DVD Roundup: I love you Phillip Morris

I love you Phillip Morris is a movie I had heard so much more about it's lack of a release date than anything about the subject of the film.  And having seen it, I have trouble understanding what the fuss was about.  There are MANY more explicit sex films, and widely accepted movies about gay couples who have sex (to be fair, I can only think of 2 - Brokeback Mountain and The Kids are All Right but ILYPM wasn't breaking new ground on that front).  And, it's not overly flamboyant about being gay.  Like Brokeback and Kids, it's about the love story.  To be fair, these people aren't particularly likeable, gay or not.  But I still have trouble figuring out why anyone cared about making a fuss over its distribution.

Jim Carrey plays Steven Russell, a happy married cop who decides he's not going to pretend any more after he gets into a car accident.  So he heads to Miami, gets a boyfriend and starts living an extravagant life well beyond his means.  Eventually he gets caught for the credit card fraud, etc. and ends up in prison.  There he meets Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor) a more soft-spoken younger gay man in jail for some other kind of fraud.  Russell is really manipulative in every aspect of life and that continues in prison - he manages to convince Morris to fall for him, but their love seems genuine.  Russell even gets them sharing a cell for a while.  When he gets out, he pretends to be a lawyer and gets Morris out.  Of course he's back to his manipulative tricks and gets a fake job and steals more money, ending back in prison, and losing Morris.  I won't explain what happens, but there was a huge con that frames the film that I totally didn't see coming, but really bookended the film well.  

Carrey isn't loveable.  He's kind of sleazy, greasy, and not particularly attractive.  Since he never seems like those things on the red-carpet promoting his movies, his acting was something new for him.  He doesn't take advantage of his ability for physical comedy, but keeps it more restrained in an aggressive way.  McGregor is much more flowery and passive than almost any of his roles.  He verges on cliche, but was still nice to watch. A good balance to Carrey's aggression.  The supporting cast is good too - Leslie Mann as his ex-wife is a funny bible beater who supports her criminal husband.  Rodrigo Santoro (the hot guy Laura Linney dates in Love, Actually) is Carrey's first boyfriend Jimmy.  Perfect casting.  While not a particularly controversial film in almost any way, it's a cute movie.  3.5 of 5 stars/lambs.

New Release: Paul

There are always going to be the optimal audience members for a given film.  Sometimes movie makers make that group so specific that it's possible no one will know they were supposed to be part of it.  I'm a little afraid Paul will be part of that group of movies, with no one aware that this movie was made for them.  Going in, I had no idea this movie was made for me.  **No spoilers if you've seen the trailer or cast list**

Paul reteams the stars of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, Nick Frost and Simon Pegg - Clive and Graham respectively.  This time, they're more laid back, but in a naive way, with longer hair, a bit more fluff around the middle, and a more happy go lucky attitude.  They have arrived at Comic-Con, the Mecca for geeks, nerds, dweebs and movie-fans alike.  Clive has even written a science fiction novel (about a woman with three tits - apparently that extra tit is a source of endless amusement) and they get their hero's signature.  After Comic-con they set off on a road trip adventure in an RV to visit all of the UFO/alien sites across the US.  I'll admit, these went a little beyond my personal nerd knowledge, but it's really enough to know they have something to do with a sighting/abduction/landing.  Then they witness a car crash and getting out to help, they meet Paul.  About 4' tall, large head, no shirt (just pants - like Mickey Mouse), and a Seth Rogan mouth - literally and figuratively, he does the voice.  Paul is on the run and needs help (the exact reasons are explained slowly).  After Clive (Frost) faints, Graham agrees to help Paul get away.

This is where the I'll try not to spoil the rest - but you can assume, since Paul is on the run, someone must be out to get him.  We get to watch two of the most bumbling agents (Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio) try to figure out what they're looking for and where it is after tough guy, Jason Batemen yells at them at every turn.  Batemen is being controlled by "the Big Guy" who isn't revealed until the end (though the voice is pretty recognizable).  Our troublesome trio (Clive, Graham and Paul) spend the night at a trailer park and kidnap Bible-thumper, Ruth (Kristin Wiig) because she saw Paul.  All along, we get glimpses of Paul's story - how he got to earth, why he's been locked up, what special skills he posseses, and how he'll get back home.

Greg Mottola directed Superbad and Adventureland, and if you've seen those, you know what you're in for with Paul, and it more than lives up to the other two (one of which I did NOT like).  It's more for a grown up group of sci-fi nerds.  There are homages to every single franchise (some more direct than others), and a guest voice appearance when we learn the real source of E.T..  Twilight Zone, The X-files, Star Wars, Star Trek, etc. make an entrance.  I'm sure there were more (Doctor Who, comic books) but that was the extent of my knowledge and I laughed my ass off.  Pegg and Frost are their always winning buddy-duo with many recurring jokes and nods to their other work together.  Terrific fun - if you fall into any of the demographics to find elements of this funny.  If you have a nerdy bone in your body, this movie is for you.  3.5 of 5 stars/lambs

New Release: Just Go With It

I've been a bit behind on regular posting of what I've seen and I know I said I was going on a hiatus, but I started several reviews of things I watched and they just needed to be finished and have photos added so here goes.

