Wednesday, July 30, 2008
It's actually a little hard to talk about these separately, when their magic really comes from the cumulative effect. Taken individually, each one maybe just really good, but taken together, it achieves a kind of greatness.
This is making it a little hard to rate on Netflix, although each one, in it's own way, is better than the last just by virtue of the fact that you see the subjects even further along in life. So that makes 28 Up my favorite so far, and for the first time, I was genuinely moved during the movie. One of the subjects in particular has had some unexpected developments in his life, and it got me thinking a lot about how tenuous or fragile our lives can be. Maybe it's just the fact that in this one, the subjects are now older than me, but it got me thinking about the future.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Duck Soup
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Probably the best of the Marx Brothers movies that I've watched. A weird, exuberant joy, and I think better directed than the others. The director was Leo McCarey, who also made the really funny The Awful Truth with Cary Crant, so I'm thinking maybe I should seek out more of his movies. Both that I've seen a superior examples of comedy from an era that doesn't usually yield movies that make me laugh. That's got to count for something.
Probably the best of the Marx Brothers movies that I've watched. A weird, exuberant joy, and I think better directed than the others. The director was Leo McCarey, who also made the really funny The Awful Truth with Cary Crant, so I'm thinking maybe I should seek out more of his movies. Both that I've seen a superior examples of comedy from an era that doesn't usually yield movies that make me laugh. That's got to count for something.
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Part 3 in the series isn't the non-stop cavalcade of badass style like part 2 was, but it's good, and I liked it about as much as the original. Unlike the other 2, it's much more of a slow burn, only gradually building up to some violence near the end. It has almost a Leone-ish vibe to it at times, the way it builds, the way it delays the action as along as possible.
The real shame is that this DVD, unlike the others I got from Netflix, was dubbed instead of subtitled. Which really sucked because this one was more dialogue and character driven, and dubbing almost always seems to add a level of unintended comedy. Still, I actually thought the new found drama worked, which I wouldn't have guessed from the first two. I know I gave the main character some shit in my last post because he doesn't have much personality, but I'm starting to grow more fond of his (and, really, his son's) deadpan style. It makes you wonder more about what's going on in his head, since he'll never say, and they also use it to comic effect a few times.
Part 3 in the series isn't the non-stop cavalcade of badass style like part 2 was, but it's good, and I liked it about as much as the original. Unlike the other 2, it's much more of a slow burn, only gradually building up to some violence near the end. It has almost a Leone-ish vibe to it at times, the way it builds, the way it delays the action as along as possible.
The real shame is that this DVD, unlike the others I got from Netflix, was dubbed instead of subtitled. Which really sucked because this one was more dialogue and character driven, and dubbing almost always seems to add a level of unintended comedy. Still, I actually thought the new found drama worked, which I wouldn't have guessed from the first two. I know I gave the main character some shit in my last post because he doesn't have much personality, but I'm starting to grow more fond of his (and, really, his son's) deadpan style. It makes you wonder more about what's going on in his head, since he'll never say, and they also use it to comic effect a few times.
First Blood
Monday, July 28, 2008
Shenan bought all the Rambo movies on a whim, which is weird because she hadn't even seen 1-3 and doesn't normally like action movies. So now we've instituted "Rambo Mondays" for the next several weeks, to go through this uniquely convolutedly-titled series.
I hadn't seen First Blood since I was a little tyke, and it wasn't exactly what I remembered. I saw the new Rambo back when it came out in theaters, and really loved the action but was iffy on the plot and dialogue, which was occasionally awesome but also kind of bordered on corny or just plain bad at times. I prefer good story and character work in an action movie, but I don't require it, so I still liked it. But my memory of First Blood, of the first Rambo movie, was of a serious, well-made drama with some good action scenes. Worlds apart from the sequels. And if I'm not mistaken, it has a critical reputation that the others don't.
So my point is I was surprised when First Blood turned out to be a lot like Rambo: it's a very well-made action movie with inconsistent writing, and some occasional corniness. (And when I say Rambo, I mean the new Rambo, not Rambo: First Blood Part 2, although if I recall it correctly the same descriptions might fit). Stallone and Brian Dennehy both give strong performances, but Richard Crenna really hams it up as Troutman (his dialogue doesn't help), and a number of supporting characters are given some kinda bad dialogue too. Both movies have a certain pretense of drama and importance about them, although First Blood is a lot more successful since it's message doesn't contradict itself like Rambo's does.
