Review: "Balls of Fury" is Funnier Than it Looks (Happy B'day, Maggie Q)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Balls of Fury (2007)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sex-related humor, and for language
DIRECTOR:  Robert Ben Garant
WRITERS:  Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant
PRODUCERS:  Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, and Thomas Lennon
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Thomas E. Ackerman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  John Refoua
COMPOSER:  Randy Edelman

COMEDY/SPORT

Starring:  Dan Folger, Christopher Walken, George Lopez, James Hong, Maggie Q, Thomas Lennon, Aisha Tyler, Jason Scott Lee, Diedrich Bader, Terry Crews, Patton Oswalt, David Koechner, and Robert Patrick

The subject of this movie review is Balls of Fury, a 2007 sports comedy film from the team of co-writer/director Robert Ben Garant and co-writer Thomas Lennon.  The film follows a down-and-out former professional ping-pong phenom recruited by an FBI agent for a secret mission that may also lead the former child star to his father’s killer.

Balls of Fury takes place in the unsanctioned, underground, and unhinged world of extreme ping pong where the competition is brutal and the stakes are deadly – sort of like the way Dodgeball portrayed the mean world of professional dodge ball.  But we get the joke!

A ping pong professional as a child, Randy Daytona (Dan Fogler), spiraled downwards after an embarrassing loss at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  Cut to the present.  Randy is down on his luck and on his game, and he’s performing at a nightclub when FBI Agent Ernie Rodriguez (George Lopez) recruits him for a mission to spy on one of the FBI’s most wanted men, the faux-Asian crime lord Feng (Christopher Walken).  Randy has some incentive to do take the assignment because Feng was responsible for the death of Randy’s father.

“Operation Ping Pong” requires Randy to get an invite to Feng’s underground ping pong championship tournament.  To do that, Randy will have to get his game back into shape.  With the help of a blind ping pong sage, Master Wong (James Hong), and his niece, Maggie Wong (Maggie Q), an expert ping pong trainer, Randy gets in winning form and gets an invite to Feng’s jungle compound where the tournament is being held.  Now, Randy will have to face a raft of formidable players en route to the prize, including his arch-nemesis, German Olympic ping pong god, Karl Wolfschtagg (Thomas Lennon), and still take down Feng.

Balls of Fury is a parody/remake of the 1973 Bruce Lee film, Enter the Dragon, by way of Dodgeball and Comedy Central’s television series, “Reno 911.”  In fact, Balls of Fury co-writer/director Robert Ben Garant and co-writer/actor Thomas Lennon are part of the brain trust behind “Reno 911,” and the kind of sheer absurdity that marks that hit comedy series is much in evidence in Balls of Fury.

This film is sometimes shamefully in poor taste, and its lack of political correctness often borders on bad taste.  Still, it’s fun; Balls of Fury takes a look at sports and competition and pokes numerous holes in the gas bags that are elite athletes, secretive trainers, and arcane rules.  Then, the movie skewers so many sports movie stereotypes, from the sage-philosopher mentors to the sad sack underdogs.  Balls of Fury may look like a bad movie (and sometimes it truly is), but it is a comedy that delivers laughter.

5 of 10
B-

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Updated:  Thursday, May 22, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Barnyard" Surprises (Happy B'day, Kevin James)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 199 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Barnyard (2006)
Running time:  84 minutes (1 hour, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some mild peril and rude humor
WRITER/DIRECTOR:  Steve Oedekerk
PRODUCERS:  Pam Marsden, Steve Oedekerk, and Paul Marshal
EDITORS:  Billy Weber and Paul Calder
COMPOSER:  John Debney

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring:  (voices) Kevin James, Courteney Cox, Sam Elliot, Danny Glover, Wanda Sykes, Andie MacDowell, David Koechner, Jeff Garcia, Cam Clarke, Rob Paulsen, Tino Insana, Laraine Newman, John DiMaggio, and Fred Tatasciore

The subject of this movie review is Barnyard, a 2006 computer-animated comedy and family film from writer-director Steve Oedekerk and Paramount Pictures.  The film is also known as Barnyard: The Original Party Animals, and yielded a spin-off animated television series, Back to the Barnyard, in 2007.  Barnyard, which features a group of anthropomorphic animals, focuses on a carefree cow that resists the call that he be the animal in charge of a barnyard.

In a barnyard of walking and talking animals, Otis the Cow (Kevin James) is the party animal.  Otis and his friends: Pip (Jeff Garcia) the mouse, Freddy (Cam Clarke) the ferret, Peck (Rob Paulsen) the rooster, and Pig (Tino Insana) the pig are world-class pranksters out for a laugh.  Otis’ father, Ben (Sam Elliot), however, wants his son to be like him – the cow who makes sure the barnyard runs on all cylinders and the cow who protects the barnyard’s denizens from their common enemy, a pack of coyotes led by the malevolent and conniving Dag (David Koechner).

Otis, who is in a state of perpetual arrested development, is not interested, but when Ben is no longer able to lead and protect, the responsibility falls on Otis.  It’s not an easy fit, and he struggles with the tension between a sense of duty and an urge to run away.  There is, however, a pretty girl cow, Daisy (Courtney Cox) and the crafty Miles the Mule (Danny Glover) who just may give Otis the impetus to take the mantle of leadership.  He’ll need the encouragement because Dag is plotting to make a major attack on the barnyard.

With its August 4 release date, Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon Movies’ computer animated feature, Barnyard: The Original Party Animals was the eighth computer animated feature film to debut in U.S. theatres.  Barnyard is a story about taking responsibility and honoring obligations – a staple of computer animated family fare, but other than that, Barnyard looks different from the rest of its cartoon brethren.

As far as plot and character, Barnyard is mediocre and mildly entertaining.  The animation, however, is quite good.  The characters have a rubbery texture, so they look more like cartoon characters than computer rendered characters.  The story’s setting and environments personify 3-D animation.  Watching this film, it becomes evident that it is indeed taking place in a world of space and depth rather than in the traditional “flat” world of hand drawn animation.  It’s not that any of this looks real; it just doesn’t look flat, so the action looks like actual action.  When characters move, it looks like the figures are really moving.

Barnyard is a pretty and colorful animated feature, which makes up for the average narrative and voice acting.  Only Sam Elliot as Ben, Danny Glover as Miles, and Wanda Sykes as Bessie the Cow give voice performances that come across with any richness.  This is a typical children’s animated feature, filled as it is with funny animal supporting characters that spout line after line of silliness.  Barnyard’s simple story and childish and raucous humor explains why it has long legs at the box office.  It’s actually a family movie that the family can enjoy together.  Barnyard: The Original Party Animals is unashamedly for children.  Still, there are enough risqué gags, bathroom humor, and innuendo to keep teenagers interested and adults chuckling.

