Author: crunchonthis

Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Jason Bateman
Directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad)
Rated R for language including sexual references, and some drug use
Appropriate for ages 17+

    Two British nerds (Shaun of the Dead’s Pegg and Frost) on an alien sight-seeing tour through America discover and pick up a real alien along the way.  The alien, simply named Paul (voice of Seth Rogen), requests their help to get back to his ship before U.S. government agents kill him.  So together the three pot-smoking misfits travel to the ship site in their motorhome, hot on the run from folks that want them dead. 

    The best quality of this comedy is that it is truly clever and original.  Combining the road trip comedy with sci-fi proves to be entertaining, witty, and at times very funny.  It helps that the actors are so likable.  While Pegg is a fairly talented comedic actor, it is important for Frost to be likable since he has never shown much in the likes of acting chops in his various films.  But in spite of this, his films have been a lot of fun to watch and his goofiness as an actor has become somewhat endearing. 

    As for adult comedies, this is certainly the best to come out so far this year and you will no doubt laugh yourself silly at times.  Then again – the year is young. 

    What many will not like about the film is the direct attack on Christianity.  I’m not sure if they intended the film to be an atheistic sermon, but having an alien declare there is no God and try to make you feel stupid for believing – well that won’t sit right for many audiences.  And it doesn’t help that they convey Christians as complete wackos either.  Personally, I tried to attach it to the overall story, but the movie does go out of its way to convey what many will be consider to be very, very offensive. 

Battle: Los Angeles

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, and Michelle Rodriguez
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Rated PG-13 for sustained and intense sequences of war violence and destruction, and for language
Appropriate for ages 13+

    Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz (Eckhart) is on the brink of retirement from a long life spent in the Marines when he is called back on duty due to an alien attack on the Earth’s major cities, including his own: Los Angeles.  With a green platoon and weapons that pale in comparison to their enemy, Nantz and his fellow Marines must find a way to not only stay alive, but take out the hostiles as well.

    Many of the major critics out there are not just panning the film, but are making it sound like the first major 2011 contender for the Razzies as well.  Going into the movie, I tried to keep an open mind.  Many films like this have a great trailer, but that’s all you get.  Personally I enjoyed the trailer and was looking forward to seeing if the other critics had any validity to their statements.  Let me tell you – I think the majority of press are dead wrong about the movie and are only rejecting it because it has become cool to do so.

    First off, this is a genre film built for a specific audience.  That particular audience expects to see Independence Day meets Black Hawk Down and in this situation, their expectation is largely met.  The film gives you a little chance to meet and get to know some of the characters in the first act, but once the Marines find out they are under attack, the film goes into full-on adrenaline mode where the intense action never stops.  Unlike a film such as Independence Day, you don’t get a dozen different stories and tons of comedy relief.  While that worked for that particular film, the filmmakers here simply chose to follow one group of soldiers for two hours without switching back and forth and without a whiff of a sense of humor. 

    I will admit that the plot is fairly simple: alien soldiers vs. human soldiers.  Also, the movie does have its cheesy moments, but there are some nice emotional scenes as well that the US military would be proud to have in the film.  It helps to have an actor of Eckhart’s ability who can bring an authenticity that is hard to find in genre pics like this. 

    What many folks were afraid of is that there were just enough special effects to make the trailer look good and the film would essentially be just another Skyline.  Fortunately that is not the case here.  While many of the set pieces are briefly shown in the trailer, there is much still to see on screen that will excite the target audience. 

    If the Coen brothers ever decided to do an animated film, I would picture it looking much like this.  It’s beautiful, quirky, and well told with some really great performances by the ensemble.  While the scale of the animals feels off since all of the creatures are roughly the same size, they are still wonderfully conceived and stunningly put on film.  Better than that though, the characters are well-written.  I realize that much of the plot of the film is a cross between China Town and Pale Rider, but it still comes off as original and charming, and most of the audience won’t catch the easy references. 