Any ways, I'm gonna try to rank these Rambo movies as we go along, so I guess by default right now this one is the best.
Shenan bought all the Rambo movies on a whim, which is weird because she hadn't even seen 1-3 and doesn't normally like action movies. So now we've instituted "Rambo Mondays" for the next several weeks, to go through this uniquely convolutedly-titled series.
I hadn't seen First Blood since I was a little tyke, and it wasn't exactly what I remembered. I saw the new Rambo back when it came out in theaters, and really loved the action but was iffy on the plot and dialogue, which was occasionally awesome but also kind of bordered on corny or just plain bad at times. I prefer good story and character work in an action movie, but I don't require it, so I still liked it. But my memory of First Blood, of the first Rambo movie, was of a serious, well-made drama with some good action scenes. Worlds apart from the sequels. And if I'm not mistaken, it has a critical reputation that the others don't.
So my point is I was surprised when First Blood turned out to be a lot like Rambo: it's a very well-made action movie with inconsistent writing, and some occasional corniness. (And when I say Rambo, I mean the new Rambo, not Rambo: First Blood Part 2, although if I recall it correctly the same descriptions might fit). Stallone and Brian Dennehy both give strong performances, but Richard Crenna really hams it up as Troutman (his dialogue doesn't help), and a number of supporting characters are given some kinda bad dialogue too. Both movies have a certain pretense of drama and importance about them, although First Blood is a lot more successful since it's message doesn't contradict itself like Rambo's does.
Any ways, I'm gonna try to rank these Rambo movies as we go along, so I guess by default right now this one is the best.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Meet the Spartans
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Let me try a more positive approach here. Meet the Spartans was, without a doubt, the best of the 3 Seltzer/Friedberg. Sometime in the, I don't know, week or two of downtime between Epic Movie and this, they must have actually watched a real comedy or something, instead of just their trailers. Not that Meet the Spartans is funny. Not at all. It's just as devoid of laughs as their other two films. But this time, through some miracle, the film actually contains moments that are recognizable as jokes.
Not funny jokes, mind you. Still though, there are a handful of moments that aren't just awkward, forced references and actually seem to have some sort of comic premise to them. As if they realized that copying a scene from another movie and then adding a reference to another movie isn't automatically a joke. Okay, well, actually, 90% of the movie is still like that, but the other 10% is honest to goodness actual jokes that just so happen to not be funny at all.
Selzter and Friedberg hew very, very closely to the story and structure of 300, which is a wise move. This time, they actually make use of 300 as a target, specifically all the explicit macho bullshit and the implicit homo-eroticism. I can't stress enough that this movie wasn't funny at all, but at least these guys recognized something spoof-worthy in a movie and actually tried to spoof it. Again, they've improved on a technical level, this one looks even better than the last two and feels even more like a legitimate movie made by professionals. So kudos to them. It's a terrible movie, but a less terrible movie than the other two, and they are showing some sort of improvement each time out. So maybe Disaster Movie will be even slightly less terrible. And maybe if they make about 10 more movies, they'll eventually make one that's just mediocre.
Much like Alyson Hannigan in Date Movie, they've roped in a lead actor who comes off as funnier and all around better than the material. I remember Sean Maguire from Off Centre, a terrible early 00's sitcom that also happened to feature a disproportionally funny cast. On two or three occasions here he almost made my thoughtful but stern critical-analysis-frown go away. So that's something. Although I was kinda drunk at that point.
So there you have it. I can now officially call Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans three of the worst comedies of our era, instead of just unofficially calling them that. And the sad thing is, I know my pathological movie-addicted madness all too well, and eventually I'll feel compelled to see every other shitty movie these guys put out. So I can probably kiss off another 6 to 10 hours of my future life where I could have done something productive. Disaster Movie, here I come.
Let me try a more positive approach here. Meet the Spartans was, without a doubt, the best of the 3 Seltzer/Friedberg. Sometime in the, I don't know, week or two of downtime between Epic Movie and this, they must have actually watched a real comedy or something, instead of just their trailers. Not that Meet the Spartans is funny. Not at all. It's just as devoid of laughs as their other two films. But this time, through some miracle, the film actually contains moments that are recognizable as jokes.
Not funny jokes, mind you. Still though, there are a handful of moments that aren't just awkward, forced references and actually seem to have some sort of comic premise to them. As if they realized that copying a scene from another movie and then adding a reference to another movie isn't automatically a joke. Okay, well, actually, 90% of the movie is still like that, but the other 10% is honest to goodness actual jokes that just so happen to not be funny at all.
