Killer Cast, Killer Script, Killer Comedy, Horrible Bosses Kills

Rarely does every actor or actress in a comedy film seem to be trying to outshine one another while working together to create comic perfection. Horrible Bosses was comic perfection for that exact reason. Whether it be one of the bosses (Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell or Kevin Spacey) or one of the employees (Jason Bateman, Charlie Day or Jason Sudeikis) or even the murder consultant Jamie Foxx, every person in this movie is hilarious. The film follows the three above mentioned employees, each employed by one of the mentioned bosses, as they attempt to kill each other's horrible bosses. The three work brilliantly together to create funny moment after funny moment, from Charlie Day sitting alone in a car jamming out to The Ting Ting's That's Not My Name to the three of them breaking into Farrell's character's coked out (and I do mean the drug) apartment. Normally, these three would be enough reason to see the movie but they share the screen and are almost matched in hilarity by the three bosses. Colin Farrell is barely recognizable as Sudeikis' coked out, jerk of a boss and Aniston goes out of what I've seen to be her acting comfort zone to become a sex-addicting, twisted, maneater of a boss. Though both Farrell and Aniston are great, it is Spacey that really leads the boss cast of the film. Spacey plays Bateman's controlling, manipulative, jerk of a boss and quickly makes it clear that he is the main "villian" of the film. Though he is only in a couple of scenes, Jamie Foxx shows his comedic skills as the murder consultant Mother F'er Jones, and you can be assured that in the film the name is not as nicely edited. Unlike Bridesmaids, I do not recommend seeing this film with your grandmother, unless of course she enjoys lots of sex jokes and some raunchy humor. If that stuff is up your alley though, make sure you see this movie. I give Horrible Bosses a 9.5 out of 10. Miss seeing this one in theaters and you're not only missing out on a great film, but your missing out on the funniest movie of the summer.

Couple's Rejoice, Bridesmaids Has Something For Everybody

Before I begin my review of Bridesmaids, readers need to understand the range of people which with I went to this film. I went with me, my friend Erin, her Aunt Mo, my mother Lianne and my grandmother Julie. Now, the age range there is about fifty years yet every single one of us walked out of the theater with no only good things to say about the film but a smile on our faces. Kristen Wiig, the films writer and star, leads a cast of hilarious men and women through a film that is somewhat reminiscent of The Hangover but is a completely unique film and should not be called The Hangover for women; it is better than that. The title characters, the bridesmaids themselves, are a collection of TV's funniest women including Maya Rudolph (SNL), and Ellie Kemper (The Office). Of all the characters in the movie however, Melissa McCarthy (Mike and Molly) is the only person that threatens to steal the show from Wiig. Though the cast is female driven, Jon Hamm and Chris O'Dowd star as humorous polar opposite men in Wiig's character's life. Hamm plays a chauvinistic pig where O'Dowd plays the classic chick-flick charming, nice guy who comes in to save Wiig's relationship. O'Dowd's character however does not fully fit the nice guy role because he is hilarious, he is a huge dork and he does not act as a doormat for Wiig to screw over and then forgive her instantly. When problems happen, O'Dowd gets angry and does not immediately cater to Wiig's every need like most classic "good guys" in chick flicks. While the dialogue and filming is dripping with Wiig's clever wit and humor, it is clear that producer Judd Apatow had a hand in the picture. Some scenes have a very strong Apatow feel to them and the film's side characters all are hysterically crazy, which is a strong element in all of Apatow's projects. I would like to say that this film is most certainly not a chick flick. It may have some chick flick elements to it but it really should be categorized as a straight humor film. I can only think of one film I have seen this year, Paul, that I found to be funnier than Bridesmaids. I give this film a 8.5 out of 10 and would normally recommend seeing it in the theater but since this review is coming out so late, that may be difficult to do. Whether you are a guy, girl, grandma, mother or son, make some time some day to watch this film.

