Queen: Days Of Our Lives - 10 stars out of 10

Queen: Days Of Our Lives - 10 stars out of 10

"Queen: Days Of Our Lives" is an incredible chronicling of the eventful career of Queen  as told by its members.  As if Queen’s music isn't incredible in and of itself, it takes on an entirely new meaning once it is set in the context of what was occurring in the lives of the band members.  Knowing that Freddie Mercury was writing “The Miracle” as he was dying of AIDS takes these already poignant lyrics and transforms them into his personal eulogy to inspire the world.  It is also amazing to know that the band's finances were so bad that they were in danger of breaking up and "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the enormous risk that would either save them or destroy them.  It's a cool song... but this gives it historical significance.  You just might want to be a bit cautious of the sequence where they show the making of the "Bicycle" music video...  The film uses an interview format with all of the band members, combining archival interviews (including Freddie) of what was occurring at the time with recent interviews that reflect on Queen's legacy.  These insightful interviews with Brian May (combined with several of my favorite guitar solos of all time) has secured his spot as my favorite guitarist of all time.  I never had an attachment to Roger Taylor from watching their music videos, but this documentary exposed his personality in a positive way.  The best part is that over the two hours, we get to experience all of their greatest hits (of which there are at least 30) from a, inspiration, composition, and performance standpoint.  Queen is an epically awesome band, from their ever-evolving style to Freddie recording all of his vocal tracks in the studio alone, knowing that if he waited for the band to record their parts, he would die before it was finished.  If they are not one of your favorite bands, they will be by the end of this documentary.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. - 9 stars out of 10

Crazy, Stupid, Love. - 9 stars out of 10

"Crazy, Stupid, Love." is one of the most unexpected, honest films that I have seen in a long time.  It delivers several important messages about the destruction caused by cheating, the lack of fulfillment from one-night stands, and the power of true love to allow inexplicable forgiveness.  In fact, I related to this film in a deep and meaningful way.  Steve Carell = comedy, this story = drama, and this film ends up being an incredible blend of both.  Carell is such a goofball, but with his roles in this film and "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," he has shown a sensitivity and restraint in his acting that gives him a sincere, realistic feel.  He's that relatable nice guy who tries to be a jerk because he believes that's what women want.  Ryan Gosling may deliver the finest performance of the film.  He's such a smooth operator (especially with the "Dirty Dancing" thing, though I had trouble buying that he could ever change.  Marisa Tomei has some hysterical moments as the teacher and Emma Stone is as cute as usual.  The greatest part of the film is the convergence of the storylines.  You can predict that a few of these may cross paths, but not all of them.  This film has so many great aspects, from the character development to the acting to the dialogue to the themes, but my favorite part is Steve Carell's speech about love.  The story builds up so much tension and just when you think that everything is resolved, it gets worse.  But everything leads to that single moment when Steve Carell hesitantly interrupts his son's speech, and it does not disappoint.  It is one of those perfect movie moments.  "Crazy, Stupid, Love." has everything from sentimentality to comedy and deep philosophical value.  It's just one of those films that will make you laugh, cry, and feel so glad that someone gave it such a strong recommendation.

All Together Now (2011) - 5 stars out of 10

All Together Now (2011) - 5 stars out of 10

"All Together Now" combines two interesting subject matters into one.  This chronicling of the Cirque du Soleil show "LOVE," based on the music of the Beatles, takes us behind the scenes of one of the most complex productions in the world.  At the same time, it lets us see the reactions of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to this unique interpretation of their body of work.  I never liked Ringo before watching this documentary, but it gave me an opportunity to get to know his personality and hear some of his stories from the Beatles' golden age.  Yoko Ono is incredibly annoying and grumpy, constantly complaining that the production staff does not understand John Lennon's music and that they are ruining it.  But nobody likes Yoko so it's easy to tune her out.  If you've never seen a Cirque show, this is a great chance to see what it is all about and be amazed by the acrobatics of this ensemble.  It wasn't the best documentary I've ever seen but if you love the Beatles, you will love to see Paul and Ringo and this new interpretation of their music.

Jacka** 3-D - 3 stars out of 10

Jacka** 3-D - 3 stars out of 10

The 3-D spectacular opening sequence of this movie made me nervous that I would miss out on a lot by watching in 2-D but once the stunts started, it didn’t really matter.  Of the films in this series, this one is definitely the most clever.  They base many of their pranks off of images and music from pop culture, like “You Can’t Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd” by Roger Miller and the Blown-Away Man from the Maxell ads.  Unfortunately, this film also focuses the most on male body parts.  Whether it is being used as a baseball bat or tied to a toy helicopter, they didn’t always elect to cover it up this time around and honestly, it is disgusting.  It isn’t even necessary when you have hilarious stunts like “The High Five” (which is probably my favorite prank from the entire series) and the stun-gun prison escape.  All of these movies are the same, just filled with different masochistic things to make us laugh.  I can’t claim that this is a “quality” film, but it serves its purpose and thank goodness that none of these guys were killed while making it.

Jacka**: The Movie - 3 stars out of 10

Jacka**: The Movie - 3 stars out of 10

What's more entertaining than a bunch of cheerful masochists beating themselves up for a half hour?  A bunch of cheerful masochists beating themselves up for an hour and a half without censorship!  America's favorite idiots break all of the rules in "Jacka**: The Movie."  Profanity is at a premium throughout the film, though the guys do a pretty good job of showing their man-parts without actually showing them.  Bare butts are a different story - those are quite frequent.  While the guys often go too far, this is better than not going far enough since this film thrives on shock value.  Three-quarters of this film is hilarious, from pranks like "Rent-A-Car Crash-Up Derby" to "Tropical Pole Vaulting" and setting off fireworks in the house and car; however, this humorous stupidity is tainted by sequences that are difficult to watch, particularly all of the things involving pain to the family jewels and the paper cutting sequence (which I had to fast-forward).  Still, it’s worth it for the reactions of the doctor and nurse during “Toy Car Up the Butt” (which is precisely what it sounds like).  Even though it is fun to watch, I can't claim it to be a "quality" film because, let's face it, it is pure stupidity.  "Jacka**: The Movie" is good for a laugh on a bad day but by the end, it's just a bunch of idiots getting beat up so bad that it's no longer fun to watch.