Our Idiot Brother

Our Idiot Brother

Directed by: Jesse Peretz

Written by: David Schisgall and Evgenia Peretz

Plot:

The story of an idealistic man who barges into the lives of his three sisters

Review:

Paul Rudd has done it again, he has starred in another great comedy. This time playing the odd ball, Ned. It is nice to see Paul Rudd play a character outside the box again. He is great as the laid back father figure but his odd ball roles are always the best. I really enjoyed this film which reminded me of last years CYRUS starring John C Reilly and Jonah Hill.

This film must have been a blast to film for Paul Rudd. He got to star and act opposite four beautiful woman who are all very talented. One sister being played by Elizabeth Banks, who is a bossy, self centered person who is too blind to see she likes her neighbor, played by Adam Scott. As small as Adam Scott’s role is he was one of my favorite characters. The second sister is played by Emily Mortimer who is in a dysfunctional marriage with Steve Coogans’ character. They also have a kid which Paul Rudd has a lot screen time with. The last sister is played by Zooey Deschanel who is in a long term lesbian relationship with Rashida Jones’ character, but seems to be a bisexual rather than a lesbian. It was just fun to see those two make out. Each of the sisters get a couple scenes to star opposite Paul Rudd where he manages to cause havoc in there lives, which inevitably leads to them passing him along to the next sister

Paul Rudd takes the cake in acting though. His character Ned, is priceless and finds himself in interesting situations because he is naive and gullible. He tries to help all of the sister’s with their lives in different ways but ruins all of their lives in the process. I might be bold enough to say that this is my favorite Paul Rudd role.

The one issue I had with the film was that everything seemed to work out in the end way to easily and everybody got their happy ending. The film had a lot of heart to it and I think the heart of the film would have been even bigger if one of them didn’t have a happy ending. This film was full of laughs and very enjoyable and if you have time to hit the theaters, this is the film to see.

Rating: 8.5/10

Extra Tidbit: I think its funny that two of the woman that are playing Paul Rudd’s sisters in this film have played his wife or girlfriend in a previous film.

The Help

The Help
Directed by: Tate Taylor
Written by: Tate Taylor

Plot:
A look at what  happens when a southern town's unspoken code of rules and behavior is shattered by three courageous women who strike up an unlikely friendship

Review:
I did not expect to be writing this review anytime soon or at all for that matter but I went to go see the movie with my mother. The mother-son time was great, but the movie not so much. Don't get me wrong it was enjoyable and had some strong moments and performances but in overall it was a little cheesy for my tastes.

If you want to see a film filled with great acting then I recommend watching this film. The trio of Emma Stone, Viola Davis, and Octavia Spencer were all spectacular. Emma Stone, who was looking good as always, stood out the least of the three actresses. This is not because she wasn't great but because this film was about The Help not her character Skeeter. Viola Davis narrated the film as well as starring in the film. The trailers make it seem like a Emma Stone driven film but this is not true at all. Viola Davis carries this movie. She stole a couple scenes when talking about her past hardships which left my mother teary eyed. We could see a best acting nomination for Viola come Oscar season. Octavia Spencer played another maid who was best friends with Viola's character. She had great chemistry with Viola Davis and adds some sass to the film.

The reason why this film was just decent rather than great is because the film revolved around Emma Stone's character obtaining the stories of the help rather than it being about the help and their stories. You get a little taste of the help's hardships but it does not dive deep enough into their characters. It stayed in shallow waters and just scratched the surface. It had this cute light hearted tone the entire way and I think if it got a little darker and showed the hardships rather then just being told the hardships it would have made a more powerful movie.

This film still made its point clearly. I should also add that it got the point across slowly as well. With a run time of 146 minutes it could have been 30 minutes shorter and the film would have been just as effective. I'm glad I saw the film, but it is a film I don't plan on watching again.

Rating: 6/10

Conan the Barbarian

Conan the Barbarian
Directed by: Marcus Nispel
Written by: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Sean Hood

Plot:

The tale of Conan the Cimmerian and his adventures across the continent of Hyboria on a quest to avenge the murder of his father and the slaughter of his village.

Review:

I did not have a lot of expectations going into this film. I was just expecting an action packed film that was entertaining. Well not only was it action packed but it got my blood pumping. When I got out of the film I just wanted to break things. The last film that made me feel this way was 300. It was full of gore, great action, and surprising a decent storyline. 

I really enjoyed the storyline because of the way the film was structured.  The director, Marcus Nispel, takes his time leading into the movie to show you Conan’s past and where he came from. We saw how he was battle born. It explained his childhood relationship with his father. Then we finally get into the main story. It was nice that they did not just jump right into the film because without this beginning I wouldn’t have cared as much about Conan. 

Conan, played by Jason Momoa was great. He is a beast of man and destroys everything in his path. Forget the action though, he is a good actor. The only other thing I have seen him in is Game of Thrones, where he did not have too much dialogue. In Conan, Jason pulled off the barbarian attitude and the role of an action star. I would not be surprised if he became a huge action star. I expect scripts written personally for him since there has not been a action star his size in a long time. Yes, The Expendables just came out, but let’s get real, that movie sucked. 

