30 Second Reviews: The Three Stooges (B+), Step Up Revolution (C+), Peace Love and Misunderstanding (D+), and To Rome With Love (B)

The Three Stooges

In, by far, one of the biggest surprises of the year, the Farrelly brothers have challenged the generally mediocre "modern day update of a classic" mold with their hilarious revival of the classic comedy troupe, The Three Stooges. Capturing the magic of what made the original shorts work so well, Sean Hays, Chris Diamantopoulos, and especially former MMA fighter Will Sasso as Curley, give almost pitch perfect performances by not only replicating the stooges' slapstick mannerisms, and in many cases building upon them. The plot is relatively simple: When Moe, Larry, and Curley's childhood orphanage goes under foreclosure, the gang must go to the big city to find the funds to pay the bank back. We already know the ending in advance, but the lack of suspense doesn't dilute the enjoyment in the least. The Three Stooges is by far one of the funniest, most entertaining movies of the year so far, with enough nynucks for a lifetime: It's the rare example of a seemingly unnecessary remake done right.

Grade: B+

360 (B-)

More of a visualized connect-the-dots puzzle than a conventional linear feature film, director Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and writer Peter Morgan's (The Last King of Scotland) globe trotting drama examines the consequences and repercussions love has on our personal lives, and in ways we'd never expect in the lives of others. Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Foster are part of a wide ranging eclectic cast, with each character vaguely connected to the other in a series of vignettes of how one person's love in one story influences another character's life in the next. As the film progresses, and we move from short story to short story, Meirelles and Morgan eventually bring the narrative full circle; tying the later players back to those featured in the beginning. It's a risky endeavor to compose any feature as ambitious as this, but most involved seem up for the challenge. However, being willing to fully commit to such a possibly burdensome project, and the ability to execute it with success is a different ballpark all together.

Breakfast with Curtis (C)

(Breakfast with Curtis was shown as part of the Rhode Island International Film Festival)

They're few movies that I've desperately wanted to enjoy more than Rhode Island director Laura Colella's community based comedy Breakfast with Curtis, a movie about the generally easygoing relationship between two affable neighboring homes; one a large purple house filled with pot smoking eccentrics, and the other a now reformed hippie couple with an extremely awkward 14 year old son. There isn't any conflict or danger involved, no sudden twists, or any real plot. In fact, only for a single shot does Colella show the world outside the friendly block. It's the cinematic equivalent of sitting out on the porch on a hot day, and drinking a nice glass of cool lemonade. For the relatively short 84 minute runtime, you're simply relaxing with some quirky, newly found friends. And while I certainly enjoyed their company, once the film ends, you're unfortunately left with the mediocre feeling of "That's it?".

The Babymakers (C+)

If someone had traveled back in time to five days ago before I watched Jay Chandrasekhar's crudely comedic sperm bank heist flick, and informed me that not only I find the film to be a pleasant surprise, but would also find it whole heartedly enjoyable, I probably would've written them off as crazy in an instant. An entire movie based off a single bodily fluid couldn't possibly work, especially if directed by the same man whose other major directing credit belongs to the 2005 Johnny Knoxville/Seann William Scott reboot The Dukes of Hazard. Currently residing with an abysmal 8% on the usually reliable Rotten Tomatoes, The Babymakers is an almost universally hated: An endless spree of raunchy, unfunny gags which nonexistent connective tissue to hold it all together. Yet, despite all the warning signs involved, while admittedly flawed, I found it to be a frequently hilarious unanticipated treat.

30 Second Reviews: A Cat in Paris (C+), Get the Gringo (C-), Dark Horse (C), and Brave (B-)

A Cat in Paris

An impeccably animated French import, directing duo Jean-Loup Felicioli and Alain Gagnol's feline thriller surprised many upon the announcement of its Oscar nomination. Despite not receiving a limited release in the states, coupled with the fact it lacked even a U.S distributor, it usurped mainstream favorites such as Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, along with the admittedly mediocre Pixar sequel Cars 2, and the sadly underestimated and seemingly already forgotten hand drawn gem Winnie the Pooh. Similar to the situation in 2009, where the also hand drawn Celtic fable Secret of Kells appeared out of nowhere to claim a nomination, many were curious as to whether this absolutely independent outsider of the Hollywood system was of any real quality, or simply the Academy championing a small and forgettable feature for no irrefutable reason. It's because of this that I've been enthusiastically waiting for the film's eventual domestic release; curiosity as to whether it deserves the recognition and slight fame the nomination brought. Now, after having viewed the film, though I'm glad this small foreign feature received its 15 seconds of fame, I'm not sure if it necessarily deserved the nomination. Despite excellent hand drawn animation, the plot is a bit of a mess, and the film is too short (70 minutes) to leave much of an impact. Though I'm glad I finally saw it, after coming from nowhere to become one of my most anticipated films of the year, I'd definitely consider it a disappointment.

