I Guess They Saw Their Own Film

Everyone gets let down at some point in their life.  There are different levels of how disappointed one can be, ranging from the slightest level of disappointment to being downright upset and angered by the way something or someone let you down.  Anger is the proper emotion to feel with how much of a let down Couples Retreat is.  The film is chock full of all-star actors and actress, especially in the comedic genre, who can carry a film by themselves (Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, and Kristen Bell).  That being said, one would be stupefied as to how a studio could get all of these bright talents into one film and have the film so fall flat on its face that the audience finds itself embarrassed by how unfunny the film truly is.  What hurts most here is that drastic changes were made to this film to achieve a last second PG-13 rating and you can tell.  It begs the question, “Why would you cut this movie to PG-13 anyway?”  Countless ‘R’ rated comedies have garnished large grosses for several studios in the last couple of years, and Judd Apatow’s films alone have shown ‘R’ comedies are big business.  What happened with Couples Retreat is a true instance of a studio trying to make more money and not caring if the product suffers in the process.  This film could have been amazing and instead ending up being one of the worst movies so far this year.  Talk about your all time let downs.

Final Grade: D

10.  In Bruges (dir. Martin McDonagh)

In Bruges is the feature film debut from British director Martin McDonagh and let me tell you this… it is very impressive.  The trailer for this film certainly got me interested, but it def. made it out to be a straight-up comedy.  While the film is certainly funny, it definitely has a lot more layers than that.  I don’t particularly enjoy Colin Farrell but I felt he did a great job in this movie.  The highlight of the film, however, was most definitely Brendan Gleeson, an actor a lot of people probably recognize but do not know.  Gleeson is always phenomenal and that doesn’t change here.  I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie and I can’t wait to see what McDonagh has in store for us next.

9.  Charlie Bartlett (dir. Jon Poll)

You don’t know Jon Poll but he’s has worked on a lot of movies you have seen.  As an editor, he worked on some of biggest comedies of the last 10 years, notably Meet the Parents and The Austin Powers Movies.  Here, we get him behind the camera in a touching movie about a boy, who while struggling to find out about himself, helps the other kids at his school deal with their own personal issues.  Very touching and funny, Charlie Bartlett is def. one of those movies you would leave on when it happened to be on HBO everytime.  Yet another appearance from Robert Downey Jr. on this list (that brings it to 3 right?)  and just as wonderful of a performance as the others. This is the kind of movie I would recommend to anyone out there, no matter what your tastes.  

8.  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (dir. David Fincher)

A lot of people are probably going to be very surprised that this movie isn’t higher on my list.  I don’t know what it is.  I enjoyed it a lot, but I just can’t put it above the rest of these movies.  Maybe it is replay value or maybe it is just the subject matter ( I really don’t like thinking about death), but I just couldn’t put it higher than this.  David Fincher KILLED IT in the director’s chair, as usual, and the performances were amazing.  I personally liked Cate Blanchett’s more than Brad Pitt’s, but they were both intensely well done.  This movie was high on my most anticipated list last year and it certainly didn’t let me down.

7.  Frost/Nixon (dir. Ron Howard)

Every year there is a movie that rockets to the top of this list solely based on its performances.  Frost/Nixon is that movie this year.  I love Ron Howard, but I don’t think there was anything strikingly special about the direction of this film.  Let’s talk about Frank Langella though.  Wow.  That’s pretty much all I can say.  I think he is my pick for best actor this year.  The level of intensity that he brought to this film is on a different plane than almost anything I have seen this year.  The other actors in the movie certainly brought their A-game too.  Overall, this movie is good for a large audience, but is a must see for people who are really into acting and film.  

6.  The Wrestler (dir. Darren Aronofsky)

This is the first movie in a long time where I honestly have to admit I might have liked more if I had seen it under different circumstances.  Front row, three feet from the screen.  It sucked a lot.  The movie, however, did not.  I love Darren Aronofsky.  I wish more people loved The Fountain as much as I did and I want Darren to keep making bold movie making decisions like he did with The Wrestler.  It pays off too.  A lot of people, sadly, are going to brush this movie off because they don’t know enough about it.  This film is a heart-wrenching tale of a man who has lost everything in his life except for one thing: the thing he loves the most.  It begs the question, “If you had nothing and something tried to take away the one thing you loved, what would you do?”  and even though the movie deals with this question through the subject of wrestling, it spans such a larger scale in the grand scheme of things.  Mickey Rourke absolutely deserves all of the credit he’s being given for his performance in this film and I would love to see him and the film win some awards this awards season.  