All of the other actors were just okay. Stephen Lang, who played the main villain, had the only other notable acting performance. The main female lead which was played by Rachel Nichols was okay. She plays a feminist who stands against the dominant Conan but then falls in love with him because of his dominance.  This character has been done a thousand times. 

This film does plan on getting a sequel (are we really that surprised?), which rumors have will be written by Jason Momoa, and it certainly deserves it. The ending was left very open so it could go anywhere in a sequel. Some of the issues I had besides the lackluster acting from the secondary cast was some of the dialogue. Jason Momoa makes the dialogue work but some of the one liners he says are just ridiculous. Plus some of the conversations were very straight forward, get to the point. Either way this movie was enjoyable and left a smile on my face.

Rating; 7.5/10

30 Minutes or Less

30 Minutes or Less
Directed by: Ruben Fleischer
Written by: Michael Diliberti


Plot:
Two fledgling criminals kidnap a pizza delivery guy, strap a bomb to his chest, and inform him that he has mere hours to rob a bank or else.


Review:
I hope everybody knows that the premise of this film is based of real events. In 2003, a pizza delivery guy, Brian Wells, had a bombed strapped to his body in Erie, Pennsylvania.


"Handcuffed and tethered to a bomb, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells sat on one of the city's busiest streets and wailed for help."Why isn't nobody trying to come get this thing off me?" he screamed to police. "It's going to go off. I'm not lying. Did you call my boss? I'm not doing this. This isn't me." Police had just arrested him on suspicion of robbing a bank. Officers backed off after they noticed the bomb, and they called the bomb squad. Wells sat on the street that afternoon, Aug. 28, handcuffed for nearly 30 minutes. At 3:18 p.m., the bomb exploded, killing the meek, gentle man who did not appear to have a criminal record. The death of Wells, who lived in a renovated garage that had been turned into a home, shook this city 90 minutes east of Cleveland." (http://blog.cleveland.com/pdextra/2007/07/bank_robber_or_victim_case_of.html)


I just wanted to put that out there for all to know before going any further.


With a cast that has Aziz Ansari, Jesse Eisenberg, Nick Swardson, and Danny McBride as its four leads you have to expect the movie to shit greatness. Well it didn't deliver that punch. The only one that really stood out to me was Aziz Ansari. He is already making a name for himself on Parks and Recreations and I think he should lead his own comedy real soon. The other three were just mediocre. 


I think a big reason this movie was a miss is because it was extremely disrespectful. It had no class and I can't even imagine what the family and friends of Brian Wells must be thinking right now. The movie was very funny at times but when I laughed it just felt wrong. It was cheap humor that was making fun of a completely horrific situation. You can't blame the A-List talent since it was definitely the script.


I hated the ending too. It felt like they had just kicked Brian Well's family in the nuts, while they were already down and out. The film looked like it had a ton of promise but I guess I should have known better, with such a touchy premise. I am really bummed that this movie came off as a douche bag.


Rating: 5.5/10

The Change-Up

The Change-Up
Directed by: David Dobkin
Written By: Jon Lucas and Scott Moore

Plot:
A comedy in which a married father accidentally switches bodies with his best friend, leading to a series of wildly complex difficulties.

Review:
I was not really sure what to expect going into this movie. It did not have a great opening weekend, the trailer looked just decent and its a premise that has been done time and time again. I was pleasantly surprised to find it absolutely hilarious. It was right on par with Horrible Bosses, which Jason Bateman starred in as well.

I think one reason I enjoyed this film was because how raunchy it was. This is from the writers of the original Hangover, not the second crappy Hangover, and they took it a step further when it comes to the amount of dirty things said. I couldn't believe some of the things I was hearing out of Bateman and Reynold's mouths. It was a nice change of pace for Bateman's style of comedy and he pulled it off extremely well. Usually he is the put together character that holds things together but Reynolds plays this character in the film. Reynolds shined though before his body was switched. It reminded me of the old days when he was in Waiting and Van Wilder. It was great seeing him going back to his roots.

This film also included one of the hottest comedic one, two punches on the female side of the spectrum. With Leslie Mann starring as Jason Bateman's wife and Oliva Wilde playing his assistant. Leslie Mann is great even though she is the same character as in Knocked Up and every other movie. I think the fact she was topless for multiple scenes offset that factor. Olivia Wilde might be the sexist women alive. It's nice seeing she has a comedic side after seeing her more serious roles in Tron and Cowboy & Aliens. She is one of the top "IT" girls in Hollywood right now with 5 upcoming projects and 2 more that are rumored.

I enjoyed this film a lot. I laughed in every scene before they switched bodies and there were a ton more laughs to be had directly after they switched bodies. Sadly things slowed down a little after that. It is a long movie at 118 minutes and there were too many slow patches. It could have been paced a little better. But if you want a bunch of belly laughs go see the film, it is definitely worth watching

Rating: 7.5/10

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Directed by: Rupert Wyatt
Written by: Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

Plot:
An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

Review:
Today I geeked out pretty hard. It's hard to admit but I woke up at 9 and watched the original Planet of the Apes series which consists of 5 awesome movies. Than directly after that I started watching Tim Burton's version and 20 minutes in I remembered that it sucked. That left only one more movie to see, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I now declare today......Ape Day!

