Smart People

I decided to go check out of a flick while I get over this stupid cold and chose Smart People. I went knowing very little except that Sarah Jessica Parker was one of the stars. A good friend of mine likes to go into a movie knowing nothing about the plot. Me: "Hey, Rox, wanna go see ___?" Rox: "Who's in it?" Me: "So and So and that other guy from that T.V. show, and it's about..." Rox: "Don't tell me! Let's just go." I felt a little like her this afternoon.

Written by Mark Poirier and directed by Noam Murro. the film is about an aging widowed college professor named, Lawrence Wetherhold (Dennis Quaid) who is pretty unhappy in his life. He is a professor wishing to be the head of the department, but doesn't seem to enjoy teaching, doesn't remember any of his students and has a book rejected over and over by publishers. He lives alone with his overly responsible, Republican teenage daughter, Vanessa (Ellen Page).


After an accident which renders him unable to drive, Lawrence asks his irresponsible, unemployed loafer brother, Chuck (Thomas Haden Church), to live with him to help the family out. He also discovers an old student of his who had a huge crush on him, his doctor, Janet Hartigan (Sarah Jessica Parker). Chuck helps shakes things up in the Wetherhold household and even gets uptight Vanessa to loosen up a bit, since she has taken the role of the caretaker a little too seriously after her mother's death. Lawrence begins dating Janet, but is pretty rusty at dealing with women.


It wasn't a terrible film. I felt like it was sort of trying to be like Little Miss Sunshine with its quirky, depressed, low key characters and their transformation arcs. I couldn't get lost in it, though. I love Sarah Jessica Parker normally, being a big Sex and the City fan, but it seemed like she phoned this one in. I realize the atmosphere was supposed to be low key and slow moving, but...come on. Page, Haden Church and Quaid were good, though, in an otherwise boring film. In all honestly, I can't even find or remember a good quote from the film to leave you with, so I'll just say......

More ramblings to come.......

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I have been looking forward to seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for awhile now. If you're like me, you grew up watching Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (with the oft-parodied opening sequence), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This Indiana Jones flick comes 19 years after the last one with a lot of hype to live up to.

Directed by Steven Spielberg and co-written by George Lucas, the film picks up with Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) during the early 1950s. Indy is brought back into action when he is persuaded by the Russian antagonists headed by head, bad KGB bitch, Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) to help them find a crystal skull. He is aided by a young man named Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) who asks for his help on behalf of an old, archaeologist friend. Karen Allen also reprises her role as Marion Ravenwood from the first Indy movie. I don't want to give away too much more of the plot.


This has a bit of a different feel than the other Indy movies, because the previous three took place during the 1930s with the Nazis being the antagonists, with the exception of Temple of Doom. This film takes place during the Cold War during the height of the arms race, so it still has the Indy feel with a bit more modernization. The other Indy movies also dealt with biblical type mythology and ancient tribal rituals with the sought after articles being the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant. The sought after article and material dealt with in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is also new and different, but I won't say anything more so as not to spoil it.


Everybody was great, I thought. I know there was a lot of talk about the new Indy movie and jokes about him being in a walker and such, comparable to Robert Carradine in what my friend calls Kung Fu: The Arthritis Continues. I loved that they brought Karen Allen back rather than find the aging Indy a romantic interest 25 years younger like a lot of films do (Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones, anyone?). Shia LaBeouf was a great addition, too, and he is growing into one hot piece. He's gone from the dorky, but funny kid, Louis Stevens in the Disney series, Even Stevens, to the next up and coming big screen heart throb. His first appearance in the film has him looking like Marlon Brando in The Wild One. Cate Blanchett and Harrison Ford rocked as usual.


Overall, I enjoyed it. The special effects and stunts were awesome and it was action packed. I had a discussion about the film last week with someone who voiced their concerns about a "Star Wars level fuck up", in reference to what loyal Star Wars fans considered the immense let down of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. I can't say for sure how rabid fans of the first three Indiana Jones movies will feel about this one, but overall I'm hearing from people, "It wasn't quite what I expected from an Indiana Jones movie, but I liked it". I concur.

From two different parts of the film when Mutt views Indiana Jones as a "teacher".....

Mutt: You know, for an old guy, you ain't too bad in a fight. What are you....80?
and again after some classic Indy stunt work....
Mutt: You're a teacher??
Indiana Jones: Part time.

More ramblings to come.....

Comic Relief: The Greatest...and the Latest

I recently discovered that my contact email for my blog was on an account I had cancelled last September. Apologies if you've tried to contact me and gotten no response. So anyway, I was in Walmart last night not really looking to buy a new DVD, just browsing, when I came across the Comic Relief: The Greatest...and the Latest two disc DVD. I snatched it up immediately because I have fond memories of watching the first three Comic Reliefs with my family.

Disc 1 has a hodge podge of clips from the first Comic Relief in 1986 and other Comic Relief specials through the years. Remember when Arsenio still had a show? Remember when Bob Saget was still on T.V.? Remember when Elayne Boosler was funny? Ya, me neither. Just kidding, sorta, but if you do and if you're a comedy fan like moi, you'll enjoy lots of good earlier stuff from Dennis Miller, Richard Lewis, Penn and Teller, Paul Reiser, Rosie O'Donnell, Garry Shandling, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Kathy Griffin, and Dana Carvey's infamous "Chopping Broccoli" song.

The second disc is the Comic Relief 2006 special for Hurricane Katrina. Appearances by Ray Romano, Rosie O'Donnell, Susie Essman, D.L. Hughley, Dane Cook, Bill Maher, Sarah Silverman, Lewis Black and more. The special features on disc 2 contain very moving stories about the devastation created by Hurricane Katrina.

