Author: crunchonthis

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The Girl Who Played with Fire

The Girl Who Played with Fire

Starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist
Directed by Daniel Alfredson
Rated R for brutal violence including a rape, some strong sexual content, nudity and language
Appropriate for ages 17+
Swedish with English Subtitles

    Shortly after the events of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, computer hacker Lisbeth (Rapace) and journalist Mikael (Nyqvist) investigate a sex-trafficking ring when Lisbeth becomes the suspect of three murders, forcing her to go on the run until she can clear her name.  As she gets closer to the case, she discovers the case is more closely related to her than she could have ever thought possible.

    While the first film (or book for that matter) in the series was a great way to set up this trilogy, the two different story lines weren’t as beautifully intertwined as is the case with this story.  In fact, what appears to be two different story lines become one in a way that only a truly gifted writer can craft.  To say this film is engrossing is a massive understatement.  While over two hours in length, the pacing is remarkable and the storytelling so intense that time flies.  This film is far more exciting than any of the big-dollar action films that have come out this summer so far and my nails were all the worse because of it.  The fact that it is intelligent too makes it that much more thrilling. 

    Rapace turns in another amazing performance in the titular role which will make it that much harder for an American actress to fill her stilettos when David Fincher recreates the Hollywood version of the trilogy.  Nyqvist takes a backseat in this one in a very understated performance where he is very much the supporting character rather than the strong male lead.

    Just like the first film, which you may recall was originally translated “Men Who Hate Women” by the Author Stieg Larsson before wisely renaming, this film also deals with the theme of brutality towards women, with the heroine being a strong, courageous, smart female lead.  While the first film was upsetting in its sexual violence, this one is shocking in its frank sexuality.  It’s not that you haven’t seen a movie like this before, but perhaps you haven’t outside of flipping through the channels on Cinemax.  This is what most surprises me about how popular the novels have become worldwide.  I can understand Harry Potter and possibly even Twilight given its audience, but the worldwide phenomenon that these books have become, especially considering their subject matter, is very peculiar.  I guess adults need their own hero also, even if she is quite a bit flawed.  A

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New on DVD

New on DVD

Greenberg
Rated R for some strong sexuality, drug use and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Ben Stiller stars in this film written and directed by Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) about a single, forty-something man who prides himself on the fact that he does nothing.  When he housesits for his brother over an extended period of time, he falls for and emotionally abuses his brother’s personal assistant (Greta Gerwig), who very knowingly allows him to use her in her own sense of experimentation.  It’s a comedy in the sense that it has some extremely awkward moments that make you so uncomfortable that you can’t help but laugh.  But just like his other films, this discomfort only serves as a stop sign for most viewers.  Ben Stiller might have a draw in zany pics, but in films like these, where he actually shows off his acting chops, his core audience won’t follow along.  If they do – they might not like what they see.  This is more of a film for those folks who like Baumbach, and if you don’t know if you are one of them, you’ll find out rather quickly once you stick the disc in.  B

The Greatest
Rated R for language, some sexual content and drug use
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Carey Mulligan is the only one of a pair of teenagers to survive a car crash that leaves the son of Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon taken too early.  Pregnant after their first night together, Mulligan turns to the boy’s parents to help her, but due to their grief they don’t know how to accept the only part of their son that is still alive.  What could have been a super-manipulative mess, only turns into a slightly manipulative one.  The problem with films about loss of life like this is that they are just too uncomfortable to watch.  Needless to say, the acting is great, which is probably why the film doesn’t feel as fake as you would think it would.  Then again, you have to be wanting a good cry to watch a movie like this and there’s hardly ever a time where I want to sit and stew in my own tears.  So while it’s a good film, I just can’t see it flying off the shelves.  B+

Our Family Wedding
Rated PG-13 for some sexual content and brief strong language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This twist on the multicultural wedding movie pairs the black family with the Latino family as a young couple in love have to introduce their parents, and most notably their fathers: Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia.  Of course they don’t get along at first and then the formula is followed down to the closing credits.  It’s one cliche after another and the jokes are as lame as can be.  I’m glad Forest Whitaker is getting work, but he has been cursed since he won his Oscar in 2006 for The Last King Scotland.  He should have enough money now that he’s taken all of these horrible jobs that he can finally accept some great roles again.  D

