Movie Time 5.11

Stripes - This early 1980’s screwball comedy has all the benchmarks of the great comedies of that era: a stellar cast that includes one or more of the following: Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Dan Akyroid, Steve Martin, Harold Ramis, or John Candy (Stripes has three of them!); gratuitous booby scenes (yes! boobies!); racial jokes that you’re unsure whether whether to laugh at or not (protip: laugh, and then comment on how you’re not laughing at the joke, but rather you’re laughing at the fact that thirty years ago those types of jokes were okay for mainstream comedy movies); and a villainous presence depicted as either angry/ whiny aristocrats or commies. Honestly, Stripes has a lot going for it and the movie is great up to a point. That point: the end of the second act. This movie, like many other comedies from that era, as well as most comedies in general, lacks a third act that is actually funny. Once Bill Murray and co. graduate from their training the movie devolves into an unfunny action flick. Total bummer. I’ve been noticing this unfunny third act thing for a while now, and it’s something that generally bothers me about comedies. Now that I’m fully aware of this phenomenon, I’ll try to analyze it more in depth.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Remember when Johnny Depp didn’t play just a pirate, or some zany character in a shitty Tim Burton remake, or just flat out Johnny Depp? There’s a reason he is regarded as a great actor, and I think very little of that has to do with his body of work in the last ten years or so. This drug-fueled flick about drug-fueled journalists in the desert is a prime example of Depp’s acting prowess. While the movie wasn’t quite up my alley, I thought Depp was brilliant. He was the thing that kept my interest for the whole two hour drug trip, especially when things got ka-rayzee. I understand that this movie has achieved cult status in the years since its release, so I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I’m won’t say I liked or disliked it, but rather I future-liked the movie, since I feel as though it requires multiple viewings to totally grasp. Next time I watch it though, I’m going to need one of the following three things: someone who loves the movie to watch it with me, me to have just finished reading the novel, or tons (Nay: tons and tons) o’ drugs.






This is Spinal Tap - After this movie came out the ten point system of ranking comedies based on hilarity needed to be reworked from the ground up. The results from the Laugh-o-Matic had returned an error, as it was too funny to compute. The guffaws-to-laughs ratio was so high that detractors decried the Comedomometer as a farce, claiming that the technology just wasn’t ready. To address the growing concerns of the masses, a dedicated team of software engineers and roboticians worked tirelessly for months getting the system back on line. All it took was some old fashioned ingenuity, a dash of luck and a veritable barrel full of monkeys. The ten point scale was reworked so that the stellar comedy This is Spinal Tap would register as a ten: the funniest comedy imaginable. Now that you’re somewhat familiar with the history of the comedic ranking system, as well as the sheer amount of money and man-hours poured into adjusting the ten-point scale due to the hilarity of Spinal Tap, please refrain from using the phrase ‘this goes to eleven’ in describing this movie, as it does a grave disservice to their efforts.

Beer Wars - As a homebrewer on hiatus and an all around beer aficionado, I very rarely rely on the big three brewers to get my crunk on. Being that I’m not in college anymore, I have very little room in my life for cheap beer and a good deal of that real estate is firmly entrenched by Pabst, thanks in large part to Gran Torino. After having seen this movie, my respect for the small brewers has grown to even more immense proportions, while my love of the Bud/Miller/Coors triage his dwindled to roughly the size of rat turds. Beer beer beer, I love beer. This documentary was good but not great. There should be more documentaries about beer because they make me want to drink more beer. And I love beer, so this is good.





Never Let Me Go - This movie is a great example of the dramatic range within the sci-fi genre. Though Never Let Me Go is a through and through drama that I would not recommend leaving to your momma, it simply cannot be told without the science fiction elements. While the science fiction very clearly depicts a world that is not our own, it merely stands as the backdrop against which the drama can unfold. I find this to be the general case in what I consider to be the upper crust of the sci-fi genre, such as Battlestar Galactica and Children of Men. The premise of the movie is this (spoilers?): the world is a place where most terminal diseases are curable thanks to transplants from cloned humans. These clones are set apart from society and live for the sole reason of providing organs for the dying rich. Within a boarding school for the cloned children, there are three kids who get tangled up in a love triangle that will deeply affect the rest of their short lives. Overall, the movie was really touching and I’m pleased to see this type of movie getting made. Never Let Me Go does a wonderful service to the oft regarded as low-brow, lasers-in-space genre of science fiction.

