As I've stated before, I'm not the
biggest Seth Rogen fan. Some of his films are ones that didn't seem
to fit in with me, with most of it being either stoner jokes or
anything like that. But some films that have been released since this
decade have been pretty funny, and earlier this year, I loved
“Neighbors,” which was a riot.
This brings us to “The Interview,”
the second film that he and his friend, Evan Goldberg, wrote and
directed. What caught my curiosity the most, was the controversy
surrounding this film. I mean, I expected there to be controversy
since it's a film about two guys killing Kim Jung Un, but this went
WAY beyond what I thought it was going to be. With Sony's recent hackings,
it lead to the pulling of the film's release, especially since most
mainstream theater chains refused to show it. However, it's Christmas
Day as I'm writing this, and the film has been given the theatrical
release...in limited theaters, that is. The film is available online,
with sites like YouTube and Google Play showing them, so you have the
opportunity to see it for yourselves.
So, what DID I think of this film
where Seth Rogen and James Franco attempt to assassinate the leader
of North Korea? Well, I thought it was enjoyable. It's not as good as, say “This is the End” or “Neighbors” though, but I do
enjoy it nonetheless.
In this film, James Franco plays Dave
Skylark, a talk show host who is given the opportunity to interview
Kim Jung Un, who happens to be a fan of his show. He and his
producer/friend, Aaron Rapoport, are then picked up by the CIA to
assassinate him, by giving him a lethal dose of poison, but secretly
enough that no one would notice at all. And if you saw the trailers
for this film, you would know that things don't quite go as planned,
but that's for you guys to see the movie.
What really worked in this film is the
chemistry between Franco and Rogen. You do buy their friendship
together, and they do have some memorable moments between one
another. With Rogen's straight-man character working off of Franco's
idiot persona, which we've seen before when they did “Pineapple
Express.” Just seeing Franco pull some dumbass move and seeing
Rogen's reaction to it, or vice versa, is hilarious almost every
time. I also love how they take more shots at the media than they do
with North Korea. They talk about topics like Eminem being gay, Rob
Lowe being bald, all that stuff that only people at TMZ could give a
shit about...seriously, fuck TMZ.
The only problems I do have with the
film are with the 2nd act in the film. It started to run
off a bit slow, there weren't that many jokes that clicked in with
me, and I felt like somethings could have been cut out. If you
trimmed down the 2nd act a bit, it would have made the
film an easy hour and forty-minutes, which is fine. But, by the time
the 3rd act rolled around, with the said interview, it got
to be funny again. It's just so batshit-insane how much could go
right, and how much could go wrong at the same time, all because
these two incompetent guys who do interviews on bottom of the barrel
topics.
Overall, “The Interview” is a film
that's worth checking out. It's not quite as funny as it could have
gotten, but with what we're given, it's not too bad. If you're
interested, it's just a click away at your computer. But if you're
that eager to find a theater that DOES play the film, then good luck
finding one.
And with that said, Happy Holidays
everybody! But if you've got a problem with “Happy Holidays,”
then Happy Shut-the-fuck-up!
During his years as one of the “Bad
Boys of SNL,” Chris Rock has gained recognition as one of the
funniest comedians of the past twenty years. Granted, he's done some
films that aren't that great, as well as give an offensive comment on
voice acting at the Oscars, but that's beside the point. Within the
past decade, he's had a couple films that he's taken part as writer
and director. “Head of State,” “I Think I Love My Life,” and
his newest film, “Top Five.”
In this film, Rock plays Andre Allen,
a talented comedian and actor, who has recently gone off the deep
edge and trying to revitalize himself. He does this by getting
married on Bravo TV, giving up alcohol all together, and turn towards
drama by starring in a film about the Haitian Revolution. The problem
is, people are more obsessed with him doing comedy than drama, and
with him doing another film in a series, about a cop in a bear suit
called “Hammy,” that he hates doing. And he confesses all of the
troubles to a reporter, Chelsea Brown, and many other things about
his life that he wants to put behind.
