Thursday, June 27, 2013

The Heat - or rather A Luke-warm Girl Cop Movie



The Heat poster

Uptight FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) and foul-mouthed Boston cop Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) couldn't be more incompatible. But when they join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies. From Paul Feig, director of "Bridesmaids." (c) Fox


Rated R for pervasive language, strong crude content and some violence

Run Time: 1 hr. 57 min. Comedy Paul Feig

I will admit, I was pretty stoked to see The Heat. Just like the rest of America, I fell in love with Sandra Bullock the minute she was blindsided after her 2009 Oscar win. And who doesn't love the comic timing of Melissa McCarthy?
What could possibly go wrong, right? Unfortunately, it turns out, many, many things...




I probably set myself up by seeing This Is The End a couple of weeks ago because seeing that movie set my comedic expectations at a whole new level. I doubt any movie will ever stack up to that one. Or maybe I couldn't get past the annoying audience laughter during The Heat . They literally laughed after every single punch line. I couldn't tell if I was in a movie theater or watching reruns of Three's Company. Have I mentioned before how much I dislike laugh tracks?

Don't get me wrong, there are a few laughs. The bar scene was pretty funny and Bullock and McCarthy have great chemistry. But I kept thinking to myself "haven't I seen this before?" 
Sandra Bullock plays a socially awkward nerdy girl who doesn't realize how beautiful she really is...(see Miss Congeniality & Miss Congeniality 2 and Two Weeks Notice and so on and so forth)


It was disappointing, but not a total waste of time. I still had fun and I was still entertained. And hey, not everyone agrees with me. I heard the Movie Critic ahead of me say "that was the funniest movie I have seen in a very, very long time. I had tears running down my face." 

Whhhhhhaaaattt? Yep - we were in the same theater.

Just keep the James Franco apocalyptic thriller comedies coming, thanks!







Wednesday, June 12, 2013

This Is The End - Opens Today!

If you do only one thing this weekend (or tonight for that matter) - let it be this:  you MUST see "This Is The End".  As I tweeted Tuesday night, I laughed more while watching this movie than I have laughed in the past two years.  Raunchy.  Stupid.  Hysterical.

The comedy This Is The End follows six friends trapped in a house after a series of strange and catastrophic events devastate Los Angeles. As the world unravels outside, dwindling supplies and cabin fever threaten to tear apart the friendships inside. Eventually, they are forced to leave the house, facing their fate and the true meaning of friendship and redemption. (c) Sony  (courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes)

 Mommy Note:  This film is rated R for a reason (MPAA:  Rated R for crude and sexual content throughout, brief graphic nudity, pervasive language, drug use and some violence).  That is an understatement.  This one is NOT for the tweens.

 I give you "This Is The End":





"This is one of the most tasteless, ridiculous and funniest comedies of the 21st century.”
-Richard Roeper 

Richard said it best.    I mean how could they fail, check out this cast:

James Franco as ...
Jonah Hill as ...
Seth Rogen as...
Jay Baruchel as...
Danny McBride as
Craig Robinson as...
Michael Cera as...
Emma Watson as...

 Yes - you read that right.  All these comedic actors play themselves.  Or as Seth Rogan has pointed out in promotional interviews - a "version" of themselves.  

I really don't know what else to say - nothing I say will do it justice.  The trailer doesn't even do it justice.  This movie is flat out hysterical from start to finish.  And trust me - you will LOVE when you see who plays Danny McBride's ummm....dog.....I couldn't even believe my eyes.

Leave your taste at the ticket booth and enjoy the ride.



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Thursday, June 6, 2013

The Purge - aka - Really Now? Come on...

"In an America wracked by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government has sanctioned an annual 12-hour period in which any and all criminal activity-including murder-becomes legal. The police can't be called. Hospitals suspend help. It's one night when the citizenry regulates itself without thought of punishment. On this night plagued by violence and an epidemic of crime, one family wrestles with the decision of who they will become when a stranger comes knocking. When an intruder breaks into James Sandin's (Ethan Hawke) gated community during the yearly lockdown, he begins a sequence of events that threatens to tear a family apart. Now, it is up to James, his wife, Mary (Lena Headey), and their kids to make it through the night without turning into the monsters from whom they hide." (Courtesy IMDB)

The Purge - Rated R for strong disturbing violence and some language - 85 min

Here's the trailer: 



"Henry" Creepiness Factor  +10  


 

Tony Oller as the "Purge Leader" is as creepy as they come.  He delivers a smile that will send chills down your spine, and I’m not talking about the good kind of chills. On top of that, they throw in blonde haired, blue eyed girls skipping while they bludgeon people. It all adds up to what I imagine  the Manson Family’s home videos might have looked like.

Creepy as it may be, the film has many problems, the least of which is the Sandin family, whose patriarch father, played by Ethan Hawke, is the top sales guy for a multi-million dollar security company.  I wasn’t sold on his character because he can't even stop their teenage daughter from sneaking in her boyfriend.  An entire community has entrusted him with their safety, which isn’t very believable, if you ask me.

I kept finding holes in the film I couldm't ignore. Like, why are there homes with multi-million dollar security systems, but not one camera inside? I won't spoil the outcome by telling you what happens when a 4 wheel drive pickup is attached to the front door with a log-chain.  (You guessed it).

The other thing that fell short? Saying The Purge happens in 2022.  That is only nine years from now. I don’t think so.

I took my 17 year old daughter Miss Tawni to the screening, and our conversations following the movie were very thought provoking:



·                     Why so much anger aimed at "the black guy?"
·                     Did you notice he was a Veteran?
·                     Why didn't they have a backup generator?
·                     Why wouldn't they all stick together?
·                     What would you do the very first Purge? 


This movie is the closest I will get to voluntarily seeing a horror movie.  I will not see Saw or The Ring or anything of that nature. They are just not something I enjoy.  I only went to this one so I can review it on KQ2’s Live at Five segment.

Do I recommend it?  Not sure.  It was fun and action packed. I would give it credit for the scare factors too, especially since I had to cover my eyes more than once. Was it believable?  No way.  But I will tell you that the audience had fun watching because there were cheers and laughs throughout the show. Any movie that can engages its viewers is doing something right. Do I think it was a great movie? Not really.

This reviewer summarized my thoughts pretty accurately.  I will leave you with his words:



"A clever set-up, well-executed interior-shot action, and just enough goofy thematic exploration to throw ideas at you without asking you to take a single damn one of them as serious subject matter – it’s tense, crazy, and gloriously stupid. And I mean that as a compliment." ~ Brian Tallerico - HollywoodChicago.com



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