Summer Movie Season

well, i've been real busy these past few months, but now that school will be out soon, i'm gonna go ahead and write a review of all the movies i've seen recently. Star Trek, which everyone has already seen now, Terminator: Salvation, which everyone should seen right now, and The Hangover, which everyone should see ten times in a row. right now. i mean it.

more in depth reviews come soon, along with a few of the ones that fell through the cracks from earlier in the year. i also plan to reccomend movies that have been on DVD for a while, but may not be as popular. another thing i want to work on is a rundown of Adventureland Vs The Hangover. two very different movies that are now battling for the spot of 'best movie of 2009...so far...'

so, if anyone is reading this, I am dead....

Wait. If anyone is reading this, I am alive, so expect more reviews this summer.

Toodleoo

-Malcolm

I Love You, Man

So I set out to write a review of I Love You, Man, a cute funny movie starring Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, and the chick Jim use to date on the office. All of them are very funny, competent actors. The script is very well written. The music is fun. The-AAAAH!! God! I can't go in with this. look. I love you man was a very fun movie, well made, and a lot better than any of the other crap out today, but it's just so supremely similar.

I don't want to insult the writer-director, (AS IF ANYONE FUCKING READS THIS SITE) who has worked on two of my favorite shows, Stella and Undeclared. I don't want to insult the actors, because they do a great job, and I've been big fans of them for a while, but the whole movie feels like another sweet, hilarious, heartfelt, lovable Apatow movie. I don't want to make it seem like I didn't love I Love You, Man. I did. there just isn't much else to say about it. It may not be good enough to spend $10 on, but it's a hilarious movie, and probably the best way to spend a friday night, (as long as you haven't already seen Adventureland more times than you have brain cells, like I have) but i can't really say much else.

This being said, I will spend the rest of my review time reviewing the new "Honey Bunches of Oats" spin off cereal, "Just Bunches"

I bought Just Bunches because I love Honey Bunches of Oats, but my favorite part is the Bunches. Just Bunches was exactly what I wanted, per the title. the box is surprisingly small, about three fourths of the size of a normal box, but the cereal is incredibly dense. A small bowl will fill you up. there are plenty of different flavors, but I opted to get the caramel one. I didn't really get the idea that there is much of a difference between the flavors, but it was pretty good. I was enjoying myself, until about halfway through the bowl, I had realized. "WAIT A SECOND. This is just granola!" I was super hyped about this cereal, but towards the end, it ended up being just like eating granola.

Come to think of it, "Just Bunches" is in many ways similar to I Love You, Man. they're both delicious upon first taste, but halfway through them, I realize I've had them many times before, just with a different flavor. sure, it'll tie you over until lunchtime, and it tastes good, but it seems like you could just go out and buy a bunch of granola bars, crumble them up together, dip them in milk, and get the same feeling. so, go out and buy Just Bunches, but remember that there's plenty of better cereal out there right now.

Adventureland

As mentioned in the previous Observe and Report review, I went into Adventureland with practically no expectations. I knew it was from the director of Superbad, a movie I very much enjoyed, and that was about it. Aside from Bill Hader, Martin Starr, and the guy from Van Wilder, I didn't recognize any of the actors. I went in with a blank slate, and came out with my mind blown.

Adventureland follows our generation's Benjamin Braddock, a Pittsburg-native aspiring journalist, James Brennan. James has just graduated from college , and is planning on going on a summer trip to Europe with his best buddies in the interum, before heading off to NYC for grad school. unfortunately, his family is not making as much money as expected, so James must forgo his trip across the pond, and get a summer job to pay for Columbia. Being but a mere poetic intellectual, James is not qualified for any jobs but to work at the local theme park, Adventureland. James then goes on to meet new friends, new girls, and rotten corndogs in what I can gladly call my favorite movie of the year, so far.

Everything in this film was perfect to me. the dialoge, and with that, the entire script, was natural and realistic, while still remaining snappy and hilarious. The acting is top notch, and I look forward to getting to know all the new actors this movie introduced to me. the soundtrack had some of my favorite songs from the 70s and 80s, and some of the most seizure-inducingly annoying pop hits from back in the day. Adventureland was one of the first films in a while I have seen that has pulled off the whole 'shaky-cam' thing. Most movies that try the shaky-cam angle end up making a fool of themselves, trying to immitate The Blair Witch Project or Arrested Development, but adventureland succeeds with my bull shit meritless seal of approval, and I mean that in a good way.

But by far, the best thing is that the movie feels real. Almost diametrically opposed to Greg Mottola's previous work, Superbad, which was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, but it was hugely campy and unrealistic. Aventureland, on the other hand, pulls of almost the same level of comedy, all while maintaining realistic characters with complex emotions. one of the things I really love about the film is the central love quadrangle, and how it is dealt with in a completely legitimate way, rather than surcoming to the cliche . about 15 minutes into the film, when a young hot character by the name of Lisa P runs in, my mind goes "great. a diversionary beautiful love interest to combat Em. I can see it all now. James is going to cheat on Em with Lisa, Em will get mad, Em will leave James, James will prove to Em he is sorry, Em will take him back. BARF-RIFFIC." This is a plague that stirkes many decent movies, in which the previously noted predictable plot occurs. I have decided to name this phenomenon Cashback Syndrome. I'm sure it's happened in plenty of other movies, but Cashback, a cute British comedey I saw a few years ago, is the first to come to mind. Cashback was a brillian little film about an insomniac art school student, with the disputably imaginary power to bend time, who decides to take up a night shift at a grocery store after a bad break up with the love of his life. the movie was very original, which I still praise it for today, up until the last 15 minutes, in which the new love of his life he meets at the grocery store (SPOILER ALERT) catches him kissing his ex girlfriend at a party. she storms off, YADA YADA YADA, you know the rest. so a wonderfully original film falls prey to its titular syndrome. this all leads up to me saying that, thankfully, this is not the case for adventureland. I'll let you see for yourself how the movie deals with this dilemma, but I can proudly declare that Adventureland tested negative for Cashback Syndrome.