5 of 10
B-

Monday, September 18, 2006

Updated:  Saturday, April 26, 2014

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "Thank You for Smoking" is Too Glib (Happy B'day, Aaron Eckhart)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 229 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Thank You for Smoking (2005)
Running time:  93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR:  Jason Reitman
WRITERS:  Jason Reitman (based upon the novel by Christopher Buckley)
PRODUCER:  David O. Sacks
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  James Whitaker (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Dana E. Glauberman
COMPOSER:  Rolfe Kent
Golden Globes nominee

COMEDY with elements of drama

Starring:  Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Sam Elliot, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, and Robert Duvall, Kim Dickens, Adam Brody, and Todd Louiso

The subject of this movie review is Thank You for Smoking, a 2005 satirical comedy written for the screen and directed by Jason Reitman.  The film is based on the 1994 novel, Thank You for Smoking, by author Christopher Buckley.  Thank You for Smoking the movie follows the tobacco industry’s chief spokesman as he spins and disseminates information on behalf of cigarettes, while trying to remain a role model for his twelve-year-old son.

As Vice-President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is the main lobbyist and primary spin doctor for Big Tobacco.  Naylor is on a mission to make the country forget the dangers and health risks of smoking cigarettes.  However, his mission gets tougher with health advocates and the opportunistic Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy) determined to put a new poison label (in the form of an image of the skull & bones) on cigarette packs.  Naylor goes on the PR offensive with a strategy to get big Hollywood actors to smoke on screen, as the movie stars of yesteryear did in the Golden Age of Hollywood movies.  Nick enlists, Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), a Hollywood super-agent, to help him get smoking on screen again.

However, Nicky’s newfound notoriety does not go unnoticed by Big Tobacco’s head honcho, The Captain (Robert Duvall), who gives his blessing to Nick’s Hollywood plan.  Nick’s activities also get the attention of a beautiful, young investigative reporter, Heather Halloway (Katie Holmes), who is willing to use her body to get Nick to tell her his secrets.  Even with a busy schedule, Nick still finds time to hold forth with two comrades – two other lobbyists for industries also facing public backlash: Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) of the alcohol industry and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) of the gun industry.  Together, the three of them are the Merchants of Death or M.O.D. Squad.  Nick’s also a father, and he’s trying to remain a role model to his young, impressionable son, Joey Naylor (Cameron Bright), who thinks his dad is a god, but Nick’s ex-wife, Jill Naylor (Kim Dickens), isn’t sure a tobacco lobbyist is the best dad material.

Jason Reitman, the son of famed comedy director, Ivan Reitman (Animal House, Ghostbusters), has a more cerebral approach to film comedy than his father, and that’s clearly evident in the clever, offhand satire, Thank You for Smoking, which Reitman adapted from the novel by Christopher Buckley.  The film comes across as a savage satire of the tobacco industry, but Reitman directs the film with such elegance that Thank You for Smoking sometimes comes across as glib and soulless.  In his attempt to impale Big Tobacco, and also throw sand in the face of shallow Hollywood, opportunistic big media, and shameless Congress, Reitman’s movie ends up gabby and has no real villains.  This is a satire that comes across as if it’s teasing its targets rather than criticizing them.

While Thank You for Smoking holds up the characters and subject matter for detached scrutiny, the cast isn’t afraid to get down and dirty.  The actors take delight in revealing the characters for all their oily selfishness.  They’re all out for their own interests, and what little guilt they feel merely adds a light pungent flavor to the characters.  The best performance is delivered, of course, by Aaron Eckhart as the film’s protagonist/quasi-villain, Nick Naylor.  A character actor who can play an amazing range of lead characters, Eckhart gives Thank You for Smoking its gift of gab.  Eckhart’s screen chemistry with Cameron Bright, the young actor who plays Nick’s son, Joey, is supernaturally real.  It’s like a real father and son duo.

Eckhart humanizes Naylor, and makes the viewer like him and want to engage him.  Thank You for Smoking is well-written and well-directed (considering the inexperience of the director), and the technical aspects are pretty good.  But it’s Aaron Eckhart who makes Thank You for Smoking something more than just another satirical film essay.  He makes it memorable.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, November 06, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Golden Globes:  2 nominations:  “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Aaron Eckhart)

Updated:  Wednesday, March 12, 2014


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

------------------------

"Anchorman 2" Re-Released with 763 All-New Jokes

“ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES: SUPER SIZED R RATED VERSION” in Theaters February 28 for One-Week Exclusive Run

For the First Time Ever: Hit Comedy Gets Re-Released with 763 All-New Jokes

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Pictures and Gary Sanchez Productions today announced an unprecedented theatrical release of an all new cut of the hit film “ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES,” starring Will Ferrell, in theaters in the U.S. and U.K. beginning February 28th for one-week only.

The new version of the film, titled “ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES: SUPER SIZED R RATED VERSION,” will feature 763 entirely new jokes from legendary anchorman Ron Burgundy and America’s favorite 24-hour global news team. The film is now rated R.

“When my editor told me we had a whole different version of the movie that was more than two hours long with nearly 800 new jokes, I was shocked. But when Paramount said they were actually going to put it in theaters, I did an 1950’s spit take. If you’re a hardcore Anchorman fan go see this. If you’re not, stay very far away," said writer / director Adam McKay.

“ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES,” a sequel to 2004’s cult film “ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY,” was released in theaters on December 18, 2013 and has earned more than $170 million at the worldwide box office to date.

For ticketing info, go to www.AnchormanMovie.com

With the 70’s behind him, San Diego’s top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in "ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES," which opened in theaters everywhere December 18. Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy… while taking New York and the nation’s first 24-hour news channel by storm. Produced by Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Written by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay. Directed by Adam McKay.

About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB) (NASDAQ: VIA), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., and Paramount Studio Group.

"Super-Sized" Return for "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues"

ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES: SUPER-SIZED R RATED VERSION in theaters February 28 for a one-week exclusive run

For the first time ever: hit comedy gets re-released with 763 all-new jokes!

Watch the new trailer: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/anchorman2/

Jonesing for more? Watch an all-new exclusive clip: http://www.break.com/video/ron-burgundy-crack-pipe-anchorman-2-clip-2579635

With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the newsdesk in ANCHORMAN 2: THE LEGEND CONTINUES," which opened in theaters everywhere December 18.  Also back for more are Ron’s  co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy… while taking New York and the nation’s first 24-hour news channel by storm.  Produced by Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Written by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay.  Directed by Adam McKay.

For ticketing info, go to www.AnchormanMovie.com

Official website: http://www.anchormanmovie.com

Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronburgundy
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anchormanmovie

New "Anchorman 2" Poster Revealed

With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy…while taking the country's first 24-hour news channel by storm.

Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VdGI5-z_hg&feature=share&list=PLVjwdZylAT2nJXngIdTOyyg-Kvm41fime

In theaters December 20th:
Official site: http://www.anchormanmovie.com/
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/ronburgundy
Official Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anchormanmovie

New "Anchorman 2" Teaser Poster - June 18, 2013

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

With the 70's behind him, San Diego's top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) - All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy…while taking New York's first 24-hour news channel by storm.

