of the best comedies of the year.

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I’m going to borrow a quote from a recent masterpiece and apply it to Hancock for a second; “You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain” and that great quote roughly sums up the track that Hancock rides on. (By the way if you didn’t know where that quote is from you should die a slow and terrible death by bunny teeth.) Hancock starts off amusing, with Will Smith playing the character that I had been seeing in the trailers and chuckling at. He plays a drunken superhero that flies in and causes some of the most destructive heroic deeds to his city since the last superhero movie was filmed there.  To push the story along we are introduced to Jason Bateman’s character who is a Public Relations worker who seems to also be trying to sell free medicine to people affected by poverty all around the world and adding a heart symbol to all of the merchandise. After all of the “Top Men” laugh at his idea (I did too) we are supposed to sympathize with him as he drives home and finds himself trapped on railroad tracks with a train coming. Hancock saves him by causing more damage and people begin yelling at him and trying to run him out until Bateman defends him. He then digs deeper by introducing Hancock to his wife played by Charlize Theron and we immediately know something else is going on here by the way she stares at Hancock. Bateman tells Hancock that he wants to help make Hancock more likeable to the people of the city and he reluctantly agrees.

This is where the quote comes in. For those first forty five minutes I sat in my chair entertained. I was laughing at many parts and Will Smith’s drunk antics, and while I didn’t think the movie was great by all means to that point it was what I had been expecting from the trailers so I enjoyed it thoroughly, and then it changed. The movie took another direction completely (and foolishly) and tried to cram a large number of sub plots into only the second half of the film. We are introduced to a quick villain who, despite being on screen for only a total of about ten minutes is supposed to be the main villain of the film, we are introduced to Hancock’s past and how Charlize Theron somehow fits into it all, and we are introduced into a large secret that Theron’s character has kept from everyone. Overall the second half of the movie falters greatly to the point of desperation where the filmmakers obviously began throwing together special effects in an attempt to distract the audience that what they were watching was a bunch or rushed and badly written material.

The actors all do their parts fine with Smith showing no reluctance or staggering to fully immerse himself into this role and his jokes come fast and for the most are quick one liners that usually miss but occasionally garner a laugh. Theron shows nothing truly outstanding and Bateman too (who I have been a fan of since Arrested Development) never really raises the bar or experiments with the character, both actors play it safe in their area and while it isn’t bad, I still wish they would have tried to give more heart into their roles.

Overall Hancock is a fun film with great acting from Smith for the first half of the movie after which it changes courses and heads into a laughable but mostly gag inducing torrent of special effects, poor story telling, and a ridiculous (not in that it’s poorly done, but it’s just stupid) ending. A part of me feels that perhaps if the two halfs had been switched and I left this movie after having just seen what was originally the first forty five minutes of the film I might have a better outlook on it but as it stands now Hancock is only half good so I give it a 2.5/5 and it is not one for your DVD collection.

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