White Collar: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
On this hit USA show, Mat Bomer is a con man that escapes from a maximum security prison only to be caught again and brought in as a consultant for the White Collar Crimes Division of the FBI.  Other than the bad (and I mean horrible) acting by Tiffani Thiessen, this is one extremely watchable show that is about as entertaining as, well, all of the other shows on USA.  Fast paced, well written, and just plain fun, the series makes for a good summer excursion.  A-

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The Last Airbender

The Last Airbender

Starring Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, and Nicola Peltz
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Rated PG for fantasy action violence
Appropriate for all ages

    In a world where there are four nations on Earth: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth, and each have parties that can bend the elements and use them to fight with, one individual alive has the ability to bend all four: The Avatar.  When the Avatar is discovered by the evil Fire kingdom, they attempt to kidnap him to use him for their sinister plans.  But when dissension in the ranks and a young Water kingdom girl get in the way of this happening, an immense battle occurs between the Water and Fire kingdoms.

    This is a review where I have to keep myself from becoming too mean – but it is hard.  So is there anything good about the film?  Sure.  The effects are decent enough and I actually like the lore of the film.  The mythology works for me and I would have liked to have seen a decent representation of the original material. 

    But it appears Shyamalan is incapable of delivering that simple feat.  He has such a huge ego and a destructively heavy hand that his will should be considered the fifth element – able to destroy any enjoyment from movies.  He gets almost all of the blame – because it is almost entirely his film.  His script is absolutely embarrassing and would have failed any of the most basic college screenwriting courses.  He already had great source material, but chose to make the dialogue mundane and ridiculously uncreative.  The story plods along like he knows he has shots to get to and he doesn’t know how to get there – so he has them say something.  Anything.  And the actors chosen to deliver the lines are great martial artists, but can’t act worth spit, so combined with poor directing provide a very miserable viewing experience.

    And the great shots he supposedly has to get to aren’t so great.  The battle sequences are far from exciting.  In fact they are almost comical.  For example, during the big one at the end, the Water kingdom is in prep to fight.  The soldiers are all standing guard with weapons in hand in the streets.  As fire rains down on them in the front lines, women are just lazily carrying baskets around.  It’s incredibly silly.  What would women with dainty baskets be doing in an epic battle?  Feeding the soldiers berries? 

    Then there is the horrific 3D transfer.  Just like Clash of the Titans, the studio decided to steal as much money from their audience as possible by doing a last-minute conversion to 3D that looks like garbage.  The ending battle sequence is so dark that you can hardly see it and the whole thing turns out to be a giant waste of extra money. 

    The idea behind The Last Airbender is unique and imaginative but when given to a filmmaker like Shyamalan, the creativity seems to be stripped out and replaced with a genericized fantasy that neither excites nor entertains.  My review of The Happening came with a plea to Hollywood to not give this man any more money to make movies.  I am now begging.  Hollywood: until he can prove to be a good steward of our hard-earned movie dollars, please stop funding this man’s mediocre-at-best talent.  D

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New on DVD

New on DVD

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rated R for disturbing violent content including rape, grisly images, sexual material, nudity and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Swedish with English subtitles
Now the biggest literary sensation since Harry Potter (sorry – can’t give any respect to Twilight), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Millennium Trilogy has been at the top of the New York Times best seller charts for months and is one of the most adult-read books in ages.  While there will soon be an American version with big stars and directed by David Fincher, it will be hard to beat this Swedish import starring Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist in the leading roles.  Originally titled Men Who Hate Women, the story revolves two tales of brutality towards women, one involving the heroine, Lisbeth Salander (Rapace), and one involving a missing woman whose loving uncle is convinced was murdered.  When Lisbeth goes against her code of going it solo, she teams with a reporter (Nyqvist) to uncover the secrets thought buried by this missing woman’s family.  It’s a terrific mystery, although the violence, and particularly the theme of sexual violence, is difficult to watch.  That being said, it is one of the best nail-biters so far this year.  Having already seen the sequel (review coming next week), I can assure you that this trilogy is worth seeing before it is remade by Hollywood.  A

Jason and the Argonauts
Rated G
Available on Blu-ray Disc
Very few folks in the movie business are actually known past the actors, directors, and maybe the composers, but in the world of special effects Ray Harryhausen is a legend, and Jason and the Argonauts, the mythological tale of the quest for the golden fleece, is one of his unique effects masterpieces.  In 1963, Harryhausen was the first to ever use stop motion animation for anything other than monsters, although there are a few of those in there also.  Sure your kids will make fun of it, but the influence of a film such as this was far reaching.  Proof of that is a special commentary on the disc by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson who practically gushes over the film while watching it.  The film also contains a commentary by Harryhausen himself with all sorts of interesting facts such as the legendary skeleton scene at the end almost took them from a G-rating to an X-rating due to what was allowed in films at the time.  B+

