Film: The Hangover, Part II

GENRE: Comedy
RATING: R for nudity, language & drug use
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 42 minutes
STARRING: Bradley Cooper (Limitless, A-Team) Ed Helms (The Office), Zach Galifianakis (Due Date)
DIRECTOR: Todd Phillips (Due Date, Old School, Hangover)
WRITERS: Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3), Scot Armstrong (Road Trip) & Todd Phillips (Starsky & Hutch, Road Trip, Old School, Due Date)
PLOT: Same “what happened last night” hangover, different location.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 When I see the words “Part II”, I expect a continuation of a story; like “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II”. This is no continuation; this film is a carbon copy of the original. It’s the exact same story with different elements subbed in. Instead of a baby, a monk in a wheelchair. Instead of a precious tiger, we get a precious monkey. The beats are exactly the same. I expected some similarities but come on. It really looked like lazy writing.
2 Despite the similar storyline, the chemistry of the wolf pack remains intact. The three leads do play well off each other which made the movie somewhat bearable.
3 That was a cool skyscraper near the end of the film. It would be cool to have dinner there.
4 The music was much better in their first outing. Songs didn’t have the same punch this time around. I also missed the Dan Band for Stu’s wedding. Maybe they are too famous now.
5 Three words: too much penis.

RECOMMENDATION: DVD if you really liked the first one.
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Tree of Life, Super 8

Film: Thor

GENRE: Action/Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence
RUNTIME: 1 hour and 55 minutes
STARRING: Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Tom Hiddleston (newcomer)
DIRECTOR: Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, As You Like it, Dead Again)
WRITERS: Ashley Miller & Zack Stentz (Fringe, X-Men: First Class)
PLOT: Thor is cast out of Asgard and sent to Earth to learn a little humility. He also finds love along the way.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 I love mythology but knew nothing about the Marvel superhero. I didn’t feel lost at all which is what I was worried most about. Great script and directing.
2 Wonderful acting all around. Chris Hemsworth had a fun swagger and charm as Thor that made you root for him all the more. Tom Hiddleston did a great job as the villainous Loki. Talk about an up and comer.
3 Love the other Marvel references throughout the film. A couple Stark name checks and one of the Avengers makes a cameo about half-way through. Of course the post-credit sequence was intriguing. Can’t wait for Joss Whedon’s Avengers next year!
4 Rene Russo used to be a big star. She was not given much to do this film. Pity.
5 I would have never thought that Kenneth Branagh could pull off an enjoyable, big budget blow ‘em up action flick. But he does with flying colours. I had a lot of fun watching Thor. Having Natalie Portman in it also helped. Just saying.

RECOMMENDATION: Great for big screen fun
UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Hangover, Part II

Film: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

GENRE: Action/Adventure
RATING: PG-13 for violence, sensuality and innuendo
RUNTIME: 2 hour and17 minutes
STARRING: Johnny Depp (Sweeny Todd) Penelope Cruz (Blow), Ian McShane (Deadwood)
DIRECTOR: Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine)
WRITERS: Ted Elliot & Terry Rossio (Pirates 1-3, National Treasure)
PLOT: Jack Sparrow searches for the fountain of youth. Of course, he has to be held prisoner by Blackbeard and his daughter to do so.

FIVE OBSERVATIONS:
1 Say what you will about sequels beating a dead horse, but I still enjoy watching Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. The run, the puzzling looks, the half-drunk accent, it all just works so well together. Way to bring it again Depp!
2 The opening action sequence was fantastic. Not much detectable CG stuff, just some fun running, swinging and jumping.
3 The story was a little too predictable. Not many twists. I would have liked something a little grittier than the usual fare.
4 The ‘bad’ pirates are not all that ruthless. I expect a lot more random killings and unsportsmanlike conduct from my evil pirates. Maybe it’s because this is a Disney film but I wanted a little more from Ian McShane’s Blackbeard.
5 I didn’t miss Orlando Bloom or Kiera Knightley at all. The hot (dentally-challenged) mermaids and the preacher (your Bloom and Knightley love-story) didn’t steal too much focus from the task at hand.

RECOMMENDATION: Fun to see in theatres
UPCOMING REVIEWS: Thor

TV: New Show Teaser

So the networks announced their upcoming schedules this week. I read up on all the new shows and made some snap judgements based on premise and names. I even put all the info on index cards. I know I’m a TV nerd. I thought I would share my findings with you. Of course, because these are based on snap judgements and networks are unpredictable, these are all subject to change come September. But in the meantime, here is what looked interesting to me (in order of excitement).

