Typically most movies that I see come out during the Hollywood-blockbuster-Summer season is usually forgettable. Even if I liked it, doesn't mean I'll see it again.
However, for the first time in a long time I went to go see Scott Pilgrim VS. The World for the second time. Its very rare for me to want to go see a film twice in theater! But honestly, I couldn't help myself. Writing this review after only seeing it once probably wouldn't do it any justice.
Needless to say, I enjoyed this movie on many different levels! Scott Pilgrim is like a mash between rock music, comic books and video games, with a hilarious love-story plot that literally knocks Scott Pilgrim on his ass. Somehow it manages to do a wonderful job of mixing in these genres for an entertaining film-going experience.
Scott Pilgrim is directed by Edgar Wright who is also responsible for such comedic splices like Shaun of The Dead; Hot Fuzz"; and even the fake Trailer for Grindhouse entitled "DON'T". After watching Scott Pilgrim, and knowing this guy's resume I am now a fan of his work! He truly brings a very interesting approach to Scott Pilgrim that transitions from scene to scene almost seamlessly. Many times you would go from a regular scene, to a dream scene back to regular scene in the Scott Pilgrim world of "Toronto, Canada" that provided a surreal atmosphere to the film.
Its not often you see an American movie set in Canada to begin with. So I was really glad to see the Toronto connection. However, since Scott Pilgrim is based on a Comic-book series, the series is probably set in Toronto anyway.
Scott Pilgrim opens up in a pretty cool way. It introduces the characters right away and explains the set up before the starting credits roll. You Learn that Michael Cera is of course Scott Pilgrim (age 22) and currently dating a 17 year-old Chinese school girl named Knives Chau, played by Ellen Wong. You learn that he's in a band called The Sex Bob-Ombs (say it fast) with his best friends, which I thought was a great name for the band given the video game context of the film. Scott introduces his girlfriend to his rock-band and they begin their rehearsal, thus starting a pretty cool credits sequence.
Then comes Ramona Flowers, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead rollerblading through Scott's dream. He would later see her in real life, and coerces her into going out with him (even though he's still dating Knives). Not too long after, Scott figures out that he's been marked for death by the League of Ramona's Seven Evil Ex's, which is headed up of course by none other than Gideon Graves played by Jason Schwartzman.
The Sex Bob-ombs land thier first gig in a Battle of the Bands that sets up the rest of the film's plot and leads up to Scott Pilgrim Fighting the "Exs".
The movie essentially sets itself up as Fighting game with a story. Every battle Scott gets into, a "VS" sign would pop up just like in Street Fighter, which was a nice touch. Part of the film's comedy was the ridiculousness of the plot. Every time Scott wins a battle the opponent turns into Quarters and Dimes thus continuing with the theme that we're watching a video game almost.
Mixed in, is the comic book style of writing the noise of certain sound effects like switching off the light and random punches. This adds to the Comic-book style of the film.
The writing is hilarious, there is a couple scenes that just make you snicker like a 12-year-old. The Pee meter scene; the scene where Scott Dives out the window trying to avoid Knives; and the part where he takes his time to tie his shoelace are all wonderfully comical moments that add to the film's overall charm.
I must mention some of the smaller roles that really add to the film. Chris Evans plays a hilarious evil Movie star Ex. Kieran Culkin not surprisingly plays the funny gay roommate. Brandon Routh plays the Vegan with psychic and kinetic powers which leads to the Vegan Police scene that is priceless!
Overall the movie was a fantastically entertaining watch, with a great cast, nice special effects and some funny moments that are classic in the making. A real original twist on the Boy-meets-Girl plot thats mixed in with Comics, video games, and rock-music.
4.5/5 Xombie Heads
This movie is gonna go into my DVD collection
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Expandables goes Boom Boom Boom.
This movie has been hyped up all summer and I have to admit, even I was looking forward to seeing it. Here we have, for the first time ever, a motley crew of over the hill action stars from the 80s, the 90s and even the... the.. 2000s. Ya. Anyway. Some of these guys aren't really actors either. But whatever, it's a cool gimmick and you almost wish they made this film 15 years ago.
How can you go wrong here? The movie itself was rated R by American Standards. So you know there's gonna be blood and guts! What more could I ask? A little titty would have been nice, and also some form of story could of helped too.
The plot is a recycled idea from the 80s that reminds me of a Chuck Norris film. One would get a sense that Stallone was trying to recapture the long lost action style of the 80s but didn't really manage to make it work.