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Rated PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Completely unlike Jason and the Argonauts, Percy uses the latest in special effects to tell the story of a young demi-god in Manhattan that discovers who he is and also that he has a mission to recover a stolen lightening bolt before Zeus gets really mad and does a lot of nasty things.  The special effects are good enough here, but the film is much longer than it should be   at two hours, and with mediocre acting and directing, it just gets old quick.  It feels like Hollywood is desperate to fill the hole that is going to be left when Harry Potter goes away, but if they want it to be Percy (bad name by the way) they need a better cast and scribe.  C

A Single Man
Rated R for some disturbing images and nudity/sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Colin Firth turns in a great performance in this stylish piece written and directed by famed clothing designer Tom Ford about a college professor in the early 60’s whose partner’s (played by Matthew Goode) death sends him into a deep depression that he cannot shake.  It’s a very challenging film, and definitely not one for all audiences, but viewing the movie as a work of art, rather than entertainment, will help in its appreciation.  The commentary by Ford will help tremendously with that.  B-

Predator: Ultimate Hunter Edition
Rated R
Available on Blu-ray
Just in time for its new film Predators, Twentieth Century Fox is releasing the original Schwarzenegger classic on Blu-ray with tons of special features including a look at the new film and a new making of featurette.  So if you already own it on Blu-ray is it worth buying?  Probably not, although if you can get a good  enough price on it, there is a $10 movie reward that you can use to buy tickets to the new Predator movie.  In that case – it might be worth the purchase.  B+

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Knight and Day

Knight and Day

Starring Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Peter Sarsgaard
Directed by James Mangold (3:10 to Yuma)
Rated PG-13 for sequences of action violence throughout, and brief strong language
Appropriate for ages 13+

    June Havens (Diaz) finds her normal life turned upside down when she gets mixed up with super spy Roy Miller (Cruise) on a seemingly innocent flight.  As soon as she crosses the line with him, there is no turning back, as she finds herself the target of not only the U.S. government, but terrorist arms dealers as well.  Roy, on the other hand, has a mission that he must complete, but feels the need to keep Havens alive, even though it could get in the way of his ultimate goal. 

    There have been a plethora of these types of spy movies of late, and while none can match up to True Lies in style or substance, this one manages to be a really good summer popcorn flick.  The action here is intense, but done with a great sense of humor.  Love him or hate him, you have to admit that Cruise is fun to watch in a movie like this.  Because he does most of his own stunt work, he manages to bring the action to life in a way that few actors can manage.  And the creativity with which the action sequences were dreamed up is most definitely worthy of praise.  There are only so many ways to do a car or motorcycle chase, but this felt original without going too over-the-top.

    The story, revolving around a small battery that could power a city, was not great and the twists felt a little forced, but because of the chemistry between Cruise and Diaz (and I’m going to put the blame mostly on Cruise’s great performance), you care more about their relationship than the story.  I kind of think that no matter what they did, I would have had fun watching them doing it. 

    I was surprised at either the poor makeup or continuity (or both) in regards to Diaz.  At many stages of the film Diaz looks normal.  Shocking, I know.  Of course it would have been fine if she just felt like going natural.  The problem is that there would be a close-up shot where she looks like a super model and then a three quarter shot where she suddenly ages ten years.  This was most noticeable during the beach sequence.  I would have typically not pointed this out, as it seems petty, but I have had three other critics tell me they saw the same thing, but were afraid to mention it as well.

    Bad makeup aside, you can’t discount a film for such a minor infraction and it hardly gets in the way of what is ultimately good escapist entertainment that most audiences will enjoy.  B+  

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Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3

Starring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, and Ned Beatty
Directed by Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2)
Rated G
Appropriate for all ages

    As Andy prepares to head off to college, he decides to store his toys in the attic, but when they are accidentally donated to a local daycare instead, Woody wants to get back to Andy while the rest of the toys can’t wait to be played with by the new children.  When they discover that the daycare isn’t at all what they expected, they ban together to mount a daring escape. 

