Song of the day: “Cobrastyle” by The Teddybears Sthlm & Mad Cobra

Its been a busy set of weeks, with the semester starting up and me playing catchup on a number of fronts so…once again my movies bunched up. Here is a few reviews tossed up for you, a bit shorter than usual but hopefully they will get the point across. Expect another load soon. Thanks for reading!
-Fco.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Director: David Fincher
Genre: Drama/Fantasy/Mystery/Drama
Year: 2008

Props to a former student of mine for describing it best: A lifelong movie that takes a lifetime to tell (that would be you Kim!). Clocking in at 2 hours and 48 minutes, this film is most definitely long, which your butts are gonna feel, though perhaps not as bad as if you were watching the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies. In fact, thankfully, this film is good enough and interesting enough to really make you overlook the length due to the way the content grips.

Based on the book written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and directed by one of the most solid directors of our time (David Fincher; Zodiac, Fight Club, Se7en), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button tells the story of Benjamin (Brad Pitt), a child born old who happens to age backwards. His childhood is wrinkly and pained, with cataracts in his eyes and arthritis in his joints and as the world around him ages, he goes the other way. It would seem ideal, one would think, but as the story points out, ‘the grass is always greener’ and truly a life well lived is not really determined by which direction the minutes are rolling but rather, how those moments are lived.

With a very solid cast this movie manages to get the brain gears rolling in contemplation of the choices one makes in their lives. It presents us with a series of questions and problems that seem to put into perspective the importance of every moment shared and every moment lived. It brings up numerous issues and paired with very good cinematography and over-achieving computer effects (not perfect but convincing enough), this results in a film that is emotional, humorous, heart warming and above all thought provoking. This is effectively a romance with a good deal of fantasy and mystery to keep most audiences engaged. This film may not be on my top five films of 2008, but top ten most likely, definitely top fifteen. In any case, absolutely worth the watch.

Rating:
Comments: It is a long film and does deal with some adult situations, there is brief sexuality, mild language and mild nudity.
Quote: Benjamin Button: My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances. While everyone else was agin’, I was gettin’ younger… all alone.

Tropic Thunder

Director: Ben Stiller
Genre: Action/Adventure/Comedy/War
Year: 2008

Oh man, this is a Ben Stiller film and if you have seen one, you know what to expect from the others. They are silly, they are goofy and they are usually pretty dang funny. This film is no exception, even if at times the jokes feel a bit tired, the seem to hit some pretty good notes along the way to keep things fresh and entertaining.

The story is predictable, unfortunately, but fun enough. It deals with what is supposed to be the most expensive Vietnam film ever made…a film where everything seems to be going wrong, the director has lost control, the budget is leaking like a geyser, the cast is full of prima donnas and things are looking to bomb terribly. No pun intended. So it is the writer of the book ‘Tropic Thunder’ (played by Nick Nolte) who suggests putting the actors out there, live, in real situations and shoot the film guerrilla style, with minimalist scripting. But the director is very quickly out of the picture (in a most unexpected way) and the pressure escalates from there, except that…the cast of the film does not realize it…not right away.

Ben Stiller is Tugg Speedman, playing a type-cast action character that is beginning to see his acting career careen out of control, particularly after attempting to get out of his gun toting role to do an Oscar worthy drama, only to make the mistake of what Kirk Lazarus calls “going full retard” on his role. Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) is a method actor who will submerge himself into his roles and is so serious about his job that when he is asked to play this character, who happens to be black, he goes as far as to submit himself to a pigmentation surgery that makes him permanently black. Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black) is a comedian, a clear jab at Eddie Murphy, in the body of Chris Farley and he is the bleach-blonde character meant to provide much needed humor. Unfortunately his character is not exactly memorable, just like Chris Farley and Eddie Murphy (No, I do -not- find Farley funny and have already have had this debate with many of you, not willing to debate it any more, just accept it). Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) is rapper turned actor — as so many rappers seem to want to do of late — who holds a little secret of his own and actually ends up providing a lot of the better humor in this film. Lastly, the fifth and final member is Damien Cockburn (Steeve Coogan), a scrawny, unlikely soldier who actually turns out to be the only on that really seems to have his head square on his shoulders.

It is these unlikely group of heroes that end up getting into and out of a ridiculously explosive mess with lots of guns and bullets along the way. But truly, it is Downey Jr, Jackson and Tom Cruise (playing a foul mouthed executive producer) who carry the weight of this film. The pacing of the film feels a little inconsistent, staggering at the beginning but solidifying somewhat as it progresses and eventually it does build to an entertaining story.

Rating:
(My rating might be a little lower than that of the average viewer, since I tend to be extremely hard to please when it comes to comedy. I think a more likely rating for the average viewer might be 4 out of 5)
Comments: LANGUAGE!!! Cruise’s character alone will get a sailor blushing. It is very entertaining, yes, but you probably do not want to watch this with your parents (or your kids for that matter).
Quote: Kirk Lazarus: I don’t read the script. The script reads me.

Superbad

Director: Greg Mottola
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2007

Yes, it took me -this- long to watch this film. And yes I am sorry about that, because this film definitely was a good comedy. Straight up Apatow-esque humor and if you have seen any of his films, well you probably know to expect, raunchy, dirty, no holds barred comedy. Unafraid to offend, this movie focuses on Seth and Evan, two best friends that are only trying to salvage their high school legacy and get laid along the way. They are not much to speak off, so when the opportunity presents itself to prove themselves the heroes of the night by providing the festivity’s liquor, they are ready to do all that it takes, in order to score points. That will, of course, involve a number of illegal processes and relying on the nerdy, unpredictable Fogell who becomes better known by the one-name on his fake I.D.: McLovin.

Layering a sturdy buddy film with true to life high school scenarios, believable attitudes, comical acting and strong comedy, this film is one of the better comedies I have seen of late and offers some pretty good, consistent laughs.

Rating:
Comments: Not for kids, vulgar humor, crude language, plenty of profanity, mild nudity, sexual situations, all sorts of underage drinking…not at all an exemplary movie.
Quote: Becca: Your cock is so smooth!
Evan: Your’s would be too… if you were a man.