Little Girl All Grown Up? Predictions For the Future: Kill Bill Vol. 3

I will admit that the prediction that follows is based more on my speculation, hopes and knowledge of Quentin Tarentino than it is in fact. The speculation that I pose is one that many have thought and that I have thought since the very beginning of the first installment of the Kill Bill films. Recently, Tarentino has announced that he will in fact being adding a third volume to his spectacular Kill Bill duo. I am a huge Tarentino fan (a further blog will prove just how much) so this news is some of the best I've gotten about movies in quite some time. Upon hearing this news, thousands of different questions popped into my head but after a moment, the most pressing surfaced. What was the plot of this third film going to be? The end of Vol. 2 left the story and the Bride's hunt pretty much wrapped up. It didn't take me long to come up with a theory that not only could be true, but a theory that I would like to be true. As I stated before, my theory hinges on Kill Bill Vol. 1 and specifically on a single scene in the film. If you have not seen the film, following is a mini spoiler. In one of the opening scenes, The Bride (Uma Thurman) is pitted against the second target on her revenge list, Vernita Green (Vivica A. Fox). After a great fight, The Bride ends up defeating Vernita and kills her in front of her young daughter. As the Bride wipes Green's blood off of her knife, she looks at the woman's daughter and says "It was not my intention to do this in front of you. For that I'm sorry. But you can take my word for it, your mother had it coming. When you grow up, if you still feel raw about it, I'll be waiting." Now, not only is this a great line, but it is quite a specific one. When I first heard it, I had high hopes that it was actually a hint towards a future project and now, with the release date of Volume 3 set eleven years in the future, logistically that hint could become a reality. The script says that Green's daughter is 4 years old, though the actress looked a little older, which means when the film comes out the actress will be 15 years old or a little older. That is certainly old enough for Tarentino, the master of character creation, to create a wickedly vengeful, teenage, motherless daughter. Though no other proof points directly to this theory, it is something that would pop straight out of the mind of Tarentino. It is my prediction and my hope that this story will at least be an element in the plot of Volume 3, but only time will tell.

Transformers 3: I Was Supposed to Hire a Writer........At Least the Special Effects Were Good

As the clock struck 12:01 late last night, or I guess technically early this morning, I settled into the stadium seating of my local movie theater as the third installment of the Transformers series began. The film opened in true Michael Bay, the film's CGI wielding director, fashion. A flashback showed Autobots fighting Decepticons on their home planet. Alien ships  weave their way through a planet that seems to be made entirely of metal. Bay asserts his ability to brilliantly use CGI within the first second of the film and continues until the very last second. Cities  robots, battles, buildings and even past presidents are created by computers throughout the film. The battles and special effects, as they were in the past two movies, were brilliant and wholly engaging. It is worth the ten dollar 3D charge to see Soundwave's pet Decepticon wrap itself around huge Windy City skyscraper or to see Optimus Prime swoop through a Chicago city on his flight deck and decimate a group of ten Decepticons. While visually, and action-wise, the film was amazing, it had some gaping holes. The first hole was left when previous eye candy Megan Fox was removed from the project. Though she is quite nice to look at, Megan Fox acting-style, a term I use quite loosely, was a giant thorn in the franchise's side. Instead of taking the opportunity to right a horrible wrong, whomever did the casting for Transformers Dark of the Moon decided to make things worse. Megan Fox was replaced by model (notice I am purposely not using the term actress) Rosie Huntington-Whiteley who basically spent the entire film posing in white dresses. Beyond that, the acting was over-overwhelmingly mediocre with nothing complain too much about but also nothing to praise. A slough of cameo's walked across the screen, including Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich. While these cameos were amusing, they didn't do much to fix the problems in the film. The writing, directing and story was choppy and rough. The script itself needed to cleaned up and polished because as it was, it was very difficult to make sense of the story. There were many scenes that were not necessary for the story and even more that needed more clarification. The entire movie, until the end fight scene, seemed rushed and contributed to the plot confusion. When the slightly raunchy humor of the first film went over well with the audience, the writer's tried to add to that in this third installment but they went too far and most of the humor was juvenile and over the top. Though these problems to exist in the film, I still give the film a 6 out of 10 and recommend seeing it in the theaters, just for the spectacular CGI, special effects and battle sequences.

If The Second Time Was A Charm, What Will We Get With Hollywood's Third Attempt At Bruce Banner?

In the past ten years, there have been films made about the Incredible Hulk. The first, which was called The Hulk, starred Eric Bana and was quite bad. Bana played Bruce Banner as a rough and tough, almost brutish scientist. This was quite a poor portrayal of Banner considering Banner is a fairly timid, nerdy, shy scientist when he is not angered into his Hulk form. It is the juxtaposition of Banner's true self and the monster inside of him that makes him such an interesting character. Hollywood's second attempt at the Incredible Hulk yielded much better results. Pro actor Edward Norton took over the reigns and played a more by the book Bruce Banner. Norton, who plays thin and nerdy very well, gave the audience a Banner that was brilliant, quiet and determined. Norton wore a heart monitor around his wrist to make sure his pulse did not rise enough to allow the beast out and he spent the entire movie attempting to heal himself. Norton played Banner perfectly and rumors originally suggested that Norton was going to keep the role in the upcoming Avengers film. Much to my dismay, Norton has apparently backed out of the film which means, for you super hero fans, we are going to have to watch a third actor play Bruce Banner. Mark Ruffalo has stepped up to take the role, an interesting choice. Ruffalo is a great actor but does he have what it takes to pull of a version of Bruce Banner that compares to or surpasses Norton's? I think it is going to be a tough feat to pull off, especially considering Ruffalo's acting style. Ruffalo tends to play charming, self-assured characters which are two terms that aren't necessarily used to describe The Hulk's alter ego. I do think that Ruffalo will do well with the actors playing the rest of the Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. in particular. I do believe the Ruffalo has the ability and skills to play a Bruce Banner that may surpass Norton's version. I only hope that his acting and portrayal combine nicely with the directing and writing of the film to give The Avengers the green monster it deserves.

