Hot Rod is a great movie and here is a rather long-winded, yet entertaining article from the A.V. Club on it. Check out the movie when you get a chance, I highly recommend it.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/lonely-islands-hot-rod-is-strangely-funny-and-ofte,83883/
Monday, August 20, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
AV Club discussion on expectations
So obviously this article interests me for two reasons. One being that the question posed focused on That's My Boy. Secondly, it deals with the idea of how expectations effect your feelings of a movie, but specifically negative intentions letting you enjoy it more.
Here's the topic posed:
I recently went against the collective criticism/evisceration of Adam Sandler’s recent film That’s My Boy, and saw it with a date who was a longtime Sandler fan. The critics were absolutely right about what to expect with this film: poor writing, insensitive gags, and the usual Sandler travesty. What I didn’t expect were the genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Mind you, none of it was Sandler, but rather the quick, smaller bits provided by Happy Madison’s usual crew. If I had to guess, I was pleasantly surprised because I’d already accepted that I’d hate the film, and my experience could only go up from there. I’ve heard of people being let down due to hype and anticipation, but rarely do I hear of people feeling the opposite. To this day, I’m not sure whether I was laughing at or with That’s My Boy. I’m no longer with that girl, but she did make the point of money being well-spent, because I laughed during what was meant as a comedy. So have you ever had a pop-culture experience elevated mainly due to the immense negativity attached to it? —Hanajun
Click here to read the rest: http://www.avclub.com/articles/improved-by-low-expectations,83612/
Here's the topic posed:
I recently went against the collective criticism/evisceration of Adam Sandler’s recent film That’s My Boy, and saw it with a date who was a longtime Sandler fan. The critics were absolutely right about what to expect with this film: poor writing, insensitive gags, and the usual Sandler travesty. What I didn’t expect were the genuine laugh-out-loud moments. Mind you, none of it was Sandler, but rather the quick, smaller bits provided by Happy Madison’s usual crew. If I had to guess, I was pleasantly surprised because I’d already accepted that I’d hate the film, and my experience could only go up from there. I’ve heard of people being let down due to hype and anticipation, but rarely do I hear of people feeling the opposite. To this day, I’m not sure whether I was laughing at or with That’s My Boy. I’m no longer with that girl, but she did make the point of money being well-spent, because I laughed during what was meant as a comedy. So have you ever had a pop-culture experience elevated mainly due to the immense negativity attached to it? —Hanajun
Click here to read the rest: http://www.avclub.com/articles/improved-by-low-expectations,83612/
Friday, August 10, 2012
What critics think of good things
As I'm thoroughly enjoying myself as I write this blog I'm considering more heavily the possibility of getting into the field of blogging or film studies or something-I'm actually not thinking about it that much. But it's things like this video that remind me why critics generally suck and how I don't want to be trained to think like them in any facet. Anyway, David Wain just posted this on his blog and I think it's perfection.
The State: More Miserable Crap from David Wain on Vimeo.
The State: More Miserable Crap from David Wain on Vimeo.
The Amazing Mission Bourne Legacy Man Impossible
There have been many reboots and sequels this summer including a duplicate Spiderman, the third Nolan Batman, Ice Age, Men in Black and so on. The reboot of the Bourne series, The Bourne Legacy sees Jeremy Renner takes the lead and Rachel Weisz as his scared, female sidekick.
Amazingly, the commercials tell you literally every plot point of the movie. Backlash over the CIA's failure to kill Jason Bourne lead Edward Norton to "burn to the ground" the other, similar programs (hence the scene with all the agents getting bloody noses). Rachel was the doctor who escapes a shooting spree aimed at eliminating everyone who knows or was involved about the program*, codenamed Alscot or something stupid like that.
I felt the beginning was a bit contrived in just getting as many CIA looking dudes in a room to have them all fast talk about codewords that mean nothing to the audience. Ed Norton's sweet though, so I didn't mind it as much. Once Jeremy and Rachel team up the movie is much more entertaining. The action scenes were pretty good and the pace and plot were fast.
My one problem was the government sends in an agent in ANOTHER program (LARX) with the description of having more training with less of the emotional crazy that Tredstone had, or something, I forget. They never effing fought! Why would you build up the fact that Aaron is basically an X-Men (man?) and that the other guy is more trained and then not actually have them fight? UGH. Of course, Rachel has some involvement that's supposed to make you go "Yeah! You go gurl!" but immediately falls off the motorcycle and Aaron has to help her. Jimminy Jillikers! As a woman, I would have been perfectly content to watch Aaron jujitsu his ass instead.