Adventureland continues to amaze me. every character is deep, and wonderful. Of course I love James and Em, but all of the supporting characters are just as wonderful. Lisa P seems to truly be a character, with hopes, dreams, and fears, not just some diversionary side-character/plot device as she would be in any other film. James' childhood friend Frigo may seem like an annoying, ball-punching douchebag, but he's a true friend, and you get the feeling by the end of the movie, you'll probably end up liking him. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are great, for what little screen time they get, and Connell is an interesting take on the wise mentor charachter. I love me some Martin Starr, and he is great in this. I have always loved him, since he played Bill on the short lived NBC dramedy Freaks and Geeks. oh, and by the way, if you haven't seen Freeks and Geeks, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? GO SEE IT. NOW....I'll wait...seriously....

Ok. did you check it out yet? am I right? it's brilliant, right? of course. so, anyway, back to Adventureland. it's subtle enough to remain different in today's comedy scene. There are many moments in this film that it could have veered into absurd, obtuse, obvious territory, ala Superbad*, but it doesn't. it steadily stays realistic enough to keep me impressed, and funny enough to keep me laughing. After just seeing Adventureland for the second time in theaters, I can really say that it does not loose any of it's charm the second time. Unless something else rolls up on the scene to surprise me, I'm naming Adventureland my Movie of the Year.

*ok. I've been ragging on Apatow-style comedies lately, and I just want to say that I do love them. Apatow and Rogen are some of my favorite people in Hollywood today, but he needs to tighten up a bit. they've had some really great movies, but everytime I go and see them, I feel like i'm seeing the same movie over and over again, with different jokes. I'm still undoubtably going to see any movie they put out, but they're gonna have to do something different, or I'll get bored.

Observe and Report

Expectations are funny. They can make you love a movie by surprise, like Adventureland. I went into that movie with no expectations for greatness, and left the movie blown away. sadly, the same can be said the other way around. Going into a movie with high expectations can ruin what that movie really is. so for instance, when you walk into Observe and Report thinking "This movie is gonna kick Kevin James' ass!", it can spoil a truly good movie.

I expected Observe and Report to be just another hilarious Seth Rogen movie, complete with a lovable slacker protagonist, a wisecracking, yet kind best friend, and an incomprehensibly attractive yet down-to-earth friendly love interest. What I got was a hilarious Seth Rogen movie, with a chemically imbalanced, racist, violent protagonist, a thieving, drug addicted, equally violent best friend, and an incomprehensibly idiotic, alcoholic, mean-spirited party-girl love interest. And although i walked out of the movie feeling a bit unfulfilled, the more I mull the movie over in my mind, the more I recognize it as a revolutionary work of art.

As I mentioned, the main character is Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen), a crazed lunatic mall cop, who takes his job a bit too seriously. A flasher is on the loose, and it's up to Ronnie to stop him. unfortunately, detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) is reluctantly assigned to the job, and ends up clashing with Ronnie. Harrison just wants to get the job done, but Ronnie takes this as his opportunity to prove himself as a hero, and win the love of Brandi, a stereotypical blonde that works in a women's cosmetics store. Barnhardt and Harrison then embark on what can only be described as a buddy cop movie. on crack.

the film is very well acted. although I could go on forever about how hilarious Seth Rogen is, and how much I love him, he does tend to play the same character in everything he appears in. no longer in Observe and Report. although you could say that Ronnie is sympathetic, he is certainly not the lovable guy that rogen seems to always play. Anna Faris plays a familiar role, but does it well. The rest of the cast is great, with a special mention to the Yuen brothers, who make me laugh hysterically in every scene they are in. also, the cameos are great. Aziz Ansari, Danny McBride, and Patton Oswald are all hilarious.

my only complaint is that the tone feels very awkward. it is lighthearted and fun, but often goes to very depressing, sometimes frigntening places. for instance, at one point, when Ronnie is feeling down, his best buddy Dennis (Michael Pena), introduces him to his way of dealing with life. it then cuts to a hilarious, yet offputting montage of the two friends snorting coke, beating up kids, peeping at women in the changing rooms, and shooting up heroin. although i was laughing my ass of through the entire montage, I couldn't help but feel it was a bit to heavy for a comedy.

This being said, O&R is a real gem. The soundtrack is really great too. all of the music comes together perfectly, and the Pixies cover at the end was great. the script is great, and really funny. it's well acted, well directed, and everything else, but what makes this movie great is the fact that it crosses all types of boundaries. i remember in 2001, when I saw Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, I was blown away by all the profanity, drugs, sex, and chimps, but today, after the recent wave of hilarious Apatow comedies, a movie like Jay and Silent Bob seems tame in comparisson. All things considered, the dirty R-rated comedy has become the norm for today, but along comes Observe and Report, upping the ante of todays comedies to outrageous proportions.