Big Screen Blurb: The Switch

Romantic/Comedy--it's a movie genre that involves a healthy mix between funny and affairs of the ticker. That's the genre billed for The Switch, a movie that sees less of a healthy split of romance and comedy, probably weighing in at 70 percent drama, 20 percent romance and 10 percent fun.

It's a potentially funny story, but that's where the fun ends. The rest is more drama than anything else, which would have been fine had those been my expectations. It's the story of Kassie, a lady who seemingly has developed tinnitus because of the ringing of her biological clock. She wants a baby and is willing to take matters into her own hands. This, of course, is despite the objection from her best friend, Wally, a neurotic hypochondriac, played appropriately enough by Jason Bateman. The problem is simple: Jason's so opposed to this procedure that he...well...performs a switch of sorts, and yadayadayada the rest of the puzzle eventually lines up.

I give it 2.0 stars. Yeah, it's that bad. The concept was great, but the story doesn't really go anywhere. There are so many elements of this movie that could have been developed more strongly. There are just three characters that get strong play here--okay, two and a half really. With that we have the missing comedic link. Jeff Goldbloom, who plays Wally's boss, and Juliette Lewis, friend to Kassie, both played minimal roles and could have been better developed to help balance out the drama to a more comedic slant. Those characters were left undeveloped and we were left with more of the unfunny.

The saving grace is the kid (Bryce Robinson). He was cute and funny and everything the lil goob should've been. He added a dry humor that one doesn't expect to find in such a little tyke--who had progressed to the age of six by the time the story really develops. He played well off of Bateman, who once again nailed the neurotic character that we see from him repeatedly (Couples Retreat, Extract, Mr. MaGorium's Wonder Emporium, etc.).

To sum it all up: It's a story that could have been told much better...serves as another miss for Jen...and could have been a much more entertaining movie experience. Actually, go ahead and leave it on the shelf at Blockbuster.

True...out!

BLU-Ray REE-Vu: Furry Vengeance

This really isn't fair. You just can't ask an animal lover to watch a flick about a rambunctious raccoon...a sneaky squirrel...a cantankerous turkey, et al, and expect objectivity. So, in regards to Furry Vengeance, I say: Cute.

It's about a 'green' company that's not so, well...Green! Actually, they are feigning their interest in environmental matters for great PR while they annihilate the forest and the homes of countless creatures in the process. Enter Dan (Brendan Frasier). He heads up Phase I of the project, which involves a housing development and is quickly promoted to lead Phase II--a huge shopping mall mecca. Meanwhile, his wife and son (Brooke Shields and Matt Prokop) dislike having been uprooted from their home in the Windy City but bide their time. The animals unite to save their homes, which means all out war on Dan...and yadayadayada he takes a beating that even Rick O'Connell couldn't endure.

Yeah, it's cute. It's physical, slapstick comedy involving cuddly creatures and a not-so-cuddly creature in Frasier. Quite frankly, it's not my shtick, but it is cute. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed the first Home Alone, but the physical comedic antics wore off sometime around Joe Pesci taking it to the head with the make-shift flame thrower. The same is true with Furry Vengeance. You'll see some things that make you chuckle, but this is a kid's flick through and through. Good message. Good cast. Cute fur-balls. And a few funny antics. This is a flick that the little ones will enjoy and the adults can endure. That's its goal and it accomplishes it. That's why I'll give it 2.5 stars. It probably would have scored higher if the crux of the movie wasn't built around the slapstick stuff, which isn't my cup.

So...if you need a wholesome evening with the kiddies, rent it. If it's just you and that special someone, rent it. You'll be making out within 30 minutes. You can thank me later.

True...out!

P. S. Yes, the yard is mowed--I even changed up and went with a vertical approach instead of the tried and true horizontal!!! Arncha proud???

Big Screen Blurb: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Earlier this year, I reviewed a flick that was based on a video game that hit the theatre (Prince of Persia). With Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, it's quite literally a video game hitting the big screen. Actually, it's a what happens when comic book DNA drips into your XBox. It's fun. It's unique. It's comical. It's a comic/video game of Michael Cera doing his Shaggy impersonation without Scooby Doo mulling around; and yeah, it's pretty good.

This one is hard to plot-out because, quite frankly, it's all over the place. The humor is so sarcastically satirical, it's either going to have you rolling in the aisle or rolling your eyes. I did my share of both. The story is your every day tale: Boy has girl. Boy meets another girl. Boy dumps first girl. Boy dates second girl. Karma's a bitch so here come second girl's evil ex's to wreak havoc on Boy. So, here's our hero, kicking ass in video game fashion in between sets of his band, Sex Bob-ombs. There's not just one, but seven of these ex's to contend with and yadayadayada, and after about two or three too many ex's the plot unfolds.