Adam Sandler's new movie, Just Go With It, had almost no expectations of being any good.  His previous movie, Grown Ups and Jennifer Aniston has been creating a series of pretty amazingly bad movies (The Bounty Hunter was on many "worst of 2010" lists, including mine).  But, over at Reel Insight, it was Adam Sandler week so I decided to take my chances.  And maybe it was due to those extremely low expectations, but I enjoyed it much more than any of the last few Sandler movies.  The movie starts with Sandler as Danny (complete with a HUGE prosthetic nose) overhearing his bride to be discussing how the affair she had the night before was the last time.   He goes to a  bar to drown his sorrows and is playing with his wedding ring when a girl (Minka Kelly) notices his wedding ring and offers to cheer him up.  This gives Sandler the idea to pretend to be married in order to pick up girls without commitment, oh and to become a plastic surgeon and have his nose taken care of.

This advances us ten years or so.  Katherine (Aniston) is now his office assistant and friend.  A single mother with two kids, she mocks his fake lifestyle.  Oh, and she's taught her kids to call poop a Devlin, named after a girl she hated in her sorority.  Danny meets Palmer (Brooklyn Decker) and decides his wild ways are over - but she find his wedding ring and will only believe his relationship is over when she meets his soon-to-be ex-wife.  He asks Katherine to step in - but only if she fancys herself up a bit.  This the the moment you can see the rest of the movie coming - she walks in all hot and sexy with clothes he bought and his mouth drops.  But, you need another 90 minutes of insanity before they can get together.

And for a change, the insanity is worth it.  Palmer thinks they have kids and she wants to meet them (Danny borrows Katherine's manipulative and surprisingly unannoying and cute kids).  The kids maneuver their way into a trip to Hawaii for the whole family.  Danny's best friend, Eddie (Nick Swardson) arrives at the airport for a free trip to Hawaii pretending to be Katherine's new boyfriend, Dolph Lundren, a sheep expert (surprisingly hysterical in every scene he's in, while you're waiting for him to get cracked in the nuts - it felt like he filled the Rob Schneider role, but did it better).  Oh, and Nicole Kidman and Dave Matthews show up as Katherine's high school friend Devlin and her perfect husband.  Wonderfully bitchy and competitive, Kidman needs to do more of this kind of comedy - she's pretty great, and Matthews is hysterical.

Overall, there are many laugh out loud moments, a few poignantly sweet moments (one with the kids, and a few between Sandler and Aniston) and a very predictable story with pretty great scenery and clothes.  Somewhere between Billy Madison and 50 First Dates  - both of which I love, so this worked for me.  3.5 of 5 stars/lambs

New Release: How Do You Know...

Rachel mentioned this on the recent episode of Reel Insight (Episode 27) - but why doesn't this title have a question mark?  Or at least a set of ellipses so you know they meant to continue the question.  It might have added a depth this movie actually achieves, but is unexpected.  How Do You Know stars Reese Witherspoon as Lisa, an Olympic caliber softball star who has reached the end of her career, but has no real concept of what to do next.  She explains many of the women she has seen finish their careers go on to graduate school (they have college degrees because how else do you get to keep playing women's softball except by playing in the NCAA?) get married and have babies.  She's not quite sure that's for her - she lives her life spouting affirming cliches, every sports psych-up slogan about problems, obstacles, and challenges you've ever heard are in this movie or posted on her mirror.  But there doesn't seem to be a cliche for knowing what to do with your life in a more abstract way.  So she starts dating Owen Wilson's Washington  Nationals player, Matty.  A womanizing playboy (he has new pink track suits hanging in his closet so women don't have to do the walk of shame in their evening gowns) who wants to talk about how awesome he is - he's VERY Owen Wilson, asking lots of questions about whether he's amazing, and asking for praise about being so sensitive.  Matty and Lisa date even though they're horribly suited and keep breaking up.
The other main storyline follows the dear, cute, unbearably honest Paul Rudd.  The company he works for - CEO is Jack Nicholson as his corrupt dad - is about to get investigated for securities fraud, which would set the blame firmly on Rudd's shoulders.  A lot of his story isn't explained (too boring for a rom-com, I suppose, but the movie suffers for the white-washing of his troubles), but he has to sell everything he owns to hire a good attorney.  He ends up on a blind date with Lisa (she figures free dinner is free dinner) where they've both had terrible days, so they decide to just not speak.  This is the best date he's ever had apparently (weird set up for his character) and he falls head over heels.  The rest of the movie plays on his trying to win Lisa away from Matty, but in his subtle, honest, non-mean way.  Eventually she realizes Matty's not for her, and Rudd really is the perfect guy (Matty can't promise he'll stop "anonymous sex", but he'll be monogamous the rest of the time - really couldn't she pick up on some of these clues earlier?). 

Overall, the movie attempts to answer several questions - How do you know when you're in love?  How do you know what to do with your life?  How do you know when to fight for what you want?  Sadly, it doesn't do a great job of answering ANY of these, though all are set up to be resolved.  It's got a lot of funny moments - often involving Rudd dancing or Wilson being a jack-ass.  The consistently funniestactor is Rudd's assistant Kathryn Hahn (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) as she attempts to help Rudd's work situation.  The thing that I found really missing from the rom-com is Lisa's best friend.  She doesn't have one.  Adding a Judy Greer she could talk to about things who would crack wise would have helped the humor overall. The acting is just right for each character (perfect even) that you really believe these characters do these things, but the conditions they're put in are not believable ever.  A decent rom-com that is saved by the terrific acting, but weighed down by not bothering to reach further with the story.  2.5 of 5 stars/lambs

New Release: Love and Other Drugs

While I saw this movie because it was Jake Gyllenhaal week at Reel Insight, I have been excited about this movie since I saw it was coming out.  You can hear my other most anticipated movies on Episode 38 of the Lambcast from September.  And thankfully, I wasn't disappointed, it was as good as I expected it to be - and much sexier.  A movie deserving its R rating is a welcome distraction from relatively innocuous rom coms dramas of late (I'm looking at you, Eat, Pray, Love, The Bounty Hunter, and Killers).  

