There really isn't any point in going to see The Hangover Part II. Just pop in your copy of The Hangover (The Unrated Edition, of course) and re-watch that. While watching, just imagine that they are now friends with Mr. Chow, Allen has some weird homo-erotic crush on Phil, and it's in Thailand. That sums up the sequel to the 2009 hit.
I could stop there, but I'll delve into the specifics of why this is not a pleasurable movie-going experience (and I won't digress into poking fun at the blatantly bro tools sitting behind me in the theater, which, by the way is a clear indication of who this movie is targeted at).
We open on Phil calling Doug's wife and saying, "It happened again." Cut to one week earlier when we learn that Stu is getting married and he has left Allen off of the guest list. Doug convinces him to invite to poor sod and we now have our set-up. Oh, by the way, they don't even do a decent job of writing Heather Graham's character out of the story. They just say that Stu ditched her a few years back.
Cut to "The Wolfpack" (it still sounds dumb) landing in Thailand (or, Thigh-Land as Allen pronounces it) and we are introduced to Stu's fiancee's younger brother Teddy. Teddy serves as the cause of much of the gang's grief after their night of drunken shenanigans.
There is, of course, the father of the bride who views Stu as spineless and weak (some much tread water in the movie industry) and the whole resolution of this problem is, like the rest of the movie, poorly written.
Now, on to the actual 'hangover' portion of the film. Phil, Allen & Stu awaken in some run-down hotel in the city of Bangkok with no recollection of the previous night. In fact, none of them understand how they can't remember given that they had only one beer from a sealed package. They discover that Mr. Chow is with them, but Teddy is not and in the most hopeful moment of the film they quickly check the roof of the hotel to see if Teddy is there. I say hopeful because if her had indeed been there then the movie would have ended an hour earlier.
They check their pockets and retread all of the material from its predecessor running into overly ridiculous characters and situations. And, if you can believe it, Allen is even more of an idiot this time around, which is apparently where the writers thought they could derive much of the humor. It's actually quite sad and pathetic how this poor fool has devolved into a caricature of his former self.
In the end, The Hangover Part II fails to live up to any sort of expectation. It's twice the hangover but half the funny of the original, which isn't saying much to begin with. Director Todd Philips also shows us that he still has a hard-on for Wolfmother and their music and pulls a song from the band's much less impressive sophomore album for the film's resolution.
The Hangover Part II - 2/5
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Review - Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The best way to describe the fourth film in the Pirates franchise is simple: big set-up, small payoff. It's a film that tries. Not that hard, but it tries.
Marketed with the subtitle On Stranger Tides,the most noticeable thing about Pirates 4 is that there are very few scenes containing said 'Tides.' In fact, a good three quarters of the film takes place on one form of land or another. This also calls into question whether we're actually dealing with Caribbean dwelling pirates anymore.
Enough of the technicalities, though, let's move on to the meat of the matter. On Stranger Tides follows Johnny Depp reprising his Oscar-nominated role as Capt. Jack Sparrow on a quest to find Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth. He is joined by Geoffry Rush, who once again takes to the seas as Hector Barbossa, and pirate maiden Angelica (Penelope Cruz). The villain this time around is the infamous Blackbeard (played by Ian McShane, who does evil better than anybody).
The biggest cast change-up is the absence of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, respectively) and their (dumb) love story. This is probably the best thing about On Stranger Tides, aside from Ian McShane, that is.
The fourth installment in the (commercially) popular series is helmed by Rob Marshall, replacing the original director Gore Verbinski. Marshall is famous for his films Chicago and Nine (both musicals, the first was good the second was not) and that style is prevalent in this film as well. There are scenes in which events happen in a very systematic sequence it's very clear what Marshall is trying to emulate.
Other sequences include an elaborate chase scene early on in the film that is reminiscent of Chaplin at his most zany. This same sequence is also (unfortunately) bogged down by a few moments that seem far too rehearsed and lack much of the spontaneity that Capt. Jack purports to rely on. This is where Marshall's history with choreographed movements might have proven a burden. You just can't have a fight scene follow the strict beat of 1-2-3-4.
As stated earlier, the Will & Elizabeth love story has been removed to make way for not one but two new love stories. The first (and primary) focuses on Jack and a former flame of his who happens to be Blackbeard's daughter. Though they aren't given a lot of development, they get more than the other two lovebirds: a missionary and a mermaid. Truthfully, I feel that the missionary's only reason for being in the story is to save the mermaid once and then fall in love with her faster than Romeo & Juliet.
