REVIEW: Crazy, Stupid, Love

MOVIE
Crazy, Stupid, Love

CAST
Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 29, 2011

DIRECTOR(S)
John Requa, Glenn Ficarra

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 58 minutes





STARS
****










REVIEW:

Everybody in life falls in love with someone really special to them. Whether it's an older or younger indivitual, a high school sweetheart, or a person of the same gender, everybody will one day find their soulmate. Love is the obvious theme for 'Crazy, Stupid, Love,' a funny, yet sometimes deep romantic film starring funnyman Steve Carell. With names like Steve Carell and Emma Stone on the poster/in the trailer for this movie, you would probably be expecting another dumb but funny romantic comedy. I'm not saying that this movie isn't funny, because it is indeed. I'm saying that this movie has no idea what genre it wants to be categorized in. Is it a comedy? Is it a drama? That's what I thought was great about this movie: the fact that, like reality, it has no idea what genre it wants to be. 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' is that rare romantic film that can make you laugh, and make you sad. For that reason alone, this movie is quite possibly the best romantic movie of the year.

Cal Weaver, a man who believes that he has the perfect life, has just found out that his wife has been cheating on him, and therefore wants a divorce. Desperate and lonely, Cal goes to a bar every night and mopes about his wife and what she did to him. But alas, along comes Jacob Palmer, a smooth talking gigelo who helps Cal find a bit of happiness so he can win his wife back. At the same time, much other romantic subplots occur, all eventually colliding into one another into one big pile of Crazy, Stupid, Love.

The best thing about this movie is the cast. Steve Carell knows when to be awkward, funny, and dark at the same time when being Cal. In my opinion, this is Carell's best role since Brick Tamland in the hilarious 'Anchorman.' Steve definately made the right choice leaving his hit show 'The Office,' as long as he keeps making movies as good as this. If you saw 'Dinner for Schmucks' last year, you may agree with me that the best character in the movie was the artist Kieran, played flawlessly by Jemaine Clement. This year, I believe that the best character in 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' is the suave Jacob, played by Ryan Gosling. Like Clement last year, Gosling's character is awesome because he is. He is what most people would call a "womanizer," mainly because he can score with hot women in a bar every single night. This character is funny, charming, an just plain cool to begin with. I hope that Ryan Gosling is in more mainstream movies opposed to artsy films, because he could make it very far with regular moviegoers. The rest of the cast, including Julianne Moore and Kevin Bacon all play their parts well and we actually come to care for them, despite the fact that they're not very likeable characters in reality.

The story is witty and original, the cast is fantastic, and the film's directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, who are best known for co-writing 'Bad Santa' and co-directing last year's 'I Love You Phillip Morris' certainly knew what they were doing when making this movie. Of all of this weekend's releases, this one has to be my favorite one. It's not just because this movie is laugh out loud hilarious that I consider it THE movie to see this week. I believe that with enough laughs and enough heart, you can certainly make a worthwhile film. It's not something that you must go see in theaters, unlike 'Cowboys & Aliens,' but how ever you see this movie I can guarantee that you will enjoy it. If you have ever fallen in love and/or have had your heart shattered into pieces by your "soulmate," then you might have a strong, yet funny case of 'Crazy, Stupid, Love.'



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

The Change-Up

The Help

30 Minutes or Less

Contagion

What's Your Number?

New Year's Eve

REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger 3D

MOVIE
Captain America:
The First Avenger

CAST
Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 22, 2011

DIRECTOR
Joe Johnston

STUDIO(S)
Paramount Pictures,
Marvel Studios

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 4 minutes



STARS
***1/2







REVIEW:

In 2011 alone, four superhero films have been released, with three of them coming from Marvel. We started out the superhero summer with 'Thor,' which was enjoyable, but I didn't enjoy is as others did. Then came 'X-Men: First Class,' which is still one of my favorites of the year. Then DC decided to step into the spotlight with 'Green Lantern,' failing miserably at making a good movie. Now as the month of July is quickly coming to a close, most are "Potter"ed out from last week and are looking for the next big summer flick to see. This week's summer flick was born in America, rather in the U.K., and its name is 'Captain America: The First Avenger.'