5.  Zack and Miri Make a Porno (dir. Kevin Smith)

If I could borrow something from my good friend Donnie…

Fun fact about me #1:  I am a huge Kevin Smith fanboy.  

I think it would take something devastating for me to dislike a movie made by Kevin Smith.  I think what connects me to him is the fact that he is an incredibly sensitive person with a huge heart, which hides away behind his vulgar humor and reputation that he has built for himself.  While most people seem to dislike when the softer side of Kevin shows in his movies, I find that I enjoy those films more.  Zack and Miri Make A Porno is exactly one of those films.  Following the trend of what he did with Clerks II, Kevin took a ridiculously risky subject matter and brought an incredible sense of humility to it.  This was the only movie I saw this past year as many times as The Dark Knight and that is saying something.  Call me a sucker for romantic comedies, but I loved this movie a lot and that is why it got this high on my list.

4.  Snow Angels (dir. David Gordon Green)

A very late addition to my list, Snow Angels was a movie I had meant to see on several occasions but never got around to it.  I knew one thing though and that was that I had to see it before I made the list.  It is a good thing I did, because this movie hit me hard.  As I’ve stated before, I really enjoy simple stories that involved the plight of everyday people, even if they happen to be tragic ones.   Sam Rockwell is one of those actors that I wish was more mainstream, because I feel he never gives any performances less than 110% and it pays off.  For some reason, people are talking more about David Gordon Green because he directed Pineapple Express but I personally think it is ridiculous that James Franco got nominated for a golden globe and no one from this movie did.  I will warn you, this movie is not for the faint of heart, but it is one worth watching.  

3.  Milk (dir. Gus Van Sant)

I get really nervous when a Gus Van Sant movie comes out.  I mean, he made one of my favorite movies of all time (“How do you like them apples?”) but he also made a movie I can’t finish (Last Days). Because of this, I always wonder what I have in store for myself when a new film comes out directed by Mr. van Sant.  Thankfully, Milk is one of the kind that I can watch, and watch several times for that matter.  I think Sean Penn is a complete tool in real life, but on the big screen he certainly doesn’t fail to disappoint.  My favorite part of this film, however, are the supporting performances especially those from James Franco and Emile Hirsch.  Everyone seemed to be on the same page in this movie.  They all wanted to make a movie that would make sure that Harvey Milk wasn’t forgotten and they certainly did just that.

2.  Slumdog Millionaire (dir. Danny Boyle)

I can’t express in words how much I loved this movie.  It is always the movies you don’t even know about that sneak up on you and knock you flat out.  That is what happened with Slumdog Millionaire.  Directed by Danny Boyle (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine) this amazing film tells the tale of a young orphan from the streets of Mumbai who is competing on his home country’s version of the popular U.S. game show, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.  Having gone further than any person ever has on the show, suspicions arise that he may, in fact, be cheating.  After be arrested and tortured, our young protagonist tells the story of his life, a life that has coincidentally led him to know each and ever answer on the game show.  Slowly we find out how he got to this point and the real reason behind him being on the show.  This movie will make you go through every emotion possible during just one viewing and will leave you feeling warm inside.  Everyone needs to see something heartwarming every once in a while just to remind us that life is a beautiful thing.  If I could recommend one movie to people this year (because I assume everyone saw my #1 movie) it would be this film without question.  

1.  The Dark Knight (dir. Christopher Nolan)

I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about TDK here, because everyone who is anyone knows how I feel about it.  Most of them feel the same way too.  I’m just going to say that I truly am sad that we aren’t going to have Heath Ledger around anymore to light up the big screen with the kind of performance he gave in this film.  This list is dedicated to him and all of the other people we lost this year in an industry that brings so much to so many people.  They will all be missed.  I’ll see everyone again in 2009.  Thanks for reading.