I'll give it 3.0 Stars for it's unique presentation and off-the-chart-I-have-no-idea-what-to-call-this-kind-of-humor play. Direction and editing get cudos here for creating a theatre experience like, well, like watching Fred and Barney stave off Donkey Kong while smoking weed. Acting deserves congrats as well...I guess. Since it's such a unique production, grading the acting is like grading essays while sitting on the ocean floor. In both cases, however, you're left with the feeling of having been playing in the world's biggest and wettest sandbox. With that said, Cera was great. The entire case, and it was a well-together ensemble, was solid.

With that said, go see it and see it BIG. Enjoy the rest of your week and gear up for a great weekend!
True...out!

BLU-Ray RE-Vu: The Ghost Writer

In life, some things take a frustratingly long time to develop. Examples are many: anything cooked in a crock pot...me, between the ages of 10 and 15 and The Ghost Writer. At its core, this movie provides a pretty good story, but ultimately it's a flick that I'm glad I rented.

A writer is brought in to finish up the memoirs of a former Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan). The work is all but done and would be on the way to press had the former ghost writer not washed ashore with a few other dead fishies. No foul play is expected, but the new ghost writer (Ewen McGregor) quickly learns that perhaps suspicion should reign. The Prime Minister is quickly imbrawled in a war crimes scandal that could quickly see him in an orange jumper. Things get messy from there with our ghost writer taking more of a living role and yadayadayada the mystery unfolds.

Yeah, I said the 'mystery unfolds' and I suppose it does. It just unfolds so slowly, it made me wish this was a foreign flick so I could play it in 2x speed and get to the goods a lot faster. (a trick I mastered long ago with foreign movies, btw) No, I didn't like the ending. I won't give it away, and yes, I realize endings are completely a matter of viewer preference. This one just left me with a frustrated empty and unfulfilled feeling, a familiar theme for me throughout the flick.

Acting was fine. McGregor and Brosnan were good, not as masterful as in other roles, but good. Olivia Williams, who plays the Prime Minister's wife, was her typical excellent self. I fell in love with her in Sixth Sense and in everything since from Peter Pan to Flashbacks of a Fool. She didn't disappoint.

The movie on the other hand did. I'll give it 2.5 stars--slightly on the down side of a neutral rating. That rating is the end result of one word: frustration! This storyline had great potential, but just didn't move fast enough. I'm certainly not the sharpest tack on the corkboard, but I do need a plot to move above a glacial pace for me to enjoy it. This particular ice mob stalled around Michigan before eventually making it to Southern Indiana.

Well, enjoy the weekend and it's a no go on the yard this weekend! Those 90+ degree days have taken its toll on a slowly growing landscape. Have a great one and enjoy the heat...after all, it will be 30 before you know it!

True...out!

Big Screen Blurb: Dinner for Schmucks

There are few movies that I have enjoyed the 'post-credit entourage' for more than Dinner for Schmucks. The movie, however...well, that's another story. Don't get me wrong, this flick has its moments and a few of them at that. But this Paul Rudd-Steve Carell combo, tallies only 2.0 stars in my book. With plenty of comedic options out there, wait for a rental.

It's the story of a guy named Tim (Rudd) struggling to make it to the top in a financial firm owned by Mr. Lance Fender (Bruce Greenwood). His latest effort at moving up a few floors would have him attend a special annual dinner hosted by Fender. The dinner is essentially a dinner for dorks. The big guys bring the biggest loser they can find and said losers battle it out for the embarrasingly coveted, "Idiot of the Year" award. Sounds a little mean, hey? Tim is hesitant, but opportunity knocks. Actually, it crashes. Tim hits Barry (Carell) with his car while the latter is attempting to retrieve a dead mouse from the street. Barry, an IRS guy who hobbies himself by displaying dead mice in little clothes and creative scenery, offers a sum of $10,000 to avoid legal trouble...yeah, it was Barry that was on the profiting end of the legal stick, but don't tell him that! With that, Tim sees an opportunity. He's officially found a dork for the dinner.

You would think that the dinner would quickly emerge as the movie's focal point--like Clue only a 'who's the biggest schmuck' mystery swapped for a 'murder' mystery. Not so fast, my friend. This plot takes a long and seemingly senseless path to that dinner. Yadayadayada...two hours and 2.0 Stars later...I get to roll with laughter during the role of the post-credit entourage!

I really saw this plot unfolding in a different way. Jay Roach directed and typically, I'm a big fan. I loved the Focker series and Charlie Bartlett, but just couldn't embrace his vision here. There is no main character in this movie that is remotely likeable. Only Tim's girlfriend tips the likeable chart and she's a fairly rare presence on-screen. In flicks where professional dorks take center stage, well, you usually take a strong liking to the geek at some point in the movie. Barry was so freakishly, mind-blowingly and dsyfunctionally stupid throughout, it was difficult to say, "yeah...I wouldn't mind having this guy around". Sure, we're not supposed to like the self-centered Tim--at least not until the end, but even then I was luke-warm on the character. With that said, it's hard to comment on the acting. I'm sure Carell delivered the role to match Roach's vision...I just didn't like the vision.

