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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

2010 Review #40: Hot Tub Time Machine


Hot Tub Time Machine

Rated R
(strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language)
1 hour 39 minutes

Storyline:
Four guy friends, all of them bored with their adult lives, travel back to their respective 80s heydays thanks to a time-bending hot tub.

Directed By
: Steve Pink

Starring
:
John Cusack
Rob Corddry
Craig Robinson

Clark Duke

Critics Grade:
63%

My Grade:
B-

Well I won't sit here and waste more than a paragraph on giving my take on Hot Tub Time Machine. That doesn't mean I thought it was bad...it's just that there isn't much to this movie to warrant more than a simple paragraph. This movie is beyond ridiculous and overly silly. Obviously not a movie to take seriously...duh. Don't mind the premise...which happens to be about a group of friends who travel back to the 80's thanks to a faulty hot tub. It sounds stupid on paper. Hell even the trailer made it looks unappealing to me. The charm of this movie really isn't in the plot but more so with the cast. This has a great group of guys headlining the film. They aren't over the top funny nor is the writing of the movie. But they all work so well together and have great chemistry. They are all fairly consistently funny and carry the story really really well. They almost make the screenplay seem coherent and kind of unsilly. There just isn't much to say about a movie like this. It's a very random pre summer comedy that had some hit and miss humor (more hit than miss though). I probably won't remember it a month or two from now, but today...I thought it was a pretty funny, albeit ridiculous comedic film. It's one to watch when your bored.


Monday, August 9, 2010

2010 Review #39: The Other Guys



Rated PG-13
1 hour 47 minutes


Storyline:
Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

Written and Directed by Adam McKay

Starring
:
Will Ferrell
Mark Wahlberg
Michael Keaton
Steve Coogan
Eva Mendes


Critics Grade:
77%
(Consensus: While not the best collaboration between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, The Other Guys delivers bursts of comedy during a summer largely devoid of laughs)

My Grade:
B

There haven't been many good live action comedies so far this year. So far for me, only one I can remember is Get Him to the Greek...which was a solid, really funny film. I feel like slowly but surely the comedy genre is dying...but I hope it's just a phase. A lot of recent comedies lately suffer from trying to hard for the big laugh but end up being more awkward than anything...and just plain not funny. At least for me. Usually comedies aren't original in story, characters or jokes. Sometimes the sense of comedy can be kind of new, but not very often. Will Ferrell (Anchorman, Stranger Than Fiction) has type cast himself as the bumbling idiot funny guy character who talks in a weird dialect. But people still love him, and I'm still a fan. He has grown kind of tired though, I would like to see him do some new form of comedy.

Here we have a story that is way beyond insane and ridiculous. There's not a single character in this film who shares any remote realistic comparison to a real human being, let alone a real cop. But that's the point of movies like this. You have to take things we all know as typical and everyday and exaggerate those things beyond all realism. That's what makes them funny. It's funny to see things or people that are normal be flipped upside down into craziness. Here we have two laughed at desk cops who are trying to solve a big crime to get back in the game. The crime is rather mundane for movies like this and it tries to be to smart at times. But we aren't really here for the crime, we are here for the guys investigating the crimes.

Will Ferrell and Oscar nominee Mark Wahlberg (The Departed, Shooter) are a tandem I thought I would never see together, but here they are. They are odd ball match made in heaven. They worked really well together. Both were off the wall, INSANE characters that balanced each other out so perfectly. Wahlberg plays the wannabe tough guy cop who has serious anger issues. He shot Derek Jeter after all (hehe). Sometimes his anger get's a little annoying but overall it's a riot to watch. Will Ferrell plays his typical character that has become very hit and miss lately. Here it is definitely a hit. He benefits from some hilarious writing and his quirky "Ron Burgundy" performance works really well with the writing. He says some things in this movie that are just damn funny. I loved the scene after the explosion and he says stuff like "how do people just get up from this in movies?!?". Great funny man performance this time around! The two are a perfect pair!

