The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult - 7 stars out of 10
"The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult" is a breath of fresh air after a lackluster second chapter in the series. The storyline places these characters into situations that allow them to be hilarious again. The inclusion of the Academy Awards opens the movie up to cameos, film parodies (like Jurassic Park), and tongue-in-cheek insults hurled at the film industry. 33 1/3's prison sequence is great for a bunch of laughs, though the intentional paralleling of "Shawshank Redemption" began to feel uncreative after awhile. Fortunately, Lt. Frank Drebin is back to his idiotically loveable self and it just "feels" like the first film again. One thing that I noticed was the overwhelming amount of sexual humor. All of the films contain a lot of sexual jokes but it seems like some of the slapstick humor was dropped in order to make way for a larger percentage of sexual jokes that go a bit too far. I would've preferred the slapstick humor. Despite a few flaws, this film is almost as good as the original and it definitely gets bonus points for running over a Philadelphia Flyer during the opening credits. This conclusion to the "Naked Gun" series is definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the first film and are a fan of slapstick humor that isn't meant to be taken seriously.
P.S. O.J. Simpson's afro...
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Friday, May 17, 2013
The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear - 5 stars out of 10
The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear - 5 stars out of 10
"The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear" feels very tired. Unlike the first film in the series which is fresh and unexpected, 2 1/2 turns into the same joke over and over again. It has a few memorable moments like the many Barbara Bush incidences, the tank, and the mariachi band, but it isn't a never-ending series of iconic comedy moments. A lot of the comedy made me roll my eyes instead of burst into laughter. The story was really a disappointment when compared with the Queen Elizabeth story of the first film and the prison/Oscar story of the third film. It hones in on the stereotyped Cold War plot but doesn't do it very well. Character-wise, this sequel really made me fall in love with Priscilla Presley. While Leslie Nielsen's character lost some of his charm and O.J. Simpson was basically M.I.A., her character developed really nicely. I am a huge fan of the first and third films in this series but unless you really love these characters, you can easily skip from 1 to 33 1/3 without missing anything (except for a boring 85 minutes of your life).
"The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear" feels very tired. Unlike the first film in the series which is fresh and unexpected, 2 1/2 turns into the same joke over and over again. It has a few memorable moments like the many Barbara Bush incidences, the tank, and the mariachi band, but it isn't a never-ending series of iconic comedy moments. A lot of the comedy made me roll my eyes instead of burst into laughter. The story was really a disappointment when compared with the Queen Elizabeth story of the first film and the prison/Oscar story of the third film. It hones in on the stereotyped Cold War plot but doesn't do it very well. Character-wise, this sequel really made me fall in love with Priscilla Presley. While Leslie Nielsen's character lost some of his charm and O.J. Simpson was basically M.I.A., her character developed really nicely. I am a huge fan of the first and third films in this series but unless you really love these characters, you can easily skip from 1 to 33 1/3 without missing anything (except for a boring 85 minutes of your life).
Thursday, May 16, 2013
42 - 8 stars out of 10
42 - 8 stars out of 10
"42" is the no-details-spared portrayal of Jackie Robinson's racial struggles as he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. With great acting from top to bottom, the cast goes beyond the script to make a thematic statement. Chadwick Boseman comes out of nowhere to nail this starring role, bringing the attitude and emotion necessary to create a believable Jackie Robinson. His outburst in the dugout tunnel is chilling. Harrison Ford steps away from his typical roles to play Branch Rickey, nearly unrecognizable through his age and accent. It would be easy for this role to be lost but Ford turns him into a hero. I can't decide if it is the acting or the script, but Alan Tudyk's scene as the taunting Phillies manager Ben Chapman was incredibly effective, filling me with rage toward the bigotry in this world. It is difficult to listen to all of the n-words throughout this film but the script captures an important part of American history and I think that it brings attention to the need for this prejudice to disappear from our society today. Whether you are a lover of baseball or simply a movie fan, "42" is a home run.