My main issue with Dinner for Schmucks is the plot. It seems that the movie brass were saying, "hey, we can't make a movie around this dinner so let's throw in a lot of crap to bridge the gap and hope that some of it sticks to the wall." Well, guys...it's crap, not pasta. I think the dinner could have been written as the focal point. With the right writing and the typical comedic Rudd-Carell combo like what we saw in The 40-Year Old Virgin, I would be posting a different kind of review.

Yeah, the yard is mowed...not the hill though--hey, get off my back...it didn't need it okay! Enjoy your weekend and soak in the last few weeks of summer!!!

True

Big Screen Blurb: Grown Ups

You ever watch someone else's vacation home movie? Enjoy it? Then watch Grown Ups. Didn't enjoy it? Then don't watch Grown Ups.

Five friends are forced into a reunion with the passing of their basketball coach. The group won a local championship at the age of twelve--which apparently was a big deal. Who clings to a sixth grade title? No idea, but that is their claim to fame and they're sticking to it. So, they gather in the woods for a little more bonding...yadayadayada, they bond. Sometimes comically. More often than not, nope.

Yeah, the first 30-minutes are okay. It could pass as funny. The next hour and fifteen, well...that's another story. At least with someone's home movies you might actually know the quirky fat guy ad libbing his way to a laugh. That will at least force a smile, even a fake one. With Grown Ups you'll spend 75 minutes listing a ton of other things you could be doing with that hour.

It seemed like there was a lot of off-script ad libbing here--which may have actually helped. Who knows? The cast certainly has more than held its own in the comedic realm for more than a decade. Adam Sandler is hit and miss with me. Kevin James has his moments in certain roles. Chris Rock--same. Rob Schneider...really? Someone thinks this guy is funny outside of a few SNL skits? And David Spade? Well, he has apparently lost it.

If you've got thirty minutes of free time when this thing comes out on rental...rent it. Just plan to take a healthy nap after that first half-hour and you might wake up thinking you watched a decent flick. I give it 2.0 stars.

True

Big Screen Blurb: The Other Guys (Advanced Screening)

It's not exactly your typical "Good Cop-Bad Cop" routine. It's more like, "Stupid Cop-Anal Accountant". It's Will Ferrell's latest: The Other Guy. When I got Advanced Screening tickets to this flick, I wasn't overjoyed...sure, appreciative, but not estatic. Considering lackluster movies like Land of the Lost, Blades of Glory and Semi-Pro, with the exception of Step Brothers, Will hasn't exactly been hitting it out of the park lately. In fact, I was afraid that this would be a repeat of Talladega Nights, a story only the purest of rednecks could love. Actually, I was afraid that the evening's highlight would be watching a mullett-donning Regal employee with anger issues...we'll call her Ethel, yelling at a kid for bringing in his cell phone and then turning her shouting on the entire crowd...like we were a bunch of smarmy second graders caught with paint smeared on the wall and coincidentally our faces. But alas, the movie started, Ethel finally shut the hell up, and I got to watch a pretty funny movie with my fellow second graders.

It's the story of two cops trying to make a name for themselves in the big city. They're starting out in a major hole. Terry (Mark Wahlberg) is best known for mistakenly shooting NYC icon, Derek Jeter and Allen (Ferrell) is, well, just a former forensic accountant whose claim to fame is shooting his desk. With the city's former media-darling cops recently out of the picture, that coveted position is left vacant and Terry wants it. They get onto something big...yadayadayada and many laughs later, Terry and Allen's attempt at the limelight comically unfolds.

It's good: 3.0 Stars on my scale. Stupid humor is fine with me...entertaining, in fact, as long as it's going somewhere. That was my problem with the frowned-upon Ferrell flicks frequented above. They just didn't go anywhere. With me, stupid for the sake of stupid, is just a waste of my time. It's like watching Nascar. BUT--stupid that weaves into an already funny plot. Hmm, that's a different story. I think that's what you get with The Other Guys. Yeah, it toes the 'stupid' line...maybe even crosses it on occasion and yeah, it might be a little long (1:45), but overall, it's a stupid-funny that works. In other words, it made me laugh and helped me forget all about Ethel.

The acting is pretty good. We figured out that Wahlberg could pull off 'sexy-funny' in Date Night. Now, he pulls off 'angry-funny'...much easier than fighting the wind in The Happening. Ferrell's good, too; and it was great to see Michael Keaton again...especially a funny Michael Keaton. Where has this guy been!?!

The dog days of summer are here, so go see it. All right, that's it for me, gang. I gotta start work...

True...out!