Love & Other Drugs stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Jamie Randall and Anne Hathaway as Maggie Murdoch in the late 1990s.  Jamie is the screw-up of his over-achieving family - his younger brother Josh just sold a company for millions (played by Josh Gad - in a role that showed me Jonah Hill better watch his back as I liked Gad MUCH better than any role Hill's done in a while).  He gets a job in pharmaceutical sales just before Viagra is released during the time Prozac is being challenged by Zoloft.  Side note - I found it weird they didn't feel the need to explain what any of these drugs were because everyone already knew them, it seemed to be a small commentary on the fact that the commercialization of drugs directly to consumers is a massive change that people have somewhat overlooked.  Anyway, Jamie cons his way into a doctor's office and meets Maggie, a young woman looking for a refill on her Parkinson's drugs. 

Yes, she's a 27-year-old Parkinson's patient - and while the rest of the movie does deal with the complications of dating someone who will be sick the entire time you know them, and the fact that someone's illness does not define them any more than their hair color or height, the movie is actually about Jamie figuring out that he's a good person and doesn't really know what love is.  He was given a particularly privileged upbringing, but rebelled against it for a long time and never really knew how to love someone - have sex with them, but not stick around.  So it's a cheesy romantic comedy at it's heart, with a thoughtful background question that must be dealt with.  And man, is it sexy.  Yes, they have sex a lot, but it's also sexy in the way its filmed - long smiles and suggestive close-ups.  It's also funny, without using dirty humor - Jamie having one of the side effects of Viagra, and shlubby Josh getting caught watching a sex tape.  Overall, funny and touching without being too schlocky or cliched.  4 of 5 stars/lambs

New Release: Due Date

My love of Robert Downey Jr. is well documented here.  And I enjoyed  The Hangover last year, though can't say I loved Zack Galifiankis (aka Beardo - I think Rachel started calling him that on a past episode of Reel Insight, but I can't be sure, but it stuck) who is RDJ's costar in Due Date.  While they should have just come out and said it was a modern version of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, since most of the travel issues, from not being able to take a plane to sharing a rental car are nearly identical.  However, for me, that's where the positive comparison ends.  This was such a missed opportunity to make RDJ the straight man to Beardo's bumbling, but heartfelt, idiot.  RDJ is MUCH funnier than this movie ever lets him be.  Steve Martin was the funny man to John Candy's bumbling, but heartfelt, nice guy, and they created comedy TOGETHER.  Due Date hits that mark only a very few times, instead relying on gross-out humor (a dog masturbating, really?) and Beardo's effeminate walk for laughs.  The screenplay is really uneven, never really knowing where the story is going to turn, and then all of sudden, after getting high together, RDJ, who previously (and rightly) hated Beardo, suddenly loves him.  Then there are the myriad ways they break the law or their bodies and just get away with it, and nothing negative ever follows them around, beyond a single broken arm.  They "accidentally" drive into Mexico, and get detained.  Beardo walks away, and RDJ is in a trailer being questioned (still stoned) that Beardo rips off the stand and drives away with, but the police just stop chasing them? Odd.  And, RDJ gets shot, and still manages to drive 300 miles without bleeding to death.  What a great immune system?   Okay, those are most of the major rants and problems I had with this movie.  By the end, most of them didn't bother me much - you kind of like Beardo, RDJ has finally figured out how to be funny again, and it's an "aw shucks" moment when they're friends now.  Overall, didn't like it, and was definitely disappointed, but probably moreso from high expectations.  2 of 5 stars/lambs

Funniest thing this week

I'm catching up on last season's 30 Rock.  Tina Fey hallucinates her ex-boyfriends are the nurses at her doctor's office.  Just to explain this hysterical clip.

New Releases: Easy A and RED

I have seen a few new movies in the theater lately, but haven't been keeping up with my reviews, so here's two for one.  Easy A is as good as everyone says.  If you've listened to the podcasts I've been on lately, you'll know I loved this movie.  I got to see it all by myself in a theater - one of the benefits to living in a rural area, it's possible to get a private screening on occasion.  In case you've missed it - Easy A is the story of Olive Pendergast (Emma Stone), a high school student who makes up a date with a college student, and when her best friend asks her about it, she pretends they had sex.  This starts a rumor that flies through the high school that Olive is easy.  One of her friends, Brandon (Dan Byrd), is getting bullied because he's gay, and asks her to pretend to have sex with him so raise his reputation.  They pretend at a big party and it changes everything for both of them.  In English class they're studying Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter", giving a theme to the movie and to Olive's life - she starts dressing like someone easy, and puts a scarlet A on her hootchie clothes.  it escalates to include many of the dorky guys in her school, and of course eventually she has to put a stop to the lies and everything comes out.  Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci play her hippie parents who love her and are hysterically inappropriate, but the best parents on screen in a while.  The rest of the supporting cast is terrific - Lisa Kudrow, Thomas Haden Church, and surprisingly Amanda Bynes.  The movie is really, really funny but has a ton of heart without going into cliche or smaltz.  Definitely check it out.  4.5 of 5 stars/lambs