In a nut-shell, The Expendables is about a team of old farts who do righteous odd jobs for the highest bidder. Barney Ross, played by Stallone, takes a meeting with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger who cameo in the film for maybe a total one minute of screen-time. There's a nice joke about Arnold wanting to be President in there that escapes nobody in the audience. Otherwise Arny had no purpose in the film. Willis essentially hires Stallone's Expendables to take this job overthrowing a dictator on some Central American island nation. Thus, our story begins.
Sylvester Stallone co-wrote and Directed The Expendables seemingly at our expense. He also starred in the film along with a lot of guys you wish were still in the prime. You have Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin and Randy Couture assembled in this cast. With so many names, there's hardly a way to really dive into these characters. But Sly didn't really care about building characters.
When Sly tried to get Jean Claude Van Damme for this film, all he could tell JCVD about the character was that he would be making a lot of money and go "Boom, Boom, Boom." Joblow.com reported it here (and they actually had video from a press conference but it no longer works). To be honest I don't see why he wouldn't just take the damn part and make some money. But you gotta give him credit for attempting to have integrity. But this is JCVD we're talking about here so WTF.
Jason Statham is the only action hero in this film that's still in his prime and we got a few scenes to watch him kick some generic bad-guy ass. Dolph Lundgren's character made no sense whatsoever, nor did the reconciliation at the end between him and the rest of the Expendables. Meanwhile Jet-Li provides some short-guy humor. Randy Couture cries about his cauliflower ears and Terry Crews blows people away with an automatic shotgun.
Mickey Rourke had the best scene by far in the film. He didn't have a huge role except for a monologue that really stole the show. By far the most captivating moment in the film and helped make some sense of what was a very poor excuse of a story and plot.
I gotta say The Expendables Logo was well designed (The Crow on top of a Skull). But it's almost as if Stallone cared more about how the film would look and less about how the film would play out.
All in all, this film is an action gimmick. It tricks us into seeing some cool 80s style action, meanwhile bores us with the camaraderie of the characters. The Expendables is what it is, and some people will like it and some people will hate it, I on the other hand am in between. Its a forgettable movie, and Stallone made a lot of money. Kudos to him for that, i guess. One last note watching Sly run was as humorous as it was awkward.
3/5 Xombie Heads
How can you go wrong here? The movie itself was rated R by American Standards. So you know there's gonna be blood and guts! What more could I ask? A little titty would have been nice, and also some form of story could of helped too.
The plot is a recycled idea from the 80s that reminds me of a Chuck Norris film. One would get a sense that Stallone was trying to recapture the long lost action style of the 80s but didn't really manage to make it work.
In a nut-shell, The Expendables is about a team of old farts who do righteous odd jobs for the highest bidder. Barney Ross, played by Stallone, takes a meeting with Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger who cameo in the film for maybe a total one minute of screen-time. There's a nice joke about Arnold wanting to be President in there that escapes nobody in the audience. Otherwise Arny had no purpose in the film. Willis essentially hires Stallone's Expendables to take this job overthrowing a dictator on some Central American island nation. Thus, our story begins.
Sylvester Stallone co-wrote and Directed The Expendables seemingly at our expense. He also starred in the film along with a lot of guys you wish were still in the prime. You have Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Terry Crews, Eric Roberts, Steve Austin and Randy Couture assembled in this cast. With so many names, there's hardly a way to really dive into these characters. But Sly didn't really care about building characters.
When Sly tried to get Jean Claude Van Damme for this film, all he could tell JCVD about the character was that he would be making a lot of money and go "Boom, Boom, Boom." Joblow.com reported it here (and they actually had video from a press conference but it no longer works). To be honest I don't see why he wouldn't just take the damn part and make some money. But you gotta give him credit for attempting to have integrity. But this is JCVD we're talking about here so WTF.
Jason Statham is the only action hero in this film that's still in his prime and we got a few scenes to watch him kick some generic bad-guy ass. Dolph Lundgren's character made no sense whatsoever, nor did the reconciliation at the end between him and the rest of the Expendables. Meanwhile Jet-Li provides some short-guy humor. Randy Couture cries about his cauliflower ears and Terry Crews blows people away with an automatic shotgun.
Mickey Rourke had the best scene by far in the film. He didn't have a huge role except for a monologue that really stole the show. By far the most captivating moment in the film and helped make some sense of what was a very poor excuse of a story and plot.
I gotta say The Expendables Logo was well designed (The Crow on top of a Skull). But it's almost as if Stallone cared more about how the film would look and less about how the film would play out.