In theaters everywhere December 20, 2013

https://twitter.com/ronburgundy

https://www.facebook.com/anchormanmovie

"Anchorman" Exhibit Opens November 2013

Newseum in Washington, D.C., Announces  ‘Anchorman: The Exhibit’ to Open November 14, 2013

‘Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues’ opens nationwide December 20, 2013

It’s kind of a big deal

WASHINGTON — On November 14, 2013, the Newseum, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, will open “Anchorman: The Exhibit,” featuring props, costumes and footage from the 2004 hit comedy Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, prior to the release of its highly anticipated sequel “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” from Paramount Pictures on December 20.

The original film, written by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay, directed by McKay, and starring Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell and David Koechner, takes a comic look at a 1970s-era television newsroom and the legendary local anchorman who ruled it until a female reporter arrived to challenge the all-male news team. “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues” reunites Ferrell and McKay with the original cast.

Included in “Anchorman: The Exhibit” will be costumes worn by the Channel 4 Evening News team and a number of original props from the movie, including Ron Burgundy’s jazz flute and the whip used by rival anchorman Arturo Mendez during the film’s memorable fight scene between rival news teams. The exhibit also includes a re-creation of the KVWN-TV anchor desk and news set where visitors can pose for photo ops.

“For millions of viewers, the news anchor represents the authority and credibility of television news. But anchormen and women also are popular targets for pop culture laughs,” said Cathy Trost, vice president of exhibits and programs at the Newseum. “The exhibit explores the reality behind the humor of “Anchorman” and tracks the rise of personality-driven news formats in the 1970s.”

Visitors to the exhibit also will have an opportunity to step in front of the camera and participate in an Anchorman-themed TV spot at one of the Newseum’s Be a TV Reporter stations. With lead anchor Ron Burgundy providing a snappy introduction, budding reporters can find out if they have what it takes to become a member of the Channel 4 News team. The exhibit also will feature clips from the movie and special commentary by Will Ferrell.

“I’m literally trapped in a glass case of emotion,” said Ron Burgundy, commenting on his inclusion in the museum’s exhibit.

“Anchorman: The Exhibit” will be on display at the Newseum through Aug. 31, 2014.


About the Newseum
The mission of the Newseum is to champion the five freedoms of the First Amendment through education, information and entertainment. One of the top attractions in Washington, D.C., the Newseum’s 250,000-square-foot news museum offers visitors a state-of-the-art experience that blends news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits. The Newseum is a 501(c)(3) public charity funded, in part, by the Freedom Forum. The First Amendment Center at the Newseum and in Nashville and the Diversity Institute serve as forums for the study and exploration of the First Amendment. For more information visit newseum.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues”
With the ’70s behind him, San Diego’s top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) — all of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy … while taking New York’s first 24-hour news channel by storm. Produced by Judd Apatow, Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. Written by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay. Directed by Adam McKay.

Review: Samuel L. and Company Make "Snakes on a Plane" Fly High (Happy B'day, Samuel L. Jackson)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 183 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense horror sequences of terror and violence
DIRECTOR: David R. Ellis
WRITERS: John Heffernan and Sebastian Gutierrez; from a story by David Dalessandro and John Heffernan
PRODUCERS: Craig Berenson, Don Granger, and Gary Levinsohn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Greenberg
EDITOR: Howard E. Smith
COMPOSER: Trevor Rabin

ACTION/HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips, Rachel Blanchard, Flex Alexander, Kenan Thompson, Keith “Blackman” Dallas, Lin Shaye, Bruce James, Sunny Mabrey, David Koechner, Bobby Cannavale, Todd Louiso, and Byron Lawson

The subject of this movie review is Snakes on a Plane, a 2006 action thriller and horror film from director, David R. Ellis (the director of two Final Destination movies). The film stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent battling hundreds of deadly snakes on a passenger plane.

If you expected a campy, cult-classic-to-be, you’re getting a good movie instead (or also):

FBI agent Neville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) is escorting Sean Jones (Nathan Phillips), a young man who witnessed a brutal mob murder, from Hawaii to Los Angeles. However, the mobster, Eddie Kim (Byron Lawson), is determined that this never happens, so he has hundreds of poisonous snakes smuggled aboard the commercial aircraft, South Pacific Air Flight 121, in a crate timed to release its deadly cargo when Flight 121 is halfway across the Pacific. After the initial attack leaves half the passengers and the lead pilot dead, Flynn has to band the crew and survivors together in a desperate attempt to survive and land the plane at LAX.

Having sparked Internet interest since last year, Snakes on a Plane has finally arrived and it is the real deal – a B-movie that delivers. Snakes on a Plane doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it is by no means campy. It’s the kind of (relatively) low-budget action/horror/thriller that delivers breathtaking action sequences, goose flesh-raising horror, and heart-stopping thrills. The movie doesn’t have an Academy Award level script, but the concept is good, taking two things that scare many people – flying and snakes – and putting them together in a scary movie scenario. However, the script is pretty straightforward. Sam Jackson’s Neville Flynn has to get a witness to a murder from one place to another, and all he has to do is fight off mobsters and survive a Pacific flight on a wounded airplane full of aroused and aggressive snakes. Whew!

Like any good disaster movie, this script gives the film a large ensemble cast of supporting characters. Some are there to support the hero (Julianna Margulies’ Claire Miller and Kenan Thompson’s Troy). Some are there for comic relief (Thompson’s Troy, Bruce James’ Ken, and Flex Alexander’s Three G’s), and some are there just to be an obstacle to every good idea the hero or his supporters have (Gerald Plunkett’s Paul).

The two big reasons the film works so well as a kind of “popcorn” thriller is, first, director David R. Ellis. Ellis helmed the highly entertaining and grisly Final Destination 2. It was so over-the-top gruesome that it was a chill ride as much as it was a thrill ride. Ellis takes advantage of the claustrophobia of being on a plane and people’s fear of snakes. He has a variety of serpents, real and CGI, using them to kill and menace in many, many imaginative ways.

When all is said and done, reason number two that this film is good is Samuel L. Jackson, who gives this B-movie big time credibility. With his don’t-give-a-shit, don’t-give-me-shit, suffer-no-fools, no nonsense, badasssss screen persona (and apparently his real life persona), Jackson is one of the screen’s best action heroes. Only his “hue” keeps him from getting the kind of parts in mega budget action films that Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, and Bruce Willis get. Jackson always delivers, even in crappy movies, and this isn’t a crappy movie. Snakes on a Plane might sound like a cheesy concept, but cast and crew worked hard to make a good movie. Simply put, Jackson made sure they delivered.

7 of 10
B+

Sunday, August 20, 2006

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Final Destination 5: More of the Same, But with a Twist

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


Final Destination 5 (2009)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violent/gruesome accidents, and some language
DIRECTOR: Steven Quale
WRITERS: Eric Heisserer (based on characters created by Jeffrey Reddick)
PRODUCERS: Craig Perry and Warren Zide
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brian Pearson
EDITOR: Eric Sears
COMPOSER: Brian Tyler

HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes Wood, P.J. Byrne, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Courtney B. Vance, Brent Stait, and Tony Todd

Final Destination 5 is a 2011 supernatural horror film and the fifth movie in the Final Destination film series. This time Death stalks eight co-workers who avoided a grisly demise in a massive suspension-bridge collapse.