But whatever, all in all it's worth checking out and if they continue the franchise I'll be more than happy to watch Renner. I'm glad his career's doing so well and he's certainly making a name for himself in the action category with his stints in Mission Impossible 4 and The Avengers. Hopefully he mixes in some serious roles which made me think he was a creepster like with The Town. If they're ever able to get back the former director, Paul Greengrass, Matt Damon has said he'd also come back. Jeremy and Matt together would be a fucking awesome sequel that probably no one would complain about.
*Now obviously, the shooting at the Dark Knight Rises premier was tragic. It's amazing how studios respond to events like that, though. The studio behind Ryan Gosling's upcoming gangster movie, Gangster Squad, decided a scene in which a theater is shot up would be in poor taste and are thusly reshooting some parts and pushing back the release date. Similarly, Ben Stiller's latest, The Watch, was originally titled Neighborhood Watch but was renamed in the wake of Trayvon Martin. Whether these are necessary changes or are being done as a veiled attempt at honoring the victims and survivors is a point of conversation. Do these types of gestures really do anything or are they simply trying to cover their asses from the people looking to sue for emotional duress (who do exist and are suing WB for the Aurora masacre)? Anyway, there's a shooting spree at the medical facility in Bourne and the masterminds behind it were the United States government. I haven't heard any people causing an uproar about this scene which seems even more controversial than Gangster Squad's due to the fact that the government was behind it and used the "lone gunman" as a cover. As cheesy as this is, it reminded me of The Joker's speech in The Dark Knight when he tells Harvey Dent that no one gets upset when things "go according to plan" such as a roadside bomb killing soldiers in the Middle East, or more relavent, a lone gunman who seemed normal suddenly snaps and kills innocent people. Are we at the point where movies that place the CIA in the role of genocidal puppetmasters considered part of the plan? As an aside from my aside, I always thought it was good of Nolan not to alter the scene of The Joker in a body bag in TDK. Many thought he would get rid of it due to the actor's death prior to the release, but he said nay. Getting rid of a scene like that wouldn't have honored his memory or done anything to change what happened to Heath. The real honor is presevering the movie he worked so hard on.
Amazingly, the commercials tell you literally every plot point of the movie. Backlash over the CIA's failure to kill Jason Bourne lead Edward Norton to "burn to the ground" the other, similar programs (hence the scene with all the agents getting bloody noses). Rachel was the doctor who escapes a shooting spree aimed at eliminating everyone who knows or was involved about the program*, codenamed Alscot or something stupid like that.
I felt the beginning was a bit contrived in just getting as many CIA looking dudes in a room to have them all fast talk about codewords that mean nothing to the audience. Ed Norton's sweet though, so I didn't mind it as much. Once Jeremy and Rachel team up the movie is much more entertaining. The action scenes were pretty good and the pace and plot were fast.
My one problem was the government sends in an agent in ANOTHER program (LARX) with the description of having more training with less of the emotional crazy that Tredstone had, or something, I forget. They never effing fought! Why would you build up the fact that Aaron is basically an X-Men (man?) and that the other guy is more trained and then not actually have them fight? UGH. Of course, Rachel has some involvement that's supposed to make you go "Yeah! You go gurl!" but immediately falls off the motorcycle and Aaron has to help her. Jimminy Jillikers! As a woman, I would have been perfectly content to watch Aaron jujitsu his ass instead.
But whatever, all in all it's worth checking out and if they continue the franchise I'll be more than happy to watch Renner. I'm glad his career's doing so well and he's certainly making a name for himself in the action category with his stints in Mission Impossible 4 and The Avengers. Hopefully he mixes in some serious roles which made me think he was a creepster like with The Town. If they're ever able to get back the former director, Paul Greengrass, Matt Damon has said he'd also come back. Jeremy and Matt together would be a fucking awesome sequel that probably no one would complain about.