The reason why this movie has "The First Avenger" in its title is because ol' Cappy was the start of S.H.I.E.L.D./the whole Avengers team. 'Iron Man' was the start of the Avengers franchise, and both of his movie were possibly the best superhero movies in the past decade. Then we got 'The Incredible Hulk,' which was also an outstanding movie. Although I enjoyed 'Thor,' I felt that it could've been much more. I was a bit worried about this movie, despite director Joe Johnston being the director of films like 'The Rocketteer' and 'October Sky,' and the lead actor Chris Evans being the best things in films like 'Fantastic Four' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.' Needless to say, 'Captain America' is a spectacular summer flick, and an awesome comic book movie. While I did like it much more than 'Thor,' it's not as sublime as 'X-Men: First Class.'

Steve Rogers is the ultimate patriot, with a bit of a disadvantage. Despite having the courage to defend his country from Nazis, Rogers has been declined from the U.S. Army due to his weak physical body. However Rogers is given the opportunity to be recruited by the army and become the first of many "Super Soldiers" that will help defeat Hitler. As it turns out, the real villain of the world is Johann Schmidt, better known as Red Skull, who wants to destroy the entire world, including Hitler and his German army. So Steve becomes the famous "Captain America," posing as a publicity toy by day and kicking serious German ass for the last hour of the movie.

I am not a huge Captain America fan, but I do respect him for being the king of the Marvel universe. This king can really kick some serious ass! Chris Evans, best known for playing the wise ass Johnny Storm in the 'Fantastic Four' series plays Cappy to perfection, as he shows patriotism, courage, and fear quite well. I actually think that the song 'Don't Stop Believin' by Journey was inspired by Captain America's courage and bravery. As good as Evans was as 'The First Avenger," the majority of the supporting cast was much better than their lead. The best character in the movie is the sarcastic and bossy Col. Chester Phillips played by the always awesome Tommy Lee Jones. If Jones' character from Men In Black was a sarcastic agent, then he might be the colonel in this movie. We also get Hugo Weaving as the cool baddie Red Skull, Hayley Atwell as the badass love interest Peggy Carter, and in a small role, Stanley Tucci as the creator of the Super Soldier serum, Dr. Abraham Erskine. All of the characters in this movie help make Captain America the best superhero film since 'X-Men: FIrst Class.'

SPOILER PARAGRAPH:
Director Joe Johnston had a big task to complete, and that was to tie this movie in with every other Avenger related Marvel movie to come out. He does that very well, as we get our 'Iron Man' and 'Thor' references throughout. The biggest reference to the Avengers is the character of Howard Stark, Tony Stark's daddy. This character helps design the chamber where Steve Rogers becomes Captain America. Without him, there wouldn't be any Avengers. Red Skull possesses a magical cube that helps power his deadly machine. For those who stay after the credits of these movies or read their comic books would know that this cube, called the 'Cosmic Cube' is one of the most important aspects of The Avengers movie. These aren't spoilers as much as they are pointers to the Marvel universe references. Plus with every Marvel movie we get our Nick Fury appearance, which is always nicely played by the fantastic Samuel L. Jackson. Johnston knows how to hold the Marvel universe in his hand, and I hope Marvel will let him take on more superhero films soon.
(END OF SPOILERS)

If you were disappointed in films like 'Thor' and 'Green Lantern' earlier this summer, then you may want to get yourself to see 'The First Avenger.' This film in my opinion is what Sherlock Holmes was back in 2009. The week before Holmes came into the spotlight, James Cameron's Avatar had exploded onto the scene, destined to become the highest grossing film of all time. Last week the final Harry Potter film came out and also exploded onto the scene. This film is a great follow up to the fantastic movie weekend that was last week. This film isn't nearly as good as Potter, but it is still a worthwhile superhero film. I doubt that this will be ranked amongst superhero classics such as 'The Dark Knight,' 'Iron Man,' or 'Spider-Man 2,' but for what it is, it is a fun and sleek superhero film that is almost as good as 'X-Men: First Class.' If you are looking for another fun superhero film to see this year or are trying to get out of "Potter"mania, then you might want to get your time traveling instincts ready and travel to the era of Captain America, The First Avenger.


PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Cowboys & Aliens


Rise of the Planet of the Apes


Contagion


Abduction


Mission Impossible:
Ghost Protocol


The Adventures of Tintin


The Amazing Spider Man


The Avengers (After Credits)

VIDEO REVIEW: Winnie The Pooh (With Guest Critic Chris Fyfe)

MOVIE
Winnie The Pooh

CAST
Jim Cumming,
John Cleese (NARRATOR)

RATING
G

RELEASE
July 15, 2011

DIRECTOR(S)
Stephen Anderson, Don Hall

STUDIO
Walt Disney Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 3 minutes




STARS
****




STARS (CHRIS)
****










MINI-REVIEW:

Aw that silly old bear from the Hundred Acre Woods is back on the big screen for the first time in six years. Pooh and his gang have been resurrected from the Disney Channel graveyard by directors Steven Anderson, of Meet the Robinsons fame, and Don Hill and given the hand drawn 2D animation treatment once more to tell us a brand new story. I've grown up with Pooh, Tigger, and the rest of the gang, so just the thought of being able to see them on the big screen gave my inner 5 year old self some pure joy. After the trailer was released, I was completely sold on the film, since it just looked like pure fun. After seeing the film, I must say that both my 5 year old self and my 14 year old self are completely satisfied by what our eyes saw. Winnie the Pooh is the best family movie out there, possibly the best family movie of the year so far.

In a time where people have to rely on fart and bathroom jokes to get a good laugh, this movie abandons that and gives the audience the most innocent movie to come out in the past 6 years. Even if you're an adult, you should go see this movie, despite the film only being 63 minutes long. This film will give adults a flashback to when they were kids and possibly watching Winnie the Pooh or playing with G.I. Joe's/Barbie's. I was watching a couple of little kids in the row in front of me jumping up and down and getting excited when the movie started. I talked to the family after the movie, and found out that it was the kids' first movie. I was surprisingly not annoyed by it, because I saw myself as a kid, getting all excited when Pooh or Rugrats would be on TV. That's why people should see this movie.

Even if there are little kids there to see the movie, you have to remember that it may be their first time seeing a movie in theaters. That alone should make you smile. The characters in this movie are funny, the jokes are very clever, and there's nothing that will scar the kids for life. I guarantee you now that this will be the very first movie for my kids to see, because there's nothing to be afraid of, both kids and adults. Parents won't be offended by anything or be tempted to walk out of the theater, plus get a few laughs in there. An added benefit is that the film is only 53 minutes without credits, so kids won't be as antsy when they get out of the theater as they would in some other kids movie out there. For the kids and kids at heart, Winnie the Pooh is the must see family film of the summer. Oh and here's some quick food for thought: what do you think Pooh puts in his "hunny" that makes it so divine? I think weed, but I want to hear your thoughts, so put your ideas in the comments section below. And as always, keep bloggin' nerds!



VIDEO REVIEW:





PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Dolphin Tale


Puss in Boots


The Muppets


Alvin and the Chipminks:
Chipwrecked


Chimpanzee

REVIEW: Another Earth

MOVIE
Another Earth

CAST
William Mapother,
Brit Marling

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 22, 2011 (LIMITED)

DIRECTOR
Mike Cahill

STUDIO
Fox Searchlight Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 32 minutes





STARS
***1/2








REVIEW:

Have you ever wondered if there was another form of life out there, just waiting to be discovered by us humans? What if these extra terrestrials were humans like us on a planet considered to be identical to our own? That is only the backdrop of the recent Sundance hit, Another Earth. The movie may seem like a full blown sci-fi spectacle, but it really is a drama with a sci-fi element in it. Fox Searchlight, who won an impressive distribution competition between other well known indie studios decided to get director Mike Cahill and Brit Marling to go on a six city tour and hold special screenings of this movie, with Q&As immediately after. Philadelphia was one of the six lucky cities chosen to hold one of these six screenings, and I was lucky enough to attend the event. I am very happy to report that this movie is very well acted, intriguing throughout, yet can also be disturbing and complex during parts. Another Earth is a well conceived drama promising a strong future for lead actress Brit Marling and director Mike Cahill, plus giving the audience the best interpretation ending since last year's Inception.

On the eve of the discovery of a new planet identical to our own, the lives of Rhoda Williams and John Burroughs quickly became intertwined. Rhoda is a bright young woman who has just been accepted into the astrophysics program at MIT. John is a brilliant composer with a loving wife and son, and is soon expecting a second child. Tragedy strikes between the two and Rhoda is sent to jail for what she did. Four years pass, Rhoda is free from jail, and the new planet, now being called "Earth 2" is close enough to our planet where we have the ability to communicate with and travel to it. Rhoda wants to apologize to John for the crime she committed, but things soon get complicated as both of their lives become parallel to one another.