This is a film that's put in the
category of “Attack on Hollywood,” where you have a film that
reveals the flaws of Hollywood that people keep talking about, and it
does it well. It brings up how a lot of people don't want actors to
change their direction, always wanting the same crap over and over
again, and that trying to change your image won't automatically sync
in with the public. If anything, this is Chris Rock's best film and
performance, because he's essentially playing a parody of himself and
people who are in that circle like him. While Rock is very funny in
the film, he does show he's got a good dramatic side to him, when he
finds out a secret about Chelsea, which I won't spoil.
Rosario Dawson as Chelsea does a great
job in the film. She manages to pull off the reporter character with
something more to her, very nicely, and she too manages to get some
good laughs here and there. I love the story they have with her
boyfriend in the film, because it's so hilariously off putting, that
it's not worth spoiling. Throughout the film, it focuses on Rock
being interviewed by Dawson, and just seeing him finally lose his
shit is absolutely priceless. We also have appearances from Andre's
friends and family, some consisting of other comedians like Tracy
Morgan, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Pharoah, DMX, and Whoopi
Goldberg, which are funny cameos in that regard.
If I had any complaints, it's that the
film did have a few parts that were a bit vulgar. There were about a
couple sex scenes that went a bit too far, and could have been toned
down a lot or just left to the imagination. Needless to say, this is
a film you do NOT want to watch with your parents or sensitive family members. I also didn't care
that much about the fiancee, played by Gabrielle Union. We don't
really get to know her that much, and she just acts like an annoying
bitch you'd see on any of those “Real Housewives” shows. I know
that's kind of the intention, since the wedding is broadcast on
Bravo, the channel that SHOWS them, but that still doesn't make it
good.
Aside from that, the film is pretty
easy going, and is a good watch. If you're a Chris Rock fan, I highly
recommend it. The writing's good, the direction is good, the acting
is excellent, and it has a lot of funny moments in it. Check it out
and see what you think.
This December, we have two films that
have more connections to one another than you think. Those films are
“Annie” and “Into the Woods.” The connections between these
two films is as follows: they're both films based on Broadway
musicals, they're both coming out December of 2014, they each have a
film adaptation directed by Rob Marshall and Disney, and they both
involved Bernadette Peters at one point or another.
The original musical “Annie,” was
based on the “Little Orphan Annie” comics by Harold Gray. It
tells the story of an orphan girl, living under the care of the mean
and grouchy Miss Hannigan. When she is taking under the care of a
rich wealthy man, Oliver Warbucks, they soon become more fond of one
another, making Mr. Warbucks a more compassionate man than he was
before.
This new film however, I had severe
doubt about, because of three reasons:
#1: The film is a modern day, hip-hop,
auto-tuned revamp of the musical, which is a style of music I'm not
into. Auto-tune, especially, is something that I cannot stand,
because it tries to make something that's already fine on its own
sound less credible. It's just like dub-step, I just don't get the
appeal of it.
#2: Cameron Diaz was in the cast as
Miss Hannigan. As of late, Cameron Diaz has really been losing so
much respect from me. These past years, she's always been doing bad
film after bad film. Hell, this year alone she's had two films
released earlier this year, “The Other Woman” and “Sex Tape,”
and they were both terrible. So the chances of her being good in this
movie were growing slimmer and slimmer.
#3: I never liked “Annie” to begin with. “Annie” has always been one of my least favorite musicals
with unlikable songs, annoying characters, and very slow pacing. The
1982 film adaptation was much like that, only it was done much worse.
In fact, the only good thing about that version were the villains
played by Carol Bernette, Tim Curry, and Bernadette Peters.
Everything else in the film was garbage, and deserves it's Razzie
award and nominations.
Needless to say, I thought the new
film was going to suck, especially since this film was getting some
very harsh reception. So after viewing it, I can definitely see why
it's hated so.
Like I said, most of the songs are
either ones that suck, like “It's the Hard Knock Life,” “Maybe,”
and “Easy Street,” or they're done auto-tuned, like “I Don't
Need Anything But You,” and the songs written for the movie like “The
City is Yours” and “Who Am I?” Surprisingly enough, the only
songs that get auto-tuned are the ones that have Jamie Foxx singing. Jamie Foxx is already a great singer, so
what's the point? Not only that, but with the way they incorporated
the songs into the film was really distracting. Every time someone
started to go into song, it's as if the film is reminding you that
it's a musical. It wouldn't be so bad if the film didn't have the
songs spread apart so far, but here it gets annoying.