Final Destination 5 focuses on Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto), an office worker and short order cook/budding chef. Sam joins his coworkers as they travel by bus to a company retreat, but early in the trip, Sam discovers that there is a large road construction project underway, which gives him a bad feeling. When the bus comes to a stop on the North Bay Bridge, Sam has a terrifying premonition of a horrible disaster that costs many people their lives.

Sam and, his girlfriend Molly Harper (Emma Bell), and six other colleagues exit the bus and survive the bridge collapse. Later, at a memorial service, William Bludworth (Tony Todd), a local coroner, warns them that by surviving they have messed with Death’s design. Not long afterwards, the survivors start dying one by one in bizarre accidents, and those who remain alive must accept the fact that Death is stalking them. However, Sam and his friends believe that they have found a way to cheat Death, but can they cheat the one who makes all the rules?

Final Destination 5 returns to the darker tone and more character driven story of the original film. As in the first movie, the characters in Final Destination 5 have ambitions, dreams, and goals, as well as personal setbacks, internal conflicts, and relationship problems that will make the audience care about and root for them. In some cases, you may even feel a tinge of regret when some of these characters die gruesome deaths.

In the lead up to some of the deaths, the movie’s pace is painfully slow, as if the director decided to meditate on the last moments of each life about to end in a bloody, ghastly death. I think that just screws up the story’s rhythm and blanches the film’s nicely dark mood. Luckily, the massive suspension bridge disaster that practically opens the film (which is probably the best staged disaster of the entire Final Destination franchise) gives the story enough momentum to carry it through the dry spots. There is also a twist at the end that fans of the series will love.

When I recently reviewed the fourth film in the franchise, The Final Destination (2009), I wrote that it had the best ending since the original film. Now, I must admit that Final Destination 5 has the best ending since the original.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, August 13, 2011

"Paul" on DVD and Blu-ray August 9th

PAUL arrives on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital Download on August 9, 2011.

BUCKLE UP FOR A HILARIOUS ROAD TRIP FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SUPERBAD & THE STARS AND CREATORS OF HOT FUZZ AND SHAUN OF THE DEAD - PAUL

OWN THE OUTRAGOUS UNRATED VERSION NOT SHOWN IN THEATERS ON BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK, DVD & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD AUGUST 9, 2011

“Irreverent and hilarious!” – Sean P. Means, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
“Seth Rogen is perfect as Paul.” – Ray Bennett, THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Universal City, California, June 7, 2011— One tiny alien makes for big, big trouble in the comedy adventure Paul, coming to Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD August 9, 2011, from Universal Studios Home Entertainment. Both versions will feature the theatrical movie, as well as an unrated version of the film, not shown in theaters. The film and its unrated version will also be available day and date for digital download and video on demand.

Paul reunites Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) as two sci-fi geeks on a pilgrimage to America’s UFO heartland, where they accidentally encounter an alien who sends them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. Written by Pegg and Frost, Paul boasts a star-studded cast that features Seth Rogen (The Green Hornet, Knocked Up) as the voice of Paul, Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Jason Bateman (Hancock), Kristen Wiig (Date Night, Knocked Up), Jane Lynch (“Glee”), Bill Hader (Pineapple Express), Joe Lo Truglio (Role Models), Jeffrey Tambor (“Arrested Development”) and Blythe Danner (Little Fockers). Directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad), Paul comes loaded with in-depth, behind-the-scenes features, bloopers, filmmaker and cast commentary and more, to take viewers on a comical journey behind the making of this critically hailed film.

The Blu-ray™ Combo Pack will include a Blu-ray and DVD copy of the unrated and theatrical versions of the film. Additionally, for a limited time only, the Combo Pack also includes a digital copy of the unrated film that can be viewed anytime, anywhere on an array of digital devices. Blu-ray ™ consumers can also access MY MOVIES™, an exclusive feature that allows consumers to stream a bonus movie instantly to their television through any Internet-connected Blu-ray ™ player via BD-Live™ or to their Smartphone and iPad™ using the free pocket BLU™ app. The bonus movie offer will be available for a limited time only. Visit http://www.universalhidef.com/ for more details.

BONUS FEATURES EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY™ COMBO PACK:
· Between the Lightning Strikes: The Making of Paul
· Behind the Scenes Featurettes:
o RV Doorway: The Cast of Paul On-Location — The cast is just as funny off-screen as they are in front of the camera.
o Runway Santa Fe: An Interview with Nancy Steiner — Follow Nancy Steiner, the costume designer, as she chooses hilarious T-shirts and wardrobe for the cast.
o Smithereens — Blowing up a house on location causes excitement among the cast.
o 5th Date Level Direction: The Cast on Greg Mottola — The cast talks about the fun of working with Mottola, who also directed Superbad.
o Mexico Zero: The Locations of Paul—Mexico Zero is the nickname the cast gives to New Mexico, where the majority of filming was done for Paul.
o The Many Pauls — To create Paul, the filmmakers used all the tricks of the trade, from capturing Seth Rogen’s facial expressions and movements, to using a child dressed up as an alien while on-set.
o Paul: The Musical — The cast joins together for an impromptu musical version of the film.
o The Traveler Beagle — A look at all the different RVs used on the set of Paul, from fully functioning vehicles to a mock-up on a Hollywood soundstage.

· BD-LIVE™: Access the BD-Live™ Center through your Internet-connected player to watch the latest trailers and more.

· pocket BLU™: The groundbreaking pocket BLU™ app uses iPhone®, iPod® touch, Android™, PC and Macintosh to work seamlessly with a network-connected Blu-ray™ player. Also available on the iPad®, owners can enjoy a new, enhanced edition of pocket BLU™ made especially to take advantage of the tablet's larger screen and high resolution display. Consumers will be able to browse through a library of Blu-ray™ content and watch entertaining extras on-the-go in a way that's bigger and better than ever before. pocket BLU™ offers advanced features such as:
o Advanced Remote Control — A sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. Users can navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease.
o Video Timeline — Users can easily bring up the video timeline, allowing them to instantly access any point in the film.
o Mobile-To-Go — Users can unlock a selection of bonus content with their Blu-ray™ discs to save to their device or to stream from anywhere there is a Wi-Fi network, enabling them to enjoy content on the go, anytime, anywhere.
o Browse Titles — Users will have access to a complete list of pocket BLU™-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray™ Hi-Def. They can view free previews and see what additional content is available to unlock on their device.
o Keyboard — Entering data is fast and easy with your device’s intuitive keyboard.