If you're going to see this movie because you want a science fiction movie, you will probably come out of this being very disappointed. There is only one thing about this movie that's science fiction related, and that's the fact that there's an identical Earth floating around our Earth. This movie is really a drama, and with a drama comes a dark and disturbing nature to it. If you can't handle that you will be disturbed and sad by the outcome of the characters in this movie within the first 10 minutes of the film, then you might as well buy a ticket for something else. The disturbing nature of this movie is only supported, not just the excellent/original concept of this film, but by the astounding cast put into these characters dark situations.

I have to say that the best thing about this movie is the excellent cast portraying these disturbed characters. William Mapother, possibly best known for his role on 'Lost' is excellent as John. You really do get to know this character after his accident, and he does deliver some funny lines, one in particular involves clever product placement use involving the Wii. He is the heart and soul of this movie, no doubt. But even this well known actor couldn't match the soul of newcomer actress/co-writer of the film Brit Marling, who plays the main lead, Rhoda.

Despite being the cause for the tragedy of John and his family, you still care for her and feel the pain and emptiness that has been bubbling inside of her for the four years she spent in jail. Do you remember last year when a little movie called 'Winter's Bone' came onto the scene, and made Jennifer Lawrence a big star? I believe that this movie may pull off a 'Winter's Bone,' and make Brit Marling a huge star. Marling give a powerful performance that will shock you and please you throughout the movie's hour and a half long running time. If there is any reason to see this movie, it is to check out one of the many up and coming new stars of 2011. I mentioned earlier that I got to meet Marling after the screening, and if she's reading this, I hope I get to meet you when you become an even bigger star than you are currently.

If you're looking for a sci-fi classic like Inception or District 9, then you might as well go see something else. The science fiction aspect heavily shown in the trailers is just the outer shell of this movie. The core of this movie is a drama, and that's all you're going to get in this movie. Sure there may be a couple of light hearted moments in this movie, but make sure you're going into this movie knowing that it's a drama. If you know that you're going into a dark, sometimes disturbing drama instead of a sci-fi, then you will enjoy this movie. The acting is superb, the cinemaphotography is great, and director Mike Cahill should become a household name after this movie is released. I will be very shocked if Brit Marling isn't even considered to be an Oscar contender, both for acting and co-writing this movie with director Mike Cahill.

The one thing that I didn't care for in this movie was that the relationship between Rhoda and John could never happen in real life. I was sort of cringing in my seat every time they were with eachother, because you have to remember what Rhoda did to John's family. Other than this plot malfunction, the movie still soars over other indies to come out this year, probably because Mike Cahill is a great storyteller. This may be the most compelling original story that you will see this year. However like Inception, I still have many questions to ask the director and star of the movie that I wish I thought of asking them when I met them. I want your interpretations of the movie and its ending if you happen to go, so please leave them in the comments section of this review below. If you want a compelling drama disguised as a sci-fi with a great original story and sublime acting, then you just might want to travel to Another Earth.

REVIEW: Zookeeper

MOVIE
Zookeeper

CAST
Kevin James, Rosario Dawson

RATING
PG

RELEASE
July 8, 2011

DIRECTOR
Frank Coraci

STUDIO(S)
Columbia Pictures,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 44 minutes




STARS
**







REVIEW:

Of all of the movies out there, my grandparents, my sister, and I all had the willpower to choose 'Zookeeper', the latest Kevin James vehicle run by Adam Sandler and his Happy Madison crew. Why exactly did we choose 'Zookeeper' over other films out there? Because I promised a friend that I would see 'Winnie The Pooh' with him, and my grandparents already saw 'The Tree Of Life' and have since loathed it, plus my sister had no interest in seeing 'Tree Of Life' at all. And now here I am, writing about if Adam Sandler's latest attempt to help a buddy out was any good. While this movie had its funny moments, it overall was a crappy movie. Hell, I knew that this was going to suck the minute I saw the teaser trailer that tried to knockoff 'Night At The Museum.' Imagine if "Night At The Museum' had a bastard child with Adam Sandler, 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop,' and every cliché ever put into a romantic comedy. That is the result of 'Zookeeper.' Despite a few chuckles, there is no reason to see 'Zookeeper' at all. However, I can admit that I did enjoy this movie more than Mr. Popper's Penguins. But overall, 'Zookeeper' is just among the line of crappy kids movies to come out these days. We might as well get a third Alvin and the Chipmunks movie to top it all off. Oh wait a minute...

