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Dead Man’s Party

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by George Wolf

 

You know what This Is the End made me think of? Dear, departed Father Art from my church.

Stay with me.

Father Art used to surprise the faithful by occasionally dropping Howard Stern’s name into the homily, citing Stern as someone who, underneath the raunch, had a positive message:  do what you’re supposed to do.

This Is The End also has a positive message, stressing selflessness as a key to salvation. Sure, this message is mixed with heapin’ helpings of sex, drugs and profanity, but it’s a combination that produces some pretty funny shit.

Your reaction will most likely depend on how much you enjoy the comedy stylings of Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg, seen at their peak in films such as Pineapple Express, Superbad and Knocked Up. Co-writing and directing This Is the End, they’ve expanded their 2007 short Jay and Seth Versus the Apocalypse into the funniest film of the year.

Seth is Rogan, and Jay is his buddy Jay Baruchel, who comes to LA hoping for a low-key visit. Instead, Rogan takes him to a rockin’ party at James Franco‘s place where, amid plenty of famous faces, the rapture begins.

As the final battle rages outside, Franco, Rogan and Baruchel are joined by Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride for a star studded celebrity survivor sleepover!

Things get pretty crude (so much so that Rogan has said he expected an NC-17 rating instead of the R they received), but the result is far from dumb humor. Self-deprecation is always endearing, and the gang uses it well, lampooning their films, their images, and the self-absorbed nature of celebrity culture.

It’s a wild ride featuring great cameos (well done Channing Tatum and Michael Cera) and fine ensemble work from a bunch of funny guys who play themselves with undeniable comic chemistry and a sense of camaraderie that makes them fine company for the end of days.

Remember, they have a plan to be among the chosen, and you’ll most likely be laughing too hard to argue with it.

 

Verdict-4-0-Stars

 

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For Your Queue: Rubber the Wrong Way

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A gleaming gem of overt originality shines among the big budget, high concept releases this week. Filmmaker/madman Quentin Dupieux’s Wrong takes you places in search of existential understanding, and also Dolph Springer’s dog Paul. Columbus-born Jack Plotnick soars with deadpan humor and humanity as the dog lover at the center of this genuinely bizarre but forever fresh and fascinating piece of absurdism.

If Wrong suits your taste, by all means give Dupieux’s 2010 classic Rubber a chance. The film tells the tale of telepathic serial killer Robert, a Goodyear tire. Need we say more? We will, but only enough to let you know that despite the silliness, the film is never stupid, as Dupieux wittily examines the relationship between art and audience.

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Comedy Help Wanted

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The Internship


by Hope Madden

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson try to prove they’re not comic dinosaurs by playing a couple of guys trying to prove they’re not unemployable dinosaurs. Yes, comedy has changed since the two wrought wedding reception mayhem in 2005’s Wedding Crashers. Vaughn and Wilson have not.

The buddies again play buddies, a top notch selling duo pushing high end watches until their company closes because wristwatches are obsolete, what with cell phones to check for the time. Wilson’s Nick takes a humiliating gig working for a weirdo mattress salesman (Will Farrell. Mom! The Meatloaf!), but BFF Billy has bigger plans: an internship with Google.

Fish out of water comedy allows the twosome to acquire some new skills while reassuring a middle aged audience that kids today still have a little something to learn. Tired gags about SciFi nerdery and lacking social skills mix with formula clichés about underdog competition, all of it brought somewhat pleasantly to life by two actors with a warm, comfortable chemistry.

They could each use a hit, as their output has been less than stellar in the last 8 years. From Vaughn we’ve seen The Dilemma, The Watch, Fred Claus, Couples’ Retreat – that’s a whole lot of stink right there. Wilson’s not smelling much better, but for every Drillbit Taylor there’s a Midnight in Paris, for every Marley & Me there’s a Fantastic Mr. Fox, so he’s at least splitting the difference.

The Internship is far too safe and uninspired a film to compete with raucous comedies like next week’s This Is the End, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise from a film that begs us to appreciate a couple of geezers for their big hearted friendliness, regardless of the fact that they don’t have the skills required to make it in their chosen industry.

