Heckler—TV— Jamie Kennedy hosts a documentary that is a bit schizophrenic. At first, it looked at heckling in stand-up comedy; an interesting phenomenon that seems to have multiple reasons—as well as multiple reactions. Many comics were interviewed, and most had some good stories to tell.
Then the movie started bashing critics. That’s where the film started to lose me. Mainly, it was lumping the po-dunk newspaper/TV station and bloggers together with real critics who have earned their remarks. Call ‘em dicks, but don’t call ‘em critics. Critics normally critique the work, not the performer or director personally. Of course, everyone interviewed had nasty things to say about critics; namely, “It’s easy to make jokes at someone else’s expense. But we’re real people with real feelings.”
And, finally, the mood shifted again to Kennedy admitting most of his movies have been bad, but certain people like them, so he’s okay taking his lumps while that part of the population is satisfied.
I think this film could have been structured a little better—and maybe if the comics who complained about getting bashed explained their side with a little more logic than, “Those dicks write whatever they want, but they can’t do what we do,” the “thesis” of the movie may have been a better argument.
But it did have some good moments worth exploring in a better film (sorry, Jamie; just speaking the truth)—or at least a film that really focuses on one topic. And as for the performers who get their feelings hurt: take it with a grain of salt, for the most part. But also understand who is critiquing the movie—and who is just being a dick. Another helpful hint: if you’re constantly being told your movies suck, there might be something to that. I am fully aware that very rarely does one single person contribute to the success or failure of a movie, but some of the crap I've watched had to be crap at the script stage. Either suck it up and take the check (every actor has had to “take the check” at some point in their career)—or decline the role before shooting begins and hope the next script is better. B-
Hot Tub Time Machine—(in the theatre). I’m not sure how I feel about this one. It wasn’t as inventive or hilarious as I was hoping, but it did have some good moments. As can be expected, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry are the life of the party and had the best moments and lines. Otherwise, I didn’t care for the characters much (sorry Clark Duke and John Cusack). And Chevy Chase’s character was pointless. Chase played him well; he was just nonsense. And the ending was a bit much to swallow—but I have to admit: it was funny. B-
I Love You, Beth Cooper— I read the book a year ago, and I thought, “This reads just like a classic “last night in high school” movie (like Superbad or Dazed & Confused). Of course, a book can get away with a little more ridiculousness (and this one sure had some) than a live-action movie can. But the film tried to keep the plot intact, sometimes to its detriment, and that has to be commended.
The story unfolds as the class valedictorian gives his commencement speech and talks about regrets, and how he and his classmates weren’t always true to themselves or their feelings, and he blurts out that he was in love with cheerleading captain Beth Cooper. Beth is not happy with the public revelation—nor is her steroidal, military-trained, boyfriend. Hi-jinks ensue.
This isn’t a great movie, but it was pretty fun for the most part. B-
Inglorious Basterds— My first Quentin Tarantino movie since Jackie Brown, and I was not disappointed. Other than Christoph Waltz’s incredible performance, this was a story/director-driven film (although no offense to Brad Pitt and the others, who played their roles wonderfully). Tarantino had his hands all over this film—but his style also didn’t overpower it (something I think “troubles” some of his other films). I was happy to not have f-bomb after f-bomb uttered; I don’t mind vulgarity, but after a certain point (like in Jackie Brown), it just gets to be too much. I also enjoyed the fact that Tarantino didn’t revel in blood and guts (the other thing I worried about). This is a great movie from start (where I sat through one of the most tension-filled scenes I’ve ever sat through) to almost the finish. I would have liked to see the main characters with a little more to do, but that's not how the story played out.
My other quibble with the film was the over-the-top ending at the cinema. History was rewritten, and I wasn’t a fan of it. I think the film could have been just as (if not more) powerful had it not gone to the extreme lengths it did. B+
The Man With the Screaming Brain— A B-movie that looks and feels exactly like a B-movie. Bruce Campbell got a chance to have to some fun playing a man at odds with himself (two brains in one head), but everything about this movie was on the cheap. If you like this sort of thing, it’s probably perfect. I only watched because I like Campbell. C-
Michael Jackson: This Is It—BluRay. A brilliantly-made look at Michael Jackson’s preparations on his “This Is It” show (what was touted as his last “tour; tough to call it a “tour” when it was only being held in one location for multiple dates, though). It’s hard to separate Jackson the performer from Jackson the freak show (of the last 20 years), but this film decided to do just that. This is about Jackson the performer. And when he was “on”, it was magic. There is no way I would have flown to England to see this show (even if I could afford the tickets), so I got at least a glimpse of what it would have been, and it looks like it would have been well worth it.
I’m still a bit torn on Jackson, the man, but Jackson, the performer, was in a class of his own. B+
Post Grad— Geez; it hasn’t been all that long since I saw this movie, but there’s very little that stuck with me. I don’t remember it being bad; just not memorable. Well, I did only watch it because Michael Keaton had a role; his usual of late: father of a teenage girl. But he was allowed to be a bit more eccentric than he usually is in recent films, and that’s always fun to see that bit of mischievousness to his work. C+
The Proposal— I’ve mentioned before that I’m a Ryan Reynolds fan (even in work that he can’t be all that proud of; yes, I've taken note of him since Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place), and this film actually utilized his talents (lines uttered with sharp sarcasm), so that was cool. I can’t say this was a great movie (even though the media latched onto it because America’s [current] Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock stars in it), but it was entertaining enough. B-
Public Enemies—I was a bit late to the Johnny Depp party, but I have seen the light. Is there anything he can’t do? The role of John Dillinger couldn’t have been played but just anyone. The actor has to be an Everyman-looking fellow with a magnetism that not many have. And he has to be able to make the audience love him more than the “good guys”.
This was an interesting movie. I know there’s a love affair with Dillinger and other criminals of the time (the general populace thought the robbers weren’t hurting them—and they enjoyed seeing banks suffer a little), but it was odd to watch how this film played out. The film was pretty impartial on who was right and who was wrong (at least Depp could be likable and not creepy while the Feds were pretty much just played to be antagonists without any fleshing out), but we have to remember that the dude killed people, escaped from prison a number of times, and robbed banks.
This film has a bit of an extra appeal for me as parts of this movie were shot in downtown Oshkosh,WI; 35 minutes from where I live—and the city I work in. It was cool to see a few buildings I’ve driven/walked past a dozen times as background in the movie. There was even a brief glimpse of the library I frequent (it had the two lion statues in front of it).
Overall the film was enjoyable and well done. I did feel it was a bit long in places, but I also think that was a positive as it wasn’t just action scene after action scene. I’m not sure why the “Enemies” of the title is pluralized. We didn’t get to know any of the other members of Dillinger’s gang—and Purvis and the Feds were pretty much suits without much background or motive (other than duty/justice). This was Dillinger/Depp’s film. B
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