Film: I Love You, Man

STARRING: Paul Rudd (Knocked Up, Role Models); Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother)
DIRECTOR: John Hamburg (Along Came Polly, Undeclared)
WRITERS: John Hamburg (Meet the Parents, Zoolander) & Larry Levin (Dr. Doolittle, Dr. Dolittle 2)
PLOT: Friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his upcoming wedding.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have amazing chemistry! These guys play so well off each other, you can tell that they are good friends when the camera stops rolling. I Love You, Man is definitely a guy movie, and these two actors are completely relatable even when they do goofy things. Just check out thei air guitar and 'slapping the bass'.
4 I often complain when actors improvise too much in a film at the expense of the plot for some bizarre, random laughs. However, Paul Rudd’s improv-ed lines in this movie are nothing short of amazing. Rudd’s Peter Klaven wants to sound cool when hanging up a phone, leaving a message or giving a nickname and every single mumbled word out of his mouth is completely, hysterically awkward. I don’t know how you would write some of that dialogue, so kudos to Rudd for making any sign off cooler by comparison.
4 I admit I have a bias when reviewing this movie. I am getting married on Sunday, so watching a film about a guy picking a best man seemed very appropriate. I never said I was objective when I review films.
4 I Love You, Man has a fun supporting cast, especially the work of Jon Favreau and Andy Samburg. Favreau (Swingers, Daredevil) plays a jerk of a husband who is forced to spend time with Peter. His animosity towards Peter is great fun. Samburg (SNL) does a nice job playing the little brother who gives much needed advice. Good stuff. Also Rashida Jones (The Office) does a very fine job playing Peter's finacee. I didn't find her to be the stereotypical girlfriend.
4 Like many of the comedies today, this one is also a tad too long. Twenty minutes shorter would have made this movie so much better. Comedy is supposed to be fast. I don’t know why directors and writers insist on dragging the humour out. Oh well.

RECOMMENDATION
Wait for the DVD
(Nothing really cinematic about it)

COMING SOON
Maybe Duplicity

Film: Watchmen

STARRING: Billy Crudup (Almost Famous); Jackie Earle Haley (Little Children); Patrick Wilson (Lakeview Terrace); Malin Akerman (Heartbreak Kid)
DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder (300)
WRITERS: David Hayter (X-Men, X2) & Alex Tse (newcomer)
PLOT: When an ex-superhero is murdered, one of his colleagues begins an investigation but finds something far worse is going on.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS
4 Beautifully shot. But then again, I expected that from the guy who brought us 300. The camera moves around seamlessly and perfectly captures the darkness that surrounds these gritty superheroes. Of course they also focus on the violence, which at times is pretty extreme. But then again, it’s the 300 guy.
4 Pretty sweet soundtrack. The songs seem to counterbalance what is being seen on the screen. Nat King Cole’s 'Unforgettable' during an extremely violent brawl? Nice. Also the opening credits done to Bob Dylan’s 'The Times They Are a Changin’' is masterful and fun.
4 The story is fascinating but a little too over ambitious. There is a lot of plot and backstory to go through. Clocking in at two hours and forty-five minutes, it’s a little hard to sit through that many character studies. But I guess if they wanted to stick to its graphic novel source, it’s justified. I haven’t read it. Kinda want to. But I heard the movie changed the ending. Typical.
4 Costumes and make-up were great with the exception of President Nixon. The superhero outfits are wonderfully elaborate, Rorschach constantly changing mask is fantastic but the nose job and aging they give to Nixon looks so fake. Almost like a rubber mask. It’s too bad we see this hideous mug near the beginning of the film.
4 Too much penis! This is the second movie in a row where I’ve had to complain about the excess of nudity. I know in the graphic novel, Dr. Manhattan is nude most of the time, but we don’t need to see it on the screen for that long. And speaking of long. C’mon. How much did Crudup pay to have that thing CG’d? The graphic novel is much more tasteful. Imagine that.

RECOMMENDATION
Wait for the DVD
(It’s really long.)

COMING SOON
I Love You, Man.