Seriously, let' take a moment to talk about this so-called 'missionary.' To start, he's as craven as they come. When his life is threatened so that Blackbeard can force a tear out of the mermaid, he asks her to shed one so he can live rather than die with honor and meet his Creator. Second, with how fast he 'falls in love' with the mermaid it's obvious he was only thinking with his eyes and not his heart. Not very missionary-like now is it. But I've digressed too far.
In the end we are left with a story that has moved very slowly and hasn't made us care about the new characters. When there's action boy is there action and man is it great. Marshall's flourishing camera work is wonderful, but that's about it. The Fountain of Youth is surprisingly uninspired and Blackbeard isn't given the justice he deserves. I mean, come on, Davy Jones gets two movies to tell his story and Blackbeard only gets one (and, I might add, doesn't even have a story. He's just a one-dimensional villain meant to act as a point of contention between Jack and Angelica) and Blackbeard is a much better seafarer's legend.
Anyway, from what I hear this is the start of a whole new trilogy of Pirates films. Let's just hope that Jack and Angelica are given more time to develop as complementary characters (that's a love story I'd like to care about) and the writer's choose an equally as epic sea legend as Blackbeard to focus on. Hell, I wouldn't even care if they brought Blackbeard back from the dead just to focus on his back story some more. Plus, I just love watching Ian McShane in action.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 3/5 stars
The Rough Cut
Marketed with the subtitle On Stranger Tides,the most noticeable thing about Pirates 4 is that there are very few scenes containing said 'Tides.' In fact, a good three quarters of the film takes place on one form of land or another. This also calls into question whether we're actually dealing with Caribbean dwelling pirates anymore.
Enough of the technicalities, though, let's move on to the meat of the matter. On Stranger Tides follows Johnny Depp reprising his Oscar-nominated role as Capt. Jack Sparrow on a quest to find Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth. He is joined by Geoffry Rush, who once again takes to the seas as Hector Barbossa, and pirate maiden Angelica (Penelope Cruz). The villain this time around is the infamous Blackbeard (played by Ian McShane, who does evil better than anybody).
The biggest cast change-up is the absence of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan (Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, respectively) and their (dumb) love story. This is probably the best thing about On Stranger Tides, aside from Ian McShane, that is.
The fourth installment in the (commercially) popular series is helmed by Rob Marshall, replacing the original director Gore Verbinski. Marshall is famous for his films Chicago and Nine (both musicals, the first was good the second was not) and that style is prevalent in this film as well. There are scenes in which events happen in a very systematic sequence it's very clear what Marshall is trying to emulate.
Other sequences include an elaborate chase scene early on in the film that is reminiscent of Chaplin at his most zany. This same sequence is also (unfortunately) bogged down by a few moments that seem far too rehearsed and lack much of the spontaneity that Capt. Jack purports to rely on. This is where Marshall's history with choreographed movements might have proven a burden. You just can't have a fight scene follow the strict beat of 1-2-3-4.
As stated earlier, the Will & Elizabeth love story has been removed to make way for not one but two new love stories. The first (and primary) focuses on Jack and a former flame of his who happens to be Blackbeard's daughter. Though they aren't given a lot of development, they get more than the other two lovebirds: a missionary and a mermaid. Truthfully, I feel that the missionary's only reason for being in the story is to save the mermaid once and then fall in love with her faster than Romeo & Juliet.
Seriously, let' take a moment to talk about this so-called 'missionary.' To start, he's as craven as they come. When his life is threatened so that Blackbeard can force a tear out of the mermaid, he asks her to shed one so he can live rather than die with honor and meet his Creator. Second, with how fast he 'falls in love' with the mermaid it's obvious he was only thinking with his eyes and not his heart. Not very missionary-like now is it. But I've digressed too far.
In the end we are left with a story that has moved very slowly and hasn't made us care about the new characters. When there's action boy is there action and man is it great. Marshall's flourishing camera work is wonderful, but that's about it. The Fountain of Youth is surprisingly uninspired and Blackbeard isn't given the justice he deserves. I mean, come on, Davy Jones gets two movies to tell his story and Blackbeard only gets one (and, I might add, doesn't even have a story. He's just a one-dimensional villain meant to act as a point of contention between Jack and Angelica) and Blackbeard is a much better seafarer's legend.