Verdict-2-0-Stars

 

 

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A Bumpy Night

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by George Wolf

 

In less than ten years, America will be a land full of jobs and free of crime, with citizens reciting a pledge to the “new founding fathers.” The catch? Once a year, all laws are lifted for a twelve hour free-for-all, as Americans are encouraged to cleanse their souls of rage.

That’s the premise of The Purge, and it’s a pretty solid one, with deep roots easily traced to  The Hunger Games, A Clockwork Orange, and classic short stories such as The Most Dangerous Game and The Lottery.

There are countless other film examples, and no surprise,  a visionary director is usually the difference the good (Straw Dogs) and the bad (Hostel).

The Purge falls somewhere in the middle. Writer/director James DeMonaco sets a firm hook, as security system salesman James Sandin (Ethan Hawke) comes home to his family in an upper crust neighborhood. He bids his friends and neighbors a “safe night,” puts flowers on the lawn to show his public support for the purge, and battens down the family hatches, hoping to survive the night.

DeMonaco isn’t subtle with the message of the haves feeding off the have-nots. Give him credit, though, for weaving liberal guilt, right-wing rage, racial tensions, paranoia, national security and more into the mix, creating a tense, subversive clash of moral ambiguities.

Of course, it does turn out to be a bumpy night for the Sandins, and when the film shifts into home-invasion standoff mode, trouble comes a-knockin’.

The intruders are modeled heavily on the killers from both The Strangers and Funny Games, there are cliches and lapses in plausibility, but still, DeMonaco finds ways keep you interested. Nifty camera work, a quick pace and some good playoffs do much to overcome the flaws. You get the feeling DeMonaco wrote the script and the storyboard together, letting his director side step in when doubts arose, reassuring his writer side that they could make it work.

In a way, they were both right. The screenwriter has much on his mind, but after a solid start, boxes himself in and chooses the easy way out. The director takes it from there, finding some stylishly resourceful ways to make The Purge worth a look.

 

Verdict-3-0-Stars

 

 

 

 

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Memorial Countdown: 5 Best Scenes from Golf Movies

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In honor of the Memorial Tournament, we wanted to count down the best golf movies. But since that’s a countdown of one, we figured instead we would offer the five best scenes from Caddyshack. (Honorable mentions to Billy Baroo; This is my Friend Wang; That’s a Peach, Hon; Bark Like a Dog.) Try to watch these and not laugh – we’re guessing you can’t do it.

5. Mind if I play through?

4. You’re a tremendous slouch.

3. Be the ball.

2. Big hitter, the Lama. Long.

1. And, #1, like you didn’t already know….It’s in the hole!

 

Now, how ’bout a Fresca?

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Nothing to See Here

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Now You See Me

By Hope Madden

In the fall of 2006 we saw back to back films about magicians – The Illusionist and The Prestige. I remember thinking, really? Why?

Well, with just two months separating the release of The Incredible Bomb about Burt Wonderstone from this weekend’s Now You See Me, it’s hard not to scratch your head again at Hollywood’s insistence on our interest in magic.

At least Prestige and Illusionist were half decent films.

Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson lead a group of magicians who seem to pull off a bank heist during their show, and promise more of the same. Mark Ruffalo turns into the Hulk and smashes up their hall of mirrors.

If only!

No, instead he teams with Inglorious Basterds’s Melanie Laurent – an INTERPOL agent – to prove there’s no such thing as magic and that these guys are plain old crooks.

Unless it’s all an illusion…

Cons, comeuppance, love and daddy issues crisscross with lackluster acting to keep you from wondering whether Michael Caine (who was also in The Prestige. Of course he was!) or Morgan Freeman have milkier eyes. They’re both getting quite old. Maybe they should turn down one or two of the films released in any given year. Perhaps see an ophthalmologist.

They both certainly deserve better than this undercooked mess, directed by style-over-substance maestro Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, Clash of the Titans). With his characters talking incessantly about sleight of hand, you’d think Leterrier might employ that particular tactic on his own. Maybe razzle dazzle us while the con happens right under our noses.

Instead, perfectly ludicrous tricks and schemes are re-enacted without regard to plausibility. Rather than lifting the curtain to unveil anything tricky, the approach only uncovers some very lazy filmmaking.