BONUS FEATURES ON BLU-RAY™ AND DVD:
· Bloopers
· The Evolution of Paul — An inside look at how Paul became a living, breathing alien.
· Simon’s Silly Faces — Simon Pegg makes an assortment of wildly funny faces for the camera.
· Who the Hell is Adam Shadowchild? — Find out about the legendary sci-fi writer from the characters in Paul.
· Feature Commentary with Greg Mottola, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Hader and Nira Park
· Photo Galleries, Storyboards and Posters

SYNOPSIS
For the past 60 years, an alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogen) has been hanging out at a top-secret military base. For reasons unknown, the space-traveling smartass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town—a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme Willy (Pegg) and Clive Gollings (Frost). Chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman they accidentally kidnap, Graeme and Clive hatch a fumbling escape plan to return Paul to his mother ship. As two nerds struggle to help, one little green man might just take his fellow outcasts from misfits to intergalactic heroes.

http://www.whatispaul.com/

CAST AND FILMMAKERS
Directed By: Greg Mottola
Written By: Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
Produced By: Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Executive Producers: Liza Chasin, Debra Hayward, Natascha Wharton, Robert Graf
Director of Photography: Lawrence Sher
Production Designer: Jefferson Sage
Editor: Chris Dickens, ACE
Costume Designer: Nancy Steiner
Music By: David Arnold

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Blythe Danner, Joe Lo Truglio, John Carroll Lynch, Jane Lynch, David Koechner, Jesse Plemons with Sigourney Weaver and Seth Rogen

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
BLU-RAY™ HI-DEF
Street Date: August 9, 2011
Copyright: 2011
Selection Number: 61118963
Running Time: 1Hour 44 Min
Layers: BD-50
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 2.35:1
Rating: R for language including sexual references and some drug use
Technical Info: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish and French DTS Surround 5.1, DVS, English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles

DVD
Street Date: August 9, 2011
Copyright: 2011
Selection Number: 61111728
Running Time: 1Hour 44 Min
Layers: Dual Layer
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Rating: R for language including sexual references and some drug use
Technical Info: Dolby Digital English 5.1, Spanish 5.1, French 5.1, DVS, English SDH, Spanish and French Subtitles

NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.

Review: "Semi-Pro" is an Uneven Comedy (Happy B'day, Will Ferrell)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 11 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

Semi-Pro (2008)
Running time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Kent Alterman
WRITER: Scot Armstrong
PRODUCER: Jimmy Miller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Shane Hurlbut (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Debra Neil-Fisher

COMEDY/SPORTS

Starring: Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Andrew Daly, Andy Richter, David Koechner, Rob Corddry, Matt Walsh, Jackie Earle Haley, DeRay Davis, Josh Braaten, Jay Phillips, Peter Cornell, and Patti LaBelle

When a comic actor hits his stride as a box office star and has a string of huge successes, he has also reached a place where everything he does afterwards will be judged by this peak. It seems as if Eddie Murphy is forever being judged by his legendary time on “Saturday Night Live,” and by his trio of early 80’s hit films: 48 Hrs., Trading Places, and Beverly Hills Cop. Fans and critics still think Murphy should go back to being what they think he was back then.

Will Ferrell, also the owner of a legendary SNL run, became an A-list hit-making comedy monster with a co-starring role in Old School, before having something for which most actors would sell their souls – a family hit (and a Christmas one at that) with Elf. But after a string of hit movies, will Semi-Pro be looked upon as a misfire?

It shouldn’t. Semi-Pro is quite funny, and is rich in Ferrell’s brand of tomfoolery, which will appeal to Ferrell’s fans. Semi-Pro just feels like something that could have been much better.

Set in Flint, Michigan in 1976, Semi-Pro follows the wacky exploits of Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell), who became a one-hit wonder with his groovy disco song, “Love Me Sexy.” Moon used the profits from his chart-topping success to achieve his dream of owning a basketball team. However, his Flint Michigan Tropics are the worst team in the ABA (American Basketball Association), and the league is about to fold and merge its four best teams with the NBA (National Basketball Association). The Tropics are not one of those four teams.

Now, Jackie is desperate to do what seems impossible for his lovable losers – win. He brings in Monix (Woody Harrelson), a former NBA champion to be the team’s new point guard, but Monix’s knees are practically ruined. Moon’s star player, Clarence “Coffee” Black (André Benjamin), has all-star talent, but is so self-centered that he’s stalled his career. Although he has an endless supply of wacky promotional ideas, Jackie is running out of cash, and even when they start to win, Moon and the Tropics may have already run out of time.

Like his Ron Burgundy in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Chazz Michael Michaels in Blades of Glory, Will Ferrell’s Jackie Moon is a success in his chosen field, but that is surpassed by his arrogance, conceit, and inanity, which makes for a lovable comic character. For all the laughs Ferrell’s Moon gives Semi-Pro, the film is best when it lets the other guys get in on the fun.

Watching this motley crew of sub-par basketball players, sad addicts, crazy announcers, and assorted oddballs gas and sass each other is a good time at the movies. The characters are untidy, but like the film, they feel familiar. They’re not at the top of the heap, but they aren’t necessarily losers; they’re semi-regular guys just trying to get their piece. Each character brings something good to Semi-Pro in the way he or she walks, talks, and looks, but the film spends too much time on Ferrell making goofy faces, as funny as that might be.

Semi-Pro sits somewhere between sports melodrama and parody. Ferrell sells the parody, but if only the filmmakers had allowed the supporting cast to build the melodrama. Then, Semi-Pro would be the kind of memorable comedy/drama that great sports films like Bull Durham and The Longest Yard (1974) are, and not just another funny Will Ferrell movie.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, March 02, 2008

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Review: "Health Inspector" Still the Best Larry the Cable Guy Movie

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 69 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual content, and for language
DIRECTOR: Trent Cooper
WRITERS: Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer
PRODUCERS: Alan C. Blomquist and J.P. Williams
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Kim Marks
EDITOR: Gregg Featherman

COMEDY

Starring: Larry the Cable Guy, Iris Bahr, Bruce Bruce, Megyn Price, Tom Wilson, Joanna Cassidy, David Koechner, Tony Hale, Lisa Lampanelli, and Joe Pantoliano with Kid Rock and Jerry Mathers

Larry (Larry the Cable Guy) is big city health inspector who is happy with his usual beat of greasy spoon diners, low-rent ethnic restaurants, and food stands where his good-old boy charm and down home attitude solves health problems better than a writing a citation. His easygoing job suddenly takes a turn for the worse when his boss, Bart Tatlock (Thomas F. Wilson) who hates him saddles Larry with a rookie partner, Amy Butlin (Iris Bahr), and a new beat.

Larry suddenly has to investigate a mysterious outbreak of food poisoning at the city’s swankiest restaurants that leaves patrons vomiting up their meals or heading for the toilets. Poor Larry only gets so far in his investigation as to infuriate chic restaurateurs and baffle his partner, Amy, but he still finds time to woo a waitress, Jane Whitley (Megyn Price), into a budding romance. However, when his failure to uncover the origin of the mystery illness endangers his job and reputation, Larry goes undercover to solve the crime in the most hilarious ways.

Many viewers know standup comedian Larry the Cable Guy (whose government name is Dan Whitney) from Jeff Foxworthy’s Blue Collar Comedy Tour, or have seen him on the Comedy Central, seen his hit DVD, and/or have heard one or more of his three hit comedy albums. Now, Larry, like numerous characters from “Saturday Night Live,” has a movie, Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector.

