Horrible Bosses

Need a laugh?  Need something ridiculous and borderline insane, so that you can feel your lips slowly curving upwards?   How about a group of men who want to hire a hit man to kill their bosses?  Borderline insane you say?

This film may appear silly from the outside, and trust me it is, but if you need a meaningless, superficial laugh to help you get through the week, this will do the job.

The acting was well executed.  Seriously, Jennifer Aniston was hilarious.  Kevin Spacey delivered as always.  And Colin Farrell really hit his mark in the comedy genre.  As for the three stooges, Jason Sudeikis , Jason Bateman and Charlie Day, they had good chemistry on screen.  All characters belonged together; no one felt or seemed left out. 

Moving on, the plot was seriously lacking, as in they took an ordinary problem in a lot of people’s lives and just completely went too far with it, making it unbelievable.  But that’s assuming you’re going in to this film with expectations.  BIG MISTAKE!  Go in without any expectations and just enjoy it for what it is. I promise this film can be just what you need to chill out. 

*Can I just comment on the titles of these films lately.  Getting lazy much?  Bad teacher, Horrible Bosses?   I can tell a lot of thought went into those... How about “The Dangerous Doctor” or “The Tired Accountant”?  Please, feel free to borrow those anytime, I’ve got plenty more.

So I give this film 7.5/10 for rubbing every possible toiletry up Jason Sudeikis’ butt.  Which, ironically, bites him in the ass later on.       

Bad Teacher

 

Pretty good, not sure I’d see it again though.

In Bad Teacher, the plot surrounds a woman who wants to marry for money so that she’s “taken care of” and can do whatever she wants without any consequences.  Unfortunately, this plan falls flat when her fiancé dumps her because of her recklessness and spending habits.  Therefore, she has to go back to her menial job as a school teacher.  She eventually sets her eyes on a new victim, and does everything in her power to win him over.    

This review is going to be like ripping off a band-aid.  Here we go. 

The acting in this film was good.  Everyone held their part, especially Cameron Diaz, who I’ve learned not to expect much from throughout the years.  However, she did a top notch job.   Justin Timberlake did a good job with his character, in the sense that I found him incredibly creepy.  Near the end, the funny level was low, because it lost its spark for some reason.  The plot was half-assed, but because the characters were so interesting to watch, it held most of the film.  Perhaps that’s why the humour didn’t seem to be enough in the end.  There wasn’t enough backbone in the plot to keep it interesting.

One thing I particularly liked about this film is that, perhaps without intending to, it comments on how many people think becoming a teacher is a backup plan for when your dreams fall in to the crapper.   Not to mention, it comments on how easy it is to become a teacher no matter how wrong you are for the job.  Just sayin...  

I give this film 5.5/10 for trying and remaining funny... most of the time.  

Super 8

Okay, normally I'm not an alien kinda girl.  Not a fan of aliens in movies.  What can I say, it just does nothing for me. It's probably because the story is always the same.  The alien wants to go home and the selfish people on Earth won't let that happen.  It's the same story in E.T., Paul, District 9 and now Super 8.

*For all the, now offended, District 9 fans out there, let me clarify:  I loved that movie because they made the situation realistic, the actual aliens looked realistic, and they even tried to show us what it would be like if we turned in to the much hated aliens ourselves.  However, that base story line remains the same; the aliens want to go home.  But they did something many film producers, writers and directors can't do.  They managed to make an old story completely new, completely fresh and original.  The makers of District 9 created art with that film.  For Super 8, that was not the case. *

Super 8 follows the lives of 6 kids as they are trying to shoot a zombie movie, but witness an accident at the train station instead.  Next thing we know, people go missing, animals run for their lives and the government military takes control.  Something is the cause for all of this and the 6 kids make it their job to find out what. The actors involved in this film are Joel Courtney, Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, Gabriel Basso and Zach  Mills.    

 Now, looking at the film as a whole, it's a good film.  Good, not amazing.  The reason I say this is because, even though it was well done, it also felt like it brought movies back at least a decade, especially with the ending they gave it.  I would say about 3/4 of the film was really good and then the last quarter made it lose its sparkle.