Selzter and Friedberg hew very, very closely to the story and structure of 300, which is a wise move. This time, they actually make use of 300 as a target, specifically all the explicit macho bullshit and the implicit homo-eroticism. I can't stress enough that this movie wasn't funny at all, but at least these guys recognized something spoof-worthy in a movie and actually tried to spoof it. Again, they've improved on a technical level, this one looks even better than the last two and feels even more like a legitimate movie made by professionals. So kudos to them. It's a terrible movie, but a less terrible movie than the other two, and they are showing some sort of improvement each time out. So maybe Disaster Movie will be even slightly less terrible. And maybe if they make about 10 more movies, they'll eventually make one that's just mediocre.
Much like Alyson Hannigan in Date Movie, they've roped in a lead actor who comes off as funnier and all around better than the material. I remember Sean Maguire from Off Centre, a terrible early 00's sitcom that also happened to feature a disproportionally funny cast. On two or three occasions here he almost made my thoughtful but stern critical-analysis-frown go away. So that's something. Although I was kinda drunk at that point.
So there you have it. I can now officially call Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans three of the worst comedies of our era, instead of just unofficially calling them that. And the sad thing is, I know my pathological movie-addicted madness all too well, and eventually I'll feel compelled to see every other shitty movie these guys put out. So I can probably kiss off another 6 to 10 hours of my future life where I could have done something productive. Disaster Movie, here I come.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Epic Movie
Saturday, July 26, 2008
To be honest, in a lot of ways, Epic Movie is an improvement over Date Movie. It's just as misguided and barren of laughs as Date Movie, but it's more competently made on a technical level, more colorful, maybe slightly more affable. There are fewer abrupt, awkward endings to scenes, the cinematography looks okay, people seem to understand that they are delivering punchlines. I think Seltzer and Friedberg, with some help from a larger budget, at least this time succeeded in making a movie that looks more like a real movie and less like a random assortment of scenes.
But Epic Movie is worse in one crucial area, and I didn't even think this was possible, but they actually seem to have even less of an idea here of what a spoof is. This time, they make a pop culture reference, but then they intermingle it with a Chronicles of Narnia reference, and then maybe someone gets hit with something. That's what passes for jokes and spoofs.
Take for example, early in the movie the characters end up in Gnarnia (ha ha!), and the movie's version of Mr. Tumnus takes them on a tour of his house. Suddenly it turns into an episode of Cribs. But it's inside of a tree. Crazy, I know. Then, he opens his fridge and it's full of Cristal! Which actually isn't even some sort of Narnian twist. But then P-Diddy shows up... only he's a faun! What?! That's crazy. And for some reason, Tumnus throws a bottle at him and hits him! Hilarity!
Honestly, sometimes this movie feels like a YouTube video made by 13 year olds, except with a multimillion dollar budget.
The worst part, however, is almost unbelievable. I mean that literally: for a few moments, I thought perhaps I misunderstood what was going on. And when I say the worst part, I don't just mean the worst part of Epic Movie. I mean the worst part of all 3 movies we watched. You see, at one point they come to a little village or some shit in Gnarnia. And (I guess this is what the joke is supposed to be) amongst the magical creatures are pop culture figures. Like James Bond is just standing there. So, already I'm confused, and then suddenly Borat shows up. (or, you know, some dude doing a barely passably Borat impression). And he kisses a woman and says to the camera, "She's my sister. She is number 4 faun-prostitute in all of Gnarnia."
Yeah.
That's right.
He just says a joke from Borat. And adds the words "faun" and "Gnarnia." I was speechless. That's not a joke. That's not even really an idea. I don't know what that even is. It even fails to be an accurate reference.
And it's not like Narnia or The Da Vinci Code or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory aren't easy targets to a certain degree. They are all ripe for satire. And of course Epic Movie more or less avoids commenting on those movies in any way. It just emulates scenes from them, and then shoehorns in some sort of pop culture reference.