** No spoilers ** The other terrific movie I saw recently was RED, starring Bruce Willis as a retired CIA agent who is trying to figure out what to do with his life.  They did a terrific job with the trailer because it doesn't reveal too much, and focuses on all you need to know.  Willis falls for Mary-Louise Parker (in a nicer role than her "Weeds" character, but quite similar).  However, just as he's going to meet her, a team comes in to kill him.  The rest of the movie is their trek to figure out who wants to kill him and how to stop it.  They enlist the help of other retired agents, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich (in a perfect level of crazy), and Helen Mirren (totally badass).  Since I liked it so much without actually knowing the details, I won't spoil it.  I'll just say they did a near perfect job of putting incredibly strong actors into a movie that could easily have turned campy and stupid, but instead is just right.  It's funny, action-driven, with lots of guns and death.  Definitely recommend it highly.  4 of 5 stars/lambs

Movies Meme Day 04 - A movie that makes you laugh every time

When I read the title for today's post, I immediately heard myself saying almost the same thing about the following movie.  There's a scene in Little Miss Sunshine that makes me laugh every time I see the movie and every time they repeat the scene - which is about 5 times.  It's pushing the VW bus that cracks me up.  Every time they have to push it, I crack up.  I've started to realize this is probably because it makes me aware of how silly I looked doing the same thing for 2 weeks when I lived in Kenya. 

That car was also stick shift, so I would park on whatever hill I could find, and push start it every day.  Starting work meant rounding up 2-3 people to give me a push.  I think watching Little Miss Sunshine reminds me of how ridiculous I must have looked.  Also, the scenes when they push the bus have almost nothing to do with the rest of the story and add a moment of levity to the screwball road trip they're on.  When the horn on the bus goes out and beeps sporadically and they get pulled over by the cop and have to keep driving and explaining to people who can't hear them that they can't do anything about the horn.  It kills me every time.  In addition to lots of other kinds of humor in a terrific movie, that bus kills me.

I have to give an honorable mention to StepBrothers too.  When they "build" bunk-beds and it collapses I laugh out loud.  I'm giggling just remembering it. 

Check out the rest of the movie meme

New Releases: Salt and The Sorcerer's Apprentice

The offerings at the average cinema have not been particularly exciting so far this summer.  Art houses, maybe, but not wide releases so much.  However, I ventured out to see a few I had a vague interest in seeing, and thankfully wasn't disappointed.  Salt was a good action thriller with a fairly interesting (and ironically timely) twist.  The Sorcerer's Apprentice was entertaining, and as campy as expected.  Some movies are good merely because they exceed expectations (see Get Him to the Greek) and some are good when they are basically exactly what the trailer told you they would be, with some originality thrown in.

Salt stars Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent who is exposed as a Russian sleeper agent.  We saw from the previews all that she does to deny this, going on the run, trying to find her husband, etc.  However, what they don't tell you in the preview and I'm going to ruin now **spoilers** is that she actually IS a Russian sleeper agent, inserted into the US as a child who is brainwashed to grow up to be part of the CIA (as if that's an easily achievable goal) and then when "triggered" go on a rampage with other sleeper agents and destroy the US for the benefit of Mother Russia.  The children are chosen and inserted during the Cold War, and the movie doesn't really explain why they're even triggered in the first place since the Cold War ended.  I think they were trying to pretend the people in charge were actually terrorists, but that part doesn't get clear.  While Salt does a good job of the thriller, escape and capture over and over, all the characters are fairly shallow and there isn't enough back story.  It did remind me of The Hunt for Red October minus the submarines, but that might have just been because the US is once again fighting the Russians, though October had much better characters and depth of story.  Jolie did a good job, once again, as the bad-ass superhero/villian.  Liev Schrieber was also good as her CIA partner who has a lot of secrets of his own.  The only character will an actual arc of good acting is Chiwetel Ejiofor, though for the first half he's basically playing the exact same character as in Serenity, a guy searching for someone and being bad-ass and single minded about it.  So other than shallow characters, the story was interesting, and action was terrific.  Overall a 3.5 of 5 stars/lambs

The Sorcerer's Apprentice was kind of a campy cross between Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.  There's a kid (Jay Baruchel doing a better version of his shtick from Almost Famous as the Zeppelin fan and not quite as good as his character from Tropic Thunder) who is destined to be a master of the fantastical - in this case The Prime Merlinian (say it out loud and you'll probably get the joke).  He is a sorcerer and the descendant of Merlin, destined to destroy Merlin's nemesis Morgana la Fey who has been trapped in a nesting doll for centuries.  Protecting this doll, former apprentice of Merlin himself and future mentor of the Primer Merlinian, Nic Cage plays Balthazar in all his campy mediocrity.  The movie missed a great opportunity to let Cage run wild with all his big....arms.....and.....long.....pauses.....as.......he attempts.......to........make a point.   Cage is only mildly funny, and it's usually on purpose, which is too bad.  There's not much to say - like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, he learns just enough to avoid being killed himself, and finds other people to help him out.  I like the National Treasure movies so I was actually looking forward to seeing this, and it was only exactly as advertised.  Alfred Molina does play a pretty impressive bad guy (other of Merlin's other apprentices who turned to Morgana's side) and Toby Kebbell as his new apprentice offers a lot of funny moments making fun of famous "magicians".  Not great, but not terrible either.  3 of 5 stars/lambs