Griffin Keyes has been trying to get over the fact that his girlfriend Stephanie dumped him five years previous because of the fact that he is a zookeeper. Now she is back in the picture and Griffin wants to leave his job as a zookeeper and get a cooler job so he can be with Stephanie once again. The animals of the Franklin Park Zoo don't want Griffin to leave, so they decide to break their one rule at the zoo, and that is to not talk to the humans. Griffin, horrified but cool with it, decides to take dating advice from the zoo animals in order to win Stephanie's heart.

This movie is very disappointing, mainly because this film comes from the same director as 'The Wedding Singer,' a personal favorite of mine, and "Click,' a funny Adam Sandler movie. It's also disappointing to see Kevin James, best known for 'The King Of Queens' and 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' have to be trapped in this family friendly/Adam Sandler breed that is unable to live amongst its surroundings. They might as well have had Adam Sandler direct and star in this movie, because it seems that he does that with all of his recent movies. Believe me, I have no beef with Adam Sandler at all. His earlier films, like "Happy Gilmore' are hilarious, but he hasn't made a fantastic comedy in almost a decade. He is like the white Tyler Perry, though Perry knows when to do something good for his career ('Precious') instead of always relying on dumb comedies. I believe that, despite enjoying his movies sometimes, Adam Sandler is the one to blame for making this a bad movie. However, his role as Donald the Monkey, who like to brag about his opposable thumbs was actually a little bit funny.

Kevin James is a very funny man. From 'King Of Queens' to 'Hitch' to 'Paul Blart,' he is someone to rely on when it comes to physical humor and fat jokes. Despite being the saving point of this movie, his talent is still wasted in this movie. All you get out of Kevin James in this movie is him trying to be hip with the kids, trying to win a bitchy girl, and getting hurt in almost every scene he's in, both physically and emotionally. I wish Mr. James could step out of the Sandler shell and smell the fresh, comedic air, and be able to find a better movie to be in. The rest of the live action, including the gorgeous Leslie Bibb as the bitchy Stephanie, and Rosario Dawson as the kind hearted Kate all play their parts for the paycheck, and they were just so so. What do you expect from a movie about talking or annoying animals. The voice cast for the animals, including Adam Sandler, Nick Nolte, and Sylvester Stallone have their funny moments, but are overall just as dumb as their live action counterparts.

Coming out of this movie, my grandfather told me that I could write a much better story on the back of a napkin than this film. This is just one of the many stupid stories that always end in a predictable way to come out this year alone. There is no life in the story, just talking animals, a bitchy girl, and Kevin James getting hurt. If you're looking for anything but the three things I just mentioned, then you're screwed out of your money. Sure kids won't see the movie for having a bad script and storyline, they'll just see it for being a movie with talking animals and a fat man getting hurt all of the time. Parents will be bored and annoyed by how bad the story and script are in this movie, but they may be glad that their kids will enjoy it.

I recently had a brief Facebook conversation with acclaimed film critic Roger Ebert. No, I'm not messing around with you, I actually had a conversation with Roger Ebert. He gave this movie three stars out of four, mainly because this is a movie for families, he said. If you're reading this Mr. Ebert, though I doubt that you'd remember our conversation, I understand where you were coming from, and I admit I did laugh a couple of times. However, this movie had too many sexual references and dumb cliche's that it couldn't exactly be considered a family movie. There is no reason to see this movie at all, even as a rental. Sure you'll get a couple of chuckles, and Kevin James is a funny comedian, but any family can pass this movie up.

Even if this movie is the only thing playing at the time your kids want to see a movie, do yourself a favor and go to a real zoo and meet a real zookeeper instead of watching this zookeeper hurt himself constantly while communicating with animals. Not only will your kids have a better time than you would sitting in a movie theater for nearly two hours, but you as parents would as well. Kevin James, you're a funny guy, but you don't need this type of movie to make money. Do yourself a favor next time and don't rely on your friends to hook you up in movies. Do you want to become like Allen Covert, Rob Schneider, and David Spade? As for Mr. Sandler, please do the world a favor and make a movie that everyone, including critics, will enjoy. To all families in the world, in case you didn't quite understand the previous paragraphs in this review, do yourself a huge favor and save $30-$40 by not visiting this 'Zookeeper.'



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

The Smurfs



Spy Kids:
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Happy Feet Two