Anyway, from what I hear this is the start of a whole new trilogy of Pirates films. Let's just hope that Jack and Angelica are given more time to develop as complementary characters (that's a love story I'd like to care about) and the writer's choose an equally as epic sea legend as Blackbeard to focus on. Hell, I wouldn't even care if they brought Blackbeard back from the dead just to focus on his back story some more. Plus, I just love watching Ian McShane in action.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 3/5 stars
The Rough Cut
Friday, May 13, 2011
Bridesmaids Review
Let me start off by telling you everything that Bridesmaids is not. It is not a chick flick. It is not The Hangover with women. It is not your usual comedy.
Bridesmaids is quite the raunchy comedy, in fact. And while I know that raunchy has become standard in modern comedies, it is the simple quality that the entire main cast is made up of women that set it apart from the rest.
When you think raunchy, you think of Will Ferrel and the rest of the Frat Pack acting stupid and making jokes about human excrement. Bridemaids is like that, but replace Will Ferrel with Kristen Wiig (MacGruber) and the Frat Pack with, well, its equivalent in sorority form. The best description I can give is that it's a bromance film with women.
The film follows Wiig's character Annie Walker as she acts as the Maid of Honor to Maya Rudolph's ("Saturday Night Live") Lillian. Enter Rose Byrne ("Damages") as Annie's rival Helen and we have our story. The rest of the brides maids are made up of Wendy McLendon-Covey ("Reno 911"), Ellie Kemper ("The Office") and Melissa McCarthy ("Samantha Who?").
After Lillian picks Annie to be her Maid of Honor, Helen does everything she can to upstage her new rival because she feels that the Honor should have fallen to her. This is where many of the film's comedic situations arise. There is a scene where all of the brides maids get Brazilian food, at the request of Annie, and all but Helen get food poisoning. Other situations arise on the plane to Las Vegas and at the bridal shower.
The overall theme of the film is about Annie eventually coming to terms with her pathetic life and realizing that the only person who can change that is herself. Again, comedy ensues.
There is also a romantic subplot (which is where people might get the chick-flicky vibe) involving Annie and a cop who pulls her over played by Chris O'Dowd (Pirate Radio). Remember, this is just a subplot that acts as filler and a reason for Annie to overcome her feelings of insignificance. The other half of this portion of the story involves "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm.
Helmed by Paul Feig (the man behind the short-lived "Freaks & Geeks"), there is hardly a quiet moment in this film. He and writers Wiig & Annie Mumolo attempt to create laughter out of almost every line, and they nearly succeed. I found it hard to stop laughing many times.
Overall, Bridesmaids is as funny as comedies go. It doesn't pretend to be anything it's not and actually uses that knowledge to work in its favor. Truth be told it's much funnier than The Hangover and most of the work Will Ferrel has done. If anything it reaffirms what we as a society have known for years: fat people are funny.
Bridesmaids - 3.5/5 stars
The Rough Cut
Bridesmaids is quite the raunchy comedy, in fact. And while I know that raunchy has become standard in modern comedies, it is the simple quality that the entire main cast is made up of women that set it apart from the rest.
When you think raunchy, you think of Will Ferrel and the rest of the Frat Pack acting stupid and making jokes about human excrement. Bridemaids is like that, but replace Will Ferrel with Kristen Wiig (MacGruber) and the Frat Pack with, well, its equivalent in sorority form. The best description I can give is that it's a bromance film with women.
The film follows Wiig's character Annie Walker as she acts as the Maid of Honor to Maya Rudolph's ("Saturday Night Live") Lillian. Enter Rose Byrne ("Damages") as Annie's rival Helen and we have our story. The rest of the brides maids are made up of Wendy McLendon-Covey ("Reno 911"), Ellie Kemper ("The Office") and Melissa McCarthy ("Samantha Who?").
After Lillian picks Annie to be her Maid of Honor, Helen does everything she can to upstage her new rival because she feels that the Honor should have fallen to her. This is where many of the film's comedic situations arise. There is a scene where all of the brides maids get Brazilian food, at the request of Annie, and all but Helen get food poisoning. Other situations arise on the plane to Las Vegas and at the bridal shower.