So, how do I explain this properly - my major issue?  I guess I would put the blame on Spielberg.  He wanted so badly to create the epicness that was E.T. in its time.  He wanted it so bad that I think he forgot that films have moved on from what they used to be, and have evolved into something with more substance and realism to them.  I feel like shouting at him a little bit because its like he's never left his little box of how to make films.  He sticks to what he knows and refuses to open his mind to new and exciting things.  He wants to create something shocking and awing, but he doesn't want know how to make it real.  And that's why this film isn't strong enough to make an impact.  It's nothing new and it's not relatable.  The films that make impacts are films with raw emotion and he just didn't deliver that in this film.  At least not emotion that hits you to the core.  Like I said, it was the last 1/4 where the lines became cheesy and predictable, as well as the events in the conclusion.
 
More specifically, the acting was well done, the kids were impressive.  The graphics were well done too.  The comedic relief was placed well in the film.  Honestly, I don't find that there is much to comment on because it was all fairly solid.       

What I will give this film is that it comes off nostalgic.  Because Spielberg's work has almost a signature to it, it reminds you so much of E.T. and how far that film went.  You smile to yourself and think, Oh that Spielberg.  And then you move forward to never look back.

I give this film 8.3/10.  It's a good film, but like I said, not amazing.

X Men: First Class

(Warning: there may be some spoilers below; they’re minor, but if you’re a stickler for these sort of things, you might want to tread lightly)

X Men: First Class is about the beloved characters (Professor Xavier, Mystique, Magneto, Cyclops' older generation, and Jean's mother) before they became the X Men.  They work together to stop a major threat, mutant Sebastian Shaw, who believes that in order to feel accepted in the world, they have to dominate it. Some actors involved in the film are Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Kevin Bacon.  

People have been asking, does this film revamp what was the dwindling X-Men trilogy? 

My answer: Yes, I believe it does.

To be fair, this film is not a continuation of the last, rather, an introduction to how it all began.  They managed to no only make concrete connections between the films, but also they maintained the ability to surprise you so that it’s not so predictable.  I recommend brushing up on your X-Men characters to fully enjoy this film, only because if you haven’t seen any of the previous ones for a while, you might forget some details that make it worth watching.  I loved the few special character appearances, no matter how short-lived they were, such as Hugh Jackman as Wolverine or Rabecca Romijn as Mystique. For me it was extremely entertaining.     

All the acting was well done; playful at times, ironic, and stimulating.  I have to give props for using one of George Bush’s famous lines – “If your not with us, by definition, that means your against us”.  Really, truly funny, I have to say.  In addition to historical quotes, the history involved in the film was fairly accurate, which pleased me.  I always find it impressive when you see the effort put in to making a film historically correct.   

The graphics were also well done as well as the sounds effects. 

The only critique I think I would give would be to make some of the transitions from scene to scene more interesting.  The reason I say this is because for, I would say a good third of the film, your following one of the main characters as he moves around the world, while another main character pretty much stays put. All they did was put text at the bottom of the screen to let you know where each character was when they switched from one to the other.  This made it seem kind of boring, to be completely honest. All I’m saying is to make more interesting cuts, so it feels less like – he’s here one minute and then were back, and then he’s here the next minute and then were back.  Oh now he’s here, oh and look, we’re back. We get it!  It was sort of tedious I guess and that’s why it stood out to me.   

Other than that, I recommend the movie for a solid performance, some comedic relief and a nostalgic 2 hours with some of Marvel’s memorable characters.

I give this film 8.2/10 for making a solid effort at keeping what was great from X-Men and not letting it get lost in chaos of film making.  

The Hangover Part II

I was careful walking in to this film.  I thought that it would either be hilarious or horrible.  I think it's fair to say that it ended up being somewhere in the middle. 

The Hangover Part II is a continuation of The Hangover.  Following the lives of Alan (Zack Galifinakis), Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha), it's their second time around at throwing one of the most forgettable nights in the history of bachelor parties.  Having lived through Doug's bachelor night in Vegas, it was now Stu's turn.  What we all thought was a night that no one could top, ended up being only the beginning.

Okay, so here's what I thought.  The acting was top notch, like always.  Zack Galifinakis was as funny as usual. Bradley Cooper was the calm and collected leader.  Ed Helms was the one who freaks out.  Nothing new right?  Looks like the entire movie runs much like this... predictable.

Every single scene was almost an exact replica of the first film.  The same songs, the same scene transitions, expansions of old jokes, just different scenery.  This was the film's downfall.  What makes films stand out are their originality and uniqueness.  We want to see something we have never seen before, not what we've seen possibly several times.