    It goes without saying that you can always count on Pixar to deliver a quality movie and they are most certainly still on roll.  With the first two Toy Stories, Pixar delivered not only two of the most wonderful animated films to date, but two of the most creative as well.  In fact, Toy Story 2 was a major factor in bringing about the Academy Award for Animated Feature.  That being said, Toy Story 3 brings it all up to another level of excellence. 

    First there is the story, which is creative, funny, heart-warming, sad, gut-wrenching, and awe-inspiring, all within in a hundred minute time frame.  And while I am far from the expert on the escape genre, I would have to put this one up against any film as possibly the best escape film ever made.

    Also, the emotional roller coaster this film takes its audience on is better than anything at Disneyland.  The first two films moved me, but this film grabbed me, pulled me in, and towards the end of the film I felt like I was actually on their journey with them and essentially having an experience like no other I’ve ever had at a movie before.  It was ethereal.  And all of this was done with brilliant writing. 

    Then there is the animation which has come so far since the first two films.  It is a big, bright beautiful film, filled with vivid colors and flawless execution of the computer animation.  I will admit that I saw the film twice, on both 3D and 2D, and due to the fact that the 3D strips away some of the color and doesn’t really add much more than a gimmick to the experience, I have to say that the 2D is the better version of the film to see.  I’ve had discussions with folks at Pixar who will admit the same, and would recommend you see their films in good old fashion two dimension.

    Where Toy Story could have used a change up is in the music department, as I think “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” is a little overplayed at this point (although I did like the Spanish version by the Gypsy Kings).  Also, Randy Newman’s new song “We Belong Together” doesn’t exactly say Oscar winner to me.

    Still, I’ll predict now that Toy Story 3 will be one of the films nominated for best picture this year (along with How to Train Your Dragon), and if the year were to end in June, it would have a pretty darn good chance of winning.  A+ 

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New on DVD

New on DVD

The Book of Eli
Rated R for some brutal violence and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Denzel Washington stars in this post-apocalyptic thriller about a man on a mission from God traveling west through America after civilization is destroyed, only to be hunted down by Gary Oldman for the book he is carrying with him.  I missed this one in theaters and wasn’t too keen on catching the Blu-ray release either, but figured there were far worse things to watch.  Little did I know that this critically-panned film is actually a pretty darn good movie that is hard to take your eyes off.  Washington is terrific in the butt-kicking journeyman role and once again Oldman pulls off a fabulous villain.  What really wins here though is the story and the message, and while I don’t want to spoil anything, I feel that if I don’t say that this movie is ultimately about the power of The Bible, the right audience might not give it a try.  That audience will probably have some difficulties with the extreme amounts of violence, but I’ve never seen a more convincing argument that the Good Book is the most critical weapon one can possess.  Just like many of the other Warner Brothers titles, the Maximum Movie Mode provides for the ultimate film school experience with picture-in-picture director and crew interviews and storyboard comparisons put right in during the film.  A-

The Last Station
Rated R for a scene of sexuality/nudity
Available on DVD/Blu-ray
The story of Leo Tolstoy and his wife (portrayed by 2009 Oscar nominees Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren) is played forth in this heartbreaking drama about the famous author and his desire to leave his fortunes to the Russian people while his wife tries to do everything possible to keep this from happening.  The cast is as solid as you can get with Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy along for the ride.  The surprise for me was that there was a bit more sense of humor, in the beginning at least, than I expected.  I’m not sure if this is a good thing or not, but I feel like I know the life of Leo Tolstoy a lot better now; what I’m not certain of is how interested I am in it.  It’s a very well-made film, but for me it just wasn’t a very engaging one.  C+

Hung: The Complete First Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In HBO’s breakout freshman comedy, Tom Jane is a down-on-his-luck high school coach who needs to find extra work in order to support his teenage son and daughter.  The only career he thinks he is suitable for, besides coaching, is becoming a male prostitute due to the fact that he is so, well, the title of the show kind of says it.  I’ve always thought that Tom Jane could have been an A-lister were it not for his unfortunate choice in name (he was actually born Thomas Elliott).  His comic abilities in this series are showing what he is capable of and this has quickly become one of my favorite guilty pleasures.  It’s funny, moving, weird, sexy, and very entertaining.  B+