20.  The Incredible Hulk (dir. Louis Leterrier)

Let me be the first to say that I was one of the few people that enjoyed the first Hulk filmed.  In fact, I liked it a lot.  That does not, however, mean that I did not appreciate the differences found in its 2008 re-boot.  The main reason I liked this film was because of Edward Norton and I would love to have seen the movie as he intended it to be.  The action was fantastic and the special effects were damn good as well.  Add to that the idea that all of these Marvel comics are seemingly coming together for one big blockbuster and you have one of the best popcorn movies of 2008.

19.  Smart People (dir. Noam Murro)

I saw this movie earlier on in 2008 and the memory of it has lasted pretty well since then.  I am a big sucker for movies about very every-day type situations and the simplicity of human emotion.  This is one of those kind of movies.  It featured two very good performances from two very strong actors (Ellen Page and Thomas Hayden Church) and even two good performances from two people I don’t find very appealing to watch (Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker).  All in all, I just felt the honest approach to the idea of an awkward family situation was something very relatable and I guess that’s what made this film memorable.

18.  Wanted (dir. Timur Bekmambetov)

This might be the biggest surprise on my list (at least to some people).  I had a ton of fun in the theatre when I was watching this movie and thats what is supposed to happen right? At least sometimes.  Movies are supposed to be an escape from reality and that’s exactly what Wanted is.  The funny thing is, though, the movie actually has a pretty decent message hidden in its ridiculous special effects and half-naked Angelina Jolies.  The movie ends with a simple question, “What the f*ck have you done lately” and it really made me think about what kind of stuff I was wasting my time with every day.  Imagine that.

17.  Blindness (dir. Fernando Meirelles)

Blindness probably just made my list on its visual esthetic alone. Fernando Meirelles is a brilliantly visual director and how fitting that he bring that element of filmmaking to a movie about the loss of sight.  The movie had several scenes that were so intense that I found myself short of breathe when they ended.  Gael Garcia Bernal again astonished me with his incredible talent.  He is definitely an wonderful young talent that you can expect to see on the big screen for a long time to come.

16.  Burn After Reading (dir. The Coen Brothers)

For the follow-up to their Oscar winning film No Country For Old Men, Joel And Ethan Coen went in a different direction brought back the dark comedy that made them famous.  This movie was indeed very funny and very dark, but its highlight was a performance from John Malkovich that is one of my favorites of the year.  The rest of the cast did a splendid job as well making for a good movie full of incredible performances.

15.  Iron Man (dir. Jon Favreau) 

I applaud Jon Favreau for what he brought to the world of comic book adaptations.  Sadly, he just happened to do it in the same year that the best comic book film of all time was made.  Being runner-up always sucks, but I guess not as bad when you make a movie like Iron Man.  Robert Downey Jr. simply killed it as Tony Stark and I can’t wait to see him in future installments and spinoffs.  In addition, Jon Favreau continues to grow as a director and I can’t wait to see what he can throw our way outside of the Marvel Universe.  

14.  Tropic Thunder (dir. Ben Stiller)

Tropic Thunder was a great surprise for me in 2008, mainly because it was slightly under my radar and I didn’t expect it to be nearly as good as it turned out to be.  I laughed out loud more in the movie than any movie all year long and that’s saying something.  The whole cast was great, but Robert Downey Jr. really shined.  The real deal breakers, however, were the now infamous cameo performances from Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise.  I feel Tom Cruise gets a lot of flack for his personal life which, in turn, has made people forget about how great he can be on the big screen.  Hopefully he follows this trend and makes some more movies with a lighter side to them.

13.  Cloverfield (dir. Matthew Reeves)

This movie was one of my most anticipated movies of 2008.  After a dazzling marketing campaign, Cloverfield didn’t live up to a lot of people’s expectations. I was not one of those people.  The creativity of this movie alone makes it one of the better movies I saw all year and I would have put it on this list just because of its ad campaign.  I really hope that J.J. Abrams continues to be involved with things that are little different like this film was.  I’m always up for something new.

12.  Forgetting Sarah Marshall (dir. Nicholas Stoller)

If you have read this blog before, you know I love posting gratuitous pictures of girls I am in love with.  If you are new to the blog, well… here you go.  Anyway, besides the obvious fact that this movie stars Kristen Bell, it also had almost everything else going for it.  It was funny and it had its serious moments, bringing all the elements of a great Apatow Production.  