I gave Alyson Hannigan some credit for coming out of Date Movie without looking too bad. I thought that might happen here too with Kal Penn, who has shown acting talent and a gift for comedy in the Harold and Kumar movies, and on House. But that's not the case. I hope he feels embarrassed about this shit. Not because I wish him ill, but because that would be way better than if he thinks this is an acceptable movie. His performance is a complete failure. There are probably two ways to go when you're the lead character in a spoof movie: you can be like Anna Faris in Scary Movie and go completely goofy. Or, even better, you can pull a Leslie Nielsen and try to play the role with some dignity, and let the material undermine your seriousness. Penn opts to play the role like he's a supporting character in a bad romantic comedy. Semi-natural, but one-dimensional and lacking in personality.
Well, at least, unlike the other two movies, the "Unrated DVD" gimmick pays off. The others feel like PG-13 movies with presumably an extra scene added somewhere, but this one actually has fucks and full frontal female nudity.
To be honest, in a lot of ways, Epic Movie is an improvement over Date Movie. It's just as misguided and barren of laughs as Date Movie, but it's more competently made on a technical level, more colorful, maybe slightly more affable. There are fewer abrupt, awkward endings to scenes, the cinematography looks okay, people seem to understand that they are delivering punchlines. I think Seltzer and Friedberg, with some help from a larger budget, at least this time succeeded in making a movie that looks more like a real movie and less like a random assortment of scenes.
But Epic Movie is worse in one crucial area, and I didn't even think this was possible, but they actually seem to have even less of an idea here of what a spoof is. This time, they make a pop culture reference, but then they intermingle it with a Chronicles of Narnia reference, and then maybe someone gets hit with something. That's what passes for jokes and spoofs.
Take for example, early in the movie the characters end up in Gnarnia (ha ha!), and the movie's version of Mr. Tumnus takes them on a tour of his house. Suddenly it turns into an episode of Cribs. But it's inside of a tree. Crazy, I know. Then, he opens his fridge and it's full of Cristal! Which actually isn't even some sort of Narnian twist. But then P-Diddy shows up... only he's a faun! What?! That's crazy. And for some reason, Tumnus throws a bottle at him and hits him! Hilarity!
Honestly, sometimes this movie feels like a YouTube video made by 13 year olds, except with a multimillion dollar budget.
The worst part, however, is almost unbelievable. I mean that literally: for a few moments, I thought perhaps I misunderstood what was going on. And when I say the worst part, I don't just mean the worst part of Epic Movie. I mean the worst part of all 3 movies we watched. You see, at one point they come to a little village or some shit in Gnarnia. And (I guess this is what the joke is supposed to be) amongst the magical creatures are pop culture figures. Like James Bond is just standing there. So, already I'm confused, and then suddenly Borat shows up. (or, you know, some dude doing a barely passably Borat impression). And he kisses a woman and says to the camera, "She's my sister. She is number 4 faun-prostitute in all of Gnarnia."
Yeah.
That's right.
He just says a joke from Borat. And adds the words "faun" and "Gnarnia." I was speechless. That's not a joke. That's not even really an idea. I don't know what that even is. It even fails to be an accurate reference.
And it's not like Narnia or The Da Vinci Code or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory aren't easy targets to a certain degree. They are all ripe for satire. And of course Epic Movie more or less avoids commenting on those movies in any way. It just emulates scenes from them, and then shoehorns in some sort of pop culture reference.
I gave Alyson Hannigan some credit for coming out of Date Movie without looking too bad. I thought that might happen here too with Kal Penn, who has shown acting talent and a gift for comedy in the Harold and Kumar movies, and on House. But that's not the case. I hope he feels embarrassed about this shit. Not because I wish him ill, but because that would be way better than if he thinks this is an acceptable movie. His performance is a complete failure. There are probably two ways to go when you're the lead character in a spoof movie: you can be like Anna Faris in Scary Movie and go completely goofy. Or, even better, you can pull a Leslie Nielsen and try to play the role with some dignity, and let the material undermine your seriousness. Penn opts to play the role like he's a supporting character in a bad romantic comedy. Semi-natural, but one-dimensional and lacking in personality.
Well, at least, unlike the other two movies, the "Unrated DVD" gimmick pays off. The others feel like PG-13 movies with presumably an extra scene added somewhere, but this one actually has fucks and full frontal female nudity.
Date Movie
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Okay, seeing this on my blog is blowing your mind. You probably feel embarrassed for me. Hear me out, though. A few weeks ago, I saw the trailer for Disaster Movie. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor. I don't know if 2 more inexplicable minutes of film have ever been put together. At this point, it's pretty cliche to even bother pointing out the flaws in these Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer _____ Movies, but I'll go ahead and do it any way. Their movies are ostensibly spoofs or parodies, but they don't actually spoof anything, they simply reference recent movies or pop cultural figures, and then have them get hit in the nuts instead of coming up with a joke. The Disaster Movie trailer distills this idea to it's purest essence... it doesn't appear to contain any real jokes, except a weird Don't Mess With the Zohan moment that I think counts more as a stolen joke than as a reference.