She’s Out of My League
Rated R for language and sexual content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Jay Baruchel (How to Train Your Dragon) is just your average lovable loser until he somehow impresses a beautiful woman at the airport to the point where she wants to date him.  From the trailers this looks like an unbelievable tale dreamed up by someone that looks like Jay Baruchel.  Once inside the movie, you find a sweet interior that helps you understand how something like this could and actually does happen.  The pic is really raunchy, just like you would expect in an r-rated comedy, and there are some gags that will have you in absolute stitches.  There are also a few two-dimensional characters that are as badly acted as they are written,  so the film is far from perfect.  But if you need a laugh, you’ll get your money’s worth.  B

Entourage: The Complete Sixth Season
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
In this latest season of HBO’s hit show about celebrity and friendship, Vince  is finally on top again as he stars in the newest Martin Scorsese film while his crew are all trying to make it doing their own thing.  While the group are still friends, they are getting to be less and less of an “entourage.”  Still, their antics are fun to watch and if Johnny Drama making an idiot of himself doesn’t make you laugh, not much will.  One mistake they made this season was taking the Ari Gold/Andrew Klein relationship a lot too far as Ari tries desperately to both save his friend’s marriage and be as mean to his assistant Lloyd at the same time.  These story lines just didn’t take hold like they should have and made Ari seem like a bad business man rather than the shark he is.  The writers might have been trying to make him look human, but frankly, I like the shark.  C+

Green Zone
Rated R for violence and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy) re-team in this fictionalization of events that took place during the war in Iraq where Damon is a rogue U.S. Army officer who is trying to hunt down either WMDs or proof that they don’t exist.  There is some good food for thought and the action is pretty solid throughout, but for the first half Damon is just a little too redundant as he repeatedly asks about the WMDs over and over and over again like a broken record.  Once he gets it that there aren’t any, the film starts moving in the right direction and turns into a decent enough thriller.  Some might think it’s closer to fact than fiction.  I can’t say.  I can say it will start discussions no matter which side of the argument you may stand on, but if you lean too far right, you may want to skip it entirely.  If you check out the special features you’ll learn that the soldiers working with Damon in the film are actual veteran soldiers and not trained actors.  In order to get the realism they needed, they hired the real thing and they did an impressive job.  B

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The A-Team

The A-Team

Starring Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Sharlto Copley, and Quinton Jackson
Directed by Joe Carnahan (Narc)
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking
Appropriate for ages 15+

    An elite group of U.S. soldiers look to clear their name after they’ve been framed for a major crime and sentenced to prison.  Once out of prison, they must figure out a way to not only reclaim their innocence, but stop the bad guys as well.

    This is the epitome of big, dumb action films.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing either.  Sometimes you need some really huge action without having to think.  From start to finish, this film is loaded down with gigantic explosives, huge stunts, and what must have been a very expensive special effects budget.  And it’s always to fun to see some new ideas that have never even been conceived before, such as a helicopter turning off to avoid heat seeker missiles, or a tank falling through the sky by parachute and shooting down drones on the way down. 

    Here’s the problem – you can’t stop for one minute and think about it.  For instance, the opening scene has Hannibal (Neeson) captured by a couple of Mexican lawmen.  One of the thugs is told to kill him.  He is about to shoot him in the head when he is told to stop and use Hannibal’s gun instead.  He tries to use it and it doesn’t work, so they leave him to be eaten by the dogs.  Now here is the problem: the scene requires the timing of the plan to be perfect.  But what would have happened if the Mexican lawman would have just shot him in the head with the working gun?  I know, Hannibal would be dead and we wouldn’t have a movie, but that’s not the point.  Everything in this film runs on perfect timing built on insane assumptions such as this.  So my suggestion again – don’t think about it.

    The acting here is a mixed bag also.  Bradley Cooper is certainly getting much better and he could very well be a superstar someday.  Neeson makes for a good Hannibal and I didn’t have a problem with Jackson as Baracus.  What did bug me was the miscasting of Sharlton Copley (District 9) as Murdock.  It’s not that he’s a bad actor, it’s just that he hasn’t gotten the accent down yet.  And it seemed like the filmmakers sort of gave up on him.  Occasionally he gives a nice red-neck, but his very thick South African pops up way too much, and only once intentionally.

    Aside from those annoying timing issues, the script works for the most part.  The dialogue is fairly witty and were it not for all of the lame CIA Lynch jokes I would claim pretty consistently funny (according to the story everyone from the CIA is named agent Lynch – haha). 

