Bazil has a rough life. As a child, he was orphaned by a roadside mine that killed the only family he had. Sure that's a tough pill to swallow but presently Bazil seems alright. He works at a video stores and consumes copious amounts of what he loves most: film. That is until one fateful day, when a stray bullet randomly finds its way crashing through the video shop's front window and straight into Bazil's brain. He survives, but not completely unscathed, and when he tries to return to his normal life he soon finds he has been replaced at the video shop, and his place of residence has evicted him. So Bazil turns to the streets where he is soon taken in by a band of weirdos, each with a very specific skill set. They work together and provide for one another, and Bazil assumes his role well until his car breaks down and he finds himself between two monolithic buildings baring emblems of the two weapons of destruction that ruined his life. Bazil's resolve? Take em down. But his way--with some zany Micmacs, or shenanigans.
"Holy shit, y'all are STILL sitting on SXSW reviews?" Yes, fuck you; it's been a busy month. Anyhoo. One of the best films I saw during the film festival waaaay back in March was director Bernard Rose's Mr. Nice, the story of Howard Marks, a Welsh teacher turned drug dealer turned family man turned spy turned the biggest dope smuggler in the world. Since this was starring Rhys Ifans, typically a comical supporting actor, I was incredibly intrigued how the film would be. Turns out it would be entertaining as hell.
Everyone has dreamed it; just no one has done it. We all want to be super heroes but always seem to find ourselves limited by our general lack of superhero-y abilities and our general discomfort in form fitting clothing. I bet you even know what super power you would have if you had the choice (duh flying). But what Dave Lizewski has done is take his unnoticed high school persona, general lack of any fight training, and intense love for comic books and has made himself significantly more kick ass.
Dave becomes a viral sensation with his green scuba suit and dual wielding batons and serves as the inspiration for other people who want to make a difference. Only problem for Dave is that with great attention comes great foes and he has caught the attention of a local mob boss who sets out to make an example out of his alter ego Kick Ass. Also in the mix are Big Daddy and Hit Girl, who seems to have all the skills to be a masked vigilante, including the ability to remain under the radar until their masked colleague Dave requires aid.
There are certain types of movies that you have to create a different rating system for. There are those genuinely GOOD movies, such as Inglourious Basterds or Fantastic Mr. Fox, those movies that are okay, the movies that are bad, and then there are movies like MacGruber: so fleeting and disposable but pretty watchable (see last week’s Clash of the Titans review). But the thing is, as pretty ho hum as the SNL spinoff is, it’s fairly funny, and (better yet) not as shitty as you think it should be.
Read more about inappropriate uses of celery and the C-word jokes after the jump!
The Runaways opens with a shot of what looks like red nail polish dripping onto the pavement and two blonde girls giggling as they run into a fast food bathroom. Cherie Currie’s sister declares her little sis a woman now (ewww, right?) and they proceed to whore themselves up with tight clothing and bright makeup before hopping into a dude’s car. Now, if the thought of first-time period blood doesn’t scare you off, you’re in luck. The rest of The Runaways tries to be just as provocative as its initial shot but can never recapture the same shock or surprise—unless you count the generous whooping of pervy middle-aged bros in the audience when a 15-year-old Dakota Fanning makes out with Kristen Stewart.
And, while the film doesn’t quite regain shock or surprise, The Runaways is actually a pretty decent film that goes way past grrrrl power. It’s ultimately the story of two chicks that wanted to become famous and grew up way too fast. And, okay were maybe exploited by some pervy dudes along the way.
Read more about Fanning in corsets after the jump!
Every once and a while a movie comes along and just strikes a chord. Sometimes you sit there watching a movie, and it shoots an arrow of unadulterated truth from the screen straight to your heart, and you can't help but want to stand up like a black lady in church and scream out 'Hallelujah!" Well my friends, this is that film. With a charming cast, deft direction, and what is sure to be a hit soundtrack, (500) Days of Summer has done something very few films this year have done, it affected me.
There are some films about relationships and love that ring true and inspire you, as Greg will tell you about (500) Days of Summer shortly, and then there are films which sting and hit too close to home in an uncomfortable way, and that's where Breaking Upwards comes into play. While it makes every couple in the audience squirm in their seats a bit, it doesn't necessarily resonate with the audience.