I also didn't really care about Bobby
Cannavale's character. It's just the stock greedy jerk, who you could
have had anybody play, and it wouldn't have made a difference. What
also bugged me the most were the fake parents, who appear near the
end. Like I said, the only thing I liked about the original was Tim
Curry and Bernadette Peters, who played the fake parents. They also
were Miss Hannigan's brother and sister-in-law, and the reason they
did it was because they were con-artists. Not only that, but it was
Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters, who made it enjoyable, and you
decide to replace them with that chick from “Death Proof” and the
cop from “The Cape?” Really?
Aside from all of that, what was good
about the movie? Well, right off the bat, Quvenzhane Wallis as Annie
was actually pretty good. Unlike Aileen Quinn in the original film,
Wallis actually knows how to act in a movie, and she's actually not
that bad as a singer, when she performs “Tomorrow” and
“Opportunity,” which are two of the only good songs in the movie.
She's positive, she's a smart talker, and you do feel sympathetic for
her in her dire moments. Originally, Will Smith, who produced the
film along with his wife and Jay-Z, wanted his daughter, Willow, to
play the role of Annie. However, after Quvenzhane Wallis was
nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for “Beasts of the
Southern Wild,” Wallis was cast later that June. This was a good
choice, because I'm really starting to get tired of Smith forcing his
kids on us, because it never turns out good.
Jamie Foxx also does a good job in the
film, playing Will Stacks. Despite his songs not turning out so good,
he does give a likable performance, and he has some pretty good
delivery with the jokes they do with him. The one major thing I love
about this film that surpasses any other incarnation of “Annie,”
is the relationship between the two main characters. Wallis and Foxx
have brilliantly chemistry together, working out their negatives and
helping them improve upon it, with Annie helping Stacks work on being
together with other people more often, and Foxx helping Annie with
her reading problem. I'm one of the few people who doesn't mind the
use of cliches and predictability, as long as I'm invested enough in
the characters that it doesn't bother me. This is one of those films
that does it for me.
Rose Byrne plays Grace Farrell,
Stacks' assistant and secretary, and she too gives a good
performance. Her scenes with either of the two are enjoyable, ranging
from funny to very touching, especially when she waits with Annie at
the corner of a shop her parents left her by. Byrne is a great
comedic performer, and the song “I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here”
shows that she too is a good singer. While her romance with Jamie
Foxx was a bit short, I never thought it was underdeveloped. She has
worked under Stacks for quite a while, so you could guess that
they've had affection for one another for a while, but that he's been mostly focusing
on work than anything. But you know what was the most surprising
thing about this film? I LIKED CAMERON DIAZ! Yes, I actually thought
she did a good job in this. Granted, she's no Carol Burnett, but
she's good nonetheless. She has good comedic timing in the film,
more so than what they show us in the trailer. I liked how they joke about her character almost being apart of “Hootie and the
Blowfish,” but that made me laugh at how ridiculous that sounded.
Not to mention, her rendition of “Little Girls” wasn't too bad
actually. While I would have liked to see more done with it, aside
from her going around her apartment, I didn't mind with what they did
in it.
It's really interesting, because this
film feels like a reverse “Annie,” where we originally had a
terrible movie with good villains, and then have a good movie with
mediocre villains. And yes, you heard me right, I do like this movie.
For me, this is one of those cases where Hollywood does a remake
right, turning a terrible film into a good one. Yeah, the villains
weren't as good as before, but it's the main focus with Annie and Stacks
that saves it. I loved seeing these two interact with one another,
and giving themselves something that the other didn't have. I'll
never forget the touching moment they have before they say their
goodbyes, which was the best acted part of the movie. There's no
music, there are no tears, it's just the atmosphere between them.