    Overall, I walked out of the theater thinking that for the most part, some of the ideas ideas were at least original and entertaining.  Ridiculous, but entertaining.  C+

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New on DVD

New on DVD

When in Rome
Rated PG-13 for brief suggestive content
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Beth (Kristen Bell) is unlucky in love until she goes to her sister’s wedding in Italy and steals a few coins out of a local fountain.  Upon returning to America, she is confused as to why she is being heavily stalked by a group of fanatical men, when she realizes that she stole those mens’ coins from the fountain. Unless she returns them to the fountain, they will be stalking her forever.  If you just watched the first and last act of the film, you would think you were in worst film of the year territory.  The setup and conclusion are both so horrendous that it’s hard to believe the actors were able to get through their lines with a straight face.  The second act, however, has some pretty bright spots.  The men chasing her, played by Josh Duhamel, Will Arnett, Jon Heder, Dax Shepard, and Danny DeVito, all had some pretty hilarious moments and make you rethink your synopsis, that is until you get to the end.  If you are looking for the great romantic comedy that we’ve been missing for a long time now, this isn’t it.  I’ll keep searching though and let you know.  C-

Collapse
Not Rated
Available on DVD
Former Los Angeles police officer turned reporter Michael Ruppert was one of the only people who correctly predicted our recent financial crisis, almost perfectly.  Now Chris Smith (The Yes Men and American Movie) sits down for a riveting interview with him where he gives his next prediction: a new meltdown based on oil, economics, and covert U.S. policies that he thinks are leading us to an impending global catastrophe.  Is he paranoid?  Brilliant?  Crazy?  Perhaps a little of all of these, but frighteningly so – he is convincing.  His arguments have a lot of facts thrown in that are hard to refute.  This is an incredibly exciting documentary that you really should check out, no matter what your politics dictate.  A-

Supernatural: The Complete First Season
Available and Blu-ray
For five seasons now this CW show has flown under my radar, and I’m not exactly sure how, because this is exactly the kind of show I like to watch.  Supernatural follows two brothers whose father hunted evil for 22 years.  When their father turns up missing, they must hunt what their father hunts.  Along the way they run into vampires, ghosts, and demons, all of which must be brought down.  It’s a fun concept and a pretty well constructed show, with great special effects – especially considering it’s on the CW (no disrespect intended).  B

The Illusionist
Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence
Available on Blu-ray
Back in 2006, two magician film went head-to-head at the box office: The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti and The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.  The Prestige might have won the box office battle, but in my humble opinion, The Illusionist was by far the better of the two.  The acting is excellent, the story is tricky but not impossible to follow, and the production values are spectacular.  Plus, the award-winning score by Philip Glass gives the film an added dimension of beauty.  A-

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Get Him to the Greek

Get Him to the Greek

Starring Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Sean Combs, and Elisabeth Moss
Directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
Rated R for strong sexual content and drug use throughout, and pervasive language
Appropriate for ages 17+

    A record company intern (Hill) comes up with the bright idea of putting on a rock concert featuring the once famous, but now down and drugged-out, rocker Aldous Snow at the venue that made him famous to begin with: the Greek theater in L.A.  The problem is that Aldous is in London and the concert is only 72 hours away, and getting him there is all up to this young, inexperienced and shy intern.

    After Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Judd Apatow, Nicholas Stoller and gang decided that Aldous Snow was just too great of character to leave alone, so they decided on a spinoff movie.  Forgetting about Jonah’s turn as the waiter in Sarah Marshall, they gave him a new persona and made him the co-lead in this very original road-trip buddy film that almost works. 

    Brand and Hill have great chemistry here that shows throughout.  While at first it appears that they almost work too well together, Brand’s character fixes that dilemma and the conflict really helps not only the comedy, but also the story.  Also adding to the huge laughs is Sean Combs who steals every scene he appears in. 

    What doesn’t work here is the overly-dramatic romantic subplot between Hill and Moss.  Not only does it take away from the buddy film, but the scene where Brand, Hill and Moss finally confront each other almost ruins the picture and while it doesn’t quite kill the movie, it definitely puts the brakes on and kills the mood to the point where it’s hard to get it back. 

    Still, I went to this film to laugh, and that I did.  My wife laughed so hard it drove her into labor and we gave birth to our first son the next day.  It doesn’t possess the comedy consistency of the other Apatow projects, but nevertheless, it’s still a more enjoyable movie than most of the pictures showing right now.  B