The film is vulgar, occasionally vile, and relentlessly and shamelessly cheap and tasteless. It opens with a shot of the crack of Larry’s butt and of him peeing in the shower, yet Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is also one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in months. It’s not a romantic comedy. It’s a coarse raunchy comedy starring a comedian who has made a point of being as politically incorrect as possible. If you like Larry the Cable Guy, you’ll like this. If you don’t like Larry’s act, you will utterly hate this… unless you’re willing to give him a chance, and I think it’s worth the reward to give good old Larry a chance.

Health Inspector’s plot is convoluted, but the script is the perfect comic vehicle for a film that has to focus on a stage comic’s particular act. It has enough of the trappings of the crime genre to be a whodunit the way Scooby-Doo cartoons are detective stories. And since Larry the Cable Guy isn’t trying to become Larry the romantic comedy guy, a light crime story gives him room to clown and be himself. The entire mystery that this movie presents moves only as Larry’s act moves it, and that’s okay. Larry is a funny guy.

I’m not going to pretend that Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector is high quality filmmaking, but this is certainly a textbook example of giving the audience what it expects – lots and lots of raucous Larry. Flatulence, toilet humor, redneck jokes, country humor, gay jokes, ethnic stereotypes that will make you cringe, gross out humor, juvenile escapades: Larry does it all with a good-natured wink and a nudge. I’d love a sequel.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, April 8, 2006

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Review: "The 40 Year-Old Virgin" is Still a Steve Carell Showcase

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 133 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for pervasive sexual content, language, and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Judd Apatow
WRITERS: Steve Carell and Judd Apatow
PRODUCERS: Shauna Robertson, Clayton Townsend, and Judd Apatow
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jack Green
EDITOR: Brent White

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring: Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks, Leslie Mann, Jane Lynch, Gerry Bednob, Shelley Malil, Kat Dennings, Erica Vittina Phillips, Cedric Yarbrough, David Koechner, Lee Weaver, Gloria Helena Jones, and Nancy Walls

Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell) has never “done the deed,” or, to put it more plainly, Andy has never had sexual intercourse. That makes the avid toy collector, video gaming enthusiast, and comic book reader a 40 year-old virgin. When his co-workers: the three randy bastards, David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen), accidentally discover Andy’s situation, they immediately want to help him get his cherry popped.

After a series of misadventures, Andy is once again ready to accept that he will never have sexual intercourse, but fate brings him into contact with Trish (Catherine Keener), a single mother of three children and a grandmother of one. Andy and Trish become very close and decide to have a platonic relationship until they get to know each other. However, when the time finally arrives for them to get intimate, Andy is still having reservations…

The 40 Year-Old Virgin could have been nothing more than a shameless excuse to make a tawdry film aimed at teenagers and 20-somethings – full of bad jokes about virginity, loosing one’s virginity and having awkward first-time sex. Instead the film is only half that. Sure, there is plenty of gross humor and embarrassingly frank discussions of sexuality. In fact much of the sex talk is the kind of triple-blue tales guys tell each other when they’re not in polite company because together they aren’t polite company.

Romany Malco and Seth Rogen gamely lead the charge unleashing a barrage of X-rated storytelling that tops the wretched bragging that is a stable on B.E.T.’s “ComicView,” but Malco and Rogen are 10 times funnier. In fact, this is a breakthrough performance for Malco, who deft plays Jay as both comically and as a hypocrite. Both he and Rogen should have long film careers playing “the buddy” to a big name star’s turn as a struggling romantic. However, the third member of the support trio is limply played by Paul Rudd, but it’s not entirely his fault; the script gives him a few good scenes, and then leaves both him and the audience hanging for more of the obviously complicated David.

One thing that The 40 Year-Old Virgin’s screenplay (co-written by the director Judd Apatow and Steve Carell) has going for it is its sense of realness. There is a naturalness to the individual scenes that suggests the truth of real life. What the script lacks is a cohesive sense of honesty. Some things are true; others are just plot contrivances designed to make an outsider tale seem like normal Hollywood fare. In fact, since the writers chose to gloss over the supporting characters, they made the film too long by ten minutes. They could have given those 10 minutes to Catherine Keener so her character, Trish, wouldn’t only come across as a cardboard, sympathetic mother figure and cherry popper – a waste of a powerful actress for sure.

Ultimately, the main reason to see this film is Steve Carell; the seemingly humble actor (at least he comes across that way in interviews) has quietly delivered a number of roles, stunning in how good they are for their smallness, in films such as Bruce Almighty and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Here, he plays a 40 year-old virgin not as a pathetic figure, but a man to be pitied because he has so willingly bought into a life of loneliness. This is especially sad because he’s the proverbial quiet and shy guy who is really a good fellow, and would make a fine pal.

While The 40 Year-Old Virgin’s script is soft, the film’s actors build their roles into characters that the audience wants to like and finally do. Carell, more than anyone else in this film, builds a guy in Andy Stitzer who is so likeable that the audience accepts everything about him, including his many quirks and eccentricities. In the real world, a lot of people wouldn’t recognize or pay attention to a guy like Andy. Carell amazingly turns Andy into an ideal, a perfection of nerd, if you will; Andy is the kind of dork that you could love, root for, cheer, and go out of your way to help.

The 40 Year-Old Virgin has been compared to an earlier 2005 summer hit, Wedding Crashers, but the latter is funnier by far. However, both films make up for crassness with engaging tales of romantic entanglements. Virgin isn’t perfect, and Steve Carell’s performance is more memorable than the film, which in the end may be remembered as a star-making vehicle for him. Although that ending has got to go, the film is daring in so many ways. It’s one of the very few “mainstream” comedies that have almost as many African-American roles as the typical “urban comedy” (comedy with a lot of black characters), and an actress (Catherine Keener) who is older than the male lead (Carell) playing the love interest. That alone makes it a class act.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, August 20, 2005

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Review: "Talladega Nights" is a Ferrell-McKay Gem

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 167 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes:
MPAA – PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, drug references, and brief comic violence
DIRECTOR: Adam McKay
WRITERS: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay
PRODUCERS: Jimmy Miller and Judd Apatow
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Oliver Wood
EDITOR: Brent White

COMEDY/SPORTS/ACTION

Starring: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, Houston Tumlin, Grayson Russell, Amy Adams, Greg Germann, Molly Shannon, Andy Richter, David Koechner, and Pat Hingle with Elvis Costello, Mos Def, Darrell Waltrip, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

In 2004, co-writer/director Adam McKay and co-writer/star Will Ferrell gave us Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, about a dense, arrogant, but very popular local news anchor. This month the same duo gives us Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, about a dense, arrogant, but very popular and successful NASCAR race driver. This time Ferrell and McCay have refined their process, and while Ricky Bobby is every bit as funny as Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights simply works better as a film. Talladega Nights is funny, but it’s more than just a joke fest. It has an insane comic premise, but with heart, and the cast makes the characters believable as Ricky Bobby’s family, friends, and rivals

Talladega Nights tells the story of the rise of Ricky Bobby, from a 10-year old boy (Luke Bigham) abandoned by his father, Reese Bobby (Gary Cole), to a win-at-all-cost stock car driver. At the peak of his success, Bobby has a loyal racing partner in his childhood friend, Cal Naughton, Jr. (John C. Reilly), and a veteran racing crew chief in Lucius Washington (Michael Clarke Duncan). He has a “red-hot” wife, Carley Bobby (Leslie Bibb) and two sons, Walker (Houston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell). However, Larry Dennit, Jr. (Greg Germann), the owner of the racing team to which Ricky Bobby belongs adds a pompous and conceited French Formula One racer named Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen) to the Dennit racing team, and Girard is gunning for Ricky Bobby. Soon, Ricky Bobby’s career crashes and burns, but with the help of his negligent and immature dad and his loving mom, Lucy Bobby (Jane Lynch), Ricky Bobby might just return to the front of the pack.