11.  Gran Torino (dir. Clint Eastwood)

A very late edition to the list, Gran Torino marks yet another film directed by Clint Eastwood that finds its way on to one of my year end lists.  Veering away from his typical seriousness, Mr. Eastwood brings a bit of embellishment to his latest film, telling a tale that is not necessarily all that believable but still very touching and entertaining nonetheless. A brilliant cast of nobodies (only one asian actor in the film had ever acted before) and very memorable performance from Clint in his older years drives Gran Torino into the number 11 spot on this years count down, rounding out the first half of my list.

5. Max Payne (Dir. John Moore)

Seriously Mark?  Why is your hand up?  This movie was hot garbage.  I don’t understand why, at this point in his career, Mark Wahlberg is still making movies like this.  It is really bad when the most redeeming quality of your film is a 20 second appearance of a girl who is now on Heroes.  Shout out to Brea Grant, you’re hot.

4.  Quarantine (Dir. John Erick Dowdle)

This movie was the most cliched piece of trash I saw all year.  Which is sad, because it is based on a really good foreign film called “Rec” (or so I’ve heard).   There was no story involved with his trash pile and the acting was top notch fail.  I felt like I wasted an hour and a half of my life on this one.

3.  Twilight (Dir. Catherine Hardwick)

A lot of this movie is down right laughable.  Catherine Hardwick was called in to relay emotion and bring serious acting to a teen romance novel and what she produced is probably the worst acting I’ve seen all year.  Which is sad, because I really like Kristen Stewart and I enjoyed Hardwick’s movie Thirteen.  I tried to like Twilight in general and it pretty much isn’t that good of a book and the movie downright sucks.  Sorry all you girls out there.  

2.  Punisher Warzone (Dir. Lexi Alexander)

I’m not even going to talk about this.  I’m just going to post a link to a trailer.  Watch it. You’ll know everything I want to say

http://movies.ign.com/dor/objects/382367/punisher-war-zone/videos/punisher_warzone_072308.html

1.  10,000 B.C. (Dir. Roland Emmerich)

Remember when they had blue contact lens in 10,000 B.C.?  Roland Emmerich does.  I had to stay over night at my theatre while some stuff got installed, so I watched this.  I HAD NOTHING ELSE TO DO.  I walked out about 20 minutes before it ended.  That’s all I have to say about it.

11.  Terminator Salvation (Dir. McG)

I’ll be the first to admit that I hated on this movie before it even went into production. I thought it was a joke that McG (Charlie’s Angels) was directing it and I couldn’t imagine them coming back from what happened with T3.  Then they announced the cast: Christian Bale, Anton Yelchin, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, etc. and I got a little excited.  I still had my fears, until I saw the first full trailer and it actually looked good.  Really good.  I saw another trailer for a movie that should have been on this list and it failed. Wolverine was supposed to be in the #11 spot, but the trailer for T4 destroyed the Wolvie trailer hard, so I had to switch them.  Here’s to the hope that McG doesn’t make me regret my decision.

10. State of Play ( Dir. Kevin Macdonald)

  Sorry for the crap-tastic picture, but it was all that I could find so far on this film. I’m not going to go wild with this one, I’m just going to hit you with the cast and crew on this and you’ll know what you need to see it.

Director: The guy who directed The Last King of Scotland

Writers: The guys who wrote The Departed and Michael Clayton

Cast: Russell Crowe, Rachel Mcadams, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Helen Mirren, Jeff Daniels and Robin Wright Penn

Based on an award-winning mini-series from the UK.

9.  The Box (Dir. Richard Kelly)

So this is my big gamble.  Everyone knows I love Richard Kelly and that Donnie Darko is quite possibly my favorite movie ever.  That being said, he hasn’t done much of anything since.  I found things to like about Southland Tales, but that was only because of my love for DD.  The Box marks Richard Kelly’s first attempt at material not written by himself.  Based on the story Button, Button by Richard  Matheson (the author of I Am Legend) and the Twilight Zone episode of the same plot, The Box tells the story of a couple who find a mysterious box that will grant you endless wishes at one cost… the death of one random person somewhere in the world.  I won’t give up hope on Kelly, but this might be his last try if he doesn’t make a studio happy.