Dramas
1. Person of Interest (CBS) Thursdays at 9pm
Premise: Presumed dead CIA agent and a mysterious billionaire solve violent crimes
Names: Michael Emerson (Ben on Lost), JJ Abrams (Lost creator), Jonathan Nolan (Dark Knight writer)

2. Ringer (CW) Tuesdays at 9pm
Premise: A woman hides from the mob by posing as her twin sister who is also wanted
Names: Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

3. Terra Nova (FOX) Mondays at 8pm
Premise: A family goes back to prehistoric Earth to save humanity
Names: Jason O’Mara (Sam on Life on Mars), Steven Spielberg (producer)

4. Grimm (NBC) Fridays at 9pm
Premise: Cop learns that he is responsible for rounding up real fairy tale creatures
Names: David Greenwalt (creator of Angel)

5. The Playboy Club (NBC) Mondays at 10pm
Premise: A mixture of Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire.
Names: David Krumholtz (Charlie on Numbers), Brain Grazer (producer)

Comedies
1.Up All Night (NBC) Wednesdays at 8pm
Premise: A couple try to balance career, marriage and a new baby
Names: Will Arnett (Gob on Arrested Development), Christina Applegate (Samantha on Samantha Who?), Maya Rudolph (SNL), Lorne Michaels (SNL creator)

2. How to Be a Gentleman (CBS ) Thursdays at 8:30pm
Premise: A modern day odd couple
Names: Kevin Dillon (Drama on Entourage) Dave Foley (Dave on Newsradio), Rhys Darby (Murray on Flight of the Conchords)

3. Free Agents (NBC) Wednesdays at 8:30pm
Premise: Two PR reps are on the rebound in this workplace comedy
Names: Hank Azaria (Moe on The Simpsons), Anthony Head (Giles on Buffy), John Enbom (Party Down producer)

4. New Girl (FOX) Tuesdays at 9pm
Premise: A girl moves in with three single guys
Names: Zooey Deschanel (Summer in 500 Days of Summer)

5. Suburgatory (ABC) Wednesdays at 8:30pm
Premise: A single father moves his daughty to the suburbs to protect her from the city
Names: Jeremy Sisto (Billy on Six Feet Under), Alan Tudyk (Wash on Firefly)

Midseason
1. Alcatraz (FOX) Drama
Premise: Vanished inmates are reappearing on the mysterious island of Alcatraz
Names: JJ Abrams (Lost creator), Jorge Garcia (Hurley on Lost)

2. Are You There Voldka? It’s Me Chelsea (NBC) Comedy
Premise: The exploits of now talk-show host Chelsea Handler
Names: Laura Prepon (Donna on That 70’s Show), Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately)

3. Napoleon Dynamite (FOX) Animated Comedy
Premise: Continuing stories from the movie
Names: The original film’s entire cast

4. Smash (NBC) Musical Drama
Premise: Following a woman trying to make it on Broadway as Marilyn Monroe.
Names: Debra Messing (Grace on Will & Grace), Steven Spielberg (producer)

5. Apartment 23 (ABC) Comedy
Premise: Female odd couple with her ex-boyfriend James Vanderbeek (playing himself) living next door.
Names: James Vanderbeek (Dawson on Dawson’s Creek) Lots of Modern Family writers

There you go. I’ll try and have a TV wrap up of shows coming soon.

Summer Films 2011

As the summer movie season approaches I often get people asking me what films I’m looking forward to this summer. While each year offers a surprise or two, I’m pretty sure these ten movies are ones that will live up to their hype. It’s weird that August looks so crappy. Here they are in release date order.

1. Thor (May 6)
Kenneth Branagh directs. Natalie Portman & Anthony Hopkins star.
2. Everything Must Go (May 13)
Will Ferrell in a drama like Stranger Than Fiction.
3. Pirates 4: On Stranger Tides (May 20)
Johnny Depp in. Orlando Bloom & Keira Knightley out.
4. The Hangover, Part II (May 26)
The Wolf Pack returns. A weirder location.
5. The Tree of Life (May 27)
Terrence Malick directs. Brad Pitt and stunning visuals.
6. Super 8 (June 10)
JJ Abrams writes/directs. Spielberg produces.
7. Cars 2 (June 24)
Pixar. ‘Nuff said.
8. Larry Crowne (July 1)
Tom Hanks directs & stars . . .with Julia Roberts.
9. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows, Part II (July 15)
Can’t wait for the conclusion.
10. Cowboys and Aliens (July 29)
Indiana Jones & James Bond fight aliens.

What are you looking forward to?