 |
| "What are you doing over there? Can I help? I'm a doctor so I can help if you want. Jimminy Jillikers!" |
*Now obviously, the shooting at the Dark Knight Rises premier was tragic. It's amazing how studios respond to events like that, though. The studio behind Ryan Gosling's upcoming gangster movie, Gangster Squad, decided a scene in which a theater is shot up would be in poor taste and are thusly reshooting some parts and pushing back the release date. Similarly, Ben Stiller's latest, The Watch, was originally titled Neighborhood Watch but was renamed in the wake of Trayvon Martin. Whether these are necessary changes or are being done as a veiled attempt at honoring the victims and survivors is a point of conversation. Do these types of gestures really do anything or are they simply trying to cover their asses from the people looking to sue for emotional duress (who do exist and are suing WB for the Aurora masacre)? Anyway, there's a shooting spree at the medical facility in Bourne and the masterminds behind it were the United States government. I haven't heard any people causing an uproar about this scene which seems even more controversial than Gangster Squad's due to the fact that the government was behind it and used the "lone gunman" as a cover. As cheesy as this is, it reminded me of The Joker's speech in The Dark Knight when he tells Harvey Dent that no one gets upset when things "go according to plan" such as a roadside bomb killing soldiers in the Middle East, or more relavent, a lone gunman who seemed normal suddenly snaps and kills innocent people. Are we at the point where movies that place the CIA in the role of genocidal puppetmasters considered part of the plan? As an aside from my aside, I always thought it was good of Nolan not to alter the scene of The Joker in a body bag in TDK. Many thought he would get rid of it due to the actor's death prior to the release, but he said nay. Getting rid of a scene like that wouldn't have honored his memory or done anything to change what happened to Heath. The real honor is presevering the movie he worked so hard on.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The real origins film
A Blogger's post on second viewings
Here's an article on unreality discussing five movies that he enjoyed more on the second viewing. http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2012/08/07/five-movies-i-didnt-love-until-the-second-viewing/
Monday, August 6, 2012
Ruby Sparks
A good judge of how much I liked a movie is whether I turn on the radio for the drive home. Do I get in and immediately turn it on or do I drive home in silence and think about what I just saw? For Ruby, I drove home with no sound other than my own voice using the voice memo device on my phone so I could remember anecdotes for this entry.
Ruby Sparks is Stranger Than Fiction meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (yes I said that in the memo last night). The premise is that a writer, Paul Dano, writes a story about a girl who comes to life. He grapples with the problems posed by his ability to make her do whatever he writes on paper and the repercussions that come from writing too vaguely or too specifically. Much like that episode of Treehouse of Horror or Ashton Kutcher's Butterfly Effect (which I never saw but heard was quite good).
I didn't think much from seeing the previews. Then I started reading not only about how great it is but also about the background of the making of it. You see, the writer of the movie plays the girlfriend that the writer in the film dreamed of and she was writing it to star her real life boyfriend to play the writer that creates her. Wait, I can do better: The actress that plays the imaginary girlfriend is the actual girlfriend of the guy that plays the writer in the movie and she wrote the movie about a guy creating a girl. Once more: Paul Dano, the writer in the movie, is dating Zoe Kazan, the actress that plays the girlfriend in the film. Kazan wrote the screenplay along with Dano, knowing that he would play the writer and she the girlfriend. That's cool. What caught my eye more was the fact that the people that did Little Miss Sunshine haven't done anything since and decided to do this film immediately.
The movie was fantastic. Every character was endearing and well played. Dano and Kazan brought their off-screen love to the film. Annette Bening and Antonia Banderas have a Meet the Parents-ish scene playing Dano's quirky mom and stepdad. I knew I'd like this movie when at the start, Dano's brother, played by Chris Messina, is reading the early draft of Dano's story (the one that will eventually manifest a woman) and warns him that a girl with lots of quirks is actually not appealing to an audience because women like that don't really exist. That's been my exact problem with all these indie films this summer. The girls are these free spirited women that make their uptight male counterparts feel alive but by the end of the movie they just seem like they're mentally disabled (KIERA KNIGHTLEY AHH)
Well, having exhausted all the points from my memo I'll leave with just the high recommendation to check out, Ruby Sparks.
Ruby Sparks is Stranger Than Fiction meets Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (yes I said that in the memo last night). The premise is that a writer, Paul Dano, writes a story about a girl who comes to life. He grapples with the problems posed by his ability to make her do whatever he writes on paper and the repercussions that come from writing too vaguely or too specifically. Much like that episode of Treehouse of Horror or Ashton Kutcher's Butterfly Effect (which I never saw but heard was quite good).
I didn't think much from seeing the previews. Then I started reading not only about how great it is but also about the background of the making of it. You see, the writer of the movie plays the girlfriend that the writer in the film dreamed of and she was writing it to star her real life boyfriend to play the writer that creates her. Wait, I can do better: The actress that plays the imaginary girlfriend is the actual girlfriend of the guy that plays the writer in the movie and she wrote the movie about a guy creating a girl. Once more: Paul Dano, the writer in the movie, is dating Zoe Kazan, the actress that plays the girlfriend in the film. Kazan wrote the screenplay along with Dano, knowing that he would play the writer and she the girlfriend. That's cool. What caught my eye more was the fact that the people that did Little Miss Sunshine haven't done anything since and decided to do this film immediately.
