Because it's so much more entertaining to tear something down if you have someone to blame.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Harry Potter and the Death of Your Childhood.
A review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is hardly necessary at this point. If you've seen the other films in the franchise it is doubtful that you'd miss the conclusion, and it would be wholly idiotic to see the thing without first having made it through most of the others. Although, if you were considering it, you should know that (thankfully) the filmmakers made no attempt to appeal to any newcomers. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 picks up moments after part one left off, and has little time to spare for any off hand reminders of what has gone on before.
Whether or not this final installment is effective is debatable. Its first act, in which Harry, Ron and Hermione invade the vaults of Gringott's, is by far the strongest; continuing the steady buildup of events--executed so well in Deathly Hallows: Part 1--necessary before facing the evil Voldemort. But upon their return to Hogwarts, the film starts to feel like the earlier chapters: too much plot crammed into too little time.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Jennifer Aniston is a Whorable Boss.
This image is likely all that anyone will remember of Horrible Bosses, regardless of whether they decided they liked the film or not. Now I'm sure if you've seen it, you're all like, "Whoa, bro! There was some funny stuff in that movie, dogg!" But given a few years, this thesis will likely prove to be true. Comedy doesn't seem to have any staying power these days, and as I rack my brain for memorable Hollywood moments in the past few years, I seem to be coming up short. I had to have seen some comedies, right?
This is not to say that Horrible Bosses is bad, it's simply forgettable, which in my mind translates to "not very good," but I'm sure not everyone agrees with me. If you're looking for a few decent laughs, go see Horrible Bosses. If the post-Hangover Hollywood comedy is any indication, it's an acceptable offering to those with nothing better to do.
This is not to say that Horrible Bosses is bad, it's simply forgettable, which in my mind translates to "not very good," but I'm sure not everyone agrees with me. If you're looking for a few decent laughs, go see Horrible Bosses. If the post-Hangover Hollywood comedy is any indication, it's an acceptable offering to those with nothing better to do.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Midnight In Paris, or a Rhinoceros.
Let it be known that I just wrote for an hour and subsequently deleted all of it. Prefacing a review with ten paragraphs of commentary on the criticism of Woody Allen just didn't seem appropriate. But, if anything, it illustrates my appreciation of the man. He has no rival.
But no one wants to hear about my crush on Woody Allen. Actually, I'm sure a lot of you do (pervs). But you should also know that my love for Midnight in Paris does not stem from unconditional affection for the man. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger was quite dreadful. Midnight in Paris is just a wonderful, light-hearted comedy.
Owen Wilson's nose is as obnoxiously bent as ever, but he's perfect as what has come to be known as Woody's 'avatar.' He delivers Woody's dialogue well--though perhaps not as well as Will Ferrell did--for one of today's best known actors, and never nears obnoxiousness as Jason Biggs and Kenneth Branagh did. Although, in their defense, they did play more neurotic roles (in Anything Else and Celebrity, respectively). There's no neurosis here, just nostalgia.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Super 8, or Transformers 3: Dark Side of the Childhood.
Dear J.J. Abrams,
We get it. You like Spielberg. So do we. Everyone does. The only reason Osama Bin Laden was caught was that, in his haste to order the Jurassic Park Blu-ray, he forgot to change the name on his Amazon account. Everyone. Likes. Spielberg.
But we didn't need you to make a Spielberg drinking game. If I did a shot every time there was a lens flare or a child staring wondrously into space throughout Super 8, I would have died of alcohol poisoning halfway through. Combine that with every other Spielberg homage, and this drinking game's inevitable popularity, you very well may wipe out the entire college population. You cannot build a work of art on shout outs. Unless you're a rapper.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Hesher, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Walk with Grandma.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Your Highness, or The Longest Dick Joke Ever.
We all knew Your Highness was going to be bad, but the world runs on hope (and possibly James Franco), so I disregarded almost every review of the film in my quest for shameful giggles. I got a few, but not nearly enough. After the reasonably well-written first act, Your Highness descends into little more than dick jokes and action sequences; neither of which were very funny.
Moon 2: Source Code
I'm not really sure what's so funny in the picture above, but I can only assume a sandwich is involved. |
I have finally emerged from my Netflix coma (however briefly) to rediscover this moving picture nonsense. I decided to check out Source Code because Hanna wasn't out yet and--let's face it--everything else probably sucks. Director Duncan Jones' last film, Moon, was solid and Source Code honors its predecessor with its quality and its plot. This whole article is a spoiler of both films, but as we all know, spoilers don't usually matter. |
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