The overall theme of the film is about Annie eventually coming to terms with her pathetic life and realizing that the only person who can change that is herself. Again, comedy ensues.
There is also a romantic subplot (which is where people might get the chick-flicky vibe) involving Annie and a cop who pulls her over played by Chris O'Dowd (Pirate Radio). Remember, this is just a subplot that acts as filler and a reason for Annie to overcome her feelings of insignificance. The other half of this portion of the story involves "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm.
Helmed by Paul Feig (the man behind the short-lived "Freaks & Geeks"), there is hardly a quiet moment in this film. He and writers Wiig & Annie Mumolo attempt to create laughter out of almost every line, and they nearly succeed. I found it hard to stop laughing many times.
Overall, Bridesmaids is as funny as comedies go. It doesn't pretend to be anything it's not and actually uses that knowledge to work in its favor. Truth be told it's much funnier than The Hangover and most of the work Will Ferrel has done. If anything it reaffirms what we as a society have known for years: fat people are funny.
Bridesmaids - 3.5/5 stars
The Rough Cut
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
'Below' Retro Review
Year of Release: 2002
Released in 2002, Below marked the sophomore film for writer/director David Twohy. He originally made a name for himself with the visually entreating sci-fi/action-thriller Pitch Black in 2000 and much of his style is repeated here. Written, in part, by Darren Aronofsky (who was originally supposed to direct in '99 but did Requiem for a Dream, instead), Below is a dark and horrific thriller set on a submarine under the sea.
The film has many of the staples that most thrillers contain: suspense, red herrings and a string-heavy orchestral score. The film also steps into the bounds of the paranormal and the supernatural. This is all enhanced by the sense of claustrophobia experienced due to the sub's tight corridors and dark lighting.
The premise is pretty basic: set in the Atlantic, 1943, a U.S. Navy submarine rescues three people from a downed British hospital boat. Soon after, the strange occurrences begin happening and fingers are quickly pointed in the direction of the newcomers. As the film progresses the viewer is granted more information (as is usual) and it becomes clear that they aren't alone on the sub.
Below stars Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) as the sub's captain, Brice, Matthew Davis (Legally Blonde) as ensign Odell, Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) as lovely Brit Clare Page, Holt McCallany (Alien 3) as Lt. Loomis and Scott Foley (Scream 3) as Lt. J.G. Stephen Coors. The film even marks one of the earliest roles for Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover).
All do a good enough job in their respective roles, given that very few had done any established horror/thriller work up until then (I refer you to the provided filmography).
Twohy, as I said, continues to establish his style in this film. He makes use of the occasional red-colored film stock to represent that something is about to happen. Quick pans and static tracking shots are ever-present. One of my favorite stylistic elements is his use of darkness and shadow as a suspense-building tool.
Although the film is, at least in part, a horror film there is surprisingly little of the tilted camera angles usually present in such films. This is of small consequence as Twohy substitutes such shots with his own unique shots.
Below - 3.5/5 stars
Retro Review
The Rough Cut
Released in 2002, Below marked the sophomore film for writer/director David Twohy. He originally made a name for himself with the visually entreating sci-fi/action-thriller Pitch Black in 2000 and much of his style is repeated here. Written, in part, by Darren Aronofsky (who was originally supposed to direct in '99 but did Requiem for a Dream, instead), Below is a dark and horrific thriller set on a submarine under the sea.
The film has many of the staples that most thrillers contain: suspense, red herrings and a string-heavy orchestral score. The film also steps into the bounds of the paranormal and the supernatural. This is all enhanced by the sense of claustrophobia experienced due to the sub's tight corridors and dark lighting.
The premise is pretty basic: set in the Atlantic, 1943, a U.S. Navy submarine rescues three people from a downed British hospital boat. Soon after, the strange occurrences begin happening and fingers are quickly pointed in the direction of the newcomers. As the film progresses the viewer is granted more information (as is usual) and it becomes clear that they aren't alone on the sub.
Below stars Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek) as the sub's captain, Brice, Matthew Davis (Legally Blonde) as ensign Odell, Olivia Williams (The Sixth Sense) as lovely Brit Clare Page, Holt McCallany (Alien 3) as Lt. Loomis and Scott Foley (Scream 3) as Lt. J.G. Stephen Coors. The film even marks one of the earliest roles for Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover).