Well, once I got past the shock of it, I went into smug bastard mode. I scoffed so hard that both my monocle fell out and my beret slipped off my head. I figured I'd go home and write a 50,000 word dissertation on why Disaster Movie represented the end of comedy as we know it and post it on the IMDB message boards or something. Then it dawned on me: as much shit as I've probably talked about these movies, and as positive as I was that they sucked donkey dick, I had never actually seen one.
Well, guys, I'm all about giving movies a fair chance. And I'm also equally all about self-improvement. (I guess I have two "alls"? I dunno). And sometimes, to understand more about how film works, it's important to analyze films that don't work. So somehow that lead my brother and me to the idea of watching Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans in a row. The 2008 Spoof Off? The Hilar-a-thon?
Date Movie I think pretty much met my pre-conceived notions. It was a sloppy, awkward film filled with references to other films but few actual, original jokes. Like when the main character is getting a makeover, but they do it Pimp My Ride style, and suddenly she turns into Darth Vader, I guess as a reference to Revenge of the Sith, and then her sidekick suddenly looks like Yoda for a second. Ugh. But what's even worse is when they will pretty much just steal a joke from another movie, like when the main character re-enacts Kevin James' goofy dance from Hitch. Or sometimes they will steal a joke but try to kick it up one notch, like when they re-enact that basketball scene from Along Came Polly when Ben Stiller's rubs against that sweaty, hairy guy's body. Only this time when it happens, the guy gets some of his hair in his mouth. See, that's not spoofing the scene. It's just taking a joke from another movie and very slightly tweaking it.
I don't even understand this idea of parodying comedy. I mean, it would be one thing if this movie tried to undermine the cliched structure of your typical romantic comedy. Like say, have jokes about how lovers in romantic comedies fall in love waaaaay to fast. Or maybe spoof those scenes where the hero makes a big, embarrassing public announcement to win back the affections of the heroine, which always struck me as more likely to alienate the girl than win her back. But no. Date Movie, when it's not just randomly referencing a bunch of movies that aren't date movies (like Kill Bill, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and so on), will just copy a famous scene or joke from a recent movie, and slightly change that. I mean, what the fuck is that? Ostensibly, these scenes they are rehashing are already supposed to be funny. How do you make fun of that? It's already a joke. Repeating someone else's joke in a louder voice isn't somehow spoofing their joke. It's just re-telling it in a less funny manner.
And worse, instead of doing anything to mock the structure of a romantic comedy, Date Movie actually just has one of those terrible plots. It doesn't take the plot seriously, but it doesn't derive any humor from it either. It's like a typical date movie, only lazier.
The movie reaches the apex of awfulness/amazingness at the very end, when the plot wraps itself up, the boy and girl get married, and it should be over, when suddenly they take a trip to "Kong Isalnd" just to work in a worthless King Kong reference. Where the fuck did that even come from? What does that have to do with date movies? It's so fucking bad that it's actually kind of funny that it even happens, like maybe the movie is spoofing itself.
The lead actress is Alyson Hannigan, who brings a likability and enthusiasm that the movie doesn't deserve. Otherwise, everyone else looks like a deer in headlights. They don't even look like they are having fun, more like they are cashing a paycheck.
Now, I'm probably sounding like I'm being pretty hard on this movie. And, well, I guess I am. It's terrible. But it's not as bad as I was thinking. It is entirely unfunny and completely lacking in even a basic understanding of humor, but it's just so bland and inoffensive and maybe vaguely affable that it doesn't really stir up any hatred in you. It's brainless and soulless, but it's not an asshole.
Next, we moved on to Epic Movie.
Okay, seeing this on my blog is blowing your mind. You probably feel embarrassed for me. Hear me out, though. A few weeks ago, I saw the trailer for Disaster Movie. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor. I don't know if 2 more inexplicable minutes of film have ever been put together. At this point, it's pretty cliche to even bother pointing out the flaws in these Jason Friedberg/Aaron Seltzer _____ Movies, but I'll go ahead and do it any way. Their movies are ostensibly spoofs or parodies, but they don't actually spoof anything, they simply reference recent movies or pop cultural figures, and then have them get hit in the nuts instead of coming up with a joke. The Disaster Movie trailer distills this idea to it's purest essence... it doesn't appear to contain any real jokes, except a weird Don't Mess With the Zohan moment that I think counts more as a stolen joke than as a reference.