All in all, this film is an action gimmick. It tricks us into seeing some cool 80s style action, meanwhile bores us with the camaraderie of the characters. The Expendables is what it is, and some people will like it and some people will hate it, I on the other hand am in between. Its a forgettable movie, and Stallone made a lot of money. Kudos to him for that, i guess. One last note watching Sly run was as humorous as it was awkward.
3/5 Xombie Heads
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Full meal of Laughs at Dinner for Schmucks!
I couldn't believe how much I laughed at this film! Dinner for Schmucks killed me! I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't sure what to expect but Paul Rudd and Steve Carell have done good comedies before in the past so I gave it a chance. If you haven't guessed, I really liked this movie!
Not many people know that this film is an American remake of the french film "Le Dîner de Cons".
Directed by Jay Roach, who's responsible for Directing all the Austin Powers and the newly formed Fockers Franchise. Dinner For Schmucks was as silly as it was funny, and more in the style of Fockers then Austin Powers.
Dinner for Scmucks was full of ridiculous moments that made you feel so embarrassed for Paul Rudd's character Tim. Steve Carell has made his living playing the lovable nincompoop, and he delivers in full with his character Barry. Both complement each other very well in this movie, as Barry mistakenly throws Tim's life into a spiraling disaster.
As good as they were, it was the ridiculous supporting characters that really brought this movie to life. Zach Galifianakis for example delivers the mind-controlling putz Therman, who ends up being Barry's nemesis. The two played off each others stupidity so well that their showdown scene had the audience crying! There's one joke in the film about how Barry has trouble finding "The Clitoris" which killed me!
Who could forget Darla played by Lucy Punch. She plays a crazy-sex tigress who has been stalking Tim since before his current relationship with Julie, played by the gorgeous Stephanie Szostak. Szostak plays the perfect woman in this film, contrary to Darla who is a crazy-bitch to say the least. You get to watch Darla freak-out a few times and Carrell's "play dead" technique is ridiculously awesome!
Jemaine Clement whom some of you might know from the Flight of the Condors TV comedy, plays the self-obsessed Artist Kieran. Clement plays the narcissistic dumb-ass extremely well with his animal paintings and "artistic process".
I have to mention the lobster scene where the lady who talks to dead animals. She will make you pee your pants. The blind swordsman was classic, and even the rich Swedish man had his moments.
All-round funny cast who each added to the film's ridiculous comedy. I use the word ridiculous a lot for this review cause, that's what this movie is about. It delivers it so well, that laughing uncontrollably is the result. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least!
4/5 Xombie Heads ---
Not many people know that this film is an American remake of the french film "Le Dîner de Cons".
Directed by Jay Roach, who's responsible for Directing all the Austin Powers and the newly formed Fockers Franchise. Dinner For Schmucks was as silly as it was funny, and more in the style of Fockers then Austin Powers.
Dinner for Scmucks was full of ridiculous moments that made you feel so embarrassed for Paul Rudd's character Tim. Steve Carell has made his living playing the lovable nincompoop, and he delivers in full with his character Barry. Both complement each other very well in this movie, as Barry mistakenly throws Tim's life into a spiraling disaster.
As good as they were, it was the ridiculous supporting characters that really brought this movie to life. Zach Galifianakis for example delivers the mind-controlling putz Therman, who ends up being Barry's nemesis. The two played off each others stupidity so well that their showdown scene had the audience crying! There's one joke in the film about how Barry has trouble finding "The Clitoris" which killed me!
Who could forget Darla played by Lucy Punch. She plays a crazy-sex tigress who has been stalking Tim since before his current relationship with Julie, played by the gorgeous Stephanie Szostak. Szostak plays the perfect woman in this film, contrary to Darla who is a crazy-bitch to say the least. You get to watch Darla freak-out a few times and Carrell's "play dead" technique is ridiculously awesome!
Jemaine Clement whom some of you might know from the Flight of the Condors TV comedy, plays the self-obsessed Artist Kieran. Clement plays the narcissistic dumb-ass extremely well with his animal paintings and "artistic process".
I have to mention the lobster scene where the lady who talks to dead animals. She will make you pee your pants. The blind swordsman was classic, and even the rich Swedish man had his moments.
All-round funny cast who each added to the film's ridiculous comedy. I use the word ridiculous a lot for this review cause, that's what this movie is about. It delivers it so well, that laughing uncontrollably is the result. I was pleasantly surprised to say the least!
4/5 Xombie Heads ---
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)