Well Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which may be the worst movie title of all time, was the best summer blockbuster this year. It was a movie that respected the originals but distinguished itself from all the others. This movie was not a prequel to all the others. It is in fact its own vision to how the Planet of the Apes started. They did add parts of the past movies into the script though including Icarus, the name bright eyes, the most famous line from the original Planet of the Apes movie and much more that I don't want to give away. It took the best of all the movies, using the fourth movie, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, as its biggest inspiration and combined it into one. They did their best to not leave any plot holes from the original series but obviously they couldn't cover everything. But that is me just nitpicking it since I just watched it all.

James Franco brought as much effort to the table as he did at the Oscars. OKay, maybe he brought just a little more than that, but not much, he was  veyr lackluster. I mean his role does not command to much, this isn't 127 Hours but it would have been nice to see a little more emotion. Tom Felton will always be Draco to me. I feel bad for all those actors because they will all be typecasted forever. The first time on screen the theater actual laughed at him.

The two people who really stole the show were John Lithgow and Andy Serkis. Lithgow plays James Franco's father who has Alzheimers disease. He was very convincing and brought the must emotion into the film. So I am starting to think Andy Serkis isn't acting but that he actually walks around on all fours. Between his performance as Gollum in Lord of the Rings and now as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes I would believe it. Well he does it again and as much as we should appreciate his part in making Caesar come to life we can't forget about the work of WETA. There CGI work is incredible, no doubt award worthy, making so many unique looking monkeys that look realistic. 


This movie was made so that you don't have to see the original Planet of the Apes series. They are starting from scratch and laid an excellent foundation.This is a promising franchise and I am extremely excited to see what they do with the next film.

Rating: 8/10

The Devil's Double

The Devil's Double
Directed by: Lee Tamahori
Written by: Michael Thomas

Plot:
A chilling vision of the House of Saddam Hussein comes to life through the eyes of the man who was forced to become the double of Hussein's sadistic son.


Review:
The Devil's Double is an official selection at the Sundance and the Berlin Film Festivals, and rightfully so. This film is not getting enough hype as it should be. Especially with the performance Dominic Cooper gave playing both Uday Hussein and his double Latif Yahia. Who's Dominic Cooper you ask? He very well could be your next oscar winner for best actor. He got casted in a role that every character actor dreams of. He plays both sides of the moral spectrum, from the kind and compassionate Latif to the psychotic murderer that is Uday. This is quite a change for an actor that was last seen in Captain America playing the role of Howard Stark.

The script is based off a novel written by Latif Yahia, the double of Uday. It is crazy to get this inside look at the Hussein household from his point of view. Latif is just a possession in Uday's eyes and is ordered where to go and what to say or harm will be brought to him and his family. This film keeps you on the edge of your seat weaving the storyline and actual news casts together to create one coherent story.

I have to say again that Dominic Cooper's performance was incredible. Even if you hate this film, and you won't, it's a performance you need to go see. A performance that you will appreciate. With violence, nudity, drugs, and much more this is a film you won't want to miss.

Rating: 8/10

Cowboys & Aliens

Cowboys & Aliens 
Directed By: Jon Favreau
Written By: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, and Hawk Ostby

Plot:
A spaceship arrives in Arizona, 1873, to take over the Earth, starting with the Wild West region. A posse of cowboys are all that stand in their way.


Review:
Jon Favreau, the man who brought so much life, excitement, and action to the Iron Man series, took a step back in Cowboys & Aliens. He left all of the enjoyment he brought to Iron Man at home. I would say that this was one of the biggest disappointments of the summer. When you have such a great premise and an all star cast you would expect more than a cheesy, predictable film with huge plot holes.

The reason why this movie was such a flop was because of the script. It was predictable and took no risks. I don't need to see someone shoot a gun and miss a thousand times to see them finally hit the target when it counts. I've seen that a thousand times before and is very traditional Hollywood. You would think with 5 writers (yes 5 writers, look above) that they would have been able to come up with some original dialogue. It was generic and had no life. Not to mention the lagging scenes between Daniel Craig and Olivia Wilde. You could tell there was no chemistry between the two.

On a brighter note, Harrison Ford was his normal badass self. Even pushing 70 he knows how to bring it. Also the small roles from Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano were enjoyable. Especially Dano, who brought some comedic moments in the beginning of the film.

Besides Harrison Ford being a badass, the only other thing I really liked was the look of the aliens. It is tough to create a cool looking alien and they hit it right on the nose. I wish I could have learned more about the aliens though, on where they came from or their motives. A little back story would have been nice.

If you like cowboys and you like aliens and you happen to me a man, than no matter what I say will keep you away from this movie because all men like cowboys & aliens. But this film is one to wait until it comes out on HBO or Netflix. You will walk through this movie knowing what will happen next and wishing the character would do something different.

Long Live Han Solo!

Rating: 5.5/10

Fun Fact: This movie is the fourth movie Steven Spielberg has produced about alien invasions this year, the other three being Transformers 3, Super 8, and I Am Number 4