Grade: C+

30 Second Review: Ice Age: Continental Drift (C)

The main purpose of writing these 30 Second Reviews is so when I eventually struggle crafting the conventional four or five paragraph critique, I'm still able to address my opinion of the film on the site. This rule has held well over the last few months since its creation, allowing me to share short assessments even as writer's block cripples the average writing process. However, for the very first time, we have a tiny takedown not out of necessity, but rather because the subject is so hopelessly generic and paint-by-numbers that I am personably unable to develop even a somewhat thought provoking analysis on it. It's an animated kid's movie that follows the traditional formula so attentively, so vigilantly, that while admittedly slightly enjoyable on first glance, lacks even the smallest glimpse of memorability in the long run. After a clever opening scene involving a prehistoric squirrel's frantic chase for an acorn inside the Earth's inner core, everything falls apart very, very quickly, and by the end, all that's left is the looming feeling of corporate trickery and manipulation for the very fact you've just paid for the fourth sequel to a mediocre franchise. It's the TGI Friday's of cinema: A corporation luring you in with promises of something good, but giving unmemorable inadequacy instead.

Grade: C

Note: The reason the grade is a C and not lower, is because there're a few decent jokes and visual gags. Also, the animation itself was excellent; if only Blue Sky used it to create a better film.

Starry Starry Night (B)

There's a rare, and gratifying feeling once a seemingly mundane children's movie surpasses the modest ambitions of its generally mediocre genre, and attempts to be something far greater than the paint-by-numbers predecessors which came before it. Without the usual Pixar animated treasure to fit the bill (though Brave was undoubtably decent, it's far too generic to fall into this category), 2012 might be considered to be one of the worst years for kid's movies in a very long time. Even with last year's hopefully forgotten Cars 2 debacle, the genre was saved by both Gore Verbinski's animated western Rango, and master filmmaker Steven Spielberg's motion-capture adventure The Adventures of Tintin; films which not only proved entertaining for all ages, but were also two of my favorites to be released in 2011. Surely the genre is in dark times at the present, but have no fear: Starry Starry Night, Taiwanese director Tom Lin's beautifully shot adaptation of the popular Chinese picture book of the same title, is the sweet, though slightly flawed, kid's movie we've been waiting for.

My 10 Year Old Sister's Review of "Moonrise Kingdom" (B)

(It's been a while since my little sister wrote a review for the site, so after a family visit to the movie theater to see Wes Anderson's latest film, Moonrise Kingdom, I figured it was time for her triumphant return. A regular review of the film written by myself should be coming shortly. This is an almost completely unedited review, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Also, I didn't drag my whole family to see the film; everyone was at least a little interested, even though it wasn't necessarily a kid's movie by regular definition.)


I saw this movie with my brother and my sister. We all had very different reactions to it. My sister hated it. My brother fell in love with it, and I thought it was "ok''. My brother wanted to make the ''indie-ish'' movies to be popular, so he dragged our family to see it. Being an "indie-ish'' movie, I only recognized Bill Murray as the father.


I thought this movie was too violent. From when a dog gets shot in the neck with an arrow (don't worry, no animals were harmed in the making of this film), to where Suzy (Kara Hayward) stabbed a kid in the side with scissors. The trailer made it seem so light and peppy and "quirky" (it was at some times).


Although my brother and sister think differently, overall:


Grade: B

Summer of Scares: Beyond the Black Rainbow (B)

Beyond science, beyond sanity, and beyond control, Beyond the Black Rainbow is the disturbing, 80's styled sci-fi nightmare I wasn't particularly sure I wanted, and still am not completely sure I'm glad to have found. More a series of hypnotic and sadistically dreamlike imagery than a cohesive whole with a beginning, middle, and end, Greek director Panos Cosmatos has said the film was inspired by hazy memories of watching Saturday morning cartoons, and sneaky viewings of midnight movies during his childhood. Though it's easy to see where this childhood influence on the film comes from, it feels more like a graphic visualization of one's "bad trip" while on a powerful hallucinogenic drug. Characters smoothly drift in and out, entire subplots are referenced then quickly abandoned, possible twists are acknowledged but never again referenced. It all feels like a dream functioning in present time; a place where people and images flash into existence and then immediately disappear, and new figures and visuals take their place only to inevitably exit as well. The film is in a constant loop of adding characters and plots while discarding the old, occasionally pausing for slight character development for one of the film's few constant players, or a complete non-sequitur with particularly excellent and mesmerizing cinematography. It almost exists in a complete alternate universe of its own; where imagery takes far higher precedence over all other aspects of filmmaking.

That's My Boy (C-)

Usually when writing the reviews for this site, I attempt to keep a somewhat high standard for the films reviewed, so that there will be less scathing critiques featured. However, mostly as result of the "Summer of Scares" feature, coupled with having watched generally mediocre features for the last two month, this watermark has slowly been lowered to the point where the subject of my last review had the title The Girl with the Naked Eye, and not a single explicitly positive review was written in the entire month of June. This is something I'm going to be far more active in trying to prevent in the future: Since the fourth week of June, I've only watched thoroughly enjoyable movies I'm proud to have seen. While a massive leap forward for the quality of the films reviewed on the site is in order, a few ruminants of the dark era remain. Hopefully the last pessimistic review in a long time, lets begin focusing on our "meh" subject: The biggest Adam Sandler box office bomb since Little Nicky, That's My Boy. Yes, I'm reviewing an Adam Sandler movie.