Even though this bothered me, I can't deny that the film was funny.  I still enjoyed it.  So I give this film 6.8/10.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

 

Stop it!!!!  Seriously, please stop. 

With every desperate attempt at mooching off this franchise, they in fact destroy what was good and lovable about, not only the original Pirates of the Caribbean, but the character of Captain Jack Sparrow.  I warn you, this review is short and sweet.  Come to think of it, some of you might love that for a change.  

The fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, On Stranger Tides, follows Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp) as he is searching for the fountain of youth.  Once again he throws himself into this adventure, pissing off women (particularly Penelope Cruz), stumbling around, and trying to beat everyone else to the punch.     

The acting is good.  There is nothing wrong with that. Let me make that clear now.  

The makeup from the makeup artists - always good.   

The story, the plot, the scene to scene transition, the soundtrack - horrible.  Why so blunt?  Well, for one, when in doubt, they played the theme song over and over.  In fact, I'm not confident in saying that I heard any other type of background music.  The story seemed like it was picked out of a hat.  It was common, which would have been fine if they tried to revamp it, but they didn't.  The humour was lacking.  The ending was open-ended of course.  The transition of scenes didn't flow properly and weren't nearly interesting or creative.  

Frankly, I wanted to sleep five minutes into the film and with me that's extremely rare.  You don't even want to bother with understanding the plot because you just don't care.  It's exhausting to follow and at times just plain boring.  

So, in conclusion, don't see this film.  If you actually enjoyed the first film, don't ruin its legacy for yourself by seeing this one.  I give this film 4/10.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't that short or sweet.        

Bridesmaids

I think it is important to admit when you make a mistake.  Let me just say that the first time I saw this film, I was pessimistic, because I imagined a really stupid comedy that I was wasting my money on.  I watched the film with this pessimism, and I let the pessimism follow me to the review below.  Let me clarify my feelings for this film as they currently are.  I now give this film 7.7/10.  I know it's not much of a leap, but this film has grown on me.  I take back what I said about the other characters not having an effect on me, I thought they were all wonderful and talented.  I absolutely love the plane ride scene. I refer to it constantly for a laugh.  But, I stick to what I said about The Hangover still being my personal favourite.  All in all, this was a funny, at times hilarious, and at other times disturbing film, which exceeded my expectations and finally gave me a prominent female cast that shows the men how its done.  So I retract my previous review.  However, it is below if you're curious.   
 
Let me just say, as funny as it was, it isn't worth the hype that's surrounding it.  To compare this film to The Hangover  is carelessness.
In my book, The Hangover reigns supreme.

Bridesmaids is about the relationship between two best friends as one of them is getting married and the other... not so much.  They deal with the hilarity and frustrations of planning a wedding, as well as the complications of feeling like your being left behind.

And now, for a more technical analysis.  Let's break this film down.  Never underestimate the power of innocent stupidity over in-your-face vulgarity.  And this is why Zack Galifinakis' character Allan, from The Hangover, will always be more funny than Melissa McCarthy's character Megan in this film.  They both play the abnormal siblings of the barely acknowledged fiancees.  McCarthy was very funny, don't get me wrong.  She played her character straight-faced and showed us her versatility in comedy and acting.  From Sookie in The Gilmore Girls, to Molly in Mike and Molly, and now to Megan?  You can't deny her talent and fearlessness.  But if you were to look at the kind of comedy she brought... you'd have to admit that it was bordering on disgusting and uncomfortable.  I mean, obviously, these are the aspects that make her funny in the first place, but personally, I prefer humour I can thoroughly enjoy without resisting the urge to cringe.

As for Kristin Wigg?  I was expecting much worse.  I was anticipating an SNL style comedy from her that she continuously brings to films.  It is these films that end up being crap.  But I am happy to say, I was pleasantly surprised.  Yes, there were some scenes that had that SNL flavour, but they were toned down so that your could actually enjoy them without feeling like they're being shoved down your throat.  She finally played a somewhat relatable character in a somewhat relatable film.  I don't think she's ever done that before, so, kudos!

All other characters were forgettable.  None of them stood out or claimed the scenes.  The men in the film played their parts, not that they had much to do in the first place.

So ultimately, I give this film 7.5/10.  Yes that's it.  It's okay, it's pretty funny, but I wouldn't see it again.  Not my kind of funny...