Ricky Bobby could have been some paper-thin character Will Ferrell created during his tenure on “Saturday Night Live,” but he gives the characters such depth. He’s not a caricature – this arrogant dim-wit who makes you laugh – he has humanity. In fact, the Ricky Bobby of the movie is much deeper, a much richer character than what the advertisements for Talladega Nights suggests. That’s a testament to Ferrell’s skill as a great comic actor, with an emphasis on actor. However, while Ricky Bobby is a wonderful character, having an outstanding supporting cast of characters makes Ricky Bobby even better.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is impeccably cast and performed in terms of supporting players. The actors embody their roles, such as John C. Reilly’s Cal Naughton, Jr., Gary Cole’s Reese Bobby, and Jane Lynch’s Lucy Bobby. The caricatures also work to comic perfection, including Leslie Bibb as Ricky Bobby’s wife, Carley, and Sacha Baron Cohen (“Ali G”) as Ricky Bobby’s rival, Jean Girard. Carley is the perfect send-up as the greedy, camera-hogging, ambitious celebrity wife, and Girard gives the movie a flavor of the bizarre. Michael Clarke Duncan’s Lucius Washington is the steadying center and the fatherly guide to the wacky and childish racing team, and he creates a balance between the farce and satire with the characters on one hand, and the seriousness with which the film has to take NASCAR racing on the other.

Although Talladega Nights pokes fun as NASCAR and its brawny emphasis on and robust relationship with its advertising sponsors, the film doesn’t make fun of NASCAR, its culture, or fans. The brilliance of McKay and Ferrell’s screenplay is that it is a memorable comic creation filled with the kind of eccentric and harebrained characters that make a comedy actually funny. However, they also give the comedy dramatic tension and conflict, and the characters have convincing motivation. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is a farce, a comic romp, and a dramatic narrative, and not just a bag of jokes and sketch comedy scenes. But it was up to the cast to make this nice scenario work, and they certainly worked it.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, August 5, 2006

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Review: Aaron Eckhart Lights it Up in "Thank You for Smoking"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 229 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Thank You for Smoking (2005)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 43 minutes)
MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Jason Reitman
WRITER: Jason Reitman (based upon the novel by Christopher Buckley)
PRODUCER: David O. Sacks
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jason Whitaker (director of photography)
EDITOR: Dana E. Glauberman
Golden Globes nominee

COMEDY with elements of drama

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright, Sam Elliot, Katie Holmes, David Koechner, Rob Lowe, William H. Macy, J.K. Simmons, and Robert Duvall, Kim Dickens, Adam Brody, and Todd Louiso

As Vice-President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is the main lobbyist and primary spin doctor for Big Tobacco. Naylor is on a mission to make the country forget the dangers and health risks of smoking cigarettes. However, his mission gets tougher with health advocates and the opportunistic Senator Ortolan K. Finistirre (William H. Macy) determined to put a new poison label (in the form of an image of the skull & bones) on cigarette packs. Naylor goes on the PR offensive with a strategy to get big Hollywood actors to smoke on screen, as the movie stars of yesteryear did in the Golden Age of Hollywood movies. Nick enlists, Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe), a Hollywood super-agent, to help him get smoking on screen again.

However, Nicky’s newfound notoriety does not go unnoticed by Big Tobacco’s head honcho, The Captain (Robert Duvall), who gives his blessing to Nick’s Hollywood plan. Nick’s activities also get the attention of a beautiful, young investigative reporter, Heather Halloway (Katie Holmes), who is willing to use her body to get Nick to tell her his secrets. Even with a busy schedule, Nick still finds time to hold forth with two comrades – two other lobbyists for industries also facing public backlash: Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) of the alcohol industry and Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) of the gun industry. Together, the three of them are the Merchants of Death or M.O.D. Squad. Nick’s also a father, and he’s trying to remain a role model to his young, impressionable son, Joey Naylor (Cameron Bright), who thinks his dad is a god, but Nick’s ex-wife, Jill Naylor (Kim Dickens), isn’t sure a tobacco lobbyist is the best dad material.

Jason Reitman, the son of famed comedy director, Ivan Reitman (Ghostbusters), has a more cerebral approach to film comedy than his father, and that’s clearly evident in the clever, offhand satire, Thank You for Smoking, which Reitman adapted from the novel by Christopher Buckley. The film comes across as a savage satire of the tobacco industry, but Reitman directs the film with such elegance that Thank You for Smoking sometimes comes across as glib and soulless. In his attempt to impale Big Tobacco, and also throw sand in the face of shallow Hollywood, opportunistic big media, and shameless Congress, Reitman’s movie ends up gabby and has no real villains. This is a satire that comes across as if it’s teasing its targets rather than criticizing them.

While Thank You for Smoking holds up the characters and subject matter for detached scrutiny, the cast isn’t afraid to get down and dirty. The actors take delight in revealing the characters for all their oily selfishness. They’re all out for their own interests, and what little guilt they feel merely adds a light pungent flavor to the characters. The best performance is delivered, of course, by Aaron Eckhart as the film’s protagonist/quasi-villain, Nick Naylor. A character actor who can play an amazing range of lead characters, Eckhart gives Thank You for Smoking its gift of gab. Eckhart’s screen chemistry with Cameron Bright, the young actor who plays Nick’s son, Joey, is supernaturally real. It’s like a real father and son duo.

Eckhart humanizes Naylor, and makes the viewer like him and want to engage him. Thank You for Smoking is well-written and well-directed (considering the inexperience of the director), and the technical aspects are pretty good. But it’s Aaron Eckhart who makes Thank You for Smoking something more than just another satirical film essay. He makes it memorable.

7 of 10
B+

Monday, November 06, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Aaron Eckhart)

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Review: "Anchorman" is Odd and Funny

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 121 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux 

 

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for sexual humor, language and comic violence DIRECTOR: Adam McKay WRITERS: Will Ferrell and Adam McKay PRODUCER: Judd Apatow CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Ackerman (D.o.P.) EDITOR: Brent White

 

COMEDY 

 

Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steven Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Chris Parnell, Kathryn Hahn, Luke Wilson, Bill Kurtis, Monique McIntyre, and Danny Trejo with uncredited screen appearances by Jack Black, Missi Pyle, Tim Robbins, Stephen Root, Ben Stiller, and Vince Vaughn

 

Will the actor/comedian Will Ferrell make a nice, long run of being a comedic leading man? He has a few hits behind him, and even if he ever falters as the star, he’s funny enough to lift quite a few movies to that next level by playing funny and crucial supporting roles.