All do a good enough job in their respective roles, given that very few had done any established horror/thriller work up until then (I refer you to the provided filmography).
Twohy, as I said, continues to establish his style in this film. He makes use of the occasional red-colored film stock to represent that something is about to happen. Quick pans and static tracking shots are ever-present. One of my favorite stylistic elements is his use of darkness and shadow as a suspense-building tool.
Although the film is, at least in part, a horror film there is surprisingly little of the tilted camera angles usually present in such films. This is of small consequence as Twohy substitutes such shots with his own unique shots.
Below - 3.5/5 stars
Retro Review
The Rough Cut
Monday, May 9, 2011
Retro Review: Identity
Year of Release: 2003
On the surface, Identity seems like your simple run-of-the-mill thriller. 10 people gather at a rundown motel located in the boonies of Nevada on a dark-and-stormy night and soon they begin to die one-by-one. Like I said, it's Agatha Christie on screen. But like most Christie novels, there is much more to the story than the simple whodunit plot progression.
We open on a psychiatrist (Alfred Molina) going over his notes regarding a mentally unstable patient who is sitting on death row for the murder of a group of people years earlier. Cut to the dark-and-stormy night. The guests (victims) begin arriving (some are forced to take lodging because of actions other characters have taken).
The crew consists of a limo driver (John Cusack), a call girl (Amanda Peet), a Nevada police detective (Ray Liotta) and his prisoner (Jake Busey), a newlywed couple (Clea DuVall & William Lee Scott), a family of three (John C. MicGinley, Leila Kenzle & Brett Loehr), the motel manager (John Hawkes) and a former TV star (Rebecca DeMornay).
At first, everything just seems to be poor coincidence. McGinley and his family are on a road trip when their tire blows as the result of a stray shoe, tossed on the road by Peet's call girl. While fixing the van, McGinley's wife is struck by a car driven by Cusack, who is driving DeMornay to L.A. He takes them to Hawkes' motel and then runs out to get help. He runs into Peet at a flooded road and has Scott and DuVall drive him back to the motel. Finally, Liotta drives up with Busey and the gang's all there. Let the deaths begin.
As the deaths occur, room keys are found on the victim's bodies counting down from 10. It is at this point that the film enters the realms of the strange and surreal and for fear of revealing too much I'll leave it at that.
Identity is an incredibly impressive film and an extremely well-crafted thriller. It's definitely one of those rare treats that will have you on the edge of your seat 'til the very end.
Identity - 4/5 stars
The Rough Cut
On the surface, Identity seems like your simple run-of-the-mill thriller. 10 people gather at a rundown motel located in the boonies of Nevada on a dark-and-stormy night and soon they begin to die one-by-one. Like I said, it's Agatha Christie on screen. But like most Christie novels, there is much more to the story than the simple whodunit plot progression.
We open on a psychiatrist (Alfred Molina) going over his notes regarding a mentally unstable patient who is sitting on death row for the murder of a group of people years earlier. Cut to the dark-and-stormy night. The guests (victims) begin arriving (some are forced to take lodging because of actions other characters have taken).
The crew consists of a limo driver (John Cusack), a call girl (Amanda Peet), a Nevada police detective (Ray Liotta) and his prisoner (Jake Busey), a newlywed couple (Clea DuVall & William Lee Scott), a family of three (John C. MicGinley, Leila Kenzle & Brett Loehr), the motel manager (John Hawkes) and a former TV star (Rebecca DeMornay).
At first, everything just seems to be poor coincidence. McGinley and his family are on a road trip when their tire blows as the result of a stray shoe, tossed on the road by Peet's call girl. While fixing the van, McGinley's wife is struck by a car driven by Cusack, who is driving DeMornay to L.A. He takes them to Hawkes' motel and then runs out to get help. He runs into Peet at a flooded road and has Scott and DuVall drive him back to the motel. Finally, Liotta drives up with Busey and the gang's all there. Let the deaths begin.
As the deaths occur, room keys are found on the victim's bodies counting down from 10. It is at this point that the film enters the realms of the strange and surreal and for fear of revealing too much I'll leave it at that.
Identity is an incredibly impressive film and an extremely well-crafted thriller. It's definitely one of those rare treats that will have you on the edge of your seat 'til the very end.
Identity - 4/5 stars
The Rough Cut
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