How Much Do You Like the Coen Brothers?

Joel and Ethan Coen, the brother writing/directing duo that seem to come out with hit film after hit film. How big of a Coen Brothers fan are you is the real question however.

I've Heard of Them: You've seen one of two of their films, but not because they had any part in the films.
You've probably seen one or two of the following films: Fargo, The Big Lebowski No Country For Old Men or Burn After Reading      


I'm a Fan: You've seen their most popular of films and recognize the name. You don't actively search them out but if you hear their name attached to a project, you make a point to try and see it. True fans have seen: Fargo
The Big Lebowski
No Country For Old Men
Burn After Reading


I'm a Fanatic: You've seen the majority of their movies and make a point to see nearly every new movie they come out with. A Fanatic has not only seen the same movies fans have seen but the have also seen:
Raising Arizona
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Ladykillers
True Grit


I'm Obsessed: Not only have you seen all the movies the the fans and fanatics have seen, you also have to see every new movie that the brothers make. That is not enough for you however, you also make sure you have seen every movie that they have made in the past. The Obsessed have seen the films fans and fanatics have seen as well as:
Blood Simple
Miller's Crossing
Barton Fink
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Man Who Wasn't There
Intolerable Cruelty
A Serious Man

Princess Bride Is Only for Girls? Inconceivable!!!!!!

The other day, I was telling somebody that one of my favorite comedy films of all time Rob Reiner's 1987 comedic fairy tale The Princess Bride, originally a novel by William Goldman. Upon uttering the title of this film, I was immediately told that The Princess Bride was a chick movie. FALSE. The Princess Bride is a film for both genders and every age group. From beginning, starting with Peter Falk reading the novel of the movie to his sick son Fred Savage, to end, with Peter Cook playing a speech challenged priest, the film is laugh out loud hilarious. Every single character seems to be more memorable than the next and each line becomes funnier and funnier. The film stars Robin Wright (Jenny from Forrest Gump) in her first role as Princess Buttercup (did I mention this was a funny fairy tale yet?) and Cary Elwes as Westley. While these two love birds are the main characters of the film, the star studded cast makes it difficult to call then the only reason to see the film. The late wrestler Andre the Giant, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Carol Kane, Wallace Shawn and Christopher Guest all led their talents to the film. If you are reading this and have not seen it, go and watch it or we shall be fighting to the pain. And in response to it being called a girls book? I think I can let Peter Falk handle that. "Are you kidding? Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles...." As I said, it really has something for everybody.

Isn't the Game Called Cowboys and Indians?

On July 29th, director Jon Favreau (Ironman) will release his newest film Cowboys and Aliens, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford. My first thought when hearing the name of this film is that it is going to be a complete joke. A film, set in the old West, in which cowboys are attacked by aliens with futuristic weaponry? It doesn't seem like it should work. Upon further investigation and research however, this odd movie is turning into something to get excited about. The trailer suggests a number of different mysteries unfolding as the film goes on, one being the alien-like weapon attached to Daniel Craig's arm and the other being Olivia Wilde (House) who seems to have some knowledge of the attacking aliens. Also, any hardcore Indiana Jones fan should be exited to see Harrison Ford fully equipped with revolver, brimmed hat and horse, whether he is playing Henry Jones Jr. or not. Though I am doing it very carefully and very skeptically, I am slowly allow my hopes to raise for this movie. A solid cast, also including Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano, a good director and an plot that seems to be growing in interest create a formula that should produce an interesting film. I will be seeing the film and will certainly blog about it. If you are a skeptic like me, wait for the reviews from professionals and myself before heading the cinema to catch this one.