The Incredibles - My love of everything Pixar and the superhero genre combine to make one of the world’s best action movies ever! This movie is pitch perfect in every way and as far as I’m concerned, Craig T. Nelson simply does not get enough voice-over work. For the recent slew of Pixar sequels coming out, this is the one I most desperately would like to see the next installment of. There’s a wealth of characters and stories just waiting to be mined. I think this--save for perhaps Up--is my most infinitely rewatchable Pixar movie, which puts it right up there alongside Die Hard.








Buried - If you don’t think Ryan Reynolds is a stud muffin, then don’t watch this movie. If you are claustrophobic, then don’t watch this movie. If you like ambitious films that try to push the limits of what movies are capable of, then do watch this movie. What we’ve got here is a movie that takes place entirely within the confines of a coffin. The only actor on screen is Ryan Reynolds, and except for in moments of total darkness, he is the only thing you see. He plays a non-military contractor driving trucks in Iraq who is ambushed and buried alive in an old wooden coffin with nothing but a lighter, a cell phone, a flashlight as well as a few other things. One task lies before him: to try to figure a way out before he runs out of oxygen and dies. His best chance is the cell phone and the battery is running low. Let me just tell you: things get pretty intense when he’s put on hold. I’ll admit that this isn’t a movie for everyone, but for anyone out there who reads the description and thinks, ‘huh, that sounds neato,’ will like the movie. It fully delivers on its premise. Ryan Reynolds delivers a stellar performance, which is a good thing, because anything less than stellar would make this movie a total dud. Cool movie, Josh approved.









Murder in the First - Outside of Kevin Bacon’s stellar performance as a hoosegow lunatic and Christian Slater’s bad boy good looks, this is just a middle of the road trial movie. You know what you’re getting into with a movie called Murder in the First, so if you think you’ll enjoy it you likely will.










The Other Guys - My love of Will Ferrell has waned over the past few years, not through any fault of his own, but because of the expiration date slapped onto so many comedic actors and actresses. Ultimately, I got a little tired of Will Ferrell playing Will Ferrell in movies starring Will Ferrell. Like so many comedians his schtick just got old, his characters all became too one note and he stopped trying new things. Perhapsh I’m being a little harsh on the old bugger, as he has made some gems over the years. This movie is more than halfway decent. In fact, I’d say it’s about ⅔ decent, maybe even upwards of ¾ decent. My favorite part is Michael Keaton. I know that saying has become almost colloquial for me, using it in instances that seemingly have nothing to do with the wonderful actor, like “Man, that burger was delicious. My favorite part was Michael Keaton,” or sometimes on occasions where it gets me in hot water, “Oh what a nice kiss on the cheek, my love. My favorite part was Michael Keaton.” But I really mean it this time. Michael Keaton was in this movie and my favorite part is Michael Keaton.






The Pixar Story - I really like Pixar, but ultimately I found this documentary unsatisfying. I mean, it was good for what it was, but I think that I fancy myself more of a Pixar aficionado than a Pixar enthusiast. With that in mind, I think one day I’ll have to invest some time/ money into the definitive book of the Pixar story that either is exists or will soon to be exists. With all that in mind, there was still a lot of interesting stuff in here about the Emeryville based company who has made such greats as Up, Incredibles and Toy Story 3. I guess I should mention that although I loved Toy Story 3, my favorite part was Michael Keaton.






Thor - In a word: Thorgasmic. In two: Thorrifically IncrediThor. In three: very, very good. The Marvel comic book character Thor has been a favorite of mine ever since I started reading comic books about seven years ago. It makes sense, seeing as how I love mythology (specifically Norse) and heavy metal (with a strong bent towards Viking). Not since an air conditioning-less summer day in Davis have I been to the movie theater by myself (to see Kurt Russel in Poseidon (Goodness I’m glad there was never a luxury liner (or fictional liner) named Thor.)), but with Thor it was do or die (more specifically: do or don’t do). So I went to the theater by myself and plopped down close to the screen and beheld the majesty before my eyes. I THORoughly (hah!) enjoyed this movie. As much as I think Natalie Portman is a fox, I must say that she was outfoxed by Chris Hemsworth. This could be the beginning of a beautiful new man-crush (sorry Liam!). What I like most about this flick is how overtly comic book-y it is. Thor holds no punches with the out-of-this-world mythology and imagery, with frost giants, Asgardian robots and Stringer Bell as Heimdall galore. Also, aside from my fanboy gushing, I though the story was relatively strong, considering how much needed to be shoe-horned into the first movie. There were some really good comedic points and the love story didn’t feel too rushed. I’m really looking forward to the Avengers movie coming out next summer, as well as more installments in the Thor saga.