Wasting a cast that has accumulated a combined 3 Oscars and another 4 nominations is a trick in itself, but aside from Harrelson’s natural charm, nothing about the performers impresses. Workhorses Freeman and Caine come closest to delivering something akin to acting. When push comes to shove, the usually impressive Ruffalo is badly miscast, Isla Fisher flails against hideous dialogue, and Eisenberg phones in just another turn as a hyper-intelligent dick.

And on top of it all, they play magicians.

Seriously, who gives a shit about magicians?

Verdict-2-0-Stars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNfiXZzmhjw

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Fewer Tigers, More Zach

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by George Wolf

 

Yes, Virginia, there is a hangover in The Hangover Part III, and it’s a funny one, but the madcap adventure-filled road that leads to it is a bit uneven.

Following a bona fide classic like The Hangover was always a tough assignment. The crazy freshness that film brought to the what-happened-last-night-formula just can’t be cloned, and the attempt to do just that in part 2 came off as a disappointing inside joke. The third installment gets some of the original mojo back by giving the Wolfpack a new reason get their Vegas on.

That reason is one Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong), whose trail of enemies includes Mr. Marshall (John Goodman), a vengeful crime boss that eagle-eared moviegoers might remember from a quick mention in part one.

Seems Marshall wants the millions that Chow stole from him, so he kidnaps the Wolfpack, threatening to kill (who else?) Doug (Justin Bartha) unless Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and Alan (Zach Galifianakis) can bring their old pal in to face the music.

Director Todd Phillips returns, co- writing the script with his part 2 collaborator Craig Mazin. Together, they craft a tamer, quieter romp, replacing bathroom tigers and hooker weddings with healthy doses of Galifianakis and Jeong.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those guys don’t need much help to be funny, and Phillips may have realized they were his best chance at newly found laughs. The reason  part 3’s “morning after” scene works so well is because it runs during the credits, sending the trilogy off with a quick reminder of the fun we had discovering the first film. Another entire episode of retracing the Wolfpack’s steps, though, would be pointless, so instead we get a little heist adventure with a side of zany.

There are slow spots, to be sure, but there are laughs as well, maybe just enough to erase that bad hangover from part 2.

 

 

Verdict-2-5-Stars

 

 

 

 

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Furiouser and Furiouser

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Fast and Furious 6

By Hope Madden

 

There’s this code, see. And while Fast & Furious 6 doesn’t spell it out, I gather it has something to do with steroids and bald heads.

Six! Can you believe this is the sixth installment in this street-racers-turned-international-thieves-turned-good-guys series? Boy, that time sure slid by in a sheen of muscle oil and turtle wax, didn’t it?

Well, this go-round Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson participate in a big-and-bald-off for a little over two hours while some limey tries to steal a world-ending computer chip. Who cares about that, though, when Dominic has Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) to bring back?!

It is nice having Rodriguez back in the cast. Her level of skill is debatable, but her face is an impressive mask of undiluted contempt. Director Justin Lin wisely pairs her with MMA ass kicker Gina Carano, meaning she finally has the opportunity at a fair fight. Otherwise she’d have just had to make the rest of the cast her bitches and be done with it.

Flanking Rodriguez is the predictable assortment of hulks and hotties. Paul Walker took a break from his rockin’ career in pizza delivery to join Pumpasaurus Rex and the Pec-tets. Meanwhile, Tyrese Gibson gets the chance to be uncharacteristically but intentionally funny.

Diesel’s comic moments are more unintentional. He’s unflappable, sporting a weirdly peaceful expression and spouting lines like, “What you found out is for you. What we do now is for her.” He’s like a gravelly voiced Buddha.

Dwarfing Buddha is the enormous Johnson, whose performance feels eerily familiar – same head cock, same arched eyebrow, even the same undersized Under Armour tees. Yes, I believe he may have just wandered accidentally over from the GI Joe set. I think I heard him call Toretto Cobra Commander just now.