Well, once I got past the shock of it, I went into smug bastard mode. I scoffed so hard that both my monocle fell out and my beret slipped off my head. I figured I'd go home and write a 50,000 word dissertation on why Disaster Movie represented the end of comedy as we know it and post it on the IMDB message boards or something. Then it dawned on me: as much shit as I've probably talked about these movies, and as positive as I was that they sucked donkey dick, I had never actually seen one.
Well, guys, I'm all about giving movies a fair chance. And I'm also equally all about self-improvement. (I guess I have two "alls"? I dunno). And sometimes, to understand more about how film works, it's important to analyze films that don't work. So somehow that lead my brother and me to the idea of watching Date Movie, Epic Movie and Meet the Spartans in a row. The 2008 Spoof Off? The Hilar-a-thon?
Date Movie I think pretty much met my pre-conceived notions. It was a sloppy, awkward film filled with references to other films but few actual, original jokes. Like when the main character is getting a makeover, but they do it Pimp My Ride style, and suddenly she turns into Darth Vader, I guess as a reference to Revenge of the Sith, and then her sidekick suddenly looks like Yoda for a second. Ugh. But what's even worse is when they will pretty much just steal a joke from another movie, like when the main character re-enacts Kevin James' goofy dance from Hitch. Or sometimes they will steal a joke but try to kick it up one notch, like when they re-enact that basketball scene from Along Came Polly when Ben Stiller's rubs against that sweaty, hairy guy's body. Only this time when it happens, the guy gets some of his hair in his mouth. See, that's not spoofing the scene. It's just taking a joke from another movie and very slightly tweaking it.
I don't even understand this idea of parodying comedy. I mean, it would be one thing if this movie tried to undermine the cliched structure of your typical romantic comedy. Like say, have jokes about how lovers in romantic comedies fall in love waaaaay to fast. Or maybe spoof those scenes where the hero makes a big, embarrassing public announcement to win back the affections of the heroine, which always struck me as more likely to alienate the girl than win her back. But no. Date Movie, when it's not just randomly referencing a bunch of movies that aren't date movies (like Kill Bill, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and so on), will just copy a famous scene or joke from a recent movie, and slightly change that. I mean, what the fuck is that? Ostensibly, these scenes they are rehashing are already supposed to be funny. How do you make fun of that? It's already a joke. Repeating someone else's joke in a louder voice isn't somehow spoofing their joke. It's just re-telling it in a less funny manner.
And worse, instead of doing anything to mock the structure of a romantic comedy, Date Movie actually just has one of those terrible plots. It doesn't take the plot seriously, but it doesn't derive any humor from it either. It's like a typical date movie, only lazier.
The movie reaches the apex of awfulness/amazingness at the very end, when the plot wraps itself up, the boy and girl get married, and it should be over, when suddenly they take a trip to "Kong Isalnd" just to work in a worthless King Kong reference. Where the fuck did that even come from? What does that have to do with date movies? It's so fucking bad that it's actually kind of funny that it even happens, like maybe the movie is spoofing itself.
The lead actress is Alyson Hannigan, who brings a likability and enthusiasm that the movie doesn't deserve. Otherwise, everyone else looks like a deer in headlights. They don't even look like they are having fun, more like they are cashing a paycheck.
Now, I'm probably sounding like I'm being pretty hard on this movie. And, well, I guess I am. It's terrible. But it's not as bad as I was thinking. It is entirely unfunny and completely lacking in even a basic understanding of humor, but it's just so bland and inoffensive and maybe vaguely affable that it doesn't really stir up any hatred in you. It's brainless and soulless, but it's not an asshole.
Next, we moved on to Epic Movie.
Step Brothers
Saturday, July 28, 2008
Count this one as another success for the Ferrell/McKay team. It's probably not as good as either Anchorman or Talledega Nights, mostly I think because the characters aren't quite as distinct or memorable, but it still made me laugh pretty hard.
I'm a little disappointed that they didn't make this the next entry in the hypothetical R.B. Trilogy (Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby, and presumably a new egomaniac with the inititals R.B.), and with them now planning Anchorman 2, it seems even less likely. Oh well. I'm still holding out for a John C. Reilly As Cal Naughton, Jr. in a Haunted Mansion movie.