Breaking Upwards tells the (slightly fictionalized) tale of Daryl (Daryl Wein) and Zoe (Zoe Lister Jones), who after four years of dating have decided to slowly wean themselves off each other and break up in their own time--no muss, no fuss, no hurt feelings. Immediately you want to shake them, and scream, "You fools!" but alas, as this is based of the duo's real open relationship, you know it will not end very well.
There has been some talk about Breaking Upwards defining the generation of young twenty-somethings, who are too hip for their own good and too smart and lazy to do anything but whine and complain, but I don't really see it. Okay, yeah, you're name dropping G-Chat and Facebook, and dating has really changed in the past ten years, but that doesn't necessarily make the film stick with me. That's not the say the film isn't at all viable. Given that I'm a born and raised Texas gal, the realistic and intimate depictions of the New York Jewish culture made Woody Allen look like a caricature with his own Jewish portrayals.
And I did chuckle a few times, even I will admit. When Daryl and Zoe are determining which days to take "off," they immediately nix Tuesdays because American Idol is on. Some of the best performances are by the couple's parents, played to perfection by Andrea Martin, Peter Friedman and Julie White.
But ultimately the film doesn't hit as hard as it tries to. It feels like it wants to be this generation's Annie Hall, and it falls short by trying too hard, by being too "hip." Plus, I spent most of the movie wondering if Daryl wasn't really gay. It's not all bad, though. The lighting and cinematography are pretty impressive for what was probably a shoestring budget. The acting is fairly spot on, and the supporting characters are charming. I think just the writing grated on me too much to really want to like the film. Maybe it's ultimately like the reason Zoe wants to separate herself from Daryl in the first place: "I'm just bored."
Observe and Report writer Jody Hill loves bad guys. I don’t say that because Kenny Powers let Stevie Janowski take the fall for his car wreck in Eastbound and Down or because Fred Simmons was an ass-kicking yet inept karate instructor in The Foot Fist Way. "I like to write about bad guys more because they’re cool," he shrugged at the South by Southwest screening of his newest flick, Observe and Report. "They’re a lot more interesting, so I take bad guys and make them good guys.”
Hill spared no evil or endearing quality when he created the occasionally insane group of characters in Observe and Report. Mall cop Ronnie Barnhardt (Seth Rogen) has lost touch with reality--a major character flaw that Hill loves to instill in his main characters. You’ll spend most of the movie incredulous to what Ronnie is doing and saying, but you can’t help but hope he figures out and gets his act together. It’s how impossibly close Hill’s characters come to nearly redeeming themselves before collapsing in a glorious, hilarious fashion that makes us keep watching.
However, that tale can only be told so many times in a given seating, which is where Observe misses its mark. The characters are well-developed, and the actors obviously grabbed their roles and ran with them, but there just wasn’t enough to keep the story moving. It was a series of side plots lumped together that happened to cluster around a central tale, which is quite flimsy when the final payoff is revealed. The movie is uproariously funny at certain points and held my interest, but I had trouble grasping what was the point of the movie. Twice I had to look at my watch because I wasn’t sure if there were 20 minutes left or a whole 'nother hour.
The story starts with Ronnie wanting to prove himself to those who doubted him by catching a flasher who keeps returning to his mall. Surly Detective Harrison (Ray Liotta) is called in to assist in the investigation, much to the chagrin of Ronnie, who rallies his crack security squad of the Yuan twins and Michael Pena to help him solve the case. Meanwhile Ronnie lusts after mall makeup clerk Brandi (Anna Farris), who wants nothing to do with him, and ignores the girl who gives him coffee everyday, (Collette Wolfe) who would do anything for him. Ronnie struggles with being bipolar and the lack of respect he commands before the film comes to a head with the loss of his job.
Contrary to this review, I really enjoyed this movie. The characters are incredibly engaging, and after spending time working in a mall myself, I started to see some frightening similarities to people I was friends with. Michael Pena delivers the performance of a lifetime as the lisping sidekick. Unlike past roles where she tried desperately to win the audience over, Anna Farris was allowed to be mean and dirty because there was no caring for Brandi. Look her most hilarious scene, which is spoiled in the red band trailer, where she and Ronnie have drunken (albeit it not wild and crazy) sex.
I expect this film to find a second life on DVD, when people who were unwilling to pay $10 to see it in theaters get their hands on it, but this isn’t your typical frat boy comedy so don’t expect the cheap laughs — this is a thinking man’s comedy.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of Broken Lizard. Sure Super Troopers made me laugh, but BeerFest and Club Dread just made me shake my head. So, I was all ready to cue my skeptical face when Broken Lizard screened their newest comedy, The Slammin' Salmon, at SXSW this week. But, slap my ass and color me surprised when the skeptical face was replaced by howls of laughter. And I wasn't even shitfaced!
The film is about the owner of a restaurant who initiates a contest to see which of his waiters can earn the most money in a single night with a prize of $10,000 because he owes the Japanese mob money and needs to raise some 'skrilla fast. The loser is promised a broken rib sandwich by the owner and former boxing heavyweight champ, Cleon Slammin' Salmon (Michael Clark Duncan in his "who knew he was funny?" role).
For anyone who's worked in a restaurant, the flick rings true with all the dining shenanigans you'd expect: people making out in the walk in, eating off people's plates, and flat out lying to the patrons. Throw in creepy chefs and crazy assed waiters, it's a flashback to my hostessing days.
All the Broken Lizards star as waiters, and while they're funny, no one can beat out Clark Duncan's crazy ass non sequiturs--except for perhaps Jay Chandrasekhar as Nuts, the clinically insane waiter who runs around pantless and dreaming of kitties when he's off his meds. Clark Duncan is not in that terribly much of the film, but when he is, he steals the entire movie. It's rumored that some of Clark Duncan's lines were ad libbed, which really shows off his comedic chops of being wacky, crazy, and bad at math.
Seriously, although I liked I Love You, Man and while Anna Faris made me giggle in Observe and Report, I have not laughed harder this week than I did at this film. It's that funny. Sure, it's predictable, but if you can't laugh at the line "How are you feline?" you have no funny bone.
Things seem to be going pretty well for Christine. She has a good job as a loan officer at a bank, a rock star psychology professor boyfriend, and an adorable baby kitty cat at her luxurious home. She's a good person and doesn't really even stand up for herself when the new guy at the bank is angling for her promotion. So why would anyone want to eff with her? Well, when an old gypsy woman comes into the bank begging for a third extension on her mortgage, Christine decides to show a little initiative and backbone at work by doing what's best for the bank and denying the extremely creepy and downright disgusting woman. This sets the old gypsy off and she decides to curse our dear Christine with a demon who will torment her for three days before it eventually drags her to hell!
Sam Raimi has been away from the horror game for quite some time, but rest assured, he is far from rusty. The man who brought us the Evil Dead films, Spiderman, and DarkMan has managed to infuse his horror skills into all his films regardless of genre. So when it came time to dust off the buckets of blood, he assumed his role as expert spookologist like an adult revisiting a bike. Raimi may have grown up, but his film tactics sure haven't; Drag Me to Hell is just as campy, silly, and disgusting as you'd expect from a much younger director. Raimi has just been around so much and done this so many times before that he does it to perfection. He manages to balance the gross out moments, the humor, and the scares expertly to create a brisk, fun 90 minutes in a film. It's nice to see all his cinematic tricks at work, because really, I can't think of another horror director that leaves a trademark on the screen quite like Raimi.
The acting is pretty solid across the board with the adorable Alison Lohman anchoring the cast as our protagonist Christine. She also gets some good support with Justin Long as her caring boyfriend and Dileep Rao as a psychic who does his darndest to help her placate the demon and escape her impending fate. Lorna Raver as the gypsy Mrs. Ganush and Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza as the medium who can embody demons walk the perfect tip toe line between ridiculous and terrifying.
While the film is far from a masterpiece or cinematic perfection, it is a totally fun trip. The version I saw was a work in progress, but it seemed to require very little tinkering, as I felt it was a rock solid outing. I was pretty skeptical of the film after viewing the trailer, but rest assured the film is worth the trip. When release date for this bad boy rolls around, be prepared to be dragged to hell.
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