"42" is the no-details-spared portrayal of Jackie Robinson's racial struggles as he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. With great acting from top to bottom, the cast goes beyond the script to make a thematic statement. Chadwick Boseman comes out of nowhere to nail this starring role, bringing the attitude and emotion necessary to create a believable Jackie Robinson. His outburst in the dugout tunnel is chilling. Harrison Ford steps away from his typical roles to play Branch Rickey, nearly unrecognizable through his age and accent. It would be easy for this role to be lost but Ford turns him into a hero. I can't decide if it is the acting or the script, but Alan Tudyk's scene as the taunting Phillies manager Ben Chapman was incredibly effective, filling me with rage toward the bigotry in this world. It is difficult to listen to all of the n-words throughout this film but the script captures an important part of American history and I think that it brings attention to the need for this prejudice to disappear from our society today. Whether you are a lover of baseball or simply a movie fan, "42" is a home run.
Monday, May 13, 2013
The Great Gatsby (2013) - 7 stars out of 10
The Great Gatsby (2013) - 7 stars out of 10
"The Great Gatsby" was really good but it wasn't great. The trailers set a very high expectation for the artistic vision and, while it achieved that visual splendor in many of the scenes, it didn't carry from the start of the film to the end. It needed to be all-or-nothing when Director Baz Luhrmann took a risk with his modernist approach to the 1920's story, but he sometimes held back and the film fell short. "Moulin Rouge" is one of my favorite films because, while Luhrmann's vision is bizarre, it makes the film unforgettable. "Gatsby" gets stuck in the middle, sometimes pushing the envelope (like the incredible car chase scene) but sometimes retreating back to F. Scott Fitzgerald's original world. The rap soundtrack captured the essence of Gatsby's parties but didn't work for the core of the story. I did love how they turned songs like Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" into old-timey tunes. During the first scene, Craig Armstrong's incidental soundtrack music actually made me say "I'm going to like this film" out loud. While I was bothered that the artsy approach wasn't consistent from start to finish, the acting was. Leonardo DiCaprio is as charming as ever as Gatsby, Tobey Maguire (who I usually cannot stand) actually delivered his roll without any overtly bad acting, and Carey Mulligan was lovely as Daisy. I could not help but wish that I could just be friends with these lead characters and live happily ever. Joel Edgerton brought the perfect amount of grit to Tom, particularly by eliminating any sympathy through his early infidelity. The biggest surprise of the film for me was Isla Fisher as Myrtle. Movies like "Wedding Crashers" have put her into a box but it's so great to see her breaking out into "real" roles.. Finally, the main draw for this film is the fantastic story. It has the perfect amount of surprises and ends just the way that it needs to, even though an ending that we wish we could change. Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" didn't live up to the hype but it was an awesome introduction to this story and now I cannot wait to discover the 1974 Robert Redford version.
"The Great Gatsby" was really good but it wasn't great. The trailers set a very high expectation for the artistic vision and, while it achieved that visual splendor in many of the scenes, it didn't carry from the start of the film to the end. It needed to be all-or-nothing when Director Baz Luhrmann took a risk with his modernist approach to the 1920's story, but he sometimes held back and the film fell short. "Moulin Rouge" is one of my favorite films because, while Luhrmann's vision is bizarre, it makes the film unforgettable. "Gatsby" gets stuck in the middle, sometimes pushing the envelope (like the incredible car chase scene) but sometimes retreating back to F. Scott Fitzgerald's original world. The rap soundtrack captured the essence of Gatsby's parties but didn't work for the core of the story. I did love how they turned songs like Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" into old-timey tunes. During the first scene, Craig Armstrong's incidental soundtrack music actually made me say "I'm going to like this film" out loud. While I was bothered that the artsy approach wasn't consistent from start to finish, the acting was. Leonardo DiCaprio is as charming as ever as Gatsby, Tobey Maguire (who I usually cannot stand) actually delivered his roll without any overtly bad acting, and Carey Mulligan was lovely as Daisy. I could not help but wish that I could just be friends with these lead characters and live happily ever. Joel Edgerton brought the perfect amount of grit to Tom, particularly by eliminating any sympathy through his early infidelity. The biggest surprise of the film for me was Isla Fisher as Myrtle. Movies like "Wedding Crashers" have put her into a box but it's so great to see her breaking out into "real" roles.. Finally, the main draw for this film is the fantastic story. It has the perfect amount of surprises and ends just the way that it needs to, even though an ending that we wish we could change. Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" didn't live up to the hype but it was an awesome introduction to this story and now I cannot wait to discover the 1974 Robert Redford version.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)