Count this one as another success for the Ferrell/McKay team. It's probably not as good as either Anchorman or Talledega Nights, mostly I think because the characters aren't quite as distinct or memorable, but it still made me laugh pretty hard.
I'm a little disappointed that they didn't make this the next entry in the hypothetical R.B. Trilogy (Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby, and presumably a new egomaniac with the inititals R.B.), and with them now planning Anchorman 2, it seems even less likely. Oh well. I'm still holding out for a John C. Reilly As Cal Naughton, Jr. in a Haunted Mansion movie.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Calvaire
Friday, July 25, 2008
This was an agreeably oddball European horror movie, darkly funny at the start, creepier as it goes a long, and maybe with a smack of artsiness to it. It's got a pretty bizarre twist at the end that I don't even really understand, but it adds a weird manic-ness to the finale that I enjoyed. Not bad.
Friday, July 25, 2008
The 39 Steps
Thurday, July 24, 2008
Okay, I've seen this one before, but not in a few years, so I'm counting it for my K2K. It brings me back to a point I made before... this movie is not a comedy, per se, yet the humor in it amuses me way more than many actual comedies of the era. Was Hitchcock ahead of his time? His style and humor didn't seem to change too drastically over his career, the humor in his later pictures isn't much different, and it tends to hold up. What was it about his movies that tickles my funny bone more than actual comedies of the time?
Okay, I've seen this one before, but not in a few years, so I'm counting it for my K2K. It brings me back to a point I made before... this movie is not a comedy, per se, yet the humor in it amuses me way more than many actual comedies of the era. Was Hitchcock ahead of his time? His style and humor didn't seem to change too drastically over his career, the humor in his later pictures isn't much different, and it tends to hold up. What was it about his movies that tickles my funny bone more than actual comedies of the time?
Sudden Impact
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sudden Impact was a step down from parts 2 and 3 of the Dirty Harry series, but still enjoyable. This was the only movie in the series directed by Clint Eastwood's own mother fucking self, and that's a good thing, because it is shot really well. The problem is really more with the screenplay, which just feels lazy at times. Not only does Harry randomly stumble onto 2 or 3 crimes in the movie that have nothing to do with the rest of the plot, but there are 2 subplots about criminals trying to murder Harry for revenge. Then, both subplots are abandoned maybe half way through the movie. It's like they realized that the main plot wasn't enough to carry a feature film, so they just added a lot of extra action that had nothing to do with anything else. Now, don't get me wrong, it's good action, but a little more care could have been put into working the action into a coherent story.
Sudden Impact was a step down from parts 2 and 3 of the Dirty Harry series, but still enjoyable. This was the only movie in the series directed by Clint Eastwood's own mother fucking self, and that's a good thing, because it is shot really well. The problem is really more with the screenplay, which just feels lazy at times. Not only does Harry randomly stumble onto 2 or 3 crimes in the movie that have nothing to do with the rest of the plot, but there are 2 subplots about criminals trying to murder Harry for revenge. Then, both subplots are abandoned maybe half way through the movie. It's like they realized that the main plot wasn't enough to carry a feature film, so they just added a lot of extra action that had nothing to do with anything else. Now, don't get me wrong, it's good action, but a little more care could have been put into working the action into a coherent story.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
21 Up
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Continuing the Up Series here. My feelings are the same as before, that this is a great idea for a documentary series and is a pretty fascinating watch. And it's growing more fascinating the older these folks get.
Technically, I think this was is a little better made than the first two. There's a little more juxtaposition of words and images rather than just holding long shots on the subjects' faces. And they are improving at comparing/contrasting the different subjects, even going so far as to ask individuals what they think of the other subjects of the series. Even better, they let the interviewees complain about the earlier films in the series and how they were portrayed in them.
On the downside, I think perhaps the director asks a few too many leading questions, as if he's trying to impose a narrative onto the subjects' lives, rather than just watch them unfold. This leads to a lot of scenes where the interviewees balk at his questions and reject their premise... I think perhaps he's making too many assumptions about their lives.
That's more a minor quibble than anything, and I'm still extremely enthusiastic about watching the rest of the series as it stands so far. The plan is to do this every Wednesday, so let's see if I can keep it up.