The rest of the movie is full of nothing but over the top antics and nonsense. The great cameos by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are proof of how crazy this movie is. The opening scene is classic, especially after you find out what the big explosive chase was all about. Michael Keaton plays the Captain and he is so damn weird but man it's great to see him back in movies. He plays a police Captain and a manager at Bed Bath and Beyond by night. Ha! So random! This whole movie is random. This movie is ridiculous. But this movie is freaking nothing but entertaining and nothing but hilarious! I was not expecting to really enjoy this movie...but I did. I thought it was consistently funny and a great comedy for you all to check out!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

2010 Review: Straight to DVD 2 Pack!

#37: Nine Dead. Starring Melissa Joan Hart and William Lee Scott. Rated R. 1 hour 38 minutes. IMDB Member Grade: 5.2 out of 10. My Grade: F+. The general basis of this movie is actually pretty cool, albeit not very original. Nine strangers find themselves mysteriously held captive in a room, each handcuffed to a pole. None of them know why they are there. Their masked kidnapper comes in and tells them they have to all figure out why they are there and every 10 minutes he will come in and kill one of them randomly until they figure it out. If they figure it out, he will reveal himself and turn himself in and let all the survivors go. Sounds kind of promising. Unfortunately this film suffers from a straight to DVD release and a shitty budget. Meaning this movie has a cast of actors who are really really really bad, and damn near unbearable to watch. I mean most of them make it really hard to even sit through. Even Melissa Joan Hart (the only noticeable person in the film) suffers from terrible acting disorder. Then the storyline is really weak. A cool premise takes a big hit from a poorly executed screenplay. The "reason" they are all there lacks any kind of originality and there's no shock and awe to it. I thought the filmaking aspect was pretty good, at least for a straight to DVD type flick. But overall the movie is pretty crappy which is sad because the idea of the story is pretty cool.

#38: Tell Tale. Starring Josh Lucas and Lena Headey. Rated R. 1 hour 33 minutes. IMDB Member Grade: 5.2 out of 10. My Grade: D+. In terms of over all quality, Tell Tale is a much better film than Nine Dead. In terms of acting, it's considerably better. In terms of filmaking, again there's a huge improvement. In terms of storyline...eh...nothing inspiring about it, meaning it's only just vaguely better than my previous review. Again we've seen this kind of thing before. A man get's a new heart and all of a sudden this man starts seeing images of his new hearts previous owner. A crime thriller then ensues. I think I've seen a few episodes of X-Files like this, not to mention a few other films. I've never been a fan of the concept. To me this movie's story was really boring and I had a hard time keeping with it. I struggled to not turn off the film. On a technical level, this movie works. In terms of acting, and directing...but man the screenplay does not carry over well. Bored to tears. It wasn't awful I guess...but I just could not get into this movie.

Monday, August 2, 2010

Reviews: Bounty Hunter, Percy Jackson and More!

#32: The Bounty Hunter. Starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. Rated PG-13. 1 hour 50 minutes. Critics Grade: 08%. My Grade: D. There really is not much I can really say about this movie. For me, there was virtually nothing redeeming about the story or the characters. I didn't find it very funny, maybe a rare little chuckle here and there. Both these characters are terrible to watch and are not likable at all. The performances seem really staged and fake. The story is incredibly predictable and unoriginal. Plus...I hate romantic comedies. So I was just destined to not like this movie.

#33: Brooklyn's Finest. Starring Richard Gere and Don Cheadle. Rated R. 2 hours 12 minutes. Critics Grade: 43%. My Grade: C+. Here we have a multi story cop drama with nothing entirely new to offer. Honestly the overall storyline is fairly cliched and you can pretty much predict how it will end up. That being said, I somewhat liked this movie. I thought it was dark and filmed with a brilliant style. You never feel good or happy while watching any of this movie. That reflects well from the characters and the solid performances from the cast. The story may be unoriginal but it's hard to call this a bad film. With the cast it has, it's really hard to discredit a movie like this. As a cop drama, I think it just barely works. It was good enough for me to enjoy on a one time viewing. Not one I'd probably ever watch again, it is a bit slow. Overall though...pretty OK movie.

#34: Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Starring Logan Lerman. Rated PG. 1 hour 58 minutes. Critics Grade: 50%. My Grade: C-. This is being called a Harry Potter ripoff. In a sense yes, it rips of the Potter franchise and also the Narnia franchise. But this is still it's own movie. In terms of a fantasy film...I've seen much better ones in my life. This one is rather flat and doesn't have a very exciting tale to tell. It doesn't feel very adventurous to me. I think it had some great visual effects and the director did a fantastic job bringing this fictitious world to life. The performances, overall, were pretty good. Mainly from the lesser of the cast, the random supporting characters that popped up here and there. Logan Lerman is typically a talented young actor, but he doesn't carry the film well on his shoulders here as the title character. He's good...just not all that great. He's attractive though hehe. The movie has some entertaining moments but overall it's not the kind of movie I'd recommend to most people. It was OK.