This film was directed by Will Gluck,
who is best known for directing “Easy A” and “Friends With
Benefits.” He is a good director, and he has proven to have good
comedic work, and it's nice to know that he's flexible of doing any
kind of comedy, whether it'd be raunchy or family oriented. Is it his
best film? No, far from it. Like I said, the parts where the songs
are put in are too separate from each other, some of which I don't
like, and the villains aren't as good as the original. But with
the great chemistry between Wallis, Foxx, Byrne, and the acting from
supporting characters like the orphans, the body guard, the social
security agent, and the corner-store clerk overshadow those moments.
Overall, “Annie” is a film that I
found surprisingly enjoyable. It's charming, it's got some good
moments, and the acting is pretty good. It's not a perfect film, but
it's no where near terrible. And at least it's a better film Broadway
film than shit like “Mamma Mia." If you're
a fan of “Annie,” I don't know if you would like it or not. Go in
open minded, and see what you think.
While 2014 hasn't been the best of
years, that's not to say there hasn't been some pretty damn good films that
came out this year, and a lot of music related films. “Begin
Again,” “Jersey Boys,” “Get On Up,” they were films about
musicians trying to get up on their feet and into the eyes of the
public, and succeeding greatly. However, neither of those films, nor
any other film this entire year was about as good or as intense as the film I'm
talking about today. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...“Whiplash.”
“Whiplash” tells the story of
Andrew Neyman, a college freshman, who wants to be among one of the
next great drummers in history. When he's called to join Terrance
Fletcher's class, which he's heard is where the music talent comes
from at the college, he soon finds out that Fletcher is one of the
most ruthless and hardcore people you could ever meet.
The film is a psychological battle
between Andrew and Fletcher, as you have a student who self-trained
himself to drum, now being taught by a guy who pushes you far past
your limit, to unleash true greatness, but in the harshest way
possible. Everyone has had that boss or teacher that is extremely hard on you, but there is always a
reasoning behind such actions. This film perfectly shows that, and it
is without a doubt the most intense, nail-biting, experience I've had
in a movie theater all year. Not even the big blockbusters that I've
seen this summer had this much tension as “Whiplash” did.
Miles Teller as Andrew Neyman, what
can I say? This guy is such a damn good actor, and this performance
is without a doubt his best. He has
said on occasion that he learned to play the drums long before he
started acting, and boy does he put that to the test. I know that
they say he had doubles for some shots, but with how the film was
constructed, I didn't really care about that. Much like with
“Nightcrawler,” I didn't see Miles Teller; all I saw in the film
was Andrew Neyman, putting his sweat, tears, and blood, literally all
of that, into his drumming performances. If you still have doubt
about Miles Teller playing Reed Richards in the new “Fantastic
Four” or Dan Aykroyd in the upcoming Belushi biopic, just watch
this performance and reconsider that. Those two films have a great
actor in their hands, and anybody who says otherwise can go fuck
themselves. Hell, not even getting hit by a car stops this guy's
determination. It really is a tough competition this year, because if
it wasn't for all of these great performances coming out this year, I
would definitely want Teller to be nominated for Best Actor.
However, if there is one Oscar choice
that I agree with everyone on, it's J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting
Actor as Terrance Fletcher. For those of you who are still wishing
for J.K. Simmons to reprise his role of J. Jonah Jameson in any
future Spiderman films, your wish is partially granted with
“Whiplash.” Fletcher is as if Jameson went full on Gunnery
Sergeant Hartman, dishing out insults that are really funny, but you
feel bad for it because of how hardcore it is. Simmons is already
nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, so I'm hoping
he's gets that AND the Oscar as well.
I still hold to how this intense the
movie is. The ending is one of the most perfect endings to any
movie I've seen in the past decade. It was rising and rising in it's
peak, and it ends at the right point where it needs to. No bullshit,
just perfection. I was in an audience of about four or five people,
and I still stood up and applauded for this movie, because it was
THAT satisfying of an ending. Not only do I wish a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Simmons, but I also want a Best Editing and Best Picture
nomination.
Overall, “Whiplash” was just fantastic to watch! I loved this movie from start to finish, and I hope to
buy it when it comes out on blu-ray. The acting was great, the direction
was great, the editing was great, it's a great film! If AMC theaters
does a Best Picture marathon, I hope this film will be on the list.