The DVD is a must have for the stand up lover. If you are a stand up freak like I am, you might find some of the material a little deja vu, like Chappelle's bit on black people being bad bargaining chips for terrorists and Ray Romano's Vegas bit for a few examples. I've seen and heard those done at least three other places. A word of warning though, there is a TON of f bombs and sexually inappropriate humour. I happen to really enjoy these things, but it's not for the whole family. Also, in the Katrina Relief special there is a lot of Bush and Republican bashing, so if you happen to be right wing or don't like that kind of humour, it might not be for you. I happen to love both discs.

It's hard to choose one quote with all the great one liners, but here it is, from Disc 1....Chris Rock on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinski scandal......

Chris Rock: "He's a married man, he's supposed to lie under oath...what do you fear more; a God you can't see or a wife you can? God don't make you sleep on the couch. God don't hold back the pussy for fuckin' six months. We got a forgiving God, but wives don't forget shit."

More ramblings to come......

Quickie Reviews: Now Playing at the Cheap Theater

The Bank Job
I saw this a few months ago when it first came out and really enjoyed it. Loosely based on actual events, the film is about the biggest bank heist in England's history. However, much more was going on behind the scenes than the bank robbers knew about. Starring that big slice of man hunk, Jason Statham and set in London in 1971, the film is an engaging drama/thriller with plenty of action and suspense.

Horton Hears a Who!
The kids really wanted to see this one when it first came out and I went expecting a cute, slightly amusing retelling of Dr. Seuss' classic story that would be more fun for the kids than the grownups. I was pleasantly surprised. Voiced by Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell, Carol Burnett, Will Arnett, Seth Rogen and more, the film is very funny to both children and adults alike. It is a better adapation of Seuss' stories than the big Hollywood productions that have come out in recent years. I would definitely see it again.


Run Fatboy Run
I got a chance to catch this at a matinee last week. Starring Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton and Hank Azaria, the film is also directed by David Schwimmer. Pegg is Dennis, a man who left his pregnant fiancee (Newton) at the altar. Fast forward five years later when she begins dating Whit (Azaria) and Dennis decides he's going to win her back by running a marathon. It wasn't bad, but I didn't really get into it until halfway into the film. I really enjoyed Pegg in Hot Fuzz and he's pretty cute as a doting father. All in all, not too bad.


Drillbit Taylor
Produced by Judd Apatow and gang, directed by Steven Brill and starring Owen Wilson, the film is about three young kids tormented by two older bullies. They enlist the help of Drillbit Taylor (Wilson) to learn how to deal with the bullies. I didn't enjoy this film very much and it was only slightly amusing at times. It was an interesting premise and I generally enjoy Wilson's work, but it just didn't come together for some reason. It was interesting seeing Josh Peck (from the Nickelodeon series, Drake & Josh) as one of the evil bullies, which is a complete 180 from the sweet goofball he was on Drake & Josh. I wouldn't rush out to see this one.

More ramblings to come......

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I've been wanting to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall since it came out and finally got a chance to last night. I also wanted to see Baby Mama, but my friend heard from other people that it sucked, so we went to see this instead. One of the reasons why I had wanted to see this was because I loved Jason Segel in Freaks and Geeks.

Produced by Judd Apatow (who, except for a couple of misses is pretty much Midas right now), the film is Nicholas Stoller's directorial debut and is written by the film's star Jason Segel. Segel is Peter Bretter, an unhappy, slacker t.v. show composer, who is dumped by his famous television star girlfriend Sarah Marshall (the lovely Kristen Bell). After wallowing at home for three weeks, he decides to go to Hawaii for a vacay hoping to take his mind off of her when he bumps into her and her new famous rock star boyfriend, Aldous Snow (Russell Brand) and finds they are both staying at the same resort.


Peter is still in his funk when the resort staff, hearing about his situation, befriend him and try to keep him busy and his mind off of Sarah. One of the people who helps him do that is the friendly, hospitable and drop dead gorgeous front desk clerk, Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis). The other staff who helps Peter includes the burnt out surfing instructor, Chuck (Paul Rudd), the hilarious bartender, Dwayne (Davon McDonald) and Matthew, the waiter (Jonah Hill), who actually doesn't help Peter out so much as he does fawn all over Aldous.


I loved this movie and thought it was hilarious. I'm always up for a flick where someone has their heart shattered and has to navigate the waters while they are recovering. Segel is such a lovable loser and awfully brave for agreeing to the naked scenes. This movie will definitely have people asking, "why isn't Mila Kunis in more films?". I'm not familiar with Russell Brand, but apparently he is a comedian of some sort in England. I found him to be super funny as the male bimbo rock star Aldous. Paul Rudd was also hilarious, as well as the bartender, Dwayne, who I am shocked to see only has a few teeny credits on his imdb page, because he is sooo funny. Bill Hader was good as Peter's stepbrother/friend who tries to help him out at home and over the webcam and phone while he is in Hawaii.


There is a lot of sex and vulgar humour, so if that isn't your bag, you might want to skip it. I find with Apatow, he's a little hit or miss with me. I LOVED The 40 Year Old Virgin and Superbad, but didn't care so much for Knocked Up, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story or Drillbit Taylor. This was definitely a hit with me and wasn't totally predictable. I can also see it being on Budget Travel Magazine's Movie Quest list, the movies the magazine picks as most travel inspiring films. Hawaii is definitely a character in this film and makes me want to hop over there to check out the natural beauty and learn to surf. Sooo hard picking out a quote for this one because there were so many great one liners, but I will go with the part where Chuck is giving Peter a surfing lesson while they have a philosophical talk about life........

Chuck: When life gives you lemons, just say 'Fuck the lemons,' and bail.

More ramblings to come.....