 

In Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, a film in which he co-wrote, Ferrell is Ron Burgundy. In 1970’s San Diego, he rules the city as the most popular anchorman of the most popular local TV news broadcast. He’s a legend, mostly in his own mind, and he’s God’s gift to women – if only they knew that he isn’t much of a journalist and his news skills rely heavily on a TelePrompTer.

 

Burgundy is also the captain of his station’s news team, a fellow cast of cads that includes a lecherous beat reporter named Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), a mentally challenged weatherman, and Champ Kind (David Koechner), a chauvinist, dude cowboy sports reporter. All is well in their world of ladies and parties until Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), an ambitious female with her eye on being a network anchorwoman, arrives to rock their world. For Ron, it’s love at first sight, but all goes bad when Veronica becomes his partner both personally and professionally.

 

Anchorman is quite silly and filled with lots of belly laughs, but it also has a surprising number of satirical and sardonic moments. The humor recalls the mocking antics of Mel Brooks 70’s classics like Blazing Saddles, but the humor here is often deadpan and blunt. It’s also self-mockingly serious and also flat out hilarious. Too bad, the story is soft and the script is mostly a blueprint for jokes, gags, and general silliness.

 

Will Ferrell is his usual funny self, but the Burgundy character is a bit odd and off-putting. It’s not one of Ferrell’s more endearing characters, but he has a knack of making the most annoying characters very funny, even when they’re under your skin. The supporting cast is quite nice. Fred Willard embodies 70’s kitsch, and the three actors that make up Burgundy’s crew are fantastic, especially Carell and Koechner who play their parts with a frightening, scene stealing relish. Ms. Applegate’s performance is a bit odd; she plays Veronica in a never where between cardboard character dumb blonde and sly vixen, but with the gumption to make her character surprise us at every turn.

 

Anchorman will likely stand out as one of the year’s funniest comedies, but in the long run, it may be remembered as an oddity, perhaps a forgotten oddity. But I’m hoping it hangs around, even with some kind of cult status.

 

7 of 10 

B+ 

 

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Review: "Yours, Mine & Ours" is a Fun Family Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 183 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Yours, Mine & Ours (2005)
Opening date: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
MPAA – PG for some material may not be suitable for children
DIRECTOR: Raja Gosnell
WRITERS: Ron Burch & David Kidd (based upon the 1968 motion picture screenplay by Melville Shaveson and Mort Lachlan from a story by Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr.)
PRODUCERS: Robert Simons and Michael Nathanson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theo Van de Sande, ASC
EDITORS: Stephen A. Rotter and Bruce Green, A.C.E.

COMEDY/FAMILY with elements of romance

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Rene Russo, Rip Torn, Jerry O’Connell, David Koechner, and Linda Hunt

One evening, while he is in the middle of an unpleasant date, Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid), a widow, runs into his old high school sweetheart, Helen North (Rene Russo), and it’s as if the thirty years since they last saw each other never passed. Helen, a widow, also feels the attraction and can’t wait to meet Frank again, which they do at a high school reunion cruise. They rush into marriage, but they don’t tell their kids…

Frank has eight children: four-year old Ethan (Ty Panitz), six-year old twin boys Otter (Briger Palmer) and Ely (Brecken Palmer), eight-year old Kelly (Haley Ramm), 10-year old Harry (Dean Collins), 12-year old Michael (Tyler Patrick Jones), 16-year old Christina (Katija Pevec), and 17-year old William (Sean Faris).

Helen has 10 children – four she had with her late husband and six they adopted: four-year old Aldo (Nicholas Roget-King), eight-year old twins Marisa (Jessica Habib) and Bina (Jennifer Habib), nine-year old Lau (Andrew Vo), 10-year old Joni (Miranda Cosgrove), 11-year old Jimi (Lil’ JJ), 12-year old Mick (Slade Pearce), 14-year old Naoko (Miki Iskikawa), 16-year old Dylan (Drake Bell), and 17-year old Phoebe (Danielle Panabaker).

But maybe love can’t conquer all. The two families don’t mesh quite as easily as Frank and Helen had hoped. Frank, a Coast Guard Admiral, is a by-the-book disciplinarian, but the free-spirited Helen has no “book” and believes that the home is a place for free expression, not military style discipline. The children are always at odds. Helen’s brood aren’t pleased about moving or sharing rooms with a bunch of uptight strangers, and Frank’s offspring have nothing in common with the unruly and strange pack of kids their father’s new wife brings into their lives.

On the other hand, both sets of children realize that they have a common goal – breaking up their parents’ marriage, so they band together to create the kind of chaos that causes confusion between a couple with different parenting styles. As the kids succeed in their plot, they also realize that they really like each other in spite of their differences. Now, they have repair the bond between Helen and Frank that they broke, but are Helen and Frank still interested in being a couple.

The box office success of 2003’s Cheaper by the Dozen, the remake of a 1950’s film about a father managing a large pack of children, probably encouraged Paramount Pictures and MGM to remake another film about parents struggling to manage a large number of offspring. Thus, we have Yours, Mine & Ours, the remake of a 1968 film. This 2005 version of Yours, Mine & Ours isn’t as good as the Cheaper by the Dozen remake. For one thing, the acting by the leads playing the parents, Dennis Quaid and Rene Russo, two talented actors with a deft touch at comedy, waffles between listless and over done. Quaid has his moments when his talent shines through this murky material, but Russo delivers a surprisingly mediocre turn in a role she should sleepwalk through, or may be she did sleepwalk through it.

Also, 18 child and teen actors can’t get the screen time that even 12 can get, so none of young cast gets a chance to give his or her character personality. The script for the 2003 Cheaper by the Dozen gave the actors playing two of the older children (Tom Welling and Hilary Duff) a chance to bond with the parents (played by Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt), which gave the comedy some emotional resonance. Here, the script lumps the older kids in completely with the younger ones. The film would have more dramatic resonance if the older ones could be seen as a bridge between what the parents want and what the kids want. This doesn’t happen until the very end, and it comes across as a tacked on happy ending.

Still, Yours, Mine & Ours has some truly funny moments. It’s a silly and fun family flick for parents with ‘tweens and younger. The adult actors give the film some credibility, and director Raja Gosnell (Big Momma’s House and the Scooby Doo movies) keeps the pace fast, only slowing down for some romantic scenes between Quaid and Russo. It’s all too fast for us to stop and examine the numerous cracks in this picture and just fast enough to keep the easy laughs coming. Yours, Mine & Ours is chock full of predictable moments, and the audience can see the punch line the moment any particular joke or gag begins, but it’s all still funny.

5 of 10
B-

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

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