Paul Blart: Mall Cop—; film. Another case of a movie ending up better than it should have been. Kevin James has done essentially the same shtick in most everything I’ve seen him in, but it worked here. He really made this movie his own, and even though there was very little new here (the usual schlub meets a girl and he tries to win her over plot), James made it shine. And aside from a very few things (I can’t even remember what they were now), this very-much-inspired-by-Die Hard-movie was very kid-friendly—while still making it entertaining for adults. B
[And a side note: watching this movie reminded me I need to start publishing my ideas. Yet another brilliant thing I thought up years ago and never told anyone has been released to the world (the whole Die Hard in a mall thing).]
Run Fatboy Run—I barely remember this one. I know it should have better, considering the talent involved. But instead of trying to win the race, they elected to just finish it. (You like how I did that little analogy?) C-
Star Wars: The Clone Wars; DVD and Film. – Originally conceived as three episodes of the animated series on Cartoon Network, and it felt just like the series as I watched it the first time on DVD. It’s not a bad thing, but it was definitely a let-down knowing it was released as a film in theatres. Unlike, say, The Simpsons Movie, there was nothing that made this special enough to warrant the Big Picture treatment. But a month later, I watched it in the theatre (on not only the big screen, but a screen about 35% larger than average), and was pretty caught up in the beginning battle sequences. Lots of characters and explosions (in Dolby Surround Sound or whatever they have in theatres) definitely made this a better movie to watch in the theatres at first. But after the big battles, it got slower and “smaller” and didn’t work any better than on TV by the end. But it was fun enough to be worth the $2.50 I spent (with free popcorn). C (DVD); B- (in the theatre).
Tropic Thunder—Depending on your point of view, this was either a great film or a piece of crap film. I think those who may know about the filmmaking process (that goes deeper than the "exclusive behind-the-scenes" dreck that “entertainment shows” like Entertainment Tonight give the masses) or can enjoy a great acting performance can really get into this film. Those who just want a “fun ride” probably won’t (a friend of mine walked out halfway through the movie). Writer/director/actor Ben Stiller tried walking a tightrope between the two worlds, but I think the best stuff may have been too “inside” for the average person (and that’s not a knock; not everyone soaks up the moviemaking). But unlike most of the Oscar-Bait films out there, this one was pretty hilarious at times (although there were plenty foul-mouthed lines in it for those who came for that). And Robert Downey Jr had the role of the year with his performance as a white Australian method actor who underwent skin darkening treatments to play a black man (and if that doesn’t sound funny to you, then you probably aren’t one of those people this film was made for). The only gripe I have for this film is that some parts were just too far over the top and brought me out of the experience a few times. I’ll give it a B+; but for someone who may not be looking for the “inside” bits, it’ll probably rate a C.
Wanted—Painful to watch. This started out as an adaptation of a comic book series, but rumor has it they didn’t retain much of the original plot (I haven’t read the comics yet). The special effects were sometimes cool, but the level of violence was just moronic. I think I now understand what “torture porn” means. I’ll give the movie credit for trying to have some sort of plot (which just ended up lame), but that didn’t come until well after the half-way mark. Who needs plot when you can just show more and more violent ways to break bones or die? D-
Yes Man— film; Jim Carrey back to doing what we originally loved him for: going completely gonzo. His character was, at his core, a normal man, but the story allowed him to get crazier and crazier. It wasn’t a deep movie, but it did try to make a great point: it’s okay to say yes to new things. We sometimes forget that yes is an option in our lives. B-
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