New Release: The Kids Are All Right

One of the things I miss most about living in New York City (other than friends and family and City Bakery) is the availability of limited release movies.  A quick trip for work gave me the chance to catch The Kids Are Alright, which was the basis of the Reel Insight podcast a few weeks ago on Julianne Moore, so I was pretty excited.  That and word of mouth and reviews were stellar, and I'm very happy to say it totally lived up to the hype.  A perfect combination of comedy and drama, this movie defies a single genre category.  I'll give you a good description and perhaps someone can give me the best category.  Two women, Nic (Annette Benning) and Jules (Julianne Moore) are in a committed relationship, and have raised two children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (John Hutcherson).  Each mom gave birth to one of the kids, using the same sperm donor, so the kids are half-siblings.  Now Joni is 18, about to head off to college, and Laser convinces her to contact the sperm bank to find out about their biological dad.  It starts off with Laser sort of needing a better male role model, like the dad of his loser friend Clay.  However, once they decide to meet Paul (Mark Ruffalo), it's Joni and Jules who realize they might have been missing something.   Nic is a doctor and supports the family, but is a bit of a control freak.  Jules is more of a free spirit and wants to start her own landscaping business.  Paul, too, is a free spirit who didn't finish college, but now runs his own restaurant and organic farm.  There are 3 major story lines through the movie: Laser's relationship with Clay (which Nic and Jules suspect might be more than friends), Joni's relationship with Paul, blossoming with someone who might be a good role model outside of the rigid life she's led so far, and finally Jules relationship with Paul after he hires her to landscape his yard.  Then the overarching story is what does it mean to be kids in a family with two moms.  Each relationship is filled with humor and drama, as all relationships can be.  I won't describe everything that happens, but will say that there aren't really any spoilers.  It's the kind of movie where the details don't actually spoil the overall story, which can only be experienced as a whole.  One of the funniest moments is when Laser walks in on his parents having sex and watching gay MALE porn.  They sit him down to talk and the only question he has is why they were watching guys.  Nic starts with it's a private thing, but Jules is more practical and says something along the lines of "Lesbian porn tends to be two straight acttresses pretending to be gay, and it's just not realistic."  This is hysterical because Nic is trying to shush Jules and Laser doesn't want that much detail, but it's also a nod to the people watching the film acknowledging that Annette Bening and Julianne Moore are not in fact gay women, but actresses pretending to be gay.  The whole movie is sophisticated enough in the dialogue and acting skills of the whole cast to be able to interact with the audience just a little bit like that.  Yes, there is some commentary on what it means to be gay, definitely lots of commentary on relationships.  When Paul turns out not be a good father figure and Joni confronts him with the simple "I wish you'd been better."  It sums up his character just about perfectly.  And he's the perfect person to play it - not too earnest, not too needy, not too cute (just right in my opinion) and not too together.  Overall, the five major players in this movie were perfectly cast and gave funny, dramatic performances.  It was the subtle differences that made you momentarily aware this was just a standard family, like when the kids would say "The moms are going to freak out" rather than Mom and Dad are going to freak out.  I think the fact that it was just so smooth made it really easy to relate to the family unit even if it's a kind of family unit with which some might not be intimately familiar.  I left loving the movie and wanting to see it again.  Easily the best movie I've seen in 2010.  I'd be surprised if this movie doesn't have some awards buzz.  5 of 5 stars/lambs

One last thing, the title is "All Right" rather than "Alright", which I think is the idea that kids are figuring things out about gay marriage, parents, relationships, etc. and that things are moving in the right direction, but that's just my own opinion. 

DVD Roundup: 2012 and I hate Valentine's Day

My Netflix queue has been slim pickings lately, probably due to the fact that I saw most of what I wanted to see in 2009, but there are a few remnants making their way to my TV.  2012 was John Cusack's attempt at a disaster movie.  And as a disaster movie it's not bad - things fall apart, unbelievable things happen, people rise to the occasion, some turn out to be dirtbags and get killed, there are explosions, cracks in the earth, tsunamis, and lots of running around.  I think this basically could describe all good disaster movies (Deep Impact, Armageddon, The Core, etc.), but most of them also have something that sets them apart.  I saw this movie a few weeks ago, but couldn't muster the will to write much about it mostly because there's not much to say.  Cusack and his ex-wife Amanda Peet, and her new boyfriend Thomas McCarthy don't do much, but they get the most screen time.  Oliver Platt and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the government people who figure out the world is ending and start creating the arks were pretty good.  Platt is douche-y and you don't like him, but you know he's right when he says that not everyone can survive.  And you like Ejiofor's earnestness when he thinks as many people as possible should survive.  Woody Harrelson was also funny as a anarchist radio host who broadcasts from his truck near the Yellowstone explosion. The only thing that was interesting and slightly original was the creation of the arks and the international cooperation that went into creating them.  They glossed over the "science" too much for me.  If they're going to go with a scientific basis of the end of the world, they gotta give us some more science besides a pit in Yellowstone with really high temperatures that then explodes.  Alternatively, if you're going to name your movie 2012, then you should use more of the Mayan theory that the end of the world will occur based on their religious beliefs and calculations.  The special effects weren't bad, but overall the movie was meh.  No one expected it to be original, but dare I say they didn't take it as over-the-top as I would have liked. 2.5 of 5 stars/lambs  (Check out what the rest of the LAMBs thought here)