#35: Chloe. Starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried. Rated R. 1 hour 36 minutes. Critics Grade: 52%. My Grade: C-. This is one hell of a shocking movie. Meaning it's shocking to watch based on it's subject material. This is a sexual thriller with a lot of sexual and not a lot of thriller. It's a pretty damn dirty film. The material has been done time and time again. There's nothing new here with this one. I didn't much care for the writing of the film and the characters are a bit dull and unlikable because they are all total jerks. The performances however are GREAT! Julianne Moore is one one of my favorites and dammit to hell already...give that lady an Oscar!! The performances are really the only solid thing about this movie. Otherwise, it's gross and kind of boring.

#36: The Kids Are All Right. Starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. Rated R. 1 hour 46 minutes. Critics Grade: 96%. My Grade: A-. Finally, we have the best full on dramatic film of the year. This will be a controversial film I'm sure...but screw everyone who says gay marriage is wrong. I say you are wrong and go jump off a cliff after you fall off your high horse and break your leg. This movie proves that the gay community is JUST like everyone else on earth. We have problems same as all you straights out there. We aren't perfect, just like none of you are perfect. We should be entitled to have families like the rest of you. Every child needs love, who cares who it's from? The movie has a wonderful screenplay and it feels so authentic. Bening and Moore play this lesbian couple with such authenticity. This truly feels like an actual couple, with actual human problems. They are struggling to keep the magic alive. They are struggling to keep their kids happy. Now their children want to meet their sperm donor...and when they do he turns out to be a cool guy. The parents struggle with this because they don't want their family to deteriorate and that's exactly what happens. This is just a wonderful little film that has some occasional funny moments. BRILLIANT performances from Bening and Moore (both deserve Oscar nominations for this film) and Mark Ruffalo gives one of his most touching and best performances as well. Great film!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

First Annual Mikey @ The Movies (And TV) TV Awards!

I know it's generic looking...but here are my TV Award nominees. Starting back from last June until today! Woo! Less categories for drama cause the shows I watch and enjoy are heavy on comedic side.

Best Drama Series:
  • 24
  • Lost
  • Medium
  • Persons Unknown
  • Southland

Best Male Dramatic Performance:

  • 24 - Keifer Sutherland
  • Lost - Matthew Fox
  • Lost - Michael Emerson
  • Lost - Terry O'Quinn
  • Lost - Josh Halloway

Best Female Dramatic Performance:

  • 24 - Cherry Jones
  • 24 - Mary Lynn Rajskub
  • Lost - Evangaline Lilly
  • Medium - Patricia Arquette
  • Southland - Regina King

Best Guest Acting in a Drama Series:

  • 24 - Gregory Itzin
  • Lost - Allison Janey
  • Lost - Elizabeth Mitchell
  • Lost - Henry Ian Cusick
  • Lost - Nestor Carbonell

Best Writing and Directing for a Drama Series:

  • 24
  • Lost
  • Medium
  • Persons Unknown
  • Southland

Best Comedy Series:

  • 30 Rock
  • Community
  • Family Guy
  • Glee
  • Louie
  • Modern Family

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:

  • 30 Rock - Alec Baldwin
  • Community - Joel McHale
  • Glee - Matthew Morrison
  • Louie - Louis C.K.
  • Modern Family - Ed O'Neil
  • The Office - Steve Carell

Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:

  • 30 Rock - Tina Fey
  • Community - Gillian Jacobs
  • Cougar Town - Courtney Cox Arquette
  • Glee - Lea Michelle
  • The Middle - Patricia Heaton
  • Modern Family - Sophia Vergara

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:

  • Communinty - Chevy Chase
  • Community - Danny Pudi
  • Glee - Chris Colfer
  • Modern Family - Eric Stonestreet
  • Modern Family - Jesse Tyler Ferguson
  • Modern Family - Ty Burell

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:

  • 30 Rock - Jane Krakowski
  • Community - Yvette Nicole Brown
  • Cougar Town - Christa Miller
  • Glee - Jane Lynch
  • Modern Family - Julie Bowen
  • The Office - Jenna Fischer

Best Guest Acting in a Comedy Series:

  • Glee - Kristen Chenoweth
  • Glee - Mike O'Malley
  • Glee - Neil Patrick Harris
  • Modern Family - Fred Willard
  • The Office - Kathy Bates

Best Writing and Directing for a Comedy Series:

  • 30 Rock
  • Community
  • Glee
  • Louie
  • Modern Family
  • The Office

Best Reality Show:

  • The Amazing Race
  • America's Got Talent
  • Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List
  • Last Comic Standing
  • Mythbusters
  • Survivor