8.  Star Trek (Dir. J.J. Abrams)

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge J.J. Abrams fanboy and I’m not afraid to admit it.  Lost is quite possibly the best thing to happen to tv ever and that is all it really takes to get me to watch a Star Trek movie.  Well, that and John Cho and Simon Pegg.  The trailer looks visually appealing and action packed.  Hell, J.J. even made a Mission Impossible movie good, so I think he can pull this off.

7.  The Wolfman (Dir. Joe Johnston)

This movie was supposed to be amazing.  Now, don’t get me wrong, it still very well could be… but the main reason I was excited for it is now gone.  The Wolfman was originally announced as being written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Seven) and directed by Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo and every good music video you’ve ever seen.)  You see, I’ve been waiting for Romanek to break loose into film.  One Hour Photo was visually amazing and pretty well made overall.  Thanks to “creative differences”, however, we won’t get to see a Wolfman movie from Mr. Romanek.  Sadly, he departed and was replaced by the director of The Rocketeer and Jumanji.  The cast is headlined by Benicio Del Toro as the titular creature of the night and Sir Anthony Hopkins.  I still have high hopes for this film but will always be wondering what it could have been.

6.  Sunshine Cleaning (Dir. Christine Jeffs)

Finally we get to something independent. I had never heard of this movie until about a month ago when I saw a trailer for it and got blown away.  Sunshine Cleaning tells the story of a mom who, in order to send her kids to school, starts a business with her unreliable sister cleaning up crime scenes.  The film was nominated for a Grand Jury prize at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and has just not gotten distribution.  The film stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt.  If you don’t know who Amy Adams( Enchanted) is yet, you need to get your act together, because this woman can act.  I was absolutely blown away by her performance this year in Doubt and she will no doubt be fantastic in this film as well.

5.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Dir. Michael Bay)

So I posted a gratuitous picture of Megan Fox just because I could.  What are you gonna do about it?  She’s too hot to ignore and that tattoo is just amazing.  Anyway, Transformers 2 or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is coming out this summer and that’s about it. I love Michael Bay action movies and I loved the first TFmers movie, so of course I’ll be looking forward to this… and Megan Fox.

4.  Public Enemies (Dir. Michael Mann)

Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Ali, Collateral, The Insider) is directing a movie about John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi and Channing Tatum.  Did I mention there’s going to be tommyguns?  And probably a ton of them.  The man made Heat people… you’re gonna need to go see this.

3.  Sherlock Holmes (Dir. Guy Ritchie)

Now, this movie makes me so excited and so angry at the same time.  I maintain, that whilst wearing two baseball hats  (one forward and one backward) at the bar about a year and a half ago, I got the drunken idea to make an updated Sherlock Holmes movie and have it be badass. Well, it WAS a good idea, because some other people took it and ran with it.  Those other people?  Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells) will direct Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as the notable Mr. Holmes and Mr. Watson respectively.  Get ready though folks, this isn’t going to be your normal Sherlock movie.  Expect a lot of sword fighting and ass-kickery.  Sounds like fun.

2.  Watchmen (Dir. Zack Snyder)

 Comic book fans around the world have been collectively waiting for this film to be made for decades.  It is causing more nervousness than any film in recent history with hopes continuing to remain high.  Kevin Smith says Zack Snyder nailed it.  He’s a fanboy and so are we, so that has to be a good sign right?  If the film comes anywhere near how awesome the trailer was, I think we’ll be ok.  We’ll have to wait and see though.  Watchmen drops 3-6-09.  Who Will Be Watching the Watchmen?

And now for my number 1 pick. It is a little bit bold, but not really considering who is involved.  

1. Shutter Island (Dir. Martin Scorcese)

Shutter Island marks yet another teaming of Martin Scorcese and current muse Leonardo DiCaprio.  This time we get an adaption of the book by Dennis Lehane who wrote the novels Gone Baby, Gone and Mystic River.  Shutter Island  centers around a U.S. Marshall, in 1954, who is investigating the escape of a murderess from a mental institution who is supposedly hiding on the titular island. Other cast includes Sir Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Max von Sydow, Jackie Earle Haley and Emily Mortimer.  These two really seem like they can’t do anything wrong and the plot of this film is just something that grabs my attention immediately.  This could be oscar bait come next year, mark my words.  Either way, I just hope it is a great 2+ hours in the theatre just like I do for all of the above.