**Spoilers, but do you really care? ** 

The second movie I saw on DVD was also barely worth the time.  I Hate Valentine's Day is the third film written by Nia Vardelos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Connie and Carla both of which I enjoyed) but this was directed by her as well.  She reunited with her Wedding costar John Corbett, and other than an unrecognizable Judah Freidlander (30 Rock) and Rachel Dratch, the cast has all nearly unknown actors.  The concept:  Vardelos is a florist who is in love with falling in love, but doesn't think relationships are worthwhile because the romance ends.  Therefore, she just goes out on 5 dates with a guy while he woos her and then she breaks it off.  So far this seems to have worked.  She poo-poos the people who say she just hasn't met the right guy, until she meets and dates Corbett.  They meet when he's trying to impress a girlfriend on Valentine's Day, but he catches the unseen girlfriend with another guy, so now he's free to date Vardelos.  She's an expert on the woo-ing phase of relationships, and dictates generally what they should do on their dates.  The big joke that isn't mined for all its humor is that she's the girl all guys have been waiting for - sex without commitment.  They mention that she doesn't sleep with all the guys, but it's more of an afterthought when advising a friend.  However, after she does sleep with Corbett, who knows about the 5 date rule, she doesn't hear from him again because he's abiding by her rules.  She becomes crazed trying to get over him since she's fallen in love with him, but he's kind of moving on since he doesn't think she's interested any more.  Like most romantic comedies, it's based on the fact that if they just talked, they could probably resolve their issues and be happy since that's what happens at the end.  Meanwhile, her entire outlook on love has changed.  She used to be obliviously happy and now she's painfully aware that she's unhappy.  Started with an interesting concept and then got crushed under its weight.  A few funny moments with her florist assistants, but that's about it.  Not great.  2 of 5 stars/lambs (I'm betting no other lambs have seen this, so I can't direct you to anything further).

TV Meme: Day 29

Day 29 - Current t.v show obsession

My current TV obsession is My Life on the D-List with Kathy Griffin.  I confessed during Episode 3 of Reel Insight how much I love it, but now I'll tell the world (since most of you might not listen to the podcast, but you totally should, even I listen to it and I hate my voice).  I watch all of Kathy Griffin's specials, which are all basically her stories of her interactions with A-list celebrities and how crazy or full of themselves they are.  Or, it's about how high she is on their s*#$-list, or what she did to get on their list.  She's pretty high on Oprah, Ryan Seacrest or Lindsay Lohan's lists, I'm sure.  You can see she's sometimes exaggerating, but not by much.  She once described eating a meal next to Anna Nicole Smith, and her imitation was amazing.  On the TV show on Bravo, she does crazy things to attempt to get off the D-list, but mostly it's just things to get attention, with a splash of her actual life and the lives of her crazy assistants.  This season already she's demolished the interior of her house, then fired the designer and told her assistant to fix it.  She's asked Liza Minneli for acting advice when she did her "emmy-bait" appearance on Law & Order: SVU and kissed BOTH Mariska Hargitay AND Chris Maloney.  Oh, and I bought and read her book, Official Book Club Selection, and actually really liked it.  Now I've confessed my obsession and will go bury my head in shame. 

TV Meme: Day 15

Day 15 - Favorite female character

I had to think about this one for a while.  There are a lot of bad-ass women on TV today (Glenn Close, Kyra Sedgwick, Holly Hunter, Connie Britton, etc.) but my favorite character that actually seems to separate herself from the actress who plays her is Liz Lemon (played by Tina Fey) on 30 Rock.  I don't usually get to watch this show live, and sometimes you do wonder if Tina Fey is actually like Liz Lemon, but if you've ever seen Tina Fey accept an award or give an interview you can tell Tina Fey and Liz Lemon only look alike. Liz is the head writer for TGS (formerly known as The Girlie Show until Tracy Jordan arrived to spice ratings).  She gets to spend her time managing the egos of Tracy, Jenna (Jane Krakowski), and negotiating craziness with Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin).  However, she's so overwhelmed, she often gets caught in her craziness, like holding her bra together with tape.  She's hilarious in her constant struggle to find a guy, self-esteem and to put on a show.  I love watching her try.   In this photo she's trying to get out of jury duty (it almost seems easier just to serve).

New Release Review: Get Him to the Greek!

I saw this about a week ago, but couldn't quite find the words to describe what I liked and didn't like about it.  Get Him to the Greek is basically the story of Aaron (Jonah Hill) a fairly big loser, working for a record label (Sean Combs) and reminiscing about the days before music was just reinventions of the same thing ("I found the new Alicia Keys") and proposes a 10th anniversary concert for Aldous Snow (Russell Brand recreating his character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall).  Since the last time we saw him Snow has had an tumultuous love affair with Jackie Q (Rose Byrne from Damages), been totally screwed up on drugs and alcohol, gotten sober, dumped by Jackie and had a son.  He and Jackie also created the worst album ever called "African Child".  The movie starts with the music video for the song and it's crazy, racist, over the top is supposed to be a commentary on where a lot of artists go when they try to change their image and get involved in world affairs.  Now Aaron has to pick up junkie Snow in London, bring him to NYC for a today show appearance and then to LA for a concert at the Greek theater.  The first unbelievable thing that runs the movie off the rails is that Jonah Hill would never have been picked for such an assignment.  We see how schlubby he is in his career, and how lowly he is.  He's never worked with celebrities and the advice Combs gives him about how to "mind f&*" the celebrities to keep them happy but get them to do their work is ridiculous and doesn't actually make sense or make you laugh.  Then there's the rest of the trip where Aaron falls between fitting in with the celebrity crowd and getting drunk and wasted and making a fool of himself.  Snow can handle his drugs and alcohol and has mastered the celebrity life and enjoys hanging out with Aaron, but mostly abusing him.  He's really funny, but Aaron (Jonah Hill) is really, really, not funny.  He was terribly miscast in this role and brought down what might have been a funny movie.  For a reputed comedian, he was as funny as Topher Grace or Tobey Maguire would have been in the same role.  There were a few incredibly funny moments - when they're all high on a drug combo called "Jeffrey" and rubbing a fur-covered wall - and a few really unfunny moments - when they realize a threesome with Aaron, Snow, and Aaron's girlfriend (a really annoying Elizabeth Moss) was a bad idea, and most of the ass-based humor.  Overall, it exceeded my very low expectations, but I went with people who had high hopes and were terribly disappointed.  2 star/lambs