Aliens, Children and Spielberg? E.T. Got Violent With Age

At first glance, the Steven Spielberg produced film Super 8 has a number of similarities to his older film E.T. Super 8 is a story with a plot mainly driven by cute children, an alien visitor and members of the government attempting to capture and study the creature. The difference, however, is that instead of healing people and phoning home, Super 8's extra terrestrial eats people and systematically hunts down its previous oppressors. While the alien plays and integral part in the film, it is by no means a main character and when all is said and done, the audience knows very little about it. The film really focuses on a boy named Joe Lamb, (played by the charming Joel Courtney) the daughter of the town drunk (played by Elle Fanning) and their group of friends as they attempt to make a film for a film festival. The pre-teens are dealing with all the things that normal teens have to deal with, being grounded, fighting with friends, budding teenage romances and of course, an alien invasion. While the adult acting in the film is good and the alien is interesting, it is these kids that really make the movie brilliant and it is the kids that the audience ends up caring about. This movie has humor, charm, great acting and a great plot. I give it a 8.5 out of 10 and certainly suggest seeing it in theaters, even if that means shelling out the big bucks for a non-matinee showing.

Why Critics Are Stupid #1: X-Men First Class

Here is the first of what I assume will be a series of rants from me about how truly stupid some move critiques can be (and yes, those can include mine). While reading the reviews of the film X-men: First Class, one of the biggest critiques of the film was the fact that it was very predictable. Really? The issue is that a film that has been billed as the prequel to a well known comic book series as well as a well known movie trilogy is predictable. What was too predictable? Was it the fact that Magneto and Prof. X ended up parting ways at the end? Or was it the fact that Magneto didn't die? Was it the fact that Prof. X began referring to his students as the X-men? Of course the movie was predictable, it was a prequel of things that have already happened. People know what is going to happen, what they want to know is how it is going to happen. Moral of the rant, when going to see a movie you certainly should refer to what the critics are saying about it but don't take everything they say as Gospel because, as I said, critics can often be quite stupid.

Prof. X's First Class; The Young Mutants of X-Men First Class

The title of X-Men: First Class, when taken in a literal sense, refers to the first group of mutant students that Professor X takes into his school and helps to understand their mutant powers. I have, in my review of the film itself, already ranted and raved about the great performances from James McAvoy (Prof. X) and, especially, Michael Fassbender (Magneto)  and honestly, watching the commercials I did not worry about their characters in the film. I did however, worry about the young group of actors tasked to play the first class of mutants. The mutants in this first class are Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence, whom I was the least worried about), Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Darwin (Edi Gathegi), Havok (Lucas Till, whom I was the most worried about) and Angel (Zoe Kravitz). Much to my surprise, though no specific performance stood out, these six actors played the roles perfectly and managed to create a fairly lovable, humorous group of mutants that served the movie well. What surprised me the most about these mutants is that my initial predictions were incorrect. The young actor I was least worried about, Jennifer Lawrence who is fresh from an Oscar nod for Blue Valentine, really gave a bland, stale performance. It wasn't a bad performance, just somewhat boring. One the other hand, Lucas Till managed to be my favorite young mutant. He didn't in the least stretch his acting ability or go outside of his box but he was casted for a part that he could play well. Overall, these young actors added to the movie by giving it humor and charm.

First Class Performances Hold Together Second Class Writing

The moment Michael Fassbender, playing a young angry Magneto, and James McAvoy, playing a young Prof X with working legs, are given a scene in the film, they set a standard so high for X-men: First Class that the rest of the film has trouble meeting it. Fassbender first shows us Magnetos furious side wile hunting down the Nazis that murdered his mother and from the beginning steals the show. Fassbender easily brings an impressive display of depth to the otherwise calm villain, his performance being reason enough to see the movie. Then McAvoy joins him, giving a charming portrayal of Prof X as a young suave bachelor, and the chemistry between the two adds a unique brand of humor to the film. The lead characters are surrounded by a cast of many, including Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Lucas Till and....was that really Kevin Bacon? While the supporting cast does not do a bad job in the film, no performances in particular stand out. The action sequences in the film are great and the story moves along at a decent pace. The writing and dialogue could have used some revision, often moving side plots along to quickly and filling "emotional" sequences with corny lines, but is NOT a reason to skip seeing this one in theaters. Overall I give this film a 7.5 out of 10. I recommend seeing it in theaters, if only to watch Fassbender control the screen.

Here Is What It's All About

Hello everybody, it looks like I'm going to try my hand at blogging. To read this blog, there are really only two things you need to know about me. One, I love to write. Two, I love movies, tv shows and popular culture. While trying to think of more ways to showcase my writing I realized I really should just combine my two loves and so this blog was created. In the interest of keeping the blogs a reasonable length, each movie I review will receive multiple blogs. One will be a basic, overall critique of the film. The other blogs will focus on specific aspects of the film, that way if you are interested in a specific film you can choose to read more about it. Well thanks for reading and enjoy.