If it does, check it out as soon as you can.
Growing up in the early 2000's, one of
the most exciting things about coming home from school was gearing up
for Toonami on Cartoon Network, back when it had the afternoon block.
It introduced me to popular anime at the time, like “Sailor Moon,”
“Gundam,” “Outlaw Star,” “Yu Yu Hakusho,” and of course,
“Dragon Ball.” I've always loved the “Dragon Ball” franchise,
and it always feels nostalgic whenever I revisit the series from time
to time, even if it does seem a bit long at times but that's mostly
on “DBZ's” part.
With how action packed and popular
“DBZ” had gotten, there have been movies made to appeal to the
fans of the series, some of them ranged from good, to okay, but they
weren't really canon with the main story itself. That however has
changed, as we were given the first “Dragon Ball Z” movie to be
both canon with the series AND have Akira Toriyama involved with it.
And seeing how it's the 30th anniversary of “Dragon
Ball,” I now bring to you, my review of “Dragon Ball Z: Battle of
Gods.”
After waking from his deep slumber,
Beerus the Destroyer, a god of destruction, sets his eyes on
approaching the legendary Super Saiyan God. He believes that Goku is
that legendary one, since he was the first to achieve Super Saiyan
and had defeated Frieza. However, when he finds that Goku isn't the
deity, he goes to Earth to see if Vegeta is the chosen one. Now Goku
has to find out the secrets of the Super Saiyan God, all the while
Vegeta tries to keep Beerus calm and relaxed so he doesn't destory
the Earth.
Just to jump to conclusions, I fucking
loved this movie! Out of all the theater experiences I've had this
year, this and “Guardians of the Galaxy” were the most fun! The
animation is great to look at, the action scenes are some of the best
I've seen animated in the franchise, and...oh my god, it's just a
complete nostalgia trip for me! I can die happy, knowing that I got
to see this epic event in the theater with other fans like me. Thank
you, Fathom Events, for allowing this to happen. It was said that the
reason Akira Toriyama wanted to make this film happen, was to fight
back at the horrendous pile of shit that was “Dragon Ball
Evolution,” which I still hold for being the biggest middle finger
a film could possibly give. Not only that, but since it takes place
after the Majin Buu incident, I can only assume it's a bit of an
attack on “GT,” which...wasn't bad, but not really that great.
And from what I hear, this film's success has allowed for the
approval of new “DBZ” movies to follow this one. All I can say
is...I'M SO HAPPY!
All the characters we've come to love
are in this film. Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, King Kai, Krillin, Gohan,
everyone's there, so if you know the series, you know how these
characters are. With that said, the only characters I'll be going
into depth with are Beerus and his teacher, Whis. Beerus the
Destroyer is actually a pretty enjoyable villain, and one of the
funnier ones in a while. He doesn't destroy because he wants control
over the universe, he just does it because it's what he does for a
living, hence the name “the Destroyer.” His interactions with all
the characters are enjoyable, and with the kind of attitude he has,
only tactics like Vegeta singing and dancing could distract him from
destroying the Earth over a bullet. And yes, you read that
right...Vegeta does that, in this movie, and it's really funny. Not
to mention, Jason Douglas does a great job voicing the character,
making it fitting for the kind of character in the film.
Whis on the other hand, is more calm
and well focused than Beerus, as he doesn't feel the need to destroy
as much as Beerus does. In fact, most of the time he just feels like
taste testing most of the food on Earth, which also has some good
moments too. And Ian Sinclair, who does the English voice of Brook in
“One Piece,” really lets the tone settle in with him throughout
the film.
While the film was excellent, I do
have one little nitpick that I want to address: How did King Kai get
his planet back? Seriously, it was blown up by Cell, and he's been
living with the other Kais since then. How'd he get it back?
Somebody answer me!
Aside from that, not much else can be
said. If you're a “Dragon Ball” fan, you will have a blast with
this movie. It's action packed, it's gorgeously animated, it's funny,
it's just a fresh and tasty treat to the fan base. Happy 30th
anniversary, to Goku and his friends.