TV Meme: Day 10

Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

 There are always shows that you watch and don't think they're for you.  Arrested Development was one of those for me.  I didn't think I'd like it, but was given the first season, and really enjoyed it.  However, it wasn't on TV long enough for me to think I wouldn't like it, rather I didn't know much about it.  A show that I avoided for a long time that I did end up watching and really like is Scrubs.  I like Zach Braff, but wasn't sure I'd like his comedy from the many commercials I saw over the years.  A year or two ago, I was again given the first season (my friends and family know what I'll like) and was hooked.  I love Scrubs.  Sadly at the this point I've seen almost every episode so many times and there's not a heck of a lot that makes every episode distinct, so I've finally backed off from watching the many reruns on TV.  Based at the fictional Sacred Heart hospital, JD (Braff) and his non-gay life partner Turk (Donald Faison) met in college and have been best friends ever since.  Turk meets and eventually marries Carla (Judy Reyes) when they start their residencies along with Elliot Reed (Sarah Chalke).  JD and Elliot are the Ross and Rachel of Sacred Heart.  They date, they're friends, roommates, dating again, etc.  The real funny people on the show are Dr. Percy Cox (John C. McGinley) and his sometime wife Jordan (Christa Miller).  They're hysterical in being mostly one-dimensional, but they gain the most dimension as the series goes on, falling back in love with each other, having kids, etc.  I love Christa Miller on Cougar Town even more, though she's almost the same character as on Scrubs so it's leaving a good feeling for Scrubs because I get to see my favorite character again.  They also had some absolutely terrific guest stars for a few episodes.  In the only role in which she doesn't annoy me, Heather Graham is terrific.  Michael J. Fox is an annoying doctor.  Elizabeth Banks plays JDs girlfriend who ultimately has his kid.  It's a really funny show with all the day dreams JD has, the costumes, musical numbers (I love the musical episode), and overall joking demeanor even when it often becomes serious with medical issues.  There are a tons of reruns every day, so check it out. 

Death at a Funeral: Redux

Rachel over at Rachel's Reel Reviews has been using a technique in her posts lately that lets you know what she's really thinking.  In an homage (not stealing, homage, really) to her, I'm going to do the same for my review of a remake of an recently made British movie, now an American movie, Death at a Funeral.   Hopefully this will illustrate how similar the two really are.   Below is the exact review I wrote for the British version, with some edits.  A few extra actor names were added that I didn't bother with in the original.

A British farce that's centered around the death of a patriarch. The two sons have returned to bury their father. The elder, Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) Aaron (Chris Rock), lives in the family home with his fiancee, and the other, Robert Ryan (Martin Lawrence), is a successful author living in New York. Daniel Aaron is distraught and trying to figure out how to eulogize his father, while everyone arriving is disappointed that Robert Ryan won't be doing the eulogy. Their cousins arrive, one (Tracy Morgan) complainingly bringing Uncle Alfie Russell (Danny Glover) in his wheelchair, and the other (Zoe Saldana) bringing her fiancee (Alan Tudyk James Marsden) to introduce to her father. They stop to pick up her drug-dealing brother (Kris Marshall Columbus Short - from The Losers) on the way, and a mix-up in drug bottles occurs. Ultimately, Alan Tudyk James Marsden ends up really high on ecstasy, convinces people the coffin is moving, and then ends up naked on the roof. Peter Dinklage (yes, he's in both) shows up to blackmail the brothers with photos of him and their father in compromising positions. They fight with Dinklage, who is hysterical fighting for his rights to the inheritance and he ends up in the coffin. I won't give away the rest, and believe me there's a lot more and it's a constant chase between scenes to figure out who lives, who dies, and who gets away with what. It's terrific, and I highly recommend checking it out. 4 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars/lambs

The only thing I would add is that this story so completely works when translated to an African-American cast, taking place in the US, speaks to the universal nature of the story.  All families have problems, and fight, but ultimately drive each other crazy and will definitely help you hide the bodies.  Also, while I LOVE Alan Tudyk, I think James Marsden was the funniest thing in the new movie (In the photo, he's listening to the fern sing).  His portrayal of a guy high on a hallucinogen was hysterical.  His facial expressions and elasticity could rival Jim Carrey at his best.  Also, I was nervous that Tracy Morgan would just be the mumbling buffoon he plays on TV, but someone made him enunciate and it actually improved his acting immeasurably.  Good, but not great, though if you haven't see the original, it's so similar you'd probably give it the 4 I gave the other one.