The movie was fantastic. Every character was endearing and well played. Dano and Kazan brought their off-screen love to the film. Annette Bening and Antonia Banderas have a Meet the Parents-ish scene playing Dano's quirky mom and stepdad. I knew I'd like this movie when at the start, Dano's brother, played by Chris Messina, is reading the early draft of Dano's story (the one that will eventually manifest a woman) and warns him that a girl with lots of quirks is actually not appealing to an audience because women like that don't really exist. That's been my exact problem with all these indie films this summer. The girls are these free spirited women that make their uptight male counterparts feel alive but by the end of the movie they just seem like they're mentally disabled (KIERA KNIGHTLEY AHH)
Well, having exhausted all the points from my memo I'll leave with just the high recommendation to check out, Ruby Sparks.
 |
| Second movie in a row with spotlight swimming. At least this was nudity free |
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
The Watch
I feel like a dink because I keep enjoying the mainstream movies more than the indie ones. To be fair, the indie ones have sucked. Either way, I really enjoyed The Watch, starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and a few cameos that really made the movie sweet.
First off, Vince Vaughn was in his fucking element with this one. Clearly was just given the direction to be "Bob: the loud, lovable neighborly man" and he went with it. Jonah Hill I feel is trying to find his place now that he's not a) fat and b) a kid. He was amazing in his early roles like Accepted and Superbad but he seems as if he actually lost his confidence along with his weight. Hopefully he figures his niche out; I'm sure he will.
Will Forte plays an annoying police sergeant and The Lonely Island make a quick but sweet appearance. Akiva directed it so it's not surprising. Also as a sidenote, I really enjoy Akiva directed movies (Hot Rod, anyone?). And Seth Rogan helped write it so you know there's just a shit-ton of comedy groups colliding (Lonely Island + Judd Apatow group + Anchorman/Dodgeball group =awesome).
It's also not too Ben Stiller-y for those that don't find him funny or are weary after his last few ventures.
Definitely worth checking out before the summer's over!
First off, Vince Vaughn was in his fucking element with this one. Clearly was just given the direction to be "Bob: the loud, lovable neighborly man" and he went with it. Jonah Hill I feel is trying to find his place now that he's not a) fat and b) a kid. He was amazing in his early roles like Accepted and Superbad but he seems as if he actually lost his confidence along with his weight. Hopefully he figures his niche out; I'm sure he will.
Will Forte plays an annoying police sergeant and The Lonely Island make a quick but sweet appearance. Akiva directed it so it's not surprising. Also as a sidenote, I really enjoy Akiva directed movies (Hot Rod, anyone?). And Seth Rogan helped write it so you know there's just a shit-ton of comedy groups colliding (Lonely Island + Judd Apatow group + Anchorman/Dodgeball group =awesome).
It's also not too Ben Stiller-y for those that don't find him funny or are weary after his last few ventures.
Definitely worth checking out before the summer's over!
_-_Theatrical_Trailer_2_for_The_Watch.jpeg) |
| Vaughn's Oh face |
Take This Bush
Ok, the actual title is Take This Waltz but there were so many full frontal scenes that I took some blogtistic liberties. If you want a total, I'll say it's more than once you see Michelle Williams totes nekkid and that's basically all you need to know about how many times. Throw in a gym shower scene with Sarah Silverman and lots of old woman and I pretty much cancelled out any good mental images from Magic Mike.
The movie was a major disappointment. My problem with all these indie, arthouse films is that to make the leading lady seem interesting they end up going too far and just make her really awkward and weird. Here, Michelle Williams plays wife to Seth Rogan but falls for her neighbor. For two hours the lovahs dance (OH I GET THE TITLE NOW) the fine line between physical and emotional adultery.
Good for Seth Rogan, though, because he does a great job. Any scene without him was absolutely contrived and lagged. TWO old women, not together, walked out during a scene with the two lovahs describing how they would bang each other. Good think they didn't stick around for any of the actual love scenes.
I knew the movie would be heavy going in but that's not what bothered me. IT WAS SO SLOW! Seriously, all I looked forward to was Seth's goofy laugh.
Definitely pass on this one unless you feel like watching some spotlight swimming and Michelle Williams go to the bathroom a bunch of times.
The movie was a major disappointment. My problem with all these indie, arthouse films is that to make the leading lady seem interesting they end up going too far and just make her really awkward and weird. Here, Michelle Williams plays wife to Seth Rogan but falls for her neighbor. For two hours the lovahs dance (OH I GET THE TITLE NOW) the fine line between physical and emotional adultery.
Good for Seth Rogan, though, because he does a great job. Any scene without him was absolutely contrived and lagged. TWO old women, not together, walked out during a scene with the two lovahs describing how they would bang each other. Good think they didn't stick around for any of the actual love scenes.
I knew the movie would be heavy going in but that's not what bothered me. IT WAS SO SLOW! Seriously, all I looked forward to was Seth's goofy laugh.
Definitely pass on this one unless you feel like watching some spotlight swimming and Michelle Williams go to the bathroom a bunch of times.
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