    Much like the voice recording of Fantastic Mr. Fox, the cast was recorded while actually acting around each other, rather than by the actors by themselves alone in a studio.  This type of recording obviously brought out the best in these performers and managed to make the action much more enjoyable.  Johnny Depp, who carries the film as Rango is superb, and unlike characters voiced by the likes of Jack Black, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, I wouldn’t have even known it was Depp had his name not been plastered over the title.  He really gets into the character here and turns in a much stronger performance than he did in his Golden Globe nominated role in The Tourist.  The rest of the cast here is also pretty darn solid and the good time they had making it comes through in the finished project.

    While I know it will be hard to get your young kids not to see it, I will say that some parents will have a big problem with the language.  It’s probably not enough to garner a PG-13 rating, but there are enough hells and damns to throw off any parent who might be trying to “earmuff” their kids.  What stinks is that the bad language is unnecessary and the filmmakers should have had better sense than to include it in a film that will make most of its money from families. 

Cedar Rapids

Starring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly and Anne Heche
Directed by Miguel Arteta (Youth in Revolt)
Rated R for crude and sexual content, language and drug use
Appropriate for ages 17+

    Ed Helms is just a plain, honest insurance salesman from a small midwestern town who is sent to represent his company at an insurance convention in the metropolis of Cedar Rapids, IA.  Not knowing a soul there, he relies on three veteran salespeople to guide him through the meeting, and eventually lead him down a comically dark journey full of sex, drugs and corruption.

    Going into this film I was baffled by the fact that this was a small indie from Fox Searchlight.  After all, it has a great ensemble of comic actors and a tried and true formula of the debaucherous night out.  I thought before going in that this being an indie with a limited release is a bad thing, and my opinion turned out correct.

    The subject matter is right up the alley for the adult comedy audience, but the look and feel scream low-budget filmmaking with a decent cast.  Also, the script seems like it was put together with only the set pieces in mind, almost like the writer thought up some hilarious ideas after going to an insurance meeting, but didn’t know how to tie them together with a working narrative.  The MacGuffin here is the two-diamond award which supposedly every insurance company desires.  But it seems only Helms has his eyes on it, because the other agents don’t even compete and the way it is won is amateurish.  Also, the cost for him earning the award only works on an emotional level.  So much could have been done with the script to juice it up and force the actions of the characters to make sense, but because the subplot wasn’t thought out properly, it only serves as a distraction from the hi-jinx. 

I Am Number Four

Starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, and Teresa Palmer
Directed by D.J. Caruso (Eagle Eye)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequence of violence and action, and for language
Appropriate for ages 13+

    John Smith (Pettyfer) is one of several young people sent to Earth to seek safety from Alien invaders.  But when the first three are killed, John and his protector (Olyphant) must move to a small Ohio town to escape certain destruction.  While there John falls in love for the first time and also discovers his unique powers, which may or may not help defend him from the assassins.

    Part of me really wants to like this film.  After all, unlike most of the tent pole pictures out there – its somewhat original in plot and has a big look and feel to it.  The young actors are talented and dynamic enough and Olyphant is fun to watch as the father figure.  I even want to like the aliens who are truly a dastardly bunch with nasty weapons and even nastier pets. 

    But then after thinking about the whole thing, I realized that there is so much to dislike about this film.  First off is the flat dialog which does nothing to help the story.  And while the plot feels original, the way they carry out the plot is as cliched and copycatted as you can get.  Stealing from Twilight, Spiderman, Terminator and others, the film doesn’t deliver on its original promises it makes in the opening act.  I know we are supposed to say that “teenagers do stupid things and that rational thought doesn’t enter their heads at times,” but why would a teenager from another planet with a group of interstellar assassins hot on his trail act in such a fashion.  His actions defy logic and really pinpoint the flaws in the script. 

    And as for Olyphant, he proves once again that he can shine even in the worst of films.  While this is not the most horrible film he could star in, it is also not a place for his talents to be put to the test. 

    But what I found most insulting was the whole “franchise” feel to the movie.  The third act gives a tidy ending to this particular story, but then stands up and declares that there are sequels are on the way.  A smart film would have ended where the audience didn’t feel like they were in some studio’s master plan to make millions and millions of dollars.