Thanks for tuning in.  I’ll be back shortly with my top 20 movies of 2008 and I’ll see y0u and some great films in the New Year.

This brings us to his latest feature… another remake, but this time of something a little less known.  Mirrors stars ’24′ vet and Hollywood bad boy Kiefer Sutherland as Ben Carson, a cop who is on leave from the New York Police Department and looking for a way to support his estranged family and win back their love and affection.  The means to this end happens to be a job patrolling (at night, of course) an abandoned department store that burned down in a devastating fire.  While doing this job, Carson becomes obsessed with the titular mirrors that seemingly garnish the entire store and somehow were never damaged by the fire.  That is when the freaky stuff begins. The horrors begin to drive Carson mad, showing him horrible things that seemingly are real, but in fact are not.  

It is a simple enough plot, but much like the mirrors in the film; there is more to it than what you see at first glance.  The film is shot very well and Aja certainly proves that he is here to stay in the horror game.  The man knows how to make you cringe on all sorts of levels, both subtly and with the in-your-face gore that has dominated the horror scene in recent years.  What makes this film stand out, however, is how it works subtly.  Horror always finds its biggest effect when it makes the viewer scared of the every day things that you wouldn’t normally question.  That is why Jaws was such a sensation, because it made you afraid of water.  Well, that is what Aja does here, on a lesser scale.  He takes something that normally makes you comfortable (your reflection) and makes you wonder what it would be like if that wasn’t something that made you comfortable, but instead was out to harm you.  It works really well in giving the audience a strong feeling of discomfort. 

Kiefer Sutherland holds his own, but is definitely still drawing most of his performance from his TV persona, Jack Bauer.  The film has two great supporting performances from two gorgeous young actresses in the forms of Paula Patton and Amy Smart, both of whom play smaller but pivotal roles opposite of Mr. Sutherland.  Paula Patton does a particularly good job playing the estranged wife of Kiefer’s character and brings something fresh to tired role of “unbelieving loved one who thinks the main character is just crazy”.

Towards the end of the film, everything takes a quick turn and the film skirts on the edge of ridiculousness; but it successfully does so without ruining everything that had preceded it.  While it certainly isn’t anything ground breaking, Mirrors is another solid effort from Alexandre Aja that makes you wonder if he has the stamina to keep this going and become an everyday name in the world of Horror.  Right now, he is certainly on pace to do so.

Grade: B+

So quickly we find ourselves brought back to the argument that mixing comedy with action is a extremely hard task to pull off.  It is almost picture perfect, however, how this effort from writer/director Ben Stiller seems to give us almost the exact opposite from last week’s Pineapple Express.  When it comes to Mr. Stiller’s go at the action/comedy attack, he doesn’t just bring it close to the target… he destroys the target with bullets, grenades, land mines, flame throwers and just about everything else you can imagine.  Where Tropic Thunder goes right is in the execution and writing.  The movie is a smart comedy about the world of action movies (and the realm of Hollywood in general).  While this movie will have movie goers laughing in general, it will absolutely annihilate your gut if you are someone who loves movies or knows anything about how they get made.  Don’t get me wrong though, this movie is for everyone… not just those who share an intense love for movie magic.  All it takes is for you to have seen a Michael Bay film or pretty much any action film ever made for that matter for you to appreciate what the folks behind this movie are trying to do.

The jokes come fast and furious throughout the film written by both Ben Stiller and Justin Theroux, but they don’t come at the expense of any action.  What makes the blend work in this movie, however is the idea that the action and comedy are tied together inherently in the plot.  This makes it possible to serve the audience a immense portion of gruesome action while keeping the laughs coming at a steady pace throughout.  The budget of the film allows for stunt work and effects that any true action movie deserves. It is all of these things that make the film and its over the top mix of genres more digestible in the minds of the audience.