Date Night: Review

There were two things about the new Tina Fey/Steve Carell movie that struck me when I left the theater that gave me a happy feeling. The first was that a really funny movie hadn't put any of its best humor into ANY of the previews or trailers. Yes, there were a few moments that weren't as funny because I'd seen them several times in the trailers (removing her mouth guard so they can fool around). The marketers of this movie get huge props for actually sampling the movie rather than giving it away. The second thing was that this movie, while totally ridiculous, put all the crazy into one character, so it's easy to believe all the other characters are really normal people making the best of bad situations. Usually in normal people vs the mob movies, the main characters suddenly have talents or abilities that help them outsmart the crooks. Date Night gave all those qualities to Mark Wahlberg while still making Tina Fey and Steve Carell into complete and unique normal people.

Though the story doesn't really matter, here you go. Fey and Carell are a husband and wife from NJ who decide to have dinner in NYC, and because they arrive late, they steal a no-show's reservation. The no-shows were blackmailing some bad people who have shown up to get the blackmail stuff back. Tina and Steve confess to having hidden the material to escape and then they stay one step ahead of the bad guys for quite a while trying to find the real blackmailers and ending the problem. They ask Wahlberg for help - he's a "security expert" so he knows how to do all kinds of spy stuff. During the chasing around Manhattan in one night, some of the humor comes from the physical comedy trying to escape bad guys or changing clothes to blend in, etc. The rest comes from the Fey/Carell repartee, some arguing about their marriage and some just being normal people thrown into a strange situation and how they react to it. I'm trying not to give away all the funny parts, so forgive the rambling. There are at least 2 moments when I actually thought I would hurt the person next to me at the theater I was laughing so hard. And lots of other giggling. Possibly one of the funniest movies I've seen in the last couple of years. It's not non-stop laughs, but if you like Fey or Carell in their day jobs on "30 Rock" or "The Office", you'll really like this too. 4 of 5 stars/lambs

"Nobody wins with a headbutt": Paul Blart

I really didn't think I would like Paul Blart: Mall Cop because it looked like all the funny moments were in the commercials (and they were) and I thought most of the jokes were just funny as sight gags (also true) but somehow it all worked out to be a funny movie with a lot of heart. Kevin James (who was also sweet and funny in Hitch) is Blart, riding around on his Segway guarding a mall. He'd rather be in the NJ State Troopers, but physically can't finish the exam. When a group of criminals attempt to take over the mall and steal all the credit card info, it's left to Blart to stop them. He mostly falls on them, trips them or surprises them into unconsciousness, but of course, in the end, saves the day. Totally predictable, but nevertheless enjoyable. Jayma Mays (from "Glee") plays the object of his affection and one of the hostages. 2.5 of 5 lambs/stars

DVD Round up: Comedies

Having close access to movie rentals is just one of those things that makes life a tiny bit eacier if you're a movie lover from a small town. I expect to have quite a few DVD reviews in the next few weeks thanks to a new Blockbuster kiosk only 2 minutes from my place. I've seen one I enjoyed more than I thought I would and one I enjoyed less than I expected.

Couples Retreat is a comedy with a stellar cast that actually uses them to great advantage, even if the story is very contrived, it still comes out ahead with very funny moments. The Invention of Lying also has a terrific cast, many all-star cameos, but uses a one-trick pony and explores it beyond all necessity.

Couples Retreat stars Vince Vaughn, Malin Ackerman, Jon Favreau, Kristin Davis, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, and Kali Hawk as the couples who go on retreat. They're all starting from a different point in their marriage. Bateman/Bell have been trying to conceive a child but want to figure out if they should keep going by going to this couples therapy retreat. Vaughn and Ackerman are hoping for the honeymoon they never had due to early kids and jobs. Favreau and Davis are planning a divorce but keeping it secret until their daughter goes to college. And Love/Hawk have only been dating 2 weeks (she's 20 and his old and fat). The trademark rapid dialogue Vaughn brings to all his movies, but is in terrific company with Favreau and Bateman. The women more than hold their own by managing to avoid the stereotypical "wife" characters as fun rather than shrew. There's quite a bit of really funny bits, mostly with the various requirements the therapy puts them through. The small roles of the therapists played by John Michael Higgins, Ken Jeong, Charlotte Cornwall and Amy Hill. They're some of the more ridiculous therapists I've ever seen, but of course make all the couples look more closely at their relationships. The other people running the retreat are also sources of laughs, though definitely the low-brow variety. My only major problem with the movie was the odd pairings. Most of the couples are more than 10 years different in age (an exception is Favreau/Davis who were actually the most interesting couple). It just took away from the idea that these marriages had been going on very long or that this group of people would all be friends - a completely unexplained plot point. Still, funny if you enjoy the Vaughn/Favreau humor. 3 of 5 stars/lambs.

The Invention of Lying is also funny if you enjoy Ricky Gervais brand of humor. Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey and Rob Lowe do offer some assistance in diversifying the humor, but it's basically Gervais all the way. They live in a world where its not possible to lie or pretend or do anything that isn't true or real. So movies are just a person dramatically reading actual historical stories. Every statement someone says is assumed to be the absolute truth. One day Gervais develops the ability to lie and takes full advantage of it. He can get away with it because every just assumes everything everyone says is true, so when he tells a woman that they must have sex or the world will end, she believes him without question. The crux of the story comes when Gervais mother is dying and to relieve her fear, he makes up a story about the afterlife being a wonderful place. Several people overhear him (including Jason Bateman as her doctor) and Gervais makes up all this rules about a man in the sky who causes all the good and bad in the world and that everyone will get a mansion after death. The whole thing causes problems, and he still finds that he can't make Jennifer Garner fall in love with him even by lying. It's entertaining for the first 25 minutes or so, and then becomes a satire (or mockery) of religion that wasn't particularly funny. 2 of 5 stars/lambs