Eventually it seemed clear that my best course of action was to unplug the brainstem and let the loud noises and pretty colors wash over me. Ignore the “plot”, disregard the “acting”, and just appreciate the well choreographed car chases and fisticuffs. It was working, too – a little MMA, a little old school WWE and a whole lot of girlfight – until Act 3 reared its bulbous head.

No power to suspend disbelief is strong enough to contend with the epic ridiculousness of the final reel or two of this film.

I’ll have to try harder with FF7, I guess.

Verdict-2-0-Stars

 

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Going Boldly

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by George Wolf

 

Look, when you’re wrong, you gotta wear the hat, so fit me with a big Star Trek sombrero.

Four years ago, I thought rebooting the franchise with an origin story was a silly idea. Silly me. In the hands of director/producer J.J Abrams, it has taken on a new relevance, and the second effort from Abrams, Into Darkness, is a spectacular success on all fronts.

From the opening sequence, Abrams settles into a breakneck pace, filling the screen with a rousing combination of action, effects, heart and humor that rarely lets up.

The ace up Abrams’s sleeve? His cast. These are characters ingrained into pop culture, and our emotional investment in them is rewarded. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban play Kirk, Spock and Bones with the mischievous twinkle of youth. Without resorting to caricature, all three actors are utterly believable as younger versions of these rogues we know so well.

They are surrounded by an able supporting cast, most notably Benedict Cumberbatch as Harrison, the deadly villain with mysterious motives and a great big Enterprise surprise.

Star Trek screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman return, joining with Damon Lindelof to script a thrilling adventure filled with multiple callbacks to previous film installments and TV episodes.

Quite simply, there isn’t much to dislike. Into Darkness is a finely crafted spectacle, all that a summer blockbuster should be. It is joyously nerdy, yet cool enough for those who wouldn’t know Nurse Chapel from Nurse Ratched. It’s funny, and true to its sci-fi roots while offering sly parallels with today’s political climate.

Next up for Abrams is a new Star Wars sequel, and fans should rest easy. Into Darkness is more proof the man knows a thing or two about making a franchise live long and prosper.

What I mean is, boldly go to the theatre.

Sorry.

Kirk out!

 

Verdict-4-0-Stars

 

 

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Greetings from Father and Son

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by George Wolf

 

You might expect a film biography of legendary singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley to provide a heroic overview of his short life and conclude with his stirring version of Leonard Cohen’s iconic “Hallelujah.”

Greetings from Tim Buckley doesn’t cater to such cliches. Instead, it focuses on a brief period in Buckley’s pre-stardom days to carve out a satisfying look at a young artist struggling to find his voice.

Much of that struggle involved coming to terms with the legacy left by Tim Buckley, the father he barely knew. Tim released nine albums before his fatal overdose at age 28, and director/co-writer Daniel Algrant anchors the film around a 1991 tribute concert held in Tim’s honor.

That show was also Jeff Buckley’s performing debut, and Algrant intersperses Jeff’s nervous preparation with flashbacks to Tim’s nomadic life on the road in the 1960s.

A movie such as this rises and falls on the lead actor, and Penn Badgley, known mostly from TV’s “Gilmore Girls,” delivers a star-making performance. He not only has the look, but Badgley does his own singing in the film, coming damn close to Buckley’s haunting wail.

Though there are a few moments of TV movie mentality, when moody pouting is meant to convey inner turmoil, Badgley and Algrant prove to be a formidable team.

By ’91, Jeff had yet to conquer the New York club circuit, and was still three years away from making Grace, his only studio album. In bypassing the more well-known aspects of Jeff’s story, the film gains a spark of originality. Small, contrasting moments, such as Jeff”s playful vocal outbursts and his quiet desire to drop by one of his father’s old apartments, provide effective glimpses of a young man not knowing quite what to make of his destiny.

In a similar vein, crisscrossing the lifelines not only provides father and son an ethereal connection on film, but also reinforces the scars left by the lack of any actual bond.

Sadly, Jeff also met an early grave, drowning in 1997.  Through Algrant’s respectful treatment, and Badgley’s effective portrayal, Greetings from Tim Buckley should please fans and give the uninitiated an urge to look deeper into the family legacy.

 

Verdict-3-5-Stars

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzPFzewscKg