Raunchy Comedy Double Feature: Jason Bateman Edition: Horrible Bosses (B+) and The Change Up (D+)

Because of how well my last double feature was received, along with the fact I saw Horrible Bosses and The Change Up within a week of each other, I'm bringing back the "Raunchy Comedy Double Feature" review idea from two months ago. However, this time it's with two less compelling movies, but that's okay. Enough of this opening, here are the reviews...

Review: Horrible Bosses (B+)

Let me begin this review by stating that when I first heard the premise of Horrible Bosses I thought it was an incredible idea for a film: What if you turned Alfred Hitchcock's suspense masterpiece Strangers on a Train into a comedy set in the modern day? Then when the film began casting its roles, the film began to look even better. With a cast of Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Kevin Spacey, Collin Farrell, Jaimie Foxx, and the recurring theme of Horrible Bosses and The Change Up: Jason Bateman, how could you possibly go wrong? Well, they cast Jennifer Aniston.

Most readers do not know this, but Jennifer Aniston might just sit along side Katherine Heigi and Sarah Jessica Parker as one of my three least favorite actresses working today. Nearly every movie I've ever seen her in has been borderline terrible. The reason why I said "nearly every movie" is because Jennifer Aniston might just be the best thing in this movie, and there are plenty of "best things" that she's going up against.

For one, there's Charlie Day from the TV show It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. To be honest, I've never watched an episode of the show, but this movie definitely made me want to. In the film, he plays a character who's kinda like Michael Cera if he was loaded on cocaine the whole time. His chemistry with Jennifer Aniston, who plays the perpetrator of his constant sexual harassment, is fun to watch, and his chemistry with the rest of the cast is fun as well.

As a matter of fact, the chemistry between the characters is so fun to watch that it's actually better than the storyline I was so excited for. You wait while Jason Bateman collects intel (actually just him chilling out in a car) on his boss for him to return to the conversations with Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day.

Something must also be said for Collin Farrell's portrayal of Jason Sudeikis' coke-head boss, whose role is unfortunately regulated to a cameo because of his (spoiler alert) quick death by the Kevin Spacey character. Every word that comes out of Collin Farrell's mouth is absolutely hilarious, and gives me a surprising reason to seek out the 1985 remake of Fright Night, where Collin Farrell once again gives a comedic role.

Overall, Horrible Bosses is an absolutely hilarious film with great performances around the board. Despite minor plotting flaws, it should without a doubt be seeked out if you want a good laugh. It also happens to be a lot better than...

Review: The Change Up (D+)

Just as much as I thought the premise of Horrible Bosses was great, I thought the plot of The Change Up seemed cheap and seemingly terrible. The trailers (which were also in front of Bridesmaids and The Hangover: Part II to make a connection between the two "double features") lacked any kind of humor, and while I usually like Jason Bateman, I've never really felt any love for Ryan Reynolds.

For those who have some how avoided the hundreds of commercials producer Relativity Media has thrown at both the small and silver screen, The Change Up is about two unlikely friends who while urinating in a fountain confess their love for the other's life. The result of this urination incident is a good ol' 80's style body switch.

Pointlessly dumb movies like this are not usually the type I like to review for the site, but because I put up a mini-review for The Smurfs a few days ago, I didn't think I could sink much lower than that for review filler material. Luckily for me, The Change Up doesn't sink to quite the level of awful that The Smurfs does, but it at some points gets fairly close. Anyway, when a film is getting compared to The Smurfs to begin with, it isn't a good sign.

My main problem with the film, is how there is absolutely no reason for Jason Bateman's character to be any remote type of friend to the Ryan Reynolds character. Towards the beginning of the film, something is mentioned about how they used to go to school together, but I don't even buy that. Jason Bateman looks at least 15 years older than Ryan Reynolds in this film, and that even has nothing to do with my original complaint!

Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman have absolutely nothing in common, lead completely different lives, and both are actively destructive towards the other. The chemistry between the characters become so bad, that I desperately want to get back to the unfunny raunchy scenarios the body switch gets these characters into. Nothing in this film works, other than the occasional joke here and there.

Overall, The Change Up is not a good movie, plain and simple. Without a doubt Horrible Bosses should be seeked out over it.

Grades: Horrible Bosses (B+) The Change Up (D+)

Mini-Review: The Smurfs (D-)

Let me begin this review by putting my self-professed film critic card on the line by stating that I saw the latest in the line of 80's nostalgia 3D CGI family comedies, The Smurfs, voluntarily. I had previously mentioned in my review of Quentin Dupieux's tire killer horror/comedy Rubber that I enjoy movies that are "so bad they're good", and no movie seemed to fit this bill better than The Smurfs.

Now let me attempt to redeem myself by stating that The Smurfs is without a doubt the worst movie of 2011 so far, and if another film challenges this blue emperor of awful, I am truly sickened by the film industry. Everything about this movie challenges why people enjoy and go to movies, and the only thing physically worse than this movie is the fact that I voluntarily saw it. Let myself serve as a cautionary tale to those who may consider seeing it for ironic pleasure; do not, under any circumstances, see this movie.

Grade: D-

Cowboys And Aliens (C)

Yes it's true; despite the many great films in theaters at the moment, I saw/am reviewing Jon Favreau's latest special effects extraviganza Cowboys And Aliens. Do I regret this decision? Suprisingly, not too much. While Jon Favreau is an incredibly bland director (or at least I think so), his films are almost always, if nothing else, entertaining. Living up to its title, along with the director's sence of entertainment, Cowboys And Aliens was a fun diversion from reality... but absolutely nothing else.

The real shock of the film, rather than exploding aliens, was how Jon Favreau wasted every cinematic tool at his disposal. Despite the common criticism of the film's title, Cowboys And Aliens had an original and unexplored premise: What if cowboys were attacked by aliens? But instead of taking this unused premise and making the film his own, Favreau cops out and opts to remake the same alien invaision movie we've been watching for years; just set in the Wild West. Even the aliens look oddly familiar (though I'm not sure from which film), and the ships they fly in are an odd mix of Independance Day and Battle Los Angeles.

However, the dilemma over the wasted premise isn't nearly as egregious as the dilemma over the wasted cast. If you cast Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Paul Dano, and Sam Rockwell, you should give them something to do other than mope around or play a two-dimensional stereotype. All of these (especially Harrison Ford and Sam Rockwell) deserve much better roles than these.

Though it may not seem like it from the trailers, Cowboys And Aliens is an incredibly violent film, and may just top The First Grader for the most violent PG-13 movie I've ever seen. Characters are graphically shot, stabbed, beaten, torn to pieces, and the aliens fare even worse. This film's violence is barely a step down from another alien invaision film: Paul Verhoeven's Starship Troopers. The reason I'm mentioning all of this, is because a steady stream of moms were leaving the theater with their young children, and I can only assume the violence was the cause.

Like a disappointing amount of summer blockbusters, despite its carnage, Cowboys And Aliens is an incredibly forgetable film. Though I only watched the film a few hours ago, I've already forgotten most of the opening act. What I do remember was, that despite this scathing review, I had a pretty good time in the theater. So I guess that's a "C"

Grade: C

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 (B)

The reason why this review is coming so late is because I've been debating with myself whether it's even necessary to review this film. If you're a Harry Potter fan, of course you'll see it anyway (if you haven't seen it twice by now), and besides, I'm a completely biased critic. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was one of the first movies I ever saw in a movie theater, and I've seen them all in the theater since. However, after much thought, I figured why not? Maybe I can add something new to the Potter conversation that hasn't been said by the thousands of other critics who wrote a review for this film. Unlike these other critics, I will not wax poetically about how everyone in the series has grown over the last 11 years. I also won't describe the plot of the film. Besides the fact that you already know it, you can read any other review for that. Now enough of my ramble, lets begin the review.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2 is not really a Harry Potter movie. The Harry Potter movies circle around Harry learning magic and going on slightly scary adventures with Ron and Hermione. Obviously HPDH2 is not like this. Rather, it is a WWII war film which happens to contain vast amounts of sorcery. When spells crash into the mighty grounds of Hogwarts, it is more akin to the Nazi blitz on London than anything found previously in the Harry Potter universe. I do not mean to imply that this is a bad thing. Actually, in nearly every case but one, it is a great thing. However, that one case is that this style affects the "emotional end" of the series.

HPDH2 could have easily taken an extremely melodramatic style to give every character their own special goodbye, and it would've been horrible. No one but the die hard Potter fans want to see that. But because there's so much action going on in this film, many characters are just thrown to the side in favor of action. Characters like Fred and Lupin die without any real significance. For the casual fan, this might be unnoticeable, but if you wait 11 years for this moment it's a bit disappointing. Actually, it's very disappointing.

One thing which isn't disappointing is Alan Rickman's farewell performance as the dark and brooding Professor Snape. I've always noticed that his performances in this series have gone sadly unnoticed, and hopefully this will be the film where he is finally acknowledged for his fine work. Maybe an Oscar nomination (but not win. He's not that good) wouldn't hurt.

HPDH2 is a slightly disappointed way to end the multi-billion dollar 11 year franchise, but by blockbuster standards it's pretty good. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to the theater to see it again.

Grade: B

Tabloid (B-)

Errol Morris' new documentary, Tabloid, has one of the most bizarre and unique plots I've ever seen in a film, let alone a documentary. The film centers around Joyce McKinney, a former Miss Wyoming winner with a genius IQ of 169, and her accidentally tabloid fodder life. You see, when Joyce's boyfriend left her to preform his duties as a Mormon missionary in England, rather than move on, she hired two bodyguards and a pilot to take herself to England and "rescue" him from the crazy cult (Mormons) that was destroying their love. And after having one of the hired bodyguards use a fake gun to abduct him, she tied him up on a bed, and proceeded to have sex with him for three days straight. After here, the lines of truth and lies become blurry.

This is such a fascinating story that all Errol Morris would've needed to do to make this an interesting documentary would be to just give a few interviews and call it a day, and that's exactly what he does. Besides a few interviews with McKinney, two tabloid reporters, a regular Mormon man, the pilot to get to England, and a dog cloner (don't ask), there really isn't too much material here. It's sad to see that Errol Morris was denied an interview with Kirk Anderson, McKinney's boyfriend and true love/rape victim. If that interview had been allowed, there might be some thought provoking material to add to this story.

Tabloid is still a very fun movie though. As the story continues, you become more engrossed with what's happening on the screen, and desperately makes you want to know what happens next. Every event in Joyce McKinney's life is just more insane than the last, and by the dog cloning finale comes around, you realize that there is no better ending than dog cloning. How else can you top abducting a Mormon in the name of love?

While there is close to no take away value from this film (other than true love can be found anywhere, from virgin religious Mormons to clone puppies from South Korea), Tabloid should be seen simply for the fun you'll have watching it. Tabloid had the material to become a truly spectacular documentary, but instead settles for being a merely entertaining one. But still, in the world of documentaries, entertaining isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Grade: B-

Rubber (C+)

As Lieutenant Chad says in the opening monologue of Quentin Dupieux's new film Rubber, many things happen in a film for no reason whatsoever. Why does E.T have to be brown? Why do aliens always have a need to destroy New York? Why do the characters in terrible romantic comedies always fall in love by the end of the film? No reason. In Rubber, Quentin Dupieux takes this idea of "no reason" and raises it to an all new level: If there isn't a reason to explain E.T's brownness, why does there have to be a reason to explain a killer tire with telepathic abilities who decides to use his powers to destroy humanity? Of course there shouldn't be a reason to explain how this murderous tire came to be, any backstory in this film would have defeated the entire purpose. But unfortunately, this movie simply has no reason to exist.

Let me make this clear: I enjoy the B-movie/softcore grindhouse genre (EX: Steven Spielberg's Duel), and I also enjoy the Sci-Fi movie of the week for "so bad it's good" entertainment. Rubber can easily fall into both of those categories, but my problem with the film is that by the 45 minute mark you've seen everything this film could possibly throw at you (besides the surreal/genius final ten minutes, which I am not going to spoil in this review).

Now this is the part of the review when I knowingly become a bit of a pretentious pseudo-intellectual when it comes to this film, but something needs to be said about the film's techno score. I know very little about scoring movies, but the score of this film is incredible. After watching the film, I immediately picked up two tracks from the soundtrack on iTunes. I'm not sure if it's on youtube (it probably isn't), but if it is you should check it out. Okay, my pretentious pseudo-intellectualness is now over.

Rubber is not a great film, but it's an incredible ode to "no reason." People die for no reason, inanimate objects have supernatural powers for no reason, and unless you want a fun first forty-five minutes and a hilarious twist there's no reason to see it.

Grade: C+

Top Five Movies Of 2011 (so far), And Other Stuff

While 2011 is only half over, I honestly believe that this could be the best year in cinema since 2007. Nearly every film I've seen this year has been decent, and there are still many acclaimed films which I have not yet seen. So if you are confused why a certain film isn't mentioned, the reason is that I haven't seen it. With apologizes to The Tree of Life, Meek's Cutoff, Beginners, 13 Assassins, Win Win, Source Code, Super 8, X-Men: First Class, Rio, and Certified Copy, here are the top five movies of 2011 so far...

5. Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris is definitely not Woody Allen's greatest film, but it's certainly a fun romantic comedy. Midnight in Paris plays like Night at the Museum directed by Woody Allen, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it's usually a great thing! Despite being 15 minutes overlong and an annoyingly bad performance by Kathy Bates, Midnight in Paris is my fifth favorite film of 2011 so far.

4. The Trip

The Trip is a flawed film. The editing is choppy, there are too many unnecessary scenes where nothing happens, and it takes the first 20 or so minutes for the film to find its groove. That being said, there will be absolutely no other film this entire year which will make you laugh as hard as this one. The believable mixture of friendship and rivalry between Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan (playing themselves) creates laughter, along with unexpectedly moving moments. By the time you've finished your hour and a half trip with Coogan and Brydon, you'll want to immediately go again. For these reasons The Trip is my fourth film of 2011 so far.

3. Rango

With Pixar's Cars 2 turning out to be a bonafide critical disaster (currently 33% on Rotten Tomatoes, 39% less than Pixar's previous low point Cars (74%)), Rio being considered a mild disappointment, and Hoodwinked Too, Mars Needs Moms, and Gnomeo and Juliet being just as terrible as their names made them out to be, it takes a special type of movie to save a floundering genre from a year of disappointment. Entering the movie theaters in a blaze of glory, Rango was able to do this. Actually, it was able to do more than this. Rango was also a key factor (along with True Grit) in bringing back the western genre, and introducing it to a whole new generation. With its whip-smart humor, well done action sequences, and some of the most gorgeous animation to ever hit the silver screen, Rango is the third best film of 2011 so far.

2. Bridesmaids

I feel terrible that my review of Bridesmaids was so short. Because I spent so much time attempting to convince people not to see The Hangover Part II, I was not able to truly acknowledge the genius of this film. Director Paul Feig has done the near impossible by creating a romantic comedy which is appealing to everyone. But of course he doesn't deserve all the credit; every single actor or actress in this film gives it their all when it comes to this film. I cannot think of a single performer who gave a sub-par performance. Bridesmaids is hilarious, heart warming, touching, disgusting, raunchy, romantic, charming, and the second best film of 2011 so far.

1. My Perestroika

Director Robin Hessman has done the absolute impossible: Create an hour-and-a-half long documentary which not only captures the entirety of the Soviet Union, but makes it one of the most enjoyable movie going experiences I've ever had. Through five mid-life Russian citizens who lived through the fall of the Soviet Union, you see the true Soviet Russia behind all the propaganda and lies. In a perfect world, every documentary or film would be a great as this one. Told through song, stock footage, Soviet television broadcasts, interviews, and pool, My Perestroika is without a doubt the best and greatest film of 2011 so far.

Honorable Mention:

The Green Hornet

The Green Hornet is not the sixth best film of 2011, but it definitely does not deserve all the scathing reviews it's been receiving from the critics. Jay Chou and Christoph Waltz do an incredible job with the material, Michel Gondry's direction is fun and loose, and the film mixes action and comedy fairly well. This is a flawed film, but it's certainly a lot better than Thor, which received bizarrely spectacular reviews. The Green Hornet isn't one of the best of the year, but it doesn't deserve all this hatred.

The Worst Film of the Year So Far:

I Am

I feel terrible having hated this documentary because of how much this movie obviously means to director Tom Shadyac. He put his heart out on the line, and now I'm smashing it to pieces with a sledgehammer. Do I want to smash his heart apart? Absolutely not, but something needs to be said about how terrible this movie is. I Am feels like a bunch of uplifting stock footage stapled together with pointless interviews with a half-assed score thrown to go along with it. The only reason I spared this film with a D+ is that I appreciated what Tom Shadyac was attempting to do. Hopefully, I won't have to watch another movie this bad over the rest of 2011.

Raunchy Comedy Double Feature: Bridesmaids and The Hangover Part II

(note: Because I was late for the screening, I missed the first twenty minutes or so of Bridesmaids. If anything in my review of the film sounds a little off, it's for this reason.)

Review: The Hangover Part II

The Hangover Part II is the very definition of a critic-proof movie. Despite consistent negative reviews from nearly every major film critic in the country, the film has already grossed $343,814,465 worldwide. The film also had the second highest opening weekend for any R-rated film ($85,946,294) behind The Matrix Reloaded ($91,774,413).

Now, I should say this upfront, I always thought The Hangover was an incredibly overrated film. I didn't hate the movie, or even dislike it, I just thought it wasn't nearly as funny as everyone made it out to be. Still, the film had its great moments (Stu's song is priceless), but one of them was not Ken Jeong's performance as Mr. Chang. Whenever his character would enter the screen, all I would do would wish for him to get off as soon as possible. While I do know comedy is subjective, I doubt many in the theater were laughing the fifth time Mr. Chang said "Gay Boys" in his extremely stereotypical Chinese accent.

Most Hollywood sequels just take the original film, find what the audiences enjoyed the most, and then cram the sequel with so much of it that the audience can't take it anymore. So unsurprisingly, The Hangover Part II is just The Hangover with more raunch, more violence, and more of my nemesis, Mr. Chang.

This is a hard film to review because the film is extremely well made, and I give a lot of credit to director Todd Phillips. There is a five minute car chase in this movie shot in the streets of Bangkok which would not be out of place in a Mission Impossible or Bourne film. It's incredibly well shot, right down to the smallest camera movement. The only problem with the scene is that it really isn't too funny.

Zach Galifianakis was hysterical in The Hangover, but here he plays Alan like he has a mental disorder, rather than simply being extremely weird like in the first film. It's a bizarre feeling when you are concerned over the mental health of a character who is supposed to be oddly hilarious. While I hate to make this comparison (I really do), the closest comparison I can find to Zach Galifianakis's portrayal of Alan in this film, would be Sandra Bullock's portrayal of Mary in All About Steve. With every dumb remark Alan makes, instead of laughing (though I will still laugh sometimes), I just pity this character more.

The Hangover Part II is not a good film, but it's kind of funny, and very well made. But you don't go into a comedy looking for a well shot film (though it's certainly nice when it happens), you go into a comedy to laugh. So when there are no good jokes to be found, it becomes very disappointing.

Grade: C-

Review: Bridesmaids

Let me begin this review by stating the obvious: This is a much better film than The Hangover Part II in nearly every comprehensible way, shape, or form. This film is better shot than The Hangover Part II (my one real praise of the film), the film has a better cast than The Hangover Part II, and most importantly, the film is at least twenty times funnier than The Hangover Part II. I nearly loved every aspect of this film, right down to the smallest subtle joke.

Good comedy is comedy you remember three weeks after you see it, and gives you a chuckle while you're bored. Good comedy is not some gag you laugh at in the theater, but forget about instantaneously. While this may seem obvious because of my gushing opening, Bridesmaids is full of good comedy. Actually, it's full of great comedy.

This movie has heart, laughs, and two of the most hysterical and simply fantastic performances all year: Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. After years of stealing the spotlight on Saturday Night Live, Kristen Wiig has finally landed into the world of mainstream lead performances. She was hilarious in the underrated comedy gem Macgruber, and she's even funnier here. Melissa McCarthy was an actor that I had never heard of before this movie, but she is absolutely brilliant as one of Maya Rudolph's bridesmaids.

This movie is hilarious, and if you can, should probably seek it out over The Hangover Part II.

Grade: A-

Cave of Forgotten Dreams 2D (B-)

As I sat through the repetitive imagery shown in Werner Hertzog's new documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams, I deeply wished that I had been able to view the film in 3D. The film had clearly been made for the format. This was proved by the multiple references to how the cave art could be seen in three dimensions, along with various shots of this previously mentioned cave art specifically framed for a 3D audience. Unfortunately for those who are forced to see the film in 2D, all these shots and references to the nonexistent 3D play out extremely awkwardly, and occasionally tediously as well.

The film follows Werner Hertzog, his film crew, and a quirky group of scientists, as they journey through the depths of the Chauvet Caves in order study the cave art found inside. But these aren't your average examples of cave art; most of the sketches found in the cave are estimated to be over 30,000 years old. Armed with a four person crew and a countless number of restrictions, Hertzog is given the once in a lifetime opportunity to film inside the cave from the French government (Usually only guards and a select group of scientists are legally allowed to enter the cave).

The examples of the cave art seen in this film are spectacular, but Hertzog's dilemma is that he only has enough footage (or entertaining footage at least) for a 45-minute television special. So to compensate for this, he constantly shows the audience the same sketches again and again with different commentary and a different score.

Luckily, there are some respites from the repetition. There's a five minute scene where a scientist attempts to show Hertzog how neanderthal man would hunt. It's a fun, quirky scene which has little to do with the rest of the film, but acts like a refreshing break from the cave.

While this may seem like a negative review (and it slightly is), I am defiantly going to give the film a break because of the format I viewed it in. In 2D, the cave art seen couldn't have possibly been as grand as if it was in 3D. Still, just to see some of the art on display, this movie should still be seen. Just preferably in 3D.

Grade: B-

My Perestroika (A)

In my review of Marvel Studio's Thor, I had trouble writing an introduction for the film simply because there really wasn't anything to write about. Now, writing a review of the new documentary My Perestroika, I am faced with the opposite problem. My Perestroika is such an absolutely genius film, I have no idea where to begin.

My Perestroika contains all elements which make up a fascinating documentary:

1. Compelling subject

2. Fascinating characters

3. A rarely mentioned topic

4. Gorgeous and surreal examples of stock footage

5. Brilliant direction

The focus of the documentary revolves around how the fall of the Soviet Union shaped the lives of five old classmates. Told through their home movies, along with interviews from the modern day, you see the drastic change the fall of the Soviet Union had on them, and also the drastic change that these classmates had on the Soviet Union. This film plays like Michael Apted's Up series if it had been summarized into one complete epic film. Though I have only two films out of Michael Apted's previously mentioned Up series, I can safely state that My Perestroika accomplishes much more than both of those films combined.

My Perestroika also deserves a praise that I doubt I've ever bestowed to a documentary before: Its soundtrack. The soundtrack to this film is absolutely spectacular, mixing Russian children's songs with 80's Soviet Era punk-rock. A bizarre combination that while in this review might sound, well, bizarre, in the context of the film it works spectacularly.

I would also like to note that this is director Robin Hessman's first feature length documentary. The fact that he was able to direct a documentary this well on his first try is an incredible accomplishment. Even though this documentary will unfortunately most likely get overlooked come time for Oscar season, Robin Hessman is now a huge director on my radar, and should be on your radar as well. Though I already said this once in this review, I believe that it's necessary to say it again: This is an absolutely genius film.

Grade: A