The real fun comes from the vast array of great performances throughout, however.  Two of the main stars don’t particularly bring much new to their typical performances (Jack Black and Ben Stiller, himself), but they certainly don’t do a bad job.  They are, however, out-shined and overshadowed when it comes to the laugh factor by pretty much everyone else in the film.  Robert Downey Jr. continues to dazzle on screen in almost everything that he does, playing the most over the top character in the movie and he is balanced by two great performances by Jay Baruchel and Brandon T. Jackson, both of who stand out in their roles.  Jay Baruchel plays an almost picture perfect portrait of who he is in real life, an actor who is often overlooked in the films he can be found in.  Just like in real life, however, the movie wouldn’t work without his standout performance.  The two best performances come from two individuals you might not even know are in the movie, but trust me… it isn’t a spoiler to know they are in it.  In fact, here’s to hoping that by telling you about them,  it will encourage you to go see what they have laid out on the screen.  Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey are both in this film and they simple slay in the roles that were given.  What makes their performances memorable though, especially in the case of Tom Cruise, is how much fun they seem to have doing it.  Without going into a 3 page paper on the subject, Tom Cruise is a guy that has been getting a really bad wrap as of late.  Let’s hope this movie gets him out of the (undeserved) gutter.  You see, the thing about Tom Cruise is that he LOVES acting.  While some people only care about the fame and the money, this man truly does love to simply entertain people and I think this is why he took this role.  Words can not express how funny he is in Tropic Thunder, you just need to see it to understand.  

Maybe that is just it too. Maybe it takes a movie about how ludicrous Hollywood is and how ridiculous it is that people get their lives wrapped up in what these “stars” do in their spare time for people to realize that movies are supposed to be entertainment.  That’s all.  Tom Cruise is here to entertain just like Ben Stiller is there to entertain. Just like Bernie Mac was here to entertain. The whole cast comes together in this one to show us what fun and entertainment are supposed to be about… and man do they get it right.

Grade: A

As the Judd Apatow express train continues to gain steam, each film that comes out with his name attached to it seems to get more and more hype along the way.  Pineapple Express is no exception.  Announced as the follow-up project from the “Guys that Brought You Superbad and Knocked Up“, Pineapple Express immediately caught the attention of critics and fans alike; banking on the idea that Judd Apatow and friends were sharing one serious hot streak.  The film also caught the attention of a different group of people, however, who only had one thing in mind.  The story, written by Superbad scribes Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, focuses on two unlikely friends (a process server and his drug dealer) who get mixed up (and messed up) in a mysterious murder plot; all the while under the influence of their own dealings.  It is within this plot that the problems of the film can be found.

Mixing action and comedy can be a very tricky undertaking.  When it works, it really works (see Hot Fuzz).  When it doesn’t work, well… it can really toy with the emotions of the viewer.  This film has that problem.  Constantly battling throughout over whether or not to be an action film or a stoner comedy, the film doesn’t seem to be able to find that happy medium.  The scenes in which the major action takes place seem to stall out on the comedy and when you finally get caught up in the plot (which does lend it self to enjoyment) you get hit with the a classic Apatow-esque comedy scene that completely stops the momentum of the plot.  The effort is definitely there from the film’s director, David Gordon Green, but as stated before, when attempting something that is difficult to manage from the start, chances are you aren’t going to pull it off brilliantly. 

This isn’t to say that the film doesn’t have its highlights.  While Seth Rogen gently slips into the same comfortable character that he seems have played in both Knocked Up and The 40-Year Old Virgin, it is James Franco that was the big surprise in this film.  Failing to shine nearly as bright in any of his films as the man who delivered Franco’s career to him (come on, James Dean people?), Franco steals the show in Pineapple Express; possibly giving his best performance since the last time he teamed up with Judd Apatow to bring us the short-lived (sadly) television gem Freaks and Geeks.  There are plenty of jokes throughout that both get your gut right away, as well as those great one-liners that you only get after thinking about them for a couple of minutes. In what seems to be slowly taking the reigns as “the best part of movie made by this crew”, Ken Jeong gives yet another memorable performance in a bit-role.  

Overall, Pineapple Express isn’t a bad film.  It just isn’t a great one either.  Will it break the streak for Judd Apatow? Of course not.  The man is pretty much untouchable right now and it is certainly well deserved. Here’s hoping to the idea that he can keep churning out the goods this well and at this pace.  In mean time, go see Pineapple Express have fun with it because it certainly is enjoyable, just on a lesser scale.

Final Grade: B-

Right now, the site is probably going to focus on reviews (for both movies in theatres and on DVD).  If all goes as planned, I will start adding some movie related news and other fun tid-bits here and there. 

Anyway, enough rambling for now.  I’ll save that for the reviews.  Enjoy!