Dragon Wars: D-War
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
I should probably lose a few points on my K2K for this, but I can't help myself. I was too intrigued by the awfulness of the trailer to resist. This one looked like it was venturing into Uwe Boll territory.
Sadly, it's not nearly as funny as House of the Dead (although maybe more watchable than Alone in the Dark), which is still the gold standard for modern, so-bad-it's-hilarious movies. But it does have its moments, especially some really poorly conceived, awkwardly executed special effects that can't really be described. Although actually, the FX, while never really good or convincing looking, were for the most part enthusiastically and competently done.
The biggest problem is that the most glaring flaws aren't ones that make you laugh out loud. It's more like weird structural things. In the beginning of the movie, a character has an extended flashback to a time when someone else told him a story, and that story turns into an extended flashback of something that happened 500 years ago, and then within that story/flashback there is a brief flashback. That's more funny in retrospect than it is watching the movie. Oh well.
I should probably lose a few points on my K2K for this, but I can't help myself. I was too intrigued by the awfulness of the trailer to resist. This one looked like it was venturing into Uwe Boll territory.
Sadly, it's not nearly as funny as House of the Dead (although maybe more watchable than Alone in the Dark), which is still the gold standard for modern, so-bad-it's-hilarious movies. But it does have its moments, especially some really poorly conceived, awkwardly executed special effects that can't really be described. Although actually, the FX, while never really good or convincing looking, were for the most part enthusiastically and competently done.
The biggest problem is that the most glaring flaws aren't ones that make you laugh out loud. It's more like weird structural things. In the beginning of the movie, a character has an extended flashback to a time when someone else told him a story, and that story turns into an extended flashback of something that happened 500 years ago, and then within that story/flashback there is a brief flashback. That's more funny in retrospect than it is watching the movie. Oh well.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Night of the Creeps
Monday, July 21, 2008
This is a little minor classic 80's horror comedy that I've seen once or twice over the years. I think it's mostly been forgotten (we watched it on FearNet On Demand, but I don't even think it's on DVD), at least compared to Evil Dead 2 or Re-Animator. This isn't as good as those, or as good as Fright Night or a few other memorable ones from that era, but it's a really good one, if you like this kind of shit, that deserves recognition in the subgenre. Hell, it's a lot better than Vamp or some shit like that.
This is a little minor classic 80's horror comedy that I've seen once or twice over the years. I think it's mostly been forgotten (we watched it on FearNet On Demand, but I don't even think it's on DVD), at least compared to Evil Dead 2 or Re-Animator. This isn't as good as those, or as good as Fright Night or a few other memorable ones from that era, but it's a really good one, if you like this kind of shit, that deserves recognition in the subgenre. Hell, it's a lot better than Vamp or some shit like that.
My Night at Maud's
Sunday, July 20, 2008
I think I did a good job on my K2K this weekend, but even though I enjoyed all the klassiks I watched, this was the only one I loved. This is the first Eric Rohmer movie I've ever seen, and it's the 3rd in his "Six Moral tales" series, but they aren't like sequels or anything so it wasn't like I didn't know what was going on.
If I had to guess, I'd bet that Richard Linklater is a big Rohmer fan. There are times when this feels like a proto-Dazed and Confused or Waking Life or something. A lot of the movie involves people sitting around, shooting the shit about philosophy and their lives. On the surface, there isn't a lot of plot, but there's a lot boiling under the surface. It's understated, but effective. And what's really amazing is that most of the movie is really a set up for the final scene, which takes place years after the rest of the film. The main character has a little epiphany, and does just one small good deed for his wife that has enormous implications. Rarely have I seen a payoff this great in a moment this small.
I think I did a good job on my K2K this weekend, but even though I enjoyed all the klassiks I watched, this was the only one I loved. This is the first Eric Rohmer movie I've ever seen, and it's the 3rd in his "Six Moral tales" series, but they aren't like sequels or anything so it wasn't like I didn't know what was going on.
If I had to guess, I'd bet that Richard Linklater is a big Rohmer fan. There are times when this feels like a proto-Dazed and Confused or Waking Life or something. A lot of the movie involves people sitting around, shooting the shit about philosophy and their lives. On the surface, there isn't a lot of plot, but there's a lot boiling under the surface. It's understated, but effective. And what's really amazing is that most of the movie is really a set up for the final scene, which takes place years after the rest of the film. The main character has a little epiphany, and does just one small good deed for his wife that has enormous implications. Rarely have I seen a payoff this great in a moment this small.
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