The Hangover, Land of the Lost, Taking of Pelham 123, Up

The Hangover - It's been a pretty great year for comedies. There was the bittersweet Adventureland and the laugh out loud I Love You, Man. Now there is The Hangover. And guess what? It's probably the best of this year's comedies (so far... I mean, Funny People is still on the way!). The movie starts at the end with three guys in the middle of the desert all worse for the wear. It seems they had a bachelor party misadventure and now they can't find the groom. Flash back two nights. The four guys check into a swanky Las Vegas hotel. They get dressed. They have a toast on the roof. Then... crazy stuff ensues. None of which we actually get to see. Instead, the film reopens on a trashed hotel suite. The couch is on fire. There's a chicken walking around. Ed Helms' dentist character is missing a tooth. There's a baby in the closet... and a tiger in the bathroom. Bradley Cooper's character has been in the hospital and, of course, the groom is nowhere to be seen. The movie is pretty straightforward - it sets out to answer what the hell happened. And it's all sometimes silly but always funny. Everyone - the director, the writers, the actors - are all really better than they have to be. When a movie is genuinely funny, it usually doesn't need to look particuarly good but this one most definitely does. It's a surprising film and it's definitely worth checking out.
Grade: B

Land of the Lost - Chalk it up to my love for Danny McBride but I was actually surprised that I didn't hate Land of the Lost. I thought it was going to be typical Will Ferrell stupidity... and it was sometimes. But for every terrible plot point and silly joke, there was something actually funny. McBride is a scene stealer, for sure and he got most of the best parts. Ferrell, Anna Friel and McBride travel through time and space and end up in a mysterious land full of dinosaurs and sleestacks and who knows what else. They must find a contraption that will get them home. The scene at the motel is one of the funniest things I've seen all year and, dare I say, funnier than anything in The Hangover. However, The Hangover sustains the laughs for the entire film... Land of the Lost, unfortunately, does not.
Grade: C

Taking of Pelham 123 - This remake sure is exciting. It also tries to be edgy and raw and rough and dirty. It just doesn't succeed at that all the time. The film follows Ryder (John Travolta), a disgruntled ex-con and ex-Wall Street genius who hijacks a Subway car. His hostage negotiations fall in the hands of Walter (Denzel Washington), a disgraced MTA employee. Ryder makes some demands, the two have a verbal tug of war. The movie is pretty fast paced and remains exciting for much of the film with the exception of a pretty boring stretch near the end. And director Tony Scott (of True Romance fame) tries to make things raw and dirty but you can only push the edginess so far in a studio film. Overall, Taking of Pelham 123 is a pretty decent way to spend an afternoon.
Grade: B-

Up - Up may be the most depressing kids movie ever made. The moral of the story, for me, is this: You dream big as a little kid and then you grow up and realize none of your dreams are ever giong to come true and everyone you love is going to die and you're going to be miserable and alone and then stuck in the middle of nowhere being followed around by an annoying kid, a creepy bird and a talking dog. Not really a kids movie. And while Up did seriously depress me (I'm not even kidding. I was near tears and not because it was heartwarming but because it made me realize how much life - mine and in general - sucks), it's still a pretty cute movie. I don't think it's as good as Wall-E but it is sweet and enjoyable and funny. And I'm finally not the only person in America who hasn't seen it.
Grade: B

Summer Movie Season Begins - Mini Reviews

Star Trek - An early summer film and so far my favorite. You most definitely do not need to be a Trekkie in order to enjoy Star Trek. The film follows the young, cocky Captain Kirk (major hottie Chris Pine) as he follows in his deceased dad's footsteps and joins Starfleet. After cheating on a test, conning his way on board the ship, he finds himself in the middle of a major battle with Romulan bad guy Nero (Eric Bana). On Kirk's side, the un-emotional Spock (a superb and perfectly cast Zachary Quinto), hilarious Scotty (Simon Pegg), sexy Uhura (Zoe Saldana), doctor Bones (Karl Urban), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Sulu (John Cho). The action begins pretty immediately and it doesn't really let up though the well-paced script also leaves plenty of time for character development (which is nice for people who are not well-versed in Star Trek lore). The movie is very well cast and everyone does a stand up job with Pine and Quinto clearly the stars. J.J. Abrahms does this really annoying camera flare thing that just grates on your nerves after a while. Overall, the film is a fun, action filled ride and the best of the summer so far.
Grade: B

Angels and Demons - At 2 hours plus, the movie is about an hour and 40 minutes of exposition. It's Man of Science (Tom Hanks) vs. Man of God (Ewan McGregor). But really it's just a whole lot of boredom. Hanks is Professor Langdon again and he's in Rome tracking down the trail of the Illuminati, an ancient cult that hid clues around Rome. For being so damn smart, he makes a lot of mistakes before he finally finds the truth. Although I guess we wouldn't have a movie if he didn't. It's a movie that is predictable at best. You can see the outcome a mile away. Angels and Demons is just a huge waste of time.
Grade: D

Terminator Salvation - Where oh where to begin? First of all, shame on McG for ruining a series that James Cameron made pretty damn perfectly. I wouldn't have let McG anywhere near this series. (And, for the record, I'm one of the few who actually enjoyed Terminator 3). The action is just a huge mess; you can hardly tell what's going on most of the time. Christian Bale's acting is so over the top it's hard to believe he was once a promising actor. It's actually a shame to be Bale right now. First he was out-acted by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, now Sam Worthington in Terminator. Worthington is the only thing worth raving about. His character is completely riveting and his performance is pretty damn great. Anton Yelchin, as young Kyle Reese, is worhty of praise as well. There's a horrible "Arnold" cameo and the last 10 minutes are just so completely laughable. Terminator is just a pretty huge mess. Also, note to those behind Salvation - if you are trying to reboot a franchise, it's probably best NOT to kill your only interesting character in the first film.
Grade: D

Drag Me To Hell - I think I would rather go to hell than sit through this mess of a movie. "The return of true horror?" Really, Sam Raimi? If this is your return to horror than you can just go back to making crappy Spider-Man movies. I understand that his horror films have always been a little on the silly / gross side. I'm a fan of the Evil Dead trilogy, for sure. But the difference between the Evil Dead trilogy and Drag Me To Hell is this: the Evil Dead movies were actually good! Anything worth seeing in Drag Me to Hell is in the trailer. The rest of the film is predictable, ridiculous and just plain NOT SCARY. I couldn't possibly have been more disappointed in this film if I tried. Two words for you: talking goat.
Grade: F

Coming Soon - Reviews of The Hangover and Land of the Lost!